Chapter 642
Trial
Chapter 642 Trial
At that moment, Mike, sitting in front of the tower window, was studying the "Orb of True Knowledge" in his hand.
A magic crystal ball the size of a watermelon can also be seen as a miniature "Demon King's Eye".
Saruman had previously used this crystal ball to transmit real-time information about the human race in Middle-earth to Sauron, who was far away in Mordor.
As Mike touched the crystal ball with both hands, a huge vertical pupil burning with flames suddenly appeared inside the transparent crystal ball, followed by the figure of Sauron, the demon lord shrouded in black energy, also appearing inside the crystal ball.
"Saruman, what is it now..." Sauron, the Demon Lord, began to speak habitually, but upon realizing that it wasn't Saruman standing on the other side, he suppressed his anger and asked, "Lord of Lonely Mountain, what are you doing here? What have you done to Saruman?"
Enemies are bound to be furious when they meet, especially since Sauron, the Demon Lord, was the one who suffered a one-sided defeat.
However, considering the importance of the Orc breeding method to him, Sauron suppressed his anger and began to inquire about Saruman's situation.
"Saruman, the one you're looking for, is out in the cold wind and probably can't help you for the time being," Mike said with a smile.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Sauron, the Demon Lord, understood from the other's expression that his cooperation with Saruman had been exposed.
His desire for a larger orc army was now doomed to fail.
"Lord of Lonely Mountain, you will pay the price for your actions!" With his plans repeatedly thwarted and fueled by both old and new grudges, the Demon Lord Sauron could no longer contain his rage.
As his deep voice rang out, the black demonic energy within the True Knowledge Orb began to churn.
"Are you threatening me?" Mike calmly commented, "A guy who only knows how to hide in the shadows, you don't deserve the title of Demon King at all..."
"If you're not satisfied, you're welcome to come and challenge me to a one-on-one fight. I'm always ready to serve you."
Without considering the One Ring's power, Sauron, the Dark Lord, is roughly equivalent to the Elven Queen who has exhausted her magical energy.
This level of strength poses no threat to Mike whatsoever.
Of course, even if Sauron the Dark Lord obtained the One Ring, it would still be nothing more than a roadside object for Mike.
Therefore, the Demon Lord, whom everyone in Middle-earth feared, actually had no respect for Mike.
Soren clearly realized that he had no way to deal with the humans on the other side, so, unwilling to suffer any more humiliation, he immediately severed his connection with the Orb of True Knowledge.
Gandalf witnessed this scene as he climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the wizarding tower.
"Is that Sauron, the Dark Lord?" Even Gandalf had never seen the Dark Lord so enraged before.
“As you can see, it is indeed that coward.” In a fairly good mood, Mike weighed the magic crystal ball in his hand a couple of times before tossing it to Gandalf and continued, “This crystal ball is useless to me now, so you can handle it.”
The crystal ball with positioning and communication functions is indeed magical, but this magical orb of true knowledge can only be connected to the demon lord Sauron in a one-way connection.
Therefore, it is quite useless and has no value for collection in Mike's possession.
However, for Gandalf, anything related to the Dark Lord Sauron was worth paying attention to.
So after receiving the crystal ball, he carefully wrapped it up and put it away.
"Next, I'll tell you about Saruman's situation..." After dealing with the issue of the Orb of Truth, Mike immediately began explaining to Gandalf the "good deeds" Saruman had done.
It probably involves betraying the Light faction, cooperating with the Dark Lord Sauron, and cultivating the Orcs in Isengard.
"You decide how to deal with Saruman." In the end, Mike handed over the authority to deal with Saruman to Gandalf.
To reiterate, while Mike could easily take down Saruman, there was absolutely no need for him to provoke Ilúvatar, Saruman's true backer, over something like this.
“Let me see Saruman alone! After all, he was once one of us.” Gandalf, his brow furrowed, still decided to give Saruman some face.
They want to resolve internal problems internally.
