The winter wheat produced by the Pelennor Fields was tiny and yellowish in appearance, unlike the full, fat wheat from other places. Comparing the two, the former was like an undeveloped brat with snot running down her face, while the latter was like a sexy, curvy woman overflowing with seductive charm.

But of course, that was only in appearance.

There was a reason the winter wheat of the Pelennor Fields was called “Pelennor Gold” by the common folk. Boil three parts of the wheat with seven parts of water in a large pot, then let it simmer for an hour, and one would get a porridge that was golden and thick. The surface of the porridge would even be coated with something that was like a layer of grease. Of course, it was not oily at all and was instead smooth to the tongue.

Sheyan took small sips from the bowl of porridge in his hands while blowing on it occasionally. The wheat had just the right amount of hardness and was slightly chewy. As the hot porridge slipped down his throat, a comfortable feeling of satisfaction spread all over his body, driving away the fatigue.

Sheyan was not sitting by himself. Next to him were Percival, Skull, Jax and other backbones of the dark alliance. Sitting opposite these contestants was a person who seemed to be soaked in darkness. He was wearing a deformed bronze mask that had no opening for the nose. The only part of his face that showed through the mask was his outrageously large mouth. The mouth was filled with rotting, jagged teeth that gleamed with a bronze lustre.

The person was the Messenger of Mordor, the Emissary of the Dark Lord – the Mouth of Sauron. He was a messenger able to communicate directly with the Dark Lord himself. When Sauron needed to issue some complex orders or a long-term plan, he would send the messenger.

(TL: https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Mouth_of_Sauron)

The Mouth of Sauron was, in a way, like a medium who had the ability to communicate with ghosts, except he was able to communicate with Sauron instead. In the movie, it was he who showed the Fellowship of the Ring Frodo’s mithril shirt outside the gate of Mordor to lower their morale. His voice was deep and eerie, but also slightly metallic, while the movement of his body reminded one of soft creatures such as leeches.

“That’s right. Gandalf, the bastard, once again used a power he should not have used,” said the Mouth of Sauron. “And that’s why I’m here. It pleases me to see that you have not attacked the White Tower recklessly. Otherwise, the Knights of the Past Kings, who should have rotted away, would have given you heavy casualties.”

“The Knights of the Past Kings?” Reef frowned. “What the hell is that?”

The Mouth of Sauron pointed to the outside. “Do you see the five statues around the White Tree? Those are the Knights of the Past Kings. The royal mausoleum is behind them. After Isildur said, “I need no tomb, nor do I need to wait for rot to claim me in my eternal slumber”, he and every King of Gondor after him was cremated and enshrined in the mausoleum. Loyal and powerful knights were buried in the mausoleum together with them, guarding the tombs. The heroic spirits of the knights now patrol the place.”

“Gandalf had heard the angry cries of the heroic spirits in the mausoleum. By using the fresh blood of Boromir, the heir to the Steward of Gondor office, he enabled the five most powerful heroic spirits in the mausoleum to take possession of five corpses and return temporarily to the mortal world. They have boundless strength, feel no pain, and are proficient in long-lost ancient combat techniques. They also share lives with the White Tree. They are terrifying creatures of destruction. It is close to impossible for anyone or any creature to go past them to reach the gate of the White Tower.”

Hearing this, Percival could only sigh. “Do you have any good news, sir?” he asked as he rested Andúril on his knees.

“I do,” said the Mouth of Sauron slowly. “I should have arrived here yesterday morning to witness the wonderful moment when you conquered the sixth wall of Minas Tirith, but I didn’t, because… bearing the will of the Dark Lord, I found the elite Uruk-hai army deployed by Saruman. I then led them into a battle against the Elves led by Arwen on the open plain.”

The contestants heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this news. It seems like Noah Realm C was not a useless excuse of a Realm that did nothing after all. A direct confrontation between the two forces may seem like a fair fight, but one side was made up of warriors while the other side was made up of Elves. The battlefield was even on an open plain, which means that the fearless Uruk-hai could quickly reach the Elves….

“But why did you arrive alone, sir?” asked Jax as he tried his best not to look at the unremarkable but dignified weapon in Percival’s hand. He said angrily, “We’re in a better situation than the enemy, but we’re also in dire need of troops.”

“Minas Tirith will no longer see any reinforcements, but for that, the elite Uruk-hai army have paid a great price. Even the one with the lightest injury among them has lost an eye. It will be quite some time before they can contribute their strength to the campaign,” explained the Mouth of Sauron.

