Chapter 299: Good Old Man, Bad Old Man

The Water City is also called "Water City".

When it was built, it immediately became one of the largest cities in the history of Middle-earth.

In this capital city where three rivers meet, there stands a sky garden that is pure white and dazzling with rainbows flashing almost all the time, there is a huge lighthouse that is quite eye-catching even in the daytime, and there is also a majestic statue that overlooks the entire lonely land.

When news of it spread through the songs and records of poets and travelers, many people subconsciously thought that these wandering guys were exaggerating to make themselves appear more knowledgeable.

However, this time those who were questioned did not refute, but just let those who questioned them to see for themselves.

So many people heard the news and took action.

One ship after another passed the lighthouse and the statue and sailed all the way into the capital.

For visitors, every scene here is too much to take in. Whether you open your eyes or close them, all you see is the prosperous and magnificent scene, which cannot be escaped no matter how you turn your eyes.

They all sighed that the poets and storytellers had finally written realistically for once without adding any exaggerated rhetoric.

Of course, Water City is not just a tourist city with beautiful scenery.

The huge shipyard in the center and the most conspicuous practice-class flagship parked in the shipyard and guarded by many ships always remind people that this is not just a friendly garden that can only be used for viewing. When necessary, it can also transform into the most powerful war city.

"Compared to here, Long Lake Town is like a small village."

In 2972, Bard took one of his rare breaks to visit the west side of the Misty Mountains.

At this moment, Levi was sitting with him in a small wooden boat, with Bud rowing in the front and Levi fishing in the back.

Rowing always requires some skills, but this is not a problem for the person holding the oar now.

As a boatman who has lived in Long Lake Town since childhood and often goes out to transport empty wine barrels back from the Black Forest, Bard's water and rowing skills are beyond doubt, and he is obviously an old hand at first glance.

But as he rowed, he couldn't help but gently put down the oars and lean back.

"call--"

Bud took a breath, wiped the sweat off his face, and lamented the passing of time.

In the past, this distance was nothing. He could row a boat full of dwarves from north to south, and then from south to north.

Now...

"Let me take over."

Levi took the oar and asked Bud to go to the back to rest.

Bud, with his head full of white hair, did not try to be brave. He just sat back, enjoying the breeze while tilting his head slightly and looking at the scenery on both sides.

Crash——

The water ripples and the boat moves slowly forward.

"Huh?"

At a certain moment, Bud suddenly had an idea and narrowed his eyes.

He pointed in a direction and asked doubtfully: "That person... is that a wizard? The one wearing a white robe, he is looking over here."

"oh?"

Levi turned his head and looked in the direction Bud was pointing.

Then I saw a serious old face.

Saruman.

He is waving this way.

Levi turned his head away.

Bud, Bud, why do you have such good eyesight! "Don't look, it will bring misfortune."

But it was too late.

"I see you see me, are you going to ignore me!?" Saruman shouted on the shore.

Why--

In desperation, Levi could only row the boat closer to where Saruman was.

"Our wise men have been visiting quite frequently lately."

"Really?" Saruman stared at Levi who was walking down the ship, and glanced at Bard behind him.

"I don't think that this time is very long for mortals."

A wizard's words always have more than one meaning.

Levi did not respond to this, but just asked: "So why did the white-robed wizard come to visit this time?"

"nothing."

Saruman shook his head.

"I just heard that the scenery here is nice, so I came here just for a stroll."

Listening to Saruman's words, Levi was a little skeptical.

Could this guy's purpose really be so simple?

He couldn't help glancing over Saruman's head.

【+103.2】

Huh? This guy's contribution to the territory is actually positive.

interesting.

This shows that he really did something beneficial to the development of the territory, and the number is actually not small.

Thinking of this, the doubt on Levi's face faded away, and his attitude became visibly better.

"Humph, that's how it should be. This is the right attitude to treat guests."

Saruman raised his head proudly.

"You finally know how to be polite to others."

"You sound like I'm some barbaric person. I always know how to entertain guests."

"Really? Why do I feel like I haven't received much good hospitality?"

"You asked for it."

"Aren't you wrong?"

Neither of them was willing to give in, and they kept arguing as they walked.

Bud has become accustomed to such emergencies.

Not to mention arguing with the old man, he wouldn't even find it strange if Levi suddenly snatched the white-robed wizard's staff and ran away.

Levi was arguing with Saruman in front, when suddenly his eyes blurred and he felt as if something had changed.

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He subconsciously raised his head and saw that Saruman's contribution was slightly less.

"What did you do?"

"I?"

Saruman was a little confused.

"I didn't do anything."

"No, you must have done something. This is my territory, Saruman. I can't hide anything you have done."

"Put aside your suspicion. If you think I did something, you should go and see for yourself instead of asking random questions here."

“…”

Levi was silent for a while.

Although his contribution dropped a little bit just now, Saruman is still positive overall.

We can't keep holding on to such a small matter.

Maybe he did do something bad behind the scenes, but there is no evidence after all.

In the absence of evidence, the most I can do is beat him up.

It doesn't make sense.

Moreover, beating the old man too much will easily make him angry, and if he really gets angry, it will have some impact on yourself... Well, mainly on your reputation, such as bullying the elderly, making trouble for no reason and so on.

"All right."

Levi didn't pursue the matter any further.

"Then take a look at the city as much as you like. If you get tired, you can go to the Riverside Castle for a cup of tea. There will be refreshments waiting for you there."

"That's more like it."

Saruman nodded, said goodbye to Levi, and went to other places to wander around.

Levi's gaze also shifted away from Saruman, and his mind drifted elsewhere.

When I saw Saruman, I thought of Isengard and Rohan.

I don’t know what Rohan is doing now, or where Aragorn is at the moment.

I haven't heard from this guy for a long time. It's like he disappeared in the past ten years and never came back.

"How's Bain doing lately?"

Levi suddenly asked.

Rather than focusing on things far away, he chose to focus on the people who were closer to him at the moment.

"He's fine, oh - but there's one thing I don't think I've mentioned to you yet. Just last year, a few months ago, his first child was born, a boy, and he already has a name, 'Brand'."

Bud's face was filled with pride.

"I have never heard of it."

Levi scratched his head, feeling that the news was quite sudden.

"Well, you've been busy doing things here in the past few years and haven't been to River Valley City, so of course you don't know."

Bard said, "And I only learned about Brand's birth relatively late. At that time, I was investigating a castle ruin north of Karl Town. It is said that it was where the ancestors of Rohan lived."

"Beorn asked for my advice. Last month we were discussing whether to rebuild the castle as a frontline defense fortress against Mount Gundabad and the Grey Mountains."

As Bud spoke, Levi opened the map.

Well, it seems that Bud's visit this time was not without purpose.

He really does "never misses his target".

“So that’s where it is.”

Following the location on the map, Levi slowly said a place name: "Flammsburg."

This place is indeed recorded in some history books. There used to be a city of northerners there, but later they collectively went south to fight against the enemies of Gondor, saved Gondor, and were then granted land by Gondor and established Rohan.

That city was then abandoned and now it is just a ruin, unclaimed and ready for immediate occupation.

"Then just go for it."

After thinking for a while, Levi gave his answer.

(End of this chapter)