The massive sound and the violent scene instantly made the Moria Mines seem as if a pause button had been pressed.
The Goblins had not expected their powerful king to be killed so easily by a human, and their eyes flickered with fear and confusion.
The Dwarves, on the other hand, were amazed by Mike's strength:
"No one ever told me that a human could actually possess this kind of power..."
"Does this count as Mike saving us again..."
"..."
The Dwarves on the scaffolding looked at Mike with a hint of admiration, as well as the joy of having survived a disaster.
Only Thorin frowned, his expression grave.
He realized that this human truly had the ability to seize the treasure of the Lonely Mountain.
"What are you staring at? Get down here!" Mike shouted to the stunned Dwarves on the scaffolding.
With his absolute strength as a guarantee, it was clearly much more convenient to exit through the main gate of the mine than to escape via the path above.
Thus, amidst Mike's shouts, Gandalf led the Dwarves as they slid all the way down along the slope of the scaffolding.
"Kill, kill them! Avenge the king!"
"Kill! Don't let them escape!"
"..."
At this moment, the Goblins, having overcome their brief shock, saw the Dwarves trying to escape and chased after them like madmen.
A single Goblin might be weak, but their numbers, in the tens of thousands, gave them courage and a false sense of power.
Moreover, the Goblin King was dead; who wouldn't want to take his place and become the next Goblin King?
Their ideas were wonderful, but they had severely underestimated Mike's strength.
Waving the Flame Holy Sword again, Mike summoned several flame dragons.
These dragons, their bodies burning with holy white flames, appeared and immediately reduced the Goblin that had first shouted "Resist" to ashes.
Then, as the flame dragons roamed through the mine, countless Goblins and the wooden scaffolding began to burn.
Amidst the screams and wails, the Moria Mines instantly turned into a sea of fire.
After the Dwarves of the adventure squad safely reached Mike's side, they looked back at the hellish scene behind them, all of them wearing expressions of shock.
Fire and water are merciless; in the face of such cataclysmic power, no one dared to say they weren't afraid.
...
"This is bad, hurry and leave here! The monster has awakened!"
Just at that moment, a faint vibration came from the ground, and then the vibration grew stronger and stronger, almost drowning out the screams of the Goblins.
It was as if a massive behemoth was approaching.
Realizing the situation was dire, Gandalf's expression changed drastically, and he immediately signaled the adventure squad to flee toward the mine exit.
The underground of Moria was rich in mineral resources, and it was originally the first home of the Dwarves of Middle-earth.
However, because the Dwarf ancestors mined downwards without restraint and dug into the underground magma, they awakened the Balrog that was sleeping beneath the earth.
This dark creature had strength comparable to a Maia, and it subsequently drove the greedy Dwarf ancestors out of Moria.
As for the Dwarves later migrating to the Lonely Mountain, that is a story for another time.
Now, perhaps summoned by Mike's flame power, this giant Beast sleeping beneath the earth had been awakened once again.
As the ground trembled, the stone walls of the mine were violently shattered, and a lava monster with horns on its head, standing over a hundred feet tall, finally revealed its full appearance.
"Is, is this the monster that our ancestors encountered..."
"How can such a monster exist in this World..."
"..."
The Dwarves, who were about to reach the exit of the mine, heard the massive commotion behind them, and some could not help but turn their heads.
They were then so terrified that their legs went weak; the escape exit, which was right before their eyes, suddenly seemed to become infinitely long.
"Don't stop, keep running!"
Gandalf turned back to urge the Dwarves on, but it was of little use to the Dwarves who had already been scared out of their wits.
Although the Balrog's size was similar to that of a stone giant, its entire body flowed with scorching magma, and it was more agile than a stone giant.
It took only a few strides to get close to the Dwarf team, and the lava whip, condensed from magma in its hand, swept toward the Dwarves.
Seeing that the situation was bad, Gandalf raised his staff, intending to buy some time for the Dwarves to leave.
"You go on ahead, I will go meet it."
However, someone was faster than the wizard.
Mike, having entered serious mode, manifested white-gold armor of light on his body, stepped forward, and used the Flame Holy Sword in his hand to sever the Balrog's lava whip.
