Burning heat surged from below, the temperature penetrating his armor and warming his back.
Emergency runic shields flickered faintly on his body, preparing for possible incoming impacts.
A sword forged of flames struck toward him. Levi hurriedly threw an ender pearl, teleporting to the wall. Heat waves scattered the remaining purple particles. The Balrog clung to the mountain rock, scanning left and right, discovering a figure below running while placing blocks beneath his feet, building a stone path in just seconds, attempting to climb upward.
"Heh heh..."
A mocking laugh rang out. The flaming sword in its hand dissipated, transforming instead into a scorching whip. This whip cracked in the air with a sharp snap! and coiled downward like it had eyes.
Levi's foot suddenly felt heavy, and the next moment his entire body flew out uncontrollably, thundering into the cliff wall, scraping against protruding rocks and debris as he rolled upward.
Swoosh.
His form vanished, and the person caught by the whip became purple particles.
The next moment, Levi appeared atop the Balrog's head. After placing a few blocks, he quickly poured down several buckets of water. Long streams flowed downward, covering and spreading over the Balrog's body with sizzling sounds as large amounts of steam rose back up.
But it couldn't conceal those gradually approaching orange-red glowing eyes.
Boom!
The blocks beneath his feet shattered thunderously. Those few blocks of water seemed rather laughable before the Balrog's massive form, evaporating instantly. Looking at the Balrog's flames, they hadn't diminished at all. With a roar, they blazed even more fiercely.
Levi lost his footing again, falling continuously downward.
For the Balrog, that temporarily built one-block-wide path was far too narrow, not even enough for one of its hands to grip. A casual squeeze would crush it to pieces.
Clang!
Levi drew Nemesis and clashed sword-to-sword with the Balrog below. The precious sword gleamed brilliantly, emanating light it shouldn't possess. The massive impact separated both parties, one going down, one going up.
The 'Knockback' enchantment finally showed its true purpose at this moment. This enchantment made each sword swing like a heavy hammer blow, greatly strengthening its striking force.
This gave Levi the capability to contend with the Balrog... right?
Levi looked at the sword in his hand with some amazement.
This...?
No, not just knockback. There was something else the system hadn't identified.
Having used this sword for so long, Levi knew exactly what each enchantment did.
Roar!
The unwilling Balrog climbed up along the wall, once again condensing a flaming sword in its hand. Levi showed no fear either, meeting the Balrog's fierce strikes.
Hum.
A piercing collision sound rang out. The tremendous force made even Levi's arm feel somewhat numb. Even a sword with such strong vibration-dispersing ability couldn't alleviate much of the impact. The recoil transmitted through the sword made that hand drift backward involuntarily, while the flaming sword in the Balrog's hand was also successfully deflected. This time it was actually an even match.
Ordinary swords were useless against the Balrog. They would only be melted into molten iron by its high temperature.
But this didn't include certain swords possessing mystical power.
Nemesis hummed, emanating cold radiance. At this moment, Levi finally understood. This was a blessing from the elves of the First Age.
One of the Balrog's titles was 'Elf-bane,' because they had slain so many elves. Yet the elves hadn't yielded, instead courageously fighting against them.
Looking at that sword, the Balrog showed an expression of surprise for the first time.
Which lord had come seeking vengeance?
It had been sleeping for over six thousand years, yet these tiny creatures were still so capable in battle.
Over these millennia, this bane of Durin had never left Moria. It didn't know what the outside situation was.
Perhaps in its perception, the outside was still the prosperous era when elven lords walked everywhere.
"Interesting human, I'll remember you..."
"No need. I don't require remembrance from one who lives in hiding."
Levi gripped the protruding rocks, looking down and loudly responding to the Balrog.
"Hahahaha..."
The Balrog laughed.
The flames on its body shifted from orange-yellow to deep red, then approached white. Dense smoke continuously billowed upward from both sides of its wings, carrying waves of heat.
At this moment, Levi felt like he'd become smoked meat.
Specifically, Moria deep-pit flavored meat smoked with the Balrog as fuel.
This dish wouldn't cost less than several hundred silver coins.
If only Gandalf were here now.
Thinking this, Levi threw ender pearl after ender pearl, constantly flickering and teleporting between both sides of the rock walls, as if running and walking on vertical cliffs, dodging the Balrog's repeated attacks.
The Balrog spread its wings, closely following Levi's teleportation trajectory, speeding through the canyon valley. Everything behind it was burned black, and anything blocking its path was struck down and crushed.
Its momentum was extraordinarily fierce.
Gandalf's ability to defeat the Balrog didn't rely merely on his Glamdring or those limited magic spells. He wielded Narya, one of the three elven rings, the Ring of Fire. This ring possessed the authority of fire and could, to some extent, command the sun's fire, representing light, forming suppression against the Balrog.
Whoosh.
Suddenly approaching wind sounds made Levi refocus his attention. Orange-white flames erupted, engulfing Levi's entire form.
However, even flames of the highest temperature couldn't harm him now. Under the fire resistance potion's effect, Levi could only sense the existence of 'heat' but wouldn't be damaged by the temperature.
But the Balrog's attacks weren't limited to heat alone.
Massive metallic collision sounds rang out. Runic shields shattered thunderously. Under the Balrog's fist, larger than an entire troll, Levi's entire body flashed with afterimages, tumbling as he flew out of the deep pit canyon.
His armor's durability decreased for the first time in ages. His health bar dropped significantly, then quickly recovered.
"Are you stir-frying?"
The status bar briefly showed a nausea buff for two seconds. Taking advantage of this opportunity while flying through the air away from the Balrog, Levi hurriedly threw an ender pearl, passed through a large door, escaped the canyon, and returned to the miraculous hall.
Then, the moment he landed, he took a deep breath of cool air.
Phew.
He'd never felt that cold air could be so comforting.
However, this coolness didn't last long.
The scorching heat pursued relentlessly.
Levi bit into a golden apple, faint golden light appearing on his body's surface. Simultaneously, fresh amber-colored runes spread from within his rings, covering his entire body.
In his inventory, the magical aspects stored in his wands continuously decreased, charging the runic shields.
This was truly the most embarrassing battle ever.
Levi gritted his teeth and turned around.
Fighting for so long without even seeing the Balrog's health bar, how could he endure this?
Rumble rumble...
Tremors came from underground. Levi's mind conjured an image of a massive figure climbing up the valley wall.
"Can I accept this humiliation?"
He quickly rushed to the doorway, placing several rows of TNT up and down along the doorframe, then crouched to one side quietly waiting.
The trembling sounds grew closer.
BOOM!
A tremendous noise exploded beside his ears. Since the doorway leading from the hall to the deep pit wasn't sufficient for the Balrog's body to pass through, it simply smashed through the door directly. From the doorframe to the wall above, everything cracked apart, becoming irregular rubble.
As the door collapsed, one foot stepped inside.
"Great opportunity!"
Levi shouted loudly, drawing his long sword and slashing downward!
Clang!
Roar!
The Balrog cried out, quickly retracting its toe.
[Durin's Bane - Balrog: 998/1000]