Essinger, on the towering Orthanc tower, the white-robed wizard Saruman is currently in his mage tower, using the crystal ball of true knowledge and Sauron who is far away in the Tower of Barad-dur in Mordor. The Evil Eye conducts routine communications and military information sharing.
While Saruman was reporting Isengard's combat readiness and military dynamics to the Eye of Sauron, he was also secretly observing the orc forces under Sauron in Mordor and silently comparing the gap between the two sides.
"A fusion is taking place in Middle-earth..."
"Now, who else can stop Isengard and the army of Mordor?!"
Saruman held one hand above the crystal ball of true knowledge, while silently maintaining his magic output, while also closing his eyes to communicate spiritually with the evil eye of Sauron.
Of course, he did not forget to secretly observe the war readiness of Mordor through another crystal ball of true knowledge far away in the Tower of Barado.
Then, he saw from the crystal ball: Groups of fully-armed orc phalanx armies were walking out of the Barad-dur Fortress shouting slogans, and they were passing through the long black bridge of Bard-dur. , constantly heading towards the distant Mount Doom, presumably, must be preparing to divert to Minas Morgul and westward to participate in a full-scale attack on the Kingdom of Gondor.
Their numbers seemed endless, and they passed through the Barado Bridge one after another, looking like groups of black, man-eating ants!
Saruman had calculated secretly before. If each phalanx had nearly one hundred and fifty people, what he had seen during the period of time when he was in contact with Sauron alone had almost exceeded one hundred and fifty people. More than 10,000?
This is amazing!
In the world of Middle-earth Lords in this Cold Weapon Age, such a desperate number of troops is sometimes equivalent to nearly half the number of citizens of a small human country, right?
"Do you still have the power to fight against the Demon Lord Sauron and me, Saruman the White? And... our Twin Towers Alliance?"
Seeing this, although Saruman praised it on the lips, in fact, Saruman was secretly frightened.
Because, he found that Sauron's military power seemed to be far stronger than his own? This is very bad! It is not conducive to the balance between the two forces, nor is it conducive to the future, after unifying Middle-earth, Saruman will gain more say in the new order!
"Demon Lord Sauron, as long as we join forces, I believe... we will be able to unify Middle-earth!"
Therefore, thinking of this, Saruman had to remind Sauron again that the two of them are actually cooperating and joining forces. They will never become the dominant party just because the other party's army is more powerful. !
The reason why Saruman turned his back on Aulë, the God of Earth, to cooperate with Sauron was because he was prepared to obtain sufficient benefits, and he was definitely not here to be a servant or a clown to cheer for the other party!
"Nonsense! I will definitely be the one who can unify China. Both of your armies are too backward. Those who fall behind will be beaten!"
Suddenly, what surprised Saruman and the demon king Sauron who was chatting with him remotely was that this relatively secretive magical conversation using the True Knowledge Crystal had a face that looked like a little human girl suddenly without warning. Integrated into the communication scene between the two parties' true knowledge crystals?
Then they discovered that the little girl, and the vague rows of human soldiers behind her, seemed to be shouting and lining up, as if they were attacking a certain city? !
"Is it you? I know you..."
"Little witch... all nine of my Ring Spirits were killed once! I wasted a lot of power and finally resurrected them..."
"You will definitely pay the price for this!!"
After seeing that it was this little girl who was eavesdropping on the conversation between the two of them, Maiya, in the picture, Sauron's evil eye suddenly burst out with more violent flames and began to emit strong pressure. As well as strong mental willpower, it seems that he wants to use this method to control or infiltrate this little girl's mind?
However... he soon realized that his method of defeating the enemy seemed to have failed?
Because, no matter how hard he tried, apart from the fact that Saruman's expression on the side became more and more nervous and he was sweating profusely, as if he had been affected a lot, the little girl was still the same as before. With that grinning look, you still stared at him angrily?
"I recognize you too! Aren't you the pitiful big lich with only one eyeball left?"
After seeing the other party glaring at her fiercely, Annie grimaced and stared back mercilessly.
"At that time, it was obviously your men who came to provoke me first. Why are you blaming me when I beat them to death?"
"Also, you don't need to waste your useless mental energy. Don't think that your big eyes can stare people to death! Just relying on the intimidation of your mental will, even if you stare for ten thousand years, it will be enough. Definitely not mine..."
