"Haah..."
In the mist-shrouded swamp, Levi stretched wearily after clearing another small outpost, his muscles aching from the relentless campaign. He patted the blood-stained, tattered linen cloak that clung to his armor, the fabric heavy with the stench of battle and decay.
As his sword pierced through the throat of the orc at his feet, the azure light on the blade gradually dimmed like a dying star.
Rumble—
Flames ignited on the corpse with a hungry crackle, dispelling some of the morning mist that hung over the marshland like ghostly fingers. Levi extended his hands over the fire for warmth, feeling a trace of precious heat seep through his gauntlets.
It was getting colder.
Much time had passed since he and Gandalf had separated to act independently across the war-torn landscape.
At first, Levi would still count the rising and setting of the sun, calculating what time it was and how many days had passed in this endless campaign.
But as the fog on his map gradually cleared, as the distance his feet had traveled grew longer and longer, and as the orcs his sword had cut down multiplied into countless corpses, he gradually felt numb to it all.
Every day was either traveling to map new areas or searching for traces of orcs and refugees... day after day, without change.
He vaguely remembered that about a month ago he could still encounter scattered refugees, speak a few words with them, and guide them to safe places with hope in their eyes.
But perhaps the residents of this region had finally evacuated completely, or for some other reason, Levi hadn't encountered humans for a long time.
Even animals were rarely seen.
The only moving, vocal things in this area seemed to be orcs and wargs.
Of course, now they no longer moved.
Sitting in place and spacing out for a while, he pulled out two pieces of bread and finished them mechanically. Levi opened his map to examine the terrain of this region with tired eyes.
At this moment, most of the fog in this area called the Vales of Anduin had been cleared, with the terrain recorded on his map like a military campaign chart.
The orcs stationed within had been killed by him, batch by batch... all that could be killed had been eliminated in a systematic purge.
Those not killed had either run too fast or were several hundred orcs huddled together in relatively open areas. Levi couldn't handle armies of this scale for now... once numbers increased, tactics would change, and if he got trapped, escape would be very difficult.
He shook his head grimly.
The remaining orc armies were basically hardened veterans forced to unite by his actions... not easy to crack.
It was time to temporarily withdraw.
After being out for so long, even Levi was having some difficulties with supply reserves.
Ready-made food had long been consumed. For a long time, he had been surviving on bread made from the few stacks of wheat stored in his backpack.
Now the bread was almost finished too.
Levi stood up, planning to look around for some wild animals, when a familiar voice suddenly came from the distance:
"Finally found you, Levi. Phew... this really wasn't easy."
A gray-robed old man crossed through grass and avoided marshland with surprising agility, quickly running to his side.
"I've been looking for you for nearly half a month. If I hadn't still been able to see some burned orc and warg corpses, I would have suspected you'd already returned."
"The orcs in this region haven't been completely cleared yet... how could I return so early?" Levi shook his head.
Hiss—
Hearing this, Gandalf drew a sharp breath and hurriedly said, "Oh, heavens, Levi, it's enough! You've done more than enough. Along this entire half-month journey, I haven't seen a single living orc. Honestly, this is cleaner than what dwarven legions could manage. I'm starting to wonder if you have some deep grudge against these orcs."
"Deep grudge?"
Levi glanced at his reputation bar with dark humor.
[Misty Mountains Orcs: -1523 (Mortal Enemy)]
"Now there should be one."
At this point, he estimated that the orcs in this region hated him no less than the dwarven royal family.
For a specific example, if Levi and Thorin were being chased by orcs and split up to run, the orcs might go after him first... assuming they could catch him.
"Well, regardless, our objective has been achieved. The humans of the Vales have flowed northward to gather. When they truly unite, orc raids will no longer threaten them."
"Perhaps they can coalesce into a new people."
"Without your help, they would have faced many more hardships."
As Gandalf spoke, he found a piece of broken wood to sit on and pulled out his pipe, lighting it with practiced movements.
As a smoke ring was exhaled into the cold air, the wizard's tense expression visibly relaxed considerably.
Gandalf smoked like this while Levi remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
The swamp was completely quiet overhead, with only a thin wisp of smoke drifting alone.
Gandalf stole a few glances at the silent Levi, looking thoughtful.
After a while, perhaps having rested enough, he put away his pipe and suddenly slapped his knee. "Oh, look at my mind... I nearly forgot..."
"What?"
"New Year!"
"New Year?"
Levi was somewhat confused. What did he mean? Was there something special about New Year?
"Yes, it's almost the new year. I once told the children of the Shire that when New Year comes, I would bring fireworks."
"Has it really been that long..."
He felt somewhat disoriented. This trip out was definitely the longest ever... longer than even going to the Nether.
"We should end this journey, Levi."
Gandalf patted his shoulder with gentle firmness, announcing the end of their adventure.
A cool breeze swept by.
White particles drifted onto Levi's face... cold and somewhat moist.
It was snowing.
"The orcs have temporarily ceased their activities. For certain reasons, they've contracted near the mountains and stopped their outward expansion."
Walking along, Gandalf shared the intelligence he'd gathered.
When mentioning "certain reasons," he glanced at Levi.
"Honestly, this is one of the few times I feel things went smoothly. My past adventures were always full of obstacles."
What one person could accomplish was still too limited... not everyone could be like Levi with his overwhelming force.
"Levi?" Gandalf suddenly called out.
"Ah, I'm here."
"I keep feeling like you're constantly spacing out."
"No, I just feel a bit, well..."
"A bit tired?"
"No, you should understand... I don't get tired."
"I think you are tired."
Gandalf spoke in the manner of someone experienced. "You know, Levi, elves as a race possess endless lifespans, are naturally attuned to nature and magic, have robust bodies, and never get sick or age."
"But they can die from sorrow."
"The spirit is the best nourishment for life and soul. You need to pay attention to this, Levi."
"Whether it's you, me, or anyone else... we all need rest. When it's time to sleep, I'm never awake."
"For you and me, the body is never most important, but the soul requires constant care."
These words were as direct as possible... he couldn't elaborate further.
Levi listened silently and nodded.
Was that so?
Thinking about it, he really hadn't slept once in several months.
Because he simply wasn't tired... his body felt no fatigue.
Perhaps it really was as Gandalf said... the soul also needed occasional maintenance. After all, this thing couldn't be repaired with experience points.
Many days passed in the blink of an eye as the two retraced their path and left the Misty Mountains.
The journey was quite smooth, with hardly any orc traces seen. Even when passing through the mountain pass roads of the Misty Mountains, no orcs came out to harass them.
Now having descended the mountains and entered the wilderness, Gandalf asked again:
"As I mentioned before, I plan to visit the Shire. What about you, Levi?"
"Me?"
He gently raised his hand, catching a snowflake that melted instantly against his warm palm.
"I won't go. I still have some things waiting for me to do."
"While it's winter now."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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