Chapter 611
Smaug the Dragon
Chapter 611 Smaug the Dragon
Lonely Mountain Castle is a magnificent fortress built by the dwarven ancestors who hollowed out the entire Lonely Mountain. This makes the castle a single, unified structure, and it is difficult to find any other way to enter except through the main gate.
"The castle gates are completely sealed off. It will probably take a lot of effort to get in and cause trouble for Smaug..." The Elf Prince Legolas commented after observing the main gate of the castle.
Then, Aragorn, Sophia, and the others went up to inspect the Lonely Mountain Stone Gate, and then they all shook their heads.
“There are two ways to get into Lonely Mountain: one is to carve out a side door from the side, and the other is to dig a tunnel underground…” Having spent several years in the Northern Highlands, Aragorn had some knowledge and, after thinking for a moment, gave two suggestions.
However, he then cautioned, "Both of these methods of entering Lonely Mountain will cause quite a commotion, so the most likely scenario is that we will awaken the evil dragon sleeping inside before we even enter Lonely Mountain."
Smaug, the last dragon of Middle-earth, was no ordinary dragon; he destroyed the kingdom of Dale in a very short time.
Therefore, waking it would mean disaster.
"How about we rest for one night and make plans again tomorrow..." Sophia suggested, looking at the setting sun.
Mike and his group had been delayed in Long Lake Town for some time, and it was now approaching evening.
"No need for all that trouble~" Seeing that everyone was at a loss, Mike walked directly to the stone door, stretched out his hand, and unleashed the power of flames.
The flames, imbued with both holy and dark power, instantly blasted a large hole in the stone gate.
"Is this the power of the Healer? Now I finally believe that you have the ability to destroy Smaug." Bard looked at the five-meter-thick stone slab in front of him that was casually smashed through, and his eyes were filled with respect as he looked at Mike again.
If we were to ask who among the group was most concerned about Lonely Mountain's situation, it would undoubtedly be Bard.
After all, in his view, if others couldn't fight Smaug, they could simply choose to leave.
However, once Bud became the mayor of Lake-town, he needed to consider the interests of all the residents of Lake-town.
He did not want to provoke Smaug, the dragon of Lonely Mountain, if circumstances allowed.
Having witnessed Mike's power, Bard had even more confidence in dealing with the threat of Smaug the dragon.
“So this is your true strength. No wonder you were able to destroy Yama in Moria…” Aragorn looked at Mike with burning eyes and said, “Could you please hold off for a moment and let us go and meet that evil dragon first?”
It should be noted that the Yama in the Moria Mines is no less powerful or terrifying than the evil dragon in Lonely Mountain.
If the rumors about Mike defeating Yamato are true, then he must also be capable of defeating Smaug, the evil dragon in Lonely Mountain.
Before that, however, Aragorn wanted to test Smaug's strength to see how he had grown over the years.
The Elf Prince and Bard, who were standing nearby, also had the same idea.
One of them wanted to prove that he was no less than the dwarves, while the other wanted to take this opportunity to restore the glory of his grandfather, Gillian.
Of those present, only Sophia and her team of rangers didn't seem to think that much about it.
"Do whatever you want..." Mike looked at the men in front of him, whose fighting spirit had been ignited, and reminded them, "But please note that you only have one chance."
Being a "nanny" is fine, but Mike doesn't have the habit of being a nanny all the time.
Therefore, if Aragorn and the others are truly incapable, he will naturally choose to intervene.
Meanwhile, deep within Lonely Mountain, in a warehouse filled with gold coins and gems, Smaug, whose sleep had been disturbed, suddenly opened his eyes.
His enormous vertical pupils were filled with violence and cruelty, as well as the rage of being woken up for no reason.
"There's a crawler here, daring to disturb my sleep..."
Smaug got up, shook off the gold coins and jewels hanging on his body, and, still grumpy from being woken up, spread his wings and flew towards the Lonely Mountain Palace.
On the other side, the group that entered Lonely Mountain Castle was stunned by the scene before them.
The spacious castle follows the dwarves' usual rugged aesthetic, while the ground is paved with countless molten gold pieces.
The extravagant act of using gold as a floor surprised even the elven prince, who disliked treasure, with the generosity of the dwarven ancestors.
“No wonder that dragon has taken over this place. With such wealth on Lonely Mountain, I don’t think anyone would be unmoved…” Aragorn exclaimed, then drew his Noldor sword from his waist and said, “Where should we go next to find that dragon?”
Clearly, while Aragorn was filled with admiration, his lofty ambitions prevented him from being blinded by the wealth before him.
“I’ve heard that the dragon Smaug is very fond of gold coins. Perhaps we should go and check out the dwarves’ treasure vault…” Then, the elven prince Legolas, who had returned to normal, took the longbow from his back.
