“That dragon and I share a blood feud. You’re not appealing to the dragon, Bilbo. He won’t lose his composure over a hobbit he’s never encountered before. Garrett won’t work either. He can match the dragon blow for blow, if he suddenly fled, that would certainly arouse suspicion.”

Thorin stood among the company.

“Only I, I am the true heir to the throne of Durin, and I shall one day return as King under the Mountain. I alone am the one it would desperately wish to destroy, the only one it would never pass up an opportunity to kill.”

“And only I can drive it to madness.”

A trace of wild fury flickered in Thorin’s eyes.

Garrett observed all of this carefully.

Yes, Thorin wasn’t wrong, but the reverse was also true. The dragon could drive the heir to the dwarven throne to madness just as easily. From the moment they had entered the Lonely Mountain, he had been drawing ever closer to madness. The curse that haunted this land had already wrapped itself tightly around him.

When he truly claimed his throne, his greed might even exceed that of the dragon itself.

If that was the case, then let the madness come in full.

“Garrett, what are your thoughts?”

After explaining the plan, Thorin asked with customary deference, just as they had once consulted Gandalf.

“Go for it.”

Garrett gave his firm approval, and directed the dwarves to circle around to the corridor through the passage he’d dug out earlier. They successfully completed assembly of the wind lance.

At the end of the tunnel, Bard examined the expertly crafted, even refurbished, siege weapon before him and the black arrow in his hand. He took a few deep breaths and waited silently.

“You fire-breathing maggot!”

A sudden shout echoed from the far side of the passage. Smaug’s initial reaction was that the irritating “Steve” had returned, but when he turned around, he paused, then released a sinister laugh.

“Well, well, what have we here? If it isn’t the last heir of the craven line of Durin, Thorin Oakenshield!”

“What brings you here? Grown weary of wandering the world doing menial labor? Finally come to meet your doom?”

Smaug gave up guarding the hole in front of him and began moving slowly toward Thorin. With each massive step, the ground trembled beneath the dwarf’s feet, yet he stood his ground, meeting the dragon’s gaze unflinchingly.

“You believe finding some warrior from distant lands is sufficient to drive out the mighty Smaug? You are nothing but a coward, a disgrace to all dwarf-kind!”

“What did you say, you bloated, sluggish worm with an addled brain?”

Thorin finally put his talent for provocation to proper use. Unable to contain his royal fury any longer, he shouted even louder, “You false usurper, corpulent maggot wallowing in filth, you cannot even comprehend the meaning of true worth! You possess no bloodline, no noble birth, no right to rule over anything! Only I, the rightful King under the Mountain, have the authority to sit upon that throne!”

“Hahahaha! Did you pull that pathetic speech from your rear? It still reeks!”

While laughing, Smaug continued his approach, preparing to slowly deal with this dwarf who had come seeking death.

Bang!

Suddenly, several flash bombs were hurled by Thorin, striking directly at the dragon’s eyes and exploding in brilliant light and clouds of smoke. But neither the brightness nor the explosion made the dragon even blink. His long neck merely merely flinched back slightly on instinct.

“These trivial parlor tricks again? I grow bored of this. Why don’t you attempt something original?”

Smaug’s belly suddenly blazed crimson. With a thunderous roar, he breathed forth a torrent of flame. Thorin immediately dove around the corner, sprinting nonstop toward the forge.

As Smaug turned the corner, preparing to unleash an even more devastating blast, Thorin shouted, “Now!”

The dwarves concealed in the shadows pulled their levers. Instantly, torrents of water rushed from above, crashing down on Smaug and extinguishing the fire building in his gullet.

“Excellent. Now you’re truly beginning to vex me.”

Boom boom boom.

The dragon’s footsteps quickened. His massive head lunged forward, pursuing Thorin relentlessly.

At the far end of the forge, Thorin hurled two more flash bombs, again striking the dragon’s skull and drawing its attention.

