Lostbelt 3 Has been keeping me fed with images of [cough] the Captain of the Guard. Off-topic, I'm all caught up with Jujitsu Kaisen and I cannot believe what happened.

Saruman's attitude had, without a doubt, agitated Li Shuwen. It was seen in how he wiped the floor with the guards and soldiers in training spars with ease. Of course, the agitation and irritation was only amplified when Lindir brought the news of the Company— or lack thereof, seeing how they had snuck out of Rivendell while he and Gandalf had been meeting the White Council.

Lindir had rushed to find him as soon as he had told the rest of the Council, which had apparently been fifteen minutes after he had left to find Glorfindel.

The Minstral turned Aide's intervention had certainly saved Elladan from an embarrassing defeat, but it hardly mattered to him as Li vanished his spear and turned to the other Elf.

"They what?" The redhead asked, his brows furrowed. Lindir nodded, catching his breath.

"The Dwarves and the Hobbit with them have left," the elf repeated. Li ran a hand through his hair, frowning as he and Glorfindel looked at each other. The golden-haired Elf nodded and Li nodded back before he moved to Lindir.

"They left?" he repeated and Lindir nodded. Li ran a hand down his face. He didn't need the clarity from the repeated question but dear god.

"For fucks sake…" the Lancer uttered before he scowled. "I need to see Lord Elrond and that Wizard who seems to be on subject of my ire more than not at this point."

Lindir seemed to find that last sentence amusing but nodded nonetheless.

"Of course," he said, turning and heading up the staircase into the Last Homely House. Li followed him, brushing the dirt from his tunic as he did so. The two of them kept their pace quick as they headed back towards the gazebo.

Elrond met them halfway, seeming disgruntled and his eyes darkened when he noticed the equally irate look in Li's own eyes.

"I take it you didn't know as well?" he asked as the two of them halted before the Lord. Li shook his head.

"No, and that's what bothers me," he said, scowling, "Bilbo Baggins isn't a fighter."

"There are Goblins in the hills," Elrond said in agreement as they began to walk again, Lindir falling back behind them at a respectful distance. "Do you plan on going after them? I know you could probably catch up to them without a problem."

Li sighed. "I want to," he said, "But I cannot."

Elrond raised a brow, frowning. "You cannot?" he questioned and Li nodded.

"Gandalf, meddling man, wishes for the Company to go through Mirkwood. The both of us know how Thranduilis, and the relationship between Thranduil and Thorin will cause tempers to be on the rise no matter what the end goal is," he said with a grunt. "If his temper flares, his injury burns."

Elrond grimaced, nodding. "And when his injury burns, his temperament gets even worse."

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "So, if anything, I should start heading directly for Mirkwood, if only to warn Thranduil. I will use secret passages if I must. Gandalf will join the Company in the mountains. It's not my job to babysit them."

He was still irritated, and if the Company wanted to walk headlong into danger without Gandalf or him to help, then so be it. He'd let Gandalf take care of his Company.

"Take Glorfindel's horse," the Elven Lord suggested and Li snorted at that.

"And let it get eaten by Spiders? I would rather not, Glorfindel's complaining would be endless," he countered and Elrond chuckled for a bit before he frowned.

"Though, perhaps I should go as well," he murmured. "Vilya would certainly soothe Thranduil's injury."

"Would Imladris survive without you? Your sons would bring it to their knees," Li snarked dryly, "They seem to have gotten ideas from the Company."

Elrond grimaced again before he sighed. "Perhaps you're right. But your methods of… distracting from the pain…"

"What of them?" Li asked as they reached a balcony overlook. "I personally think that they're fine."

"Getting into a fight is the worst idea you have come up with when it came to easing pain," Elrond pointed out, signaling for Lindir to leave. Li laughed as he hopped up onto the railing and sat there, glancing over his shoulder as the sun rose.

"Maybe so, but you forget, I am also a teacher," he told him, "I have other methods to ease the pain. I may not have all the resources as I would elsewhere, but I am sure I can aide our temperamental friend for a bit."

