Chapter 12: troubled night!

---From İgris' perspective---

After our conversation, we set up camp in a suitable glade. Gilan is patrolling the area, Halt is training Bilbo and Kili, Dwalin and Balin are training their own groups, and the ones who are not occupied are tending to their own business.As for me, I stood in a corner, thinking about our conversation, but couldn't come up with anything, so I started practicing with my sword. About half an hour later, Thorin arrived.

"Don't you ever get tired?" he asked with a smile.

"Middle-earth is not a safe place, Thorin. It's gotten even more dangerous lately," I said, continuing my training.

"What do you mean?"

"For the past two years, orcs have been very active, constantly harassing villages and elf, human, and dwarf armies. Some rogue dragons have started to expand their territories, ogres and trolls are more active, and there are rumors that a basilisk has been seen north of the Mordor Mountains. There are also reports of vampire activity in some areas of Middle-earth. And dark sorcerers have also increased their activities, with red scorpions continuing to assassinate high-ranking elf and human commanders." I paused and drank the water Thorin had handed me.

Thorin looked at me, thought for a moment, then said, "You're too worried. The things you mentioned are either rumors or things that are constantly happening. You need to rest, İgris. Living in constant anxiety will only lead to paranoia."

I looked at him and said, "I don't know, Thorin. I think a storm is coming, a storm that will sweep through Middle-earth. Also, I heard something from a reliable source that made me very uneasy."

"What did you hear?" he asked, his tone serious when he saw my face.

"They said a succubus was seen at a Mordor border fortress in Gondor, and they confirmed this."

"WHAT!?"

Thorin was stunned and horrified.

"How much do you trust your source?"

"...100%..."

"But that's nonsense! The dragons' barrier is still in place; we're talking about a barrier created by a golden dragon king!"

"Nothing is eternal or insurmountable, Thorin. The barrier has been in place for a long time, and in the Great War, demons managed to destroy the World Tree. This means that the Mana in our world is not everlasting. The number of wizards is rapidly decreasing, and there's nothing to strengthen the barrier. Aotrax was a very special dragon; don't expect his son to be the same! If the barrier really has cracked, then all hell will break loose!"

Thorin fell into deep thought, and after a moment, he drew his sword and turned toward me. "Why are you slacking off? Let's train!" he said, taking a combat stance.

"What happened to resting?" I said with a grin.

"When you die, you can rest all you want!" he replied.

Laughing, I stepped in front of him and took my stance. We started circling each other in a clockwise direction.

"The kids are at it again! Open the betting!" Dwalin shouted.

"Who won last time?"

"İgris! The score is 17-17! This will be a match to break the tie," Fili said.After a while, I made the first move. Using aura to enhance my body, I quickly lunged forward and executed a horizontal slash from right to left. Thorin, also strengthening himself with aura, responded in kind. Our swords clashed, and a slight breeze was created. We both applied pressure on each other.

"Not bad, you've improved again," Thorin said.

"No, I think you're just getting older," I said, laughing, and his face darkened.

Quickly, he spun his sword and disrupted my balance, hitting me with his aura-covered shoulder. But as I stumbled forward, I adjusted my direction, regained my balance, and countered in kind.

"The average lifespan of a dwarf is between 500 and 700 years! I'm not even 200 yet!" he said firmly, applying force toward me before we separated.

"I'm only 22! To me, you're an antique!" I said, laughing.

His brows furrowed, and veins popped on his neck. With a burst of anger, he laughed, "Good, good, I'll teach you to be respectful to others!"

"Is that coming from a dwarf?" I said with a smirk.

For a moment, we stared at each other. Thorin poured aura into his feet and leapt toward me, raising his sword to make a vertical slash. I planted my feet firmly and held my sword horizontally, the tip pointing backward. Just as Thorin was about to strike, I executed an upward slash from below. I could feel the veins in my arm swell. Our swords clashed, and it felt as if Bombur had fallen on my head from a great height. The ground cracked, and my feet nearly sank into the earth.

I couldn't stand the pressure anymore and stumbled back a few steps. Thorin dropped to the ground and didn't stop, continuing to attack me. I quickly countered, continuing the fight with vertical, horizontal, and diagonal strikes. Ten minutes had passed since the fight started, and our swords clashed as we locked eyes.

Thorin grinned. "Do you think I'm an antique?" he said mockingly.

I opened my mouth, about to respond, but a shiver ran down my spine. We quickly separated, and I immediately looked around.