Little Annie was still laughing heartlessly. How could she be affected by the other party's slight mental pressure? That absolutely does not exist!
You must know that she is not only a powerful arcane mage, but also an extraordinary being who has touched the knowledge of the gods. She is not the kind of mortal with weak will or low soul strength!
So, in Annie's opinion, the other party's little trick is just a trick played by children, and it is a pure waste of magic power?
"Hmph! A little human witch of unknown origin..."
"Why did you spy on the conversation between Saruman and me this time?! Do you also have another crystal ball of true knowledge in your hand?"
After discovering that his method was indeed useless against the opponent, Sauron's evil eye simply stopped his hand, and then let his evil eye gradually shrink and return to normal. At the same time, he also began to stare closely at the person who appeared in the crystal of true knowledge. little human girl.
Sauron didn't quite understand why this little witch was able to invade their crystal.
Although their Middle-earth world has extraordinary beings like the creation god Eru and a large group of Vala Maya, the magical civilization does not seem to have gained much development. Throw a big fireball or play with lightning, etc. More often, do you prefer to go shirtless and engage in melee combat?
Otherwise, the Demon King Sauron would not have appeared in the first place, carrying a big hammer, driving unparalleled among the allied forces of humans and elves, and then accidentally overturned, and was chopped down alive by the human king with a broken sword. Ring finger thing!
So, when he discovered that the little girl could invade their crystal, Sauron's first thought was: Maybe the other party also had a crystal ball of true knowledge?
You must know that the Crystal of True Knowledge and the Silmarillion were both forged by Feanor, the greatest elf in the Double Tree Period. There are only seven of them in total. It can be said that they are one of the unique treasures in Middle-earth!
Sauron only knows of four known true knowledge crystals in existence!
Among them, Sauron's crystal ball was transferred to his Tower of Baradur in 2002 of the Third Era when his Nazgul captured Minas Itil. Begins to be used by Sauron, allowing him to spy on the entire Middle-earth!
The other one is placed on the Orthanc Tower in Isengard, and until now, it has been controlled by Saruman;
The third one has always been placed with Eros Tirion, the high elf of the Noldor tribe. Those elves are very cautious and rarely use it, and Sauron has never contacted the crystal.
The fourth one has always been placed in Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor. Sauron has used it to completely ruin Denethor II, the regent of the human kingdom of Gondor!
The remaining three, the largest main crystal, had rolled down into the Anduin River during the war and were missing... The other two had long been taken by Arnor, the last emperor of Arnor. The ship crashed and sank in the Frochiel Frozen Bay when the ship was escaping, and was never found again!
Therefore, Sauron was a little confused, how did this little girl suddenly intervene in the conversation between him and Saruman? Is it possible that she also has a crystal ball of true knowledge in her hand? Maybe even the biggest one that rolled down into the Anduin River?
"Huh? What kind of messy crystal ball? Do you communicate through that kind of thing?"
"I'm actually on the White Goose River right now! I'm not too far away from Isengard!"
"And you carry out ultra-long-distance communication so blatantly, and your magic power fluctuates so much, of course I can detect it! How about it? Are you super powerful?"
Anne was making a proud gesture, but unfortunately, the white-bearded old man Saruman and a big lich with only the evil eye of his soul were staring at her intently. They obviously had no time to play with this little girl, so They were just staring at each other coldly.
"Well, you two are so boring!"
Seeing the indifference on their faces, Anne could only curl her lips in boredom.
"I just came here to take a sneak peek at your strength! I found out that you two are really bad at it! Look, one of them has such a fierce subordinate! And the other one is still pinching people for fun?! "
Anne just saw the furnace under Saruman Isengard from the two true knowledge crystals. Countless orcs inside were forging armor and weapons, and there were also countless orcs transformed by magic who were being mass-produced by the other party. Coming out, from what she saw alone, their combined armies were estimated to be tens of thousands, right?
And now, where is her United Kingdom of Alicia? It is estimated that all the musketeers combined are only about a thousand people?
"Oh? Then after seeing our strength, do you also want to join us?"
Sauron seemed to see some military figures from behind the little girl, and then he quickly made up his mind.
"Believe me, little witch, your personal strength has been recognized by me! If you also join our great cause, I think we will be able to rule the entire Middle-earth world more easily!"
