Chapter 336 Pride
At the foot of the mountain, Gandalf stared at the corpse of the snow troll and fell silent for a while.
"No, I don't. I've never seen one before—at least not in the last few thousand years."
"But I have read a few words about them in some books. They live in the uninhabited snowy plains in the far north and almost never cross the mountains. People in Middle-earth basically have no chance to see them."
"That's really strange." Levi looked at the snow troll and then at Gandalf.
"Some time ago, the sentinels and frontline rangers told me that they saw some strange creatures in the snowy mountains. One of them was this ogre, and the other was a creature similar to a warg."
"According to one ranger, they are 'all white or pitch black, with ghost-like slender bodies and ferocious faces.'"
“It looks like a warg, but is more terrifying and more flexible than a warg.”
Listening to Levi's description, Gandalf frowned deeply.
"Is that true? Did he see it with his own eyes?"
Levi nodded and said, "Although I didn't find any creature more vicious than the warg this time, I believe in my people."
"You seem to know something?"
"Of course I know it. Not only do I know it, I am also very familiar with it."
"Demon wolf."
From Gandalf came a word rarely heard in this day and age.
The cold wind howled, blowing up some chip-like snowflakes.
A few days later, in the roadside castle, Gandalf stood by the window, lighting his pipe and saying: "Like the warg, the ancestor of the demon wolf is also the 'evil wolf'."
"Evil wolves were first recorded in the Age of the Two Trees, earlier than the First Age. Later, they became allies, or servants, of Morgoth. When serving Morgoth, Sauron also transformed into an evil wolf."
"Morgoth bred two variants of evil wolves. One is a worg with broad shoulders and more suitable for use as a mount, and the other is a demon wolf."
"Compared to wargs, demon wolves are more dangerous. Evil spirits are injected into their bodies, making them more intelligent and vicious."
Listening to Gandalf's story, Levi asked curiously, "So, what exactly makes you look so serious? Could they be so dangerous that all the free forces in Middle-earth will fall immediately?"
"No, they won't. Although they are more agile and intelligent than wargs, even if there are 10,000 of them, I don't think they can cross the Great Wall in the north."
"I'm just a little confused. The demon wolf species hasn't appeared for thousands of years. I thought they were extinct."
"This is the Northern Wasteland. Isn't it magical?"
Levi said this half-jokingly without thinking too much about it.
"That's not a good sign, Levi."
Gandalf turned and said, "I can sense an ancient evil in the Troll you killed. It's very familiar."
"It doesn't look like a 'snow troll' living on the snowfield, but more like it lives in an ice cave and was suddenly moved out."
"You may not feel the chill, but I do."
“Is it that exaggerated?”
This time it was Levi who was a little confused.
"Okay, then I'll do as you say. I'll have the frontline outposts pay more attention to the movements over there and strengthen border defenses."
"That's best," Gandalf agreed.
After a pause, he continued:
"If things are as I suspect, the pressure in the North may become unusually great."
"If anything happens, remember to tell me. If there is anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask."
"I will deal with it with you."
"Okay, I'll remember it." Levi responded repeatedly.
“…I’ll assume you listened carefully.”
Gandalf sighed slightly, and soon left the wayside fort and headed straight for the Shire.
He had been to the Shire quite often in recent years, partly to take care of Frodo when he was free and to visit him occasionally as Bilbo had asked.
On the other hand, he was also observing Frodo to see if there was anything unusual.
Fortunately, Frodo does look like a Baggins, or rather, he does look a lot like Bilbo.
Like Bilbo, after getting the ring, Frodo didn't care much about this little thing.
In fact, he didn't even open the envelope. He just threw the letter containing the ring into a corner of the cabinet and didn't look at it for several years.
Also, as the clutter in the cabinet increased, the ring was pushed to the bottom, becoming a thing at the bottom of the box and almost forgotten.
Obviously, compared with the property or small items left by Uncle Bilbo, Frodo is more interested in going out to travel with his friends Merry and Pippin, or sometimes going out alone to enjoy the tranquility.
Seeing that Frodo was safe and living a peaceful life, Gandalf also felt relieved.
"That's good. That's good."
"It's best to live your life quietly and peacefully."
For a Hobbit who was born to live a peaceful life, this was enough.
For most people, this kind of life can be considered happy.
3005, River Valley City.
Levi sat in the house, looking at Bain beside him, with a variety of complex emotions emerging in his eyes.
"I heard from Brand that you don't seem to be in good condition recently. Are you sick?"
"Don't worry, uncle, as you can see, I'm very healthy."
Bain patted his chest and said, "At most...at most I just have insomnia recently and I haven't slept enough. I feel a little dizzy when I stand up suddenly after sitting for a long time."
"It's normal and happens to a lot of people, including young, fit guys."
"Pay more attention to rest."
Levi didn't know what to say, so he could only give these instructions.
But... Insomnia? "Is there something on your mind?"
"Not really." Bain shook his head.
"Maybe it's just that when you get older you like to reminisce about the past."
"I thought of my father and my childhood. Our family was very poor at that time and we often had to do a lot of work just to have a full meal."
"Of course, it wasn't because the living environment was really that difficult, nor was it because my father was lazy. It was mainly because the mayor at the time had always been targeting my family, causing trouble for us everywhere, and blocking most of the ways for us to earn money through labor."
"He is afraid of your family." Levi simply summarized the mayor's behavior.
Bain smiled and continued:
"Yes, just like you said, I was afraid of them when I was a child. Whenever my father met them, he would always avoid them. I thought my father was also afraid of them."
"But when I grew up, I realized that they were actually afraid of my father."
"This world is so strange. The seemingly powerful party is actually full of fear and worry about the weak party."
Talking about the past, both of them smiled unconsciously.
Yes, this is how the world is, always full of helplessness and often funny.
At the end of the chat, Li Wei advised: "Put aside all the heavy work recently, live a good life, and take care of your body."
"You have done very well so far. The prosperity here is obvious to all. Your father would be proud of you."
"And, I'm proud of you, too."
(End of this chapter)
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