Clang!

A massive iron gate crashed open. He darted through to take cover, just as several enormous boulders dropped from above where he had been standing, smashing heavily onto Smaug’s head.

“You believe that can harm me? How predictable. I’ve endured far worse!”

“How has it taken everything before?”

High above in the forge, Fíli scratched his head. These traps, they’d only just thought them up!

The dwarves’ coordinated assault had proven ineffective, but Smaug was already losing interest. He charged at the gate through which Thorin had escaped, folded his wings close, and plunged inside. His belly glowed crimson, prepared to unleash death the moment he saw his target.

Indeed, from beginning to end, it had all been mere sport to him. He had never once believed the dwarves possessed any means of truly harming him. If they had, they wouldn’t have been driven from the Mountain in the first place.

Still, one thing did catch him off guard.

“He comes.”

The rushing wind and tremendous noise surged from the tunnel entrance, striking Bard full in the face.

A colossal shadow rapidly approached. Talons like tempered steel scraped against the walls as the dragon dove straight down the passage.

“Another mortal?”

“You believe your weapons will work?”

Instinctively, Smaug began speaking in the dragon-tongue, attempting to influence this human, who smelled slightly different.

But Bard never once removed his gaze from the dragon’s exposed chest. His focus was absolute.

At this moment, everything beyond his target ceased to exist.

Finally, when Smaug entered optimal range, he acted, but instead of immediately employing the wind lance, he first drew the longbow from his back.

Whoosh.

A regular arrow shot toward Smaug, and almost simultaneously, Bard triggered the wind lance, launching the black arrow like a ballista bolt.

Clack.

The ordinary arrow struck precisely at the arrowhead lodged between Smaug’s scales, dislodging it and exposing the bare, vulnerable flesh beneath.

At that exact instant, before Smaug could react, the black arrow followed through and drove deep into his heart without mercy.

“Urgh… AAAAAAAHH—!!!”

Molten, lava-like blood erupted from the dragon’s maw. With a thunderous crash, all strength fled from Smaug’s form. His jaws gaped wide as though he sought to speak, but judging by the fury on his face, his final words would not have been pleasant.

[-900]

[100/1000]

[Status Effects: Severe Hemorrhaging, Life Drain]

No doubt, a dragon-slaying weapon through and through. Incredibly effective.

Having landed the blow, Bard quickly rolled to the side and dove into a two-meter-high tunnel to avoid being crushed by the dragon’s crashing dive.

“Garrett!”

He called out.

“I’m here.”

Just as Bard took cover, Garrett emerged from another passage. He downed a Strength II potion, gripped his longsword firmly, and leaped down from above.

At this point, the dragon was nearly spent, thrashing weakly, claws scraping against stone with diminishing force. Even at death’s door, it remained fearsome, each of its random thrashes packed a force that would crush any ordinary warrior. But no matter how desperately it struggled, it could not escape Garrett’s blade.

Standing directly before the dying dragon, he struck again and again, delivering the final blows to the hundred-meter-long beast.

Each strike dealt greater damage than the last. Basic Sword Technique scaled with combo hits. Once locked onto a target, each successful attack enhanced the next, building up to a devastating twelve-hit combination.

Smaug could neither flee nor regenerate. He could only endure the full brunt of Garrett’s assault.

At last, as the combo reached its peak, Garrett delivered a final thrust that dealt a massive 30 points of damage.

Clang!

With irresistible force, the blade pierced through the gap in Smaug’s jaw, severing the final thread of life from the dragon.

The light faded from his golden eyes. His limbs lost all strength.

And thus, Smaug the Mighty, last of the great Fire-drakes, was no more.

…Or was he?

System notifications appeared one after another:

[Achievement Unlocked: “Dragon Slayer”]

[Achievement Unlocked: “Liberation of Erebor”]

[Title Unlocked: Dragonsbane]

“Is it… over?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep