bookbashuk Chapter 411 Volcanic Flame Demon
Chapter 411 Volcanic Flame Demon
Chapter 411 Volcanic Flame Demon
The Eye of Sauron atop Baradur Tower, along with Sauron himself who was besieged in the west, watched as the Ring slipped from its edge and was about to fall into the lava. Their eyes were bloodshot with terror and resentment.
"No!!!"
The Ring, free-falling through the air, unleashed its strongest spiritual allure, as if it too was filled with resentment and attempting a final struggle.
Frodo and Sam watched as the Ring fell, anticipating its destruction by the flames and lava of Mount Doom.
But at that moment, an extremely fast black shadow darted out from behind them, leaped down, and grabbed the Ring in mid-air.
"My darling! My darling—" Gollum, having caught the Ring, was filled with the ecstatic joy of regaining his treasure, completely disregarding his current fall, and clung to the Ring without letting go.
Frodo and Sam were both stunned, completely unprepared for this to happen.
They hadn't expected Gollum to break free of Aragorn's petrification spell so early, and that he could still manage to find his way to the Rift of Doom amidst the swarms of Mordor Seekers.
However, now that Gollum has chosen to perish along with the One Ring, Frodo and Sam, aside from feeling somewhat conflicted, can only sigh inwardly.
But just when they thought Gollum and the Ring would be swallowed by the lava flames below, a tongue of fire suddenly shot out from the lava and engulfed Gollum.
Unable to withstand the intense heat of the flames, Gollum was instantly reduced to charcoal with a look of resentment on his face, and then shattered into pieces, leaving only the magic ring, which was engulfed by the flames.
The flames did not melt the Ring; instead, they made it shine even brighter, and the inscriptions on the ring gleamed.
The next second, lava and flames surged.
A fire demon with devil horns and its entire body engulfed in flames crawled out of the lava.
Those flames were none other than the Flame Demon's flaming whip.
This is a Balrog sleeping in the Doomsday Volcano, and it is far more powerful than the Balrog in the Moria Mines.
The flaming whip that had been holding the Ring snapped back, and the ring fell into the Balrog's hand.
Frodo and Sam, who witnessed this scene from above, were both horrified and incredulous.
Frodo was filled with terror and deep frustration.
Just when he was about to see the One Ring destroyed, this unexpected turn of events occurred at the last moment. How could he accept this?
Sam desperately pulled Frodo back, who seemed about to rush down.
This fire demon was far more terrifying and powerful than any dark creature they had ever seen. The oppressive aura and scorching heat it exuded were unbearable for them.
On the battlefield west of the Misty Mountains, Sauron, who was besieged and entangled, let out a thunderous laugh, full of smugness and relief at surviving a calamity.
"Hahaha!" Sauron scoffed at Dui and the others. "Your plan has failed! Even if you successfully brought the Ring to Mount Doom, so what? You don't know that there's a Balrog inside that volcano, and now the Ring is back in my hands!"
There was no Balrog in Mount Doom originally, but over the decades, after Sauron sacrificed countless human lives and souls to Morgoth, in addition to regaining his form and power, he also obtained the resting place of one of Morgoth's former minions, a Balrog.
After Morgoth was defeated, most of his Balrog army was also wiped out, with only a few Balrogs escaping and hiding in caves deep in the earth.
The Balrog in the Moria Mines was awakened by the dwarves' continuous digging for mithril ore, ultimately bringing annihilation upon the dwarves of Moria.
The Balrog on Mount Doom was a sleeping Balrog that Sauron found under Morgoth's guidance and brought to Mount Doom to live.
This Balrog is an ally of Sauron, but is not subordinate to him and must obey his orders.
Sauron needs Balrog to help him guard Mount Doom, while Balrog uses Mount Doom to restore his power from the primordial fire from the Earth's core.
Upon hearing Sauron's triumphant laughter and words, Dui, Gandalf, Elrond, and the others all turned pale and felt extremely uneasy.
