"An increase in the success rate of parasitic seed cultivation!"
"..."
Before he knew it, Jiang Liu had become completely absorbed in the dozen or so notebooks. When he finished reading the last one, he was a little tired, but also extremely excited.
"Professor Bian is truly a great scholar! He has devoted himself to scientific research for decades, which is why he has achieved such success!" After reading through these dozen or so notebooks, Jiang Liu gained a new understanding of this cruel black wizard.
Humans are all two-sided, and cruel dark wizards are no exception.
Through his cruelty and by using countless dwarves, elves, and humans as living subjects for experiments, the results of his research are of great value to bloodline wizards and to the entire wizarding civilization.
It can be said to be a treasure of wizarding civilization.
Of course, wizards generally do not disclose their research findings, especially bloodline wizards. They usually use their research on bloodline modifications on themselves. If their research findings were made public, their weaknesses, limitations, and so on would be exposed.
Even the most favored disciples rarely modify their own bloodline to advance the professor's abilities. This is not out of stinginess, but rather self-protection.
Unless he doesn't apply the results of his research to himself!
Now, the bloodline research results of Teacher Bianyi over the past century have all fallen into Jiang Liu's hands, which is truly a huge fortune.
"Even if I don't need these bloodline modifications, my soul slaves can! Looks like I need to recruit some followers... Hehe! Sauron wouldn't dare to easily modify his slaves, but I'm different. I can ensure their loyalty. Middle-earth will be the path of my wizarding journey!"
Jiang Liu put the notes into his spatial ring, preparing to take a nap and get some rest before starting to digest the inheritance.
But Sauron pushed open the door and strode in, holding a crystal ball in his hand, which clearly displayed the image transmitted from Smaug's left eye.
Chapter 286 The one riding a white horse isn't necessarily a prince
The crystal ball floated in front of Jiang Liu, and the images inside kept changing, as if someone was holding a camera and moving at high speed.
Indeed, the fiery dragon Smaug was soaring through the sky, his eyes looking down upon the earth.
After a brief internal struggle, the will to survive took over the brain. So, it gave in.
They submitted to the river's flow.
Life and death are choices that are easy to make. Smaug was a dragon, not a virtuous man. Betraying Middle-earth and becoming a traitor to the dragons did not cause him any psychological hindrance.
So it easily convinced itself.
"If he could just give me a Flame Gem, I'd serve him willingly. Thirty-eight years! A full thirty-eight years! I've been without my treasure for thirty-eight years. I long to sleep on gold coins, to dream of my gem... Hey! What's that elf doing sneaking around like that? Let's follow him and see!"
"Call the wizard! Call the wizard!"
Instantly, its mechanical left eye began to rotate, and a stream of mental energy connected to Sauron's crystal ball through the device in its left eye, clearly transmitting the scene seen by its left eye to the crystal ball.
"Don't alert the elf, stay hidden, turn on the high-powered telescope..."
Smaug landed atop a mountain peak, the machine in his left eye spinning continuously, then his pupil contracted, and the image in the crystal ball suddenly became clear.
Jiang Liu looked at the furtive elf. Although it was only her back, he could clearly see who she was: "Princess Arwen, how long has she been infiltrating the wizard's tower?"
“It seems like ten years, or even longer!” Soren said.
"Interesting. I wonder who he's meeting. Aragorn? A princess meets a prince, a love story amidst chaos... Hmm! He really is riding a white horse, eh!"
The image transmitted through the crystal ball suddenly blurred, and the elf and the white horse disappeared.
"Is it light distortion or something else?"
"Maia's magic is interfering with the transmission of spiritual power!"
“I’ll go check on you. You stay at the Tower of Sauron! Although your strength has been greatly reduced, even a Saintly Wizard wouldn’t dare to force his way in while you’re guarding the Wizard’s Tower.” After saying that, Jiang Liu summoned Smaug back.
Sauron said, "Was it necessary? When the nine great wizards invaded Middle-earth, the Maiar were at most only at the level of a second-circle wizard. Saruman was struck by a death curse and died... Well, back in the embrace of the gods, the Maiar are immortal!"
"The war of the gods in Valinor is raging, and the Maiar have once again descended upon Middle-earth. We must be careful. The Maiar's power comes from the gods; who knows what abilities these divine messengers possess this time?"
After Jiang Liu finished speaking, he rode the giant dragon and flew towards the place where the elves had disappeared.
"The power of the Tower of Soren is such that even a Saint-Stigma Wizard wouldn't dare to attack it head-on... Maiah, the elves, it seems they've been plotting to seize the Wizard's Tower for a long time!"