"Take this chance, hurry and leave!" Seeing that Mike had held off the Balrog, Gandalf anxiously urged the Dwarves again.
The Dwarves, having escaped death once again, seemed to wake up from a nightmare, and their bodies gradually regained sensation.
Subsequently, with the wizard's help, the Dwarves quickly fled the Moria Mines, and throughout the process, they did not dare to look back even once.
"How did our ancestors survive against that monster..."
"I don't know if Mr. Mike is a match for it..."
"It should be fine, right!"
"..."
After getting very far away from the mine, the Dwarves of the adventure squad finally stopped, exhausted.
Looking at the massive commotion behind them that seemed like it would tear the roof of the mine off, the Dwarves began to worry about Mike's safety.
They looked toward Gandalf one by one, as if wanting an answer.
"Mike's ability is stronger than we imagined. If he only wants to get rid of the Balrog, there shouldn't be any problem." Gandalf gave a definitive answer.
Seeing that he spoke with confidence, the Dwarves were slightly relieved and collapsed onto the ground to rest.
There was no other way; everything that had just happened was too far beyond their limits, and they had exhausted both their physical and mental energy.
"I noticed earlier that you came with that human. So, are you going to abandon the Dwarves too?" Taking advantage of when his companions weren't paying attention, Thorin, harboring his own concerns, approached Gandalf.
After witnessing Mike's strength, this descendant of the royal family of Dwarves was no longer as confident about retaking the Lonely Mountain.
And the wizard, who also possessed magical power, was viewed by him as his last "straw to clutch."
"No, my goal has always been to help the Dwarves retake the Lonely Mountain. As for arriving with Mike, it's because he was going to the Gondor Line of Defense, so it was just on the way." Gandalf explained, soothing Thorin.
"That means we won't be traveling the same path afterward." Thorin's eyes flickered with a hint of joy, and then he continued: "And you also said that the human wouldn't be in danger. Since that's the case, I intend to take my companions and leave for the Lonely Mountain immediately. After all, with Durin's Day approaching, there isn't much time left for us Dwarves."
Afterwards, without waiting for the wizard's answer, Thorin went off on his own to call the Dwarves, preparing to leave.
"Are we not waiting for Mr. Mike? I was still planning to thank him; he has saved us at least twice..."
"We're just leaving like this?..."
"..."
Although the Dwarves were rough in nature, they also highly valued friendship.
Through their interactions during this time, Mike could barely be considered a friend of the Dwarves.
It was precisely because of this that the Dwarves didn't understand why Thorin wanted to take everyone and leave when Mike was still fighting in the back.
"Durin's Day is almost here, we must hurry to the Lonely Mountain. And Gandalf also guaranteed that the human would not be in danger." Thorin's expression became serious.
Given this situation, even if the Dwarves had slight complaints in their hearts, they all packed up and prepared to set off.
"Wait—besides Mike, it seems we are missing one person." Just at this moment, Gandalf looked at Thorin with deep meaning, then told everyone about his discovery.
"Kili, Fili, Gloin... 1, 2, 3... all thirteen people are here, who are we missing?..."
"..."
After listening to Gandalf's words, the Dwarves counted heads among themselves, but no matter how they counted, the number seemed to match perfectly.
"It's Bilbo, our Mr. 'Burglar' is missing." Kili suddenly spoke up, making everyone realize.
"The situation was so critical just now, was he left behind? Should we go back to find him?" Fili immediately proposed.
It could be seen that after the incident of stealing food from the Elves in Rivendell, the relationship between Bilbo and the Dwarves had visibly improved.
"No, I saw long ago that that cowardly Hobbit was not suited for this adventure. Perhaps he took this opportunity to go back to the Shire he was always thinking about." Thorin obviously wouldn't stop for an outsider, "So, we don't need to worry about him, continue on as planned."
Although what Thorin said was correct, the Dwarves still felt something was wrong.
But pressured by the circumstances, they didn't bring it up.
"I believe in Bilbo; since he promised you he would go to the Lonely Mountain, he will definitely come." This time, Gandalf did not go along with Thorin, but instead rolled a pipe of tobacco and sat on a nearby rock.
With his actions, he showed his attitude.
For a moment, even if Thorin was unwilling, he had to stop and wait for someone.
But the atmosphere at the scene was terrible to the extreme.
[Lava Power (Trait)]... [Flame Armor (Trait)]...
[Lava * Energy + 100m]...
On the other side, the hundred-foot-tall Balrog's ability was indeed not bad; its energy was actually on par with the strongest White Robe Wizard, Saruman.
Mike, also wrapped in holy white flames, played with it for a while using his flame power, then felt it was time for this battle to end.
Thus, Mike put away the Flame Holy Sword and then used the power of the Ring of Water to summon water spirits. Instantly, countless water vapors from the underground lake of Moria and the forests outside gathered toward the mine.
Finally, it turned into a massive waterfall that surged toward the Balrog.
Whether water overcomes fire or fire overcomes water depends on the quantity.
Mike, with his divine power, chose the simplest method to deal with the Balrog.
After the water wave, a large amount of water vapor steamed from the Balrog's body, and then the water vapor condensed into water waves again, over and over...
As the magma on the Balrog's body cooled, its movements gradually became sluggish, and the two flames in its eyes flickered uncertainly, ready to extinguish at any moment.
"Roar—"
The Balrog, seeing the situation was bad, gave an unwilling roar of anger, and then stepped on the waves to flee toward the magma pit it had come from.
"Want to run? It's not that easy!"
The water flow transformed into a water dragon, carrying Mike as he chased after the Balrog.
In an instant, both of them disappeared one after another into the large hole in the stone wall of the Moria Mines.
Nearby, by the lake at the bottom of the mine, Bilbo, who had unintentionally picked up Gollum's ring, saw all of this.
Relying on the invisibility function of the one ring in his hand, Bilbo evaded Gollum's pursuit.
It was just that the monster, which looked even uglier than a Goblin, happened to be blocking the exit path of the Hobbit.
Furthermore, Bilbo, holding sting, could not bring himself to "kill and rob," so the situation here remained at a stalemate.
Returning to Mike's side, after riding the water dragon through the large hole in the stone wall, he arrived at the great hall built by the Dwarf ancestors in Moria.
The space here was even more vast and majestic, and the traces left on the ground could vaguely reveal the prosperity of this place back then.
And in the center of the great hall, there was a huge, bottomless pit, from which magma constantly surged out.
This must be where the Dwarf ancestors built the core furnace, and it was also the "home" where the Balrog rested.
Seeing its home right before its eyes, the Balrog exerted its last bit of strength, taking giant strides, and was about to dive into the magma pit.
At the critical moment, a giant water dragon descended from the sky, extinguishing the last flicker of flame in Yama's eye sockets.
It froze him in a diving posture beside the lava pit, turning him into a vivid, massive statue.
Mike, floating high in the air, admired the stone statue of Yama below before clenching his fists, channeling holy light, and smashing the statue into rubble from above.
With this, Middle-earth was rid of one terrifying entity, and Sauron's dark forces lost a powerful general.
"A bit stronger than Satan, but lacking in offensive means. Overall, nothing special." After easily disposing of Yama, Mike gave his assessment with the air of a master.
He then retracted his Light Armor and walked outside.
"Mi—Mike, wait for me!" Seeing Mike reappear in the mines, Bilbo, who had been hiding by the lake, seized this final opportunity and rushed out from beside Gollum.
Before Mike turned around, he took off the one ring and hid it.
"Bilbo, you haven't left yet?" Mike smiled at the Hobbit running over, then subconsciously glanced at the cluster of rocks behind him.
Hiding there was the monster Gollum, who had once been a Hobbit.
Gollum had witnessed Mike's terrifying strength before; he was currently cowering behind the rocks, praying not to be discovered.
"I saw you fighting that lava giant and was worried, so I waited here for you." Bilbo lied once he reached Mike's side, then added anxiously, "Since you're okay, let's go! Gandalf and the others are probably getting impatient."
The one ring could amplify the desires in people's hearts, and the kind-hearted Bilbo had been affected to some extent.
"Fine, let's go." Mike shrugged and led Bilbo toward the exit of the mines, not making an effort to trouble Gollum.
Just before stepping out of the mines, Bilbo couldn't help but look back. The gaunt Gollum was standing in the ruins of the mine, staring this way with those evil, greedy eyes.
