Sometimes, a person's circumstances pivot entirely on the smallest of actions; other times, people stagnate simply because they hesitate to take that one tiny step.

Zhang Heng took a small step forward. Just as his foot was already halfway off the cliff edge, he pushed forward, landing safely just beyond the precipice. This movement, however slight, caused Zhao Yingkong to slap his back, sending him tumbling several meters away to slam his head hard against the stone steps.

The impact shocked Zhang Heng awake. Despite a massive bump rising on his head, he sprang up from the ground, blinking as he surveyed his surroundings.

He was still within the deep, somber cave, the floor littered with pale, skeletal remains. Around him, several people trembled with their eyes closed, only Aragorn remaining unaffected. He clutched his silver-gleaming longsword, his lips moving ceaselessly as if conversing with someone unseen.

Over to the side, Jin Pi was moving his hands continuously, mimicking the motion of drawing wine to his mouth in a gesture of toasting, all while walking forward. The Elven Prince, Legolas, mimicked drawing and firing an arrow, running forward as he shot. Directly in front of these two was the bottomless chasm.

Zhang Heng and Zhao Yingkong exchanged a look, then both rushed toward the two men, grabbing one each and throwing them backward. These two had experienced the same ordeal as Zhang Heng; both stood up nursing large bumps on their heads. Once upright, Legolas managed, "That was close, too close. We were all controlled by the spirit power of the Undead. They manifested whatever our innermost fears or deepest desires were, tempting us to jump into the abyss. That was terrifying."

As Legolas spoke, Zhang Heng and Zhao Yingkong looked at each other again, asking in unison, "Where is Cheng Xiao?"

Legolas, with his elven sight, could see farthest in the darkness. After scanning the area, he spotted Cheng Xiao standing in a shadow, a step away from the cliff edge. The man seemed to hesitate, reaching out his hand only to retract it, then preparing to step forward, only to pull back again. After several such back-and-forth motions, he sighed and roused Zong Pu, a sight that filled everyone with intense curiosity.

Seeing Cheng Xiao approach, Zhang Heng was the first to ask, "What exactly did you see? You looked absolutely bizarre."

Cheng Xiao pulled a long face. "I felt like I’d fallen into a paradise. Beauties were swaying all around me. You have no idea, Zhang Heng, there were so many stunning women—infinitely more beautiful than any Miss World or Miss China. A pity, a pity. Relatively speaking, I still prefer the... well, you know. I’m telling you, Zhang Heng—"

"..." Zhao Yingkong delivered a swift kick to Cheng Xiao's back, then turned and walked toward Aragorn.

"Help! Zhang Heng! I’m going to fall! Hurry, this rock feels loose!"

(It seems that no matter how much an idiot evolves, he remains an idiot, perhaps just a slightly more capable one.)

When the group reached Aragorn, illuminated by the silver light of his sword, they finally saw the surroundings clearly: they were surrounded by dense, emerald-green specters. The group had apparently walked right through them. Aragorn didn't turn around. He addressed the foremost specter directly: "I told you, my companions would pass your test! Now you must answer my question! Do you remember your oath? Do you wish to find a land where you can rest together? Answer me!"

Aragorn waved his silver longsword, and every specter bowed respectfully. When he reached the leader, however, the specter suddenly burst into a loud laugh that echoed throughout the cavern. Yet, it said nothing; as its laughter faded, the specter slowly dissolved into the void, and all the other specters vanished with it.

Aragorn instantly grew agitated, shouting into the darkness, "What is your answer? Don't you want peace? I tell you, what is your answer?"

At that moment, a sound of rapidly tumbling pebbles erupted throughout the cave. The group was standing on a traversable edge overlooking the cliff, above which loomed a palace-like structure. As the sound began, the palace doors swung wide open, disgorging a flood of countless skeletal bones that cascaded down the cliff face. At this rate, the entire party would be buried deep within the chasm. Aragorn immediately abandoned questioning the specters, bellowing a cry as he ran toward another exit in the cave wall.

