Slaying the Balrog
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—
After being pinned down and brutally beaten by Russell, the Balrog finally snapped out of his shock and struggled to get up.
As the saying goes, lying down is easy, but standing up is hard!
Russell was familiar with various joint techniques and knew how to make it difficult for the Balrog to exert force, so his attempt to turn the tables was just wishful thinking.
Don't ask why, Russell just knows that he has tens of thousands of words of bitter history.
The Balrog grasped the flames in his left hand, transforming them into a long whip that he lashed out. But before he could finish the movement, Russell stepped on his elbow, rendering him powerless. He was then struck repeatedly with heavy punches, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
After a sound beating, Russell raised his hands high, and the fire element materialized into blades, stabbing them fiercely into the Balrog's chest, piercing through its chest and pinning it to the ground.
Having used the 'Balrog' Character Card, Russell knew that fire could not harm his opponent, but he was also aware of his opponent's weakness.
The Balrog has no heart; its core is a raging fire. Extinguishing this fire will completely annihilate the Balrog.
Russell gripped the flaming blade and slashed fiercely at the Balrog's chest, the blade scraping and cutting back and forth, trying to find the elusive core.
"Roar roar roar————"
The excruciating pain jolted the Balrog's nerves, causing it to roar and spew forth scorching flames from its maw, splattering Russell's face. But it was useless; neither of them were immune to fire, and spewing a few more breaths would only give the other an extra boost of energy.
"You're asking for it!"
Russell roared, his chest pressing against the strong wind, and he opened his mouth to spew out a rumbling sound.
He put down his flaming blade and punched the Balrog in the cheek. The immense force deformed the Balrog's head, and his fist shattered into pieces.
The scorching rocks fell to the ground, their intense heat causing them to twist and turn the earth into molten lava.
Russell's fist had fully healed, and the Balrog's head was also completely intact. He raised his fist again, but hesitated and didn't bring it down. He drew his flaming whip, wrapped it around the Balrog's neck, grabbed the Balrog's horns, stood up, and swung it around in the air.
Boom!
The Balrog landed again, this time in a different position, lying face down.
Russell gripped the whip with one hand and pressed down hard on the horns with the other, struggling to lift and then press down, forcing the Balrog's head to slam into the ground again and again.
After three or five times, the ground was scorched by the high temperature into a lava lake. The Balrog was beaten into submission, roaring angrily but helpless.
Russell released his flaming whip, pressed his large hand against the back of the Balrog's head, roared to the sky, and with a mighty effort, broke off another of the Balrog's horns.
The Balrog can heal itself; its core energy is inexhaustible. However, once its two horns are broken, they can only grow back naturally over time.
With its two horns broken, the Balrog's screams intensified, accompanied by uncontrollable rage, and boundless Heat Wave surged from its body. Flames roared, and the Balrog's power increased several times over. In its outburst, Cairo and successfully rose from the ground.
"Roar roar roar————"
After regaining his footing, the Balrog was enraged and swung his flaming whip around Russell's neck, giving him a taste of his own medicine and preparing to make him experience the pain of broken horns.
Russell gripped the long whip tightly wrapped around his neck with one hand and drew a fire elemental blade with the other, severing the taut whip in two.
The whip was severed, and the Balrog, with his hands clenched, conjured two blazing red battle axes, slashing down at Russell from the left and right. Perhaps hurt by Russell's attack, he was eager for revenge and abandoned his defense, displaying a fighting spirit that would not let Russell have a good time.
And sure enough, in his rage, he unleashed terrifying fighting power, each axe blow faster than the last, leaving Russell utterly defenseless. Russell managed to parry with his two blades, but was forced back step by step, crashing through countless stone pillars in the process.
A series of booming sounds echoed through the underground palace. Gale-force winds raged, and flames roared. Under the scorching heat of the two Balrog, the dwarf's magnificent palace showed signs of melting. Scorching streams flowed across the ground, and the air was so hot that inhaling it would burn one's internal organs to charcoal.
