this infinite world

Melkor feels that his luck hasn't been very good lately since he returned to Middle-earth.

As one of the strongest warriors in the Ilúvatar Legion, Melkor once reigned supreme on the world known as Middle-earth. He fought against his sworn brother Manwë and all the Valar, turning the entire continent into an eternal battlefield; he forged the Iron Crown and was crowned Lord of the World, ruling over most of its regions; he once ascended to the pinnacle of power, basking in the glory of victory, and was also defeated and imprisoned, suffering his most shameful defeat…

Of course, that was back in the First Age. In this Third Age world, Melkor, the Dark Lord who has returned to Middle-earth, is now facing an embarrassing reality: he has no more troops to fight.

Once upon a time, countless Maiar followed him into darkness, the roars of the Balrogs echoing through the heavens, the shrieks of the Shadowfiends blotting out the sun. Now, those powerful servants have vanished, only a few Balrogs huddled in the depths of darkness, barely clinging to life; and even his most outstanding Maiar, Sauron, has been reduced to a state neither human nor ghost… And now, Melkor can only find a handful of orcs, like cockroaches that have yet to be extinct. This meager strength, in the First Age, wouldn't even qualify him as cannon fodder.

...Damn it, how did the forces of evil turn out like this!
Of course, it was difficult to maintain composure, but as a novice saint, Melkor still had some pride and couldn't truly bully the weak by attacking those mortals who were like ants. After all, Ilúvatar was watching him from above and would never allow him to act so recklessly... So Melkor followed his old ways and placed the blasphemer Azog on the chessboard as a pawn.

Initially, Melkor had only made a random move to test the waters of the so-called "messenger of the King," without expecting any real results. However, to his own surprise, the blasphemer Azog played a role beyond imagination. Melkor had merely stirred his emotions and hatred, and granted him a tiny bit of power, causing this last pale orc of Middle-earth to break through the fourth-tier barrier, then rout the dwarven army, even nearly beheading Chu Hao…

To be honest, Melkor was also surprised when the blasphemer Azog nearly beheaded Chu Hao, because even he hadn't expected this pawn to perform so well. But he wasn't panicked. Leaving aside the fact that someone must have played a crucial role in the Human Emperor's plan, a mere fourth-tier being couldn't pose a real threat to the "protagonist's" life…

...Then, things took a wild and unpredictable turn, heading in a direction that Melkor couldn't comprehend.

Although he didn't immediately understand how Chu Hao escaped from Asog's blade, Melkor didn't have time to worry about it, because what happened next was completely unexpected.

Under Melkor's watchful gaze, the swordsman in the Samsara Squad suddenly unleashed unimaginable destructive power, overwhelming Azog with a single blow, severely injuring him who had just broken through to the fourth rank. The second attack that followed was aimed at annihilating Azog, both physically and mentally.

Even though Melkor had exhausted all his efforts to unleash Azog's potential, and even poured his own power into that body to perform a kind of "reversion" against the pale orc, he could only barely put up a fight. And before he could do anything more, Azog was instantly reduced to ashes by the third sword strike coming straight at him…

—No, what's going on?
When Azog was instantly killed by Nian Xikong's "Shangqing Breaking Cloud Sword," Melkor was completely stunned. After a long while, he finally realized what had happened, and a surge of inexplicable anger rose within him—

Don't talk about martial arts!

You have to understand, I only did a little something to Asog, nothing too outrageous. But what did that Saint-level opponent do? He actually possessed the swordsman and killed my chosen pawn with three sword strikes.

Feeling the lingering aftershocks, whose destructive power was in no way inferior to that of a mid-level fourth-tier cultivator, Melkor almost instantly recognized this fact. Keep in mind that the sword cultivator was at most at the Foundation Establishment stage; for him to unleash ordinary fourth-tier power was already a miracle. Now, he was almost fighting two levels higher, yet he still managed to achieve such results?

impossible! Absolutely impossible!
"...You started it first."

Upon confirming that the other party was personally involved, Melkor's eyes instantly turned extremely sinister: "If that's the case, then don't blame me for using my methods..."

"Milko!"

In that instant, a will suddenly descended from the sky, followed by Ilúvatar's voice, which boomed like thunder, in the ear of this novice saint: "You dare to reveal your saintly form in the material world?!"

"It wasn't me who broke the rules first, great Ilúvatar." At this moment, Melkor's whisper echoed a thousand times, transforming into a chilling darkness. His formless, intangible body began to twist and expand, and dark divine power surged through every inch of the void like a tidal wave: "Since that near-saint acted first, using a higher level of power..."

"...Then don't blame me for fighting with him!"

The next moment, the singing resounded in all directions!

……

"……Well!"

The moment that profound song began, everyone on the battlefield reacted instantly.

Among them, the weaker dwarves and orcs fainted almost without a sound, completely unable to withstand the overwhelming pressure. Tom and Ochi, among the weaker members of the Arctic team, were also instantly pressed to the ground, trembling and afraid to utter a word. Only Chu Hao, Zhang Heng, and Nian Xikong were able to stand, but they were also covered in cold sweat, and even breathing seemed to require immense effort…

"This, what exactly is this..."

"Singing...it's singing!"

Chu Hao clutched his forehead, answering Zhang Heng's question with a pained expression. He was no stranger to this kind of life-force pressure. During his first encounter with the troll, when his mind was flooded with a ton of information, a song had also forcibly instilled into his consciousness.

The melody then was ethereal and graceful, like a whisper of elves under the starlight; but now, what echoes in my skull is cold, terrifying, and utterly profound…

...But according to Chu Hao's guess, the consciousness that connected with him earlier was the creator god of the Lord of the Rings world, so who is this consciousness now?
Faced with the terrifying figure in the sky, constantly expanding and seemingly threatening to engulf the entire world beneath its black robes, Chu Hao, unable to think any further, could only place all his hopes on Yang Yun. After all, if anyone could do anything at this moment, it would only be…

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, with a crisp sound, the black-robed figure that had blotted out the sky just a moment ago vanished without a trace, like dark clouds scattered by a gale. Both the oppressive aura and the singing were reduced by more than a hundred times, and the whole world returned to peace...

"...No, that's it?"

Yang Yun glanced at the black-robed figure he had slapped away, then looked down at his own hand. After repeating this three times, he finally spoke, utterly speechless—

"What a weak saint." (End of Chapter)