The others followed Aragorn, sprinting toward the opposite side of the cavern. But after only a few steps, they were already buried up to their waists by the initial wave of bones, forcing them to scramble forward desperately. As the bones piled up behind them, they finally managed to dive into a tunnel opening just before being completely submerged. They ran through this passage, and soon emerged from the cave mouth to see a river cutting through the mountainside. They had somehow crossed the mountain range.

On the river floated more than ten black ships. A small village by the bank was engulfed in flames, and one black ship was moored next to it, with figures busily hauling cargo onto it.

Aragorn sat down heavily upon exiting the tunnel, visibly crushed; he seemed to deflate instantly. This fleet of black ships was clearly another faction of Mordor’s power. Seeing Mordor grow stronger while the reinforcements he requested had failed to materialize was profoundly disheartening.

The three members of the Central Continent Team felt little surprise, already knowing the subsequent plot development. As they stood in silence, a gust of cold wind blew through, and the previously laughing specter leader suddenly emerged from the rock wall. In a chilling voice, it stated, "We will follow you into battle! Stand fast, last King!"

Aragorn was stunned for a long moment until Jin Pi let out a roar of triumph. Aragorn then managed to rise, leaning on his sword, and pointed at the black ships on the river. "First, we completely destroy those pirates!"

The specter leader let out a whoop and charged straight toward the river, followed instantly by thousands of the emerald-green specters. These beings, without form or mass, utterly ignored gravity, plunging down the steep mountain slope. This wave of green instantly enveloped and obscured the black ships.

Meanwhile, Minas Tirith, the city of Gondor, was facing an encroaching army—a force of one hundred thousand strong that swept over Gondor’s outposts like a plague of locusts. When the routed soldiers retreated to the capital with news of defeat, the Steward inexplicably ordered his son, Faramir, to lead the remaining cavalry out to fight, rather than relying on the city walls for defense.

This Faramir was Boromir’s younger brother. While his elder brother was still recovering in Rohan, Faramir had suffered repeated setbacks in Gondor. Furthermore, he had recently abandoned Frodo’s fellowship heading toward Mordor. Because of this, when the One Ring fell back into Sauron's hands, he believed he was the one who had delivered the Ring of Power to the Dark Lord.

"It’s regrettable, but we truly have no control over that army; their highest commander remains the Steward," Zheng Zha told Gandalf with resignation. From Zheng Zha's perspective, while the cavalry's equipment surpassed that of Rohan’s, their overall discipline, training, and quality lagged far behind. Losing this unit would barely impact Gondor's war effort.

The force comprised just over a thousand men, yet they were ordered by the Steward to charge against an army of one hundred thousand—a suicide mission. Yet, as the Steward held absolute authority, they were compelled to obey this command.

Neither Zheng Zha nor Zhan Lan intervened, but Gandalf attempted to reason with the Steward five separate times, hoping to change his mind. However, the madman was clearly far too unhinged to listen to any advice, merely continuing to eat his meal.

As expected, an hour later, only three soldiers staggered back alive. Faramir, who should have survived in the original timeline, was also dead. After all, Mordor’s army was vastly larger than in the original narrative, numbering a full hundred thousand. An arrow volley fell, making Faramir’s death inevitable.

Zheng Zha and Gandalf sighed deeply. Zhan Lan transmitted a mental scan image to Zheng Zha’s consciousness: just beyond the outskirts of Minas Tirith, the land was densely packed with Orcs, Uruks, Olog-hai, and towering Ogre-like creatures. These monsters formed an organized army closing in, and unlike Isengard’s Uruks, they were fully equipped with siege weaponry: numerous catapults, siege ladders, and battering rams—a fully provisioned, large-scale legion.

"And now the war begins."

Zheng Zha could now see the teeming army with his naked eye. Since the numbers were several times greater than in the original story, looking out from the highest point of the city revealed only boundless waves of the Orc army, stretching seemingly without end.

"Now we wait for our reinforcements to arrive and see how many there are," he murmured.