Bilbo was startled by the sight and quickly turned his head back, then subconsciously reached into his pocket to touch that magical ring.
This ring seemed to possess innate magic, instantly calming the Hobbit's restless heart.
[Leader's Power (Trait)]... [Five Senses Control (Trait)]... [Size Manipulation (Trait)]... [Immortality (Trait)]... [one ring * Energy + 50,000,000]...
The one ring had a spirit; as long as the one ring wasn't destroyed, Sauron, whose fate was bound to it, would not die.
As for Bilbo using the one ring's invisibility function to evade Gollum's pursuit, that was merely the most basic application of the one ring's [Five Senses Control] ability.
Having obtained a massive amount of energy from the one ring, Mike's myth-level energy bar advanced a bit further, reaching nearly two-tenths. The future looks promising... the future looks promising...
Taking another look at the Hobbit beside him, who was carefully concealing the one ring, Mike shook his head and condensed a ball of protective power, discreetly casting it upon him.
This protective power, specifically targeted at the mind, would at least ensure Bilbo retained a shred of his true nature when tempted by the one ring, preventing him from becoming a monster controlled by desire like Gollum.
"How much longer must we wait? If that Hobbit doesn't return, are we just going to keep waiting like this?" In the forest outside the mines, an unsettled Thorin finally couldn't help but complain.
Just then, Mike arrived with Bilbo.
"Hey, everyone. And Gandalf... you can't imagine how valiant Mike was just now; he gave that terrifying lava monster a beating..." Bilbo naturally heard Thorin's complaint, but being kind-natured, he immediately brightened the mood, helping to ease the awkwardness.
Moreover, the scene of Mike battling Yama in the mines had indeed left a deep impression on the Hobbit.
"I knew Bilbo wouldn't abandon us; so he was waiting for Mr. Mike in the mines..." Kili chimed in at this moment.
Subsequently, the eyes of the Dwarves turned to Mike, and they one after another praised his valor while thanking him for saving their lives.
"To be precise, that lava monster has already been killed by me." Seizing the right atmosphere, Mike inadvertently showed off a bit. Collecting Power Of Faith, after all, is nothing to be ashamed of.
One could imagine that with this group of big-mouthed Dwarves, Mike's legendary feat of killing Yama would soon spread across the entire continent. When that time came, he would truly be earning Power Of Faith without even trying.
"Your power is actually enough to kill Yama!!!" Gandalf exclaimed, looking at Mike. What was this? This was a powerful ally. In the future, humans must have a place in the resistance against the dark forces.
Furthermore, Gandalf noticed that upon Mike's return this time, he possessed an aura of leadership. This kind of thing was metaphysical—unseen and untouchable—but it was either there or it wasn't. For instance, Thorin possessed this aura, but not much.
"You actually killed that monster, that's truly amazing!!!" "Does this count as avenging our Dwarf ancestors..." "..." Indeed, upon hearing that Mike had killed Yama, the Dwarves were once again shocked. Compliments flowed as if they were free.
At the same time, Thorin couldn't help but look back toward Moria. With Yama dead, it meant that Moria, a place suitable for Dwarves to live, had once again become ownerless land.
"Alright, everyone is here, so we should set off for the Lonely Mountain again." However, before that, Thorin still felt that the Lonely Mountain, with its endless treasures, was the most suitable home for the Dwarves.
Then, this descendant of the Durin Dwarf royal family hypocritically wished Mike a safe journey to Gondor, after which he led the Dwarf Adventure Squad to turn toward the Lonely Mountain in the northeast.
As for Mike, he needed to continue southward, heading toward human kingdoms like Rohan and Gondor.
"I also wish you a safe journey; just don't let me arrive at the Lonely Mountain before you do after I finish visiting the Gondor Line of Defense." Mike naturally saw through Thorin's petty thoughts, so before they parted ways, he deliberately needled him.
On the other side, Azog, a minion of Sauron and the Orc leader known as the The Defiler, could no longer sit still upon learning that the Dwarf Adventure Squad was getting closer and closer to the Lonely Mountain.