"What's happening?" Thorin asked, but as I turned, I saw a crossbowman about 150 meters behind us in the bushes. He had already fired his shot.

"THORIN!" I yelled and launched myself forward with all my strength. I grabbed Thorin by the collar, shoved him back, and moved behind him. Quickly, I took out my shield from my inventory—this time, I wouldn't be struck again! I blocked the arrow with it.

"AMBUSH!" I shouted. I hoped Gilan was okay.

---3rd-Person Combat Perspective---

---Gilan's Side---

---Five Minutes Before the Ambush---

Gilan was patrolling around the group, his instincts honed over years of experience in the field made him uneasy, even though nothing seemed wrong.

"Something's off, but what?"

He continued to move through the forest, circling the group while staying as hidden as possible.

After a while, he spun around suddenly and threw a punch, but the man blocked it with his arm and struck with his dagger in a horizontal motion. Gilan quickly retreated, the dagger grazing his cloak, then grabbed the man's arm with his left hand and struck his wrist with his right palm, causing the dagger to drop. Gilan headbutted him and quickly pulled back to gain distance.

"Did you really think you could beat me alone?" Gilan asked, smiling.

The man didn't respond, but as six more figures emerged from the forest, Gilan's smile faded and his brow twitched.

"I think you're the only one who's needed. The rest can leave. Let's have a one-on-one fight," Gilan said seriously, but the others quickly drew their weapons and threw daggers at him.

"DAMN IT!" Gilan, dodging the daggers and hiding behind a tree.

After firing the arrow, Gilan hid behind the tree again. A moment later, a dagger flew past, embedding itself in the ground near him. He looked at the dagger, noticing a faint wisp of smoke rising from the spot where it had landed, and saw the grass around it wither.

"I was missing poison... well, no matter, I'll handle it!" he muttered. But then, four more figures emerged, almost as if they were mocking him.

"..." Gilan stared, remaining silent for a few seconds.

"COME AT ME! I'LL RIP YOU APART! YOU ****** AND YOUR ****** BROTHERS!" he yelled.

Hearing this, the men became slightly irritated, but they continued their attacks without acting recklessly.

"Tch! They didn't even react. I didn't feel any of them until they were right behind me. If they had attacked from afar with the intention of killing me, I would have felt it, but instead they chose to sneak up close and attack. No matter how good the blade was, it would leave a slight sound in the air and I would have felt it, especially after I started my training with Aura in this world. Why did they think I wouldn't notice? Are they stupid or just arrogant? I hope it's one of those two, because if they know I can sense this kind of attack, then they must have a scout who has been watching us for a long time!" Gilan thought.

"There's going to be trouble. I hope the group is okay. With Thorin, İgris, and Halt there, it shouldn't be an issue," he muttered and fired another arrow to kill, but the man saw it coming and quickly dodged. However, Gilan managed to strike his arm. The man staggered slightly, a small twitch on his face as he broke the tip of the arrow and continued his attack.

Seeing this, Gilan frowned. "Their pain tolerance is incredibly high, and their stealth is excellent. If I hadn't been trained for this, it would have been problematic. They're definitely a professional team, probably somewhere between mid-tier and top-tier," he thought, appearing serious for a moment before smiling again. "I was getting bored anyway."

Gilan adjusted his quiver and nocked an arrow. He stepped out from his hiding place, rapidly shooting arrows as he advanced through the forest, making sure the enemy stayed in place. A forest ranger can shoot four arrows in a minute, but as an old commander and senior ranger, Gilan could shoot six.

Gilan moved into the densest part of the forest, disappearing among the trees. The enemies paused for a moment, unsure if more arrows would come, but then they followed him into the woods.

The assassins advanced cautiously, and their leader ordered them to stop after 50 meters, pointing at a tree. Behind the tree, a cloak's edge, nearly invisible and blending with the surrounding greenery, was barely visible. He gestured to two men with his hand, and the men moved swiftly but carefully around the tree, silent as they approached from both sides, cornering Gilan.

The two of them attacked in perfect coordination, thrusting their daggers at him! But as they tore his cloak, they were greeted by a scarecrow, dressed in a common license and inscribed with: "Good try, idiots! 😜"

Fiyuuu~

Before the assassins could react, two arrows struck their heads! Pat! Both fell to the ground, their eyes wide with shock. Seeing their comrades dead, the leader and the remaining men quickly took cover and began searching for Gilan. 'Only 9 left,' Gilan thought.

