Chapter 822: Formidable Enemy
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
The solemn rain fell upon the dark mountains.
The geographical layout here was a bit similar to the Alps mountain range. It felt like the mountains encompassed all 4 seasons by themselves – summer under the mountains, spring at the foot of the mountains, autumn at the slope, and winter at the peak.
The foot of the Misty Mountains displayed a scene full of lush greenery and springs, bursting with life.
An abundance of flowers were blooming. Irises, jasmines and many other flowers filled the air with a mild fragrance. A deep breath here would rejuvenate the spirit.
The beautiful flora exclusive to the world of The Lord of the Rings aside, even the edges of the mountain slopes were soft and tender - like the curves of a woman's chest, greatly pleasing to the eye.
However, the large amount of dead bodies scattered on the grassy slope defaced the beautiful scenery, as if someone pissed on a masterpiece.
The faces of these bodies were all scrunched up as though they were grimacing in pain. Their skins were all sickly pale. On each of their throat was a bloody hole. It seems like their killers weren't only after their blood but also their meat. The deep marks of tooth bites were still visible. The whole scene gave off an indescribable eeriness.
They were all elves. Even though their terrifying facial expressions were far removed from the elegant facial features one would normally associate with the elven race, their pointy ears gave away their identities.
Sheyan examined the corpse in front of him one more time. His heart kept getting heavier. Even though the body was shriveled up to only about a meter in length, but Sheyan could still identify him as the elf who leisurely talked with him not long ago - the firm but kind Elder Desirese Roots. Amongst the other corpses, he also found the remains of the Great Annil Yusu. From this, it could be seen that the Melody's followers had almost been completely annihilated!
More importantly, the escape route that Sheyan arranged before was not in this direction. Even Sheyan had to search for the hidden signs that they agreed on beforehand in order to find this place. This showed that the group of elves were forced to flee here, and they weren't even given the chance to turn back.
There were no signs of any struggle. This could only mean one thing – the enemy was so strong that they completely overwhelmed the elves!
In front of the enemy, the elves couldn't even fight back! The reason the bodies appeared one by one was because, once the elves knew they were no match, they used their lives to stall for time out of their loyalty to Melody.
'Based on the way they died, could they have met a Vampire? But there were never any Vampires in the Lord of the Rings!' thought Sheyan as he rushed to catch up.
'Of course, it could also be the special flesh-devouring ability of the Nazgûl… If that's the case, then Reef is in huge trouble. However, The Lord of the Nazgûl, the Witch-king of Angmar, most probably wouldn't appear here. On the other side, Galadriel, Glorfindel and Legolas could all gain the upper hand if they 1v1 a Nazgûl. They even have Elrond with them, whose strength remains a mystery.'
'It might not be hard to amass enough strength to defeat the four of them, but to kill them would require the cooperation of all 8 Nazgûls. It's unlikely that one of the Nazgûls would pursue Melody. She's not as important.'
As various thoughts ran through Sheyan's mind, he suddenly saw that the party communication channel had been connected. This showed that Reef was now within a kilometer from him. Sheyan immediately shouted at him.
"Reef! Where are you?!"
Reef shouted back, sounding out of breath.
"Do not come here! Run! If you come here you will only die a pointless death! The strength of the enemy is beyond your imagination!"
Sheyan was stunned.
"But I'm already a Reserve-duty Growth-Hunter! I still can't help?!"
Reef coughed and helplessly said.
"You have no idea who the enemy is! He's someone you can't even imagine!"
Sheyan seriously asked.
"Who?"
Reef gasped out.
"Elrond."
Sheyan was absolutely shocked.
"How could it be Elrond? Why is Elrond killing you guys? I saw a lot of corpses on the way here and they all belong to people from our side. Was all of that Elrond's doing?"
Reef was heavily gasping for air. From the sound of it, it almost sounded like each gulp of air could be his last.