"At that time, I can even set aside a part of the land so that you and your men can enjoy the supreme rights of Middle-earth! Then, even the true gods of Aman will be afraid of the power we have... "
"What do you think of my suggestion?"
Sauron's evil eye began to seduce the little girl, thinking that it was only after Saruman saw the unrivaled strength of Mordor that he joined them with all his heart.
"No! This proposal is not good at all!"
Without even thinking about it, Annie quickly shook her head.
"I think it's better like this: If both of you swear to submit to me now, I won't hit you in the future! What do you think of my suggestion?"
How could Anne choose to join them? One of the opponents is an old man with a white beard, and the other is an evil-eyed lich with only a soul left. They are both too low-looking, so she will not join them!
And if they were to surrender to her and become her subordinates or lackeys, then little Annie could make do with it and reluctantly accept these two ugly guys?
"Hmph! You will definitely regret it!"
Without further ado, after knowing that he was being spied on and played by this little witch, Evil-Eyed Sauron snorted coldly and immediately turned off his True Knowledge Crystal, completely cutting off communication.
"..."
Afterwards, Saruman, who had been unable to speak, stared at the little girl silently for a while, and without knowing what to think, he quickly cut off his mana output, leaving Orthank Tower The crystal of true knowledge turned back into a black crystal ball without any image.
"Waiwai? Is there anyone else? I haven't finished speaking yet... It's so boring!"
Outside the Sabadee city wall on the north bank of the Swan River, watching the magic communication in front of her become gray again, and no longer able to see the slightest scene on the other side, little Annie had no choice but to murmur in a low voice and dispersed. of spells.
She finally found two powerful guys with whom she could chat to relieve her boredom, but they ran away without saying a few words? It’s really boring!
"Um...Your Excellency Witch Anne, the evil eye and the guy in white robes that just appeared inside are Saruman and the Demon King Sauron, right?"
At this time, Groyin, who had been watching with fear, finally asked with a trembling voice.
After capturing the town of Metres in the forest of the Dortaina Mountains a few days ago, they continued to lead a motley army of nearly 800 people without stopping and once again came to the north bank of the Swan River to prepare for the attack. Besiege the fortress of Sabad, which has at least a thousand defenders and tens of thousands of residents.
Then, when Renas stepped forward to shout and persuade the other party to surrender as soon as possible, the little girl wizard next to him suddenly opened a magical communication that even Groin found very novel, and gave him the honor to see it from inside. The figures of Sauron and Saruman the White.
"Didn't you see everything? Why bother asking?!"
Anne gave the dwarf an annoyed look.
The features of the white-robed Saruman and the evil-eyed Sauron are so easy to recognize, who else could it be besides them? Therefore, she didn't bother to answer his question now.
"Huh? It seems like there is something more fun!"
"Old Man Ge! Later, tell Lenas and let her decide how to attack this small town called Bard! I'm going to do some more important things now!"
"That's it, goodbye!"
After Anne suddenly took a look in the direction of the Misty Mountains to the east, she screamed in surprise.
Then, she hurriedly confessed to Groin. After she finished speaking, she did not wait for the old dwarf to react. She directly cast a teleportation spell and disappeared in an instant under everyone's astonished gaze. I don’t know where it was teleported to...
"Ge...Old Man Ge?! That must not be talking about me, right?"
Looking at the little girl who suddenly disappeared, Ge Luo Yin turned around and looked around in confusion. His own name was clearly Ge Luo Yin. So, who was the old man Ge that the little girl said?
Does this little witch really like to give others nicknames? !
…
The old world will burn in flames...
The forest will disappear, and a new force will rise...
I, Saruman!
I will use the sharp weapons of the orcs and the sonorous iron fist to arm my army and launch my own war...
After his routine exchange with the Demon King Sauron was ruined by a little girl who inexplicably intervened, the white-robed wizard Saruman, who was secretly wary, couldn't wait to come to the underground of Isengard and start patrolling This is his huge underground project that combines the production of orcs, smelting steel, and making armor and weapons!
This is a military underground fortress and steel furnace that serves his war!
Just now, he had actually seen that: Demon Lord Sauron, that lost body of Maia, was just using him! And he, Saruman, wasn't using the other party?
However, Sauron's strength now far exceeds his own, so he can only choose to tolerate it for the time being!
