The Ultimate Evolution

“Obviously, the biggest drawback of the ‘Sunset Horn’ is that the user will have to suffer the penalty of having their maximum MP temporarily halved,” Laut the axeman said through clenched teeth while he bandaged the wound on his arm. The arrows shot by the Rohirrim cavalry were truly vicious. To pull them out, the barbs on them had to be carefully dealt with.

“From this, we can deduce that those guys are very dependent on their MP.”

Roulette nodded. “In any case, they’re not our enemies, at least not in this world. Let’s see if there’s a possibility of trading for their ‘Sunset Horn’. So far, three ‘Sunset Horns’ have dropped. The Maritime Alliance are treating theirs like a priceless treasure, so there’s no way they’ll trade it away. The rest of the horn cavalry are all gathered around King Théoden, so it’ll be very difficult to obtain another one. At least we still have a slim chance of trading for one from Party Ace.”

“We must pay attention to Party Ace’s movement,” Walter, the vice leader, remarked seriously. “Now that they’ve split up, the pressure on each of them will inevitably increase. The potential of this team is said to be immeasurable, especially the guy called Seaman. A lot of information points to him being the actual leader of the party.”

“No way!” exclaimed Roulette. “That Seaman is proficient in potion-brewing and is a really good support, but Reef’s Awakening Skill alone is enough to place him miles ahead of Seaman! According to our analysis department, Reef’s Awakening Skill can let his allies enter a temporary state of invincibility after use! I find it hard to believe someone like that would willingly become another person’s subordinate. But, it’s true that the two of them have a very good relationship. It’s possible that Reef holds Seaman’s opinions in high regard.”

“Facts speak louder than words, so we’ll know soon enough. I hope Zeus and the others are lying too,” Walter narrowed his eyes and said, “But it pays to be careful. See the powerful two-headed Cyclops that suddenly popped up? That’s actually the work of Sanzi, the least impressive one among them! With the addition of the two-headed Cyclops, their party now have quite a few new sieging tactics at their disposal. And even under the current dire circumstances, Party Ace is still able to handle the challenge effortlessly. Who’s to say they don’t have other aces up their sleeve?”

Roulette smirked. “It’s fine, Walter. If those two really wish to save Aziz, they’ll probably have to give it everything they have. Aziz has bit off more than he can chew this time!”

Upon hearing what Roulette said, Walter’s mouth curled into a knowing smile.

***

Aziz’s countenance was as cold as ever. From the way he looked, no one could tell what he was thinking. He was as cold as iron, as tough as iron! That was the impression Aziz gave others.

But Aziz knew very well what kind of trouble he was currently in. He had almost exhausted all his life-saving measures, and yet, he did not even need to turn back to know that he was still in danger. He could feel the killing intent boring into his back, relentlessly following after him like a leech that had latched onto his bone.

The reason for all these troubles he was experiencing was because he had courageously shot and injured King Théoden’s goddaughter, Éowyn.

Theoretically speaking, in order to make a move on such a famous storyline character, he needed the support of a whole team and must prepare for every eventuality in advance. He must also be prepared to fight a long battle. Aziz may be powerful, but what could he do with a single shot? Éowyn was an extremely strong shieldmaiden, a tough nut to crack. Even the leader of the Ringwraith, the Witch-King of Angmar, was supposed to die in her hands!

But Aziz still went and did it. As a result, he had attracted the aggro of a large number of storyline characters onto himself. A behaviour like that may seem really stupid, but sometimes, a man must have the courage to do some things that seemed really stupid.

Was it stupid to challenge the most powerful country in the world with the strength of a single man? Of course it was. But Aziz still did it.

The one currently pursuing Aziz was Éowyn’s brother, the descendant of the first king of Rohan, the son of King Théoden’s sister, the future king of Rohan, and the Marshal of the Mark, Éomer!

(Marshal of the Mark was a title of high rank within the army of Rohan. The Marshals were considered lieutenants of the King. — https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Marshal)

He was in possession of another powerful legendary weapon of Rohan, the holy sword, Gúthwinë!

Being pursued by such a person reminded Aziz of the time when he was still an ordinary man, of the time when he had to wander from place to place in a desperate plight as the FBI chased him down. Once, he had to run for four days and four nights in a row. They were so tight on his trail that he had to be constantly on the move, even when he ate or when he relieved himself!

Most other people would have long collapsed from the unimaginable pressure, but Aziz gritted his teeth and persisted. The pressure had even become his driving force. This nostalgic feeling of having to burn away his life in order to survive was truly addictive.