This is clearly preparation for the battle to come.
On the contrary, Bade, who cared about the residents of Changhu Town, was captivated by the wealth before him.
However, he quickly regained his senses and gripped the black arrow in his hand again.
Just as the group entered the Lonely Mountain Hall, preparing to venture deeper, Mike called out to them, reminding them, "There's no need to go any further; the enemy is already upon us!"
Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, a blast of scorching air blew in from above the main hall.
"I wondered who was so bold as to come, but it turns out to be a team of elves, half-elves, and humans. What, have all the dwarves of Middle-earth died out?"
Over a hundred meters long, resembling a giant lizard clinging to a massive stone pillar above, Smaug was looking down at the crowd with a mocking gaze.
As he spoke, sparks kept spitting out of his mouth.
"Smaug!!!"
The group was initially startled by the dragon's appearance, but the rangers brought by Sophia threw their grappling hooks at it.
It is evident that the wandering knights who dared to venture into Lonely Mountain not only possessed strong mental fortitude but also considerable skill.
On the other side, the Elf Prince was even faster than the rangers. He leaped several times on the stone pillars and reached the top of the hall.
At the same time, he also fired a series of arrows from his elven longbow.
"It's no use...it's no use...you ants can't hurt the great Smaug..."
The dragon, covered in thick scales, deflected all the grappling hooks thrown by the rangers without doing anything, and then, in the blink of an eye, deflected the arrow the elven prince shot at its eye with its eyelids.
Then, Smaug spread his enormous wings, whipping up gusts of wind that sent the rangers below staggering about.
"Haha... Look at your pathetic state, how weak you are! How dare you provoke the great Lord Smaug of Lonely Mountain..."
Perhaps because he hadn't encountered humans in a long time, Smaug was amused by the comical behavior of the ranger team below, and even felt a bit playful.
"A great opportunity!"
Taking advantage of the dragon's carelessness, Aragorn, wielding the Elven sword, climbed onto Smaug's back from the side, and then, together with the Elven prince who leaped down from the height, they both reached the top of Smaug's head.
After exchanging a glance, the two men, with perfect coordination, simultaneously used their swords and arrows to stab at the dragon's eyes.
"Pfft... pfft..."
With two muffled thuds, Aragorn's sword and the Elf Prince's arrow seemed to pierce through hard leather, unable to advance any further.
At the crucial moment, Smaug closed his eyes again, using his eyelids to block Aragorn and the Elven prince's sneak attack.
"Damn elves and humans, you will pay for your actions!"
Although his eyes were not injured, when Smaug opened them again, they were bloodshot and filled with tears, clearly indicating that Aragorn and the Elven prince's sneak attack had not been entirely ineffective.
At least it made the dragon feel some pain.
Then, the two of them were thrown off their heads by the enraged Smaug, and the dragon also leaped down from the pillar, its two thick hind claws stomping on the two of them.
Fortunately, Aragorn and the Elf Prince were no ordinary men. With their agile skills, they both dodged the dragon's trampling. The Elf Prince even used one hand to brace himself against the ground, performing a dolphin backflip to create distance from the dragon, while simultaneously drawing his bow and arrow to launch a surprise attack on Smaug's eye.
"Awooo~ You despicable elves!!!"
The dragon, whose eyes had been severely injured, could only roar and turn its head away.
This gave the rangers a chance to regroup. They pulled on their grappling hooks and circled the dragon, coiling the hooked chains around its thick hind legs.
Aragorn seized the opportunity and rushed to Smaug's side again, wielding his elven sword and slashing at the dragon relentlessly.
"I've already told you, you can't possibly hurt me..."
Smaug, unharmed by his tough scales, first swatted Aragorn away with a claw after the Elven prince emptied his quiver, then flew low and circled twice, throwing off the rangers who were holding onto the chains one by one.
Amid screams and cries of agony, many rangers were severely injured in the scuffle. Aragorn, who had been the first to be sent flying, lay on the ground, unable to rise again.
Seeing this, Mike, who was in charge of providing cover, quickly gathered his divine power to pull the injured people behind him, and then threw a ball of healing power at each of them.
"What are you waiting for?" Just as Mike was about to make his move, the Elf Prince went to Bard, who was holding a black arrow and had been preparing all along.
As for the half-elf Sophia, she was very self-aware and stayed obediently by Mike's side from the beginning, without any intention of participating in the battle.
It can be said that, apart from Mike and the half-elf, everyone's hopes are now pinned on Bard.
"Did you see that? The reverse scale on the dragon's belly..." Bard, who was finally drawing his bow and nocking an arrow in a state of deep concentration, seemed to be talking to himself or communicating with the elf prince.
“A scale? It seems that Smaug is indeed missing a scale on its belly.” After being reminded, the Elf Prince Legolas quickly noticed that there was a palm-sized gap on the belly of the dragon Smaug near its heart.