"That's right, it was him. The Elrond in front of us is no longer the Lord of Rivendell that we knew. He's now a terrifying monster."
"Location," Sheyan's voice was cold.
Reef could hear the determination in Sheyan's words. He finally gave in and disclosed their location. They weren't far; the place was in a forest on a hill to Sheyan's right.
Sheyan immediately rushed over. As he got close, his whole body suddenly jolted. Glimmers of gold appeared on the surface of his body. That was the sign of 'Life-Link' being activated, which means that Reef was currently on the brink of death!
Realizing this, Sheyan rushed wildly across the dense forest. After over a hundred meters, he was abruptly assaulted by the smell of blood. The tall figure of Elrond appeared within his sight. Elrond was currently closing in on Melody step by step. He had a peculiar gait, as if all his joints were stiff.
Melody was leaning on a big tree and looked like she did not have an ounce of energy left in her body. However, she still held her head high! Even under such dire circumstances, she refused to back down! Reef on the other hand was in an extremely terrible condition even though he was protected by the 'Life-Link'.
Seeing this, Sheyan unleashed the full force of the Pestilence Monarch!
The elves had an unusual sensation towards the strong Pestilence Monarch ability. Melody and two other surviving elves immediately lifted their heads, their eyes full of disbelief. Elrond, however, showed no reaction at all. Sheyan could already make a rough guess of what happened. When he was 20 meters behind Elrond, he pulled out Ambition, activated Rum and Songs, and pulled the trigger!
BANG!
Amidst a loud boom and green smoke, the lethal lead bullet crashed into Elrond and caused him to stagger! It seemed like the dizziness effect was even effective on him!
Sheyan rushed to Reef's side and used a 3000 utility points bandage on him. The bandage can heal 1000 HP within a minute, under the condition that he wasn't interrupted.
At this time, Elrond turned around and stared at Sheyan with a ferocious glint, before unleashing a series of shrill howls at Sheyan. Sheyan's heart trembled at the sight of Elrond.
The Elrond that Sheyan knew used to be tall, magnificent and naturally awe-inspiring. Even when he was severely ill, he had the bearing of a great hero.
But the only feeling Elrond gave out now was ferociousness! A ferociousness mixed with the greed and hunger of wild animals!
His skin right now was pale purple in color. It was covered in spots, each one the size of a fingernail. At first glance they looked like age spots, but upon closer inspection one would see that they were actually clusters of bruises.
The biggest change on him was his ears. Gone were the signature pointy ears of the elves; in their place were two round, rotting ears. Not only that, his mouth, his nose, his eyes and his face were starting to rot as well. His sharp teeth were blindingly white and were utterly intimidating. Two trails of dried blood flowed out of the corner of his mouth.
Sheyan sucked in a deep breath. His chest once again radiated with light. After his duel with Drubal, Sheyan's Awakened state could still last for 3 hours. On his way here, he had already recovered to his optimum condition!
Sheyan saw a blur and Elrond was suddenly in front of him. The fingernails of Elrond's right hand were as sharp as animal claws and carried a dense black glitter. Those fingernails were mercilessly thrust at Sheyan. Sheyan remained firm and took the blow with his body. Then, he immediately countered with a slash at Elrond's shoulder.
The sensation transmitted through the blade made Sheyan feel like he was slashing at thick leather instead of a living body; even the sound emitted was a dull thud. Meanwhile, Elrond's claw gave Sheyan more than 140 points in damage. If it was the old Sheyan, this attack alone would have shaved off over 10% of his HP! It would only take about 8 attacks from Elrond to force him into a critical state.
No wonder Reef tried to stop Sheyan from coming over. Reef knew that Sheyan's job of being the bait wasn't easy, so Sheyan must have used up all his cards in the process, including the 'Honorary Recovery Dosage's and Party Skills. Even if Sheyan rushed here, he would only be like an arrow at the end of its flight. For the old Sheyan, any enemy that can cause over 100 points of damage to him was highly dangerous.