Compared with other ordinary cavalrymen, Éomer was obviously much more eye-catching. The horse he rode on was born a head taller than other horses. Every time one of its huge iron hooves stomped the ground, it would stir up a large amount of soil. The saddle on the horse was a special saddle of the royal family; its copper-red colour was very striking. The horse also wore a chain barding armour which contained refined gold, giving its sides excellent protection.

A piece of white crystal swirling with black mist was embedded in between the horse’s eyebrows. Through this enchanted crystal, the horse could sense the will of the owner directly and immediately perform all kinds of evasive maneuvers during emergencies. The war horse exhaled blood red vapour through its nose, indicating that it had the bloodline of a magical beast. Anger was its instinct.

Éomer, the extraordinarily powerful man, was almost completely encased in a copper-red armour that was densely engraved with secret runes. The runes permanently enchanted the armour with several powerful spells. The armour itself also provided excellent defence against both long-range and close range attacks.

Gandalf once said that Bilbo Baggins’s mitril shirt was so valuable that he could buy the entire Shire with it. The armour Éomer was wearing was actually no less valuable than the mithril shirt!

The Rohirrim helmets were very unique-looking. They enclosed the wearer’s head almost entirely, leaving only the eyes and mouth exposed. They even had a teardrop-shaped protective wing to protect the bridge of the nose. The craftsmanship was obviously quite advanced. It seemed like the rumours that there was a tribe of highland Dwarves dwelling within the borders of Rohan were not empty words.

The weapon Éomer favoured was first and foremost an extremely heavy spear. The spear may be ordinary, but thanks to its weight of over 60 kg, it was nigh unstoppable in Éomer’s hands. Only when Éomer encountered a worthy opponent would the legendary sword, Gúthwinë, be unsheathed.

Éomer charged forward while shouting loudly, the heavy spear he wielded smashing away the Orcs surrounding him. Compared to the humans in the real world, the humans of Middle Earth had much superior physical qualities, and Éomer’s physical qualities were considered formidable even among them. Therefore, when he waved his terrifying spear around, he truly was nearly unstoppable.

So even though Éomer had only two or three of his followers with him amidst the sea of Orc troops, his speed of pursuit had not let up in the slightest. On the contrary, he was getting closer and closer to Aziz!

But Aziz was a man who could acquire even a legendary gun. How could he be dealt with so easily? He suddenly vanished from sight on the chaotic battlefield. By the time he reappeared, he was already hundreds of metres away.

Seeing the prey that was already in the bag a moment ago about to escape, Éomer screamed in fury. He suddenly urged his horse hard, and a faint, beast-like roar came from all over his body. The muscles of his steed visibly swelled up, almost breaking out of its skin. The horse leaped high, and when it landed, it had already traversed more than 20 metres. All the Orcs it trod on were heavily injured without exception, blood and vomit nearly squirting out of their mouths. It was a truly gory scene!

Éomer’s steed leaped four consecutive times, bringing him even closer to Aziz than before Aziz used his ability. Seeing that he had no hope of escaping even after using his final trump card, Aziz abruptly stopped, turned around and raised his legendary gun, ‘Ryan’s Courage’!

If he had to die, he would do so facing death head on!

Even if he knew he had no chance of winning, he would still put up a resistance with everything he had!

These were Aziz’s wolf-like philosophies of life!

The trigger was pulled.

A hot shell was ejected out of the rifle, brushing past his cheek. Éomer merely lowered his head and did not dodge the bullet; he had full confidence in his armour of refined gold!

However, his head was instantly engulfed in fire and smoke. Éomer growled in pain like a wounded beast. His right eye had become a bloody mess. Aziz had actually shot him blind in one eye with a single shot!

But at the same time, Éomer’s arm had also swung forward together with his heavy spear. The attack blew Aziz away as a gush of blood spewed out of his mouth. One hit, and he was already close to the state of near death! Éomer urged his horse, and the horse leaped forth, its front hooves stomping down on Aziz with unimaginable force. Even the Uruk-hai could not endure the horse’s stomp, let alone the heavily injured Aziz!

But at that instant, Aziz was suddenly grabbed by a golden translucent hand that appeared out of nowhere. The hand pulled him back by more than 30 metres! When Aziz felt the familiar feeling of being pulled back by the giant hand, he knew he had survived for now. He turned around and indeed saw the familiar figure of Reef.

“Why are you here?” he could not help asking.

“Because I’m here, and he came along with me,” the one who answered was Sheyan who had appeared next to Reef. He smiled at Aziz and said, “We meet again. What a coincidence. My, is Zeus not here?”

Aziz gave Sheyan a look and a cold snort, but what he did next was completely out of Sheyan’s expectations. He quickly quit the Glory Party and sent Reef an application to join Party Ace!