By day, the group managed to slay a Nazgûl that had abruptly appeared at the edge of the farmlands. Following that, they resumed their hurried journey. Even the newcomers, those with the poorest physical condition, offered no complaints, pushing forward at a near-full sprint. It was fortunate that Zhan Lan’s Stamina spell provided everyone with sufficient endurance to keep going, preventing most of the novices from falling behind.

As twilight approached, the two Hobbits finally admitted they were tired. The three Reincarnation Squads made camp near a grove of trees for rest. For safety, the Hobbits and the newer members were positioned in the center of the camp, while the more seasoned veterans were assigned to the perimeter.

Once the three teams were settled, the two Hobbits immediately began searching the surrounding fields for wild greens and other food. The three captains had no choice but to dispatch a few members to protect them, after which they began reviewing the battle against the Nazgûl from earlier in the day.

Neos, munching on chocolate, analyzed the strength level of the Nazgûl until the Hobbits and team members returned, laden with provisions, at which point he stopped talking.

Zheng Zha watched the Hobbits start a fire to roast the gathered food, frowning slightly. “Even if only the Nazgûl among all the plot characters have grown stronger, the unfortunate reality is that the greatest danger we now face is precisely these nine Nazgûl, according to the plot scheduling.

These Wraiths will hound us all the way to the Elven territory, and before that, we must endure their pursuit for at least ten days and nights. If it were one or two Nazgûl, I could handle it. Our team could manage four or five. But if the remaining eight Nazgûl appear together, given their razor-sharp attack power, coupled with their eerie speed and feather-light mass…

At least twenty people from our three teams will die, and the two Hobbits are also likely to…” Neos let out a cold laugh and waved a dismissive hand. “Not just around twenty deaths… but it’s highly probable that only about ten survivors will remain across all three teams.

If eight Nazgûl attack us simultaneously, it only takes five or six to pin down the strongest few in our teams. Two Wraiths would be enough to eliminate everyone else within a minute or two. You must remember, technological weaponry is useless against them!” “That’s right, tech weapons are useless against them…” Zheng Zha nodded silently. He suddenly stood up and walked toward the two Hobbits. Then, under everyone’s gaze, he withdrew the Green Goblin Glider from his storage ring. He turned to Sam and said, “Sam. Come stand next to me.”

The slightly plump Hobbit youth paused. Although he was skewering a yam over the fire, he handed the skewer to a female newcomer beside him and walked toward Zheng Zha.

Zheng Zha made no ceremony of it, lifting Sam up and setting him onto the Green Goblin Glider. However, the result was exactly as he had predicted: the Glider refused to fly, no matter how much he urged it, as if its energy had completely drained. But the moment Zheng Zha set Sam down on the ground beside him, the Glider slowly floated up again, carrying only him. Sam immediately let out an excited whistle, exclaiming, “Cool!”

“It can’t be helped… Tech weapons or equipment are indeed ineffective against them. The ‘Main God’ must have intended to prevent us from using tech gear to fly them directly to the Elven lands,” Zheng Zha said with a wry smile to the other two captains.

Neos and Gangnier both laughed, though one was a sneer and the other a gentle smile. Only Chu Xuan, standing nearby, spoke up: “The plot has changed…” The three of them—Zheng Zha, Neos, and Gangnier—froze.

Neos spoke first, the young man chewing his chocolate with a furrowed brow. “Indeed, the plot details have certainly shifted. Originally, we were supposed to encounter the Nazgûl for the first time after meeting the two Hobbits tomorrow. The original plot stipulated that four Hobbits would use the ferry boat to reach Bree. But with so many of us, using that ferry is impossible, and the Nazgûl’s riding speed far outpaces the original movie timeline…” As he spoke, cold sweat broke out on Neos’s face.

Chu Xuan remained utterly composed, stating flatly, “The plot has changed. From the moment we encountered the first Nazgûl, we were no longer safe. Moreover, when that Wraith appeared yesterday, the Psychic Controller from our Central Continent team did not detect it. In other words, it didn't show up on the mental scan map. If my prediction is correct, the moment the other two Hobbits appear, we should encounter the remaining Nazgûl—perhaps one or two, perhaps four or five, or perhaps… seven or eight.”

Zheng Zha ignored the reactions of the other two captains and directly questioned Chu Xuan, “Why are you so certain the Nazgûl will appear simultaneously with the other two Hobbits? And you must surely have a way to overcome this hurdle? Facing eight Nazgûl at once—we have no idea how many people we might lose…” Neos bit viciously into his chocolate. “Because those two Hobbits are part of the ‘Main God’s’ mission. If one of them dies, we all lose points; if one lives, we all gain points. Thus, we can only encounter them before running into the Nazgûl. Otherwise, the difficulty of protecting them wouldn't be demonstrated. This must be a trap set by the ‘Main God’…” Gangnier’s gentle smile vanished, replaced by noticeable anxiety. “Then what should we do? Should we just wait here to die? Or wait until after we meet the other two Hobbits tomorrow, only to face eight Nazgûl then?”

Neos, unable to speak now, was drenched in sweat, frantically consuming chocolate as if on the verge of madness. Zheng Zha, however, stared fixedly at Chu Xuan. Knowing this man as he did, if Chu Xuan had uttered such words, he must possess a solution—no matter how risky or insane that solution might be, he would have a way out.

