"Huh?" Gandalf was baffled. "Bring what?"
"Heh, playing dumb when you know exactly what's up." Jill Young jerked her chin toward Teacher Yang and Jasper Xiao. "See? Everyone's got one. So I want one too."
"I..." Gandalf glanced at Teacher Yang and Jasper Xiao, then looked back at Jill Young. Suddenly, he got it—his eyes went wide with horror and he shook his head so fast the loose skin on his cheeks wobbled like a shar-pei.
Jill raised an eyebrow and glared, crooking her finger again, looking every bit the corrupt official demanding a bribe.
Gandalf looked down at the Ring of Fire on his finger, then turned to Galadriel. The Ring of Fire was a gift from the Elven Queen ages ago, and he'd treasured it ever since—no way was he going to lend it out. But then he saw the Ring of Water on Teacher Yang's hand, glanced back at Jill Young, and finally, with a long, reluctant sigh, gave in.
He pulled the ring off his finger and shoved it into Jill's hand. "Here! But those two are seriously strong, so don't let your guard down!"
"Relax. I've been training forever to finally come out of hiding. I'm not here just to smack around weaklings and coast to easy wins." Jill slipped the Ring of Fire onto her left hand, and the magical ring instantly fit her slender finger. A warm, fiery power surged from the ring, flowing through her body.
Though internal energy and magic are pretty different, the Ring of Fire was a perfect match for its wearer. Especially the blazing sun tattoo hidden in Jill's brow—it resonated with the ring, and together they amped up her power even more.
She shook out her hand and made a fist, nodding with satisfaction. "Fits great. Just hope it's tough enough and doesn't get squashed by my punch."
"Don't worry, it's plenty tough." Teacher Yang waved her forward. "Come on, time's ticking—let's finish this fast."
"Looks like we're finally getting a real workout this time." Jill strode forward, keeping about two meters between herself and the two men. Together, the three of them advanced. Three rings, three people—their auras merged into one, heading straight for the Balrog and the Great Winged Demon.
Gandalf couldn't stop sighing. The Ring of Fire was way more active in Jill's hand than it ever was in his, like it had finally found its true master after ages of waiting. He watched the trio walking side by side, looking sharp and full of swagger—each one with their own unique vibe. These newcomers were young, nowhere near the age of the immortals, but in a blink, they'd already surpassed their elders, leaving only their backs for the old-timers to chase.
Have we really become relics of a bygone era? No, maybe only this kind of thriving energy can reach the distant divine throne. As for us old folks, maybe our chances really are gone. Gandalf was caught up in his thoughts, feeling suddenly older. But not far away, Galadriel's eyes grew brighter—who knows what she was thinking.
"Prepare for battle!" Galadriel hadn't forgotten her mission. "Our enemies are those monsters, and the fate of the battlefield army will have a huge impact on Sauron. So we have to wipe them out—every last one!"
"Yes, ma'am—kill!"
The killing intent rose, swirling like storm clouds. Jill Young, Teacher Yang, Jasper Xiao, the Balrog, and the Great Winged Demon—all five locked eyes, their gazes clashing in the air. The volcanic clouds above churned like a stormy sea. The three from the East were a bit more reserved, but the Balrog and Great Winged Demon were like rampaging bulls, unleashing wild, terrifying power.
The lesser monsters caught between the two sides panicked and scattered—they couldn't handle that kind of pressure and fled the center with frantic squeals. In a flash, an open space formed between the two groups. All eyes were on the five, but for them, only each other mattered.
Teacher Yang suddenly looked up at the sky and sighed, "Look at those thick clouds, strange beasts, and bloody lightning—just like the day in Demon City."
"Back then, we gave it everything we had, but there was only so much we could do. After waking the Black Death Emperor, all we could do was let fate take its course. But today is different," Jasper Xiao looked toward Mount Doom, his gaze fixed on a spot deep in the mountains—he knew Sauron was there. "We're way stronger than before, so we can do a lot more."
The Balrog didn't understand Chinese, but it could sense Jasper Xiao's disrespect just from his gaze. Flames flared up all over its body. The Balrog stomped forward, blocking Jasper's line of sight. It brandished its flaming whip, cracking it with a burst of sparks. Its voice rumbled like thunder: "Hmph! Foolish humans, arrogant elves, filthy dwarves, rotten Maiar, and you nameless nobodies—how dare you challenge the Dark Lord's power? You must have a death wish!"
"Nameless nobodies? Maybe we are, but fame's never mattered. What matters isn't who I am—it's that we're here, standing right in front of you." Jasper Xiao rarely flexed his trash talk skills, but now he did, looking at the Balrog and Great Winged Demon with a dramatic sigh. "Too bad we're on a battlefield and can't do one-on-one duels. I'd love to see which of you could take me solo."
The Balrog and Great Winged Demon narrowed their eyes. This kind of Eastern-style pre-battle banter was new to them. When the mental pressure gets high enough, the battle of wills and auras becomes just as important as the fight itself—a realm they'd never entered before.
Jill Young played along, striking a pose like a lofty master gazing at the sky, but her words in Chinese ruined the image: "Honestly, these two are pretty scary up close, especially the armored guy. Jasper, you talk a big game—don't worry, you don't have to solo him. Just keep him busy one-on-one so the two of us can take out the Balrog, deal?"
Jasper Xiao instantly switched to a lone-wolf pose, grinning bright as the sun and replying in Chinese, "Please, don't mess with me. There's no way I can hold off the one with wings—he can fly!"
Still, holy light rippled around him. His aura grew and intensified, intertwining and clashing, reaching out to the two enemies.
