Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth...

They defeated five trolls and obtained the locations of other nearby troll caves.

Duy and Gandalf were about to go and see if there were any living people left in the other ogre caves.

However, seeing the villagers who had just escaped death and were filled with anxiety, the two could not simply leave them to fend for themselves.

"Duir, why don't you take the villagers and leave the forest first, and I'll go find those trolls by myself?" Gandalf suggested.

Dui shook his head. "No need for that." He then hissed towards the cave exit.

The cold, eerie sound echoed in the empty cave hall, making the villagers uneasy.

What terrified them even more was that a giant python, as thick as a bucket, slithered out of the cave entrance; its enormous body was large enough to swallow them whole.

"Don't worry, it obeys my commands now and won't harm you," Dui explained to the villagers, seeing their fear and unease.

Gandalf also came out to make assurances, which reassured the villagers a little, but they still kept their distance from the giant python.

"The python will lead you out of the forest and onto the main road outside. You can then follow the road back to the village or go somewhere else," Dui added.

"But our village has been destroyed, where can we go?" Edward, a young boy from the village, said sadly and bewilderedly, looking hopefully at Dui and Gandalf. "Can I go with you, wizards? I can do anything for you, serve you tea and water, be your servant!"

The other villagers also looked at the two with hopeful eyes.

"I'm sorry, we have more things to do and will face more dangers, so I'm afraid we won't be able to look after you." Gandalf shook his head and refused young Edward's request.

Upon hearing this, the villagers felt a wave of disappointment, filled with confusion and unease about the future.

"However, after you leave the forest, you can follow the main road, cross the last bridge, and head west. On the hills west of the wasteland stands a giant tower a thousand feet high. That is the territory of the wizard Duir, and you can settle there."

"Gandalf?" Dui looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to make such a suggestion.

Gandalf sighed and explained to Dui:

"Their village has been destroyed, and it's no longer safe here. Besides the threat of trolls, orcs can come down from the mountains to raid at any time. These dark creatures will not be merciful to the villagers. If they want to survive, they can only migrate westward to find a lord or power to rely on."

"With the forces of darkness surging, I foresee that the entire Central Continent will be in turmoil and ravaged by war. With you, the black-robed wizard, in charge of Windcloud Peak, it will become a new safe haven, protecting them from the ravages and impacts of war."

"Gandalf, you flatter me too much!" Duy shook his head with a wry smile, but for Gandalf's sake, he no longer resisted the matter.

Moreover, they might not be willing to take the risk of traveling thousands of miles across the wilderness to settle in a place where there is nothing but a tower.

Looking at the anxious villagers below, Dui thought for a moment and then led everyone to the cave where the ogres hid their treasure, distributing some of the gold and silver coins to the villagers.

The villagers, holding their share of gold and silver coins, were in a daze, as if in a dream. They had never seen so much money before; the gold coins alone were enough to feed them for a lifetime.

"You all heard what Gandalf and I said. With this money, you can go anywhere and live a comfortable life. So I have two suggestions for you to consider," Dui said to the villagers.

"Firstly, you can build boats and travel down the Cangquan River from the last bridge to the southern human kingdoms."

"Secondly, you can cross the last bridge and head west, following the east-west road, crossing the wasteland to reach the vicinity of Fengyun Peak, or continue west to reach the town of Buri."

He then distributed some of the armor and weapons that the ogres had collected to the villagers, so that they could have some means of self-defense on the road.

After doing all this, Dui had the python lead the villagers away from the ogre forest, onto the main road, and back.

And it was strictly forbidden for it to have the idea of ​​eating the villagers.

To appease the gluttonous python, Du Yi personally dismembered the monstrous creature to prevent it from becoming too large and choking the snake to death.

Ogres have formidable defenses. Even when they are completely dead, their thick scales are impenetrable to ordinary swords and knives, and the muscles and bones beneath the scales are as hard as stone.

Even using his sharpest flaming sword, Dui still struggled greatly to dismember an ogre.

The giant python, having swallowed one of the ogre's arms, sat contentedly with its swollen belly as it slowly led a group of trembling villagers away, intending to return and enjoy the rest of its food after delivering these humans to the main road.

Dui, who was dismembering the troll, did not stop. He extracted the troll's nerves and took out its huge black heart, which he then placed into a glass jar that he had created using a shapeshifting technique and sealed it away.

Trolls are dark creatures that turn to stone when exposed to the sun. Dui wanted to see if troll nerves could be used to make wand cores, and whether their hearts could be used as ingredients for potions.

Dui placed the ogre's heart and nerves together with the ogre's treasure and hid them with magic.

These things are inconvenient to carry around, so he plans to come back and collect them later.

Dui and Gandalf did not delay any longer and, based on the information provided by the trolls, headed to the next nearest troll cave.

When Duy and Gandalf found the second troll cave, this time they were not given good news.

When they stealthily entered the cave, they only saw two ogres and a pile of skeletons.

All the villagers who were captured were eaten by these two greedy ogres in one go.

Upon seeing this result, Gandalf was furious. His immense power broke through the Illusionary Charm, and he manifested himself directly.

"Duir, lend me your flaming sword!"

Without hesitation, Dui immediately drew the Flaming Sword and handed it to him.

When the flaming sword fell into Gandalf's hands, it immediately burst into golden flames, radiating a dazzling light like the sun.

"No, it's sunlight!" The troll was terrified when it saw the dazzling light. Its gray-green skin turned ashen and stiff when it came into contact with the light.

However, the light emitted by the Arno Fire is not true sunlight. Although it has some effect on the trolls, it cannot truly turn them into stone.

Gandalf was incredibly agile and nimble, wielding his flaming sword as he slashed at the ankle of an ogre.

In an instant, a gash was cut into the ogre's leg, leaving a burn mark.

"Ouch, that hurts! My foot!" the troll screamed in agony.

The troll tried to stomp Gandalf to death, but Gandalf quickly dodged and added another wound to its foot with his sword.

Seeing his companion injured, another ogre grabbed a giant log more than ten meters long and used it as a club to smash Gandalf.

"Disarm you!"

Before the stick could even strike, it broke free from the ogre's grasp and flew away.