bookbashuk Chapter 383 Umbar Pirates
Chapter 383 Umbar Pirates
Chapter 383 Umbar Pirates
With Soren's command, the southern port of Umbal was reached.
One hundred large warships, along with countless smaller vessels, set sail from the port and headed north.
The pirate group that entrenched in Umbal Harbor was composed of Harads and Henumenor, allied with Soren. They were powerful and roamed freely throughout the entire Belfalas Bay.
For a long time, they held the upper hand in naval battles against Gondor, at one point forcing the Gondorian navy to retreat to the port of Perakil.
Until a little over a decade ago, Aragorn, using the alias Sauronzel, led the Gondorian navy in a surprise attack on Umbal Harbor, killing the port marshal and burning a large number of ships, causing heavy losses to the Umbal pirates.
This prevented the Umbal pirates from continuing their rampage and avoided a threat from the southern seas to Gondor.
But now, more than a decade later, Umbal has a marshal again, and many of the warships that were lost have been recovered.
As the pirate ship left Umbal Harbor and crossed the Gulf of Belfalas, it was spotted by a patrolling Gondorian navy.
The Gondorian navy was immediately on high alert, thinking that the Umbal pirates were about to attack Gondor. They were preparing for a desperate battle, only to find that the pirate ships ignored them and continued north.
Upon receiving the news, the naval commander of Perakil, while puzzled, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and quickly sent the message back to Gondor.
Upon receiving the news, Regent Denethor II in the palace of Minas Tirith showed little expression. He glanced at the map and then calmly instructed his secretary, "Send word to the Valley of the Umbal pirates that they are heading north. Also, order the First Commander of the East (Faramir) and the Southern Naval Commander to prepare for a full-scale defense against an attack from Mordor."
The letter from Gondor was quickly delivered to Elrond in the Valley.
Elrond's expression turned somewhat serious upon reading the contents of the letter.
Just then, Dui happened to be next to Elrond. Seeing the change in his expression, he couldn't help but ask, "What happened, Lord Elrond?"
Elrond handed the letter to Dui. "A letter from Dinesher II, saying that the Umbal pirates have been discovered crossing the Bay of Belfalas, heading north, and in great numbers—at least a hundred large warships and countless smaller vessels!"
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Dui took the letter, read it carefully, and then looked thoughtful.
"The Umbal pirates are Mordor's minions, and their sudden northward march must be at Sauron's behest. As for the northern ports, Trolldale has been abandoned for a long time and cannot be their target. The only possible target is the Grey Harbor."
He instantly looked up and met Elrond's gaze. "Sauron's actions strongly suggest he already knows our plans!"
Elrond nodded. "Sauron's intention is to attack the Grey Harbor and completely blockade its sea routes, preventing us from sending the One Ring to Valinor."
Although the two had already prepared for Soren to find out about their plan, and this was even their original intention, the fact that Soren found out so quickly caught Dui and his companion off guard.
"The most important thing now is to notify Gray Harbor as soon as possible so that they can prepare their defenses. Moreover, Lord Kildan has not yet returned from the sea, and Gray Harbor is currently without anyone in charge. We absolutely cannot afford to lose it!"
Elrond looked somewhat worried. Cildan, the lord of Grey Harbor, had not yet returned, and the only one who could make decisions was his secretary, Gardor. The Umbal pirates were coming in with great force, and it was destined to be a major battle.
I wonder if the people of Grey Harbor can withstand the attack of the Umbal pirates?
Elrond wanted to personally oversee the battle, but he also needed to be stationed in the Valley, so he couldn't leave.
Dui understood Elrond's concerns and said, "Lord Elrond, you need not worry. I will send a hundred elite Aurors to Grey Harbor to provide support. I think with their help, we can handle those pirates."
Elrond's worried expression eased slightly upon hearing this. He had great confidence in the strength of the Auror wizards under Dui's command. Even if there were only a hundred wizards, they would be far more powerful than a thousand ordinary soldiers.
Furthermore, due to the relationship between Elrond and Duy, Hogwarts and The Valley are closely connected.
Many of the elves in the valley now possess wands and have learned many useful spells, making them significantly stronger than elves in other places.
Although they still cannot compare to the elite Aurors among wizards, after all, Aurors have mastered almost all powerful spells except for the three Unforgivable Curses.
Even the three Unforgivable Curses can be learned after passing Dui's test.
Such treatment was reserved for Dui's close associates.
After all, even though Hogwarts doesn't restrict races, admits all students with magical talent, and teaches common spells...
However, Dui could not truly treat everyone equally; powerful high-level spells and black magic were things that could not be learned in school.
Only by becoming an Auror or a Hogwarts professor can one have access to these advanced magic techniques.
Getting back to the main topic, after discussing the Grey Harbor with Elrond, Dui and Elrond inevitably started talking about the Fellowship of the Ring.
Having decided to distract Sauron and then secretly take the One Ring to Mount Doom for destruction.
The Fellowship of the Ring must not attract attention; in fact, they must make some indications that the Fellowship is heading west to the Grey Harbor, so that Sauron is more convinced that they really intend to escort the Ring across the sea to the west.
So, after some discussion, Frodo and the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring split into two.
Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli formed a group that secretly transferred to Lorien via the Vanishing Cabinet.
Bilbo, Merry, Pippin, Boromir, and Gandalf, on the other hand, were the visible team, heading towards the Grey Harbor in a semi-concealed manner to draw attention.
Bilbo volunteered to join the westward expedition, disguising himself as his nephew Frodo.
Originally, the task of disguising himself was to be assigned to either Merry or Pippin, but it turned out that these two guys were mischievous and carefree, and their disguise as Frodo was not proper, making them easy to spot.
So in the end, it was Bilbo, who was very familiar with Frodo, who was entrusted with the task.
Bilbo drank the Polyjuice Potion with Frodo's hair added and transformed into Frodo's likeness.
Bilbo, disguised as Frodo, is only more mature than Frodo in demeanor. When standing next to Frodo, they look like the same person. Even Sam, Merry, and Pippin, who are most familiar with him, cannot tell the two apart without careful observation.
To make the disguise more convincing, Dui even prepared a gold ring for Bilbo that was exactly the same as the One Ring, and it was also covered with a powerful Confusion Charm and the aura of dark magic. If one was not very familiar with the One Ring, one would not be able to tell that it was fake at first glance.
Bilbo, disguised as Frodo, then set off westward with Merry, Pippin, Boromir, and Gandalf.
Gandalf accompanied them westward, partly to further convince Sauron of the plan.
Furthermore, on Gandalf's advice, the group abandoned their plan to travel directly to the Grey Harbor via the fireplace, arguing that the Ring would affect the stability of the Floo Network's teleportation.
Then choose to travel by Pegasus borrowed from Elrond.