Constructing mental barriers was an extremely draining task.
Kael practiced Occlumency daily, using mental power to gradually build brain defenses bit by bit until his mental strength was exhausted, then he would stop and tour the vineyards with manor owner Caranmir.
Perhaps due to long cohabitation with humans, Dorwinion's elves had lifestyles more like humans.
Among the local elves, Sindarin elves were the finest wine brewers. Nandorin elves were the best grape growers, cultivating vines with the highest yields and finest quality. Avari elves served as elven wine merchants, having the most frequent contact with humans among the three groups, often cooperating to sell wine.
Grapevines planted by elves had long lifespans. Vines hundreds or thousands of years old could be seen everywhere, each covering thousands of square meters and laden with fruit.
These vines were carefully tended by Nandorin elves, producing grapes that were not only sweet and fragrant but also quickly restored stamina, possessing extraordinary magical properties.
Therefore, wines made from these grapes could intoxicate even elves with their powerful constitutions.
The grapevine on Caranmir's manor was even more precious. Reportedly ten thousand years old, it was the mother stock of all surrounding vines and treasured by Caranmir.
Each year when this vine's fruit ripened, it was all harvested and personally brewed by Caranmir.
The resulting wine wasn't easily sold but stored in massive cellars for hundreds or thousands of years, reserved for gifts or entertaining distinguished guests.
Kael had the privilege of tasting a bottle reportedly aged for a thousand years.
The wine had a rich, sweet taste with concentrated fruit aroma and mental-nourishing effects, causing Kael to unconsciously drink several cups.
Then, unsurprisingly, Kael passed out completely and slept for a full day and night before finally awakening.
Upon waking, Kael felt no hangover headache but instead felt refreshed, even noticing a slight increase in mental power.
This effect surprised Kael.
If mental power could continue growing this way, Kael thought he could accept becoming an alcoholic.
After staying in Dorwinion nearly a month, Kael finally constructed a mental fortress resembling Amon Sûl in his mind, still far from the grander Hogwarts castle.
Moreover, Amon Sûl was merely a prototype with internal structure and functional areas yet to be built.
But this progress was achieved only under the Crown of Wisdom's enhancement and the golden cup's nourishment.
Otherwise, with Kael's own efficiency, constructing a mental fortress prototype would take at least one or two years.
Building an even more massive mental castle would take unknown amounts of time.
Having constructed Amon Sûl with mental power, Kael felt his brain protected by a solid fortress, filled with security.
With his current Occlumency achievements, even without active resistance, ordinary mental magic couldn't break through his mental barriers. Anyone attempting Legilimency on Kael would feel like hitting a wall, becoming dizzy from the impact.
Even Saruman's voice magic and Sauron's mental erosion no longer left Kael completely defenseless. He could at least resist for several minutes.
After completing the mental fortress, Kael discovered his thinking became clearer, more calm and focused, with fewer distracting thoughts and excess emotions emerging.
This unexpected benefit greatly satisfied Kael.
Having initially constructed the mental fortress, Kael didn't plan to spend more time continuing to build and perfect it.
Constructing a Hogwarts castle-level mental fortress in his mind was a massive engineering task requiring long-term practice and accumulation, not achievable overnight.
Kael couldn't devote all his time to this matter, so he could only gradually accumulate and improve.
Kael formally bid farewell to Caranmir, preparing to seek the Blue Wizards in the Easterling city.
As thanks, he specially gave Caranmir a space bag enhanced with an Extension Charm.
Caranmir was very surprised and pleased with this gift, directly giving Kael over ten barrels of treasured wine, all brewed from fruit of the most ancient vines.
Naturally loving such fine wine that could nourish mental power, Kael gladly accepted Caranmir's reciprocal gift.
Then Kael mounted his flying broomstick and left Dorwinion, flying over the Sea of Rhûn eastward.
The vast region east of the Sea of Rhûn was the Easterlings' stronghold, containing numerous tribes and kingdoms, generally primitive and backward with constant warfare between them.
Among them were not only Sauron's followers but also former worshippers of Morgoth, plus Easterling tribes incited to rebellion by the Blue Wizards.
In Easterling territory, wars occurred almost daily.
