"I feel it's somewhat too quiet."
Halbarad looked around alertly while riding ahead. Since mounting the horses, this fellow hadn't let down his guard even a bit.
"In my experience, there should be many orcs here, or goblins emerging from somewhere. They love to ambush passing travelers."
"At night there might also be wargs."
"In the past, I would never take this road unless absolutely necessary."
"Your experience is outdated."
Unlike Halbarad, who kept his nerves constantly taut, Levi paid little attention to either side or overhead.
"There's unlikely to be any orcs in this area now. I've also blocked the front hall of Goblin-town."
"As for those orcs and wargs that usually wander the mountains, the orc forces suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Five Armies. Most were slaughtered. They probably won't recover for a long time."
"How many orcs died in that battle?"
Halbarad asked casually.
"I didn't count. Probably tens of thousands."
"Tens of thousands..."
All the orcs in the entire Lone-lands combined might not even amount to that many...
With so many dead, it could be said the Misty Mountains had been emptied of orcs.
Plus Goblin-town being blocked.
"Well, now I know why it's so quiet."
Though he said this, the Ranger didn't let down any of his proper vigilance.
Highlighting professionalism.
The two continued forward like this, arriving at the Vales of Anduin without any disturbances.
"I feel this place is also very quiet."
"In my memory, this area had many orc camps or fortresses that were quite troublesome to deal with. Now they've all disappeared."
"About that, Gandalf and I, that's the Grey Wizard, not long after you left, we two took a trip here. He was responsible for evacuating residents, I was responsible for clearing orcs."
"And then?"
"We both completed our tasks excellently."
"Alright, understood."
"But we need to change direction."
Halbarad explained: "Ahead is Mirkwood. The roads there have been covered by undergrowth. No way to proceed."
"We can go south first, around the forest, then to Lake-town. This route is safer."
"No."
Levi reminded: "Safety isn't something we need to consider. In these wilds, there's only one thing we need to consider, which path is fastest."
"Fine, fine, fine. We'll do as you say."
The original plan to go to Lake-town was cancelled.
The two circled around Mirkwood, galloping eastward across the wilderness of Rhovanion, only stopping briefly to rest at night.
Though for a skilled Dúnadan warrior, even without horses, running continuously for days without rest on foot alone was doable, it wasn't necessary. This wasn't some extreme situation.
What was needed now was conserving energy.
But even so, their traveling speed was extremely fast.
Not many days passed before the Rhovanion wilderness was already behind them.
At night, a road with signs of simple maintenance appeared before them.
This was a crossroads.
The horses were tethered to one side while the two found places to sit by the roadside and began discussing.
"Let me think."
Halbarad recalled: "This is a road built by the people of Dorwinion. They call this road the 'Wine Road.'"
"Very far north from here is Dale. West is the great wilderness of Rhovanion. East is a major trading port city of Dorwinion with many elves. South is the activity center of Dorwinion humans. Continuing south from there leads to a ford where you can smuggle across to where the Easterlings live."
"Though it might not be easy to enter now, since the Easterlings have been quite alert recently."
"Don't worry about that. There will be a way." Levi appeared quite confident.
Very alert. Wouldn't it work if they simply couldn't see them?
"So we go south?"
"We can..."
!
Just as he was agreeing, Halbarad suddenly drew his longbow and shot an arrow into the bushes beside a tree.
A sharp cry of pain rang out. This arrow seemed to trigger something. Whoosh. A large batch of orcs emerged from the bushes, with black-furred wargs leaping over these orcs to pounce first.
?!
Halbarad quickly drew his sword to meet them, clang, blocking an open maw and fangs of a warg. He then pushed hard, directly overpowering the warg with strength, shoving it forward, and then slashing.
Whoosh. The warg burst into flames and began howling.
Before departure, Halbarad's equipment had also been thoroughly enchanted. The sword in his hands was now quite sharp and carried knockback, sweeping, fire aspect, and other special effects.
However, combat pressure was still considerable.
Obviously, both wargs and orcs knew to pick the soft persimmon first.
Compared to that person in black armor, this Ranger looked much more fragile. As long as they could take him down first, they could surround and attack the one behind, wearing him down through attrition...
Thud!
Several wargs flew back burning, knocking down several orcs.
"It's been a while since I've seen orcs this bold..."
Levi spoke while Nemesis in his hand gleamed with azure radiance, extremely conspicuous under the night sky.
Whether orcs or wargs, upon seeing this weapon, their hearts and livers trembled. Looking at that person again...
Though they didn't recognize him, he felt very terrifying and unsettling.
"Orcs from Mordor."
Halbarad stepped back and brought back a reminder.
"No wonder."
These were orcs and wargs under Sauron's direct control. Perhaps less savage than Moria's, but with stronger will.
Moreover, their equipment was better too.
Their armor was black and solid. The feel of striking it with a sword was obviously different.
Roar!
The orcs didn't retreat. After several companions died, they became even fiercer, including the wargs. They roared and pounced.
If the wargs of the Misty Mountains still seemed like animals, then these black wargs from Mordor had completely departed from the 'normal' category. Their eyes held utter crimson and madness.
Halbarad cut down charging orcs with a few sword strikes, nimbly weaving through gaps between weapons and fangs. Occasionally he would suddenly draw his bow for rapid shots backward. Without warning, orc archers attempting ambushes would have arrows sprouting from their heads.
Truly excellent in both strength and agility, capable at range and close combat.
Before long, no enemies remained standing nearby.
When Halbarad finished dealing with the dozen-plus orcs and wargs on his side and turned to look at Levi's side.
He saw Levi stepping on a warg's head, slowly drawing out the sword embedded in it. Around him in the trees, bushes, and clearings were charred corpses everywhere.
At least double the number on his own side.
Halbarad sheathed his sword and could only say, "Well done."
If he hadn't been watching with his own eyes the whole time, he might have thought it had rained orcs.