He personally led a large group of Orcs and Wargs, crossed the human allied defense line, and rushed overnight to Moria, preparing to intercept Thorin and the others.
It could be said that the Orc leader Azog and Thorin were mortal enemies. It was precisely he who, back in Moria, killed Thorin's grandfather, Thor, who had fled from the Lonely Mountain.
Afterward, he had also had one of his arms cut off by Thorin, who had experienced a burst of hidden potential after watching his relative die before his eyes.
Also in that battle, Thorin, who fought valiantly using a piece of oak picked up from the roadside as a shield, earned the moniker [Oakenshield].
Overall, neither side gained an advantage in that battle; instead, they formed a blood feud. This hatred made Azog relentless in his pursuit of Thorin.
Therefore, shortly after parting ways with Mike, the Dwarf Adventure Squad was surrounded by Azog's Warg troops that had arrived in pursuit.
Seeing an enemy made one's eyes red with rage; Thorin ignored the Wargs and Orcs covering the mountains and plains, raised the ancient Elven sword in his hand, and prepared to fight Azog to the death.
"Calm down, Thorin. Don't let hatred blind you; have you forgotten the purpose of your journey?" Gandalf held back the hot-headed Thorin, preventing him from making a senseless sacrifice.
After all, Azog was surrounded by Orcs, and they were the elite among Orcs. If Thorin went over, he would only be throwing his life away, and he would also implicate the other Dwarves.
He gripped and released the sword in his hand repeatedly; in the end, the mission to revive the glory of the Dwarves allowed Thorin to control the hatred in his heart.
"Let's go; we must reach the Lonely Mountain alive." Raising his sword again, Thorin led the Dwarves as they turned and fought their way out. With their united will, the Dwarves actually managed to break through to safety.
"King Under the Mountain Thor was a worthy opponent. I still remember the look of terror on his face when I cut off his head back then."
"...As his grandson Thorin, don't you want to avenge your grandfather?"
"Come on!! Your enemy is right before your eyes—!!!"
Watching Thorin only intent on fleeing, Azog called out to provoke him, wanting to enrage him into returning to his death. However, his plan did not succeed; instead, it made the Dwarf Adventure Squad run even faster.
"Trash, Dwarf scum, weak cowards!!!" After cursing again, Azog shouted, "Pursue them! Today, I will cut off all their heads!!!"
Accompanied by the Orc leader's cruel laughter, the Orc Warg cavalry troop chased after the Dwarf Adventure Squad like the wind.
Throughout the cat-and-mouse chase, the powerless Dwarf Adventure Squad was eventually forced to a cliff. It appeared they had reached a dead end.
"Hold on!" To escape the biting Warg pack, Gandalf led everyone up into the pine trees at the edge of the cliff. He then plucked ripe pinecones, ignited them using the Ring of Fire, and threw them into the Warg pack below.
Although Wargs were dark creatures, they still retained an animal's instinctual fear of fire. Seeing that the fire attack was effective, the Dwarves plucked pinecones, ignited them, and threw them at the nearby Wargs and Orcs.
Before long, a raging fire was burning in the forest. However, Azog had come with the determination to kill Thorin, so under his suppression, the Orc Warg troop did not retreat. The situation for the Dwarf Adventure Squad remained grim.
Just then, Gandalf used magic to intercept a butterfly, having it deliver a distress signal to the Great Eagles raised by Radagast.
On the other hand, Mike, who was heading toward the nearest human kingdom, Rohan, also encountered an Orc Warg troop on the way.
However, perhaps Azog had a misunderstanding about human power, or rather, about Mike's power. Therefore, the Warg troop sent to hunt Mike down consisted of only a dozen or so in total.
"I've been underestimated." Mike used his Power Of Faith to condense a white-gold longbow and fired over a dozen golden arrows that could turn corners all at once.
Like they had navigation systems, no matter how the Wargs and the Orcs on their backs tried to dodge, they were all pierced by the golden arrows in one go.
After doing all this, the longbow in Mike's hand turned into starlight and vanished; he then continued southward. It was no wonder he appeared indifferent; having just killed the legendary creature Yama, these dozen or so Wargs seemed completely insignificant. However, contempt aside, if he encountered more Orcs, Mike still wouldn't be polite.