The Ultimate Evolution

There was no doubt that Legolas was powerful. Aragorn, Gandalf and Legolas were the three main pillars supporting the Fellowship of the Ring. It was hard to tell who was stronger between the three of them, but Gandalf was the reincarnation of a Maia, so he was definitely the hardest to kill. However, in terms of attack power, Legolas was second to none.

Legolas was a very careful person, but he actually dared to accept Sheyan’s challenge even though his archery skills were undermined by Sheyan’s ‘Hedgehog’ title. This could only mean one of two things – either he had gone crazy, or he was confident of his victory.

Sheyan had confidence in his defence and HP too. He was not afraid of any trick Legolas had up his sleeve. He walked over to the Court of the Fountain and waited. When Legolas came out, he stared at the Elf and said with a smile, “It must be a terrible thing to see your friend die right in front of you, right? Don’t worry, I’ve said that I’ll give you a chance for a fair fight, so the others definitely won’t intervene. You’ll lose your life fair and square.”

The Elven Prince was undoubtedly carrying various injuries, but he had obviously cleaned them before he came out, because he appeared tidy and orderly. Even the bandages binding the wounds on his body were arranged in a beautiful pattern. He had tied his long hair behind his head so as to make sure it would not affect his movements in combat.

Although he was in a desperate state, the Lothlorien Longbow on his back was still as dazzling as ever. The most striking thing on him were the 40-inch long arrows. These arrows had killed formidable demonised Oliphaunts, powerful dark heroes, and also countless contestants. The very sight of them was frightening.

These arrows were surprisingly slightly lighter than ordinary arrows. The golden-green feathers at the tails of the arrows were turkey feathers that were trimmed into diamond shapes. The shafts of the arrows were dyed sage green, while their long arrowheads were honed into the shape of Mallorn leaves to ensure that they did maximum damage.

Because the Lothlorien Longbow required strong pulling force, the arrow rest was strengthened with a kind of hard flint that could only be found in the Silverlode River. The Lothlorien quiver Legolas carried was made of wood and covered with leather. A beautiful Golden Peacock, a rare bird on the Middle Earth continent, was carved on it. The mouth of the quiver was tightly wrapped with a golden ring.

The quiver could be filled with about two dozen arrows. The hanging strap attached to the quiver could be tightly wrapped over Legolas’ shoulder to prevent the quiver from falling when he ran or fought. The quiver was designed so that every time Legolas reached for an arrow, it would be in a fixed position. This enabled him to draw an arrow over his shoulder quickly and accurately.

Although Sheyan had long known of these details, he still went over them carefully before the fight started because they might save his life during crucial moments. He made sure he did not miss any details.

Here, we have to mention the terrain at the top level of Minas Tirith, also called the Citadel. Two paths formed a cross with the Court of the Fountain at the centre. The only way in and out of the top level was to the west side of the cross. Climb onto the top level and walk a few hundred metres forward, and you would reach the Court of the Fountain. To the north of the Court of the Fountain was the royal palace which the founding king had painstakingly carved out of Mount Mindolluin by using the powers of the Maiar. To the North of the Court of the Fountain was the White Tower.

To the south of the courtyard was a long rocky outcropping from the mountain resembling the prow of a ship. This unique landscape was partly a natural section of the mountain and partly the masterful workmanship of ancient craftsmen. It was at least 340 metres long. Standing atop the prow, one could look down over the main gate of the city and the rich Pelennor Fields 700 feet below like a sailor on a large ship.

“The Court of the Fountain, the royal palace and the prow are all part of our battleground. No one on my side will intervene. I can even swear that in front of my god, so that their attacks on you will transfer onto me instead. Now what if those in the White Tower attack me?”

Legolas plucked a leaf from nearby and said solemnly, “This is a fight between you and I. Even the World Tree cannot get involved.”

After he said that, the leaf disappeared from his palm, but its mark was still there, like it was printed onto the palm. Then, the leaf mark became a blood mark!

Sheyan took out a cigarette, lit it up, took a long hard draw on it, then stuck it on the ground next to him. He told Legolas, “The moment this burns out, our fight will begin! You should take the time to make preparations and familiarise yourself with the terrain. The next time we see each other, I will attack you right away.”

Legolas raised his head and gave Sheyan a deep stare. “As you wish.”

***

It did not take Sheyan long to find out why Legolas had agreed to fight with him, despite knowing that his arrows would be severely weakened.

