"Thank you, but speaking of which, do you have any urgent business this time? Would you like to stay a few more days? I've been researching many new dishes lately..."
"Staying a few more days won't be necessary, but I do have something to tell you this time."
"Levi, since that cavalry squad was annihilated last time, the Orc King of the Misty Mountains already knows of your existence. He may very well seek revenge against you. You'd better be careful in your recent activities."
The Orc King...
The first thing that came to Levi's mind was Azog, but then he realized that wasn't right... he'd never heard of Azog having any title as an Orc King.
Then it must be that guy. An image of a tall but bloated and fat orc appeared in his mind.
Was it that Orc King who lived in the cave?
"I understand. Thank you for the warning."
Rangers always came and went like the wind. Despite Levi's attempts to persuade him, he still couldn't make him stay. In the end, he just took him on a tour around the territory, introducing the new additions.
Like the iron golems.
These big fellows stared expressionlessly at Faradon, making him nervous. However, the iron golem just scratched its head, conjured a small red flower from nowhere, and handed it to Faradon without showing any aggressive intent.
It seemed the iron golems' friend-or-foe identification system was quite reliable.
"Thank you." Faradon politely accepted the small flower.
After finishing the tour, without staying long, the Ranger soon left.
Shortly after, Levi also mounted his horse and galloped eastward along the main road.
It must be said that having a horse to ride increased travel efficiency by more than just a little. Although this horse's maximum speed was only 11.5m/s, it could run continuously.
Moreover, not only could the horse run continuously, Levi didn't need rest either.
Man and horse ran non-stop at full speed for a day, arriving at a landmark building at an incredible pace: the Last Bridge.
Approaching the river, he controlled his horse to slow down, crossing the stone bridge step by step while admiring the scenery on both sides.
The river reflected the setting sun, adding a brilliant touch to the dusk.
This was the place.
"Trollshaws."
Levi spread out his map.
From here, heading northeast for a short distance would lead to the dangerous Trollshaws.
It was called the Trollshaws because it was home to a large number of trolls from the eastern Ettenmoors and the Misty Mountains.
This forest contained far more than just three trolls.
He didn't know where the three trolls who would capture Bilbo in the future lived, but this didn't stop him from being curious enough to take a look around.
If he could find them, great... it would enrich his little treasury. If not, he'd consider it tourism.
Though the scenery here really wasn't much to look at.
Having made up his mind, Levi immediately dug a large hole by the bridge, temporarily stored his horse inside, and sealed the top.
Thanks to riding for transportation, he had consumed almost no food these past two days, so his reserves were quite sufficient.
After confirming that leaving the horse here was relatively safe, without delay, he ran toward the northeast.
The setting sun passed in an instant.
Night fell.
A gentle breeze passed by, unable to disturb Levi in the slightest.
Rustle...
Pushing aside some bushes and seeing the panicked wild rabbit inside, he showed disappointment again and left.
He had been searching for half the night since entering the forest but still hadn't found a trace of trolls.
If anyone else saw this, they would definitely think Levi had problems.
Normal passersby would avoid such things at all costs, yet he was actively seeking them out... and couldn't find them no matter what.
What, did they all hide when they saw me coming?
Suddenly, the bushes behind Levi rustled with movement. A black shadow leaped out, raising the blade in its hand and charging straight at him.
"Aha, look what I found..."
Swoosh...
In an instant, he drew his long sword, jumped up, and slashed backward.
Critical hit!
"Gah..."
The voice suddenly disappeared.
Looking at the corpse on the ground.
An orc.
Levi immediately became alert. These creatures weren't the type to act alone. These orcs were like cockroaches... if one appeared, it meant there was definitely a bunch more nearby.
Fortunately, this one had appeared and been immediately cut down by him, so it probably wouldn't attract nearby reinforcements.
However, when the smell of blood began to spread, it was already destined to be a restless night.
"Howl!"
Wargs began to howl, the sound almost right beside his ear. His hair immediately stood on end, and he opened his backpack, instantly equipping his armor.
Rustle rustle.
Wargs leaped out one after another, with the frontmost one opening its bloody maw and pouncing directly at Levi.
One could imagine that if this bite landed solidly, its power would be no less than being chopped by a cleaver.
Thud!
However, the next moment, an iron-rimmed wooden square shield appeared. Caught off guard, the most aggressive warg crashed headfirst into it. The shield didn't budge, but the recoil left the warg dizzy and disoriented.
It was destined to have no time to recover. Levi seized the opportunity and struck its head with a vicious sword blow. The warg howled and collapsed, this critical hit depleting most of its health bar.
Wargs pounced one after another. He held his shield, fighting while retreating, facing simultaneous attacks from seven or eight wargs from all directions while not forgetting to finish off the wargs on the ground.
As long as the shield had durability, these wargs could barely hurt him.
Obviously, their attack power wasn't sufficient to cause a "shield break" effect.
Thud!
Levi used his shield to block a warg, then turned to slash at another. His speed was so fast that even agile wargs couldn't dodge. However, in just this moment of turning, a warg immediately filled the gap behind him, opening its mouth wide and biting down hard on his waist.
He felt his waist being pricked like a needle.
This attack had obviously been charged for a long time, just waiting for him to show an opening.
[-1]
But the damage wasn't high.
Who told it to bite the thickest part of the armor?
However, Levi had almost forgotten that his enemies weren't just wargs.
On a rock behind the warg pack, an orc quietly nocked an arrow and aimed.
Swoosh...
An arrow came flying.
Thud!
He felt his brain shake.
The orc archer showed a fierce smile, looking very pleased with himself.
That arrow had precisely hit Levi's head, even seeming to pierce through the silver-white iron helmet and stick directly into it.
Headshot.
However, what happened next scared the orc so much it could barely hold its bow.
Levi calmly pulled out the bloody arrow from his head and looked deeply at the orc archer's position.
[-4]
This arrow had dealt high damage. Without the iron armor's protection, it would have cost him most of his life.
But it was useless.
His saturation slowly decreased while his health rapidly increased. In almost the blink of an eye, his health bar was full again.
Ignoring the archer, he raised his long sword and once again fought with the wargs, killing and splattering blood all the way. The orc was astonished to discover that so many wargs couldn't handle just one person.
The wargs had clearly bitten him, and he was clearly injured, but why wouldn't he die!
The archer wanted to ambush again, but each time was blocked by that large shield. The man would rather be bitten by a warg than not defend against his arrows with the shield.
It didn't take long.
Levi, chewing on beef jerky and stepping on a ground covered with warg corpses, charged toward the archer's position.
Swoosh!
One sword, and the head flew.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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