Therefore, for future plans, Saruman felt that it was necessary for him to strengthen his military power as soon as possible! Only a powerful army of orcs, as well as more steel and weapons, can he obtain enough benefits for himself in the new changes in Middle-earth in the future?
"I need them armed and ready to go in two weeks!"
After inspecting the underground facilities, Saruman directly issued orders to a tall orc steward who was in charge of matters here.
"But, my lord!"
"There are too many of them (the orcs). It is impossible to be fully armed in such a short time. Our weapons and armor are far from enough!"
The time it took for the orcs to build this place was too short. In a hurry, the steward felt that it was impossible to produce so many weapons and armors in two weeks for the new orcs to use.
Although the production of weapons and armor is still going on in an orderly manner, in those quagmire-like magic transformation furnaces, they are crushing the orcs too fast!
They orc craftsmen produce weapons and armor, and they also need to smelt metal with ore and turn it into molten iron before finalizing it and beating it into steel knives and plate armor. This takes a lot of time, and the daily output has been fixed.
However, the orcs were dug out one by one from the quagmire furnace transformed by magic. Not long after, the number far exceeded the production speed of weapons and armor. They wanted to use them within two weeks. If they are all fully armed, according to the current production capacity, this half-orc manager feels that it is definitely an impossible task!
There are thousands of those strong orcs now. Where can they find the weapons and armors of thousands of people? Unless Saruman is willing to give his military use like the barbarians of Dunland - driving a few nails into a piece of wood, or directly tying a piece of sharp iron to serve as a weapon?
"snort!"
After looking at the river and forest in the distance, Saruman quickly made up his mind.
"Build a river dam to intercept the river water! Then, the furnace will be turned on day and night. I need more weapons and armor!"
"But we don't have that much fuel! We have almost chopped down all the trees near Essinger! We, you are seriously short of fuel now!"
Iron-making and steel-making all require fuel. In the absence of coal here in Essinger, the orcs are now about to cut everything around Essinger into a piece of white ground.
"Ha... did you see it? At the door of our Isengard, there is an entire Fangorn Forest... burn it!"
Although Saruman himself knew that there were some very powerful treants in Fangorn Forest, he did not think that those treants who could only sleep, had low intelligence and were scattered and unorganized would do anything to his Isengard. threaten!
Even if one or two of them rebelled violently, he believed that the half-orcs or strong orcs under him could easily burn each other without even taking action himself?
After saying that, Saruman sneered and turned around and left!
He now needs to meet with the leader of the Dunland barbarians. While accepting the other party's allegiance to him, he has also planned to let their barbarians serve as vanguard cannon fodder before his army comes out. In the Rohan Kingdom, the opponent's vitality can be well consumed.
Then, after his own army is fully armed, he will capture the entire Rohan in one fell swoop! From Saruman's point of view, this was a piece of cake! Because the current Rohan has been almost infiltrated by his men. As the consultant of the Rohan Kingdom, Grima Qiaoyan has already controlled the old king!
So, now, it’s almost time for Saruman’s army to reap the fruits of victory?
Once Saruman takes over all of Rohan, he and Mordor can form a two-sided siege on Gondor, the largest kingdom in mankind.
By then, it will be just around the corner to eliminate Gondor in one fell swoop and take over the entire Middle-earth!
After all, Haradrim in the south of Mordor and the Rune tribe in the east have already reached an offensive and defensive alliance agreement with the Demon Lord Sauron! Once they completely conquer Gondor, the remaining scattered northern human forces and elves or dwarves waiting for them will be destroyed!
Perhaps then, those hateful elves may be able to escape to the Aman continent of the gods by boat in advance?
However, when the time comes, no one in the entire Middle-earth world can change the fact that the world will be ruled by him, Saruman, and the demon king Sauron!
If we can really get to that point, even Eru and Vera will probably have no choice but to watch on the sidelines, right? Because Saruman knew that they would never be able to withstand the consequences of another war between humans and gods. If they did not want to destroy Middle-earth and destroy Alda, then the Valar could only acquiesce in the destruction of Middle-earth. It’s an established fact that Morgoth’s side rules!
As for the little girl wizard who was coming from the north and threatened to attack Isengard, Saruman didn't pay much attention to her. Just before, in the True Knowledge Crystal where the three of them were talking, he had already seen that the opponent's army was just a mob of a few hundred people, and even the armor and weapons were very rudimentary!
