Chapter 153: Raiding the Orc Stronghold

Ninth floor of the tower, in the Transfiguration room. Kael was waving his wand, drawing red lines in the air from nothing. The lines combined to form a complete three-dimensional network diagram, looking like a map of human blood vessel distribution. The red lines were very complex and constantly flowing, forming a complete circulatory system that emanated mysterious and extraordinary power. This was the internal magic circulation diagram of the skin-changer Beorn. It was also the secret of how Beorn could transform into a giant bear. Kael had never given up research on Transfiguration, especially the idea of advancing Animagus transformation. After all, if Animagus transformation only allowed changing into ordinary animals, it made this highest achievement of Transfiguration seem somewhat useless. After all, having worked so hard and spent so much time and energy, possibly requiring several years or even decades to succeed, only to end up able to transform into an ordinary animal seemed hardly worth it. This was also why very few wizards in the magical world practiced Animagus. Even throughout the entire twentieth century, only seven Animagi were registered with the Ministry of Magic. Even adding unregistered illegal Animagi, the total wouldn't exceed double digits. The main reason, besides Animagus being extremely difficult to master, was that the effort didn't match the reward. Otherwise, if Animagus could transform into magical creatures like dragons, phoenixes, or thunderbirds, countless wizards would probably rush to research and practice it. Kael originally didn't have much confidence either, but Beorn the skin-changer provided him with a template. So throughout this year, he had been studying the magic circulation within Beorn's body, with Arwen, Legolas, and others providing great help. He now had a complete magic circulation diagram, but Kael didn't dare immediately test it on himself. He planned to first find test subjects for magical transformation experiments. However, he didn't consider himself a dark wizard and couldn't bring himself to experiment on innocents, so he prepared to go out for a trip. But before his departure, Elladan and the others were leaving first. "Are you returning to Rivendell too?" Kael asked Arwen. Arwen's eyes carried starlight as she nodded gracefully and elegantly. "I've stayed here quite a while. I plan to return to Rivendell to accompany Father for some time, then go back to Lórien to be with Grandfather and Grandmother." Hearing this, Kael fell silent for a moment and didn't say anything to persuade her to stay. "I think Thorondor will miss you!" "What about you?" "I, uh... cough cough... Of course I'll miss you too. After all, we're close friends, aren't we?" Kael's heart involuntarily beat much faster. Arwen's eyes flickered, and then she showed a bright smile. "Yes, we are close friends!" Kael was somewhat dazed by her smile and immediately lowered his head, taking out an exquisite and elegant pouch from his space bag and handing it to her. "What is this?" Arwen was somewhat surprised and curious. "This is woven from giant spider silk, and I used some alchemical techniques to enhance it. The space inside will expand as more objects are added. The maximum limit is about the size of the garden, but it's very sturdy and the space is more stable than using the Extension Charm," Kael explained. "Moreover, I've also put some Floo Powder inside, so you can travel freely between Rivendell, Lórien, and Weathertop in the future." Arwen held the exquisite pouch, feeling its elasticity, then opened the pouch opening to look inside. Her eyes immediately widened slightly in surprise. "So much!" Inside was a full large bottle of Floo Powder, even more than what he had originally given to Elrond. This amount would be enough for one person to travel back and forth daily for over a year! Kael shook his head. "It's not much. You don't need to conserve it. When it's almost finished, just let me know, okay?" Arwen nodded, her smile radiant. "I understand. Don't worry, I'll use it well and come visit you and Thorondor when I have time." Kael cleared his throat, his gaze wandering. "That's good!" After seeing off the three Elven siblings, Kael was dejected for a moment, then immediately revived and began focusing all his attention and energy on what came next. After instructing Edward on matters, he woke the reluctant dragon Smaug and rode him northeast toward the Ettenmoors. In the northern part of the Ettenmoors were the Gram Mountains, a spur of the Misty Mountains. A group of Orcs had established a stronghold in these mountains and frequently raided south into the Eriador wastelands. Kael's destination was the Gram Mountains. Smaug's flight speed was very fast. In less than half a day, he had carried Kael to appear above the Gram Mountains. With the guidance of the palantír, Kael quickly locked onto a location somewhere in the mountains. He patted the dragon's back, pointing toward the hidden Orc stronghold in the mountains. "Smaug, go down there." Without a word, Smaug dove toward the mountains. In the Gram Mountains, in a canyon where even sunlight couldn't reach, the Orc stronghold was located. In the canyon, the number of Orcs was nearly ten thousand. The leader of the Gram Mountain Orcs was Sarzog, controlled by Sauron. When Azog and Bolg commanded the Misty Mountain Orcs, he followed their summons and deployment to some extent, cooperating with Azog and Bolg's actions. Until a year ago, when Azog and Bolg were killed in succession, and Bolg's northern Orc army in the Battle of Five Armies was completely annihilated. The Orcs suffered heavy losses, and the Orcs of Gram Mountain also contracted into the mountains, not daring to raid south into the wastelands for over a year. Especially after they heard that the one who killed Azog and Bolg, the two generations of Orc