He remained motionless, 45 meters away from the fallen men, lying in ambush. His cloak looked brand new, blending perfectly with the surroundings.

He crouched in a position surrounded by thick trees and bushes, hidden in the darkness of the forest. Normally, the dense woods would be an ideal environment for assassins, but their mistake was the lack of information. Forest Rangers like Gilan, who had spent years immersed in the forest and nature, were more than capable of handling such threats. Gilan had fought assassins many times, even destroying an assassin cult alongside the Skandian Hal Mikkelson and his comrades.

Especially Halt, his mentor, left a small trauma on him after being almost killed by an assassin's poisoned arrow in front of his eyes. This event pushed Gilan to train harder against them.

The assassins, thinking they were dealing with a regular human ranger whose name they had never heard, did not take Gilan seriously. But as soon as they entered the dense forest, they could not have known that they were walking into the very grave Gilan had prepared for them!

The two sides remained motionless for about 5 minutes.

The assassin leader made a signal to one of his men, who yelled out, "Surrender, ranger! We want the dwarf's head! If you surrender, we'll let you go!"

There was no response from the forest, but—

Fiyuuu~

An arrow struck one of the trees near the assassins' hiding place. Seeing where the arrow came from, the leader signaled to his men.

The men began to retreat along the same path they had come, cautiously moving toward the direction the arrow came from. The first man, stepping quietly, suddenly felt something metallic beneath his foot.

Pat! "Aaaaaah!" A horrific scream echoed as he stepped into a bear trap, his leg nearly torn off. No matter how trained you are, you can't prepare for such pain when caught off guard! Never underestimate the power of a trap made for Middle-earth's bears! Although there are different types, they are generally very similar to Beorn's transformation.

The other man, seeing the condition of his comrade, proceeded more carefully and avoided two more traps. When he reached his destination, he saw a crossbow attached to a mechanism, but it appeared to be empty. He crouched to examine the crossbow, but finding nothing wrong, he picked it up. That was his final mistake!

The crossbow's string was attached to a fine thread made of horsehair, which connected to another crossbow positioned above, aimed directly at him. The man had seen a string connected to the crossbow's trigger, but it was leading somewhere else, so he didn't think it was a problem. However, that string both allowed Gilan to use his bow remotely and concealed the fine thread!

The mechanism released an arrow that struck the man in the back. Gilan had prepared a trap that could even kill a goblin! After all, this world does have small enemies.

The arrow was dipped in poison extracted from plants gathered by İgris and a snake's venom collected during their journey. Though the poison would only mildly bother a dragon, it was lethal to a human.

Though the assassins were trained to resist poison and antidotes, the arrow had struck near the heart, and the man suffered a slight paralysis. There was no alchemist in the group, so İgris had used whatever he could find and mixed it. With some advice from Gandalf, he had made the potion deadly.

The trap also contained poison! The man who had fallen into it finally regained his senses and shouted to the leader and the others,

"M-m-m-master! There are traps in the forest, be careful—"

Fiyuuu~ Pat!

Before he could finish, an arrow struck him.

'Only 7 left,' Gilan thought.

At this moment, the leader of the assassins realized he had made a grave mistake.

---Camp Area---

"YOU HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH YET!" Dwalin shouted, slicing the man in front of him in half. Then he quickly turned, holding his axe horizontally above his head, and blocked an overhead strike. He crouched slightly and, empowering his body with aura, jumped upward lightly. He disrupted his opponent's balance and drew a dagger from his waist, throwing it at the man. It struck him in the head, and as the next man approached, Dwalin spun around and struck him between the legs with the haft of his axe, hearing a snapping sound.

"AAAHHHH!" The man screamed in horror as he collapsed to the ground, and Dwalin decapitated him.

"COME ON THEN! I'M JUST GETTING WARMED UP!" he yelled.

A little further away, Fili was engaged in a tough fight against two opponents, both aura users, who were starting to overpower him.

Fiyuuu~ Thud!

One of his opponents was struck by an arrow and killed. The other, stunned, was quickly stabbed in the heart by Fili's sword.

"Thank you, brother!" he shouted to Kili, who nodded and continued shooting arrows. The two brothers had become much stronger after a week of intense training, Kili had gone from Intermediate to Advanced Level, while Fili had gone from Intermediate to Peak Level! Both of them were already on the verge of breaking through, and had finally become stronger.

