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"The Grey Elves have finally crawled out of their shell—how interesting."
Sauron touched the magic ring on his right hand and turned his gaze toward the lone human among the Grey Elves—George. A mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Human, I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon. But this time, it looks like you will be the one running."
The strength of the Grey Elves was far inferior to that of the Noldor, and there were only two hundred of them here—none as renowned as Finrod, the famed Noldorin warrior.
Then there was his own force: the strongest vampire guard from Isle of the Werewolves. They weren't something a mere two hundred Grey Elves could possibly contend with.
As for himself, his power had tripled since their last encounter in the Grand Canyon, thanks to the magic ring's enhancement.
The only reason he lost back then was because George and the Elven prince had caught him off guard. It wasn't that they were stronger—he had just been taken by surprise. Otherwise, how could he have lost so easily?
But now, he had full confidence that he could utterly crush George and these Grey Elves.
He intended to capture the human and every last elf, bring them back to the Isle of the Werewolves, and slowly torment them to vent his pent-up rage.
As he spoke, a surge of dark power erupted from his body, instantly enveloping the entire Valley of Death with a force that was now three times stronger than before.
The valley George had previously purified now began to show signs of reverting to its corrupted state under the suffocating pressure of Sauron's darkness.
"This guy… his strength has grown this much?!"
George's face revealed a flicker of shock as he sensed the overwhelming dark energy.
It hadn't been long since Sauron had fled in defeat after their battle alongside Finrod, yet now it felt as if his power had increased three- or fourfold. It was like the guy had activated cheat codes.
"Good thing my cheat is even bigger… Otherwise, I really would be running today."
Sauron's strength may have tripled or quadrupled—but George's had increased even more.
During their last encounter, George hadn't yet mastered Elven law magic, hadn't reached Level 5, hadn't grasped the essence of lightning, hadn't become a Dragon Slayer Mage, and certainly hadn't taken on his dragon form.
Now, if he tallied it all up, his overall power had increased by at least tenfold—possibly more.
More importantly, his abilities were a natural counter to the darkness corrupted by Morgoth—forces that feared light.
Sure, if he had to fight someone like Melian, he wasn't certain he could win. But against Sauron? George was confident.
It wasn't that Melian was vastly stronger than Sauron. Both were top-tier Maiar, with power levels relatively close.
But Melian's abilities didn't align with his own counters—so he'd have to rely on pure strength in a fight against her.
And besides, he wasn't alone.
In terms of raw power, Galadriel was even stronger than Finrod, who had helped him repel Sauron the last time.
And Lucien? Her enchantments were potent enough to catch even Morgoth off guard if he wasn't careful. Her magical prowess far surpassed even Galadriel's.
As for the two hundred Grey Elves—these weren't ordinary soldiers. They had been carefully selected by Thingol himself over the course of a week, representing the best talent and strength in the Grey Elf Kingdom.
Individually, they were all elite warriors—stronger than your average Noldor elf by far.
So while Sauron believed he held the upper hand and was toying with his prey like a cat with a mouse—in truth, he was dealing with a muscle-bound kangaroo, not a helpless rodent.
"Well then… I let you escape last time. Let's make sure it ends here today."
Facing the overwhelming wave of dark energy, George calmly extended his right hand and made a "come at me" gesture toward Sauron.
Sauron and Gothmog were Morgoth's two most powerful lieutenants—eliminating either one would deal a serious blow to his forces.
And now, Sauron had appeared with only a small entourage, right in the Valley of Death, caught between Noldor and Grey Elf territories. He was deep in enemy lines.
This wasn't like the Grand Canyon, where a few flaps of his wings would take him safely back to Angband.
"You arrogant, lowly human! You'll pay the price for your insolence!"
Seeing George still daring to challenge him despite the overwhelming dark power at his disposal, Sauron seethed with fury and drew his magical sword from his waist.
In his mind, George should have been trembling in fear by now. He expected the human to either fall to his knees begging for mercy or turn and run in terror.
But instead, George made his move.
"Light Magic: Fairy Law!"
George didn't waste time matching Sauron's anger. Without hesitation, he unleashed his most potent light magic spell, one that was especially effective against dark forces. He concentrated all of its immense power on Sauron alone, ignoring the lesser vampires.
Taking down Sauron was the priority.
A massive magic circle formed in the Valley of Death, and a column of pure light descended, enveloping Sauron.
"So it's you... The one the master has been searching for!"
Faced with such overwhelming light magic, Sauron quickly activated the full power of the One Ring, surrounding himself in a dense shroud of darkness.
As the blinding light faded, Sauron staggered back, gasping for breath, shock written all over his face as he looked at George.
"This is impossible! You're just a human—how could you wield such powerful light magic?!"
Sauron knew every Maia and Vala, and he was certain George wasn't one of them. He was human—just human—but how could someone so weak wield light energy stronger than even a Maia's?
If it hadn't been for the Ring, this powerful light magic would have surely gravely wounded him with a single strike.
Even with the Ring's full protection, he had still sustained injuries.
Fortunately for him, George seemed to have been drained as well. The color drained from his face, and his aura of vitality had weakened considerably.
If this kind of magic could be used freely, Sauron would have fled immediately to avoid another devastating attack.
"Kill him!"
No longer interested in capturing George for later torture, Sauron's only thought now was to take advantage of the human's apparent weakness and kill him before he could unleash another terrifying burst of light magic.
With that, Sauron led his vampires forward, charging at George.
"George, are you alright?"
Lucien noticed the sudden pallor in George's face and the sharp drop in his life energy. She immediately rushed to his side, concerned.
Galadriel, meanwhile, drew her elven longsword and, riding her mighty elk, excitedly led the Grey Elves toward Sauron.
As they charged forward, she called out to Lucien:
"Lucien, warm me a cup of fruit wine. I'll drink it after I've cut down Sauron!"
She'd been hearing George's stories about the elven hero who had drunk wine after defeating a half-orc, and now, she was finally getting her own chance to live out such a moment—but against Sauron, one of Morgoth's most powerful generals.
"I'm fine, just need a moment to recover. You go ahead and help Galadriel; she can't face Sauron alone."
George gave Lucien a reassuring smile, indicating he would be okay.
Seeing that George wasn't in immediate danger, Lucien nodded and hurried after Galadriel.
(End of chapter)