Leaving

Li Wei was very interested in the dragon Smaug, especially the materials on its body. He had long been eyeing them and absolutely could not miss out.

It just was not the right time yet.

Li Wei was not afraid of dragons. At worst, he could dig a hole and hide inside it. But if it chased after him, the humans at the foot of the mountain would suffer.

A land ravaged by death and destruction was not something Li Wei wanted to see. He was not yet confident that he could deal with a dragon on his own.

He turned his attention back.

The elf was introducing their forging techniques, and Li Wei nodded repeatedly, treating it as a chance to broaden his knowledge.

For elven craftsmen, creating a set of high-quality armor and weapons required first smelting refined steel, then slowly hammering and forging it through all manner of complex and delicate procedures until it took shape.

Li Wei, however, only needed to toss the raw materials into the Alloy Furnace, put in a little experience, and then craft it directly at the Crafting Table once it was smelted.

The process was simple, mindless, and fast.

At that moment, the elven blacksmith beside him had no idea that in the brief span of a single encounter, his people's core technology had already been cracked.

Strictly speaking, Li Wei did not actually know any forging techniques. Everything he did was a black-box operation—he only knew how to use it, not the details or principles behind it.

But that did not matter. As long as it worked, it was fine.

This trip to Rivendell had truly not been a loss.

Li Wei was so pleased that he could barely keep his grin from spreading. He wished the journey would end right then so he could return home and focus on developing his territory.

But he still had to deal with what was before him.

After leaving the smithy and taking a brief tour around Rivendell, it was already noon.

For some reason, Agra had taken quite a liking to Li Wei, this human. Wanting to befriend him, he invited Li Wei to share a meal at his home.

"Welcome to my residence, Li Wei."

Agra cooked the meal himself. Many of the ingredients were clearly quite fresh, and there was no shortage of meat. Overall, it looked quite good.

Although elves preferred lighter food, that did not mean they did not eat meat.

The reason certain Dwarves found their tables filled with nearly unseasoned vegetarian dishes whenever they came here was merely a small act of revenge from the elves for their unreasonable behavior.

Elven meals seemed to never be complete without a glass of wine. Agra personally filled a cup for Li Wei and gestured for him to make himself at home.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

The two chatted as they ate, quickly clearing the food from their plates.

The meal ended with a fine cup of wine.

Looking at his fully replenished hunger bar, with some even overflowing, Li Wei felt thoroughly satisfied.

But speaking of elven food...

Li Wei suddenly said, "I have heard that elves have a miraculous travel ration called Lembas. I've actually been quite curious about what it looks and tastes like."

Agra froze, apparently not expecting Li Wei to ask about that.

"Lembas... I do carry some when traveling. If you want some, I have a few pieces here."

As he spoke, Agra got up and left. Before long, he returned carrying several square biscuits wrapped in golden leaves.

Lembas

Special Effect: Health Regeneration 10s.

Hiss—

Li Wei had lost track of how many times he had been amazed by elven creations.

Holding the biscuits in his hand, Li Wei treasured them as if they were priceless.

This Lembas not only granted a health regeneration buff, but such a small piece could directly refill an entire hunger bar.

It was practically a divine tool for travel and combat.

If he had possessed these things when facing the Warg cavalry squad in Ogre Forest, Li Wei would have even dared to confront them head-on.

Good things were always scarce.

Agra's home had only stored three pieces of Lembas. Seeing how much Li Wei liked them, he gave all of them to him.

"Lembas cannot satisfy one's appetite, Li Wei. Even if you eat it, you will still crave the taste of bread and meat. But its effects are remarkable, and I believe it can help you at certain times."

"It really helps me a great deal, Agra. Do you have any more? If possible, I would like to buy some."

Lembas was wonderful, but unfortunately, there were only three pieces.

Agra shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Li Wei. We do not normally sell Lembas, and its supply is not plentiful. I only happened to have a few pieces stored away."

"Alright. Thank you for your generosity."

Knowing that he would not be able to obtain more Lembas anytime soon, Li Wei was not disappointed.