Kili, Bilbo, and Halt were shooting arrows at every enemy they encountered. Halt's face showed a hint of worry.

"Don't worry, teacher, teacher Gilan is fine. He won't die easily!" Bilbo said, then shot another enemy.

"Bilbo is right, teacher! He'll be fine, and he's probably on his way here now." Kili added.

Halt glanced at them for a moment. "I hope so..." he said. After all, Gilan was his first student. Even though he trusted Gilan's abilities, this was the only person he considered close to him, and since he had no children, he viewed his two students as his sons. The fact that Gilan was fighting not far from him but he couldn't reach him frustrated him. Moreover, he deeply cared for his temporary students—who teacher wouldn't love two geniuses? The other two ungrateful students had never even called him 'teacher!'

Halt was scanning the surroundings, searching for hidden enemy archers. So far, he had taken out 9 hidden archers.

Balin, Bofur, and Bombur were protecting injured Bifur and Dori, who was tending to him.

"How's the situation?" Balin called out, killing an enemy.

Dori, while dressing Bifur's wound, replied, "He's fine for now, but I can't remove the arrow yet. He needs treatment."

"Agh!" Bifur groaned and briefly woke up. "What's the situation, cousin?" he gritted his teeth.

"A bit hopeless," Dori said, glancing around as he continued bandaging the wound. "But there are two people in this group who can turn hopeless situations around!" he added.

On another side, Nori and Gloin were fighting alongside Ori and Oin. In fact, Nori and Gloin were protecting the other two since one was very old and the other very young.

"Watch out, young man!" Oin shouted, pushing Ori aside, and an arrow struck Oin's arm.

"OIN!" Ori screamed.

"I'm fine, just a splinter!" Oin said, tearing his clothing and bandaging the wound.

"DAMN IT! HALT, TAKE DOWN THAT ARCHER!" Gloin shouted.

"AGH!"

"NORI!"

"I'm fine, it just grazed my leg!" Nori said quickly, pressing a burning piece of wood from the fire onto his leg.

Halt found the archer's position and shot him down.

"FINALLY!" Gloin exclaimed.

Then, he dodged an incoming attack from the side and sliced through his opponent.

"COME ON THEN, YOU BASTARDS! THIS DWARF IS STILL THIRSTY FOR YOUR BLOOD!" he shouted.

Meanwhile, Gandalf, Igris, and Thorin were fighting in a slightly more distant area.

The three were back-to-back, surrounded by 9 enemies. The attackers were likely the enemy's elite force.

"How are we doing, Gandalf? We don't have much time. A few of us can hold on, but injuries have already started." Igris said in a low voice.

"I still need time. I'm trying to focus my mana, but I'm not an elf, and connecting with nature is difficult!" Gandalf replied.

"We'll buy you time! Please hurry!" Thorin said anxiously. He couldn't blame him; the injured ones were his people, but they were also his comrades, and they needed to move faster.

"The fate of the whole group is in your hands, so hurry up, old man." Igris said and quickly stepped forward to distract the enemies. He attacked with a vertical slash, but his opponent blocked it, then kicked him back. Igris swung his left fist, landing a heavy blow to his enemy's face with the back of his fist. The enemy's face distorted, and several teeth flew from his mouth. Igris didn't hold back, sending the man flying 4 meters into a tree.

When Igris showed his strength, the people around him hesitated for a moment, but one of them shouted, rallying the others.

"Don't be afraid! You outnumber them, and none of our group leaders have entered the battle yet! We're facing the Black Knight Igris! He has a bounty of 70,000 gold! The other two are Thorin Oakshield, with a bounty of 100,000 gold, and the Grey Wizard Gandalf, with a bounty of 95,000! They—" Before he could finish, an axe embedded itself in his skull. The people around him looked toward the direction from which the axe had come.

Igris straightened his stance, placing his sword on his shoulder. "What!? Was he talking too much? Are we going to stare at each other here, or are we going to dance?" He charged forward, swinging with all his might in a vertical strike. His opponent tried to block with his spear, but the spear was split in half. Igris didn't stop; he cleaved the man vertically, and blood splattered everywhere!

Igris straightened himself and, with his violet eyes glowing due to his aura, glared at his enemies. The men, feeling the pressure, took a step back. Igris sensed something and quickly leaned back, narrowly dodging an arrow that passed by his chest plate, the friction between the two metals sparking.

