Chapter 92: The Imperius Curse

Kael and Gandalf journeyed by boat down the Forest River, drifting all the way to its mouth and entering the expanse of the Long Lake. The Long Lake was formed by the confluence of the Forest River and the Running River, which originated from the Lonely Mountain. It then flowed eastward, eventually emptying into the Sea of Rhûn. Lake-town was situated on a central island in the Long Lake, sheltered by a rocky promontory, a prosperous town bustling with trade. Kael and Gandalf followed the river downstream but did not encounter Thorin and the others. "Point Me." A line of light shot from the wand, pointing toward the mist-shrouded center of the lake. "Gandalf, it seems Bilbo and the others have found a way across the lake." "That's good news," Gandalf nodded. "I expect we can regroup in Lake-town." Just then, a group of Orcs also pursued them from up the Forest River. After entering the river mouth, the current slowed, and the two men in the boat instantly became slow-moving targets. "Shoot them dead!" the Orc leader barked in the Black Speech. With his command, a dense volley of arrows shot toward the two. Facing hundreds of arrows, Kael was unconcerned. With a wave of his wand, a protective barrier formed around them. But unexpectedly, while the barrier blocked the vast majority of arrows, a few ignored the defense, pierced straight through the shield, and flew toward Kael's head. "Watch out! There are Morgul arrows hidden among them!" Gandalf reacted quickly, splitting the arrows with a powerful sword stroke and shouting a warning. Kael's reaction was just as fast. He immediately used the wide oar in his hand as a shield. Instantly, two Morgul arrows embedded themselves in the wooden oar. The immense force drove the arrowheads through the wood, revealing their sharp, dangerous black tips. He hadn't expected the Orcs to be so cunning this time, hiding the poisonous, dark-magic-infused Morgul arrows within a dense barrage, making them impossible to guard against. Kael's expression turned grim. He threw away the oar with the Morgul arrows stuck in it and immediately counterattacked. "Confringo!" The Orcs on the bank seemed prepared, quickly pulling out shields from their backs to block in front of them. Although the massive explosive force sent the Orcs flying, very few actually died. It was unknown what material those shields were made of, but they were extremely sturdy and successfully withstood the force of the explosion. Kael and Gandalf's expressions grew solemn. "Kael, these Orcs are clearly aware of your methods. They came prepared!" Gandalf warned. Kael nodded silently, having also noticed the problem. "Gandalf, let's go ashore first. I need to get some answers from these Orcs!" Gandalf agreed and quickly steered the small boat toward the bank. "Arrows! Shoot them dead with arrows!" the Orc leader commanded in the Black Speech. The Orcs tried to prevent the two from landing with a dense attack. But the next second, the bows and arrows in their hands turned into venomous snakes, which opened their fangs and quickly bit at their necks or arms. The Orcs were terrified by this sudden turn of events, instinctively throwing away their bows and falling into chaos. The snakes fell to the ground and turned back into their original weapons, as if it had all been a hallucination. But before they had a chance to retrieve their weapons, Kael's attack followed. "Diffindo, Reducto, Confringo..." Kael leaped from the small boat to the shore, casting several spells in succession. With the sound of massive explosions and shattering, the Orcs were instantly left dead or wounded. Seeing the situation turn against him, the Orc leader immediately turned to run but was hit by Kael's Petrification Charm and frozen in place. After dealing with all the other Orcs, Kael walked up to the petrified Orc leader. He waved his hand, dispelling the Petrification Charm. The Orc leader immediately drew a dagger and charged at Kael. With a bang, the Orc leader was sent flying backward, crashing heavily against a large boulder behind him. "Trying to kill me?" Kael sneered, stepping closer to the Orc. Seeing the dagger in its hand emanating a dark magical aura, he raised an eyebrow. "It seems you came well-prepared. Besides the Morgul arrows, you also have dark magic daggers. All to deal with me?" With a wave of his wand, the arm holding the dagger was instantly severed. The Orc leader let out a scream but continued to glare fiercely at Kael. Kael's eyes hurt from looking at the Orc's ugly, ferocious face. With a slight lift of his finger, the dark magic dagger floated up from the Orc's severed hand and was swiftly pressed against the Orc leader's neck. "Tell me, who is your leader now that Azog is dead? And why are you still hunting the dwarves?" Kael threatened. "Just tell me, and I'll let you go." The Orc leader was not intimidated. Instead, he showed a ferocious, malicious smile and said smugly, "Wizard, you'll never know! Just wait, my master has long been prepared. Both you and those dwarves will be burned to death by flames!" Gandalf walked over and heard the Orc leader's words. In a flash of anger, he pinned the Orc heavily against the rock wall with his staff. "Tell me your secrets, Orc, or I'll purify you with the light of fire right now!" The heavy blow caused the Orc leader pain, but his face showed even more brazen defiance. "Haha, you'll get no information from me! Our time has come again! The flames of war will engulf the land, and we will be victorious in the end!" Gandalf grew even angrier and struck again with his staff. Kael stopped Gandalf from continuing the interrogation. "Gandalf, since he's unwilling to talk, let's try another way." "Imperio!" Feeling the intense dark magic aura emanating from Kael's spell, Gandalf frowned slightly, looking at him with some concern. However, he didn't say much. He trusted that Kael knew what he was doing. So he focused his main attention on the Orc. Kael had cast one of the three Unforgivable Curses, the Imperius Curse. The Imperius Curse had no direct killing power. It couldn't kill instantly like the Killing Curse or torture like the Cruciatus Curse. But its most dangerous aspect was its ability to control the thoughts and actions of others, turning them into puppets of the caster. Even their most beloved family or friends, they could kill without hesitation. It could be said that the Imperius Curse influenced and controlled a person's soul, making them no longer themselves. More importantly, there was no counter-curse for the Imperius Curse. To break free from its control, one needed either an exceptionally strong will to overcome its influence or to kill the caster, causing the curse to automatically fail. Otherwise, it was almost impossible to break the control of the Imperius Curse with other magic. Seeing the Orc leader's eyes become vacant, Kael immediately asked, "Who is your new leader?" The Orc leader's expression seemed to struggle, but the next second it returned to a calm state. "It is Bolg, son of Azog. He is our new king. [Chapter Complete] *** Want more? Check out my Patreon for: ✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories ✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics ✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl ???? Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter! Thanks for reading and supporting the story!