Chapter 268: Contract Completed, Face the Dragon
Aaron walked up to Thorin, pulled out the arkenstone, and said, "Now it's time to fulfill the contract."
"The arkenstone." Thorin swallowed with difficulty.
"One-fifteenth of Erebor's treasure is my reward, no problem, right?"
"Heh heh!" Thorin gave a bitter laugh, "Does it still matter now?"
"Of course it does," Aaron said with absolute certainty.
"Gaius, Master Baggins, I am very grateful to Gandalf for recommending you two companions to me.
If it weren't for you, we might have died on the journey long ago, never reaching the Lonely Mountain, never opening the secret door, and perhaps not even surviving.
It's an honor to have friends like you, but I still have to apologize; the contract probably cannot be completed for now.
Smaug is still alive, and he will not give up Erebor's wealth. Even if I wanted to give it to you, I would be powerless."
"What it thinks isn't important; what's important is your decision." Aaron raised the arkenstone, which glowed with a milky white light, "One-fifteenth of the treasure."
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about money?" Bilbolooked at Aaron, frustrated, "Lake-town is about to be destroyed."
Aaron ignored him, looking at Thorin with solemnity, "Whether or not I can get the treasure from the Dragon is another matter.
You just need to tell me if you are willing to acknowledge that one-fifteenth of Erebor's wealth is mine."
Thorin looked at the arkenstone in Aaron's hand, silently nodding.
They were no match for Smaug, but as long as Thorininherited the throne, he could gather the Dwarf army. Then, they could kill it and reclaim Erebor.
"Then..." Aaron placed the arkenstone in Thorin's hand, "The contract is complete."
After speaking, he focused his attention on the first system quest: [Complete the contract with the Dwarves; Reward 1000 magic points], and decisively claimed the one thousand magic points.
"Aaron," Bilbo shook his head, speechless, "Don't forget, Smaug isn't dead yet!"
"It will die soon," Aaron said meaningfully, "I've arranged everything. Lake-town will be Smaug's burial place."
"Are you joking?"
"If you don't believe me, we can find a place to watch the battle.
If all goes as planned, it won't see tomorrow morning's sun."
Everyone:... "It's here." The thought form opened its eyes, turned to Tauriel, and said, "Take them downstairs and don't leave the range of the magic circle."
Bofur looked at the flames rising on the Lonely Mountain and couldn't help but worry, "I hope Thorin and the others are alright."
"They're still alive, not one dead, not even injured."
"How do you know?" Kili asked, puzzled.
"Don't underestimate a Wizard. I am the most outstanding heir of the Gaius Family in a hundred years," the thought form said with some arrogance, "You should go now; I can't look after you anymore."
"Aaron," Bain called out to him, "I'm entrusting my father to you."
The thought form made an OK gesture, turned to look at the clock tower outside the window, and Apparated over.
Everyone in the house stared wide-eyed as Aaron suddenly disappeared.
Bain and his sister were fine; they had seen the magic circle today and quickly recovered. Tauriel had also witnessed the power of the Patronus Charm in Mirkwood and could barely accept Aaron's method of movement.
The three Dwarves, however, exchanged glances. After traveling together for more than half a year, they seemed to have never truly understood Aaron; he was mysteriously limitless.
"Let's go!" Tauriel picked up her bow and arrows and weapons, leading the six people in the house to hide within the defensive magic circle beneath the house... At the clock tower.
The thought form Apparated next to Bard, startling him.
"You... do Wizards have such methods?"
"There's a lot you don't know." The thought form shrugged, "How are the preparations coming along?"
Bard took a deep breath, watching the oppressive dark shadow in the sky draw closer. His solemn face held a hint of determination, "The Black Arrow is already loaded onto the wind-crossbow, but the trump card cannot be used lightly.
Once Smaug is on guard, the difficulty of killing it will increase countless times."
The thought form nodded inwardly; he had also received memories from his main body.
Smaug was not only incredibly powerful but also unbelievably cunning. No amount of caution was too much.
The residents of Lake-town heard the Dragon's roar and rushed out of their homes.
The flames on the Lonely Mountain made them feel a long-forgotten fear, especially as they saw the Dragon drawing closer. They finally realized what kind of disaster Lake-townwas about to face.
The Dragon's silhouette hovered in the dark clouds, the whistling of the strong wind like the scythe of death.
Some elders who had witnessed Smaug's power trembled all over at this moment, the shadow of doomsday instantly clouding their hearts.
Facing death that could fall upon them at any moment, the townspeople unhesitatingly abandoned their craving for gold and fled in panic.
The few wooden boats became hot commodities, and the river became extremely crowded. As for the unfortunate people who couldn't get on a boat, they could only hide in the corners of houses, praying not to be noticed by the Dragon, or directly jumped into the icy Lake, desperately swimming to the opposite bank.