The Wizard's Tower is not just a research laboratory; its true function is equivalent to a battlefield fortress.
Without sufficient deterrence, how can we guard that spacetime rift?
The spacetime rift connects to the Wizarding World; its destruction would mean losing all contact with it. While the coordinates of this world are known to wizards, making its location relatively easy, breaking through the spatial barrier requires a vast amount of time and energy. More importantly, only a seventh-ringed True Spirit Wizard can shatter the spatial barrier.
Therefore, every spacetime rift is extremely important and needs to be protected by wizards.
Naturally, the wizard tower capable of guarding this spacetime rift is also extremely powerful. At the top of the tower is a massive cannon of destruction; anyone below the fourth ring is instantly killed if struck. However, the energy required to fire a single shot is enormous, so enormous that it pains Sauron's heart.
Jiang Liu killed Soren and also obtained a lot of useful information from his fragmented memories.
When they invaded Middle-earth, nine third-ring wizards united and set foot on this land, belonging to three different factions within the wizarding world. Sauron's faction was an organization called the Ouroboros.
According to what Jiang Liu gleaned from Soren's fragmented soul, this "Ouroboros" organization is extremely powerful, possessing at least one seventh-ring True Spirit Wizard. Soren speculates that the founder of "Ouroboros" is more likely an eighth-ring "Eternal Soul."
The Eternal Soul, an Eighth-Ring Wizard. Since it dares to call itself Eternal, Jiang Liu estimates that it should possess the strength of a Great Luo Golden Immortal. As for whether it has become a Saint, information is lacking, so it cannot be determined.
Middle-earth in "The Lord of the Rings" is far too barren compared to the other great worlds. Therefore, the Ouroboros organization does not value this world and instead focuses on invading Valinor, the abode of the gods.
The barrenness of Middle-earth is only relative. Its mithril, pure gold, and other minerals are enough to allow a third-circle wizard to be stationed there and exploit the resources. Only every ten years would a time fortress be used to collect resources and bring a group of wizard apprentices into this world for training.
Jiang Liu's previous incarnation arrived in the "Middle World" in this way.
With the ten-year deadline fast approaching, Jiang Liu naturally knew that the time fortress was about to arrive. As the agent of the "Ouroboros" organization in this world, Jiang Liu did not want his actions to be exposed.
Therefore, he needed a reasonable way for "Sauron" to die.
And the Maiar from Valinor would be the perfect person to be the murderer of Sauron.
Jiang Liu sat cross-legged on Smaug's back, looking at the white horse in the distance, and then at the elven princess and a man in front of the white horse.
The one riding a white horse isn't necessarily a prince; he could also be Tang Sanzang or Gandalf.
As the giant dragon hovered in the sky, the old man, dressed in white robes, with white hair and beard, and holding a white staff, pointed his white staff at the dragon above his head.
"Arwin, it seems our whereabouts have been exposed. Have those two evil otherworldly wizards, so engrossed in their research, started paying attention to us? But I never expected that the fire dragon Smaug would actually side with them. We were so careless!"
The elven princess instantly drew a longbow, clearly possessing some kind of spatial equipment, and said, "Gandalf, with our current strength, surely we can overthrow the evil wizard's rule? The black arrows developed by the dwarves can kill even a giant dragon with a single arrow from this bow. That evil wizard may be strong, but he can hardly withstand the fire of hundreds of black arrows!"
“Smaug is not the same Smaug as before. This dragon has been modified by evil wizards. I can smell the scent of evil magic on it... and the evil wizards have been dormant for many years!”
Chapter 287 This Gandalf is a Bit Fierce
Jiang Liu was well aware of Smaug's physical modifications. He had read Sauron's notebook, and a small portion of it was dedicated to records of these modifications.
Although Sauron took its left eye, he also fitted it with an alchemical mechanical eye. This eye was purchased from another wizarding faction in Middle-earth.
The nine wizards who invaded Middle-earth belonged to three different wizarding factions.
According to Jiang Liu's understanding, the wizard who crafted the Mechanical Eye was a wizard proficient in alchemical machinery, and belonged to a faction called "Mechanical Heart," whose wizard tower was located in Rivendell.
The third force, an elemental wizard, ruled Gondor.
As for Smaug's body, it was also enhanced by Sauron. The fire dragon's physical strength was no less than that of a second-ring body-refining wizard.
