American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

"Damn it!"

Following the trail of the Orcs for a while, but still finding nothing, Aragorn couldn't help but curse under his breath.

They had promised Gandalf that they would protect the Fellowship of the Ring, but the Fellowship had only been gone a short time before such a big problem occurred.

This inevitably made Aragorn feel guilty.

However, rather than trying to bring back Pipin and Merri, we should now focus on ensuring the safety of the person holding the precepts.

Therefore, after thinking for a while, Aragorn called out to Gimli and the others, saying, "Let's go back to the camp first."

Meanwhile, Frodo, who had already returned to the camp, unsurprisingly did not see Aragorn and the others there.

"Don't worry about Frodo, Aragorn and the others may have already met Boromir in the jungle." Seeing Frodo's self-reproachful look, Sam immediately comforted him.

Moreover, Sam had previously informed Frodo of Aragorn's and the others' movements.

“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t wandered off, we wouldn’t have been in danger. Or if I had run away the moment I encountered the Ringwraiths, Boromir wouldn’t have been in such a predicament…” Hearing his friend’s words of comfort, Frodo still felt guilty. “It’s all my fault. I’m a jinx…”

Once Frodo calmed down a bit, he realized that he had been thinking the wrong way.

Thinking deeper, all the problems seem to be related to The Lord of the Rings.

Then, Frodo, who was starting to get a little fixated on the issue, concluded that he and the One Ring were the source of danger for the Fellowship of the Ring.

“Sam, you stay here and wait for Aragorn and the others to return. Tell them that I alone can handle the task of destroying the Ring.” To avoid endangering the rest of the Fellowship of the Ring again, Frodo prepared to embark on the journey to destroy the Ring alone.

Seeing Frodo's unusually resolute demeanor, Sam quickly realized something was wrong.

Therefore, when Frodo headed east toward the Anduin River, he quickly shouldered his baggage and followed.

"Don't follow me anymore, being with me will only bring misfortune..." Frodo quickened his pace as he shooed away his companion who was following him.

Frodo, who had learned about the distribution of Middle-earth from his uncle Bilbo's autobiography, knew of another path to Mordor.

That means heading east, crossing the Anduin River and the Dead Swamp, and you'll reach Mordor.

Although this route is more dangerous, it is undoubtedly the fastest way to get to Mordor.

"I promised Gandalf that I would protect you no matter what, please don't abandon me..."

Sam was unaware that Frodo had chosen a perilous path, and even if he had, he wouldn't have chosen to leave.

So, with the two hobbits pulling each other along, they soon arrived at the Anduin River to the east.

“Go back, you shouldn’t have joined this trip in the first place…” Frodo said again, after picking up a raft by the river.

Looking back, Sam joined the Fellowship of the Ring entirely because of Frodo's suggestion.

Although it was done out of good intentions, it didn't actually help Sam.

Given Gandalf's personality, even if Sam hadn't joined the Fellowship of the Ring, the wizards wouldn't have done anything to him.

"No... wait for me... Lord Frodo..."

On the banks of the Anduin River, after Sam helped Frodo push the raft into the water, he was suddenly abandoned by Frodo.

As the raft drifted further and further away, Sam struggled to catch up with it.

However, since he couldn't swim, and his backpack was soaked with water, he quickly sank into the water.

Even if Frodo had a hard heart, he couldn't help but turn around and pull his friend up when he heard him gulping down water.

"Why did you do this?" Frodo couldn't help but grumble as he watched his friend's disheveled appearance after climbing onto the raft.

“I don’t understand any grand principles, but I know my friend needs help…” Sam, who was soaked to the bone, actually had a happy smile on his face after sitting on the raft.

……

While the two hobbits were "relying on each other for survival," Aragorn, who rushed back to the camp but did not see the Ringbearer, became irritable again.

“Aragorn, things might not be so bad. Frodo probably left with Sam, and their luggage isn’t here…” the Elven prince Legolas comforted his friend.

With his more meticulous attention to detail, he noticed that the camp showed no signs of damage.

In addition to Sam's missing luggage, this at least proves that the two hobbits left on their own.

"I hope so."

