bookbashuk Chapter 220 The East
Chapter 220 The East
Chapter 220 The East
Dui looked at his new appearance and couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty.
Magus's talent for disguise makes him feel like his appearance is like clay, which he can knead and shape at will.
If he were to go to the Valley and Lorien in his current form, most elves would probably not be able to tell his true identity.
Of course, now that he has the ability to disguise himself as Magus.
However, this talent still requires constant practice to master it more deeply.
As he is now, he can only change his physical appearance, such as his hair and skin; his voice remains unchanged, and his height cannot be altered either.
The higher Magus's mastery of disguise, the more he can change not only his appearance, but also his height, gender, and age.
You could say that Disguise Magus is a magical version of Mystique's talent.
He can transform into an old man, a child, or even a woman, and magic cannot force him back to his original form, making him arguably the most powerful talent for disguise.
Now that he had this ability, Dui felt that traveling to the East would be much smoother.
Dui then continued to try to transform into other people's appearances until late at night before stopping.
The following morning, Dui formally bid farewell to King Sengir.
Senger's attempts to persuade him to stay were unsuccessful, so he had no choice but to see him off.
But before leaving, Dui said something to King Senger, and then left the palace with a slight smile on his face.
King Senger, his face grim, remained seated on his throne, instructing his attendants to summon his chief advisor, Mario.
Mario, who had been urging others to drink last night but ended up getting drunk himself, was summoned to the palace by the king while still groggy from his hangover.
"Your Majesty, you summoned me?" Mario asked respectfully, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
King Senger's cold, scrutinizing gaze made Mario uneasy, yet he dared not utter a word.
After a long silence, King Senggeer finally spoke.
"Mario, I've always treated you well, so why did you betray me, betray Rohan, and collude with Saruman to incite hatred between the Rohan people and the Black Barbarians?"
Upon hearing King Senger's words, Mario's expression changed drastically, and he quickly retorted:
"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am utterly loyal to you and the Kingdom of Rohan, and have never harbored any disloyalty. How could I possibly collude with Saruman? There must be some villain whispering in your ear, trying to sow discord between us. You must not believe him!"
King Senger remained unmoved and said directly, "This is what the wizard Duir said. Do you think he's lying?"
Mario was startled, his expression shifting rapidly. He gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, don't believe that wizard! Those Black Barbarians have sided with him! I killed many of them who harassed the border. He must be framing me to get revenge!"
"Is that so?" King Senger stared at him with piercing eyes, his gaze filled with oppressive intensity.
"But besides saying that you instigated hatred between Rohan and the Black Barbarians, the sorcerer Duir also claimed that you were ordered by Saruman to prepare poison to control me, thereby helping him control Rohan?"
Mario's pupils contracted, and he quickly shook his head.
"Your Majesty, you must believe in my loyalty! That sorcerer is slandering me! I have never had any dealings with Saruman, how could I possibly conspire with him? That sorcerer is the one with ill intentions! He must be trying to get you to suppress loyal subjects, weaken Rohan, and thus seize Rohan's territory. Don't fall for his tricks!"
King Sengge did not listen to his sophistry and waved his hand dismissively with a cold and authoritative attitude.
"Whether you are loyal or not, I will soon know. Someone searched your residence when you arrived, and I think the results will be available soon."
Soon, the soldiers who had been searching returned with some letters and a small bottle containing a green liquid.
"Your Majesty, these are the letters we found in the wall of Mario's study, along with this bottle that appears to be poison."
Mario looked at these things, his face turned deathly pale, and he collapsed to the ground in terror and despair.
These letters and the venom were known only to him and were kept secret. Why were they found so easily?
King Senger took the letter and read it with a cold expression, then the chill emanating from him grew increasingly heavy.
The entire palace hall fell into a deathly silence, with only the sound of papers turning over.
Looking at the letters between Saruman and Mario, Senger snorted coldly, threw the letters in front of Mario, and stared at him with a chilling gaze.
"Do you have anything else to say in your defense?"
Mario knew he was doomed, and he trembled with terror as he begged for his life.
But Sen'er remained unmoved and directly ordered the soldiers to bring the bottle of green poison to him.
"Drink it!"
Dui had not witnessed the situation in Rohan, but he had already guessed the outcome.
Dui never expected that Saruman had already planned this all along, not only secretly instigating hatred between the Black Barbarians and the Rohans, but also cultivating his own forces within the Rohan Kingdom.
This Mario was Saruman's highest-ranking subordinate in Rohan. Even when he was stationed on the western border, he cooperated with Saruman to constantly provoke conflicts between the Rohan people and the Black Barbarians.