Therefore, he did not feel that the little girl posed any threat.
"As you command, my lord!"
After seeing Saruman leave and then turning to look at the dense Fangorn Forest in the distance, the Orc steward followed the order with a ferocious expression.
In fact, it has long wanted to conquer Fangorn Forest! That ancient forest has grown for countless years. The trees are tall and large, and the wood is tight and strong. It must be very resistant to burning! No matter how you look at it, they are much stronger than those in the original Essinger!
If you just chop off one or two, you can probably supply them to the steel-making furnaces that will keep them burning for several days?
If Saruman hadn't spoken before, and if it hadn't had some concerns about the rumored Fangorn Forest, it would have sent people there to cut down the trees long ago, and it wouldn't have dared to wait until now. Start?
————
"Evil Balrog! You can never defeat me!"
The gray robe wizard Gandalf has been severely burned by the flames, but he is still holding a long sword and fighting with his life against the Balrog!
You read that right, Gandalf was holding a long sword, jumping up and down and fighting the Balrog for countless battles!
The talent of swordsmanship specialization is full, the movement skills are at the master level, and the eloquence and charm are at the advanced level. On the contrary, Gandalf only has the fireball and light spells as his professional skills. He is actually a hidden man. He is a legendary swordsman, not the gray-robed wizard you see and are familiar with!
To be more precise, his true profession should be a magic sword master? !
So, after he fell into the endless abyss with the Balrog in the mines of Moria, and then fell hard together into the large pool deep underground without being killed, he could use a sharp sword to , fighting fiercely with the Balrog in front of him all the way, along the man-made staircase called the Endless Stairs dug out by the greedy dwarves, from the depths of the ground, intermittently to the top of the Silver Horn Peak - Sirak On top of Sigil Peak!
Now Gandalf is constantly rejoicing in his heart. Fortunately, when he chose a profession and added talent points, he endured the ridicule of others and added a lot of physical fitness and endurance. Otherwise, he would have been dead by now. I know how many times I have died!
Here, on an artificial stone platform made by the dwarf, on the top of the world where blizzards and lightning meet, Gandalf, the melee mage of Middle-earth, has been facing this man who is covered in flames, has great power, and has the ability to fight. The Balrog with a pair of huge wings kept wandering around and fighting fiercely.
In the back-and-forth battles of attack and defense, occasionally, Gandalf could use the elf sword in his hand to cut several marks of varying depths on the Balrog's body.
Of course, most of the time, he was actually being suppressed and beaten by the Balrog, and from time to time he was knocked over by the opponent's huge power and hit into huge stone pillars, causing many large rocks to fall from this world. Here at the top, roll and fall towards the bottom of the clouds...
"Huh...huh..."
Gandalf couldn't remember exactly how long he had been fighting with the Balrog...
Maybe a week, maybe half a month? He doesn’t know and doesn’t have time to figure it out! Now, he could only breathe heavily, firing on all cylinders, no longer caring about hiding his strength, and at the same time, he was vigilantly guarding against the Balrog on the opposite side.
This guy in front of me is really difficult to deal with! Now Gandalf is a little convinced. Maybe this terrible Balrog was actually transformed from the Maia who followed Morgoth in ancient times? Otherwise, how could he still fight so hard when he was trying his best?
But fortunately, Gandalf himself is also a very powerful Maia!
So, he was able to continue to persevere even though his whole body was severely burned, and he was still not at a disadvantage for the time being? And if it were an ordinary mortal warrior, with such a huge gap in physical fitness and strength, he would have been killed by the Balrog many times, right?
Instead of like now, Gandalf can still use an elf sword to fight head-on with the huge and equally powerful Balrog.
Regarding the rumors about the origin of the Balrogs, there are generally two theories: some say that they are evil creatures created by Morgoth out of thin air! Some also say that they are actually the products of those who followed Morgoth and were transformed by the Maia gods after their fall...
But no matter which one they are, their power is unquestionable!
Gandalf has seen relevant records: According to rumors, some of the Maia gods became slaves of the Dark Lord Morgoth. They were extremely vicious, cruel and vicious, and later turned into such devil-like existences! In the high elven language, they are called Valarokar, but in Middle-earth, they are called Borrog, which means "powerful devil"?