Even if he could only get these three pieces, he was already very satisfied.

While he still had no way to brew potions, each piece of Lembas could serve as a small trump card.

Rivendell was a magical place.

Here, one's sense of time grew dull, making it difficult to notice its passage.

As he gazed at the waterfall before the valley, Li Wei realized upon thinking back that he had already lived here for a week.

Life here was wonderful, like a paradise on earth.

But it was too მშვიდ and uneventful.

Early the next morning, Li Wei dressed himself neatly and led his horse out.

"Are you leaving, Li Wei?"

As if sensing it, Agra came to the stable.

"Time waits for no one, Agra. I still have many things to do, so I can't stay here for long."

"May your footsteps travel with the wind."

"Thank you."

The elf responsible for tending the horses also breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Li Wei was leaving.

This human's mount was simply too strange. For seven consecutive days, no matter what he did, it refused to eat or drink.

Because of this, he had gone to Li Wei more than once to ask about it, afraid the horse would starve itself sick. Yet every time, Li Wei told him not to worry about it.

If he hadn't seen that the horse remained perfectly healthy, he would have suspected that Li Wei had some sort of grudge against it and was deliberately starving it.

Now, it seemed that this horse truly was extraordinary.

At the very least, it could endure hunger remarkably well.

Before leaving, Li Wei said to the elf who had come to see him off:

"Agra, if you have the time, please be sure to visit my castle between Windcloud Peak and Last Bridge. I'll welcome you with everything I have."

During this time, the elf he had met by chance had indeed helped Li Wei greatly. He had even given him something as valuable as Lembas. If he had the opportunity, Li Wei still wanted to repay him.

Originally, Li Wei had planned to give him some precious item as a keepsake, but he had brought very little with him on this trip. Giving him gold or silver ingots felt somewhat inappropriate, so he could only wait until next time.

Another small regret was that he had not been able to meet Aragorn.

At the moment, Aragorn's presence in Rivendell was still considered a secret, and not many people knew about it. Since Aragorn did not come out on his own, and Rivendell's lord did not mention it either, Li Wei naturally could not bring it up. Otherwise, he would have no way to explain himself.

So he could only let the matter rest for now.

Journeys always began without warning.

Li Wei rode out of Rivendell and headed west.

"Damn it! A bunch of useless trash, useless trash!"

"You can't even defeat an ordinary human! What the hell are you good for?!"

A deafening roar echoed through the cave. Atop a broad stone in the center of the cavern, a bloated figure looked down at an Orc, exuding immense pressure.

He was the leader of the orc settlement—perhaps even the leader of all the orcs in the Misty Mountains—the Orc King.

It was one thing for a human to wipe out the raiding force he had sent out from afar, but recently, that human had actually gone even further and come right to his doorstep, slaughtering another cavalry squad.

This was a blatant provocation. It was utterly intolerable.

For some reason, the Orc King cared especially deeply about this human. News concerning him always spread with unusual speed.

"But we encountered elves..." the Orc explained tremblingly. "And he's staying in elven territory now."

"Then can't you go somewhere without elves?"

"Huh?" The Orc below looked confused.

But this leader had already received word long ago.

Orc scouts from west of Troll Forest had discovered that the fortified castle where that human lived was now completely empty.

Ever since that human had left, no smoke had risen from the castle for a long time. Some Orcs had secretly pressed themselves against the walls to listen, and heard only the cries of livestock within, with no trace of human activity.

Other Orcs had gone to the city gates to curse and probe, throwing things inside, but even after waiting for a long time, no one came out.

"If he's in elven territory, that means nobody's home. Go raid his house!"

"Then hide inside and ambush him. I want to see his head."

The Orc King issued his orders.

If I can't deal with you, can't I deal with your home?

When the time comes, I'll squat in your house and wait for you to return. Let's see how you run then.

Thanks to Fake Is Ridiculously Fake for the monthly ticket, thanks to Qin the Third for two monthly tickets, thanks to Child of Light for two monthly tickets, and thanks to Thunder You a Meal for two monthly tickets and a 100-point coin reward. Thank you for your support!