Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth.

Chapter 281 Tracking the Ring
Sauron suspected that Duir had hidden the One Ring.

In addition, Duir already possessed the Philosopher's Stone he coveted, so he immediately began to value it highly.

Saruman, who was standing nearby and had just heard about the One Ring, had a look of greed in his eyes.

But mindful of Sauron's presence, he concealed his expression and lowered his eyes in thought.

Sauron, however, looked at Gollum before him, and with a thought, the surrounding dark power surged into Gollum's body.

Gulu's body quickly repaired itself and regained its strength.

But at the same time, the dark forces were also further eroding his body.

Once Gulu recovered, seeing that his body had healed, his pale, huge eyes were filled with disbelief. He then immediately knelt down and prostrated himself before Sauron, thanking him profusely.

“I can spare your life, even let you go…” Sauron said, “but you need to help me find the One Ring. Can you do that?”

Upon hearing this, Gulu's eyes widened, and then he was overjoyed, nodding frantically.

"Gulu can do it! Gulu will definitely help you find the treasure!"

Sauron waved his hand, and two Dark Guardians appeared and took Gollum away.

Seeing this, Saruman frowned, looking disdainfully at Gollum being taken away, and asked, "Isn't it a bit unwise of you to let this nobody go and send him to find the One Ring?"

Sauron, however, was confident and said, "This Gollum has worn the One Ring for hundreds of years and has long since established a connection with it. He will be attracted to the Ring and eventually find it and bring it back to me."

As he spoke, his gaze turned westward, and his voice grew cold.
"The last defeat in Eisengard cost us a frost dragon and dozens of demonic dragons. We can't afford any more mishaps this time!"
Let this little thing scout ahead for us. Once we've pinpointed the location of the One Ring, we'll strike with lightning speed and reclaim it at all costs!

“But even if this lowly soldier finds the One Ring, will he hand it over willingly?” Saruman was full of doubt. “I see greed and possessiveness in his eyes. I’m afraid that once he gets the One Ring, he’ll run away into the mountains and hide it away.”

Sauron did not answer Saruman's question. Instead, he waved his hand to summon the Ringwraiths and commanded, "Follow him secretly, and be careful to remain hidden in the Underworld so as not to arouse his suspicion."

The Ringwraith bowed in agreement, then faded into the underworld, following and monitoring Goolum...

Gollum, carelessly tossed out of Mordor's Black Gate like trash, stared at the Mordor soldiers who turned and left without looking back, feeling as if he were dreaming, unable to believe it was real.

"Gulu's out? Gulu's free!" Gulu excitedly muttered to himself, his voice trembling with suppressed emotion. "Smith, we're free!"

But his joy was short-lived. Hearing the roars coming from inside the black door, he was startled again and instantly recalled the memory of being tortured.

They immediately fled westward like startled birds, even managing to catch a lone wild horse, clinging tightly to its neck, and riding the frightened horse at breakneck speed.

When the wild horse had been galloping for days and nights and was too exhausted to run anymore, Gulu suddenly bared its fangs and grabbed the horse's neck, tearing at it frantically.

The wild horse struggled desperately, but eventually collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

After Gollum had eaten and drunk his fill of raw meat and blood, the two personalities got into an argument.

Smigo, who still retains part of his personality, is timid and cowardly. Having been terrified by Sauron, he wants nothing more than to flee back to the Misty Mountains and hide there.

Gollum, in his evil persona, rebuked Smirgo for being a coward, vowed to retrieve the precious Ring, and then hide it away, never giving anyone another chance to steal it.

From beginning to end, Gollum never considered giving the One Ring to Sauron.

Furthermore, Gollum learned from Mordor that Duir's base camp was at Windrise Peak, and that the Shire was west of Windrise Peak.

He remembered that Bilbo Baggins had once said he came from the Shire.

So Gollum's goal this time was very clear: to go to Windrise and secretly see if the One Ring was in the hands of the Black Wizard.

After all, he had heard Sauron say that the power that prevented him from revealing the One Ring was likely created by the black-robed wizard.

Since the black-robed wizard could use magic to hide the One Ring, it is very likely that he has seen the Ring, and it is even possible that the Ring is in his possession.

Gollum, who has possessed the Ring for hundreds of years, has a deep understanding of its power. He believes that once he sees the Ring, no one can resist its magic.

Therefore, he suspected that the Ring might have already been stolen by the black wizard.

When he and his companions found the One Ring, he killed his companions in order to possess it for himself.

Putting himself in Duir's shoes, Gollum considered Duir the prime suspect in possession of the Ring.

Moreover, even if the One Ring wasn't in Duyle's possession, he could still find out accurate information about Bilbo Baggins.

……

Time flies.

Several months have passed since Nirvana.

Dui's phoenix, Animagus, has shed its childlike appearance, its feathers have fully grown, and it has transformed back into a magnificent phoenix the size of a swan.

The humanoid's physical age also increased by about ten years, making him appear as a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy without the age-increasing drug.

