bookbashuk Chapter 384 Attack on the Journey West
Chapter 384 Attack on the Journey West
Chapter 384 Attack on the Journey West
Gandalf and Frodo rode the same Pegasus, while Boromir rode the same Pegasus as Merry and Pippin.
Pegasus is large enough to carry two or three adults, so even with Boromir, Merry, and Pippin, it didn't feel crowded.
Amidst the farewells of the people of the Valley, the five rode away on winged horses. Apart from a few who knew the truth, such as Elrond, Duy, and Glorfindel, the others were unaware that the "Frodo" was fake and genuinely believed they were carrying the One Ring and heading west to the Grey Harbor.
As the Pegasus carried the group out of the valley and soared into the sky, a red-eyed raven outside the valley caught their eye. It then cawed as it flew out of the woods and headed towards the Misty Mountains.
But at this moment, the people on the Pegasus were completely unaware of this.
Merri and Pippin, riding on the back of Pegasus, looked down at the land below and shouted excitedly.
Even the usually composed Boromir couldn't help but feel his heart surge with emotion.
Boromir had also studied at Hogwarts, and every year at the start of the school year he would ride a Pegasus-drawn carriage to the castle, but he had always traveled on the ground and had never experienced the feeling of flying on a Pegasus except for flying broomsticks.
Now, influenced by the emotions of the two hobbits behind him, he also cheered loudly.
Boromir knew that their mission was to draw the enemy's attention, thus buying time for another Fellowship of the Ring, a mission that was equally dangerous, if not more so.
But Boromir was not afraid. As the successor to the Regent of Gondor, he also very much wanted to see Sauron destroyed, so that Gondor could avoid being threatened by Mordor and would not have to worry about the destruction of Gondor.
Therefore, he volunteered to join the visible escort team in order to attract most of the enemy's attention and reduce the pressure on the other small team.
Just as the group was riding their winged horses, enjoying the exhilarating view from the center of the clouds, Gandalf, who had been smiling the whole time, suddenly changed his expression. He quickly looked back at the horizon and shouted, "Be on guard!"
Boromir and the other three hobbits turned to look back and immediately gasped.
In the distance, a dark cloud drifted in; upon closer inspection, it was discovered to be tens of thousands of bloodthirsty bats.
Seeing so many bats chasing after them, Gandalf quickly shouted, "Get down! We have no advantage in the air!"
As he spoke, he steered the Pegasus to descend rapidly to the ground.
Boromir didn't dare to be careless either. He shouted for Merri and Pippin behind him to sit tight and hold on, and then he swooped down to the ground at almost a 90-degree angle.
But the bats were just as fast, and soon caught up, launching a frenzied attack on the group and the two Pegasus horses.
Swarms of bloodthirsty bats attacked from all directions, and Boromir, Merri, and Pippin were instantly injured, with scratches all over their faces and bodies.
Boromir tried to fight back, but the pegasus beneath him, injured from the bats' attacks on its body and wings, became panicked and agitated, struggling desperately to escape the bats' attacks.
The violent commotion forced Boromir, Merry, and Pippin to hold on tightly to their Pegasus, or they would be flung thousands of feet into the air and smashed to pieces!
Gandalf was also attacked by thousands of bloodthirsty bats. He reacted quickly, raising his staff to release a barrier of holy light, which blocked the bats' attack.
When he saw the situation of Boromir and the others on the other side, he immediately increased his magic power. The Holy Light Barrier transformed into light waves that spread in all directions, blasting the bats away.
"Land on the ground quickly!"
Boromir quickly regained control of the out-of-control Pegasus and took the opportunity to descend to the ground.
Finally, before the vampire bats attacked again, they successfully landed on the ground.
Boromir quickly dismounted, pulled Merry and Pippin behind him, and then drew his longsword with one hand and his wand with the other.
Having studied magic at Hogwarts for seven years, Boromir's magical talent was not outstanding, but he was still proficient in using common spells.
He waved his wand, casting a protective armor charm to defend himself, and then wielded his longsword, killing the bats that approached.
Merry and Pippin were a little nervous. Although they were not in immediate danger due to the armor charm, they still drew the daggers that Dui had given them and looked around warily.
Meanwhile, Gandalf abandoned his staff spellcasting, surrounded Bilbo behind him, and then wielded his sword, forming an impenetrable net of blades that shredded all the approaching vampire bats into dust, ignoring the stench of blood splattering onto his grey robes.
Gandalf attacked while protecting Bilbo behind him, and headed towards Boromir.
In an instant, the ground was littered with the corpses of bats, and foul-smelling blood was splattered all over the ground.
But this did not scare away the other bats; instead, it aroused the vampire bats' bloodlust, causing them to attack them even more frantically.
The number of bats was in the tens of thousands, and after killing them for half a day, only a small portion of them were killed.
But before they could catch their breath, the bats suddenly stopped attacking as if controlled, then formed a dense, impenetrable encirclement, and simultaneously emitted silent sound waves.
The sound waves of a single bat may be barely perceptible, but the combined sound waves of tens of thousands of bats making Gandalf's expression change drastically.
Boromir and the three hobbits could not hear the sound waves emitted by the bats, but they soon felt chest tightness, shortness of breath, and splitting headaches, which became increasingly severe, as if their brains and internal organs were about to explode.
Boromir knelt on the ground, leaning on his sword hilt, his face contorted in pain. The magic he was casting was completely powerless and dissipated.
Bilbo, Merry, and Pippin also clutched their heads, groaning in pain.
Gandalf, his face also flushed, slammed his staff into the ground with both hands, roaring like thunder, "Evil, begone!"
The sound was like thunder, which neutralized some of the bats' sonic attack. At the same time, the holy light released also created layers of light waves, blasting the bats away.
"Go! We can't stay here any longer!" Gandalf shouted, then grabbed Bilbo and put him on Pegasus's back. He then nimbly jumped onto Pegasus himself and rode westward on the ground.
Without the slightest hesitation, Boromir placed Merry and Pippin in each hand onto the horse's back, then quickly jumped on and chased after Gandalf.
Pegasus's wings were covered in blood, greatly reducing its ability to fly. However, as a descendant of a giant eagle and a divine steed, it was still quite fast on the ground.
Two winged horses carrying five people galloped westward at breakneck speed, like two bolts of lightning, kicking up clouds of dust.
The bats that Gandalf had temporarily knocked away still clung on relentlessly, chasing after them and determined to drain their blood dry.
After several hours of relentless pursuit, everyone was exhausted.
Seeing the swarm of vampire bats about to catch up again, Gandalf seemed to see something, his face lighting up with hope. He shouted encouragingly, "Faster! We're almost across the last bridge! That's Hogwarts territory; we'll be safe there!"
Upon hearing this, the group of people who were desperately trying to escape perked up.
They looked up and saw an ancient bridge standing in the distance over the valley; it was the last bridge west of the Ogre Forest.
Upon seeing the final bridge, everyone felt a surge of hope. Even the Pegasus beneath them seemed to understand, accelerating and galloping towards the final bridge.
With the Pegasus accelerating, they quickly crossed the final bridge before the vampire bats could catch up.
Pegasus continued its westward journey along the east-west road without slowing down.
But as the vampire bats caught up again, the group prepared to fight once more.
With a series of soft cracking sounds, wizards dressed in Auror uniforms appeared on the wasteland.
They formed a semi-circle, shielding the fleeing group behind them, while simultaneously raising their wands and aiming them at the swarm of vampire bats.