When Saruman's betrayal was fully exposed and he was forced to come to Mordor, Mario continued to work for Saruman in secret, attempting to seize control of Rohan by controlling King Sengir of Rohan, and then reclaim Eisengard.
Saruman hadn't anticipated Dui's arrival in Rohan, and Mario hadn't expected Dui to possess the Legilimency ability, which allowed him to detect Saruman's hostility, read his memories, and discover the secret.
Thus, Saruman and Mario's scheme failed outright.
Dui could already picture Saruman's hysterical rage.
However, thwarting Saruman's scheme was just a casual matter for him, and Dui didn't take it too seriously.
After leaving the capital city of Edoras in Rohan, Dui changed his appearance, becoming an ordinary-looking Eastern barbarian, and his robes also became ordinary.
Aside from his height and voice, which cannot be changed, even the people who know him best probably wouldn't dare to recognize him immediately.
The eastern border of Rohan is the Anduin River, beyond which lies the Shadow Mountains, and east of the Shadow Mountains is the region of Mordor.
Mordor is Sauron's stronghold, a vast den of darkness where all sorts of dark creatures gather. Some of these creatures are unheard of, yet incredibly powerful and terrifying.
Moreover, there is Sauron's Eye, which monitors the entire territory of Mordor at all times, and no movement can escape Sauron's notice.
Even powerful figures like Gandalf and Galadriel dared not venture into this realm lightly.
Dui, of course, would not walk right into a trap.
So after crossing the Anduin River and leaving Rohan, he chose to head north, bypassing Mordor, and travel from the north to the Far East. North of Mordor was a vast, sparsely populated wilderness, also known as Rovanion.
This area was vast, and even using short-range apparitions and flying broomsticks, it took Dui over a full month to traverse it.
They then arrived in the Luen region, inhabited by the Dongyi people.
Upon arriving here, Dui became more cautious.
Although this area is not directly under Sauron's control, it is still within Sauron's sphere of influence.
During the height of Solon's power, the eastern lands were ruled by Solon, and he used his evil power to corrupt many of the Eastern barbarians.
Even after Sauron was defeated in the final battle of the alliance, many Dongyi tribes still swore allegiance to Sauron and were enslaved by him.
Solon's status here is deeply ingrained, and he is even worshipped as a god in some tribes.
Dui transformed into a rugged Dongyi person and cast an ignore spell on himself, then blended into the Dongyi people, moving between tribes.
Looking at the black-haired, yellow-skinned Dongyi people around him, Du Yi felt no sense of familiarity or closeness.
These Dongyi people had a waxy yellow or olive skin, high cheekbones, and a rugged and savage temperament. They were mainly nomadic and were completely different from the previous generation of Dongyi people.
Like a shadow, Dui moved among the various tribes, secretly inquiring about the blue-robed wizard and news of Hildorion.
To Dui's disappointment, the Eastern Yi people were unaware of Hildorion, the birthplace of humankind, and under Sauron's influence, they even regarded Sauron as the god who created them.
As for news about the blue-robed wizard, ordinary Dongyi people knew nothing about it.
It wasn't until Dui specifically sought out the tribal chiefs of the Dongyi high-ranking officials and performed a soul-capturing ritual that he finally heard some news about the blue-robed wizard.
It is said that in the Dovenian region near the Rune Inner Sea, there are signs of wizards dressed in blue robes appearing and organizing the local people to resist the rule of Sauron and his forces.
Having received confirmation, Dui did not linger and headed towards the Dovenian region.
Along the way, it was unclear whether the tribes had failed to meet the sign-in requirements, as the system never responded.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. If he could sign in at every place, Dui would have already used up all the system rewards. Why would he need to wait until he came to the East to sign in?
The Rune Sea is the largest inland body of water in Middle-earth, formed by the confluence of the River Rune from Lake-town and the Red River from the Iron Hills, which eventually flows into this sea.
Dovenian, on the other hand, is located at the mouth of the Rune Inner Sea in the northwest. It is a famous wine-producing region, known for its high-quality, strong wines, which even elves can drink until they are unconscious.
Thranduil, the Elvenking of the Woodland Kingdom, was particularly fond of the wines produced in Dovenian.
These wines are usually transported along the River Run to Long Lake, then bottled in barrels and shipped to the Woodland Kingdom by rafts or flatboats.
The mayor of Changhu Town at the time controlled this wine transportation route, which allowed him to amass a great fortune.
Dovinian is a vast plain with a warm climate, suitable for grape cultivation.
As Dui rode his flying broomstick over Dovinian, he saw vast stretches of vineyards below, with people occasionally tending to them.
The peaceful scene surprised Dui as well.
He never imagined that in this Far East, in the region covered by the Dongyi and Solon forces, there could be such a peaceful and prosperous place.