Chapter 332: Care
Bilbo held the milk and drank it all.
"Yeah, it still tastes the same as before."
In other words, it has no taste.
"Really? You're going to keep this as part of your estate?"
Gandalf asked after Bilbo finished drinking the milk.
"Of course, it's useless to me. Look, it's so beautiful and has magical powers. If it stays in my hands, it will just be covered with dust and will no longer be able to play a role. That would be a pity..."
"pity…?"
As he spoke, Bilbo himself seemed a little confused.
"Why should I feel pity?"
He took the ring from his pocket.
Boom——
Suddenly, the light in the room dimmed. Gandalf blinked and his breathing stopped. It took him several seconds to recover.
On the other side, Levi also glanced at Bilbo's hand.
Tick.
Like a drop of water falling into the lake, his heart was slightly startled, but it was not disturbed in the end.
So many years have passed, and Sauron himself has faced it so many times. If he can still get a buff just by looking at the ring, it would be too cowardly.
At least before direct contact occurs, the corruption bar that cannot be removed by ordinary means will not increase.
"No, why not keep it for yourself."
"I found it, mine, mine...my treasure..."
On the other side, Bilbo was still obsessed with the thing in his hand.
The influence of the One Ring was too deep to be solved by a glass of milk every day.
If there really was no influence at all, Bilbo would not have lived so long. Like Gollum, his soul was stretched by daily contact.
But relatively speaking, his changes are very small, he just doesn't look older.
Instead of becoming like Gollum.
This may be related to personal mentality and resistance.
But perhaps it was because time had been too long, after more than sixty years, even with a mentality as stable as Bilbo, a flaw was eventually revealed.
Of course, this may also be related to Sauron's resurgence.
As someone who had just come into contact with Sauron some time ago, Levi had the most intuitive feeling about the revival of Sauron's power.
Soran became less impatient and felt that everything was under control.
"Bilbo Baggins!"
Just as Levi was thinking about the confrontation some time ago, Gandalf next to him suddenly called out Bilbo's full name, his voice as loud as thunder.
At the same time, an indescribable aura of horror emanated from his entire body, which made people feel awe.
Gandalf, the grey wizard, revealed a little bit of his essential existence.
Although it was only a little bit, even just this little bit was enough to shock all mortals.
Bilbo froze, not knowing what to do. There was no longer any obsession with the ring in his eyes.
"Wake up, old friend."
The awe-inspiring aura slowly faded, and Gandalf returned to his usual mild self.
Bilbo hugged him tremblingly.
"I was only trying to help you, Bilbo."
Gandalf patted Bilbo's back gently, comforting him.
"Just like before, trust my judgement."
"Leave it."
Bilbo hesitated.
Under the dual gazes of the two people in front of him, he took a breath and finally nodded.
"you're right."
He took the ring out of his pocket again, and in front of the two of them, he closed his eyes and loosened his grip.
Boom! The ring fell to the ground, and the tiny sound of the collision seemed a little heavy for some reason.
Bilbo breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from him, and he felt a lot lighter.
"I'm leaving now."
He smiled and said, "I want to see the scene I have always dreamed of. I want to see Roadside Castle again, the newly built Water City, the Lonely Mountain on the other side of the mountain range, and finally go to Rivendell."
"Finish my book, the one I've been working on."
“I’ve already thought of the ending.”
"He lived happily ever after until the end of his life."
"Goodbye, Gandalf, and Levi."
He walked over and hugged each of them one last time.
"Goodbye, Bilbo."
Levi squatted down and looked at him.
"We'll meet again."
Bilbo nodded.
A moment later, he set off - accompanied by a melodious song.
"Outside the gate, from now on~"
…
Inside the house, Gandalf slowly approached the ring on the ground and tried to pick it up.
Boom!
Just as his finger was about to touch the ring, a demonic image emitting flames flashed through his mind.
"I felt his presence, that evil, dark and profound magic, there's no mistaking it."
Gandalf couldn't help but turn his head and look at Levi, who had been idle and silent, and for a moment he didn't know what expression to make.
"You must know something, right, Levi."
"Of course I knew it. I knew it a long time ago."
Levi didn't keep the secret and said bluntly: "That is the One Ring. Yes, the 'Master Ring'."
"How can you be sure?"
Gandalf still seemed a little skeptical. He subconsciously said, "Saruman said that the One Ring had been washed into the sea along with the river and could not be found at all."
"In fact, the One Ring has not appeared in this world for thousands of years."
From the second year of the Third Age to the present day, approximately three thousand years, there has been no news regarding the One Ring.
"Don't trust Saruman blindly. He has his own selfish motives."
Levi stood up and walked over slowly.
So Gandalf stepped aside and displayed the One Ring.
The two of them just stared at the ring on the ground.
If the One Ring had feelings, it would probably be sweating profusely right now.
"How do you feel?" Gandalf asked to the side.
"It's not very good. It's very depressing and dark. If you could move away a little, it would be better. Otherwise, I will definitely hit the beam when I stand up, and you are blocking the light."
"Oh sorry."
Gandalf moved aside.
He still couldn't quite believe it, as there were so many things involved in this matter.
The next direction of the world may very well be centered around this little thing.
"Will it really be?"
Gandalf shook his head.
"If that's true..."
He looked at Levi.
Levi quickly shook his head.
"Don't look at me. I don't want to touch this thing."
Gandalf rolled his eyes. "Then guess why I didn't touch it?"