The Elven Lord nodded slowly, gazing out at the sunrise as well. "Then you should leave soon if you are to get to Mirkwood before your Company. I assume you will tell Mithrandir on your way?"

Li sighed, leaning back. "Meddling wizard, but yes, I will tell him… if he does not call to me first. There are those in the Company who are not fighters."

"Then you must hurry and leave, mellon nin," Elrond said before he ghosted his hand over Li's knuckles. The skin knitted back together and Li chuckled a bit.

"I will alert you when I get to Mirkwood," he said, "I mean it this time. The closer to the Lonely Mountain I get now, the more worried I get. I may need to call you to arms, loathe I wish to do so."

Elrond nodded slowly again and, with a soft rustle of the trees, Li had vanished. He pushed back from the balcony, falling backward as he pitched off the rail. He twisted his body, landing on his feet before he took off.

In spirit form, Li didn't have to worry about obstacles in his way. He could slip through walls, buildings, and mountains, and he didn't have to slow down out of fear of running into and injuring others. Of course, he still had to be wary of falling from a high place or into water.

It wasn't a straight shot from Rivendell to Thranduil's Woodland halls,— more of a diagonal one and then a sharp turn to avoid that blasted river— but it would certainly be easier moving through solid surfaces.

Though moving through mountains was more than a bit strange. It wasn't like moving through walls, since they were much larger. Though he was restricted to only spiritual sensations, entering a seemingly unending wall of rock was still quite a strange feeling when doing it for the first time— especially if one relied on sight alone.

But Li Shuwen was a martial artist— and a Servant who had been in wars before. He had no need to rely on sight alone, and the Misty Mountains was not a normal range of mountains either.

He had gone through them many times before, after all, in order to get to Mirkwood from the other side. So he knew what was the quickest path to take, which caves to avoid, and what lied in the mountains exactly.

He had no wish to have to cross through Goblin Town ever again.

So he hadn't.

Goblins were annoying— easy for him to kill, but annoying due to their numbers and tendency to attack en masse.

'Though that could be said for a lot of things here in Middle-Earth,' he mused as he moved swiftly along.

He had left the Misty Mountains behind not too long ago, and he was making good time without needing to stop to eat or sleep over the past few days. He would stop when he got to Beorn's lands, simply to rest and visit the large man. Then he would continue on to Thranduil's realm.

And Thranduil would know that he would be on his way to his Halls as soon as he stepped foot in the forest. The Forest was as much a part of him, as he was of the forest.

Sighing as the Lancer stopped in a field, he gazed up at the sky— which had slowly darkened to night. He closed his eyes, slowly reaching out with his mind, opening it to feel for anything being spoken to him. Be it the Greater Magic, Arda itself, or someone else.

While he had no master and no Grail to connect him to a master, the Greater Magics had tied his root to the World itself. So long as he was not killed, he would last and stay until the Calamity— to which he was almost certain was Smaug and a War.

Because of this tie, he had found that he could create a link between himself and those with a high concentration of magics— and of those, he had forged two. One had been born from friendship, as Elrond was who he was the closest to in the entirety of Middle-Earth. The other had been forged one out of necessity, should he and Gandalf be separated and a task that required the both of them to ensure the safety of the company arose.

It seemed as if he was using it.

A desperate feeling from Gandalf, one that asked for help as they escaped from danger from the Goblins.

And so Li turned, gazing up at the mountains before he took off again.

As he reached the base of the mountain, he could see it— a ridge ablaze with fire high enough up that if someone fell, they would die on impact.

Li cursed.

He crouched before he leaped up, reaching up and grasping at the rocks as he released his Spirit Form. The light from the flames danced above him as he scaled the steep face of the Mountain. He climbed up quickly to the Company, in leaps and bounds, hearing the sound of Wargs and he summoned his spear to his hand.

And then the large pine on the edge of the ridge fell, just barely hanging on by its roots.

