In this instant, Levi suddenly understood something crucial.
That orc leader was really just a leader, nothing more.
He could command these orcs and order the army around, but that was all. He couldn't represent these orcs or their deeper motivations.
Levi watched with his own eyes as an orc passed by the leader's corpse, drooled hungrily, reached into the armor wreckage to dig out a few pieces of meat, swallowed them with satisfaction, then turned its vicious gaze toward the only remaining enemy.
There was no intelligence in that gaze—only savage hunger.
Compared to the orcs of the Misty Mountains, this legion from hell was even more chaotic and savage.
The powerful leader who could directly command them, Azog, the former orc chieftain of Moria, was already dead.
After Azog and Bolg were successively beheaded by Levi, Moria never again had a boss-level figure capable of commanding all orcs.
The so-called 'leader' just beheaded was probably only sent by Sauron to temporarily take over command here.
Before a new, truly powerful leader appeared, the orcs' only loyalty was to Sauron.
A dark, massive, oppressive will dominated all orcs, forcing them into submission.
This will was like a mountain pressing on all the orcs' hearts. As long as the source of power remained, they could rally their morale countless times, unaffected by any external force.
Merely killing a temporary leader wasn't enough to shake their spirits.
Azog's value had risen again in Levi's estimation.
Since that was the case, then fight!
Just as he'd said from the beginning, kill until they recognized him!
"Let me see whether the fear Sauron brings you is stronger or the slaughter you're experiencing firsthand is worse."
Whoosh.
Large numbers of orcs turned into a rain of fire, flying into the air and crashing heavily onto the floor, giving this great hall a thorough dusting.
Thud!
Charred chunks of meat fell from mid-air, striking unfortunate orcs, then immediately being torn apart and devoured by other orcs who filled the gaps, becoming nourishment.
Thud!
The trolls swung the massive weapons in their hands, hammering down with tremendous force. Some were blocked by an ordinary wooden shield, some were deflected by golden light, and others struck the ground with dull thuds.
Thud!
The orcs' war drums still resounded through the hall.
Thud!
Giant beasts emerged from pits, their massive bodies extremely oppressive. Combined with the trolls' siege, even Levi had to temporarily retreat.
Boom!
Red TNT exploded, leaving the floor pitted and scarred, with orc limbs flying everywhere.
Before long, suddenly appearing lava flowed down from the stone pillars, scalding orcs and trolls into howling, forcing even the giant beasts to detour around the molten streams.
The commotion in the hall continued for a very long time, with sounds echoing through the dome and floor, carrying to very distant places.
All the way to the deepest depths underground.
A pair of crimson, scorching, glowing eyes lit up.
Spanning nearly ten thousand years, ancient evil awakened from the deepest pit of Moria.
Thud!
A burning sensation rose from his heart. Levi recalled the lava, feeling somewhat anxious.
It had been a long time, a very long time, since he'd felt this way.
This strange yet intoxicating feeling.
Fear and excitement.
Even Smaug hadn't made him feel this way.
Wonderful.
At this moment, Levi had completely lost interest in entangling with the orcs.
As this burning sensation swept through the hall, the orcs seemed to sense something too, their offensive significantly diminishing.
Like Levi, they couldn't help but scan left and right, trying to discover something in the darkness.
The sounds of weapons clashing gradually ceased until they stopped completely.
The first to flee were the trolls and giant beasts. They had discovered a superior predator of higher rank than themselves, not just higher in combat power like Levi, but comprehensively superior in every aspect: physique, aura, genetics, and even soul.
The trolls' and giant beasts' retreat established one thing for the orcs: they should flee too.
Whoosh. Like a receding tide, the orcs rapidly withdrew in the direction opposite to Levi. Levi paid no attention to these terrified wretches, and with his back to the orc army, walked step by step toward the direction from which the heat emanated.
The pit.
A massive, bottomless pit.
Levi leaned out and looked down. Heat waves surged upward, hitting him in the face.
If some uninformed person came here, they would certainly think there was some huge underground lava lake below.
But this thing was much more exciting than lava.
Gulp.
Levi drank a fire resistance potion.
Almost simultaneously, a pair of glowing crimson eyes appeared in the deep pit, and something massive like an erupting volcano surged upward.
Caught off guard, Levi only had time to dodge to the side, jumping to a long staircase.
Boom!
Just as he landed, suddenly a sensation of weightlessness came over him. His vision began tilting uncontrollably, his body inevitably leaning backward. Levi looked up and saw some stone fragments flying upward. Looking down again, he discovered that the massive stone pillar supporting the staircase's stability had been shattered like tender tofu by something, falling in chunks and pieces.
Falling along with these stone blocks was himself.
A massive shadow appeared from below, a charred body ignited with scorching flames from the abyss. Opening along with the flames were two wings large enough to cover the entire chasm.
This was the bane of Durin's folk, the Balrog.
"ROAR!"
The roar was deafening. The Balrog opened its great maw, compressing air like bellows. Its flame-covered body glowed like red-hot charcoal, becoming increasingly bright red and dazzling, with ever more fierce flames.
It extended its hand, and flames gathered toward its palm with this gesture. Almost instantly, a massive flaming sword materialized in the Balrog's grasp. It raised the flaming sword and struck with all its might at the falling Levi!
In midair, Levi quickly bit into a golden apple and drew his sword and shield to block in front of him.
BOOM!
Golden light flashed, and the shield exploded and shattered. The runic belt triggered its emergency mechanism, bursting out a powerful shockwave that separated Levi from the Balrog.
In this brief separation, Levi felt like sometimes he saw rock walls, sometimes the Balrog's deep red body and the distorted air around it, and sometimes the stone fragments beside him.
Whoosh.
Above the deep pit, a human figure flew out, briefly suspended in the air along with the stone debris around him.
Only then did Levi recover his senses, emerging from his daze.
Oh, so he'd been sent flying.
That single sword strike had directly shattered all his runic shields and completely depleted one shield's durability.
Terrifying indeed.
Levi drew in a breath of hot air.
The Balrog... truly worthy of being a corrupted and fallen Maia, an existence on the same level as Sauron.
This sword strike would probably cleave even Sauron himself in half if he came personally.