Chapter 59

Sauron's defeat at Eregion was a crushing blow, but it failed to quench the flames of evil within him. The secrecy of the Three Rings and the resilience of Gil-galad and Elrond in Rivendell and Lindon made him realize that the Elves were a tough nut to crack anytime soon. He turned his greedy gaze upon other races, determined to sow more seeds of temptation and corruption.

The ring carefully forged by Sauron carries his divided will and endless lies.

The Three Rings of the Elves were the core of what he most desired to control, but like a slippery fish, they were successfully hidden by the vigilance of Celebrimbor and the wisdom of Gil-galad, and were always out of his control.

The Seven Rings were given to the seven rulers of the Dwarven kingdoms. Sauron expected them to be consumed by greed, becoming his minions in his enslavement of the mountains and their mines. However, the Dwarves' tenacious will and pure love of gold and gems exceeded Sauron's expectations. The Rings magnified their greed and their fervor for mining, allowing them to amass staggering wealth while also sowing the seeds of internal strife. However, the Dwarves' rock-hard resolve stubbornly resisted the Rings' utter erosion and corruption of their souls. Rather than becoming Sauron's ghostly servants, they grew more stubborn and isolated, absorbed in their own treasures and hatreds, contributing little to Sauron's overall plan and instead draining his precious magic.

The Nine Rings of Mankind are Sauron's true masterpiece. Nine human kings, chieftains, and sorcerers, already ambitious and thirsting for power and eternity, succumbed to the allure of the Rings and the relentless erosion of Sauron's will, their souls irrevocably corrupted and tainted like white silk soaked in ink. Over the long ages, their mighty bodies were gradually consumed and alienated by the Rings' power, ultimately transforming into the Nazgûl—the Ringwraiths—whose incorporeal existence lies only in shadow and fear. They became Sauron's most powerful, terrifying, and loyal servants, their shrill howls capable of freezing the blood of the living, the sharpest claws of the Shadow of Mordor. Sauron gifted them with mounts and powerful magical weapons, transforming them into messengers of despair and death.

Although the war in Eriador severely weakened Sauron, whose power never recovered to the peak it had enjoyed when he forged the One Ring, the situation in Middle-earth was profoundly altered by the conflict. The Elves were severely weakened, forced to cling to small pockets like Lindon and Rivendell. Númenor's colonial rule in Middle-earth collapsed due to plague and rebellions led by the Faithful. The Dwarves, influenced by the Seven Rings, became increasingly closed off and infighting. A vast power vacuum and chaos emerged throughout western and southern Middle-earth.

Sauron seized this golden opportunity. Instead of focusing solely on destroying the Elven strongholds, he shifted his focus to the power vacuum of the east and south. He exploited the terror of the Ringwraiths, the brutality of the Orc hosts, and the allure of lies and promises to subjugate or subjugate the numerous barbarian tribes that inhabited the distant eastern plains and the scorching south. These fierce warriors were organized into vast vassal armies, becoming the new blood of Mordor's expansion. Sauron's dominion expanded at an unprecedented rate, with the banner of darkness flying across the vast lands. Sauron even attacked the territory of Númenor.

The remnants of the Númenorian colonies in Middle-earth that had survived Sauron's invasion were primarily the Faithful, who had been rescued by Meereen and later led the rebellion. Led by Fíriel and others, they were forced to abandon their homes in the face of Mordor's irresistible force. They took as many of their followers as possible and retreated northward along the coastline.

In Mordor, the flames of Orodruin burned eternally, and the tower of Barad-dur loomed ever more formidable in the darkness. Surrounded by his servants, Sauron accepted the chilling title of "Lord of Earth and King of Men." This title was not only a declaration of his vast dominion but also a stark challenge and denial to Ar-Pharazon, the "King of Men" of Númenor.

At the heart of Mordor, a vast temple, built of obsidian and blood, rose to honor its sole lord—Melkor, known to the Elves as Morgoth. Deep within the temple, upon the altar of the ever-burning Felfire, human sacrifices of the most brutal and primitive kind were performed. Captured enemies, even servants deemed useless or disloyal by Sauron's teachings, became tribute to the dark lord. Pitiful wails and the crackling of Felfires were the temple's eternal accompaniment.

The news of Sauron's occupation of Númenor's territory in Middle-earth and his arrogant title were like a red-hot iron that burned the inflated pride of Ar-Pharazon.

"A fallen Maia, a coward hiding in the shadows. How dare he claim the title 'King of Men'? Who is he?" In the palace, Ar-Pharazon's roar shook the chandeliers. He felt humiliated beyond belief. Númenor was the supreme kingdom of Men, and he, Ar-Pharazon, was the only one worthy of the title 'King of Men'. Sauron's actions were not only a challenge to his own authority, but also a blasphemy against all of Númenor.

Driven by rage and a desire for conquest, Ar-Pharazon chose to send an expedition to Middle-earth. In the year 3261 of the Second Age, this fleet, carrying Ar-Pharazon's endless rage and ambition, was like a hammer of divine punishment, splitting the waves of the Belegaer Sea and heading straight for Middle-earth.

They landed at Umbar, the greatest port in southern Middle-earth. The Númenorian army was overwhelming. The well-trained Númenorian heavy infantry phalanx, like a rolling wall of steel; the formidable siege engines; and the psychological awe of the fleet, which obscured the sun, instantly crushed Sauron's hastily assembled army, composed primarily of vassal host from the east and south. The Orcs and Human vassal host of Mordor fled in all directions before the overwhelming force. On the open battlefield, Sauron's army was no match for the Númenorians.

Sauron, "Lord of the Earth and King of Men," was not as invincible as legend had it. In the decisive battle outside Umbar, facing the elite guards led by Ar-Pharazon himself and the advancing torrent of steel, even his massive avatar showed weakness before the unmatched bravery and superior weaponry of the Númenóreans. Ultimately, at a considerable cost, the Númenóreans succeeded in cornering Sauron, perhaps even severely damaging the power that enabled him to manifest. Seeing the enemy who had once infuriated him, now exhausted and captured, Ar-Pharazon felt a surge of unprecedented gratification in his immense vanity.

Sauron, bound in heavy mithril chains, was brought aboard Ar-Pharazon's vast, palace-like flagship. The Númenórean soldiers roughly shoved him to the center of the deck, where he was met by the Númenórean cheers of victory and the scornful gazes of the Númenóreans. Yet, no one noticed that, beneath the shadow of Sauron's bowed head, his eyes, burning with evil fire, flashed a cold, mocking look of triumph.

How could he sit there and wait for death? Umbar's defeat, and even his capture, was the most crucial piece in his vast scheme. He knew how easily humans, especially those like Ar-Pharazon, arrogant, greedy, and death-fearing, could be corrupted from within. The elven fortress was difficult to breach from the outside, but what about this magnificent ship of Númenor, rotten from the core? Its helmsman presented a perfect prey. Rather than expend his recuperating strength on the battlefield, he would venture into the heart of the ship, using his formidable scheming and subterfuge to completely hollow it out and detonate it from within.