"It's just a pity we don't have the raw materials; otherwise, I'd certainly try out the effect of this formation first."

Zheng Zha lamented.

Zheng Zha's self-created skills, "Explosion" and "Annihilation," possessed limitless, infinite power. At least up to this point, no person or creature had survived his "Annihilation" strike intact. However, these two skills carried a fatal flaw: they demanded massive consumption of his internal energy and vampire energy, and furthermore, subjected his body to extreme overload and damage.

"The special effect of the Hun Yuan Yi Qi Gong is balance and harmony; its recovery rate is among the strongest of all internal arts. Even if all my internal energy is depleted, it only takes less than ten hours for complete restoration. The vampire energy takes a bit longer to fully recover, but if this formation truly can increase the recovery speed by dozens of times, then after using 'Annihilation' once, I'd only need a few tens of minutes to be fully recovered. This way, I overcome the greatest limitation of my self-created skills—sustained combat..." Zheng Zha declared with immense excitement.

This was a flat clearing where the Central Continent team was stationed, not far from the cottage where Frodo lived. The other two teams had also found clearings to set up their camps. At this moment, Zheng Zha was handing two documents to Chu Xuan for authentication.

... No problem, they are genuine.

The sustained duration of this formation is determined by the quality of the energy stones used to set it up. Five C-Class energy stones—specifically, a metal-attribute energy stone, a water-attribute energy stone, a fire-attribute energy stone, a wood-attribute energy stone, and an earth-attribute energy stone—a total of five elements stones—can maintain the formation for about three days and three nights... But it’s not cost-effective. Five D-Class elemental energy stones can only sustain it for about five hours, yet they require 5 D-Class side mission points. In short, we should try to find other energy substitutes; using side mission points to exchange for energy stones is too extravagant."

Chu Xuan stated flatly after reviewing the documents, his words instantly extinguishing the fiery excitement in Zheng Zha.

Zheng Zha stood open-mouthed and stunned for a long time.

In the end, he could only offer a wry smile. Anyone could calculate this; setting up the formation once, at the very least, required 15 D-Class side mission points. Never mind that he didn't currently possess that many points to exchange; even if he did, he probably wouldn't dare be so extravagant as to exchange them.

"Oh, right!" After smiling wryly for a while, a thought suddenly struck Zheng Zha, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Didn't the captain of the Northern Ice Continent team say that the python's snake pearl was equivalent to a CS-Class energy stone? That proves that many monsters in this world possess these legendary inner cores and inner pearls! Damn it, in the upcoming plot of The Lord of the Rings, we are going to slaughter them all!" Regardless of Zheng Zha's excitement, by that evening, Gandalf had returned to Hobbiton. The moment he dismounted, he rushed directly into Frodo's cottage, not even taking the time to speak with Zheng Zha and the others. Not long after, Frodo also stumbled back to his house from the inn. The people from all three teams knew that Gandalf would soon realize that the ring was the One Ring, and the story was finally about to truly unfold.

The three teams comprised forty-three people in total. While some newcomers still appeared indifferent, the expressions on the faces of the veterans, including Zheng Zha, had grown serious. Based on past experience, the initial phase of entering a horror movie world was generally relaxed and uneventful. However, the more relaxed and calm the beginning, the greater the potential danger when the plot kicked in. And this Lord of the Rings world was set at a difficulty level of fifteen people, a coefficient high enough to cause most people to die.

Gandalf and Frodo conversed in the cottage for a long time. They re-verified whether the ring was the One Ring, then packed their clothes and bags, and finally caught another hobbit, Samwise Gamgee, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation. It was not until more than two hours later that the three of them emerged from Frodo's house.

As soon as Gandalf stepped out, he immediately walked toward Zheng Zha and the others. This time, he didn't toss out any purses or similar items. Instead, he walked directly up to Zheng Zha. The old wizard was tall; in fact, he was slightly taller than Zheng Zha, appearing to be at least 1.8 meters (nearly six feet) tall.

"I am terribly sorry... I may need to trouble you again. Zheng Zha, I need you to escort these two youngsters to The Prancing Pony in Bree. They might be attacked on the road; I need you to guarantee the safety of these two little ones... Don't worry, I will be waiting for you at that inn. Payment will be made upon arrival at the inn; I assure you, my reward will definitely satisfy you."

Gandalf removed his wizard's hat and spoke to Zheng Zha and the others with a serious expression.

Gunnar shrugged, signaling for Zheng Zha to take over the speaking role, while Neos contentedly ate his chocolate. So, Zheng Zha spoke first: "Rest assured, Gandalf, we accept this mission. We will protect these two youngsters until they reach The Prancing Pony... You can count on it."