"Whatever you like~"
Mike shrugged indifferently, then gathered a surge of divine power and sent Gandalf to the top of the wizard's tower.
“Saruman, I know everything you’ve done.” Upon seeing Saruman up close, Gandalf realized that the man’s condition was even worse than he had imagined.
It was mainly a psychological blow; he seemed to have suffered a great deal.
Of course, given what Saruman had done, he was not in a position to deserve Gandalf's sympathy.
"After things are settled here, I will personally take you back to Middle-earth and report your performance in detail to Ilúvatar..." As colleagues, Gandalf ultimately gave Saruman some face.
As for what punishment Saruman will receive upon returning to Middle-earth, that's not Gandalf's concern.
"You think you've won? If it weren't for that human, you and those trash like Redagast would only deserve to submit to me!" Saruman suddenly spoke, a hint of madness in his eyes, as Gandalf prepared to leave. Yes, even now, Saruman still didn't think he was wrong.
Despite his arrogant nature, deep down he always looked down on the other four wizards, led by Gandalf.
Under such circumstances, how could he possibly accept Gandalf's "judgment" of him?
Even though Gandalf's approach was as mild as possible, Saruman saw it as Gandalf coming to laugh at him.
"What?" Gandalf was also surprised that Saruman was still so stubborn at this point.
"Stop pretending, you'll never beat me~" As a Maiar sent to Middle-earth to maintain peace, Saruman's defeat will undoubtedly diminish his standing in Ilúvatar's eyes.
In other words, his path to promotion has been cut off.
A mix of negative emotions, including resentment and anger, made Saruman increasingly dislike Gandalf.
After all, Saruman's defeat meant that Gandalf was about to take over.
Therefore, in a moment of madness, Saruman recklessly charged toward Gandalf.
He wanted to prove that even if he lost, he was still better than his opponent.
This is indeed the case; even without magic, Saruman, with his demigod-like body, remains a formidable fighter.
Coupled with his reckless madness, he actually managed to throw Gandalf, who was holding the wand, into a bit of a mess for a short time.
"Calm down, Saruman!"
Gandalf also noticed that Saruman's mental state was not right, and after defending for a while, he finally couldn't help but unleash his magic.
He wanted to push the other person away.
The top of the wizard's tower was only a small area, and after Saruman was blasted away by the magic, he accidentally rolled to the edge of the tower.
"No~"
With a terrified scream, Saruman reached the edge of the tower, but ultimately failed to grab the protrusion at the edge and his body plummeted to the ground below.
The towering wizard tower is at least a thousand meters high; even a demigod would have no chance of survival if he fell from it without any warning.
So when Gandalf arrived at the edge of the tower, he only saw a pile of indescribable minced meat at the foot of the tower.
Further to the side, there was a circle of tree people watching the spectacle.
It's easy to tell from their jubilant gestures that they are cheering for the death of the bad guys.
"Gandalf, I didn't expect you to finally make a decisive move. Well done!" Mike, who then appeared at the top of the tower, smiled and gave the wizard a thumbs-up.
Having witnessed the entire process from the room below, he actually had a chance to save Saruman.
But neither he did that out of a sense of reason nor emotion.
“I…” Gandalf turned around, wanting to explain that he did not intend to kill Saruman.
However, since things have come to this point, there seems to be no need for further explanation.
Of course, as a Maiar, Saruman, although he was smashed into a pulp, did not actually die.
Having lost his physical body, his soul will eventually return to the embrace of the creator god Ilúvatar.
It is not impossible to reshape the physical body.
Perhaps Saruman's spirit is already complaining about Gandalf to Ilúvatar.
However, for Gandalf, that little mistake was nothing serious.
At worst, he can wait until he returns to Middle-earth and confront Saruman face to face.
Ultimately, Saruman was the one who made the more serious mistake in the whole affair.
“Alright, snap out of it,” Mike called to the wizard who was lost in thought, and said, “The trouble Saruman created is not really over. The orc army on the Rohan defense line is still waiting for us to deal with.”
……
(End of this chapter)