Under the leaden gray sky, Millicent's figure was like a crimson flower about to bloom. The Curved Sword of Haligtree in her hand became an extension of her arm, transforming into cascading golden light.
The blade-light flowed endlessly, weaving into a dense and deadly web that struck directly at the Nazgûl closest to her.
The attacked Nazgûl immediately let out a soul-piercing shriek. The cursed blade in its hand, wreathed in ominous black smoke and ice-cold malice, hastily parried, trying to resist Millicent's fierce assault.
"Clang! Clash! Clang clang!"
In mere seconds, the harsh sound of metal striking metal exploded, sparks flying wildly where blades collided as crimson and black light violently tore through the air.
The fell beast the Nazgûl rode was driven into a frenzy by this fierce exchange. Its head, covered in scales and bone spurs, reared up violently as it opened its maw dripping with corrosive saliva, letting out a deafening roar. The putrid hot breath nearly reached Millicent's face as sharp front claws struck viciously.
Millicent's golden eyes calmly observed this scene. Her dance-like movements suddenly changed, using the force from the collision between her Curved Sword of Haligtree and the Nazgûl's dark blade to spin her body at an impossible angle in midair, precisely avoiding the fell beast's bite and claw strike.
Then the golden blade-light suddenly contracted and condensed, as if gripped by an invisible hand. The next moment it slashed toward the neck of the fell beast, covered in thick keratin and scales, that had exposed itself completely while roaring with its head raised.
"Hiss... crack!"
The spine-chilling sounds of flesh tearing and bone cutting rang out clearly as Millicent swiftly and unobstructedly cut through the fell beast's tough neck bones and sinews. A massive, hideous head with protruding fangs was flung high amid spraying corrosive, foul blood.
The massive headless body instantly stiffened, all roars and strength ceasing abruptly. The headless corpse spurting black blood, along with the fallen head, crashed down toward the solid walls of the Black Gate below like two mountains of putrid flesh.
Talion, who had been observing the entire battle between Millicent and the Nazgûl in the sky, immediately shouted loudly to the rangers on the walls below upon seeing this scene. "Take cover!"
"CRASH!"
"Splat!"
The dull, heart-stopping crash and the sticky sound of flesh and bone being pulverized erupted simultaneously. The fell beast's corpse scattered flesh and blood everywhere, leaving large patches of viscous, putrid stains that sizzled, yet the Black Gate's solid walls only trembled slightly.
The nearby Dúnedain Rangers, who had received the Golden Tree incantation's blessing, all drew sharp breaths, looking up at the valiant crimson swordsman in the sky.
After Millicent beheaded the fell beast, the Nazgûl riding on its back was violently thrown upward by the death throes, letting out a shriek full of pain and rage as the black mist surrounding it churned violently, clearly having suffered severe damage.
This Nazgûl had never expected Millicent's swordsmanship to be even more formidable than that silver-armored swordsman who had fought multiple opponents at Lake-town. The only consolation was that her power wasn't as strong as that silver-armored warrior's. Otherwise it would already be back at its master's side waiting for resurrection.
Its breastplate had been cleaved open by the Curved Sword of Haligtree, revealing glimpses of the Nazgûl's spirit form within. Having temporarily lost stable control over itself, it tumbled through the air like a severed black kite.
Millicent, having lost her point of leverage, couldn't continue pursuing this Nazgûl and could only watch as it used its spiritual nature to fall away from her.
The other two Nazgûl that had originally been diving down to attack either Millicent or Tarnes, witnessing this sudden turn of events, immediately made their fell beasts beat their wings forcefully, drastically changing their dive trajectories.
One Nazgûl, wreathed in thick black smoke, shot toward its thrown comrade like an arrow, catching it before it could hit the ground and helping it back onto a fell beast's back.
The other Nazgûl, after seeing its companion rescued, immediately joined them in gaining altitude.
Because the Nazgûl had noticed that Tarnes, having finished his last spell, was no longer focusing on the siege towers and catapults outside the Black Gate, but had pointed his staff at them instead.
Ever since two Nazgûl had perished in their clash with Golden Tree warriors at Lake-town, they all knew their opponent could cast magic capable of killing them directly. Therefore, seeing Tarnes begin preparing to deal with them, the three Nazgûl immediately fled toward the black clouds in the sky.
Watching the Nazgûl quickly hide back in the cloud layer at high altitude, Tarnes mocked despite knowing they couldn't hear him. "You certainly flee quickly enough."
Meanwhile, Millicent descended from the air. Just as when climbing the watchtower, she again used the familiar protruding stones on the tower's rough outer wall as buffers and leverage points. Her movements were clean and fluid without hesitation, using several agile rebounds to dissipate momentum before landing steadily on the ground.
Her chest rose and fell slightly as she quickly walked behind Tarnes, gripping her blade tightly again and saying in a low voice, "I severely wounded one Nazgûl. It shouldn't be able to act for some time."
Tarnes nodded slightly. "Well done, Millicent."
At this moment, Melina also finished the final group of Dúnedain Rangers' incantation blessing and returned to Tarnes's side.
Bernahl, after completing the Golden Tree incantation blessing, immediately went to where the Leyndell Legion forces were positioned to serve as overall commander, leading them in battle.
Tarnes looked down at the area below the Black Gate. During Millicent's fight with the Nazgûl, he had also used spells to destroy several catapults that posed the greatest threat to the Black Gate.
He still had some magic power remaining, but Tarnes wasn't sure if Sauron was monitoring this battlefield, so he didn't dare rashly exhaust all his magic power.
Even though he had a Flask of Cerulean Tears to replenish magic power, that still required several seconds. Given the threat Tarnes sensed from Sauron, he didn't dare gamble on those few seconds of vulnerability.
Therefore, not only did Tarnes not use all his magic power for spells, but immediately after his conversation with Millicent, he took out his Flask of Cerulean Tears to fully replenish his magic power for emergencies.
After Tarnes finished all this, Talion looked at the noisy Orc army below and spoke with heavy concerns. "I've already sent scouts in batches to notify Gondor of our situation here, hoping they can quickly send reinforcements after receiving the news."
Recalling the face of Gondor's Steward, Tarnes shook his head slightly. "I'm afraid there's little hope. It would be good if Gondor could send more supplies."
Talion asked puzzledly, "Even counting the reinforcements you brought, the Black Gate currently has enough supplies to last three months of heavy use. Why does your tone suggest they'll run out soon?"
Tarnes shrugged. Gondor's Steward had indeed kept his word, sending plenty of supplies. Enough that even if these Dúnedain Rangers privately sold some, there would still be plenty left.
He cleared his throat and told Talion, "The reinforcements I brought aren't just these. But exactly how many I can support depends on how many Orcs Sauron sends."
After all, the more Orcs that died, the more souls he could collect, and using the waygate, he could return to summon more Lands Between forces.
But Talion didn't understand this, simply taking Tarnes's words to mean appropriate reinforcement based on enemy numbers.