As Boromir desperately blocked the Orc squad, Frodo, who had escaped the encirclement on the other side, was also running desperately towards the camp.
The Orcs' strength was visible to the naked eye, and without any surprises, Boromir probably wouldn't last much longer.
Therefore, Frodo needed to hurry to the camp for help.
However, the more anxious he was, the more prone he was to making mistakes. Frodo, who was only focused on rushing, already had little stamina, and coupled with his unfamiliarity with the terrain, he slipped and fell into a thorny bush.
"Ah!!!"
With a cry of pain, the Hobbit's clothes were torn, and his body was scratched and bleeding by the barbed bushes.
"Damn it, I can't stop here..."
Frodo, his face growing paler, thought of Boromir still fighting desperately, so he endured the severe pain and pulled out the thorns from his body.
Then he took out the healing crystal bottle given to him by Queen Galadriel, disinfected himself slightly, and then stumbled back towards the camp.
"Who is it???"
Just then, footsteps suddenly came from the jungle ahead. Frodo, thinking there were pursuers, fiercely drew sting from his waist.
It seemed he was preparing to fight to the death, just like Boromir.
"It's me, Master Frodo. What happened to you?" Sam walked out of the jungle, his face filled with concern.
He had never seen Frodo look so disheveled... and so fierce.
Yes, fierce. Frodo's aura just now clearly indicated he was ready to kill.
"Sam, why are you here?" Seeing his companion made Frodo relax.
And without that surge of adrenaline, fatigue and pain immediately followed.
This made Frodo's body go limp, and he was about to fall to the ground, but Sam quickly stepped forward and supported him.
"Aragorn saw that you hadn't returned for a long time, so he sent us into the jungle to look for you..." Sam explained why he was there, then asked again, "What happened in the jungle? Why do you have so many wounds on your body?"
Saying that, Sam tore off some strips of cloth from his body, ready to bandage Frodo's wounds.
"Now is not the time for this. Quickly take me back to the camp to find Aragorn and the others. Boromir needs help..." Frodo, worried about Boromir's safety, interrupted his companion.
Although he looked disheveled, he was actually fine, at most just exhausted. But Boromir's situation was different; his life could be in danger at any moment.
"Aragorn and the others..." Sam wanted to say that Aragorn and the others had also come into the jungle to search and shouldn't be at the camp, but seeing Frodo's anxious expression, he still said, "Then bear with it a little longer. I'll take you back to the camp now."
Just as Sam picked up Frodo and was about to run towards the camp, a long, mournful horn sound suddenly came from behind.
"That's the horn of Gondor. It seems to be bidding farewell to someone..." Sam had traveled with Boromir all the way and naturally recognized the horn of Gondor that the other party cherished and wore at his waist.
It was a symbol of Gondor's honor.
And the horn sound that rang out at this moment, long and mournful, made one feel a sense of sorrow.
"Quick, let's hurry back to the camp." Hearing the horn, Frodo suddenly had a bad premonition.
Clearly, something had gone wrong with Boromir, who was covering their retreat.
And the only thing Frodo could do now was to quickly return to the camp for help.
At the same time, Faramir, who was on guard in the capital of Gondor, also seemed to vaguely hear the distant horn sound.
On a sudden impulse, he swiftly mounted his horse and shouted to the Gondor guard team behind him, "According to the time, my elder brother should be returning to Gondor soon. Let's go to the border to welcome him!"
Boromir and Faramir, the two sons of the Regent of Gondor, though different in personality, had a very strong bond.
This also made Faramir constantly concerned about his elder brother's long journey.
And recently, Faramir always had a bad premonition, similar to a psychic connection between brothers.
This undoubtedly made him even more worried about his elder brother's situation.
...
At this moment, in Fangorn Forest, Boromir, who had delayed enough time, had exhausted his last bit of strength.
Struck by several arrows and surrounded by more and more Orcs, he knew that he was certainly going to die this time.
So before he died, he took off the horn his father had given him from his waist.
Without fear or dread, Boromir, blowing the horn in his final moments, carried an air of heroic sacrifice.
On the Orc squad's side, seeing that the human in front of them was at his last gasp, a tall Orc stepped forward, ready to cut off his head.
Just then, an Elven arrow flew from afar, piercing through the tall Orc's head with a whooshing sound, freezing the ferocious smile on its face.
"Well done, Legolas!!!..."
Accompanied by a bold praise, Aragorn suddenly rushed out of the jungle, charging into the Orcs with an unstoppable momentum.
Behind him, the Dwarf Gimli followed closely, his great axe like a whirlwind, sending every obstructing Orc flying.
Further back was Elf Prince Legolas, holding the bow of Caranthir. Leaping between tree branches, he would occasionally shoot several arrows, killing Orcs who tried to ambush Aragorn and the others.
