Swoosh!
The long sword swept down with deadly precision, and another warg burst into flames, howling as it fell to the blood-soaked earth.
Levi rode his swift horse across the battlefield, rapidly pursuing the scattered fleeing orcs with relentless determination, buying precious time for the dwarves.
"Shoot his horse first!"
The orc leader shouted with desperate fury, and several archers in the distance drew arrows and aimed at Levi's mount with a coordinated volley.
However, setting aside whether these archers could even hit the horse while it was running at full speed, even if they did hit, it would only lose one or two hit points. Hardly worth mentioning. Given the several stacks of wheat in Levi's backpack, he could stand still and let the orcs exhaust all their arrows without killing the horse.
As for Levi himself, his health bar barely trembled. A show of respect for these arrows. Now, without reaching a certain threshold, ordinary arrows could hardly cause him effective damage.
Hoofbeats thundered across the plain as Levi cut down one warg per sword strike, continuously pursuing forward like an unstoppable force of nature.
As he fought, suddenly a somewhat familiar, clear horn sounded in the distance.
Rumble rumble!
A company of Noldorin cavalry in silver-gray armor galloped forth, already forming appropriate formations before engaging the orcs with military precision.
What followed was a one-sided battle. The orc sub-leader shouted, trying to reorganize his forces, but soon his voice was drowned in the dying wails of his subordinates.
"Retreat!"
After shouting this, the sub-leader was the first to flee.
With that fierce warrior present, this battle was destined to be unwinnable. They could only try to hold him off, kill the dwarves first, then quickly escape.
Now it was even worse. Besides that man, a group of elven cavalry had arrived. What was there left to fight?
Soon, the orcs on this plain either fled or died, all disappearing without a trace.
Levi looked around but didn't see Gandalf and the dwarves. They must have already taken the hidden route toward Rivendell.
After confirming no orcs remained, the elves reformed their ranks, sheathed their weapons, and rode toward Levi with graceful efficiency.
"How is it you again?"
Elrond rode forward and began conversing with Levi with amused recognition.
"Since we last met, you seem much stronger. Recently I've often heard rumors about you."
"I'm honored." Levi nodded, greeting the Lord of Rivendell with respect.
"I was wondering why these orcs started wandering around here again."
Elrond looked at Levi thoughtfully.
"No, this time it's not because of me. As for the reason, it's somewhat complicated. They should reach Rivendell soon."
"They?"
Meanwhile.
At the entrance to Rivendell.
"Mithrandir." An elf descended the steps and greeted Gandalf with formal courtesy.
"Ah, Lindir!"
"I heard you crossed the Bruinen." Lindir spoke in Elvish.
Gandalf approached with a serious expression: "I must speak with Lord Elrond."
"Lord Elrond is not here."
"Not here?"
"Where is he?"
Just as Gandalf was asking, horns sounded at the valley entrance, and a company of cavalry proceeded orderly across the narrow bridge.
"Alert!"
The dwarves protected Bilbo in their center, all drawing weapons and glaring at these elven cavalry with suspicious hostility.
"Wait, is that... Levi at the back?"
Bilbo pushed through the dwarves and emerged with relief.
"Gandalf." Elrond greeted him.
"Lord Elrond."
"Mellonnen (My friend)." Gandalf greeted the elven lord in Elvish.
Removing his helmet and handing his weapon to Lindir, after chatting briefly with Gandalf, Elrond voiced his confusion:
"It's strange that orcs have approached here repeatedly in such a short time. Last time they were attracted by a skilled human warrior. What about this time?"
"It should be because of us."
Still talking, Levi at the rear skillfully handed his horse to an elf for care and went to greet Gandalf and Elrond.
"So you know each other." Elrond looked between Gandalf and Levi.
"That's what I wanted to mention."
Though he said this, Gandalf seemed unsurprised, merely nodding and continuing the previous topic, stepping aside to reveal the dwarves behind him.
"Welcome, Thorin, son of Thráin." Elrond politely greeted him.
"I don't believe we've met."
Chat master Thorin began his performance.
"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he was King Under the Mountain."
"Really? I never heard him mention you."
Elrond took a deep breath and instructed in Elvish:
"Light the fires, prepare wine, and treat our honored guests well."
This lord knew better than to argue with dwarves.
"Is he insulting us?"
Hearing the other party speak in a language he couldn't understand again, Gloin couldn't help but get angry.
"No, Gloin, he's inviting us to feast." Gandalf felt somewhat tired.
The dwarves looked at each other, huddled together for discussion.
"Oh, in that case, lead the way."
Unlike visiting Levi's territory as guests, the dwarves showed no courtesy toward the elves.
A moment later.
The dwarves looked at the rather eco-friendly dining table before them with troubled expressions.
"Good grief, is this what they normally eat?"
"This is far worse than Levi's place. Not even a bit of meat, all leaves, and they're raw!"
