For both Levi and Gandalf, travel and adventure had become routine.
Especially since he had just emerged from the Nether not long ago... after getting used to traversing the extreme environment of the Nether, returning to travel in Middle-earth even felt as relaxing as a leisurely outing.
At least he didn't have to constantly smell the pungent sulfur or endure scorching temperatures. Although the Nether's heat didn't substantially affect Levi, it didn't stop him from disliking the sweltering environment.
"Which way do we go?"
Levi asked casually. To cross the Misty Mountains, there were two routes: one was to go directly through the mountain passages, the other was to take a detour via Isengard and head north, but that would be far too distant.
"The High Pass," Gandalf answered without hesitation.
"That place..."
"Won't it be somewhat dangerous? I remember there are many orcs there."
After all, Goblin-town was right nearby, where the Orc King who had put a bounty on Levi resided.
"The High Pass has two routes. We'll take the higher one and try to avoid them."
"Alright." Levi was just asking casually. Actually, with his current equipment and supplies, even if he really fell into Goblin-town, he could fight his way out alone.
The Nether trip hadn't been for nothing... the gold blocks from the bastion remnants had made Levi quite wealthy. He now carried a full stack of golden apples in his backpack.
As long as Gandalf was fine, then he was fine too.
However, the High Pass...
That place didn't just have orcs. In the depths of the mountains, beside underground streams, lived a small creature.
Gollum.
The reflection of a golden ring appeared in his pupils.
Although they weren't traveling on horseback, Levi and Gandalf's pace wasn't slow. Throughout the journey, aside from eating, they barely stopped.
He didn't need rest... as long as he had food, he could maintain his energy indefinitely.
As for Gandalf, this elderly man looked unremarkable, but his stamina wasn't necessarily inferior to Levi's. Anyway, after discovering that Levi didn't need rest, he never mentioned resting again.
They crossed the wilderness and passed the Last Bridge. Finally, on a sunny morning, the two arrived near the Misty Mountains.
Looking at the towering snow-capped peaks in the distance, Levi couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Reaching the highest peaks of Middle-earth... the Misty Mountains!
"No time to linger, Levi. We must pick up the pace."
Gandalf called from ahead. "While it's still light, we need to get through the pass quickly to avoid encountering those orcs that come out at night."
"Right."
While it was still early, the two began climbing the mountain. They didn't stop all day, even eating while traveling.
However, despite such caution, they still encountered trouble.
"Roar."
A low growl made both Levi and Gandalf stop in their tracks and look around.
Gandalf grasped his staff.
Levi drew his glowing ancient elven sword.
However, the expected attack didn't come.
The two exchanged glances and slowly approached the direction of the sound.
Behind a large boulder, two wargs and five orcs were gathered together, constantly making noise.
"I found it first, so it's mine!"
"Just because you say you found it first? It's just lying there... why can't it be mine?"
"Roar!"
These orcs and wargs seemed to be arguing about something.
"An animal carcass," Gandalf said quietly.
"It looks like they're having a dispute over distribution. The two wargs think that since they're larger, they should eat the biggest portion. The orcs think that since they found the prey first, they should eat the most."
"Wargs and orcs arguing? That's rare," Levi mused.
"Those wargs aren't pure beasts, Levi. They possess intelligence and their own language. They have a cooperative relationship with orcs, not a subordinate one."
"No wonder they can't be tamed."
Gandalf glanced at him and said slowly, "Unless you turn to evil, you cannot make these beasts submit."
"After all, they are wargs, not ordinary wolves seeking food."
Levi shrugged. They obviously weren't talking about the same thing, but it was close enough.
As they spoke, suddenly a warg's nose twitched twice, and it raised its head to look around.
"I think we should leave," Gandalf reminded.
"No, I think we should prepare for battle."
"Roar!"
A warg suddenly charged toward where the two were hiding. Levi simply stopped hiding, drew his long sword, and jumped down with a chopping strike.
Thud!
The moment sword met warg, the blade flashed with fire, then the warg's fur suddenly burst into flames. The entire warg caught fire, becoming a howling ball of flame.
Between cutting and burning, with just one sword strike, the warg became a piece of charred dead meat.
Gandalf stared at the ancient elven sword, then looked at Levi, squinting as if thinking about something, but didn't help.
Back to the fight... initially, seeing only one opponent, the orcs wanted to demonstrate the fine orc tradition of bullying with numbers. But when these rabble saw Levi's terrifying black armor under his linen cloak and the sword that could ignite with fire, they immediately cowered and scattered, even the wargs howling as they fled.
The opponent clearly looked like a lord-level figure. What were five or six orcs supposed to fight him with? Better go home and get reinforcements.
"Done."
Levi sheathed his sword.
"Looks like I can relax on this journey," Gandalf said inexplicably.
He was planning to slack off.
"Let's go. Before they can spread the news, we need to leave quickly."
Evening was approaching.
Gandalf led the way ahead. When the two finally reached the end of the downhill path and were about to leave the snowy mountains...
Whoosh...
An arrow flew over, hitting Levi's chest armor directly, then bouncing off.
His health bar didn't even move.
Levi and Gandalf both turned back to see a large, noisy group of orcs crowded at the pass behind them, charging downward while throwing various weapons and shooting arrows.
"Run!" Gandalf shouted, ducking to avoid a flying scimitar and immediately turning to leave.
However, looking at the narrow pass ahead, Levi grinned.
"I don't think we need to!"
Swoosh...
The glowing sword was drawn. He put on his helmet and, going against Gandalf's direction, blocked the mountain pass alone with his sword.
Thud!
One sword strike split the scrawny orc charging at the front in half. The sword's impact force affected nearby orcs too... some broke bones, others lost weapons.
Thud!
Another sword strike sent several orcs flying, their bodies burning as they fell back into the orc crowd, knocking down several companions while spreading the flames.
Levi blocked the mountain pass like this, constantly swinging his sword horizontally and vertically. He let the charging orcs clang and hammer against his armor, standing motionless like a boulder.
Some orcs finally broke through the sword's reach and surrounded him, pounding on him all over for quite a while. His health bar barely dropped symbolically before instantly refilling, and looking at the orcs' weapons... they had long since chipped.
This was netherite.
Before long, a large area of charred corpses appeared on the ground.
Initially, the bloodshed could still arouse the ferocity of orcs and wargs, but as bodies gradually accumulated and the bloody smell was gradually masked by the stench of burning, finally, these orcs who usually brought fear to others also experienced this emotion.
Fear.
"It's him! It's that wizard from Wilderland!"
Finally, some sharp-eyed orcs who had participated in the siege against Levi months ago recognized him, screaming at the top of their lungs.
Whoosh...
Whether orcs or wargs, all unconsciously retreated, staring fixedly at that black armor.
A warg with broken teeth trembled and howled resentfully.
"Come on, scum! Try to get past me!"
Looking at the fearful orcs before him, Gandalf had a sense of déjà vu.
When Sauron had emerged from the tower in physical form years ago, walking down from Mount Doom while facing the Last Alliance army and single-handedly defeating both Gil-galad the Elven-king and Elendil the Tall... it must have been just like this.
Who knows who would be superior if the two faced each other.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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