This discovery greatly encouraged the Elf Prince, but he soon discovered that his quiver was empty.
So they could only watch helplessly as Bard, carrying only a black arrow, aimed it at the triumphant Smaug as he returned.
“My grandfather Girion did not lie. He did indeed shoot the dragon Smaug, and was only one arrow away from killing him…” Bard’s expression grew more and more serious as the dragon drew closer.
Clearly, after so many years, he longed to help his grandfather, Gillian, shoot that crucial final arrow to restore the name of the Valley Kingdom.
"Humble humans, have you witnessed the power of the great Smaug?! Fear it!! Tremble!!!"
On the other side, having taught the annoying ranger party and Aragorn a lesson, Smaug seemed to be in a good mood, spreading his wings to show off his power while preparing to enjoy the amusing expressions of human cowardice and fear.
Just then, a black arrow whistled through the air and, before the dragon could react, struck precisely the gap in its belly scales.
"Ow~"
With a tremendous howl, the dragon Smaug collapsed to the ground, then rolled several times in agony.
The enormous commotion shook the entire hall.
"Bard, you did it!!! No wonder you're the best archer in Laketown!"
"This evil dragon that has plagued the Central Plains for many years is finally going to die..."
"..."
Seeing the dragon Smaug howling in pain, the Elf Prince Legolas and Aragorn, among others, praised Bard.
“No, something’s not right…” Bard, who had shot the black arrow from the crowd, looked increasingly grave.
Logically speaking, a dragon whose heart has been pierced should die instantly, instead of struggling and panting on the ground like this.
Therefore, there is only one answer: although the black arrow struck the dragon's Achilles' heel, it did not pierce its heart.
"Humans...you have truly enraged me this time..."
Smaug's subsequent actions proved Bard's suspicions true.
Although trembling with pain, the dragon, having endured the initial agony, used its forepaws to pull out the black arrow that had penetrated nearly halfway into its body.
After throwing the black arrow that had nearly killed him to the ground, Smaug's eyes were bloodshot when he looked up again.
"Prepare to meet Smaug's wrath!! I will send you to hell in flames!!!"
Having narrowly escaped death before, Smaug had no time for playing around. When it got serious, its entire body burst into orange-red flames.
Finally, these flames were gathered at the throat, ready to be unleashed at any moment.
"Sure enough, without the wind crossbow, the black arrows are much less powerful..."
Bard, who had only brought a hard bow with him at the last minute, realized his mistake.
Caught in deep guilt, he even forgot to dodge Smaug's attack.
"This is not the time to be spacing out... Get out of the way..."
Realizing the situation was dire, the Elf Prince and Aragorn simultaneously lunged at Bard, intending to pull him aside to avoid trouble.
However, the dragon Smaug was able to wreak havoc in Middle-earth for many years because of his innate fire abilities.
Furthermore, this time it attacked in anger, and the flames that had been compressed to the extreme were spewed out and instantly spread throughout the entire hall.
The Elf Prince and Aragorn, who had escaped the blaze by lying on the ground, even felt that the aftershocks of the flames were almost setting their hair and clothes ablaze.
However, the situation isn't much better now. If the flames burn any longer, they'll be roasted into jerky sooner or later.
Just then, Mike, who was in charge of finishing up, leaped up and used his fire affinity to catch the flames spewed out by the dragon Smaug.
In the end, the flames that filled the sky were once again condensed and compressed into a small, bright red ball in his hand.
"You like playing with fire, huh? Here you go~"
Amidst the provocation, Mike threw the fireball back into Smaug's mouth, which hadn't yet closed.
"Woo...Woo..."
With a frustrated groan, the fireball finally exploded inside Smaug's belly.
Then, amidst a series of coughs, the dragon Smaug spewed out a large amount of black smoke, along with some blood fragments.
Judging from its appearance, this dragon does not have high fire resistance. After being burned by its own fire ability, it suffered serious internal injuries.
"Very well, you just wait... If I can't deal with you, surely I can handle other humans~"
Smaug, having been thwarted once again, angrily grabbed several stone pillars and hurled them at Bud and the others. After holding Mike back, it quickly flew out of the palace.
Clearly, Smaug, who had plagued Middle-earth for many years, was actually a cowardly dragon who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
After suffering a great loss with Mike and his group, they wanted to take their anger out on the ordinary people of Middle-earth.
No, we can't let it leave!
Bud, who was rescued by Mike again, clearly heard Smaug's words before he left.
Then it quickly dawned on them that Changhu Town, only a dozen kilometers away, would probably become the perfect target for the evil dragon's anger.
"Don't worry, it can't escape."
After offering Bud a word of comfort, Mike also flew out of the hall.
(End of this chapter)