bookbashuk Chapter 374 Unexpected Turn of Events
Chapter 374 Unexpected Turn of Events
Chapter 374 Unexpected Turn of Events
"Frodo, try to pick up the ring, but be careful not to be seduced by it!" Gandalf said.
Of all the people in the room, only Tom and Bilbo were able to touch the Ring without being tempted by it.
Tom couldn't leave the old forest, so Frodo had to take the Ring.
Upon hearing Gandalf's words, Frodo, though somewhat wary of the Ring in the box, still reached out and took it out, placing it in his palm.
Gandalf, who had been watching Frodo's expression closely, asked, "How are you feeling?"
Frodo stared at the Ring in his palm, his eyes fixed on it. "Uh—I don't know how to describe it. There's always a voice in my head telling me to hide this ring and keep it for myself—but I can handle it. As long as I ignore that voice, it doesn't have much of an impact."
Gandalf breathed a sigh of relief, but still said to Frodo very seriously, "You must be highly vigilant about this Ring and not be seduced by it, otherwise you will be corrupted by its power and become its puppet!"
Hearing Gandalf's warning, Frodo became even more wary of the Ring, earnestly promising, "I will be very careful!"
Dui, who was standing nearby, also suggested, "The power of the One Ring is very strong. Even if Frodo is not tempted by it for a short time, he can easily be influenced by it if he is exposed to it for a long time. Since Tom's box can isolate and weaken the power of the One Ring, let's put it in the box first."
As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized leather bag and handed it to Frodo: "This is a dragon skin bag, which can block magic, and it has a room-sized space inside, which you can use to store the Ring and other things."
Upon hearing Dui's words, Frodo suppressed his reluctance, put the Ring into the box, and then put the box into the dragon-skin pouch.
Thus, although one could still faintly sense an allure from the dragon-skin bag, it was much weaker than before.
Dui, Gandalf, and Frodo all breathed a sigh of relief.
Frodo, in particular, saw the seductive voice in his heart vanish completely, and his reluctance to part with the Ring disappeared as well.
Having obtained the Ring, Duy, Gandalf, and the others did not linger. After bidding farewell to Tom and Goldenberry, they prepared to return to Hogwarts Castle through the fireplace.
Frodo was the first to enter the fireplace.
"Hogwarts!" Frodo shouted, scattering a handful of Floo Powder.
Green flames erupted, carrying Frodo on a teleportation.
But suddenly, from the space bag he carried with him, the One Ring emitted an invisible dark power that penetrated the box and the dragon belt, affecting the stability of the space.
In an instant, the Flying Road Network seemed to freeze, and the stable teleportation path became uncontrollably chaotic.
"Oh no!" Sensing a problem with the Floo Network, Dui's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to stop Frodo from teleporting.
But the green flames that Floo Powder had already engulfed Frodo, and before Dui could even make a move, he instantly disappeared into the fireplace.
As Frodo disappeared from sight, Dui's expression turned grim.
"What happened, Duir?" Gandalf noticed something was wrong, but he didn't know much about FlooNet, so he quickly asked.
Dui's expression was grim as he explained, "Just now, when Frodo was teleporting, a sudden force erupted from him, disrupting the spatial stability of the Floo Network. We don't know where Frodo has been teleported to right now!"
When Duy said that a force was emanating from Frodo, Gandalf immediately guessed that it was the One Ring at work.
Gandalf looked grave and worried: "The Ring has been imbued with a large part of Sauron's soul and power, and has its own will, and has been trying to return to Sauron's side."
It was lost when it was detached during Isildur's escape, which led to its death. Later, it abandoned Gollum, who could not take it out of the cave, and chose Bilbo to take it with him.
Now it has clearly sensed the danger and is trying to break free from you and me, who are unaffected by it, in order to control Frodo and bring him back to Sauron.
"We wonder where Frodo has been teleported to? We need to find him as soon as possible to prevent him from getting into danger."
Dui was also very worried. Due to an accident during the Floo Network teleportation, Frodo could be teleported anywhere now.
If you're teleported to a dangerous place and your life is threatened, then you're in trouble!
"Let me check the Marauder's Map first to see if he has teleported into the map's area of effect." Dui quickly took out the Marauder's Map to check.
The Marauder's Map records the status of all of Dui's territories, so if Frodo appears within a territory, his location can be found immediately.
Dui could only pray that he was within the map's range; otherwise, if he were teleported to the ends of the earth, it would be difficult to find him in a short time.
But before he could even look for it on the map, Tom Bombadil beside him spoke up: "No need to look anymore, Duir. The wind from the west tells me that the hobbit you're looking for is in the Old Forest."
"Frodo is in the Old Forest?!" Dui and Gandalf exclaimed in surprise.
Tom nodded, but a hint of worry appeared on his face: "But you'd better hurry. That little guy is wearing a magic ring, which has angered the trees in the forest, and they're attacking him!"
Upon hearing this, Dui became even more worried and immediately inquired about Frodo's location.
"It's downstream of the Willow River, at the location of that old willow tree, Duir, you should remember it," Tom said.
Having obtained the exact location, Duy immediately used Apparition to take Gandalf with him to Frodo's location.
Downstream of the Liutiao River, a half-cut old willow tree stands on the riverbank, its thick branches swaying in the wind and emitting a low, almost inaudible hypnotic sound.
Frodo found himself disheveled in the woods, unsure how he had ended up there, and initially unaware that he was in the Old Forest.
He had a vague feeling that the trees around him were very menacing, and that many eyes were staring at him with malice.
Frodo felt a chill run down his spine. He cautiously drew the dagger that Duir had given him, then looked around, trying to spot the eyes watching him from the shadows.
After looking around, they couldn't find a single person, only densely growing trees, and not even a bird could be heard.
Frodo was very quick-witted and immediately locked onto the surrounding trees, confirming that the hidden gazes were coming from these trees.
Then he immediately guessed that this place must be Lao Linzi.
After all, before being taken back to Bag End by his Uncle Bilbo, he had lived in Stag Country next to the Old Forest and had heard the legends of the Old Forest since he was a child.
He knew that the trees in the old forest were sentient beings, and full of malice towards outside creatures; they had even attacked the stag's territory before he was born.
Knowing that he was now in the middle of an old forest, he immediately became more vigilant, carefully trying not to attract the attacks of the surrounding trees, while secretly praying that Dui and the others would come to rescue him soon.
But clearly his prayers were in vain. The trees around him were clearly hostile to him; their branches trembled, their leaves rustled, and huge branches crashed down as if to crush him. Their roots arched up from the ground, trying to trip him.
Frodo, with his small stature, nimbly dodged the attacks of the trees and moved among them.
He also had the protective brooch given to him by Dui, which formed a sturdy magical barrier when attacked by trees, blocking their attacks.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Frodo fled all the way to the clearing where the old willow tree was.
But whether it was good luck or bad luck, Frodo had just escaped the trees' attack when he turned around and entered the tiger's den of the old willow tree.
The old willow tree's mesmerizing sonic sounds were so powerful that even a protective brooch couldn't withstand them.
Hypnotized by the enchanting sound, Frodo walked dazedly to the old willow tree, about to enter the tree's open hollow.
"Petrify them all!" Dui appeared instantly, and a powerful spell struck the old willow tree, freezing it in place, and the hypnotic chant was abruptly interrupted.