Infinity: Our Zhongzhou team is really amazing!

Chapter 284 The Lord of the Rings Chronicles

There is no hope in this world anymore.

Disease, plague.

Killing and torture.

Pain, madness.

and the inevitable fall.

All the elves, dwarves, and humans are heading towards death and despair.

It's just a matter of sooner or later.

Fifteen years ago, Aragorn, the last hope of the world of Arda and the man-king who carried the remaining will of the Valar, was killed by the cursed sword. His body was carried by monsters and sat on the Iron Throne made of countless bones and steel.

He completely degenerated and became the corpse king under the evil god. Minas Tirith became a nest of the dead, and the last glimmer of hope for this world was completely shattered.

Legolas said, this is a dead world.

It was not until he entered the Misty Mountains that Neos deeply understood the weight of this sentence.

Along the way, there are evil monsters everywhere. The Misty Mountains are all monster lairs. The evil god's followers ride huge dragons across the sky. Every time they appear, they are accompanied by a shrill scream, which is enough to drive mortals completely crazy.

The rock wall halfway up the mountain was charred black by the flames, and from time to time, the deafening roar spread throughout the valley, making people shudder.

The dangers of the Shire seemed harmless compared to this.

Fortunately, Neos has a tool to stabilize his mental power, otherwise the group might not even be able to enter the Misty Mountains.

But even after entering, the ubiquitous threats made them frightened at every step.

Neos and his group hid in the woods, while a group of two evil dragons roared past overhead, emitting painful screams.

Legolas had a serious look on his face and had already drawn the bowstring.

"These creatures were once cold dragons that lived in the Northern Wastelands. Later, they were brought into Middle-earth by the Dark Lord Sauron and transformed by evil sorcery into bloodthirsty monsters that are invulnerable to swords and spears."

"One is fine, but if they come in a group, it will be more difficult to deal with than encountering a single Balrog." Legolas said in a deep voice as he looked at the evil dragons flying away.

"This place is really dangerous. We encountered these things as soon as we entered." Hoffer said with a pale face.

Gungnir looked at the evil dragons flying away in silence.

Just as Neos was about to say something, the ground suddenly shook.

Legolas's expression changed drastically, and he quickly pushed several people down and made them crawl on the ground.

"Hold your breathing, don't talk, don't move!" he warned quickly.

Neos saw the mountain wall in front of them move, and countless pieces of rubble fell around them.

He stared at the moving mountain in front of him with wide eyes in disbelief.

No, he turned around!

It was a moving mountain giant!

It was covered in rock armor, but between the armor were countless mummies.

As it moved, the corpse squeezed against the rocks and countless limbs and fragments fell from it.

Neos lay under the bushes, sweating profusely, holding his breath and trying his best to suppress his breathing. It was not voluntary control, but a subconscious feeling of suffocation when facing the terrifying creature.

This huge monster, which looked like a combination of dried corpse and rock, walked through the valley more than ten meters in front of them. Every step it took caused the mountain to tremble, like a walking natural disaster.

As it walked, dried-up corpses, drained of blood and souls, fell from the giant, and huge carrion maggots crawled in and out of the holes.

As the bodies fell, mournful cries echoed through the valley.

Neos was in a trance for a moment, but suddenly felt a chill on his hand.

But he saw that Gunnir had gathered cold air in his hands and was forcibly pressing him into the jungle. It seemed that he was affected by the crying and wanted to follow the monster.

Neos's face changed and he quickly turned around to look, only to see Legolas holding down Xue Ling'er and Hofer, who were bewitched by their crying, on the left and right.

He gave Gunnir a look of gratitude, then glanced sideways forward.

But they saw evil dragons staggering, as if affected by the crying, falling from the sky and hitting the chest of the rotten giant.

The evil dragon wailed and struggled, unable to break free. After just a few breaths, it completely stopped moving and merged with the rotting corpse on top of it.

The group of evil dragons that were enough to cause them great trouble all stung the giant like moths to a flame.

Neos and his companions didn't dare to breathe for a moment.

But the rotten giant didn't care about the few small bugs at his feet. He just dragged his huge body, step by step, towards the north, and disappeared in the mist in the mountains accompanied by the wailing and crying of tens of thousands of dying people.

"Those are the remains of a Maia's decay and fall. I usually call them mountain corpses." Legolas said lightly with a ferocious face.

"It makes a crying sound and lures all living creatures: goats, wild boars, dwarves, humans, elves. It is not picky about its food."

"Don't let it find you, don't listen to the crying sounds, and try to stay away from those strange rocks and mountains."

"Once discovered by it," Legolas laughed strangely, "even a Balrog would become a part of it."

