Warhammer 40: The Wandering Merchant

Chapter 45 Skeleton King

Black Wild Land!

The army was preparing to march, but Aragorn led Legolas and Gimli into the Dark Portal.

Ironfelter didn't want to go in; he wanted to follow the army towards Gondor first.

But Gandalf patted him on the shoulder and told him to come along.

Ironhide was about to refuse, but Gandalf spoke up, "You have to protect their safety, don't you?"

Tie Hui opened his mouth as if to say something in rebuttal, but then stopped himself.

I could only nod in agreement!

And so, the four of them entered the ancient path and headed toward the Gate of Darkness.

Listening to Legolas tell stories about this place along the way helped pass the time.

"What if they disagree?" Tie Hui asked, looking at the three people hurrying ahead.

Aragorn glanced at him calmly, then gripped Anduriel's hand: "Then they will never be reincarnated!"

Tie Hui felt a little guilty when he saw the way Aragorn was looking at him.

He could only turn his head to look at Gimli: "Do you know why so many people say dwarves have bad tempers?"

Jin Li paused for a moment, somewhat surprised by the wide range of topics.

Tie Hui coughed and said, "Have you ever seen a kitten that lowers its head but looks up at you?"

The three of them were stunned!

Clearly, they've seen it before!

"From our perspective, it looks angry, but when you stand parallel to it, you'll find it's actually quite cute!"

"puff--"

Jinli: "..."

As the four arrived at the gate of darkness, a chilling wind blew, biting cold.

The horses they rode on were all frightened and ran away.

Aragorn didn't say anything, took a deep breath, and rushed in first.

Tie Hui followed closely behind. With magic and the Emperor's blessing, it would be strange if he were afraid of these undead.

I'll burn it all down!

Legolas jogged to catch up, while Gimli remained there, cursing and swearing to bolster his courage.

The allied forces of the three races had already set off. After consulting with King Théoden, Gandalf rode alone to Gondor without stopping!

At his magician speed, he could reach the capital of Gondor within a day!

Gondor was already embroiled in a fierce battle, even though Boromir had prepared fortifications at the old ruins by the river. However, they were still unable to stop Sauron's all-out attack.

However, this still could not stop Sauron's army from launching a full-scale attack.

The Ringwraiths hovered in the sky, putting significant psychological pressure on the defenders below.

Vampire bats would occasionally burst out of the mist and bite the gaps in the armor of the guards.

The trolls on the opposite bank of the river picked up a huge rock and hurled it at them like a catapult.

The fortifications were no match for the massive stones being hurled at them and were smashed to pieces.

Boromir wielded his heavy crossbow and fired wildly at the orcs crossing the river.

Each heavy crossbow bolt fired was like a string of candied hawthorns, stringing together several orcs!

However, this was of little use to the vast number of orcs.

Upon seeing this, many orcs on the opposite bank immediately raised their bows and arrows and began firing indiscriminately at the area!

Under the orders of the orc leader, the trolls were precisely targeting these heavy crossbows and high-threat areas!

In the sky, the Ringwraiths roamed and howled freely.

A huge boulder came hurtling toward them, and a guard pulled Polomir out of the driver's seat.

The boulder crashed down, smashing the entire heavy crossbow to pieces.

"We need to get out of here! The orcs have landed, and we can't hold them off!" the guard shouted to Boromir.

Boromir glanced at the Ringwraiths circling in the sky: "If we retreat now, that plain will be our burial ground! We can't handle the Ringwraiths; even just one could wipe us all out on the wasteland."

"We can use heavy crossbows for cover; their range is sufficient to cover our return to the capital!"

Upon hearing the suggestion, Polomir glanced at him and said, "I'll stay!"

Ignoring his objections, he then rushed towards another heavy crossbow.

But before he could find it, a group of guards rushed up and forcibly tied him back to his horse.

After a moment of panic, the defending troops mounted their horses and began to retreat.

However, some wounded soldiers who knew they wouldn't live much longer volunteered to stay behind to cover the retreat and hold off the orcs.

The defending troops broke out of the ruins and entered the vast plains.

The two Ringwraiths that had been circling in the sky suddenly howled and swooped down, killing or wounding more than a dozen knights with a single blow.

But the next second, heavy crossbows on the top of the abandoned building behind them began firing at the Ringwraiths.

Upon witnessing this scene from the walls of the capital, Faramir immediately ordered the garrison to use heavy crossbows to cover his brother's retreat.

For a moment, dozens of crossbow bolts per second crisscrossed the sky from both ends.

The two Ringwraiths had no choice but to hastily and awkwardly dodge, not daring to hover or swoop down in the air.

In the ruins behind them, the orc army completely occupied the riverbank.

The orcs were wreaking havoc on the last remaining defenders and were rapidly constructing a giant bridge large enough to allow trolls to cross.

The shadow of war has completely loomed over Gondor.

Aragorn and his companions, carrying torches, ventured deep into the lush green cave.

Tie Hui looked around at his surroundings with curiosity.

His curiosity was piqued by the steep cliff on the side, and he cautiously peered down.

"Who trespassed on my territory?"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a phantom skeleton wearing a crown slowly emerge in front of the gate and stairs.

"This is forbidden territory for the living!"

Aragorn looked at the skeleton and said without hesitation, "I am the one you must pledge your allegiance to!"

Tie Hui scrutinized the Skeleton King; its attire was only meant to be admired from afar, not examined up close.

"The dead serve no one!"

At that moment, the surrounding ruins instantly evoked images of what they were like when they were intact.

Countless green undead appeared, instantly forming an encirclement that surrounded the four people in the center.

Legolas drew his arrow, aimed, and Gimli held his axe close to Legolas, ready to strike at any moment.

Tie Hui, however, seemed indifferent, observing closely from there.

The undead gradually tightened their encirclement, and Legolas fired an arrow, but it was completely ineffective.

Tie Hui watched this scene and fell into deep thought!

Until several undead came to his side and raised their weapons.

Tie Hui then reached out, and golden flames instantly erupted from his hand.

The terrifying threat of death it brought caused the approaching undead to instantly panic and make way for it.

Even the Skeleton King looked at Tie Hui with some fear!

"I think you should listen to him. Maybe we can have a talk!" Tie Hui suggested with a smile.

But to the many dead, that smile was like that of a demon.

Only Aragorn and his men instantly felt confident!

……