The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 265 Choice
"What's going on, King Roland?" The grief-stricken Balin walked over, no longer caring about his sorrow; he was now terrified at the mere mention of the Balrog.

"The spirit of your King Nain I resides here, eternally suppressing the Balrog. The Balrog has never stepped into the Fourth Hall, which means the Balrog is now in the abyss beneath our feet!" Roland told Balin what he had witnessed in history.

"Good heavens! The Great Mine? The Balrog is still in the Great Mine? How...how are we going to find him?" Balin exclaimed in panic. The Great Mine was arguably the deepest in Middle-earth; who knew how deep the dwarves had dug? But trying to find a Balrog hiding there was like looking for a needle in a haystack... And the Balrog was the key to this war. If the Balrog wasn't dealt with, Moria could fall again at any moment. After all, the dwarves couldn't just come back and do nothing, could they? They had to mine! What if they alerted the Balrog again? The Balrog only retreated into the abyss out of fear of Ner'en I's power and remaining influence, but when the Balrog reappeared, the dwarves wouldn't have another Ner'en...

"This is troublesome. Now we have to make a choice... Should we clear out the orcs of Moria first, or find the Balrog and kill it..." Roland shrugged helplessly.

“I’m sorry, Bahrain, we have to go back before the autumn harvest. After all, we can’t stay here for too long! Judging by the time it takes, we should be able to stay here for more than a month…” Roland told Bahrain after some deliberation.

"Oh! By Turin..." Balin was torn between two options, pulling at his hair. He was certain that the Balrog was seriously injured and, due to the lingering power of Ner'n, would not be able to cause trouble for a while, but he was definitely a ticking time bomb! As for the orcs and goblins, although they were also a big problem, the dwarves could still wipe them out if they were willing to pay the price!
“Think it over carefully, Bahrain. We await your decision: whether to move forward or wait here!” Roland patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Kill it! That damned Balrog dared to attack a Silver Dragon! Kill them all! Hey! You Wind Dragon! Come out here right now! Come down with me and kill it!" Before Roland finished speaking, the Smurf in his arms flapped its wings and flew out, its eyes filled with anger and hatred.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop fooling around! Come back, stop throwing a tantrum. I don't know any dragons that are good at fighting underground! Don't take risks!" Roland quickly reached out and grabbed the crazed, reckless elf dragon.

"Let me go! If you grab me again, I'll bite off your claws! Dragons aren't good at fighting underground? You'll see today!" The Smurf struggled, flapping its wings.

"Caslo! Get Kaldo out here and talk to her! This dragon's gone mad!" Roland was flung aside by the suddenly enlarged elven dragon, landing hard on her backside. The ten-meter-long elven dragon was no longer the docile and adorable creature she once was; instead, it exuded nobility and majesty! Its narrow dragon eyes glanced at Roland, who was overestimating herself by trying to grab the dragon with her bare hands, and the Smurf folded its wings, preparing to glide towards the large mine pit…

"Bang!" The Smurf, who was ready to jump and had even struck a pose, was slammed to the cold ground by a large dragon claw in an unsightly manner.

The storm dragon Kaldor, over twenty meters long, roared to the sky, letting out a clear and stirring dragon cry! With its powerful dragon claws suppressing the little elf dragon of its own kind, Kaldor's eyes revealed a human-like disdain.

"You? Are you going to be an easy target for the Balrog? The Abyss isn't like the sky; there's not enough space for you to cast spells! You can't even break free from one of my dragon claws, and you? What makes you think you can fight the Balrog hand-to-hand?" Kaldor grinned mockingly, his sharp dragon teeth gleaming coldly. Kaldor possessed the bloodline of a Storm Dragon, a creature that constantly battled storms in their eye of the storm! Legend says that the appearance of a Storm Dragon is always accompanied by devastating storms, and the sheer strength of a Storm Dragon traversing these storms is unimaginable! It is one of the dragon species, alongside the Golden Dragon, Black Dragon, and Fire Dragon, renowned for its mastery of melee combat! "Roar! Let me go!" The Smurf, filled with shame and anger, actually unleashed a breath of elemental dragon breath.

"That's it? Just a tickle?" Amidst everyone's horrified gazes, Kaldor withstood a breath of chaotic dragon breath containing all elements from the dragon archmage!

"Have you had enough trouble? Don't you think you've caused enough trouble already?" The mature-minded Kaldo looked helplessly at the Smurf pinned under his claws, utterly speechless. This little guy really loved to cause trouble. That breath of chaotic dragon fire just now was not easy to withstand. It was all thanks to the powerful defensive capabilities of the dragon scales and Kaldo's quick defense; otherwise, the part that would have been hit would definitely have been torn to shreds...

"Stop fooling around! His Highness has his own considerations! Remember your loyalty to the Empire!" Kaldor warned, reluctantly releasing his grip. The young elven dragon seemed to be treating war like a game; he couldn't defeat the Balrog with mere enthusiasm! Just the fact that this race could hunt down Silver Dragon Knights meant they couldn't be careless! And this was the Fire of Udon, who had destroyed the Dwarven Kingdom! A survivor of the War of Wrath! Any underestimation would cost them their lives!
"Alright, stop fooling around, Smurf, come back! We'll get our revenge, but I need to hear what our friends have to say first!" Roland coaxed the Smurf, while the pressure shifted to Balin.

"What is your decision, Lord Balin? Will you quickly eliminate the Moria orcs and become the King of Moria, or will you resolve the historical problem of the Balrog here?" Roland looked at Balin, awaiting his answer.

"..." Balin glanced at the abyss, then at the remains of Nien kneeling amidst the ruins, and his eyes immediately turned bloodshot again...

"We'll stay here! Kill it! The dwarves need its head to give their ancestors an explanation!" Balin said coldly. The deep-seated hatred between the Balrog and the Moria dwarves was simply too numerous to count! They were sworn enemies, one disturbing his slumber, the other destroying someone else's home. They would fight to the death over anything they encountered!
“Alright, we’ll set up camp in the Fourth Hall! Balin, have your men lead the way and guard the exit of the Fourth Hall. From the Massabul Hall onwards, it’s all orc territory!” Roland sighed. They had encountered relatively few orcs here, mostly goblins skilled at climbing, because Nien’s Dwarf King’s might had blocked most of the orcs trying to cross the Fourth Hall. But the Massabul Hall beyond the Fourth Hall was a different story. That was where Azog established the orc kingdom. Although Azog took a large number of elites with him during the War of the Five Armies, the orc population of Moria was still not to be underestimated.

"No problem! I'll take you there!" Balin nodded. He didn't want the orcs to suddenly appear from behind and "steal his back" while the allied forces were locked in a fierce battle with the Balrog. That would be quite a sight!
“Omske! Go and lead the Dovenian heavy swordsmen to guard the exit! They excel at fighting in such narrow areas!” Roland turned to look at Omske.

“As for Caslo, you come and think of a way to fish out this big guy down there!” Roland rubbed his chin, staring at the large mine pit in deep thought.

(End of this chapter)