He quickly threw his left arm back and pulled a dagger from his inventory, hurling it at the archer. The dagger struck the archer's chest with force, causing his chest to cave in. Igris didn't hesitate; he swiftly spun to the right and made a strike to cut down the incoming enemy. The man barely blocked the attack with a round metal shield, his arms trembling from the force. Another man attacked Igris from behind with a spear aimed at his head, but Igris tilted his head, the spear grazing the edge of his helmet and creating sparks. Without missing a beat, he threw a punch, hitting the man in the waist with the back of his left hand, and then used his sword to slash the man's chest.

In less than ten minutes, Igris had decimated nearly half of the enemy forces!

On the other side Thorin killed 3 people but he didn't leave his position like Igris, he was protecting Gandalf to finish his spell. This was an unspoken understanding he had developed from his fights with Igris. Igris would hold the men off and protect Gandalf, he didn't notice a man sneaking up on him while fighting and was nearly shot. Bilbo was about to attack Thorin when he shot the man, the man made a pitiful sound when Thorin noticed him and looked at Bilbo, he was surprised and hit his chest with a fist and shook his head then continued fighting. You couldn't blame him for being distracted, his mind was full of Gandalf and his men fighting for their lives and a seasoned assassin was approaching him.

Igris continued his slaughter with all his might, but then, from his left, he noticed a large war hammer coming toward him. He had no time to raise his shield, so he supported his sword with his left arm to block the strike. The force pushed him back over two meters, leaving two deep lines on the ground from his feet, and he felt pain in his arm as it cracked under the impact.

Igris looked at the man who had attacked him. He was big, bald, and bearded, with cuts on his right eye and cheek, his body covered in wounds. The man leaned his hammer against his shoulder, looked at Igris with a mocking expression, and unleashed his aura while wearing a twisted smile.

"It's been a long time, Black Knight! Do you remember me?" the man said.

Igris examined him seriously, narrowing his eyes as he asked, "WHO ARE YOU?"

The man was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red with anger, veins bulging on his forehead and face, as if they were about to burst.

"THREE AND A HALF YEARS AGO, YOU HUNTED ME AND TOOK MY EYE! BECAUSE OF YOU, I FELL OFF A CLIFF AND WAS PARALYZED FOR A YEAR, AND NOW YOU DON'T EVEN REMEMBER ME!?" The man almost spat blood in fury.

"…Ah! Now I remember! The raider... uh... raider Juji?"

"JUMBA! RAIDERS JUMBA!"

"…Yes, Jumba, the one who plundered villages and sold women and children into slavery. I thought you were dead," Igris said in a calm tone.

"I died, but I crawled out of hell for revenge! You will pay for what happened back then, Igris!"

"We'll make you pay!" said a female voice, and Elise appeared to Igris's left, holding two swords. She looked very much like Katarina from League of Legends and was wearing leather armor.

"Elise... How's your brother? Oh, I forgot, I killed him! Are you still angry? The last time I saw you, you were running in the opposite direction," Igris said mockingly, with no regret. After all, Elise and her brother had been two of the greatest slave traders in Middle-earth until they crossed paths with a certain individual.

"IGRIS! I WILL KILL YOU! I'LL RIP YOUR HEART OUT AND EAT IT RAW!" she screamed, radiating a murderous aura with intensity.

"Stop shouting, girl, my ears are ringing! I can hear you," Igris said unhappily.

"The only one seeking revenge for her brother isn't the only one!" came a voice from behind Igris. He turned around and saw a man in a hood, dressed in black and holding two daggers. Igris paused for a moment, then spoke.

"Ah! Aren't you one of the Shadow Brothers, Jim? The twin assassins? Though, your nickname has to change; the last time you attacked me, your brother died!" Igris said calmly.

"You've made too many enemies, Black Knight!" said another man, approaching Igris from his right, holding a scimitar.

"Who were you again, darling? Which one did I kill of yours?" Igris asked curiously.

"Ah! I'm just here for the money! They offered me a good deal," the man replied.

Igris looked around and saw the situation wasn't ideal. The four men facing him were evenly matched warriors. He waved his left hand and saw that he could continue. Then he grabbed his neck with his left hand and cracked his neck, saying,

Click! Click!

"So, you all want to dance with me! GOOD, COME AT ME, ALL OF YOU!"

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I'm taking a break until April 26! It's every student's nightmare, exam week... Wish me luck.