The Style of That Arrow

"Caslo! Pass down the word, tell everyone to harass the evil dragon and create an opening for Bard."

"Right! Tell the lads... they're brave, make sure they protect themselves." Roland stopped Caslo, who was turning to leave, and urged him with concern.

"Tell them to focus their attacks below the left flank, there are loose scales there. And don't forget to tell them not to hold back, they must use the best Star Silver Steel Armor-Piercing Arrows!" Roland shouted his reminders at Caslo's retreating back.

"Honestly... you don't act like a lord... more like an old woman with a million things to nag about," Bard said, looking at Roland with a strange expression.

"As the last lord of Lagrange... I must be responsible for my people!" Roland stated firmly.

"But, where exactly is Lagrange?" Bard couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"In the distant East... she has long since perished..." Roland clearly didn't want to continue the topic.

Seeing Roland fall silent, Bard thought he had been reminded of painful memories and knew the suffering of losing one's home. But Roland remained silent because he couldn't explain! Was he supposed to tell Bard: Hey man, the Lagrange Empire appeared in Middle-earth at the end of the Fourth Age, and its territory included all of Rhûn and more than half of Rhovanion?

"I hope your archery is precise enough, otherwise... we'll just have to chop him!" Roland said, glancing at Bard as he drew the Dragon-slaying Sword.

"What is this?" Bard asked, marveling at the shimmering Dragon-slaying Sword.

"An ancestral weapon... this sword has slain countless Great Dragons, it's nothing like a Wyvern such as Smaug!" Roland looked at Bard as if he were a country bumpkin.

"Let's go! We'll take down the Dwarven Spear Thrower," Roland suddenly said.

"Or how else do you plan to use this thing? Throw it by hand?" Roland pointed at the Black Arrow in Bard's hand.

"Hiyah!" Roland and Bard strained as they managed to haul the Dwarven Spear Thrower down with ropes.

"Hide it well, don't let it get destroyed, or we'll have to run for it," Roland said, patting the heavy crossbow with its four bow arms.

"I am fire, I am—death!" the enraged Smaug flew towards Lake-town.

"The dragon is here!" a Bannaria Archer on watch roared.

"Fire!" Several archers around shouted in unison.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~" The Star Silver Steel Armor-Piercing Arrows whistled off the bowstrings, hurtling towards the evil dragon.

"Clang! Ding! Sss!" Several armor-piercing arrows were deflected, and only one lucky shot managed to hit the gap between two of Smaug's scales.

"Roar! Damn ants! You actually managed to wound me!" Smaug roared in anger. The armor-piercing arrows, about a meter long, couldn't penetrate deeply even if they pierced the dragonhide; to the colossal evil dragon, it felt like being pricked by a needle. But for Smaug, it was a deeply humiliating event, as his proud defenses were ruthlessly trampled by insignificant human archers.

"Hoo~" A scorching Dragon Breath swept over, and a pillar of fire tens of meters long descended upon them.

"Escape!" Several archers flipped off the wooden tower, some diving into the water, others darting into alleys.

"Fire!" Smaug skimmed over Lake-town, and a dozen archers along the route seized the opportunity to attack.

"Roar!" A few more Star Silver Steel Armor-Piercing Arrows pierced the tough Dragon Scales, penetrating less than three inches into the flesh before losing momentum and hanging on the dragon's body.

"Damn it! Retreat! Its hide is too thick! We can't pierce it!" a Bannaria Archer shouted to the archers on his left and right, watching Smaug circle back for a dive.

"Boom!" Just as they moved away, the overwhelming Dragon Flames engulfed their position.

"Sir! This thing is too tough to kill! Is this a Wyvern? This is more shameless than a Great Dragon!" Caslo returned, covered in dust and grime. The black marks on his armor showed that the young man had just taken a direct hit of Dragon Breath.

"How about I go fight him?" Caslo whispered.

"Do you think the two of you dragons are proportional in size? You'd just be a target," Roland looked at him with the pity one reserves for a fool.

"Tell the brothers! If you run out of arrows, you can retreat!" Roland instructed.

"If they stay, they'll only be a nuisance, and the armor-piercing arrows are too short..." Roland sighed helplessly as he looked at Smaug rampaging in the sky.

"Bard! Don't do anything reckless!" Roland quickly pushed Bard back as he saw him preparing the heavy crossbow.

"Do you think this is the right time?" Roland grabbed him and shouted.

"We only have one shot, Bard!" Roland said heavily.

"We need to make him fall! Think of your ancestor! Only when he falls do we have a chance!" Roland sighed.

"Damn it!" Bard punched the wall.

"Look, what have we done?" Bilbo said painfully, looking at the burning Lake-town.