Gandalf looked deeply at Zheng Zha for a couple of seconds, then turned his gaze to the crowd behind him. Only after several seconds did the old man turn and walk towards where the two hobbits were standing. Whatever he said to the two hobbits, by the time they looked towards Zheng Zha and the others, Gandalf had already spurred his horse and galloped away.

"...Gandalf did tell me he is going to consult with the chief wizard about the situation with the Ring, but he will definitely wait for us at The Prancing Pony," the hobbit Frodo stated seriously.

After leaving Hobbiton, the road ahead was all green fields and many lush, undeveloped forests. The scenery made many of the newcomers exclaim in admiration. Such beautiful scenery is hard to see on Earth, but in the world of The Lord of the Rings, such vistas are countless.

Although the two hobbits were small in stature, they did not move slowly while traversing the forest paths. Their feet appeared larger than those of ordinary humans, covered with thick calluses on the soles, which meant walking caused them no pain or irritation whatsoever. Conversely, some newcomers who had entered the reincarnation world for the first time began complaining miserably after walking for just an hour or two; their endurance was actually inferior to that of the small hobbits.

The people from the three teams were unfamiliar with the roads around Hobbiton. Fortunately, Frodo and Sam were locals, and they were very familiar with many of the small forest paths. After walking for about five or six hours, they reached a vast plain covered in farmland.

"I... I really can't walk anymore; let's all rest here!" someone from the South Continent team exclaimed. A short, stout fellow, looking about twenty-four or twenty-five, suddenly plopped down onto a haystack and started shouting loudly.

The members of the three teams instinctively looked toward the little fatty. Immediately, more than ten newcomers began whining in low voices. Several of them imitated the short fellow and collapsed onto the ground.

Hoffer, the former captain of the South Continent team, roared out, "Look at your pathetic state! Can you not even compare to hobbits? And to think Jian Lan used Truth Serum on everyone—get up, you bastards!" The short fatty didn't say another word. He immediately kicked off his leather shoes. His white socks were already worn through, and the soles of his feet were bloodied; the flesh there had been worn away in several layers. The short fellow then cried out loudly, "I really can't walk anymore! This is the farthest I've ever walked, and I'm not like you veterans who have reinforced countless attribute points—you are all several times stronger than ordinary people! What about us? I don't know about the others, but I’m just a small newspaper editor who sits in an office all day. When have I ever walked this much!"

The two hobbits also walked over. They belonged to the kind-hearted Hobbit race. Seeing the raw, bloody state of the fatty's soles, the stout hobbit Sam immediately said, "It is indeed very far from here. Just getting across this field means we've gone farther than I have ever been from home... Worn-out soles don't matter; calluses will grow later, allowing you to walk even farther. Frodo, help me look around here for some Kingsfoil." Having said that, the stout hobbit hopped and skipped around the surrounding grass patches to search.

Seeing that the two hobbits had stopped, everyone else could only stop reluctantly. In reality, even the veterans felt weary after walking continuously for five or six hours. Except for a few individuals with highly reinforced attributes, most people casually found a spot to sit down. It wasn't until the two hobbits returned carrying a large bundle of green grass that the newcomers with raw soles gathered around.

Zheng Zha let out a breath and said to the two captains beside him, "Then let's rest here for a while. Everyone seems a bit fatigued..." Gunnar nodded with a smile, while Neos took the opportunity to pull out a piece of chocolate, tearing the wrapper as he said, "Is this the farmland farthest from Sam's home? Then it should be relatively safe here... Fine, everyone rests for half an hour, then we continue moving."

Seeing that the three captains had agreed to the rest, the newcomers around them cheered. Even some veterans gathered around the two hobbits because the newcomers reported that applying the Kingsfoil sap made the soles of their feet feel cool and soothed, completely eliminating the pain and fatigue, which piqued the interest of the veterans whose attribute enhancements were not extremely high.

Zheng Zha looked around, intending to find a haystack to sit on, when suddenly, a low whinnying sound came from the nearby thicket, accompanied by a chilling aura emanating from the bushes. Before Zheng Zha could even sit down, a horse entirely covered in black stepped out from the depths of the thicket. Astride the horse sat a knight cloaked in black...

"Ringwraiths! Those are Ringwraiths!" The closest people to that patch of bushes were three newcomers—one from the Northern Ice Continent team and two from the South Continent team. They were sitting on the ground, rubbing the sap of the Kingsfoil onto the soles of their feet. As the black-cloaked knight emerged from the bushes, the three of them froze for a moment before letting out the earliest screams. Simultaneously, a black slash of energy cut through, and the head of the closest person gently floated away...