Gandalf was watching Jiang Liu, and Jiang Liu was also sizing up Gandalf. Their eyes met in mid-air, and Jiang Liu immediately narrowed his eyes. Gandalf had been killed more than thirty years ago, and this Gandalf who had reappeared was definitely a god resurrected, and his strength exceeded Jiang Liu's expectations.
Gandalf gripped his staff, coldly gazing at the dragon above and the river flowing on its back. He said in a deep voice, “They haven’t made a move in thirty years. Have you forgotten how terrifying they were? Back then, I couldn’t even withstand a single blow from them. Fortunately, only three otherworldly wizards remain in Middle-earth, and the Maiar are no longer as weak as they were forty years ago. Our chances of victory are probably fifty percent! Black Arrows can deal with ordinary wizards, but these three evil archmages—even our Maiar, who have returned with the blessings of the Valinor gods, wouldn’t dare easily defeat one of them! However, I may not win, but I won’t lose either!”
“Since we’ve been exposed, I might as well shoot Smaug!” Arwen nocked a jet-black arrow onto his bow. This black arrow was made from star iron refined by the dwarves when they were mining mithril. It was mixed with various rare metals and then forged. It had special effects such as piercing and penetrating magic.
At the cost of several chieftains, the dwarves reserved some of the rare metals they mined each year, such as mithril and gold, to forge 108 black arrows, along with some weapons and armor, all in preparation for the day they would rebel against the wizards' rule.
"Are you the disciple of the wizard you mentioned? How strong is he?"
Gandalf pointed to the river flowing on the dragon's back and asked.
"In these ten years, I haven't seen him use witchcraft. Although I've studied the language of wizards, I only know that he studies witchcraft related to the soul. It seems that the old wizard valued him highly; he originally had two students, but they disappeared three years ago..."
"The soul? Now that it's exposed, capture it! Smaug, you shoot him with the black arrow!"
In an instant, Gandalf's staff lit up like the sun, and a pure white, scorching ray of light shot toward Smaug.
"Such powerful magic! If you don't want to die, fight to the death!"
Even if Jiang Liu hadn't said anything, Smaug would have fought desperately. Before the scorching light even got close, it sensed an immense threat. After all, it was a fire dragon, least afraid of fire attacks.
But now, the heat contained in this beam of light was even more powerful than its fiery breath. Even with its superior fire resistance, it dared not use its body to block it. Instantly, a burst of flame shot towards Gandalf.
Correspondingly, Smaug nimbly soared through the sky. Eighteen meters.
Its long body moved nimbly through the air, like a swimming fish.
Just as it dodged the light magic, a black dot shot towards it at high speed.
The arrow was shot at a very tricky angle, and the timing was perfect.
In an instant, the arrow pierced Smaug's chest, its immense penetrating force causing it to sink into his flesh. Even the dragon scales could not withstand the arrow's penetration.
"roar!"
Smaug let out a painful roar, but fortunately it avoided a fatal wound in time. Although it was painful, it was not a fatal injury.
"The Black Arrow?" Jiang Liu narrowed his eyes as he looked at the arrow with its pure black fletching. In the original story, Smaug was killed by a Black Arrow that pierced his heart.
"Damn it, when will Gandalf be able to fly?"
Just as Jiang Liu was about to cast a spell, he saw Gandalf, with white hair and a white beard, dressed in white clothes and holding a white staff, flying towards him.
Gandalf charged forward, staff in his left hand and sword in his right.
Jiang Liu's lips twitched, and he muttered, "You really think you're a melee mage, huh?"
In an instant, the "Thunder Dragon Formation" was activated. In that instant, terrifying lightning burst forth from his palms, tearing apart the space in front of him.
Immediately afterwards, a terrifying thunder dragon emerged from it, snaking and twisting in the air before lunging straight at Gandalf.
Thunder Dragon sets sail!
If calculated according to the rules of the wizarding world, this attack would have a destructive force of five thousand degrees, capable of turning a person into charred remains in an instant.
However, Gandalf did not retreat an inch in the face of such an attack, but instead chanted mysterious scriptures.
In an instant, Jiang Liu's mind went almost blank. All he could hear were chants like "God saves the world," "God's grace is as vast as the sea," and "Please bless me with the power of holy light." What was worse, it felt as if at least a thousand people's chants had been crammed into his mind at that moment. That feeling was definitely unpleasant!
After a brief moment of distraction, Jiang Liu quickly regained his senses and saw Gandalf's sword slashing towards the thunder dragon. With a flash of cold light, the enormous head of the thunder dragon was severed by the sword.