Aragorn, who felt he had messed everything up, remained in low spirits.

After giving Boromir a quick first aid, Aragorn decided to immediately lead the rest of the men to the Gondorian border to meet up with Gandalf.

At the very least, the situation here should be communicated to the wizard.

……

Meanwhile, Gandalf, who had traveled through the night to reach the Isengard Highlands, met the Ents who had stayed behind at the foot of the wizard's tower.

"Another wizard in a white robe, could he be an accomplice of that evil wizard?!"

Should we inform Mr. Mike about the situation?

"..."

Upon seeing Gandalf, who was dressed in the same white robes as Saruman, the tree-people immediately gathered together and began to discuss in hushed tones.

However, their deep, loud voices are not suitable for crickets to chirp behind people.

"Is the other white wizard you're talking about Saruman?" Gandalf asked, addressing the pointing and whispering of the tree people. "That's right, Mr. Mike you're talking about is my friend. I've come here at his request."

Seeing the Ents' increasingly wary expression, Gandalf quickly clarified that he meant no harm.

Although the plains below Isengard have been washed away by the river, the ore pits where powerful orcs were raised can still be roughly identified.

Therefore, it is not difficult for Gandalf to guess what Saruman had done here before.

“You really are Mr. Mike’s friend, then what is your relationship with that wizard up there?” Quickbranch stepped forward and asked Gandalf.

As the first Treant to strike the reservoir to cleanse it of filth, Quickbranch now enjoys high prestige among Treants.

It is vaguely showing a tendency to succeed the old tree man, Shu Hu.

"The wizards up there?" Gandalf followed Quickbranch's gaze and looked up at the top of the wizarding tower, just in time to see a disheveled Saruman looking down at him.

"Humph~"

But soon, after letting out a cold snort, Saruman's figure disappeared at the edge of the tower.

In the world of the victors and the vanquished, Saruman, already defeated, naturally didn't want his colleague Gandalf to laugh at him.

“Saruman was once my companion, and for all that he has done here, please allow me to apologize on his behalf…” Gandalf removed his hat and bowed slightly, expressing his apology.

Then he said, "I will give you an explanation for what happened here. Now I need to go see Mr. Mike first."

At that moment, Mike was sitting at the window of the room at the top of the wizard's tower, and he naturally saw Gandalf's arrival.

Seeing that Mike did not intend to stop him, the tree people made way for Gandalf to enter the wizard's tower.

……

Chapter 642 Trial

At that moment, Mike, sitting in front of the tower window, was studying the "Orb of True Knowledge" in his hand.

A magic crystal ball the size of a watermelon can also be seen as a miniature "Demon King's Eye".

Saruman had previously used this crystal ball to transmit real-time information about the human race in Middle-earth to Sauron, who was far away in Mordor.

As Mike touched the crystal ball with both hands, a huge vertical pupil burning with flames suddenly appeared inside the transparent crystal ball, followed by the figure of Sauron, the demon lord shrouded in black energy, also appearing inside the crystal ball.

"Saruman, what is it now..." Sauron, the Demon Lord, began to speak habitually, but upon realizing that it wasn't Saruman standing on the other side, he suppressed his anger and asked, "Lord of Lonely Mountain, what are you doing here? What have you done to Saruman?"

Enemies are bound to be furious when they meet, especially since Sauron, the Demon Lord, was the one who suffered a one-sided defeat.

However, considering the importance of the Orc breeding method to him, Sauron suppressed his anger and began to inquire about Saruman's situation.

"Saruman, the one you're looking for, is out in the cold wind and probably can't help you for the time being," Mike said with a smile.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Sauron, the Demon Lord, understood from the other's expression that his cooperation with Saruman had been exposed.

His desire for a larger orc army was now doomed to fail.

"Lord of Lonely Mountain, you will pay the price for your actions!" With his plans repeatedly thwarted and fueled by both old and new grudges, the Demon Lord Sauron could no longer contain his rage.

As his deep voice rang out, the black demonic energy within the True Knowledge Orb began to churn.

"Are you threatening me?" Mike calmly commented, "A guy who only knows how to hide in the shadows, you don't deserve the title of Demon King at all..."

