#359 - pressure

At the end of the Third Age 3018, on a bright midday, the Council of Rivendell convened.

Hosted by Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell, the main participants included the supreme leader of the Free City-States, the Lord of the North, the legendary Li Wei, the Grey Wizard Gandalf, the Ring-bearer Frodo, the discoverer of the One Ring Bilbo, the unremarkable Noldor elf Glorfindel, the dwarf Gloin and his son Gimli, Boromir the eldest son of the Steward of Gondor, Legolas of the Woodland Realm, the Ranger Aragorn, and Círdan's messenger Galdor.

Also present were several Rivendell advisors seated with Elrond.

These individuals would jointly discuss the final disposition of the One Ring and devise countermeasures against the resurgence of Sauron.

"Distinguished guests from afar, and long-standing allies, you have been summoned here to address the threat of Mordor."

"Now Middle-earth is about to fall into turmoil once more, and the fates of our races are intertwined. We should unite as one and face the enemy together."

After delivering the opening remarks, Elrond gestured:

"Ring-bearer, step forward, Frodo."

Frodo then walked to the stone platform and placed the Ring down.

The moment he set down the Ring, the stone in his heart also seemed to fall, as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

The eyes of everyone in the room were immediately drawn to the One Ring, and they began to discuss it in hushed tones.

From this moment on, the One Ring began to manifest its influence. The people were already restless, and although they discussed, their eyes never left the Ring.

After signaling for silence, Gandalf, Elrond, and Bilbo stepped forward to tell everyone the history and origin of the One Ring, and they did their best to describe the evil power contained within it.

"It is an utterly evil thing."

"I do not agree."

When the three finished speaking, Boromir stood up. He stared intently at the Ring, slowly approaching it as he spoke: "I had a dream, a dream of endless dark clouds, but light pierced through the clouds."

"A voice in the dream revealed to me that Isildur's Bane has been found. It is a weapon of the enemy, but why can't it also become an aid to the free people?"

"If it is used by Gondor, it will certainly be able to…"

Boromir's eyes gradually glazed over.

Bearing the hope of all Gondor, his obsession was too deep.

Thus, he became the first person to be successfully tempted.

Willpower check failed.

Boromir reached out, trying to pick up the Ring.

In this brief moment, Aragorn and Legolas exchanged glances, then looked at Li Wei in unison.

To show importance, Li Wei was arranged to speak last at this meeting. It was not his turn yet, so he remained silent, not speaking.

Sensing the two gazes suddenly cast over, Li Wei pondered slightly, winked at them, nodded quite calmly, and then made no other move.

So the one man and one elf thought for a moment, and calmed down, abandoning the intention to stand up and stop him.

At this time, Li Wei was puzzled.

Didn't I nod to signal you to stop him quickly? Why are you suddenly not moving?

Have you two discussed it and are deliberately going against me?

Seeing that Boromir was about to lose control, Li Wei took a breath and was about to stand up to suppress the scene when suddenly Elrond shouted:

"Boromir!"

The young commander was taken aback.

At the same time, dirty, evil, and unpleasant Black Speech arose from Gandalf's mouth.

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,"

"One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."

A total of four sentences, all engraved on the One Ring.

As these four sentences of Black Speech sounded one by one, the entire Rivendell fell into darkness. There was a thunderous sound in the sky, startling the golden leaves on the trees and causing some debris to fall from nearby buildings.

Elrond covered his forehead, feeling that his hair was about to fall out from worry.

This was a corner of Sauron's power at his peak. He could influence the environment of an entire region with just words, and even drag this area into darkness.

No matter what, he was still a Maia, although not too strong among the Maia, he was definitely not weak.

In the darkness, Li Wei and Glorfindel looked at each other and shook their heads.

This thing was not a direct attack. It was more of a phenomenon, and neither of them could deal with it very well.

On the other side, Elrond was very angry at Gandalf's unauthorized actions. It could be said that he was truly furious.

These few words affected not only the participants, but also the entire Rivendell. All the elves were startled by the sudden arrival of evil.

But as everyone knows, Elrond is a well-known nice guy.

After Gandalf sincerely admitted his mistake and apologized, he no longer pursued the matter.

"I do not ask for your forgiveness, Lord Elrond, but if I did not do so, people would not realize its danger, nor would they realize how despairing it would be when it resounded throughout Middle-earth."

"This is a godsend."

Someone was still not giving up.

After recovering, Boromir stood up again and said, "Why not use this Ring?"

Thinking of the previous words 'One Ring to rule them all,' Boromir said:

"As long as we have it in hand, those Ringwraiths will have to obey. They will no longer be a threat."

"Gondor has made too many sacrifices to resist Mordor and the many forces in the South. As long as we can make good use of it…"

"You cannot wield it, and neither can anyone else here."

Aragorn couldn't help but say, "The One Ring is only wielded by Sauron, and no other master."

"What does a mere Ranger know?"

Hearing this, Legolas was unhappy, and he immediately stood up to speak for his friend: "He is no ordinary Ranger, he is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, you should pledge allegiance to him."

"Aragorn, descendant of Isildur?"

Boromir muttered, saying:

"Gondor has no king, and Gondor needs no king…"

Sigh—

Looking at the scene in front of him, Li Wei sighed.

"Boromir, sit down."

He spoke, and everyone's attention was drawn to him.

Boromir's words choked in his throat, and he opened his mouth several times, but couldn't say another word.

After a pause, he obediently returned to his seat and fell silent.

Yes, Gondor has been bleeding and sacrificing all along, and the pressure is also great, but the North is not small either, and they have withstood even greater pressure.

They seem relaxed, only because there is a tall man leading batches of battle-hardened troops at the front.

All the peaceful and stable life is because someone bears everything in dangerous places.

But if he could get the One Ring, he might be able to become that tall man, and he could also bear everything in the most dangerous place, resist many pressures, resist the frontal invasion of the great enemy, and even counterattack Mordor afterwards, sending the great enemy to destruction.

Then it would be fine to destroy the Ring, wouldn't it? Would I make such an obvious mistake with a precedent?

Everything is for the sake of completely solving the hidden dangers, for the sake of allowing people to have a long-term peaceful and stable life, is there anything wrong with that?

Once again thinking of what his father said before leaving, Boromir slowly closed his eyes and sighed secretly.

Under that strong, power-hungry appearance was a tense and worried heart.

His father's expectations, the people's enthusiasm, the trust of his brothers and comrades… everything in Gondor seemed to be pressing on his shoulders, making it difficult for him to straighten his back.

*thud*.

A hand suddenly rested on his slightly tired, broad shoulders, and the temperature emanating from the gauntlet was a little scorching.

"Don't worry so much, Boromir."

"Remember, I once told you that if you have anything, tell me, I'm here, I can definitely help."

"Or do you need a hug?"