Without hesitation, Dui instructed Gandalf and the others to hold Sauron off for a moment, then, sensing the mark Sauron had left on Frodo, he transformed into a phoenix and vanished in flames.
The next second, the phoenix appeared instantly in the rift of misfortune.
"Duir!" Frodo and Sam exclaimed with surprise and hope.
Before Dui could speak to the two, he flapped his wings and sent two phoenix feathers fluttering down, landing precisely in front of them. Then he swooped down and attacked the Flame Demon.
Frodo and Sam were instantly teleported away by the phoenix feather the moment they caught it.
The fire demon in the magma below also noticed the phoenix rushing towards it from above. After letting out a roar, it lashed out at Dui with its fiery whip.
Dui, in his phoenix form, swiftly dodged the flaming whip and then unleashed Phoenix Fire at the Flame Demon.
Golden flames fell upon the Balrog. The holy flames clashed with the wicked Balrog's fire, causing the Balrog to feel pain and roar involuntarily.
But this is Mordor, a land teeming with dark power, especially Mount Doom, the source of that dark power.
The immense primordial power of the Earth's core from the Doomsday Volcano provided the Balrog with a continuous source of strength, but it also greatly suppressed Dui's Phoenix Fire, even eroding Dui's life force and making him increasingly weak.
The phoenix fire on the fire demon's body was quickly extinguished by the fire demon, and the enraged fire demon unleashed endless flames, filling the entire crater space and surrounding Dui.
In such an environment, Dui was like a tiny candle flame surrounded by endless darkness, on the verge of being extinguished at any moment.
Feeling the surrounding dark power constantly eroding the Phoenix Flame, and the life force continuously draining from his body, Dui knew that the situation was unfavorable to him and that he had to finish the battle quickly.
His gaze was fixed on the golden ring on the Flame Demon's finger. He gritted his teeth, instantly transformed back into human form, and plummeted towards the Flame Demon.
Reverting to human form and losing the phoenix's immunity to fire, Dui was instantly confronted by the scorching heat of the Flame Demon's flames.
One by one, the defensive alchemical artifacts on his body shattered under the burning of the Fiery Demon's Flame.
Dui felt as if he was about to be burned to death. He endured the burning pain and channeled all his magic into the Earth Ring, condensing a huge golden dome to cover the Fire Demon. Then, he used a powerful downward pull to force the Fire Demon into the lava.
This Balrog is almost as strong as Sauron, not to mention that it is now in the Balrog's home territory, Mount Doom. Dui has no confidence that he can kill it.
Therefore, the only way is for Dui to use the power of the Earth Ring to force it into the magma.
If the Ring on the Balrog's hand falls into the lava flames, it will be melted and destroyed.
This way, Sauron can be completely destroyed.
But the Balrog clearly saw through Dui's purpose. Standing on the magma, it connected with the power of the Doomsday Volcano, constantly absorbing the primordial fire power from the earth's core, transforming into a fire giant to resist the golden dome pressing down from above.
Although Dui was empowered by the power of the Earth Ring, in this dark realm, the Earth Ring could not connect to the earth at all, and he could only rely on his own magic to activate the ring.
Dui's power here is like a rootless duckweed, its vitality constantly being eroded by the forces of darkness.
As the tide receded, Dui found himself increasingly strained, and even the Flame Demon began to gain the upper hand, conjuring a giant flaming sword in its hand and relentlessly attacking the golden dome.
"Duir, Sauron has broken free and is heading towards Mordor!" Galadriel's anxious voice echoed in Duir's mind.
Upon hearing this, Dui felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
If Sauron were to return to Mordor, all the previous plans would completely fail.
When faced with a critical juncture, he naturally couldn't just admit defeat!
Looking down at the Balrog who was still locked in a stalemate with him, and thinking of Sauron's imminent arrival, Dui took a deep breath, his eyes hardening.
He stopped suppressing the fire demon below and instead desperately extracted all the magic power in his body, fiercely pouring it into the Earth Ring.