Chapter 032: Attack of the Snow Wolves

After the players helped the Hobbits through their ordeal, the matter was far from over.

On the contrary, it was only the beginning. Since the system had increased the difficulty of the quest based on the number of the Fellowship of the Ring, it would not simply conjure a blizzard and leave it at that.

Sure enough, before the blizzard had even subsided, the group encountered snow wolves.

These creatures did not exist in the original storyline, but now they had spawned—hundreds of snow wolves galloping through the blizzard, meeting the Fellowship head-on.

Gandalf let out a roar: "Beware!"

But the next second, the snow wolves launched their attack without hesitation.

These snow wolves, darting through the blizzard, were enormous—each one a third larger than a tiger in the real world. They opened their bloodthirsty maws and lunged at the members of the Fellowship.

Gandalf, true to his reputation as a melee mage, did not even think of using magic when he saw the snow wolves charging. He simply drew his sword from his belt and charged forward.

Seeing Gandalf so valiant, the others raised their weapons as well.

Legolas stepped back a few paces—not to flee, but to position himself in front of the Hobbits. He drew his bow, aimed at the oncoming snow wolves, and shot arrow after arrow.

His purpose was simple: to protect the Hobbits.

The players formed a circle in a disciplined manner, shielding the Hobbits inside, while the remaining players swarmed forward to engage the snow wolves in fierce combat.

Wang Bo naturally would not stand idly by; this was a great opportunity to level up.

He drew his knight's sword and, with swift movements, charged into the pack of wolves, his sword strikes growing faster with each swing.

However, to Wang Bo's dismay, these snow wolves seemed to be of a very high level, with thick hides. When his knight's sword slashed against their bodies, it only produced a series of sparks, failing to break through their defense.

This was truly frustrating.

Seeing this, a few players almost burst out laughing.

But Wang Bo did not lose heart. Since the game was highly realistic, he had many opportunities to kill the snow wolves. He dodged, evading an attack from one snow wolf, and thrust his sword forward.

The sword precisely pierced the open maw of a snow wolf, the tip entering through its mouth and penetrating its brain. Wang Bo twisted the blade, shredding the wolf's brain.

The snow wolf died instantly.

Then Wang Bo stepped back, dodging another snow wolf's assault, and thrust his sword into its eye, through the eye socket and into its brain.

The snow wolf didn't even have time to howl before it turned into a pile of experience for Wang Bo.

The other players watched in astonishment. Although their levels were higher, they could not, like Wang Bo, precisely strike a snow wolf's mouth or eye.

Not everyone possessed such exquisite swordsmanship as Wang Bo!

"Well done, impressive!" shouted the dwarf Gimli, catching sight of Wang Bo's killing technique amid the battle. He now realized Wang Bo's true strength; he was completely convinced of his loss in that earlier test.

After Wang Bo effortlessly killed several snow wolves, the pack seemed to recognize his prowess. A group of snow wolves surrounded him, but dared not attack, whimpering softly.

Wang Bo paid them no heed and advanced on his own—these were all experience points.

As soon as Wang Bo moved, the snow wolves pounced together, but it was useless. A pack of mindless beasts was no match for Wang Bo.

It took him a few minutes to kill all these snow wolves, leveling up more than two levels.

He was just a few snow wolves short of reaching level ten.

But at the same time, the snow wolves had already been routed by the members of the Fellowship of the Ring, leaving behind a pile of corpses and fleeing in disgrace.

The Fellowship of the Ring had once again overcome a crisis.

Wang Bo sheathed his knight's sword, looked around, and found that Malthus, Caroline, Ada Wong, and others had all leveled up. Malthus and Caroline had each gained one level.

Ada Wong had killed several snow wolves and gained three levels.

But the one who leveled up the most was Lady Gremory.

She had killed too many snow wolves in the battle and gained seven levels in one go.

Apart from that, the Fellowship of the Ring had suffered no casualties. Although many players were injured, they ultimately survived, showing that the snow wolves were not a major problem for the players.

"We are in big trouble!"

After the battle, Gandalf said worriedly.

He suspected that the snow wolves were just the beginning. If they continued forward, they would surely encounter greater trouble—perhaps more snow wolves ahead, or more orcs, or even Sauron's army.

So after some discussion, everyone decided to abandon the original path and head for Khazad-dûm, now known as Moria.

The players had no objection to this, because crossing Moria was originally part of the plot of The Lord of the Rings.

Everyone agreed.

So under Gandalf's leadership, they changed course and crossed Moria.

No incidents occurred along the way. Wang Bo and his group arrived at Moria, and Gandalf successfully solved the riddle and opened the door to Moria.

Everyone filed in.

Just then, Asuna approached Wang Bo and asked in a low voice, "What is the real Moria like?"

She knew Wang Bo had been to Moria because he had once said that he killed the Balrog inside Moria and brought its corpse back to the Lonely Mountain, handing it over to the dwarves there.

The dwarves had even forged a set of Balrog armor for Wang Bo.

Wang Bo said, "The real Moria is even more dilapidated than what you see, but of course, also more magnificent. That ancient, mottled atmosphere weathered by time is something the game cannot imitate."

After a pause, Wang Bo added, "If you're interested, I'll take you to Moria for a visit sometime, but that place can no longer be called Moria."

"Since I became King under the Mountain, I returned the wealth to the dwarves and helped them rebuild Moria. Moria is already under reconstruction now. Maybe when you go, you'll see a glorious underground city—Khazad-dûm!"

While speaking, Wang Bo did not let down his guard, because Moria was not a safe place.

There were too many monsters inside.

Since it was abandoned, it had become the territory of goblins, orcs, and half-orcs. Anyone who entered Moria would suffer a devastating attack.

Although Wang Bo was strong in combat, his level was too low. Facing swarms of goblins, he would be torn to pieces.

Fortunately, he had many players by his side.

In the original plot, the Fellowship of the Ring successfully passed through Moria after sacrificing one Gandalf. There was no reason they couldn't do it now.