"Hastuna, Sarata!" Not bothered by the language barrier, the Balrog started speaking ancient tongue to the Great Winged Demon. The demon nodded, its armor plates clanking as it moved—things were about to explode.
"Solo's not working, so let's team up. Stop overthinking—once we start fighting, we'll figure it out." Jill Young decided to cut the chatter. Her eyes flashed with blazing gold as she stared down the enemy, then turned to Teacher Yang with determination: "This time, you support, I take point." A year ago at the Abyssal Rift, Teacher Yang stole the spotlight—she still hadn't let it go.
Teacher Yang just nodded, and Jill Young burst out laughing. "Alright! You two buy me some time, I need to—"
Boom! Before she finished, a blood-red lightning bolt split the sky, shaking the world. The Paladin roared, Holy Light flared, and a wave of sharp, surging power erupted. Hammer in his left hand, sword in his right, Jasper Xiao didn't attack anyone directly—instead, he clanged his weapons together in the center—crack! A flash of light, not too bright, but like a beacon in the dark, drew both demons' auras toward it.
Aura locked on, the Balrog swung its flaming whip and the Great Winged Demon drew its dark greatsword. Both launched brutal attacks, aiming to smash the heavens, striking at the Paladin together.
But just then, Teacher Yang suddenly darted out. His right hand clenched around an egg-sized ball of ice crystal—who knows when he made it. Bam! Like a scene from an old ninja movie, Teacher Yang smashed the ice crystal onto the ground between both sides, and a huge cloud of icy mist erupted.
For the Balrog and Great Winged Demon, ordinary ice mist wouldn't slow them down at all. But this mist was different—when it spread, it was like absolute void, cutting off all auras for a split second. For the two demons, that instant was worse than being blind or deaf—it was like having their sixth sense blocked.
A faint light flickered in Teacher Yang's brow. That's right—he was taking advantage of the fact that these two wraiths didn't have strong enough souls!
Light and mist flickered in and out, auras pulled and pushed, and suddenly the battle was total chaos. The Balrog and Great Winged Demon had never felt anything like it—their attacks faltered, losing precision.
Boom! A massive force ripped through the void—the Great Winged Demon's sword aura sliced past Jasper Xiao by a hair, the thunderous sound making him break out in a cold sweat. With power like that, taking a hit would be brutal. Being the tank is no easy job!
But the Balrog's attack never landed, because Jill Young seized that split-second chance. Bam! The Sunblade Core tore through the icy mist like lightning, spinning ahead and smashing into the Balrog's raised wrist.
Right behind the weapon came a dizzying aerial triple kick.
Jill darted in, landing the first two kicks squarely at the Balrog's face. But the Balrog was quick, managing to block with its arm. Bang, bang—two shockwaves exploded, and the Balrog, caught off guard, barely managed a frantic defense.
It roared, swinging a fist at midair so hard the air twisted in its wake. But Jill's third kick suddenly softened, slipping through the defenses like a phantom, and tapped lightly on the Balrog's forehead.
Smack! Like a bullet hitting steel, sparks flew from the Balrog's forehead, and it staggered back, unharmed. Jill's Supreme Skill was still a bit weak against an ancient Balrog. But she wasn't aiming to hurt—using the rebound, she flipped over the Balrog's head and landed behind it.
Smack, smack! Two jade hands grabbed the Balrog's horns from behind. Jill Young's power surged, dragon shadows flickered along her arms, and she rooted herself, using small to fight big. With a shout, she hoisted the Balrog clean off the ground. One turn, one kick—she threw the Balrog in a textbook suplex, sending it flying.
Whoosh! The Balrog shot through the air, tearing up the wind like a cannonball, sailing through the long doorway and straight into Sauron's Tower—the same place it came from.
"You two keep the winged one busy, I'm going to deal with the flaming guy." Jill Young grabbed her Sunblade Core with a clang, then flashed away in a streak of light, chasing after the Balrog.
Midair, the Balrog chanted in ancient tongue, summoning hellish magic. The air cushioned its fall, soaking up the force layer by layer. When it reached the deepest hall of Sauron's Tower, it spun and steadied itself. Just as it was about to land, a crimson fist punched down from above, straight at its head.
Boom! Deep inside Sauron's Tower, flames exploded, and a gust of wind and dust roared out through the doorway.
Outside the tower, Jasper Xiao wiped sweat from his brow and muttered, "Honestly, shouldn't we shove the winged one into a tight space first? What if it—look, it's flying up! I'm outta here!"
Jasper rolled away, barely dodging a sword slash from above. He glanced at the deep chasm left behind, sweating even more. "Man, this guy's a beast in aerial combat! Can we even hold it off? What if it ignores us and—look, it's cutting through the minion line! Why am I so good at jinxing things today? Where's the Skybreaker Cannon? Did we bring the Skybreaker Cannon?"
"Skybreaker Cannon won't help." Teacher Yang saw through it all. "It's like a giant magnet, constantly drawing hellish energy from the void. Here, with unlimited hell energy, it's practically immortal. With a body that tough, blasting it with the Skybreaker Cannon won't do much."
"Huh? So what do we do?" The enemy has high attack, high defense, fast healing, and infinite mana buffs—how are we supposed to beat that?
"Don't worry. Jill Young isn't just out to kill a Balrog. We just need to buy time."
"Oh, so there's a plan. Good—when did you guys even make a plan?"
"We didn't. Just focus on your own job." Teacher Yang smiled, calm and confident. "Right now, beating it is nearly impossible. But holding it off? There's a simple way."
"What's the way?"
"Run."
"Run?"
"Run toward Sauron. Ignore everything else—head for the main force."