Compared to dragons, the Balrog was undoubtedly somewhat smaller in stature.
But this didn't prevent them from being far more capable fighters than ordinary dragons, with even greater vitality.
Two ages ago, in the era when dragons still ran rampant across Middle-earth, those winged dragons were often merely the Balrog's mounts. They would carry Balrogs over towering city walls, allowing the Balrogs to enter cities and wreak havoc at will.
Before Morgoth bred flying dragons, the elves had never thought they would need to guard against enemies attacking from the sky. They paid a terrible price for this oversight.
In the great hall, before the damaged opening, Levi looked at the health bar before him with amazement.
+1+1.
Almost instantly, the minor damage from his sneak attack was completely healed as the flames on the Balrog's body flickered.
That health regeneration rate rivaled Levi's own.
Another mechanic monster.
Levi was helpless.
Fire resistance potions could only make him immune to flames but couldn't suppress the Balrog's fire like the Ring of Fire could.
And water, unless it reached the scale of a river or lake, probably couldn't affect the Balrog at all, not even making the flames on its body dim slightly.
Unfortunately, Levi didn't have time to flood out a lake right now.
Moreover, fundamentally, water could restrain the Balrog because all water in this world contained the divine power of Ulmo, Lord of Waters and Seas. All water existing in this world naturally possessed purifying effects, capable of suppressing all evil and dark things.
This also meant that orcs could only drink dirty water from birth to death, as clean water harmed them even more.
Whoosh.
Levi's sneak attack had obviously angered the Balrog. It grabbed a chunk of rubble and hurled it at Levi, but Levi had already thrown a pearl and teleported far away.
The Balrog naturally wouldn't watch him escape. It immediately clawed away the door debris it had smashed and bent down to step into the hall.
Hiss.
The large piles of TNT placed on both sides early on were ignited by the flames on the Balrog's body, glowing simultaneously and emitting black smoke.
Huh?
The Balrog felt some kind of unease in its heart.
BOOM!
Successive explosions rang out, blasting crater after crater. TNT scattered everywhere, exploding around the Balrog. Flashes of white light mixed with gunpowder smoke flickered incessantly, thoroughly opening up this doorway from top to bottom.
Now this door, no, this collapsed wall, or rather massive opening, had become perfectly suitable for the Balrog's normal passage.
Levi stopped in place and glanced back.
Thud!
Stone debris was casually swatted skyward. The Balrog emerged from the ruins with a roar, flames around it undiminished.
"Pitiful insect, did you think to use explosions and fire against me?"
Levi could clearly see the mockery on that demonic face.
Yes.
Explosions and fire weren't these exactly within the Balrog's domain of power?
Levi knew he'd been counterproductively clever this time.
Let me see what you're made of.
He unconsciously pulled out his lens and began studying the approaching Balrog.
Fire, chaos, void, hunger, energy, darkness, soul.
And also immortality, wrath, and pride.
New magical aspects appeared, named 'Forbidden.'
As the massive fiery form appeared before him, raising its flaming sword, Levi also swung Nemesis again, engaging in combat.
Boom!
White light flashed where sword met sword, shocking both parties apart. However, neither retreated. They simply swung their weapons again, clashing blow after blow.
Thud!
Levi couldn't help but step backward, his feet scraping a long mark on the floor.
The knockback resistance provided by netherite seemed somewhat inadequate at this moment. It could deflect incoming arrows, resist troll punches, and perhaps withstand beast charges.
But how could any of these compare to a Balrog?
That was a fallen Maia, a divine being people often spoke of.
Thud!
The long sword struck again, meeting the Balrog head-on. Runic shields decreased bit by bit, resisting the impact brought by the Balrog.
Under the enhancement of basic swordsmanship, each time Levi swung his sword, the next strike's power would increase slightly until reaching the enhancement's upper limit.
Besides basic swordsmanship, some mysterious force was also helping Levi. Each time he opposed the Balrog, the long sword would emit pure white light to protect itself from being shattered.
"Elves..."
The Balrog muttered disdainfully, clenching its other hand to condense a whip.
Crack!
The air twisted from the lash.
It swung the sword with its right hand while raising the whip with its left. Taking advantage of Levi just blocking its sword strike, it immediately cracked the whip, coiling toward the sword in Levi's hand.
"You want to disarm me?"
Now it was Levi's turn to show disdain.
Sword technique: Block!
The whip was unreasonably deflected backward. But Levi didn't stop there. He reached out and grabbed the end of the flame whip, yanking it hard toward himself!
Snap!
The whip instantly straightened. For a moment, the Balrog found it somewhat difficult to grip the weapon in its hand, sliding slightly in the human's direction.
What monstrous strength!
Both Levi and the Balrog thought simultaneously.
Levi hadn't grabbed the whip without reason. This was a combo effect that came with blocking: disarm.
After activating the sword technique, as long as the opponent held a weapon that could be dropped, Levi had a chance to find their weak point and knock the weapon down.
But obviously, the Balrog's strength was a complete crushing advantage over Levi. Even if a weak point was found, the weapon was difficult to dislodge.
Somewhat strange.
At this moment, the Balrog finally began thinking seriously.
"All of you come out and kill him!"
It issued a command.
The orcs hiding and trembling in the darkness were stunned, their faces gradually twisting as they fell into struggle.
Since ancient times, Balrogs had been natural generals in evil armies, the highest echelon on battlefields. They only accepted direct orders from Morgoth, and all other legions had to make way for them, even including dragons.
And orcs were merely cannon fodder created by Morgoth, any unit ranked above them.
The fear hidden in their bloodline was awakened. The evil will pressing in the orcs' minds held on briefly, then departed dejectedly.
In a single sentence, the Balrog had stolen Sauron's control over the orcs, freeing them from the oppression of dark consciousness, only to enslave them itself.
Fierce creatures lurking in the shadows opened their eyes, their gazes burning with brutality.
Now they would have to face that rational yet even more brutal human.
With fear and helpless compulsion.
After fighting for so long, even orcs could tell this was a force to be reckoned with who could rival the Balrog, definitely not someone they wanted to face.
But orders still had to be obeyed.
Whoosh.
The orcs swarmed up, surrounding Levi in layers.
And Levi, he looked at the orc army that had regrouped and returned to the battlefield, then looked at the Balrog, and politely said:
"Goodbye!"
And so he turned toward the mountains.