They both stood up and sat back down at the table, Gandalf lighting his pipe and Levi pouring himself a cup of tea.
The ring was just left at the door, untouched.
"There are too many things involved in this matter, Levi. I have to make sure it is indeed the ring before I can proceed to the next step."
"You are too cautious, Gandalf."
"It's not 'overly cautious', it's necessary."
After all, once it is confirmed that this is indeed the One Ring, what is about to come is likely to be the final battle between light and darkness.
The whole world will be plunged into turmoil.
“No one can get out of this.”
Gandalf stared at Levi.
"As the leader of the largest human force at present, you must understand this."
Looking at the area closest to Mordor, the Free Cities, Rohan, and Gondor, these three human forces are all using their own ways to guard against Mordor and the evil forces of the East.
Needless to say, the Free Cities relied purely on hard power to block the way to the north for many dark forces, making it impossible for them to get through at all.
Gondor has the iron will of the Prime Minister and brave soldiers. On the one hand, they are holding the Witch-king and the Orcs at the gate of Mordor, and on the other hand, they are fighting against the pirates in the south and the Haradrim on the border. They are the ones under the most pressure.
Rohan is currently mainly playing a supporting role, with a large number of skilled cavalry patrolling the prairie all day long. To the east, they are on guard against the Orcs who slip through from the middle area, and to the west, they are fighting fiercely with the Dunlending people. It seems that they are busy, but overall they still have the advantage.
Thinking about the current situation, Gandalf asked, "If a final battle similar to the Second Age occurs, do you have a solid grasp?"
“It’s hard to say.”
"It's hard to say?"
This time it was Gandalf's turn to be surprised.
"I thought you would be confident."
"Of course we have confidence, but there are still many hidden dangers that are difficult to identify."
Levi shared his own experience: "You don't know that just last year, Saruman activated the Palantir on the tower of Orthanc, and he was almost bewitched by Sauron."
"Almost immediately after you left."
"But fortunately, I arrived just one step later than you that day, so nothing serious happened in the end."
"I have now stored the Orthanc crystal on the top floor of the nameless tower in the roadside fort. I will use it occasionally."
"That is not a good thing." Gandalf shook his head.
Saruman, this guy is still too reckless, not steady enough, and not humble enough.
Then Gandalf asked again, "What do you see?"
"The endless army."
Levi recalled the scene in the crystal and said, "In Barad-dur alone, there are tens of thousands of orcs, as well as a large number of ogres, spiders, and behemoths, some of which can fly, and are inferior hybrids of dragons."
"This is only the situation in the inner areas of Mordor. As for other places in Mordor or the scenes outside Mordor, I can only see a corner, but I estimate that the total number of troops that can be gathered in Mordor and other areas will not be less than 100,000 - it is possible that the number may even be doubled."
“This is just the surface level of information.”
"More than 100,000."
Gandalf pondered the number and fell silent.
The prosperity and peace of the free city-states in recent decades had paralyzed some of his nerves, making him almost think that the situation was very good.
But, in fact, it has never been better. Even the rise of the free city-states only made the overall situation of the free side "slightly more advantageous".
If there were no Free Cities, it would be a huge disadvantage. Sauron wouldn't even need to take the ring, he could conquer Middle-earth with a direct frontal attack.
Destroying the ring is never a risky move, but the only option when you are extremely helpless.
"That's why I knew there was the One Ring here, but I chose not to touch it for so many years."
At that time, the roadside fort had just been built, and Levi was not strong enough to ensure that things would go smoothly.
But now... from a conservative point of view, it is still very difficult. As for the more radical view...
If the ring cannot be destroyed, then let Mordor burn.
Of course, if all of this can be solved at the lowest cost, it is better to be conservative.
Levi looked at Gandalf and said, "Like I said, I tried to destroy it with my own methods a long time ago, but failed."
Gandalf exhaled a stream of white smoke and replied, "That's normal. Any Ring of Power cannot be destroyed easily."
“We still need to make a careful decision on this matter.”
"But now, I think we should first think about what to do with the ring on the ground."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of unobstructed footsteps at the door.
"I didn't expect Uncle Bilbo to really be gone."
Frodo sighed as he went into the house.
"What's this?"
He picked up the One Ring from the ground, looked at it curiously and scratched his head.
There doesn't seem to be anything unusual.
Gandalf's brows twitched.
Levi looked at Frodo, then at Gandalf, and also raised his eyebrows.
The two men looked at each other, and then at Frodo at the same time.
That look was meaningful.
"That was your uncle's ring. It was one of the things he left you."
"Don't worry, he went to live with the elves."
Gandalf picked up the envelope beside him and said, "As for Bag End and all of Bilbo's property, including the ring, it is handed over to you."
"Come, Frodo."
Gandalf opened the envelope and motioned for Frodo to put the ring in.
Without hesitation, Frodo thrust the ring into the letter, without a pause, as if it were really just an ordinary ring of little value and use.
Click.
A seal was stamped on the envelope.
"The appointment is made. Now the ring is yours, along with Bag End."
"Keep it safe, Frodo, and don't let anyone see it."
After handing the letter containing the ring to Frodo, Gandalf breathed a sigh of relief.
Subconsciously, he looked at Levi again.
I only heard Levi say:
"It looks like we've bought some time."
"Do whatever you want, Gandalf. I'll take care of this."
"I promise, everything will be fine."
(End of this chapter)
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