"My pony wouldn't eat this stuff."
One dwarf dropped the leaves in his hand with disgust.
"Could we get Levi to cook? If he made it, eating vegetables wouldn't be impossible."
The dwarves gathered at one table, discussing elven cuisine with disappointment.
Kili secretly winked at an elf.
"Though I don't like elves, this one here looks pretty good."
"That's not a female elf."
"Puhahahaha!"
The dwarves burst into laughter, while Kili felt embarrassed.
At another table.
Levi sat with Gandalf, Elrond, and Thorin.
Elrond examined Gandalf's and Thorin's swords one by one, telling their origins with scholarly precision.
"Orcrist, forged by my kin in the West. May it serve you well."
Even though Thorin had been rude earlier, this elven lord clearly wasn't vindictive. Even with this sword falling into dwarven hands, he still sincerely wished it could once again fulfill its role as a fine blade.
"By the way, I see Levi also has a sword forged in the First Age. Why not have a look at it too?" Gandalf suddenly suggested.
He had a deep impression of Levi's sword that had slain countless orcs and wargs.
"Oh, that. Lord Elrond already examined it when I came last time."
Despite saying this, Levi still drew his sword.
Elrond nodded and took the sword again, this time examining it with particular care.
"I can confirm this sword's craftsmanship is no less than the other two."
"Moreover, I don't know if it's my imagination, but it seems sharper, and..."
Elrond held up the sword, examining it closely. He could see some barely perceptible ethereal glow upon it.
"It carries some kind of magic, somewhat heated."
"It feels different from last time. After experiencing baptism by fire and blood on the battlefield, this sword seems much brighter."
Looking at this sword, whose blade grew ever sharper and was beginning to show divine qualities, Elrond felt momentarily dazed.
"Perhaps, before long, you should give it a name."
"A name..." Levi took back the sword, feeling somewhat troubled.
His naming difficulties were acting up.
At a nearby seat, watching Elrond seriously examine everyone's weapons, Bilbo quietly drew his short sword under the table, wondering if this might also be some famous blade.
Balin noticed this little action and commented: "No need to ask, lad. If you ask me, that's probably not even a sword. It's more like a letter opener."
Hearing this, Bilbo lowered his head, lost in thought.
The light dinner soon ended.
Aside from the wine being genuinely good, the dwarves had only one assessment of the cuisine here: not as good as Levi's rations.
Levi naturally knew the elves did eat meat. They had served him meat dishes during his last visit.
It's just that no matter how good-tempered, calm, and forgiving the elves of Rivendell were, they couldn't let their lord be insulted without any response. That would be weakness.
This vegetarian feast was a subtle, untraceable little revenge for the dwarves' rudeness.
Night fell.
Under starlight, Elrond deciphered the secret text on the map for Thorin and Gandalf.
Bilbo stood by a railing, mesmerized by the scenery.
Levi was at the stables, explaining to the elf responsible for horse care that no fodder was needed while asking where Aglar was.
Aglar was the elf who had previously hosted Levi warmly. Levi had once said he could visit Roadside Fort, but given elven concepts of time, he probably felt Levi had just left recently and wasn't in a hurry to visit.
Since he was here again, he should at least give some gifts as a gesture.
Everyone in Rivendell was busy with their own affairs.
Meanwhile.
At the Weathertop in the wilderness.
The escaped orc sub-leader tremblingly approached and reported to a pale, burly orc:
"Those dwarves... Master, we lost them. Elven scum attacked us."
"Don't make excuses."
Azog slowly turned around, his tall stature allowing him to look down at the sub-leader.
"I want that dwarf king's head."
"We were outnumbered with no way to fight, and there was a terrifying guy there too. I barely escaped..." the sub-leader explained weakly.
Azog grabbed his throat and slowly lifted him, his voice growing louder in rage:
"Actually, you would have been better off dying there!"
Crack.
Azog's right hand exerted force, the sub-leader's head tilted, and he immediately went still. The corpse was thrown aside to feed the wargs.
"The dwarves will appear again eventually. Spread the word. Put a bounty on their heads!"
Howl!
The orcs let out strange cries, mounted their wargs, and prepared to continue searching for the dwarves' trail.
However, before departing, a scout timidly came to report.
"Master, we discovered a fortified city in the eastern wilderness. Very large, very quiet..."
Azog's fierce expression froze on his face.
He clenched his remaining fist, took a deep breath, and angrily commanded: "Avoid that place."
"Yes, Master."
He knew who lived there.
Long ago, two orcs had escaped from those walls, bringing fear of Roadside Fort back to the Misty Mountains. For a long time, no orc dared approach that area again.
Until later, the incident in the Anduin valley occurred, and the orcs' hatred for that man had been carved into their very bones.
That hatred was so deep... it was even evolving into fear.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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