Not much was needed to describe how Gandalf saved Theoden. It followed the movie plot where he used the power of a wizard to expel Saruman’s control. The process was merely Gandalf waving his staff.
The king of Rohan looked like an eighty year old man. After Gandalf saved him from the curse, his body quickly recovered in a minute. His pale gray face slowly gained hint of blood. And he returned to the look of a middle age man.
Theoden was a strong cavalry. In less than three days, he regained the ability to use battle Qi and ride a horse. The intensity of his battle Qi surpa.s.sed that of Aragorn’s. He was still valiant despite being pa.s.sed the golden age of a man. No one could ignore his presence.
The Fellows.h.i.+p and team China spent these several days resting. Theoden fell under control for so long that the political system and army of Rohan were now in a chaotic state. He used the time to recover his body and straighten out the political system. Gandalf felt pressed for time but he didn’t put much pressure on Theoden and helped him instead.
Team China didn’t only rest during these days. They obtained permission from Theoden then began gathering the civilians in the city. ChengXiao tested blood type of the civilians. He then chose the thirty strongest men, drew enough blood, and finally proceeded the surgery on Boromir.
Zheng defrosted with his Qi. YinKong acted as his a.s.sistant. This was a surgery covering the heart and lung under crude conditions. Ten hours later, ChengXiao announced success with an exhausted look. Boromir though had to recuperate for the next several months. In other words, he wouldn’t be of use in this war.
The other thing was that Gandalf had agreed to unbind the weapons they had. He decided to do it while they had the free time and the weapons would prove useful in the upcoming battles. The magic to unbind weapons were rather complicated. It needed large quant.i.ty of energy stones and he would be weakened for a few days. That was why he chose to do it now.
Team China originally planned to watch the magic but Gandalf drove them out of the room. He chanted in a strange language accompanied by explosions of lights. They realized this process was much more complicated than expelling the curse on Theoden. The lights lasted for an hour before fading away. Gandalf came out of the room exhausted. He handed the weapons to Zheng, returned to his room, and shut the door. He told them not to bother him.
“He seemed really tired.” Gimli said in a low voice after he saw Gandalf shutting the door.
Aragorn and Legolas nodded in agreement. They turned to the two weapons on Zheng’s hand. The invisible sword revealed itself. It looked plained. There was nothing really distinctive about it. Just a plain two handed sword, except for two lines of engravings on the blade.
The silver bow on the other hand looked fascinating. Symbols and characters exposed themselves on the bow, covering every bit of its body. Strings of silver light flowed among the symbols and characters. Zheng could not feel these light when he held the bow. The bow was attractive when unbound.
Without delay, he handed the weapons to YinKong and Heng. they dripped their blood on the bow. Excalibur turned invisible once more. The symbols and characters on the bow subsided.
Zheng let out a sigh of relief. “These soul bound weapons come with their own abilities. You have to learn to use them during these days. Or it will be too late when the battle comes.”
Heng naturally agreed. YinKong glanced at Zheng without a word, then she left with the sword. She was heading to the gate of the city. It looked like she was going to train outside the city.
Heng sighed with mixed feelings. “Can’t believe she’s girl. She always train so hard like she doesn’t know what tiredness feels like. People from the a.s.sa.s.sin’s clan are intrinsically different from us.”
Zheng stared at her back then sighed. “No. a.s.sa.s.sin’s clan isn’t enough for that… she’s carrying too much. These burden are pressing down on her. She has to struggle with all she has to survive… It still comes down to power. We don’t have the power to seize our fate.”
YinKong’s back seemed so lonely. They almost couldn’t help but want to share that burden with her. Just so she wouldn’t feel lonely.
Several days later, the political system of Rohan came under control. Theoden called for the movie characters and the players.
He told them his thoughts as soon as they met. “Saruman’s army is looming. The scouts returned message that he sent an army of ten thousand Uruk-hai. These weren’t cowardice like the half orcs and orcs. The Uruk-hai will reach us in a few days. We don’t have the force to rival this army. I plan to migrate my people and army to Helm’s Deep. The natural defense of the location will help us defend against the Uruk-hai!”
Gandalf shook his head. “This is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash. He plans to break through Rohan and meet up with the army of orcs from Mordor. The several hundred riders you have will not hold against the ten thousand Uruk-hai even in Helm’s Deep. Ride out and meet him head on. You must fight.”
Aragorn said. “You have two thousand good men riding north as we speak. They were merely forced out of Rohan. Èomer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king.”
Theoden sighed. “They are at least 1500km from here. We cannot get in contact with them. We cannot garrison here and wait for them. The Uruk-hai will slaughter all my people before they will be back. Loyalty is not the issue. I have decided to make for the refuge of Helm’s Deep.”
Gandalf and Aragorn sighed. They knew nothing more could be said.
Xuan said. “Do you have a hundred elite riders? I am referring to ones that possess battle Qi, the most elite of the Rohan riders. These riders also need to be proficient archers.”
Everyone was surprised. Theoden thought for moment before giving an answer. “These should be a hundred of elite riders aside from the royal guards. However, they can’t fight ten thousand Uruk-hai. Our numbers differ by too many.”
Xuan shook his head. “There is no need to fight, just delay them. You will move slow with the civilians. They will drag out a long line. When that happens, a small group of Uruk-hai can hara.s.s you. Instead, we can send out our army to hara.s.s their march. The goals of the hundred elite riders are to slow down their march, kill their scouts, burn their supplies, ambush their back line and their camps. They will arrive at Helm’s Deep exhausted.”
The movie characters’s eyes glimmered. Hara.s.sing with small groups existed in this world but no one treated it as a serious tactic. Guerrilla warfare was foreign to them.
Theoden stood up. He walked back and forth, pondering on the possibility of splitting forces. He clenched his teeth then said. “We will do just that. Losing a hundred elite riders weakens our defense in Helm’s Deep but they are worth if we can get my people into Helm’s Deep in safety. I have bring my remaining marshals along. Aragorn and Zheng, I need your help. Lead these hundred riders and s.h.i.+eld our retreat. Delay the Uruk-hai until all the people enter Helm’s Deep. Then come to Helm’s Deep as soon as possible. Go. Lead the the brave warriors of Rohan to battle!”