"Hey, brave warrior of Gondor, you shouldn't die here!" Aragorn, who had rushed to Boromir's side, parried the attacks of the surrounding Orcs with his sword, while not forgetting to give the Regent of Gondor's eldest son a smile.
Clearly, Boromir, who had just faced death without fear, had won Aragorn's approval.
On the other side, looking at Aragorn's powerful figure blocking in front of him, Boromir also had a special feeling.
'Perhaps he is more capable than my father of leading Gondor to prosperity...'
Next, with the three fierce warriors, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, joining the battle, the Orc squad was quickly defeated.
The only thing to be wary of was the Ringwraiths beside them, emitting black mist all over their bodies.
"Beware of the cursed sword in its hand..."
Seeing Aragorn and Gimli charge towards the boss-like Ringwraiths, Legolas, after a reminder, also joined the battle with the bow of Caranthir.
With Gimli acting as a meat shield in front, the human warrior Aragorn responsible for frontal attacks, and the Elven archer Legolas providing long-range support.
In this situation, although the Witch-king of Angmar could immune most physical attacks, he still needed to be wary of the "enchanted" Elven weapons in the hands of Aragorn and Legolas.
Watching the three men fight with increasing ferocity, the Witch-king of Angmar resisted a few times, then gradually transformed into black mist and chose to withdraw from the battlefield.
After all, its primary mission was to help Sauron, monitor the movement of the One Ring, not to participate in meaningless battles.
And as the Ringwraiths left, the surrounding Orc squad also stopped fighting and fled into the jungle.
Behind them, Aragorn and the two others, after a major battle, did not rashly pursue the fleeing Orcs.
Both sides maintained an unspoken understanding.
"Are you alright? Do you need us to carry you back to the camp?" Once the Orc squad disappeared, Aragorn immediately walked to Boromir, who was slumped on the ground, and extended his hand.
"Thanks for your concern, I'm not dead yet." Boromir smiled, then stood up with Aragorn's help.
Although he had many arrow and knife wounds, and they looked terrifying, fortunately, none were fatal.
And it was clear that after this incident, Boromir's attitude towards Aragorn had become much closer.
"That's good. Bear with it a little longer. We'll treat your wounds when we get back to camp." Everything that had just happened made Aragorn very worried about the Ringbearer's safety.
Therefore, he needed to hurry back to the camp to see if Frodo was there.
Boromir clearly thought of this as well, so he didn't say much.
However, just then, Pippin and Merry's cries for help suddenly came from afar.
The departing Orc squad was lucky enough to run into the two Hobbits, who had heard the commotion and arrived a step late.
And coincidentally, in the eyes of the Orcs, all Hobbits looked the same.
Therefore, those Orcs mistook Pippin and Merry for Frodo, the Ringbearer. After happily capturing the Hobbits, they headed towards Mordor to report to the Dark Lord.
By the time Aragorn and the others heard the commotion and arrived at the scene, the Orcs and Pippin were long gone.
"Damn it!"
Aragorn, who had chased along the Orcs' tracks for a while but still found nothing, couldn't help but curse under his breath.
He had promised Gandalf that he would protect the safety of the Ringbearer Squad, but not long after Gandalf left, such a big problem occurred with the Ringbearer Squad.
This inevitably filled Aragorn with guilt.
However, compared to recovering Pippin and Merry, it was more important now to ascertain whether the Ringbearer was safe.
Therefore, after some thought, Aragorn called out to Gimli and the others, saying, "Let's go, back to the camp first."
On the other side, Frodo, who had already returned to the camp, unsurprisingly did not see Aragorn and the others there.
"Don't worry, Frodo, maybe Aragorn and the others have already met Boromir in the jungle." Seeing Frodo's self-reproachful look, Sam immediately spoke to comfort him.
Moreover, Sam had already told Frodo about Aragorn and the others' movements earlier.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't run around, I wouldn't have encountered danger. Or if I had chosen to run away the first time I encountered the Ringwraiths, Boromir wouldn't have been in such a desperate situation..." Hearing his companion's comfort, Frodo still felt guilty, "It's all my fault, I'm just a jinx..."
Frodo, who had calmed down slightly, then realized that his mindset had been problematic earlier.
Thinking deeper, all the problems seemed to be related to the One Ring.
Consequently, Frodo, who was already a bit fixated, concluded: he and the One Ring in his hand were the source of danger to the Ringbearer Squad.
"Sam, you stay here and wait for Aragorn and the others to return, and tell them that one person is enough for the task of destroying the One Ring." To avoid bringing danger to the other members of the Ringbearer Squad again, Frodo decided to embark on the journey to destroy the One Ring alone.
Seeing Frodo's unusually resolute appearance, Sam quickly realized something was wrong.