Now, he no longer takes the age-enhancing drug frequently. Except when he goes on dates with Alvin, he usually presents himself as a teenager.

The servants in the castle, as well as the two mayors who regularly came to report on their work, were all shocked and then filled with awe at this change in Dui, marveling at the lord's extraordinary abilities.

Recently, Dui has once again produced the Felix potion.

Besides needing to stock up on some Felix Felicis, he also wanted to compensate Arwen and Gandalf for the Felix Felicis they had used. The Felix Felicis was so potent that it allowed Zorodo to successfully transform into a Thunderbird and Dui into a Phoenix.

Such miraculous luck is like a panacea for avoiding disasters and achieving goals.

Unfortunately, Fructose cannot be taken in excess. Mild cases can cause dizziness, recklessness, and arrogance, leading to dangerous behavior. Severe cases can cause addiction and even death.

Furthermore, Fructosine has a strong tendency to cause drug resistance; if taken too often, the effects of the drug will decrease significantly until they disappear completely.

Professor Slughorn only drank Felix Feringe three times in his life.

Dui has already drunk it twice, and if he doesn't want to become arrogant, he can only drink it two or three more times at most.

This is because he has a stronger physique.

The production of the Felix Feringe potion was a lengthy process, and by the time Dui successfully produced it, half of 2948 had already passed.

There are only three months left until his wedding with Alvin.

Dui gave Alvin a bottle of the new Felix potion, enough to sustain his luck for twelve hours.

Gandalf also delivered six hours' worth of medication.

However, Gandalf was not currently at Windrise, so Duy simply mailed the Felix Felicis via owl.

Just as Dui was preparing for his upcoming wedding.

At night, down the mountain
A small, thin figure quietly arrived at the edge of Black Lake under the cover of night.

By the moonlight, Gulu's enormous eyes were fixed on the castle on the mountain across the lake, filled with longing.

He looked at the only bridge leading to the castle, but the entrance to the bridge was guarded by many militiamen, blocking any possibility of reaching the castle by crossing the bridge.

Gollum has been wandering around here for several days, hiding in the nearby caves during the day and sneaking out at night to inquire about the residents and try to find an opportunity to infiltrate the castle.

He finally discovered that there were still fishermen fishing on Black Lake, so he took advantage of the night and when the surrounding residents were fast asleep to quietly come to the dock where the fishing boats were moored.

Taking advantage of the moon being obscured by a dark cloud, Gulu quickly made his way to the dock and found a small boat.

He looked around, untied the boat rope, and then used his hands to paddle in the water, quietly moving the small boat towards the other side of the lake.

Mist rose from the lake, obscuring the surroundings. Gulu moved cautiously, afraid of disturbing anything.

Everything went smoothly at first, but after crossing half of the lake, Gulu keenly sensed that something seemed to be hidden beneath the surface. He froze instantly, staring at the lake in terror.

But after half a day, seeing that there was still no movement, Gulu mustered up his courage and rowed the boat forward slowly.

As they got closer and closer to the other side of the lake, Gulu's hope began to emerge.

But the next second, the boat slowly moved backward, getting further and further away from the opposite shore of the lake.

Gulu noticed something was wrong. His huge eyes widened in terror, and he huddled inside the boat, trembling.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the ship, a huge tentacle was attaching itself to the hull and using it like a toy, accelerating across the water's surface.

After they had played enough, several giant tentacles emerged from the lake, wrapped around the small boat, and lifted it up.

At the same time, the enormous body of the giant octopus Kraken emerged from the lake, its eyes mockingly fixed on the boat.

Gulu looked at the giant octopus that appeared before him with fear on his face.

The next second, the octopus tentacles wrapped around the small boat began to tighten, the boat made an unbearable creaking sound, and then it disintegrated into a pile of planks.

Gulu was tightly bound by a tentacle, its huge eyes seemingly about to pop out, and its face showed pain.

Just as the giant octopus opened its enormous mouth, about to devour the little creature as a snack...

The giant octopus stiffened, then let out a painful hiss, throwing Gulu out of the water. At the same time, deep blue blood flowed from its underwater body, staining the lake surface blue.

Gulu didn't know what was happening. When he was thrown into the water, he used his skillful swimming ability to swim back desperately and escape from the terrifying giant octopus.

Inside the castle, Dui, who was sleeping soundly, was instantly awakened by the mournful cries of Kraken below the mountain.

In a flash, a phantom appeared on the lakeside.

Seeing the Kraken struggling in the lake, and the blue blood and obvious injuries around it, his expression immediately turned serious.

"Separate left and right!"

Duy waved his wand, and the lake water was parted by an invisible force, revealing Kraken's complete body.

Dui approached the Kraken and saw a gash in its abdomen from which blue blood was flowing continuously, apparently cut by a sharp blade.

What made Dui frown and become even more serious was that the wound was imbued with a powerful curse and a dark aura.

While relentlessly eroding the Kraken's body, it also prevents the wounds from healing.

(End of this chapter)