That was because the precedence of his secret Elven archery technique was far above the precedence of the “Hedgehog” title! Legolas was a practitioner of the Elven art of Holy Archery. A practitioner of the Holy Archery could only shoot seven Holy Arrows in their lifetime, but the power of each arrow was bound to make the world shake!

Legolas had lived for about 3000 years so far, during which he had shot two Holy Arrows. He had decided to use all five remaining Holy Arrows on Sheyan!

Whenever the Holy Arrow was shot, there would be five guaranteed effects.

The arrow was guaranteed to hit the target, ignore defence, trigger explosive strike, trigger the “penetration” effect, and repel the target.

Even someone as tough as Sheyan found such a powerful attack extremely difficult to handle. After all, even though Sheyan had gained a legendary ring, he no longer had the buffs he had in the Source of Darkness hall! Each Holy Arrow caused an astonishing amount of damage even when they did not hit a vital part of his body. The arrow which did the highest amount of damage actually took away nearly 2000 points of his HP!

However, Legolas was under a lot of pressure too, because he only had five Holy Arrows.

Right now, he had already shot three. He had forced the opponent into a tight spot, but he could tell that the opponent still had strength to spare. The man’s eyes were still burning with passion. The way he looked at Legolas was full of provocation, like a hunter looking at a prey.

Legolas hated this kind of look. At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in his mind.

“Aragorn…” the named escaped his mouth involuntarily.

The name appeared to have strengthened Legolas’ resolve. He inhaled a deep breath and reached into his quiver with a solemn expression. He frowned slightly, as if he had accidentally touched red-hot charcoal. He then pulled an arrow out of the quiver.

The moment the arrow appeared, the clouds above the entire Court of the Fountain surged and rolled, finally forming the vague shape of a dragon!!

The Mouth of Sauron could not help but take a few steps back and covered his eyes with his hands when he saw the arrow. Black blood flowed out of the gaps between his fingers! What kind of power did the arrow contain that even an undead would be hurt by it?

“The Black Arrow! It’s actually the Black Arrow!! Your friend is finished. You should ask him if he has any last words,” the Mouth of Sauron said with a wry smile.

(TL:http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Black_Arrow)

“The Holy Archery, said to be the strongest Elven archery technique, and the Black Arrow that is powerful enough to bring down a dragon! You’re too naive if you think he’ll survive such a combination! He’s a fool, a fool blinded by greed! The Black Arrow has disappeared after it killed Smaug the dragon, but seems like Gandalf has actually taken it away and kept it in his possession. And now, he’s given it to Legolas!”

The fact that Legolas possessed the Black Arrow caused a ruckus among the contestants.

Because it truly was a terrifying arrow. It was the arrow that killed the last dragon on Middle Earth, the dragon-slaying arrow made from the essence of the Anduin River! The most powerful human kingdom on Middle Earth went into decline just to produce it!

And yes, it was a divine artifact! It was not as powerful as the One Ring, but it was still a divine artifact that had transcended the legendary grade, because it was made of the particles that scattered when an ancient god dug the Anduin River. The moment the terrible arrow was forged, it swallowed up the fortune of an entire kingdom, causing its decline, while the weapon itself instantly became a top-grade legendary weapon.

And the killing of Smaug became the key for the Black Arrow to break through that last boundary. Of course, the material it was made of came from a divine artifact in the first place, which means it was only returning to the divine rank, so the hurdle was not that big.

Party Ace appeared very calm in the face of the Mouth of Sauron’s mockery. Ronnie even replied unconcernedly, “When we were trapped in the Source of Darkness hall, surrounded by thousands of people, no one thought we could survive too.”

But despite their calm, Sheyan’s situation was indeed treacherous. When Legolas’ right hand slowly placed the Black Arrow on the bowstring, even the legendary Lothlorien Longbow groaned in protest, unable to bear the terrifying power of the arrow. It was said that the bowstring of the Lothlorien Longbow contained the hair and blessing of Galadriel, yet it could hardly endure the great pressure of the divine artifact!

Blood flowed freely down Legolas’ fingers, but he stubbornly pulled the bowstring back, inch by inch.

“Dodging is futile! Nothing can halt the Black Arrow’s penetration, be they rocks, mountains, armour or shields, so step forward bravely and face your destiny! Aragorn died in your hands, so do not let his name be tarnished by your cowardice!” shouted Legolas.

Sheyan slowly walked out of the darkness inside the royal palace. He smiled and said, “Well, well, this is surprising. I thought I’d only get a legendary bow. But now, it looks like I’ll actually get a divine artifact!”