kings, and caused the Orcs' great defeat in the Battle of Five Armies had established territory at Weathertop west of the wastelands. The Orcs on Gram Mountain became very cautious, fearing to attract the attention of that being at Weathertop and bring disaster upon themselves. But on this day, as the mountain Orcs were idle, thinking it would be another boring day, the Orc on lookout duty suddenly felt an extra shadow in the sky. The surprised Orc looked up and saw a huge figure descending from the sky, instantly changing from surprise and confusion to terror. "It's a dragon! It's a dragon!" the Orc cried out in terror, his body trembling, then quickly grabbed a horn and blew it with all his might. As the horn sounded, many Orcs also discovered the dragon appearing in the sky, immediately causing chaos and commotion. Orc leader Sarzog, seeing the dragon appear, was extremely uneasy. As far as he knew, there was only one dragon still active in Middle-earth, the tamed golden dragon Smaug. If Smaug appeared here, then that being from Weathertop must have come too! Fear of that person was already rooted in all Orcs' hearts. They didn't even dare speak his name directly. It was said that the wizard had cast magic on his own name, so if any Orc called out his name, he would sense it and then ride his dragon over to burn the name-speaker to death with dragon fire! So all Orcs referred to him only through epithets like "that wizard," "that person," or "the dragon master." They didn't even dare speak his accurate name: "Black-Robed Wizard." Even Sarzog, as an Orc leader, to show fearlessness before his subordinates, had to speak Kael's name directly, causing the Orcs to cry out in surprise and awe, though his heart was still anxious. Now seeing Smaug appear over Gram Mountain, Sarzog's first reaction was wondering if speaking that name had attracted him. But the problem was he had only said it once! How could it be so effective? At this time, Kael on the dragon's back had no idea the Orcs had already made him legendary. As the dragon descended over the canyon, with Kael's command, amid the Orcs' terrified despair, scorching dragon fire spewed from the dragon's mouth, instantly consuming countless Orc buildings. For a time, the Orcs' terrified screams and wails echoed continuously throughout the canyon. "Fight back! Quickly bring out bows and crossbows to fight back!" Sarzog, as the Orc leader with the strongest psychological fortitude, immediately organized his subordinate Orcs to attack the dragon. Countless Morgul arrows imbued with dark magic shot toward the dragon in the sky. Many of these giant arrows were obviously weapons specifically forged to target dragons. Even the smallest wound from these arrows could be fatal, as the poison and curses imbued within them were deadly. But dragon Smaug was obviously unconcerned. Not only did he have hard scales naturally, but he was also wearing a set of dragon armor forged by dwarves. Even if there were Black Arrows capable of piercing scales, they might not penetrate the outer armor, let alone the layer of hard dragon scales underneath. The double-layer defense made dragon Smaug unrestrained. He flew directly at ground level, destroying wantonly with his giant claws while continuously breathing fire. Those giant arrows couldn't even count as scratching an itch for him. After surrounding the entire canyon in dragon fire, Kael waved his wand, petrifying some surviving Orcs and collecting them in space bags, including leader Sarzog. Just then, a long-missed prompt appeared: Hogwarts Check-in System: Located at Gram Mountain, check in? Kael was stunned for a moment, then delighted. He had almost forgotten about the system. He immediately answered: "Check in!" Check-in successful, congratulations on obtaining Newt Scamander's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"! Kael was somewhat disappointed, not expecting to get this book from this check-in. After collecting about a hundred Orcs, without caring whether any Orcs still survived in the canyon, he directly rode the dragon out of Gram Mountain. He left behind only an Orc stronghold engulfed and consumed by great fire. The towering smoke could be seen even from distant Rivendell to the south and by Dúnedain Rangers patrolling the wastelands. Before long, Dúnedain Rangers came to Gram Mountain and discovered this Orc stronghold destroyed by dragon fire. Then Kael's name once again spread rapidly throughout the wastelands. The Orcs in the Misty Mountains trembled even more, not daring to descend into the wastelands, much less speak Kael's name directly. Because Orcs who had escaped from Gram Mountain witnessed firsthand that their leader Sarzog had spoken Kael's name directly once. Then the man himself had come calling, destroying their stronghold with dragon fire and capturing Sarzog. Regarding this ridiculous rumor, Kael saw it in Sarzog's memories. He was immediately speechless. How had he received the same treatment as Voldemort among the Orcs? Fortunately, the Orcs hadn't used the title "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," or he would have completely lost it. Destroying the Gram Mountain stronghold was just a casual matter for Kael. He locked the captured hundred-plus Orcs in cells high in the tower, then brought a petrified Orc to the laboratory to begin research. The origin of Orcs was unknown. One theory was that Morgoth had captured Elves and continuously tortured and transformed them, ultimately producing Orcs, these twisted, ugly, dark creatures. Therefore, Orcs were jealous of Elves and tried to vent on Elves the pain Morgoth had inflicted on them. This was why Orcs' hostility toward Elves was stronger than toward other races. Kael wasn't sure if this legend was true or false, but he could indeed sense the existence of magical power in Orcs. Such humanoid creatures were perfect for magical transformation experiments.