"If only they had known this earlier!" Bard sighed helplessly.
"No need to feel guilty; this is the price they must pay for their wrong decisions." The thought form, however, was unfazed, "Foolish people always die the fastest, no matter when.
And this day was bound to come; you just chose to selectively forget.
Actually, I admire you for daring to be neighbors with a Dragon for so many years. That sense of Luck mentality is truly... unparalleled."
"We really have nowhere to go," Bard said with a self-deprecating laugh.
"Come on!" The thought form scoffed, "If you want to leave, you can always leave, but if you're unwilling, whose fault is that?"
"Is that your mayor?" The thought form watched with interest a boat below laden with gold. The mayor and Alfredstood on it, directing several guards to row away.
Bard turned his face away in disgust; it was utterly shameful. Having such a mayor was definitely the biggest blemish in the lives of Lake-town residents.
"Impressive, still carrying so much money at a time like this. But at this speed, everyone else will have escaped before they even get out of the river."
But the next moment, the mayor kicked his lackey into the river, reducing the weight of the boat by one person.
The thought form's mouth twitched slightly, and he turned to look at Bard, whose expression was equally vivid, "Doesn't that feel especially satisfying?"
Bard opened his mouth, about to say something, when Smaug roared and flew down.
The fierce Dragon flame instantly destroyed a corner of Lake-town, and many residents were reduced to ashes.
"It's our turn." Bard immediately drew his bow and arrow, firing an arrow at Smaug.
Clang!
The arrow struck Smaug's belly but was deflected by its hard Dragon scales, causing zero damage.
"It's useless. Unless you hit its weak point, this kind of arrow can't even break its defense."
"I know, but I can't just stand by and watch." Bard said, firing several more arrows, "Distracting it might give more people a chance to escape."
The thought form:... Standing next to you is really high-risk.
"Forget it, I'll help you. If you want to attract attention, you have to do it like this." The thought form took a deep breath, drew the string of another bow, and aimed at Smaug's right eye, which was continuously spewing flames.
Ding!
The iron arrow rapidly enlarged in Smaug's vertical pupil. It instinctively closed its eye, blocking the arrow with its eyelid.
"Who?" Smaug roared furiously.
It could ignore the previous arrows, but it wasn't that it didn't care; it wanted to enjoy the despair of humans before they died.
But this arrow was too much. If it had been hit, it might not have become a one-eyed Dragon, but being blind for a while would have been unavoidable.
"See? That's what you call skill," the thought form said proudly.
Bard was speechless. This skill was very useful, but he wasn't sure he could learn it.
"It's you?" Smaug looked at Aaron on the clock tower in surprise, "No, you can't be faster than me.
What is your relationship with the Dragon Speaker? Are you twins?"
Aaron immediately gave Bard a look, then smiled at Smaug, switching to Dragon Language: "Is there a possibility that I am him?"
Smaug was stunned, a flicker of thought crossing its cold pupils.
The scent was the same, the movements were the same, the expression was the same, even the tone of voice was the same playful irreverence, and it was in Dragon Language.
Smaug immediately became wary, "How did you—"
Before 'get here' could be uttered, it heard a sharp whooshing sound, followed by a frantic warning in its mind, and its body reacted instinctively.
"This is trouble now." This thought simultaneously flashed through Bard's and the thought form's minds.
Ding!
A dark green scale was shot and dented.
Smaug felt as if it had been pricked by a needle, its massive body shuddering.
It noticed Bard, who was operating the wind-crossbow, but even the Black Arrow fired from the wind-crossbow at most caused it pain; it never felt a fatal threat. So where did this threat come from?
It touched the scale that had been hit, surprisingly finding the texture was off. Reflecting it on the Lake's surface, it finally saw a small area on its left chest that wasn't covered by scales. It immediately realized something and let out an angry roar heavenward.
It sneered at the two, "That human from back then left me with this tiny flaw. Is this what you're planning?"
"Asking the obvious," the thought form rolled its eyes.
"Too bad, you've lost your only chance.
What about the golden armor? Thorin Oakenshield's imaginative idea is enough to compensate for this defect." Smaug said, its belly turning red, "But I don't want others to know, so please, just die!"
Boom!
Blazing Dragon breath spewed forth, the flames streaking directly towards the clock tower.
Just then, a white magic circle suddenly appeared, and a transparent spherical barrier enveloped the clock tower, separating the flames.
"Phew!"
The thought form let out a heavy sigh of relief; the Ultimate Defensive magic Circle had indeed not disappointed him.
"Interesting magic," Smaug murmured in surprise, then looked at Aaron with interest, "But how many times can you block it?"