Chapter 309: The Book-loving Dragon
Time always brings sorrow to those who fail to notice it.
Yet some people seem never to have paid attention to the world around them.
Like the white-robed wizard Saruman.
Levi sat in the castle, flipping through reports.
According to intelligence from the rangers, Saruman had been quite unsettled over the past decades, wandering all across Middle-earth. Sometimes visiting the City of Water, sometimes the Misty Mountains. Last month, he was seen in the Marshes of Iris; next month, he would be at the ruins of Erengrad. No one knew exactly what he was up to.
It seemed frequent, but on second thought, these events were separated by several years.
Recently, about ten years ago, Saruman finally settled down. He stayed confined in Orthanc Tower, not stepping out.
Meanwhile, the rangers in the Shire noticed Saruman was stocking up massively on supplies—food, tobacco, and so on. Some estimated these resources could feed an army of considerable size.
He continued hoarding supplies, not only in the Shire but all the way from Roadside Keep to the City of Water, with large shares.
Saruman surely needed many people to sustain.
After all, Isengard was not just a lone tower. Servants and guards served there; managing the vast land needed many.
Levi sat at his desk, pondering.
For now, the man seemed settled.
He'd returned to his old work, staying all day in the tower studying, with no other actions.
After examining Saruman's minor moves, Levi turned attention elsewhere.
Gondor, Mordor, Umbar, and Harad—currently the most pressured and contested regions—were relatively stable.
Still, minor skirmishes occurred, but nothing major.
Harassment and probing persisted, but no big war.
As for the Far East, activity was nearly undetectable.
Looking at his repeatedly condensed reports, Levi rubbed his temples, beginning to understand Sauron's feelings.
Setting aside everything else, Sauron was quite a genius and a workaholic, likely operating at maximum capacity 24/7.
Not only handling many matters, political scheming, conquering, and campaigning, he watched internal developments closely, issuing orders and managing details personally.
From national affairs down to raising fierce beasts and developing new species—military, economy, research, diplomacy—almost everything was controlled by him alone.
Others, like the Witch-king or normal Ringwraiths, served as mere executors of his commands.
People with pure purposes often move fastest; Sauron was certainly one. He created Mordor and subjugated dark peoples to spread darkness over the world and pull all good into destruction.
Beyond that, he had no other motives. His nature was like a player who issued commands and developed without hindrance except for the hard limits of resources and technology. Efficiency was unparalleled, and his subordinates were utterly loyal.
Facing such an enemy was truly troublesome.
Not just Gondor and Rohan, but even Levi felt a troubling unease.
Sauron was not one to live quietly—yet he had been unexpectedly calm these years.
Calm enough to feel somewhat eerie to Levi.
Mordor remained shrouded in heavy mist; its development was mysterious.
Like Sauron, the apparently missing Balrog of Moria was silent. Compared to it, the Balrog was more reassuring—completely inactive.
In recent years, when possible, not only Levi but a ranger exploration team ventured in, yet no trace of the creature was found.
It was as if it vanished into thin air.
The Balrog likely slept somewhere obediently. Such beings often sleep for hundreds or thousands of years. Unless their stone ceiling is blown away, they rarely move.
Thinking this, Levi poured himself a cup of tea.
This year, the territories were peaceful and the surroundings calm.
When spring arrived again, Levi stood on the military camp training ground, reviewing soldier formations.
At the front stood a squad of rangers wearing gray medals.
Clearly, these were the elite rangers.
After years of development, those awarded the Ranger Medal could form a company of several hundred.
It was foreseeable that this company could break through even ten times their number of enemies.
If the legion champions were included, they might even consider annihilating the enemy.
Standards for excellent rangers varied: some excelled at strategy, some at extreme environments, some at information gathering.
But legion champions differed—they had only one standard: being the best fighter among that cohort of rangers.
Each champion was on par with Levi himself in normal condition, sometimes even stronger.
After another medal ceremony, Levi nodded approvingly at the keen blade legion.
Facing even Levi, this army would be formidable.
What a headache.
"All right, dismissed."
Levi waved, concluding the ceremony.
At the castle, beneath a huge mallorn tree, Little Pink changed position, curling again on the grass.
As Levi passed, he gently rubbed his large head against Levi, nearly pushing him back a step.
Levi had to look up at Little Pink.
This fellow had grown into a small mountain, too heavy for the ladder to the mallorn tree top.
But luckily, those wings were real. Little Pink had learned to fly early on.
Still, he preferred lying on the ground most days, the huge mallorn tree looking small beside him—though he could curl up on it, he was very conspicuous.
The dragon curled on the mallorn tree had become another symbol of Roadside Keep years ago. Someone thought the scene was so wonderful, they painted and sewed it onto a flag.
Levi saw the flag and liked the design. So he hung it beneath the tree where Little Pink lived.
Little Pink said he didn't mind.
However, while fine with the flag, Little Pink had been wanting one thing for a long time.
That year, he asked Levi if he had grown up.
Levi nodded.
Then Little Pink asked if he could drop the baby nickname 'Little Pink' and receive a proper dragon name.
His scales were no longer pink but hard and deep red, smooth and shiny, impressive and beautiful.
Faced with this request, Levi fell silent without reply.
Little Pink also said nothing.
Seeing Levi, as motionless as a machine stuck for a long time without words, Little Pink seemed to sense something.
From that day on, Little Pink stopped lying on the castle lawn and instead curled at the gate of the Nameless Tower, asking people to find him books to read. When he couldn't make out the words, someone read aloud to him.
"If you don't name me, I'll pick one myself."
The child was forced to become independent.
Because of one person's mental block, the Nameless Tower had a new rumor:
The book-loving dragon.