"They should wait for us."
At the Misty Mountains pass, Gandalf said this with growing concern etched across his weathered face.
"That's part of our plan."
"That's not certain," Levi observed the terrain around them with a practiced eye. This place was still the same as when he'd last come. No changes.
"Well, even if they really didn't wait for us, after such heavy rain, they'd definitely find somewhere to rest. While they're resting, we should be able to catch up."
"Huh?"
Gandalf suddenly stopped, looking toward a cave on the side with alarm.
"This is the front hall of Goblin-town, a gate the goblins specifically established to facilitate attacking travelers. Because of their presence, no one has used this road for a long time."
"Speaking of which, I once planned to find a somewhat decent stone giant to block this place up, but they're really difficult to communicate with, so in the end this matter wasn't accomplished."
The well-traveled old wizard recounted the history of this place with grim knowledge. While speaking, he walked forward a few steps, crouched down, and touched the ground with experienced fingers.
"The mechanisms here show signs of having been triggered recently..."
"Not good! Thorin and the others must have been captured!"
"This is troublesome..."
"Should we go down and rescue them?" Levi also walked forward two steps, looking left and right, tapping walls, and feeling the ground with methodical precision.
"No use wasting effort. These goblins of Goblin-town are very clever. Their gates can't be opened from the outside."
Gandalf stood up and said: "However, I know there's a back door we can sneak through. Maybe we can..."
"Maybe we can dig our way in."
Levi pulled out his fully enchanted diamond pickaxe and asked Gandalf: "Point me in a direction."
"Just watch. If I don't dig through their front gate, I'm not worthy of the name Levi."
Hiss...
Gandalf stroked his beard and took a deep breath.
He'd almost forgotten this fellow's capabilities.
"This way!"
Thud thud thud thud thud...
The diamond pickaxe created afterimages in Levi's hands as a neat, two-meter-high rectangular tunnel extended underground at an extremely fast pace that defied belief.
Levi dug in front while Gandalf held a torch behind him, serving as a light source in the growing darkness.
"Wait a moment."
After digging for a while, Gandalf suddenly spoke up, making Levi stop his relentless excavation.
"We should be very close now. Let me first check the situation inside."
He pulled out his staff and tapped it on the ground with deliberate force.
A transparent ring of light burst outward from within his body, ignoring all obstacles in its path and continuing to expand like ripples through reality itself.
The light ring passed through rock layers, crossed various debris, and covered a large group of goblins in the cave, yet they remained completely unaware, continuing with their activities.
Rarely, Gandalf had cast a ranged detection spell.
Before entering Middle-earth, the wizards were subject to many restrictions, one being that their divine power couldn't be displayed too much before mortals. This caused Gandalf to often have to solve problems with swords and staves alone.
But in front of Levi, this restriction seemed much more relaxed.
Of course, it was only somewhat relaxed. If fully unleashed, he might be able to slice off the entire mountain.
You must know that in the ancient era's unrestricted "War of Wrath," an entire continent had been sunk.
"Right here, I can see them."
Gandalf pointed in a direction and said: "Dig fifty meters this way, then downward."
Thud thud thud thud thud...
Levi continued swinging his pickaxe, knocking away rocks block by block with mechanical precision. Soon, he reached the place Gandalf had indicated.
Crack.
After digging away another stone block, light shone up from below like a beacon of hope.
The center of Goblin-town. They'd arrived.
Levi poked his head out halfway and saw a fat figure sitting on a flat stone, interrogating thirteen dwarves who were completely surrounded by a sea of hostile faces.
Their confiscated weapons lay on the ground like fallen soldiers.
After confiscating the weapons, the goblins continued searching them, soon finding a pile of silver tableware and candlesticks marked with small text reading "Made in Rivendell."
"Made in Rivendell in the Second Age. What trash, couldn't even give it away."
The Goblin King casually tossed aside these antiques that were at least three thousand years old. Elven things. They really looked down on them.
As for why these things were found during the search...
Those were "souvenirs" certain dwarves had taken from Rivendell.
Obviously, his auto-pickup function was superior to Levi's. He could pick things up directly without breaking them down.
"Well, well, well, look who I found. If it isn't Thorin Oakenshield." After checking the spoils, the Goblin King suddenly spotted Thorin among the dwarves, and his fat face immediately broke into a malicious grin.
"I know your head is worth quite a bit. Whether alive or dead."
"Go tell Azog that I've caught the Dwarf King. Have him bring the reward."
A goblin was dispatched to relay the message with urgent scurrying.
Just as the Goblin King was about to continue tormenting these dwarves, a goblin picked up one of the confiscated swords from the ground and drew it to take a look.
"Ahhh!"
