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

Chapter 267 Scorching Breath

In the end, the Smurfs were helplessly used by Roland as a giant radar. Roland happily carried the shrunken Smurfs along the edge of the cliff.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Roland looked at the Smurf's casual demeanor and felt that he was being unreliable.

"What else do you want? Your Majesty the Great King! I was merely using my mental power to locate the Flame Demon! Do you understand mental power? Just extend your thoughts!" The Smurf was deeply provoked by Roland's suspicious gaze. When did the proud dragon race become someone that a weak "ant" like a human could doubt?
"Um...is that so?" In Roland's mind, shouldn't this situation involve chanting incantations very seriously and then setting up an array with magical materials? How come it's so easy for the dragons? Roland couldn't help but take a few more glances at the Smurf.

"Hey! Don't compare me to the weak mental power of you human mages, okay? I'm a dragon! An elven dragon! A dragon race renowned for its elemental abilities! These actions are just my instincts! Understand?" The blue elf's dragon eyes revealed deep disdain. After all, the total mental power of an elven dragon from birth was far beyond what a sixth-tier human sage could match! Dragons are the Creator's favorites! Elven dragons are even more so the favorites of the dragon race! Their innate elemental abilities grant elven dragons formidable combat power from a young age, but correspondingly, while the Creator bestowed upon them power, it also dwindled their population! Especially after the era of the alliance between dragons and elves, the dragons returned to Dragon Island, living peacefully, while elven dragons, lacking the power of the Elven Magic Well, found it difficult to reproduce…

"I'm sorry! I was wrong! Please continue!" Roland decisively admitted defeat. Although the Smurfs recognized this empire in the memories given to them by the system, it didn't mean their dragon nature had been extinguished! Dragons have their pride; for dragons, they treat all intelligent races as equals. Any race that tried to enslave dragons against their will has already paid a bloody price! Roland naturally didn't want to provoke the Smurfs and get beaten up, even though it was a bit embarrassing... but he really couldn't win.

"Keep going! There's no response here... so many holes! Are these dwarfs rats? They've hollowed out this whole mountain... How am I supposed to find anything in all these nooks and crannies!" The melancholy dragon helplessly clutched its face with its paws, its eyes filled with utter despair...

"Haven't you found anything yet?" Roland asked curiously.

"A harvest? Yes! Do you want me to mark the veins I've discovered for you? There's a lot of gold in them! Do you want me to send people to mine them?" The Smurf rolled his eyes at Roland, annoyed.

"This is dwarven territory..." Roland curled his lip. This arrogant little dragon was just digging her own grave! Mineral veins? Gold? Putting aside whether mining dwarven mineral veins was reasonable, the key question was whether he even had anyone capable of mining this stuff.
"What? Is this all the descendants of the Lagrange royal family have to offer? Why not just take them over? Capture all those dwarves and make them mine for you!" the Smurf said without hesitation.

"My God... are all you dragons warmongers?" Roland scoffed. Listen to this! Listen to this! What kind of talk is this? Encouraging their king to attack their allies? Even if his desire for territory and wealth is insane, he wouldn't dare attack the dwarves!

"Hehehe!" The Smurf was very happy to have successfully gotten Roland's mindset.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, the Smurf's long, narrow dragon eyes widened. Just as Roland thought it was his imagination, the Smurf in his arms suddenly broke free and flew quietly in mid-air.

"You can fly?! Then why did I have to carry you for so long?" Roland looked at the elven dragon gracefully flapping its wings in the air and suddenly felt like he had suffered an internal injury.

“Something’s not right here!” The Smurf ignored Roland and flew to the edge of the cliff where Roland had just walked, squinting his eyes.

"What did you find?" Roland's smile vanished as he watched the Smurf's movements, and his expression turned serious. "Is it under your feet?" Omske subtly gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Gulp!" Balin gripped his battle axe tightly in fear, a few drops of cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Kardo! Put on the armor!" Caslo said succinctly, and immediately a layer of alloy-forged dragon armor appeared on the Storm Dragon's body. This was a special training Yun Feng had given Caslo; the dragon armor, complete with inscriptions, could be put on or taken off at any time! If it weren't for Roland's miscellaneous items, Yun Feng might not have been able to make it.

"Hmph!" Kaldo snorted lightly, his fighting spirit growing even fiercer.

"It's alright, there's just the aura of the Balrog here!" the Smurf said awkwardly, looking at the group of people who were on high alert.

"..." Omsk quietly loosened his grip on the sword hilt.

"Phew..." Bahrain let out a long breath, but also felt a little disappointed.

"Smurf... could you please stop talking so loudly next time..." Roland's eyes twitched violently a few times. After considering the difference in their fighting abilities, Roland decisively gave up the idea of ​​educating the Smurf.

"Hmm...who knows? Why are you all so nervous?" The Smurf looked at everyone suspiciously. She noticed that everyone was looking at her with unfriendly expressions, including her own kind, the Storm Dragon Kaldor. At that moment, Kaldor was casually cutting stones with his sharp dragon claws, while constantly staring at the Smurf with hostile eyes.

"Grandma... I beg you! Thousands of people are waiting for you! The army can't just sit here wasting time!" Roland was at her wits' end. After all, having a proud and somewhat rebellious little female dragon was bad enough, but the worst part was that she often skipped work! Sure enough, she got sleepy after flying only a few steps! She found a clean spot and closed her eyes to rest.

"But I'm so tired..." The Smurf looked at Roland pitifully. She was just a weak little dragon! You're illegally employing child labor! And you're not even paying her! Those star-filled dragon eyes seemed to speak, and Roland's heart softened suddenly. After all, she was still a child. Was he being too harsh on her?
Just as Roland was reflecting on his actions with some self-reproach, the ground suddenly trembled a few times. Roland was momentarily stunned. What? An earthquake?

"The smell of sulfur! It's Morgoth's hounds in the abyssal magma!" Kaldor bared his sharp dragon fangs, his claws slightly curved! (Hound: Prime Minister, I haven't offended any of you...)
"The Balrog has awakened! The good news is that it seems the Dragon's Might worked! The bad news is that the Balrog probably wasn't damaged in its essence as we predicted!" Caslo gave a wry smile. When the Balrog released its aura and stopped hiding, it meant it dared to challenge the dragons! When a creature dares to challenge a true dragon, it means it must be powerful enough to fight a dragon... Clearly! The Balrog is such a being.

"Roar!" Kaldor's enormous wings suddenly spread open, and supported by his membranous skeleton, it was clear that his wings were strong enough to blot out the sky! He opened his huge mouth, and a majestic dragon roar echoed wave after wave towards the bottom of the valley...

(End of this chapter)