bookbashuk Chapter 401 Guide Gulu
Chapter 401 Guide Gulu
Chapter 401 Guide Gulu
Upon noticing Legolas's movements, the others also quickly and alertly grabbed their weapons.
The person hiding in the shadows seemed startled and made faint, disordered footsteps.
But Legolas keenly observed this and, without hesitation, shot an arrow.
A cry of surprise rang out, and a thin, short figure dodged the incoming arrow in a disheveled manner, rolling into everyone's sight.
When they saw the person in the shadows, they were all filled with surprise and doubt.
"What exactly is this thing?!" Sam asked warily and suspiciously, looking at the pale-skinned, large-eyed, sharp-toothed monster.
The others were also suspicious of this unknown, unidentified monster they had never seen before.
Legolas' eyes flickered, as if he remembered something. His brows furrowed, and he didn't lower his bow. "I have a vague recollection. It appeared in the Dark Forest decades ago, seemingly searching for something. However, it escaped when our elven warriors were chasing it."
"It appeared in Mirkwood decades ago? And now it's here again. Is it Sauron's minion?" Upon hearing this, Frodo also began to doubt the trembling, cowering monster before him.
Others shared the same suspicions, given the proximity to Mordor and the presence of such an obviously inhuman monster in the area, which naturally aroused their suspicions.
Gimli raised his long axe, his eyes fierce, and said, "Whatever it is, just chop it down!"
He was about to make a move as he spoke.
Gollum crawled backward in terror, pleading in a shrill voice, "Don't kill Gollum! Gollum isn't from Mordor!"
"Gollum is here to guide you on the orders of the black-robed wizard!"
"The black-robed wizard?" Everyone paused upon hearing this. Aragorn gestured for Legolas and the others not to act yet, then stepped forward, looked into Gollum's eyes, and asked, "The black-robed wizard you're referring to, is it Lord Duir?"
Gulu nodded frantically, "Yes! It's Duir! That terrifying wizard!"
Then, fearing that no one would believe him, he stretched out his thin arm, revealing a double-tree pattern on it, "Look, this is the mark left on my hand by the black-robed wizard. Gollum's current master is the black-robed wizard!"
Everyone saw the Dark Mark on Gollum's hand; the shape of the two trees was clearly the symbol of the Gold and Silver Trees of Hogwarts.
Seeing this, the crowd's wariness of Gulu lessened somewhat.
However, Frodo continued to inquire, "You said you were ordered by Lord Duir to lead the way for us. Do you know of any other route that leads smoothly into Mordor?"
When Gollum saw Frodo speak, he sensed a familiar power emanating from him. Instantly, his eyes burned with greed, and his body moved involuntarily toward Frodo.
"My darling! My baby—"
Frodo was startled by Gollum's gaze and took a wary step back.
Aragorn and the others became more wary of Gollum again, with Aragorn holding the sword Narsil in front of Gollum as a warning.
When Gulu saw the Nasir Holy Sword radiating a sharp edge, and the weapons that the others had raised again, he regained his senses and quickly shrank back, revealing a pitiful and timid appearance.
"Answer Frodo, you little monster," Sam demanded sharply, his distrust of Gollum palpable. He sensed Gollum harbored ill intentions and coveted something of Frodo's.
Sam didn't even need to guess what Kai coveted; he knew exactly what it was.
Gollum seemed startled by Sam's words, shrinking back pitifully before replying, "Gollum has been near Mordor for a long time, and Gollum knows a secret passage that allows us to safely enter Mordor—"
Since Gollum knew about the secret passage, although the Fellowship of the Ring still had doubts about him, after some discussion, they decided to let Gollum be their guide and follow him.
Led by Gollum, the group bypassed the Mordor pass at Chilis-Ugo and trekked through the nearby mountains.
And the place they went was exactly in the direction of the giant spider Hilob's lair.
As they weaved through the rocks, Gollum eagerly led the way while secretly peering at Frodo with his greedy self-glow, trying to find something on him.
Such actions were naturally noticed by the astute Aragorn, Legolas, and others, who became even more secretly wary of Gollum.
As Gulu led the way, his expression constantly shifted and changed, sometimes appearing sinister and cunning, and other times cowardly and fearful.
"We'll lead them to the spiders, let them get eaten by the spiders, and then the treasure will be back in our hands—" Gollum muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, his eyes full of cunning and malice.
But the next second, his expression turned fearful and apprehensive, and he shook his head: "No, no! That wizard will punish us! He will make us suffer terribly through the mark!"
His eyes were fixed on the living, black demon mark on his arm, filled with disgust and fear.
He had tried countless times to remove this mark, but to no avail. No matter how far he fled, as long as the wizard who brought him endless pain and fear made a move, the double tree mark on his arm would grow wildly and take root, causing him pain as if countless steel needles were piercing his internal organs and limbs.
The two personalities within Gulu's body are constantly arguing.
In the end, the cunning Gollum personality prevailed. As if persuading another personality, his eyes gleamed with slyness, he muttered to himself, "We were indeed going to lead them to the entrance to the secret passage, but we forgot to mention there were giant spiders nearby. Wasn't that our mistake?"
The group made their way to the mountains filled with towering boulders, dodging several waves of scouting from crows and bats along the way.
As they drew ever closer to the giant spider's lair, excitement and eagerness gleamed in Gulu's eyes.
Aragorn quickly caught this expression, drew his Narsil sword, and signaled to his companions to be on alert.
"What's wrong, Aragorn?" Gimli asked, puzzled.
Aragorn cautiously surveyed his surroundings. "I have a bad feeling. It's too quiet here, and the darkness around us seems even more intense!"
Then, with lightning speed, he noticed that Gollum, who was leading the way, was showing signs of sneaking away. He immediately waved his wand, conjuring a thin chain that wrapped around Gollum's hand. Then, he looked at him coldly and asked, "Where do you think you're going, Gollum?"
Seeing the thin chain wrapped around his wrist, and looking at Aragorn's cold eyes and the other suspicious eyes, Gollum's eyes widened in panic, and he shrank back.
"Gulu—Gulu wants to check ahead for any danger. Please, sir, let Gulu go! Gulu is in so much pain!"
Aragorn, utterly disbelieving Gollum's pained expression, pressed his sword against Gollum's neck and coldly threatened, "You'd better behave and not have any ulterior motives, or I'll just cut your throat off!"
"And don't even think about running away now. Stay obediently by our side. If you deliberately lead us to any dangerous place, I'll be the first to shield you!"
Gollum sensed the firmness and unyielding tone in Aragorn's face and tone, and as if frightened, he nodded frantically.
Perhaps Aragorn's threat had an effect, because Gollum stopped leading the group toward the giant spider's lair and instead headed toward the entrance to a nearby secret passage.
But this time, instead of the group going to find the giant spider, the giant spider itself came to them.
Or perhaps it's because the Mordor army has recently swarmed out, resulting in a significant decrease in food supplies for the giant spider Hilob. This has led Hilob, consumed by hunger, to leave its lair and hunt in the vicinity.