“If we cannot prevent eight Nazgûl from attacking us… then we must lure them to attack us,” Chu Xuan stated, his expression as placid as ever.

“What do you mean?” The three captains asked in unison, and Neos took another savage bite of chocolate.

“The Elves… In the original movie plot, the group of Elves the two Hobbits saw at night—there were at least a hundred of them. And the time they saw the Elves was supposed to be tonight,” Chu Xuan said.

Neos suddenly understood. He jumped to his feet. “Damn it, this seems to be our only chance! Yes, this is the only way! Zheng Zha, where is your Green Goblin Glider? Hurry and use it to find the other two Hobbits! Since they traveled so far from Hobbiton to steal vegetables, they shouldn’t be far from us now. Use your Psychic Controller to locate them and the Elven host. After that, things get easier. Let Frodo put on the Ring to attract the Nazgûl… Let the Elves fight for us! Let them clash with the Nazgûl, while we use the distraction to advance towards the ferry crossing. Since the Nazgûl follow the Ring, as long as the four Hobbits get safely onto the boat, we can use our advanced tech equipment to reach Bree ahead of time… Damn it, this is our only chance!”

“Indeed, this is our only chance—at least, the only chance to safely deliver the four Hobbits to Bree without losing too many people,” Chu Xuan stated, completely unperturbed by Neos’s interruption.

Zheng Zha quickly hammered out the details with them, then relayed the plan to Zhan Lan and Xue Ling’er, the two Psychic Controllers. One began searching for the missing Hobbits, the other for any passing Elven patrols nearby. Zheng Zha already leaped into the air on the Green Goblin Glider.

(Though the Elves are certainly innocent, we can’t worry about that now…) Zheng Zha thought to himself, just as he received the localized mental scan map from Zhan Lan. The other two Hobbits were indeed behind a nearby hillside, not far from their current location. His Glider was there in under a minute. He saw the two Hobbits happily roasting food, apparently quite contentedly.

Zheng Zha landed silently, tucked the Glider into his storage ring, and without a word, snatched up the two stunned Hobbits. As the two let out loud shrieks, Zheng Zha pushed off from the ground, using a nearby tree to vault upwards. With his Lightness Skill amplified by his ‘Explosion’ state, his speed was astonishing. The cries of the two Hobbits were swallowed by the wind rushing into their mouths. After a few moments, they stopped screaming altogether. Soon enough, the three of them were back at the main camp from behind the hillside.

Frodo and Sam were busy roasting food for the newcomers. When Zheng Zha arrived, holding the two captured Hobbits, the four companions froze, crying out simultaneously:

“Frodo!” “Sam!” “Merry!” “Pippin!”

Zheng Zha instantly released the two. Merry and Pippin immediately ran toward Frodo and Sam. Merry cried out, “Mr. Frodo, why are you here too? I know! Did these bandits capture you to cook for them? Our Hobbit food is surely the tastiest!”

Frodo and Sam exchanged a look. Sam quickly said, “No, Mr. Zheng Zha and the others are good people; they’ve been protecting us and taking us to Bree… Speaking of which, why are you two here? Isn’t this far from Hobbiton?”

Merry and Pippin laughed awkwardly, momentarily speechless. Just then, Xue Ling’er suddenly called out, “Big Brother, I’ve found the Elves’ location! They are behind that forest over there, walking in our direction. They should arrive here in about two or three minutes.”

Zheng Zha nodded. “Good work, little one. Be careful later, understood?” Xue Ling’er smiled and nodded. The four Hobbits, however, became instantly animated. They looked at each other and spoke in unison: “Elves… the Elves?” As soon as the words left their mouths, they started moving toward the direction where the Elves were coming from.

Zheng Zha quickly grabbed Frodo, speaking to him seriously. “Frodo, put on the Ring now. As soon as you see a group of white specters riding horses rushing toward you, take the Ring off immediately, understood?”

Frodo froze, instinctively touching his chest before exclaiming, “Mr. Zheng Zha, how did you know I carry the Ring? Gandalf told me never to put it on, that it longs to return to its master… Mr. Zheng Zha, I will not wear the Ring!”

Zheng Zha quickly countered, “Trust me, didn’t we fight the Nazgûl during the day? Relax, we would never harm you. We will ensure your safe passage to Bree… Don’t worry, you only need to wear the Ring for a moment, and then you can keep protecting it. We absolutely won’t touch it. Is that acceptable?”

Frodo had never worn the One Ring before, but the moment he held it, a voice constantly urged him to put it on. In truth, he had long wished to experience what it felt like. Seeing Zheng Zha’s sincerity, and surrounded by Zheng Zha and his team in a secure environment, Frodo relaxed his guard. Slowly, he took out the small, ancient gold ring and slipped it onto his finger.

With a faint hiss, Frodo vanished from sight. Everyone nearby looked toward the spot. The veterans and newcomers of all three teams had been instructed that upon Frodo’s reappearance, they must run toward the Elves—that was their only escape route.

About a minute later, Frodo reappeared, gasping for breath, his face pale. “They’re coming, so many! Eight specters are rushing this way. They are fast… almost upon us!”

Zheng Zha scooped up Frodo. He took a deep breath, then roared, “Run! Run toward the Elves!” With that, he bolted first toward the forest where the Elves were heading. The Elves were still about one or two minutes away from the group’s location, but the Nazgûl—all eight of them—whereabouts were unknown.

Leaping…