"That crying sound," Neos said, biting his pale lips.

"Most of the creatures on it are still alive." Legolas laughed at himself.

"They live in symbiosis with the mountain corpses and can clearly feel their flesh and blood being drained away bit by bit. Usually, this process can last for more than a year."

"Their howling is a sign of pain, but it is also meant to attract more creatures to come and feed the mountain corpses, so that they can be freed sooner, just like those mutilated corpses." Legolas pointed to the unclear mummies on the ground.

"It's just that in recent years, the mountain corpses have been unable to eat fresh living people, and now they have begun to prey on foul-smelling monsters like evil dragons." A hint of sadness appeared in Legolas's words.

Gunnir and Neos said nothing, and Xue Ling'er still looked as if she had lost all sense of the outside world.

Hoffer lowered his head and didn't dare to look over there. He was completely scared.

But this is how the world is. Often, brave people like Richard, Overlord, and Erica die early, while those who are afraid of death can live to this day.

"Well, we are lucky. It is heading north. We have to hurry." Legolas squinted his eyes and observed for a while, then said to a few people.

A group of people rushed out of the woods and ran quickly towards the mountain road.

Neos suddenly asked, "Legolas, since you said that Moria has become the lair of the Balrog, why do we still need to cross the Misty Mountains from there?"

"Instead of taking another route?"

"Because Moria is closest to us." Legolas said without turning his head.

"And what else?" Neos pressed on. "You should know that if there are multiple Balrogs in Moria, there's no way we'll survive."

"The Gap of Rohan is full of roaming Black Death armies. We have no wargs or cavalry, and we can't fly."

"It's impossible to cross the entire Rohan grassland without being discovered. That is the territory of the Corpse King." Legolas' tone was very complicated when he mentioned the Corpse King's name.

"Apart from that?" Neos continued to ask. After being hit several times, he no longer had the confidence and arrogance he had at the beginning.

Now he no longer feels safe about anything in the outside world, and he must obtain more information.

"Hehe." Legolas still didn't turn around: "Because there is a friend in Moria who I have known for a long time."

"As long as we follow him, there's a chance we can survive and cross the Misty Mountains."

Neos asked again: "There is one last question. We are going to destroy the ring, but where is it?"

"Good question," Legolas said softly. "Of course, in—"

The sound of nails scraping against stone suddenly rang out, coming from far away and approaching rapidly.

In just a few seconds, he approached behind several people.

Legolas stopped suddenly, nearly causing several people behind him to bump into him.

"What's wrong?" Hoffer almost jumped up like a frightened hen, looking around involuntarily.

Legolas whispered, "Be silent, remember."

"Don't look back." Hoffer forcibly fixed his neck with both hands.

Neos and Gunnir felt a strange chill invade their bodies, and they were so stiff that they couldn't move.

A sticky cold wind blew by quietly, and the wind seemed to carry some kind of malice. It not only blew through their clothes, but also went straight into their bodies, making their internal organs feel cold.

It felt as if some cold and damp hands were slowly stroking their necks, and goose bumps instantly appeared everywhere they passed.

"Crackle, crackle..." The sound of nails scraping against stone suddenly rang out in the silent environment, and became louder and louder.

The sound came in waves, as if with some kind of rhythm, or like a strange signal, as if it was sticking close to the backs of several people, following them like a shadow.

In this extreme fear, Gunnier subconsciously wanted to look back to see what was going on. The strong murderous intent and fear after being attacked intertwined with each other, driving his body to fight back.

However, just as his neck was about to turn, a hand grabbed his shoulder tightly like an iron clamp. It was Hoffer.

Fear was almost overflowing in Hoffer's eyes, as if he had seen the most terrifying scene in the world.

With his slightly trembling fingers, he kept writing on Gunnir's back: "Don't look back, don't look back." It was as if as long as Gunnir looked back, something terrible would instantly swallow them up.

Gunnier clenched his fists. He had already opened the second-level gene lock. The ubiquitous malice made his genetic instinct to counterattack.

But he had to suppress this instinct with all his might, even to the point that his fists were clattering and his teeth were bleeding.

"You guys, are here."

A muffled voice suddenly sounded in his ears like a ghost.

The voice seemed to come from another world, accompanied by a low sigh, as if it was right next to his ear, and the breath was icy cold.

Gunnier felt his scalp tingling, and the hairs on his body stood up instantly, and fear overwhelmed him like a tide.

In this extreme panic, he didn't think twice and used the power of the devil fruit to condense an ice cone, which flew behind him in a spiral.

"Bang!" The ice cone hit the ground heavily, making a crisp sound, which seemed particularly abrupt in the silent space.