As soon as he drew it, he was startled and quickly threw the sword aside. The Goblin King glanced at the ground and was also shocked, retreating repeatedly and even accidentally stepping on a rather small goblin behind him.
"It's 'Orcrist'! That sword that's slit the throats of over a thousand orcs!" he shouted.
Whoosh...
The surrounding goblins immediately backed away, forming a circle with no one willing to get close to that sword.
Even though its original owner had been dead for years, the sword's intimidating presence remained.
"You damned creatures!" The Goblin King was inexplicably furious.
"Torture them! Whip them to death! I want to skin them and cut off their heads!"
Crack!
A goblin immediately raised a whip and continuously lashed the dwarves. Some pounced on dwarves and beat them with fists and feet, while others raised bone blades for a quick kill.
"We should go!"
Seeing the dwarves in danger, Gandalf immediately leaped down first.
From this height, even Levi with his Feather Falling enchantment would have to think twice.
This old man was capable. Jumping without hesitation.
Levi preemptively ate a golden apple.
"Then I'll also..."
BOOM!
Before Levi could jump down, a dazzling, intense white light suddenly burst from within the cave. A powerful airflow exploded outward with Gandalf at its center. Debris at his feet was instantly blown far away, and a large group of nearby goblins were uncontrollably sent flying like in a typhoon, falling into deep chasms.
Even the Goblin King, who was relatively far away, was affected. His sturdy chair made of metal and wood was directly scattered by the massive impact force, and his fat body rolled on the ground, crying out in pain.
Thud!
The white light faded.
At this moment, aside from Gandalf, no one else was standing. The goblins who had been close had long since vanished, and those farther away were all prostrate on the ground, avoiding this storm.
Even the Goblin King, despite his weight, had to lie flat on the ground.
Thorin opened his eyes.
"Gandalf..."
The wizard drew his long sword, the Ring of Fire on his hand glowing faintly.
"Take up your weapons and fight!"
The fire of hope ignited in their hearts. The dwarves pushed away the nearby goblins, each retrieving their own weapons and following Gandalf as they fought their way out.
"That's Glamdring!" The Goblin King recognized the sword in Thorin's hand.
It had to be said that as a king among goblins and one of the leaders of the Misty Mountains orcs, he was indeed knowledgeable.
He recognized swords that Gandalf didn't know. It was hard to say who had existed in Middle-earth longer, though orcs did seem to have quite long lifespans. Even Azog was now at least two hundred years old.
After recovering, the Goblin King immediately raised his skull scepter in fury, commanding the goblins to pursue.
After that initial strike, perhaps because too many people were present, or perhaps for some other reason, Gandalf could no longer unleash such powerful magic. He simply drew Glamdring and led the dwarves in breaking out.
A group of goblins followed closely behind. After the initial shock, they immediately reacted and swarmed toward them from all directions. Above, below, left, right, front, and back, all filled with enemies.
No matter how capable you are, could fourteen people really defeat thousands upon thousands of goblins?
The group quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.
But just then, a nightmare-like black figure descended from above. With one forward slash of his long sword, he forcibly carved out a small vacuum zone.
"Ah!"
The Goblin King retreated another step.
"It's him! That vicious human, enemy of orcs!"
Levi casually swung his sword. The blade passed across a goblin's neck, and the goblin blocking his path froze in place, eyes darting around, somehow unable to control its body.
Levi raised his hand and gently patted this goblin's head.
Thud.
A head hit the ground.
This sword was somewhat too sharp.
Often it could deal more than 12 points of damage. That was just the minimum.
When ordinary enemies had no armor, they were usually cut in half and killed instantly.
In the narrow passage, Levi single-handedly blocked the way. Each sword stroke swept away a group of goblins, and those swept away flew like thrown firebombs, knocking down another group trying to squeeze through from behind.
This was the power of Sweeping Edge. Each attack directly covered an area, hitting however many came.
Levi was beginning to wonder about trying to add Knockback enchantment too. When materialized, this enchantment might not be as useless as in the game.
Behind Levi, the dwarves ran forward while constantly looking back.
From Levi to their position, there wasn't a single goblin. He had literally carved out a buffer zone.
"Stop looking and move quickly!" Gandalf urged, though he couldn't help glancing back a few times himself.
The Goblin King was surrounded and protected by goblins, staring intently at the sword in Levi's hand.
That sword made him feel cold from the bottom of his heart. He didn't recognize it, had never seen it before, and had never heard of it.
But from now on, Levi had made him aware of it.
Gently stroking the gleaming sword in his hand and looking at the group of goblins hesitating and not daring to advance, Levi once again spoke those words:
"Come, try to pass me."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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