Of all the creatures Morgoth created, dragons are undoubtedly the most powerful.
But compared to the giant dragon, Bolog's body shape is slightly larger and bulkier, and he does not have the excellent flying ability like the giant dragon! Although their faces are a bit human-like, they have giant horns that are the symbol of the devil, nostrils that spray Liu Hang's poisonous gas, and mouths that can spit out flames at any time, just like a giant dragon.
Wherever they walk, the earth will be burned, and the smoke will be like dark clouds covering the sky, leaving shadows behind them. Moreover, their limbs can also twist and twist to climb some precipitous places.
Gandalf had already seen this ability when he was climbing the endless stairs!
The Balrog's main weapon is a terrifying fire whip! This whip is made up of multiple twists and turns of flames. It was this thing that dragged Gandalf to the bottom of the endless abyss on the previous bridge of the Mines of Moria!
Of course, Balrogs can also use the power of fire to condense other weapons, such as scepters, axes, fire swords, etc., but more often than not, Balrogs still like to fight with fists and claws, like now .
Bang!
There was a muffled sound. When Gandalf swung his sword to resist, he was directly hit by the opponent's claws on the sword. The huge force caused him to be knocked away again and hit hard against a huge stone pillar. on, causing his internal organs to feel waves of severe pain and shock.
However, Gandalf rolled quickly and escaped to the other side again, narrowly escaping another attack from the opponent.
"Go back to your abyss, Balrog!"
Gandalf shouted loudly, then jumped up and slashed the opponent's neck with his sword.
At the end of the final battle of the First Age, after the demon king Morgoth was overthrown and expelled by the gods and imprisoned in the Void, his men, including the dragons, Sauron and the Balrogs all fled. .
Compared with Sauron, the daring demon king who dares to continue to stir up troubles in the world of Middle-earth, those timid Balrogs simply bury themselves in the mist in order to escape the punishment of the gods. The deepest part of the mountain range has never appeared in Middle-earth for thousands of years, until the greedy dwarves dug up mithril and dug up the one that was fighting Gandalf in front of them.
"Oh! Damn it!"
It's a pity that the Balrog's body was unusually large. The opponent just waved his hand and mercilessly slapped the jumping Gandalf away with a claw.
"Your end has come! Evil Balrog!"
After seeing the Balrog flapping its wings again and rushing towards him with open arms, Gandalf's eyes lit up and he saw an excellent opportunity!
He knew that he could never continue fighting the Balrog like this, otherwise, he would be the ultimate loser!
After all, whether it was physical strength or the terrifying portable flames, the opponent's advantages were too much over his own. He really couldn't go on like this anymore. Due to his physical injuries and being trapped by hunger and cold, He felt increasingly powerless...
Now, he must make the final choice: take the risk and make a final fatal blow to the Balrog with his heart exposed!
Then, Gandalf suddenly raised the long sword in his hand, and instantly guided a beam of powerful lightning that struck down and bound it to his sword. He planned to take advantage of this perfect opportunity to use the violent The power of lightning combined with his sharp sword penetrated directly into the heart of the Balrog, thus achieving the effect of killing him with one blow!
"Come on, you evil being!"
After taking a silent breath and holding his long sword that exuded lightning light with both hands, Gandalf roared. He knew that he only had this last chance to take action...
"Wow! What a big Balrog...it's big and fierce, and people find it really cute!"
Suddenly, just as Gandalf was about to risk his life and step forward to fight, an inappropriate little girl's voice rang out from the top of the world.
This made Gandalf, who was about to attack and deliver a fatal sword, stumble and almost fall to the ground. He even thought that this was just an auditory hallucination that he had before his death!
Therefore, he quickly gritted his teeth, calmed down, and rushed towards the Balrog who was also rushing towards him, and let his long sword stab directly towards the opponent's heart...
"Wow! Old Gandalf, stop it quickly! It belongs to me now, you are not allowed to kill it again!!!"
At this time, the little girl's voice rang again.
Then, Gandalf suddenly realized that he didn't seem to be hallucinating just now?
Because at this time, a fiery red transparent shield was like a wall. When he was about to collide with the Balrog, he separated himself from the Balrog on the opposite side in time, and The attacks from both sides of them could only hit this transparent and strong light curtain in vain, but at the same time they were unable to do anything to the other party...
