"Cough cough..."
Half a month later.
At the border of Ithilien, a gaunt figure moved through dense tall grass. He pushed aside the obstacles before him, preparing to continue forward when he suddenly stopped.
The smell of blood... No, that's not right.
Rustling sounds arose around him. He quickly crouched down, hiding his form.
"I'm sick of this maggot-infested bread!"
A crude voice came from the left. Three Uruk-hai wrapped in hard armor tramped through the grass outward, completely unaware of the human hiding nearby.
The gaunt figure grew alert. These creatures were different from ordinary orcs. Larger, stronger, unafraid of sunlight, with combat ability nearly matching humans. Though still not as robust as a normal adult human, nor as tall.
"Time to find something to eat."
One of them called out: "I haven't had fresh meat in so long... fresh human flesh. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water..."
As he spoke, his nose suddenly twitched. "Wait!"
"What is it?"
The other two Uruk-hai were stopped by him.
"I smell something..."
Thud!
The heart of the person hiding in the grass skipped a beat, his breathing slowing. Exposed?
"Over there."
The lead Uruk-hai showed a cruel smile, leading the other two toward some house ruins.
The person in the grass sighed in relief. Good, not me. These guys probably found some animal.
Crash!
The sound of wood being split rang out, followed immediately by a child's crying.
"Hahahaha, it's tender, juicy young humanlings!"
The three Uruk-hai were overjoyed.
"The arms are too thin. I want the thighs!"
"I want his heart."
"I want the brain. His skull would make a perfect drinking cup..."
They immediately began dividing up their prize.
"Then it's settled."
One raised his cleaver, about to swing down.
Swoosh!
A dagger flew over, precisely piercing the neck. This Uruk-hai immediately fell.
"Who's there!"
"Damn bastard, come out!"
Clang!
One Uruk-hai spun around, blocking a suddenly attacking sword.
"It's a stinking Ranger!" he roared.
Slash.
He only managed that one curse before the sword struck again, completely severing his head. Without pause, the Ranger immediately attacked the last Uruk-hai, driving his sword straight into its chest.
But that Uruk-hai just smiled cruelly, as if feeling no pain, grasping the blade and charging forward.
"Ugh!"
The gaunt Ranger fell to the ground, eyes nearly bulging out, his entire body aching from the impact. Especially his right ribs. Two bones were already broken there. This blow directly aggravated the old injury.
The Uruk-hai pulled out the sword stuck in his chest and casually threw it aside, then raised his cleaver. Just as he was about to chop down, at this critical moment, the nearby child suddenly lunged over, directly knocking the Uruk-hai off balance.
Seizing this chance, the Ranger immediately grabbed the sword thrown on the ground. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the pain, he quickly got up and struck with all his strength, thus ending the Uruk-hai's life.
Finally, he sat on the ground gasping heavily, resting for quite a while before standing up.
"Child." He waved to the nearby boy.
The child immediately ran over, looking worriedly at his savior.
"Where is your family?"
"All dead. They were all killed by the half-orcs," the boy said numbly.
The Ranger silently bowed his head, made a prayer gesture, then looked at the boy: "Come with me. I'll take you to a safe town where you can grow up healthy."
The boy nodded, then suddenly asked: "Are you a Ranger?"
"Ranger..." This question seemed particularly sharp.
"No, I'm not worthy. I'm just an ordinary man."
"A despicable man."
He picked up the bloodied dagger from the ground and, under the boy's gaze that gradually turned from confusion to fear, slowly carved up his own face until no one could recognize him anymore.
Clatter.
The dagger dropped to the ground.
The Ranger-dressed man touched the boy's head, speaking hoarsely: "Child, remember, we... no, you are a proud citizen of Gondor. When you grow up, serve your country faithfully, never wavering."
"Since you were born on this land, remember its grace."
The boy trembled, nodding somewhat bewildered.
Two figures, one large and one small, thus left the ruins and headed toward Gondor's interior.
...
Minas Tirith (The White City), Capital of Gondor.
Five low-key Rangers and one conspicuous black-armored warrior passed through the gate checkpoint and entered the city successfully.
The Rangers were indeed low-key with quite modest clothing, but no matter how low-key, this was still Gondor, the capital of Gondor. The residents wouldn't fail to recognize their own forces.
Under the gaze of many residents, Cain felt somewhat embarrassed. As a Ranger accustomed to lurking in shadows, he was used to solitude. Being stared at by so many people was quite uncomfortable.
Clear footsteps rang on stone-paved roads as a little girl ran over quickly, handing a bouquet of flowers to Cain at the front.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you too, child."
Cain smiled and accepted the flowers.
"Whenever I see well-behaved children like you, I know everything we do is worthwhile."
The little girl happily ran back to share this joy with her family.
Levi remarked: "Seems you're quite popular."
"Mordor has persecuted Gondor's people for too long."
"Many in the White City fled Ithilien, including that child and me. Our homes were destroyed, overrun by Uruk-hai from Mordor. To survive, we had to leave."
Levi nodded grimly. "Then, blood for blood."
The Ithilien Rangers, as their name suggests, were all former residents of Ithilien.
Without much conversation, Levi quietly observed the city, head held high.
Truly... magnificent! My hands are itching.
The group walked all the way to a corner in the inner city, where Cain and his four team members temporarily parted from Levi:
"This is where we part. We need to make reports to the Steward."
"If you have time afterward, we could have a drink, my treat."
After giving Levi a final salute, Cain led his team members away, climbing the inner city steps straight toward the white palace at the White City's highest point.
Having seen off the five strike team members, Levi had nothing particular to do, so he simply wandered up and down through various levels of the White City, touring the sights.
During this time, countless gazes lingered on him.
"Is that him?"
"I heard that rumor, that great lord, guardian of the north, bane of evil..."
"Exactly as described in legend, but is it really him? Has he come to Gondor?"
Rumors began spreading constantly. Levi's arrival was becoming known throughout the city, yet no one approached to chat or offer warm hospitality.
A figure from legend who could slay dragons and had tens of thousands of orc and warg lives on his hands truly inspired awe.
The courage required to speak with such a person was considerable.
A true warrior who had fought through blood and fire to earn his strength was fundamentally different from those wind-chasing figures propped up by deceptive publicity.
The latter might also receive popularity, flowers, and applause, but people wouldn't feel much reverence in their hearts, and what they relied on was mostly false, shattering at a touch.
The two were essentially different.
Levi paid little attention to the surrounding gazes. After so many years, he was used to it. Where didn't he go without this happening?
When he climbed another stairway to reach a higher level, Levi looked around to see a large garden with neatly trimmed vegetation and various colorful flowers blooming.
At the entrance, two Gondorian soldiers stood guard, their helmets adorned with white swan feathers.
"May I enter and look around?" Levi asked.
"This area is forbidden to..." The soldier glanced at Levi, then fell silent, the words catching in his throat.
This is not someone I am authorized to stop.
"...make noise. Please remain as quiet as possible," he finished.
"Thank you," Levi replied with a polite smile.
After Levi entered, the two soldiers resumed their posts as if nothing had happened.