Dori and Ori both screamed as they struggled to hold on, and Li kicked off the rock. Ori slipped, grasping at his brother, legs kicking in an attempt to push them both up back to the tree. Li reached out, grabbing the elder brother by the collar as his grip failed him and they fell. He threw them up to Gandalf, who was able to catch them with a grunt, barely hang on.

But there was no time for a reunion, nor to help them all, as he leaped up farther. He rocketed past the Company, leaping high into the sky before he spun his spear in his hand.

He brought it down on the Wargs and Orcs who dared to get close, to go through the blaze of flame around the tree. They stumbled back as he stood from his crouched position, leveling his glare on the Pale Orc before him.

Had he been one of the Orcs, he would have seen how the flames danced in his dark eyes, how they seemed to reflect the gates of hell with how dark they were, and how clearly the flames reflected back.

"So, you're alive," he said calmly, spinning his spear. "I heard you were killed, so for both your sake and mine, I had hoped that we were to never cross paths. I do wonder, though, how much longer you will walk this earth now that I know you're alive? Will you survive the night here? Or will you die?"

His lips curled upwards as he readied his spear and he saw the confusion in a few of the Orcs' eyes. He was someone who was unexpected, an unknown. And for him to suddenly appear in the manner he had?

Li stepped forwards, they stepped back and the Pale Orc snarled lowly.

"We're here to kill each other, are we not?" he said, "But then again, I don't expect an Orc to be able to do much. Not very bright, but give me everything you've got!"

That sparked rage in the eyes of the Orcs and they surged forwards but Li was in no mood to play or hold back like the last time he had faced them. He cut down the first wave with a sweep of his spear, the sharpened spear-tip tearing into the throats of Wargs and Orcs, before he adjusted his grip and thrust the weapon forwards. Orcs were pierced and more fell back out of fear but didn't get far as he swung his spear again. Blood spattered the ground as he leaped forwards, striking and swinging at the Orcs before him. His face lacked the usual bloodthirsty grin he had when he fought, and his movements were faster than he would normally have— he had no reason to savor the fight at the moment, not with the Company just barely hanging on behind him.

Finally, it was just Azog and him, the remaining Orcs had fallen back behind their commander. Azog glared down at him from his warg but Li just raised a brow, black blood shining on his spear. He held one hand out, shifting into a ready position before folding his fingers in the universal "come at me" signal.

Azog snarled again and the white warg lunged forwards. Li side-stepped the beast before he grabbed Azog's wrist. He shifted his footing, pulling Azog from his mount and throwing him to the ground. The white beast turned on Li but shrank back as Azog snarled something in Black Speech as he got to his feet.

The Pale Orc growled, adjusting his mace in hand, then he lunged forwards.

Li swung his spear, catching the Orc in the side and raking a clean, bloody gash up his chest before he lunged forwards as well. He was faster than Azog by a large margin, though not fast enough it seemed as his bladed-mace grazed his face when he bent backward to doge a swing. Blood welled up from the cut but he ignored it as he planted his hand on the ground and kicked upwards as he pushed off it. He nailed the Defiler in the chin with his foot before he rightened himself spinning his spear across his shoulders as the flames seemed to burn brighter.

Azog fell back suddenly and the rest of the Orcs rushed forwards, slashing at him with their weapons and he cursed. More than a few of them tore into his clothes— and his skin, blood starting to dye his white tunic red. He slammed his palm into one who got too close, sending it reeling back before it was impaled by his spear. He twisted it, tugging and locking his spear in the ribs of the Orc before he adjusted his footing. He swung his spear, knocking into two others before he twisted his spear again and pulled it out. The two Orcs and one body tumbled back and off the edge of the ridge before the remaining fell back again.

Azog resumed his spot at the head, the blood from the slash starting to slow down and Li scowled a bit.

He lunged forwards, dodging Azog's mace and aiming to thrust his spear into Azog's chest. The Orc only gave him a dark smirk, twisting slightly (and faster than he had expected) to avoid the attack. Li cursed under his breath as the weapon plunged into the Orc's shoulder instead. Azog was quick to retaliate, though, and he sucked in a breath, biting back a cry of pain as Azog brought his mace downwards on his hands, breaking the shaft of his spear— and his hands.