"Poor people..." Balin murmured softly.

Behind them, a group of Dwarves sat slumped or leaned against the battlements, all with pained expressions. The fire raging in the distance in Lake-town illuminated their faces. However, thanks to Roland, Lake-town was much better off than in history; at least no civilians had perished in the dragonfire.

Only Thorin stood facing the Lonely Mountain, lost in thought. Bilbo watched Thorin, his brow furrowed, and said nothing.

"My arrows are gone!" a Bannaria Archer, who had been drawing his bow frantically, habitually reached into his quiver for another arrow, only to find it empty.

"I only have 2 left!"

"Mine are gone too!"

"I have 5 here, let's share them!"

Similar scenes unfolded throughout Lake-town. Archers who had run out of arrows began moving towards the outskirts of the town, pulling out small wooden boats they had hidden in various corners, and rowing out into the lake under the cover of night.

"It seems the archers have basically run out of arrows..." Caslo said helplessly, watching the increasingly sparse lights of arrows in the sky.

Smaug was still venting his fury in the sky, wildly breathing fire in all directions as if showing off. The scorching dragon flames boiled the water in many of the town's waterways.

"Sir! The archers should have all retreated!" Caslo found Roland and Bard.

Roland looked closely and saw only three Bannaria Archers behind Caslo. The other archers had either left or sacrificed themselves to the dragon's breath...

"Bard! String your bow! We'll go attract Smaug's attention!" Roland patted Bard on the shoulder and led everyone out of the alley.

At this moment, Smaug was covered in hundreds of sharp arrows, his wing membranes riddled with holes... Although he looked disheveled, he didn't even have a scratch.

"Shoot him!" Roland commanded.

"Clang, clang~" A crisp sound echoed off Smaug's scales. Smaug was immediately enraged by this resistance and turned his head to pounce on Roland and the others.

"Boom!" He landed heavily, his massive body crushing a row of houses. He angrily strode towards Roland's group.

"Whoosh~"

"..." Several Bannaria Archers surrounded Roland and Caslo, continuously firing arrows. Suddenly, several archers stopped simultaneously. They felt their empty quivers and helplessly slung their longbows over their shoulders, drawing their longswords or their own armor-piercing hammers.

"Clang!" Roland drew the Dragon-slaying Sword and stood with the others.

"Oh? Tiny humans? You're out of arrows now, what are you going to do?" Smaug's vertical pupils showed a mocking expression.

"Are these your retainers? I'll burn them to a crisp in front of you!" Smaug said ferociously.

Roland subtly waved his hand, sending a signal to Bard, who was hiding in the shadows. Bard quietly pushed out the Dwarven Spear Thrower. Smaug, walking towards them, had no idea that a tiny human beneath him was aiming a Black Arrow at him!

Suddenly, Bard discovered the missing scale under Smaug's left wing. He was overjoyed and quickly aimed the Black Arrow at the spot beneath Smaug's left wing.

"For the glory of the Lord of Dale! For humanity! Die! Smaug!" Bard suddenly shouted.

"Go!" Roland quickly ducked into the alley with everyone else. Flames engulfed the spot where Roland and the others had just been standing.

"Whoosh!" The Black Arrow flew towards Smaug, flashing with cold light.

"Roar!" Smaug, who had been breathing fire happily, suddenly went silent.

"Roar!" Intense pain in his heart caused Smaug to struggle violently. He struggled to fly into the sky, but before he could flap his wings a few times, he wailed and crashed heavily to the ground...

"He fell?" Bilbo looked at Lake-town in the distance.

"I saw him fall with my own eyes!" Balin said excitedly.

"Smaug is dead!" Everyone on the watchtower cheered.

"Well done!" Roland emerged from the ruins, smiling as he patted Bard.

"He's dead?" Bard asked incredulously.

"You did it! You've restored your family's honor!" Roland praised.

"It's a shame Lake-town is destroyed..." Bard sighed, looking at the raging fires before him.

"But at least the townsfolk are safe, aren't they? As long as people are alive, everything will get better!" Roland smiled and then boarded a small boat.

"Want to come with me?" Roland asked.

"Of course, wait for me!" Bard also leaped aboard.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I need to make good use of Smaug's remains!" After telling everyone to go ahead, Roland ran towards Smaug's corpse. After all, such a large wyvern could yield a lot of precious materials.

"Congratulations to the host for completing the quest: Battle of Smaug! Reward: Temple Priest *1."

Note: Priest level classifications: Novice Priest, Priest, Temple Priest, Cleric, High Priest, and the highest titled profession – Saint.

Second update, the Battle of Five Armies is about to begin. Readers, please prepare your recommendation votes.