The Angband Mountains stand before the fortress with three towering volcanoes, each reaching tens of thousands of meters in height. Dense smoke and toxic fog envelop the area, while within the depths of a cavern behind the volcanoes, countless types of half-orcs are toiling away.
At the very deepest part of the cave, a magnificent palace stands in the darkness.
The palace gates tower over a kilometer in height, and a massive werewolf lies at the threshold of the gates.
The werewolf is named Kahalos, and it was personally chosen by Morgoth from the werewolf pack, raised from a cub, and infused with his own dark powers and the spirit of consumption.
It can stand guard at the palace entrance without blinking, detecting all disguises of enemies, and possessing incredibly fearsome power.
Within the palace, on the throne, the source of all darkness, once the most powerful Vala, Morgoth, roared to his feet from his own throne.
"Surely such powerful light energy must be the arrival of the gods from Valinor!"
Just then, he felt that in the direction of the Valley of Death, suddenly there was a burst of Maiar-level light energy, which caused him great alarm.
He nearly thought that the goddess of light, Varda, had descended upon Middle-earth.
Varda, the goddess of light, seldom leaves Valinor. If she were to leave, it would be only with her husband Manwe. And the only reason Manwe would come to Middle-earth is one thing and one thing only.
That would be to lead the gods in a second campaign against him.
Most of his power is corrupting Middle-earth. Although he now possesses three Elven Rings, he is still certainly no match for the combined powers of the gods.
"Something is amiss. Varda's power must be much greater than this, and they cannot possibly come at this time."
Closing his eyes, he felt more intently, and a look of confusion appeared on his face.
Having provoked the Noldor to kill the Quendi and leave Valinor, he would not likely care about the fate of the Noldor themselves.
Moreover, he had just initiated the war and had not yet gained an advantage. Even if the gods were to intervene, they would not likely do so at this time.
Actually, he was also competing with the gods over time.
If he could wipe out all the Elves, Men, and Dwarves on the continent before the gods could react, using his own power to corrupt the entire Middle-earth, then this continent would be incorporated into him.
He is the supreme god of this continent, and even the Aulë himself cannot do anything about it.
But if he were to be defeated by the gods before that, his plan would fail.
So he eagerly initiated the war, hoping to defeat all those who opposed him as quickly as possible.
"Sauron, come here. I have something to ask you!"
With a thought, he had already sent his voice across the miles to his general Sauron, who was recovering on his island.
Not long after, Sauron, now a vampire, flew to the palace entrance and knelt before Morgoth in submission.
"My lord, what would you have of me now that you have summoned me?"
"How is your injury healing?"
Morgoth lowered his head and looked at Sauron.
Sauron lifted his head slightly, responding respectfully:
"Master, it has healed by more than half. I am ashamed that I was defeated by the Elves and Men."
Sauron's eyes were filled with a fierce intent, thinking of the human who could use various strange spells.
The fiery dragon Khorthmog led his army of fiends, successfully breaking through the most fortified Mazath Los line, while the half-ori army he led was driven in disarray and himself severely injured.
This was the greatest humiliation he had ever suffered.
He swore in his heart that one day he would cut off the head of that human and feed it to the werewolves on his island.
"You cannot be blamed for that, no one would have thought that among the weak humans there would be such a formidable mage."
Morgoth did not rebuke Sauron, but instead comforted him.
They were tempted to die heartily for him, not just because of his power, but also because Morgoth himself possessed a remarkable charisma.
It is known that in the Enya's Great Music, only Morgoth dared to openly introduce discordant notes, defy the will of Ainehor.
"Master, please rest assured, I will not fail again next time!"
Sauron promised to Morgoth:
"And this severe injury has given me some ideas; if I can succeed, my power will definitely increase significantly."
"What kind of ideas do you have to say? Perhaps I can help you improve them."
Morgoth showed a look of great interest.
As for strength, among his subordinates, Sauron and the fiery dragon, Khorthmog, were the strongest.
The fiery dragon, Khorthmog, mastering the ultimate fire and possesses a much greater destructive power than Sauron, but Sauron is a learned among the Maiar.
Before being tempted, he had followed several Valar to learn knowledge, which made his knowledge more comprehensive.
"I plan to forge a ring, into which I will infuse all my knowledge and absorb the corresponding power. With it on my hand, I will be able to wield double the power."
Sauron explained his plan one by one.
His master was once the mightiest of the Valar, surpassing even Manwe, and had nearly learned all the knowledge of the Valar except for Varda's.
If he agreed to help, it would greatly shorten the time Sauron needed to forge the ring.
"It sounds promising, but there are many gaps. Well, I will help you fill in the details of forging this ring."
Morgoth listened to Sauron's idea and nodded in approval. He raised his hand, and a piece of the finest magical metal in the world appeared instantly from outside the palace. Then he opened his mouth, and the magic fire enveloped the metal.
Afterwards, various magical runes poured into the magical metal as if they were free of charge.
As time went on, the magical metal gradually transformed into a ring adorned with numerous strange runes.
Finally, Morgoth injected a powerful magic into the ring.
"Done. This ring now contains a portion of my power. With it on your hand, your strength will be tripled."
"Thank you, my lord!"
Sauron extended his hands to receive the ring, his eyes filled with complete admiration for Morgoth.
Seeing Sauron wearing the ring and his power greatly increased, Morgoth immediately issued a command:
"Sauron, there has been an incident in the Valley of Death. You take your forces and secretly infiltrate the area to investigate."
"I want to know who has eliminated my power there."
He had no intention of helping Sauron forge the ring at the cost of his own power.
Doing so was only to ensure that Sauron could go to the Valley of Death on his behalf to investigate the situation. Since the ring was made by Sauron, with his own power within it, he could see what was happening on Sauron's side in real time.
If it were not the arrival of the gods, but rather some other force, then sacrificing a Sauron would still be worth it, as he could then escape and hide from the gods, making them unable to find him.
"Rest assured, my lord. I will complete the task!"
Sauron was unaware of Morgoth's intentions. Feeling the tripled power, he happily retreated and prepared to return to his island with his most capable subordinates to go to the Valley of Death.