Gunnir knew without even looking that the icicles had not hit anything solid.

The fear in Gunnir's heart grew stronger, and he used the power of the Frost Fruit again without hesitation.

In an instant, a bone-chilling chill spread from under his feet. The constantly surging icy air was like a raging earth dragon, freezing the ground behind him at an astonishing speed.

Any living creature would be unable to remain unresponsive when faced with such a powerful freezing force.

But reality once again shattered his expectations. This time, he still did not perceive any frozen objects.

In the entire space, apart from the thick layer of ice, it seemed as if there was nothing behind him.

However, the creepy sound did not stop.

"You guys, are here."

The vague voice sounded faintly again, and this time, it actually echoed in everyone's ears at the same time, as if it was whispering right next to their ears, seeping into everyone's hearts.

As Gunnir exerted his power, the temperature within a radius of dozens of meters dropped rapidly, and frost hung on Neos' hair and eyebrows.

Although his body was shaking, his mind was racing.

It was obvious that he had encountered something strange again.

Unable to turn around or speak, Gunnir, who used his abilities, was not attacked by it.

So "no response, no looking back" means not actively recognizing the existence of that thing, so that it will not be able to harm you and others temporarily.

But this is not a solution. They cannot keep fighting this monster. The rotten giant may come back at any time. The Balrogs and other monsters in Moria will not let them go.

"You guys, are here."

The vague sound rang in his ears again, and Neos' body shook even more violently.

Not only was his body cold, but his heart was also being constantly eroded by a strange force.

He quietly reached into his pocket and pressed the button.

"boom!"

Just as they were coming out of the jungle, there was a huge explosion and flames began to spread.

The sound of nails scraping against stone stopped for a moment, then suddenly retreated quickly, and the cold aura instantly moved away from everyone.

Legolas suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, slowly turned his head, and said to everyone, "It's time to go back."

Neos finally breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and saw a sticky stain on the ground. He said in a hoarse voice, "What the hell is this?"

Legolas also saw the traces, his face darkened even more, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it! I didn't expect to meet him here!"

He glanced at Neos and asked, "Did you expect all this?"

Neos took a deep breath and wiped the frost off his face. "We originally set up this little trap just to lure away the rotten giant who might come back, but unexpectedly it saved our lives."

Legolas nodded and gave him a surprised look. "In this world, being cautious and well prepared might just save your life."

"He won't give up like this. We should hurry and leave. Once that thing finds that there are no living people in that place, it will chase us."

Legolas turned and continued running forward, and the others hurried to follow.

"What on earth is that?" Gunnier asked in a deep voice. He clearly didn't feel anything unusual just now.

But he suddenly appeared behind them, and his devil fruit ability had no effect at all.

Legolas ran while whispering, "It's the ghost Diluk."

"Diluc?"

Legolas spoke quickly, "He was once a human hero. During the Great Counterattack, he followed the Human King Aragorn all the way from the north to the Misty Mountains."

"But he suddenly disappeared while crossing the Misty Mountains, and many people thought he was dead."

"Until the great counterattack completely failed, the remnants of the coalition forces retreated north from the Misty Mountains, and here they met him again."

"Diluk, corrupted by evil, has become a demon."

"In the end, only three people escaped from that retreating team."

"They're all crazy too. They just keep saying two sentences. Don't look back, don't respond."

"Later, some of the remaining humans and elves encountered him here, and the legend of the ghost Diluk spread among the survivors."

"Legend has it that Diluk was lost in the Misty Mountains and, trying to find his team, was mistakenly led into an evil lair."

"So now the ghost Diluk will also track down living people who stray into the Misty Mountains. He will follow people and ask them if anyone has seen him."

"If anyone responds to him or looks back at him, they will be kept here forever. If they are lucky, they will die immediately."

"Bad luck. I was corrupted by the evil of this place and turned into a new monster."

Neos was silent, searching like a negative evil spirit. No wonder Gunnir's frost ability was useless.

But he always felt that it was not that simple.

Several of them are people with agile physical abilities who have activated their genetic locks. Even the weakest Xue Ling'er has physical strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

In a short time, several people had climbed the first cliff.

Gunnier stood on the hill and looked back subconsciously. With his eyesight, he easily saw a figure standing in a strange posture in the bushes at the foot of the hill.

It appears and disappears, like a ghost.

The figure seemed to be patrolling in the jungle, and suddenly stopped there, as if it sensed someone was observing it.

In an instant, Gunnier was horrified and quickly looked away.

But an unclear voice slowly came from a distance and sounded faintly in my ears.

"You, saw me?"

"You, saw me!!!"

(End of this chapter)