“But I have a second piece of good news. After Gandalf produced the five Knights of the Past Kings, his injuries have worsened yet again, so you no longer need to consider his presence in the following battle.”

“Is there a third piece of good news?” Zi did not like this weird man, so she interjected very impolitely.

The Mouth of Sauron nodded. “I am going to stay here as Sauron’s representative, which means some of the little incidents that have happened before will no longer happen (here, he gave Sheyan a long, meaningful stare). The Corsairs of Umbar will no longer be affected by the bizarre death of their leader, and their combat strength will be enhanced to a certain extent. But more importantly, I’ve brought a dark magic enhancement device here. As long as the device is not destroyed, the Source of Darkness hall will not require the faith of a thousand believers to maintain. This means that you can send everyone, including me, to deal with the five Knights of the Past Kings without having to worry about the back.”

“Are they really that powerful?” asked Ronnie, whose confidence had increased with his strength. “Can Gandalf really create monsters that are so abnormally strong?”

The Mouth of Sauron shrugged. “If you don’t believe me, feel free to give them a try before you come back to discuss this matter with me – provided you can come back alive, of course.”

The proud and arrogant Ronnie did not retort. It was not because he had suddenly become stoic, but because he saw Sheyan, the only one who could hold him back, shake his head slightly. When Sheyan looked at the Mouth of Sauron, his instincts told him that the guy could be trusted. So, when everyone had left, he went to the messenger to talk to him alone.

“It seems that I’ve become a thorn in the eyes of the enemy. They must have used some shameless methods to cast a large number of curses on me. Although most of these curses have not taken effect thanks to the divine protection of Lord Sauron, one or two have succeeded. For example, take a look at my armour.”

Sheyan showed the Mouth of Sauron his Major General Blood Armour. The description of this powerful equipment now contained the words “slightly damaged” and “can only be repaired back to 90% condition”. Because of this, Property C and D of the Major General Blood Armour, ‘Curse Aura’ and ‘Divine Punishment Aura’, were both greyed out and could not take effect.

(TL: Details of the two properties can be found in chapter 1163.)

The Mouth of Sauron extended his lizard-like tongue and licked the armour.

“Hmm, I can’t taste any dirty divine power of light on the armour. But no matter, the Dark Lord is omnipotent. As long as you can provide something crucial in return, repairing it is not impossible.”

“Something crucial?”

“To be precise, you will have to provide Legolas’ headband, which contains the love of the Elves, the seed of the White Tree carried by Faramir, which contains the tragic fate of the Gondorian royal family, and the blood of a Hobbit that has yet to solidify, which contains energy of purity and luck,” said the Mouth of Sauron.

“You’ll get them,” replied Sheyan with confidence. “I’ll also test the combat power of the Knights of the Past Kings with my companions. We’ll discuss how to deal with those guys when we get back. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely come back alive.”

***

The Court of the Fountain was the only place in Minas Tirith basking in sunlight. The White Tree and the spirits of the former Kings of Gondor had dispeled Sauron’s dark power that had extended its reach here. The sunlight made the white stones appear smoother and cleaner, and the grass greener. The combat power of Orcs and Trolls would plummet under the sun, so the Corsairs of Umbar had to be the main combat force.

All five Knights of the Past Kings were wearing armour that had sharp edges and covered their entire body. Those who saw them would inevitably be reminded of sharp, lethal weapons. The most prominent feature of these knights that were over two metres tall was the wing-shaped ornaments on their helmets.

The knights surrounded the White Tree like the tips of a five-pointed star. Gory pieces of dead bodies scattered around them – those should be the unfortunate victims who had tried their luck.

Both contestants and storyline characters had tested the knights. When the five knights remained stationary, an indestructible layer of protective barrier would appear around them. Only when someone approached them would they suddenly come to life, as if recovering from a petrified state. Of course, the person who awakened these monsters would be chased down mercilessly.

Reef, with his new legendary shield, stepped onto the courtyard together with Sheyan. Ronnie and Aziz also moved into positions. They did not expect to defeat the knights at the first attempt, but at the very least, they must collect some useful information in order to come up with an effective plan. These five knights, to be frank, were the last line of defence, and they were a very sturdy line. But as long as the dark side could break through them, it would destroy what little remained of the confidence and fighting spirit of those in the White Tower. Victory would be within grasp.

A light from the legendary shield enveloped Reef’s entire body. The moment he stepped onto the grass, one of the Knights of the Past Kings suddenly moved!