The Lancer leaped back before any more damage could be done, hands dripping with blood and muscle screaming as shards of bone were jostled out of place. Azog tore the rest of his spear from his chest, tossing it aside with a snarl.

"Master Li!" he heard one of the Dwarves cry, but he shook his head, ignoring the begging for him to fall back.

Slowly, under Azog's triumphant look, he flexed his hands. Blinding pain shot through his hands and he had to take a deep breath to ground himself again. The Pale Orc approached, taking his time as he raised his mace to attack, but he stopped suddenly.

Everything did, really, as Li's bloodlust spiked with such great intensity the Wargs backed up. Orcs stumbled back and even Azog took a half step from the redhead.

Li let out a breath, his head tilting back as his hair came unbraided. His appearance shimmered and his hair began to shorten and lighten to grey. He shifted his stance and class to one of an Assassin as he readied his hands. Even when he had changed forms, they were still broken, but the surge of magical energy numbed them for now. Besides, broken bones had never stopped him from activating his Noble Phantasm before.

"One strike, that will suffice," he said, voice low. "Not with 100 mysteries, but with one technique, I'll bring down my opponent."

He kicked off the ground and flew forwards as his appearance changed fully— from Lancer to Assassin.

He was in front of the Pale Orc in the blink of an eye, stopping just before and slamming his foot down. The earth shook and gave way under the impact of his zhenjiao and before any of the other Orcs or Azog could get over their shock, he had brought his fist back.

He slammed it into Azog's chest, and a rush of energy that he had built up upon activation of his noble phantasm moved from being spread out across his body to his fist. And then it left him and Azog jerked.

"This is the No Second Strike! Now break!"

Blood sprayed the ground and his back as it was forced up and out from the Orc's mouth, the body flying back and landing in a heap. Li stood, switching back to his original state and spinning his newly formed spear as the Orcs that remained moved back uneasily.

The White Warg, however, charged and Li leaped up, twisting his body before he thrust his spear down and into the Warg's skull, impaling it. The white beast fell dead as the spear tip was planted into the ground and he landed next to it, ripping the weapon from the beast's skull as he stood between the Orcs and the Company.

"I am Li Shuwen, Lancer, Assassin, and Berserker from the Kingless Throne of Heroes! I am the Divine Spear, the one who bears the name No Second Strike, and I have brought the end to Azog the Defiler!"

He bared his teeth as he spun his spear to face the Orcs. "And I will bring an end to you!"

He kicked off the ground again, flying towards the remaining Orcs, and then he was no longer alone. Thorin was at his side with his sword in hand, hacking and slashing at Orcs as Li spun his spear in a deadly arc. Arrows flew past as Kíli let his bowstring loose and then Fíli and Dwalin were behind Li, cutting down a Warg who dared to leap at his and Thorin's backs.

And then with a loud cry from above, Eagles— far larger than any the Company had seen before— descended on them. Their talons tore into the enemies remaining and they seized the Company carefully as they flew. Li rolled to the side before a Warg, in a last-ditch attempt at vengeance, slammed into him. He felt his ribs bend and crack from the impact and he cursed.

Tossed from the edge, Li just twisted his body, and then he had landed on a back of feathers. The Eagle he had landed on clicked its beak before rising higher into the sky and leaving the mountains behind.

How can Li scale a mountain that quickly? Anime logic. Also, zhenjiao is a bajiquan technique as part of the footwork. Basically, it's that big ol' stomp in the assassin NP.

Reviews:

The Last Kenpachi: That actually sounds like something I would write/something that would happen between the two, haha. I make no promises, as I don't know if I'll even be touching LoTR anytime soon, since I do prefer now to take breaks between making extra books for a series.

Ryouji Mochizuki: Thank you

VGBlackwing: Li Shuwen's banner is supposedly new years with Bennienma, so I'm excited and nervous. I hope I have enough to roll him. And yeah, Li's got patience, but he's no politician, haha