Finally, after a while, the Balrog's burst of power was exhausted, and Russell gained the upper hand.
"Roar roar roar————"
With a roar, the fire elemental battle axe in the Balrog's hand was struck by the longsword and instantly shattered into fragments, turning into molten lava flying everywhere.
Russell's heavy blade slashed down, tearing through the air, severing the Balrog's two arms along with its bat wings. The Balrog's wings could allow it to fly, but in the underground palace, they were merely decorations; it couldn't take flight even if it wanted to.
Gandalf!!
Russell thrust his twin blades straight into Balrog's chest, whipping up a whirlwind as he roared out Gandalf's name, signaling him to come and help.
The two Balrog were exactly alike, making it difficult to tell which was real and which was fake. However, Gandalf recognized Russell at a glance. It wasn't because of the two broken horns, but because Russell's movements were so conspicuous that it was hard not to recognize him.
A proper Balrog would never suddenly kick its opponent between the legs in the middle of a fight, nor would it launch a counterattack to stab the opponent below the tail.
Gandalf rolled his eyes. The Balrog, who specialized in attacking the lower body, must be Russell.
He didn't know what Russell's tactics were at first, but three seconds later he understood.
Russell swiftly severed the Balrog's legs and tail, pinned Balrog to the ground, bent his knee against its back, and raised it high to expose its neck.
Gandalf silently chanted a spell, and his staff emitted a gentle light, dispelling the surrounding Heat Wave. He rose into the air without wind, and his longsword, radiating intense cold, struck the Balrog's exposed neck.
Sizzle!!
Like the screeching sound of a blade scraping against rock, Balrog wound was slashed open in the Balrog's neck, spilling scalding blood like magma. At the same time, dense dark power flowed out, only to be dispelled by the Illumination Spell and instantly evaporated.
Gandalf's sword failed to sever the Balrog's head, but it caused a significant amount of dark power within him to leak out. Russell roared and grabbed the Balrog's head with both hands, forcefully tearing it off.
The Balrog's head wasn't a fatal weakness, but losing it would still be a serious problem. On the ground, the Balrog's body's regeneration speed had noticeably weakened. Its limbs, which had been rapidly recovering previously, had now completely stopped, and Magic Power surged into its neck, prioritizing the repair of its head.
Russell swung his sword, cleaving the Balrog in two at the waist. Regaining his composure, he cleaved open its chest with another strike. After a few more blows, he pulled a stone brimming with dark energy from the Balrog's heart.
Without the stone, the Balrog's body suddenly froze, its energy fluctuations disappeared, and it could no longer heal itself.
Russell tossed the stone at Gandalf's feet, and the latter, without hesitation, shone brightly at the tip of his staff and gently tapped the stone.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle —
Like a red-hot iron block falling into water, the dark power instantly turned into black mist and disappeared. The flame-red stone also lost its color, turning ashen.
The temperature in the hall gradually decreased, Gandalf, relieved, left the hot area and leaned against the corner to wipe his sweat. For some reason, despite winning the battle, he felt a sense of loss and was sullen.
In the arena, Russell rummaged through the Balrog's corpse, tossing aside its dark wings and long tail.
Gandalf: "..."
He knew what Russell was doing and what Russell was planning to do next. He opened his mouth, but for a moment, he felt a sense of shared fate and didn't know how to stop him.
Today it's the Balrog, tomorrow it might be him... well, he's probably unlikely, after all, Russell probably wouldn't be able to bring himself to kiss a human old man.
Speaking of human form, Gandalf thought of the other Maiar in Middle-earth. Sauron's physical body was long gone, which was a real bargain for him!
Suddenly, Gandalf shuddered as he remembered his friend Guan He, who had transformed into Maiar, the leader of the Great Eagles.
"Oh no, Russell has seen the Great Eagles..."