#351 - Star Ring and Li Wei
"It feels a bit too quiet."
Li Wei took out a torch and walked up the stairs step by step.
"Saruman, are you there?"
"If you don't come out, I'll burn this tower down with a torch."
Li Wei shouted, but after waiting for a while, there was still no response.
Now he was sure that Saruman was indeed not there.
Otherwise, he would have rushed out with his staff and started cursing at him after hearing those words.
Clatter.
The sound of footsteps was particularly clear in the silent and dark tower. Li Wei walked up step by step, carefully observing the surrounding environment.
He continued all the way to the top floor.
Whoosh—
The torch lit the lamp post, and the room was once again filled with warm yellow light.
No one.
Li Wei searched around, only to see some scattered notes on the ground, a messy desk, and... some scorched terrace floor, as if it had been struck by lightning.
"This is probably retribution."
Li Wei shook his head.
It seemed that the battle at that time was more intense than he had imagined. Judging from the traces at the scene, the power of this lightning, let alone Gandalf and Saruman, would probably knock off a large chunk of his shield if it hit him.
"Huh?"
Just as Li Wei searched the top floor of the tower and was about to go elsewhere to take a look, a silver-white light suddenly flashed in an inconspicuous corner on the ground, attracting his attention.
Li Wei squatted down and picked up the light.
"A ring?"
"A Nether Star?!"
Li Wei was really surprised by this.
"Could it be made by Saruman?"
It could only be him.
With a rustle, Li Wei picked up the falling notes on the ground, rummaged through Saruman's past manuscripts, and finally found a name.
"Star Ring."
This was a Ring of Power that fused the power of the Nether Star, and it could provide the wearer with some powerful buffs.
"Its power is slightly higher than the Three Rings of the Elves, but far inferior to the One Ring."
Li Wei could detect a trace of unwillingness from Saruman's notes.
This White Robe, or as he would say, 'Saruman of Many Colors,' was still so fond of the One Ring, always thinking about it.
Well... but, a Ring of Power.
Li Wei stared at the Star Ring in his palm, thinking slightly.
Logically speaking, each Ring of Power has its own unique, almost rule-level authority and power bonus, so what function does this Ring of Power fused with the Nether Star have?
Driven by curiosity, Li Wei put on the ring.
Far away in a dark, spiky iron cage, Saruman, whose robe was tattered, suddenly opened his eyes.
A smug smile appeared on his lips.
"Interesting."
On this side, inside the tower, as soon as Li Wei put on the ring, he immediately felt the difference.
A force spread from the Star Ring to his entire body.
The most direct thing was—first of all, his health points directly increased by half, becoming thirty points. Wearing the ring was equivalent to gaining a permanent health point cap increase buff.
Then there was a wonderful feeling. His mind became clearer, his vision became sharper, his perception became more acute, his reaction became faster...
And now, he could truly vaguely perceive the existence of 'magic,' which was usually something that elves or some special, talented beings could do.
Finally, the Star Ring also provided a power bonus—not the kind of 'power' shown on the status bar, but an overall power bonus.
In a more understandable way, it was a 'hidden attribute' that could directly increase Li Wei's attack power proportionally.
It could probably increase it by 20%.
These things that were not directly reflected in the attributes or buff bar made Li Wei feel quite wonderful.
"Is this the Ring of Power? No wonder so many people are fascinated by it, even at the risk of soul corruption."
This ring could provide so many bonuses even when worn by Li Wei, who was theoretically just a human. The bonuses it could provide to wizards with more powerful root power would only be higher.
To some extent, it could be said that it proportionally increased the wearer's original power.
Huh, wait...
Experiencing the mysteries of the Star Ring, suddenly, Li Wei had another premonition, which was related to the magic perception bonus provided by the Star Ring.
"Oh, there's another function I overlooked."
It could also provide a beacon effect.
After thinking about it, Li Wei chose resistance enhancement.
This thing could provide a 20% damage reduction effect at level one, which was very useful.
Dragon Flame Steel Armor, Rune Shield, permanent resistance enhancement buff... Now it was really hard to break through.
Pretty good.
Although the effect strength was one level lower than the maximum limit of the beacon, and he could only choose a level one buff, the Star Ring was, after all, a ring. It was more convenient and only provided bonuses to the wearer, without benefiting the enemy.
Saruman really forged a good thing.
It was a pity that he couldn't find him, otherwise Li Wei would really have to seriously consider paying some price to exchange this thing for his own use.
The motivation to find Saruman increased by one point.
But where is this guy?
Li Wei scratched his hair, quite puzzled.
The Star Ring seemed to have some mysterious guidance, but this guidance was like another new language that Li Wei had never learned, leaving him only with doubts.
He couldn't understand it.
The smile on someone's lips slowly disappeared somewhere far away.
Forget it.
There were people who were better at this.
After searching the Isengard Valley in detail again, confirming that there were indeed no other noteworthy clues, Li Wei rode his horse and ran all the way back.
Gandalf was readily available in Roadside Fortress, so he could just go back and ask him.
Even if Gandalf didn't understand, there was still Elrond, and if that didn't work, he could go to the Golden Forest to find Lady Galadriel. Someone would always be able to figure it out.
"Wait for me, Saruman."
…
"Boromir! Boromir!!"
Osgiliath East, the soldiers of Gondor enthusiastically shouted the name of the man standing at the highest point.
Boromir re-inserted the flag of Gondor on this ruin. He raised the iron sword in his hand, which faintly emitted an imperceptible light, and shouted loudly:
"This city was once the treasure of our kingdom, where glory, beauty, and music gathered. From now on, it will be restored to this glory!"
"Yeah!!"
The inspiring speech brought a warm response from the soldiers.
"The armies of Mordor must remember—the land where the people live will never fall into the hands of the enemy again!"
"The city of Osgiliath has been recovered for Gondor!"
"For Gondor!"
"For Gondor!!" The soldiers in the city cheered and shouted.
Just last month, the Ringwraiths, who had suddenly returned from nowhere, launched a general offensive, and almost all the Orcs on the border poured out.
The Ringwraiths and the hybrid flying dragons under them were too ferocious. The roars of the giant beasts were frightening, and the Ringwraiths spread out in the air like green suns, emitting waves of terrifying light and evil aura.
Even with high and strong walls, Osgiliath still failed to hold on under this power.
For ordinary people, the Ringwraiths were super-model existences. Without means to restrain them, they would be restrained to death.
But fortunately—he didn't know how it came, but news arrived before the Ringwraiths led the army.
At that time, the two generals stationed in the city, Boromir and Faramir, discussed and finally made a decision to retreat temporarily at Faramir's strong suggestion.
They were not afraid of the Ringwraiths and dared to rush up to fight, but the soldiers were afraid. Once the fear aura was activated, they simply couldn't fight.
This choice was correct, and they avoided some unnecessary losses.
The army of Gondor crossed the bridge, abandoned Osgiliath East, and defended the West for a long time, until the Ringwraiths received some other order and left again. Then Boromir led the army to launch a counter-offensive, expelling the Orcs at the smallest cost and recapturing the East.
When Boromir walked down from the high place, Faramir immediately greeted him.
Upon meeting, the two smiled and gave each other a solid hug.
Needless to say, their brotherly love was strong.
"Good speech, short and concise," Faramir commented on this speech.
"Saving time for a good drink!"
Boromir also had his short reasons.
"Hahahahaha—"
The two brothers laughed together, celebrating the victory.
Until the arrival of another person.