To avoid attention, Kael used his Metamorphmagus talent to disguise himself as an Easterling, traveling eastward between Easterling tribes.
These tribes were almost all Sauron's loyal followers, each having Sauron's statues or symbols cast in iron, carved from stone, or sculpted from wood.
Easterlings of all ages fanatically worshipped Sauron as their god.
They even built black sacrificial altars.
Unsurprisingly, the sacrifices were living people. Prisoners captured from inter-tribal warfare became offerings, their skulls becoming altar foundations, hearts thrown into sacrificial fires, and blood used as ink to draw Mordor's dark spells.
Such bloody, evil sacrificial scenes made Kael, hidden in deserted corners, frown deeply.
Seeing the crowd below caught in frenzied celebration with savage, fanatical faces made Kael's disgust evident.
He initially wanted to intervene and rescue those to be sacrificed, but using Legilimency revealed these people were beyond salvation.
These Easterlings being sacrificed would equally sacrifice others. They'd simply been defeated today and become offerings.
Discovering this, Kael became a cold observer.
What alarmed Kael more was that these sacrifices weren't meaningless.
As sacrifices concluded, Sauron's statue would emanate evil power, infusing the gathered crowd. Everyone would become frenzied and abnormally excited as if drugged, their bodies growing stronger.
Easterlings called this "divine blessing."
But to Kael, these "blessed" people were merely further corrupted by evil power, transforming into inhuman creatures ultimately controlled by Sauron.
They weren't truly stronger. The evil power granted temporary strength at the cost of life force.
Kael didn't want to watch more and prepared to leave this tribe, continuing eastward.
But just then, a sharp, piercing cry came from afar.
Kael's expression changed slightly as he looked toward the sound with surprise and suspicion.
Seeing the Nazgûl's arrival, Kael felt foreboding.
His eastern journey must not be discovered by Nazgûl, or it would create complications and draw Sauron's attention. That would be disastrous!
But the fell beast approached too quickly. Using Apparition now would create disturbances that would definitely attract the Nazgûl's attention.
Moreover, his current Disillusionment Charm could fool Easterling vision but not deceive Nazgûl.
So Kael could only cancel the charm and disguise himself as an Easterling, hiding among the crowd.
The next second, the fell beast carried the Nazgûl to the altar.
The fell beast emanated putrid odors and released a terrifying evil aura. Its long tail swept several Easterlings away, smashing them heavily against stone platforms, their fate unknown.
But surrounding Easterlings paid no attention, looking at the Nazgûl on the fell beast with awe and fanaticism.
The fell beast directly consumed sacrificial offerings while the Nazgûl bowed to Sauron's statue, then reached through the statue's chest with ethereal hands, extracting wailing spirits.
These spirits were recently sacrificed offerings plus souls of previous sacrificial victims.
Like a void black hole, the Nazgûl greedily devoured all spirits into its body until none remained.
The tribal crowd found nothing strange about this, clearly long accustomed to such scenes.
Having consumed hundreds of spirits, the Nazgûl seemed satiated, emitting a satisfied moan before its hollow eyes turned toward the Easterling crowd below.
"Your sacrifices satisfy me. As a reward, you shall receive a blessing!" the Nazgûl said in an eerie voice seemingly from hell's depths.
Hearing this, the excited crowd became frenzied with enthusiasm.
The Nazgûl released dark power, forming black mist that surged toward the crowd. Everyone competed to absorb the mist, fearing to be a step behind others.
People corrupted by dark power developed gray skin, eyes filled with evil and madness, changed appearances, and twisted minds.
Due to varying degrees of dark corruption, their bodies and appearances differed.
Those most deeply corrupted gradually became gaunt and less like living beings, and after death their souls would become evil spirits controlled by Nazgûl.
But clearly these people already corrupted by darkness didn't care—they even eagerly desired this.
In their view, this was grace from their "divine messenger" and their "god."
While Easterlings frantically absorbed dark power, Kael in the crowd cursed his bad luck.
He naturally couldn't let this dark force enter his body and could only resist.
Such behavior made him very conspicuous to the Nazgûl's vision.
"You are not from here!"
The Nazgûl instantly locked onto Kael, red light shooting from hollow eyes as it erupted with suffocating, terrifying aura.