Facing the overwhelming, menacing swarm of vampire bats, the Aurors showed no sign of fear.
"Attack!" the Auror captain ordered.
The command had barely left his mouth when every Auror cast in unison.
Spells rained down like a storm.
Explosions tore through the sky as blinding flashes of light erupted, forcing everyone to instinctively avert their eyes. A deafening roar followed, like countless thunderclaps striking at once.
The combined firepower of dozens of Aurors ripped straight through the bat swarm.
The vampire bats were shredded midair, their bodies torn apart by violent magical shockwaves. In moments, the once-terrifying horde was completely annihilated.
The few surviving bats scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions.
Once it was clear the threat had ended, the Auror captain turned toward the group, his gaze settling respectfully on Gandalf.
"Professor Gandalf," he said, bowing slightly. "I didn't expect to meet you here."
These Aurors were all Hogwarts graduates and naturally recognized their former professor.
Gandalf smiled warmly, greeting them by name and thanking them for their timely intervention.
"Professor, you're too kind," the captain replied. "Protecting Hogwarts territory is our duty. Dark creatures that trespass here will be eliminated."
Hogwarts' jurisdiction now covered most of Eriador, from the Last Bridge in the east to the Old Tomb Hill in the west, and from South Hill to North Hill. The entire region lay under Auror surveillance.
If orcs, trolls, evil spirits, or other dark beings appeared within this territory, Aurors were dispatched immediately.
To support this, the Ministry possessed a copy of Sylas' Marauder's Map, a fully dynamic, three-dimensional display of the entire region. Dedicated personnel monitored it around the clock, reporting anomalies the moment they appeared.
This was why the Aurors had arrived so quickly near the Last Bridge.
Gandalf, well aware of this system, had deliberately led the group across the bridge to enter Ministry-controlled territory, using it as a shield against pursuit.
With the crisis resolved, the Aurors exchanged farewells and Apparated away.
They offered to transport Gandalf and his companions directly to Hogsmeade, but Gandalf declined.
Now within Hogwarts territory, there was no longer any real danger.
The group continued westward at an unhurried pace, riding the two Pegasi.
The winged horses, however, had suffered badly. Their wings were torn by bat bites, and although Gandalf's magic stopped the bleeding, he lacked the skill to fully heal them.
The bats' venom and severe blood loss left the Pegasi too weak to fly.
As a result, the group decided to follow the main road on foot toward Hogsmeade, planning to visit Sylas at Hogwarts.
The attack confirmed their suspicions.
The ravens and vampire bats were Sauron's eyes and ears.
This had been a deliberate test.
Sauron's attention was now firmly fixed on them.
Because of that, Gandalf chose to maintain their pace, neither too fast nor too slow.
They could not arrive at the Grey Harbor too early.
If they did, Mordor would concentrate all its strength there, launching a full-scale assault to seize the Ring and bringing catastrophic destruction.
Thus, the visible Fellowship's mission became clear:
To draw Sauron's gaze westward.
During this operation, Mordor's armies, the Ringwraiths, and even Sauron himself might appear in the western lands.
But that was precisely the outcome they wanted.
When Gandalf and his companions finally reached Hogsmeade and returned to Hogwarts Castle, Sylas personally welcomed them and invited them to remain for a time.
The injured Pegasi were taken to the infirmary, where Madam Amanda fully healed them. After discussion, Gandalf and the others released the winged horses, allowing them to return to the Valley of the Dead.
Meanwhile, the Umbal pirates set sail.
Hundreds of large warships and countless smaller vessels crossed the Beregail Sea, arriving off the coast of Lindon.
Instead of charging directly into Rune Bay to assault the Grey Havens, the pirates blockaded the sea routes, aiming to sever Grey Harbor's connection to the ocean.
Within Rune Bay, the two outer ports closest to the open sea were Harlond and Forlond.
To take Grey Harbor, they would normally need to capture these two ports first.
But the pirates had greater ambitions.
They sealed the Rune Bay strait and then split their fleet into three forces, launching simultaneous attacks on Harlond, Forlond, and Grey Harbor itself.
Their confidence came from a new weapon.
Thanks to Orsank, a gunpowder-like explosive developed by Saruman, the pirate ships were equipped with cannons. Their firepower was devastating, so powerful that even elven defenses could not easily withstand sustained bombardment.
It was precisely because of this advantage that the pirates dared to assault three elven ports at once.
However, the elves were far from unprepared.
In the harbors of Lindon, every docked and patrolling vessel was a steamship, iron-hulled ships without oars or sails, propelled by roaring engines as they cut through the waters of Rune Bay.
The sight was jarringly out of place in Middle-earth, like a glimpse of another era.
This transformation traced back decades, to the moment Sylas revealed the principles of steam engines to Círdan.
Since then, Grey Harbor's fleet had evolved from wooden, sail-driven ships into ironclad steam-powered vessels.
These engines were fueled by ever-burning elven fire, requiring no coal, producing no smoke, and never running dry, arguably the most refined and environmentally pure steam engines in existence.
Compared to wooden ships, the steamships were faster, sturdier, and far more defensible.
While the pirates possessed cannons, their ships remained wooden at their core, no match for iron hulls in prolonged combat.
Thus, when the Umbal fleet surged into the Rune Bay strait in overwhelming numbers, they were met by fully prepared elven steamships.
This time, the Umbal pirates had committed everything.
Hundreds of warships.
Thousands of auxiliary vessels.
Tens of thousands of crew, Haradrim, Black Númenóreans, orcs, and even trolls.
However, the orcs and trolls were almost entirely relegated to labor. They rowed the ships, hauled supplies, loaded cannons, and performed other menial tasks. When necessary, they were also expected to serve as expendable cannon fodder.
This time, the Umbal pirate fleet had mobilized in full force. The port marshal himself personally commanded the armada, acting under direct orders from Sauron. His mission was absolute: blockade the western sea routes at all costs and prevent the One Ring from being transported to Valinor.
To achieve this, the pirates intended to completely destroy the western ports and wipe out every elven vessel.
Once the elven fleet was annihilated, no ship would be able to sail westward.
Afterward, the pirates planned to occupy the captured ports and use them as forward bases, advancing eastward to link up with Mordor's armies. With forces striking from both land and sea, they would tighten the noose and seize the One Ring.
...
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