"If you're not satisfied, you're welcome to come and challenge me to a one-on-one fight. I'm always ready to serve you."

Without considering the One Ring's power, Sauron, the Dark Lord, is roughly equivalent to the Elven Queen who has exhausted her magical energy.

This level of strength poses no threat to Mike whatsoever.

Of course, even if Sauron the Dark Lord obtained the One Ring, it would still be nothing more than a roadside object for Mike.

Therefore, the Demon Lord, whom everyone in Middle-earth feared, actually had no respect for Mike.

Soren clearly realized that he had no way to deal with the humans on the other side, so, unwilling to suffer any more humiliation, he immediately severed his connection with the Orb of True Knowledge.

Gandalf witnessed this scene as he climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the wizarding tower.

"Is that Sauron, the Dark Lord?" Even Gandalf had never seen the Dark Lord so enraged before.

“As you can see, it is indeed that coward.” In a fairly good mood, Mike weighed the magic crystal ball in his hand a couple of times before tossing it to Gandalf and continued, “This crystal ball is useless to me now, so you can handle it.”

The crystal ball with positioning and communication functions is indeed magical, but this magical orb of true knowledge can only be connected to the demon lord Sauron in a one-way connection.

Therefore, it is quite useless and has no value for collection in Mike's possession.

However, for Gandalf, anything related to the Dark Lord Sauron was worth paying attention to.

So after receiving the crystal ball, he carefully wrapped it up and put it away.

"Next, I'll tell you about Saruman's situation..." After dealing with the issue of the Orb of Truth, Mike immediately began explaining to Gandalf the "good deeds" Saruman had done.

It probably involves betraying the Light faction, cooperating with the Dark Lord Sauron, and cultivating the Orcs in Isengard.

"You decide how to deal with Saruman." In the end, Mike handed over the authority to deal with Saruman to Gandalf.

To reiterate, while Mike could easily take down Saruman, there was absolutely no need for him to provoke Ilúvatar, Saruman's true backer, over something like this.

“Let me see Saruman alone! After all, he was once one of us.” Gandalf, his brow furrowed, still decided to give Saruman some face.

They want to resolve internal problems internally.

"Whatever you like~"

Mike shrugged indifferently, then gathered a surge of divine power and sent Gandalf to the top of the wizard's tower.

“Saruman, I know everything you’ve done.” Upon seeing Saruman up close, Gandalf realized that the man’s condition was even worse than he had imagined.

It was mainly a psychological blow; he seemed to have suffered a great deal.

Of course, given what Saruman had done, he was not in a position to deserve Gandalf's sympathy.

"After things are settled here, I will personally take you back to Middle-earth and report your performance in detail to Ilúvatar..." As colleagues, Gandalf ultimately gave Saruman some face.

As for what punishment Saruman will receive upon returning to Middle-earth, that's not Gandalf's concern.

"You think you've won? If it weren't for that human, you and those trash like Redagast would only deserve to submit to me!" Saruman suddenly spoke with a hint of madness in his eyes as Gandalf was about to leave.

Yes, even at this point, Saruman still didn't think he was wrong.

Despite his arrogant nature, deep down he always looked down on the other four wizards, led by Gandalf.

Under such circumstances, how could he possibly accept Gandalf's "judgment" of him?

Even though Gandalf's approach was as mild as possible, Saruman saw it as Gandalf coming to laugh at him.

"What?" Gandalf was also surprised that Saruman was still so stubborn at this point.

"Stop pretending, you'll never beat me~" As a Maiar sent to Middle-earth to maintain peace, Saruman's defeat will undoubtedly diminish his standing in Ilúvatar's eyes.

In other words, his path to promotion has been cut off.

A mix of negative emotions, including resentment and anger, made Saruman increasingly dislike Gandalf.

After all, Saruman's defeat meant that Gandalf was about to take over.

Therefore, in a moment of madness, Saruman recklessly charged toward Gandalf.

He wanted to prove that even if he lost, he was still better than his opponent.

This is indeed the case; even without magic, Saruman, with his demigod-like body, remains a formidable fighter.