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

Chapter 266 Seduction
"Your Highness, what should we do?" Caslo glanced at the abyss below and couldn't help but admire the dwarves. It was truly remarkable that they could dig so deep with just a pickaxe! They must have been swinging the pickaxe until it was sparking!

"..." Roland glanced at Caslo speechlessly.

"If I knew what to do, would I need you?" Roland laughed angrily.

"I only weigh a little over 100 pounds! If I threw it all here, it would only be enough to give someone a little extra food or something! Do you think I can get the Balrog up here?" Roland was speechless.

"Maybe! After all, you are the restorer and heir of the Lagrange Empire! It's normal for you to have some good stuff!" To everyone's surprise, Caslo actually agreed with that in a serious manner.

"If you can talk, then talk more, I don't mind!" Roland rolled his eyes at Caslo and sighed helplessly. He wanted good stuff too! He had to rely on the system! Roland really wanted to ask this system, which was constantly giving him "little umbrellas," if it was even polite.

"How about we try having Kaldor use his Dragon's Might to intimidate it? After all, these high-level magical beasts have a strong sense of territory, and they will definitely not allow anyone to act recklessly in front of them!" Caslo suggested.

"What are you standing there for? Do it!" Roland shrugged, looking at Caslo who was staring at him with a surge of anger.

"Oh! Come on! Kaldor, unleash your dragon's might! Press down!" Caslo commanded.

"Roar!" Kaldor spread his enormous dragon wings, raised his head, and roared, his surging dragon might pressing down as if it were a tangible force...

“…” Caslo.

“…” Kaldo.

"..." Roland.

After a long while, Roland finally blinked and looked at the man and the dragon with the kind of loving gaze one might give someone with intellectual disabilities.

"That's it?" Roland grinned as he looked at the huge mine that hadn't sent a single word back.

"Um... could it be that it's too deep, and the dragon's might can't reach it?" Caslo scratched his head and asked his dragon mount, Kaldo.

"No! Dragon's might has a very strong penetrating power! And it's very easy to detect! If there really is a Balrog, it will sense it!" The Storm Dragon Kaldor said firmly, raising his claws and pointing to the allied forces behind him, many of whom were already kneeling. The Lagrang soldiers were somewhat better off, at most pale and unsteady on their feet. However, many of the dwarves had indeed knelt or collapsed to the ground. Clearly, Kaldor hadn't unleashed his full dragon's might on them, but even a trace of its powerful penetrating force had escaped, and even that trace had nearly rendered them unable to fight…

“It’s hard to imagine… how our ancestors fought against the Balrog…” Balin murmured bitterly.

After all, the Balrog and the dragon occupy the same ecological niche; both are calamity-level magical beasts, sharing the top of the food chain. Even though the Balrog lacks the dragon's unique might, it still possesses considerable calamity-level magical beast pressure! The fact that Torin VI and Nerne I were able to contend with it, and most importantly, that the dwarf soldiers could fight against the Balrog's pressure… one can only imagine how powerful the dwarves were back then!
"Sigh... I hope everything goes well!" Balin prayed silently, watching Roland and Caslo's retreating figures. These few humans were the only ones who could save the dwarves now...

……

"How's the situation?" Omske slowly approached, and couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the two men staring at each other, their eyes fixed on the large mine pit. "Is the matter resolved? Are everything arranged? Make sure there are no mishaps. Have the soldiers guard that spot! In case of any unforeseen circumstances, that's our escape route!" Roland looked at Omske gravely. What if they couldn't win? They couldn't just turn back the way they came, could they? Those steep stone steps? Hah! By the time the army climbs up, the Balrogs will be chasing after them and slaughtering them all!

“No problem, the Dovenian heavy swordsmen won’t let you down! I’ve already had them deployed in the corridor leading from the exit to the Massabur Hall!” Omske practically patted his chest in assurance.

“Alright! It’s always better to be careful!” Roland nodded and continued to lie on the edge of the cliff with Caslow, studying the situation.

"..." Roland casually tossed a stone down into the water, but there was no echo for a long time. He figured the depth here was greater than he had imagined. He stood up, dusted off his hands, and for the first time showed a numb expression.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Omske asked, puzzled, seeing Roland's dark face and Caslo muttering to himself while staring at the large mine. It seemed like both of them had some kind of mental illness.

"What else could it be! This thing can't be lured out! Even Dragon's Might can't lure it out!" Caslo said casually before Roland could even speak.

"As you can see! That's it!" Roland shrugged and spread his hands, at a loss. This mine pit was so deep, they couldn't really send the dragon down to look for it, could they? It would be one thing to return empty-handed like searching for a needle in a haystack, but what if they were ambushed? That would be a huge problem!
"How many methods have you tried?" Omske asked the two of them curiously.

“One way is to have Kaldor unleash his Dragon's Might to lure it away! After all, magical beasts of its level have a strong sense of territory!” Caslo explained.

“That’s true, but…aren’t you overlooking something? It’s a severely injured Balrog! Perhaps it ignored Kaldor’s demonstration to protect itself!” Omsk analyzed.

"No way! So many years have passed? You still haven't recovered from your injury?" Roland looked at the two of them in disbelief.

"Hiss~ That's possible! Maybe Nien I's loyalty has reached its very core? Perhaps it hasn't fully recovered yet! So this Balrog might be avoiding battle!" Caslo slammed his fist into his palm excitedly. How could he not have thought of that! If that's the case, his job will be much easier! After all, who's easier to fight: a Balrog in its prime or one that's still recovering from an injury? You always pick on the weak! Not to mention a top-tier magical beast like a Balrog—beating a drowning dog is always the greatest joy!
“That being said… how do we find it? Or how do we lure it in after we find it? After all, we can’t go down and fight it, can we?” Roland said, troubled.

"This..." Omske was also troubled. Finding this guy in the big mine was really not easy, it was no less difficult than finding a needle in a haystack!

"Oh, right! Your Highness, please have the Smurfs come over!" Caslo's eyes suddenly lit up; he had almost forgotten they had two dragons!

……

"What is it?" The Smurf flapped its wings reluctantly, flying listlessly in mid-air, looking as wilted as a dehydrated plant, clearly unhappy about being punished.

"It seems that the elven dragons have a mental attribute! Can you use your mental detection to help us find that balora? After all, it shouldn't be able to completely conceal its aura!" Caslo looked at the blue elf with excitement. As everyone knows, elven dragons are the magicians of the dragon race, and they are the only dragons that possess all elements! Even the golden dragons lack the dark attribute compared to them.

"Huh? That's it?" The Smurf tilted her head, her large, scornful eyes filled with disdain. She thought she was being called in for a fight; she was still thinking about what forbidden spell to use to teach the Balrog to be a beast! And now she's being used as a dragon-shaped reconnaissance aircraft? She was furious!

(End of this chapter)