So as Frodo walked towards the Anduin River to the east, he quickly slung on his pack and followed him.
"Don't follow me anymore. Only misfortune will happen if you stay with me..." Discovering his companion following him, Frodo urged him away while quickening his pace.
Frodo, who had learned about the distribution of Middle-earth from his uncle Bilbo's autobiography, knew another path to Mordor.
That was to head east, cross the Anduin River and the Dead Marshes, and go directly to Mordor.
Although this path was more dangerous, it was undoubtedly the fastest way to reach Mordor.
"I promised Gandalf that I would protect you at all times. Please don't leave me..."
Sam didn't know that Frodo had chosen a perilous path, but even if he did, he wouldn't choose to leave.
So, with the two Hobbits pulling and tugging all the way, they quickly arrived at the Anduin River to the east.
"Go back. You shouldn't have joined this journey in the first place..." After picking up a raft by the river, Frodo once again tried to persuade his companion.
After all, looking back, Sam only joined the Ringbearer Squad because of Frodo's suggestion at the time.
Although it was out of good intentions, it didn't really help Sam.
Knowing Gandalf's character, even if Sam hadn't joined the Ringbearer Squad at that time, the Wizard wouldn't have done anything to him.
"No... Wait for me... Master Frodo..."
By the Anduin River, after Sam helped Frodo push the raft into the water, he was suddenly left behind by the other party.
Watching the raft drift further and further away, Sam flailed and chased after it.
However, being unable to swim, and with his backpack soaked, he quickly sank into the water.
Even if Frodo had a heart of stone, upon hearing his companion's gurgling sounds of drinking water from behind, he couldn't help but turn back and pull him up.
"Why do you have to be like this?" Looking at his companion's disheveled appearance after climbing onto the raft, Frodo couldn't help but grumble.
"I don't understand big principles, but I know my friend needs help..." Sam, looking like a drowned rat, actually smiled happily after sitting on the raft.
...
And just as the two Hobbits were "depending on each other," Aragorn, who subsequently returned to the camp but did not see the Ringbearer, became agitated again.
"Aragorn, things might not be so bad. Frodo must have left with Sam; their luggage isn't here..." Elf Prince Legolas comforted his friend.
Being more meticulous, he noticed that there were no signs of damage to the camp.
Combined with Sam's missing luggage, it at least proved that the two Hobbits left on their own.
"I hope so."
Aragorn, who believed he had messed everything up, was still in low spirits.
Then, after giving Boromir a simple bandage, Aragorn decided to immediately lead the remaining people to the border of Gondor to meet up with Gandalf.
At least he had to inform the Wizard of the situation here.
...
Meanwhile, Gandalf, who had traveled overnight to the Isengard Highlands, met the Ent who were stationed there below the Wizard's Tower.
"Another Wizard wearing a white robe, he wouldn't be an accomplice of that bad Wizard, would he!!!"
"Should we inform Mr. Mike?"
"..."
Upon seeing Gandalf, who was wearing the same white robe as Saruman, the Ent immediately gathered together and discussed in low voices.
However, their deep, loud voices were not suitable for whispering behind someone's back.
"Is the other White Wizard you mentioned Saruman?" Gandalf, facing the Ent's pointing, spoke, "By the way, the Mr. Mike you mentioned is my friend. I came here this time at his invitation."
Seeing the Ent's increasingly wary expressions, Gandalf quickly stated that he had no ill intentions.
The plain below Isengard, although it had been washed over by river water, the ore pits where Orcs were bred could still be roughly identified.
Therefore, it was not difficult for Gandalf to guess what Saruman had done there before.
"Are you really Mr. Mike's friend? Then what is your relationship with the Wizard up there?" Quickbeam stepped forward and questioned Gandalf.
As the first Ent to crash into the reservoir and wash away the filth, Quickbeam now had a high reputation among the Ent.
He vaguely showed signs of taking over the position of the old Ent Treebeard.
"The Wizard up there?" Gandalf followed Quickbeam's gaze and looked towards the top of the Wizard's Tower, just in time to see a disheveled Saruman also looking down.
"Hmph!"
However, soon after a cold snort, Saruman's figure disappeared from the edge of the tower top.
In war, the victor becomes king, the vanquished a bandit. Saruman, having already failed, naturally did not want his colleague Gandalf to see him as a laughing stock.
"Saruman was once my companion. For everything he has done here, please allow me to apologize to you on his behalf..." Gandalf took off his hat and bowed slightly, expressing his apology.
Then he said, "I will give you an explanation for what happened here. Now I need to go see Mr. Mike first."
At this moment, Mike was sitting by the window in the top room of the Wizard's Tower; he had naturally seen Gandalf's arrival.
Seeing that Mike had no intention of stopping him, the Ent immediately cleared a path, allowing Gandalf to enter the Wizard's Tower.