Smaug's Legacy

Watching the Erlino Rangers settle into their respective roles, Roland suddenly remembered that he still had a fine treasure in his hands.

Boom! Out in the open space beyond the city, a golden-red shadow crashed heavily to the ground, and the scent of sulfur spread through the air.

"Look, I nearly forgot about old Smaug, all 141 meters of him!" Roland clapped his hands and turned to the dumbfounded crowd.

Even though everyone had grown accustomed to seeing Caldo, over fifteen meters long, constantly swooping over their heads these past days, such an enormous drake was practically one of a kind in the world. An adult dragon was generally around thirty meters long... but Smaug? One hundred and forty-one meters! At the cost of losing Draconic Magic, it had gained an unparalleled physique and close-combat ability.

(Dragon: What? A drake actually wanted to withstand Draconic Magic head-on?)

(Erlino Ranger: Huh? Were drakes these days all so full of themselves?)

"Oh my! What good stuff! Your Highness, why didn't you bring this out sooner?" Ladyl came running over with a broad smile. To mages pursuing magical truth, any part of a dragon was precious material.

"Caslo, Reno, take some men and strip him clean! These Dragon Scales and dragon hide are excellent materials for defensive gear." Roland rubbed his hands excitedly. Slaying a dragon made one rich for a moment; keep slaying dragons, and one stayed rich forever.

"Ah! Such a huge dragon!" Ivy ran behind Ladyl as though startled.

"Oh, right, pull out all the Dragon Teeth too! They can be used to make weapons!" Roland added.

"Dragon Wings are top-tier materials for magical cloaks. Don't ruin them while cutting." Ladyl condensed an elemental blade from earth elemental power and personally began cutting away the wing membranes.

"Dragon Eyes! Dig out the Dragon Eyes too! A dragon eye this large would make an Eye of Inspection with an enormous detection range!" Having recovered from her earlier fright, the adorable priest Ivy became lively as well, directing everyone around.

"Careful! Don't cut it open! Dragon blood is expensive!" Caslo chased away the clumsy knights and carefully pried up the Dragon Scales himself.

"Reverse scales! Reverse scales! Don't forget to find its reverse scales!" Roland thought of the noblest scales on true dragons, reverse scales imbued with miraculous magic!

"Buckets! Buckets! It's cut here! Bring a bucket to catch the blood!" Reno shrieked. The hard Dragon Scales were embedded in the thick dragon hide, and after much effort, Reno managed to pry up several scales. But he accidentally used too much force, causing scorching dragon blood to seep out.

"Coming! Coming! The buckets are here, sir!" The Bannaria Archers, who had been waiting nearby, swiftly handed over wooden buckets.

"Damn it! Don't crack open its skull!" Ladyl saw a Bannaria Archer holding a chisel and swinging a massive Mithril Armor-piercing Hammer, ready to smash its head open and extract the crystal. He immediately cursed, snatched away the hammer, then promptly lurched sideways under its weight, his old back letting out a crisp crack.

"You spendthrift! You can't extract a dragon crystal like that! You have to skin it, remove the flesh, then reach in through the openings in the bones!" Ladyl said through gritted teeth as he rubbed his waist.

"No! Don't pull out that arrow!" Roland hurriedly shouted when he saw an Erlino Ranger preparing to remove the Black Arrow embedded deep in the dragon's heart.

"If you pull out the arrow, the heart's blood will spurt out! Find a basin! You lot, work together to pull it out! Don't waste it! This whole body is glittering Gold Coins!" Roland commanded.

"You there! Go ask the townsfolk for a few large saws!" Caslo spat into his palm and set his sights on Smaug's sharp claws.

"You up there! Steady yourselves while cutting the meat and draining the blood! Watch out for the Dragon Sinews! Whether our archers can use Dragon Sinew bows in the future depends on how steady your hands are! Whoever cuts a Dragon Sinew, I'll pull out his tendons and twist them into bowstrings!" Roland strutted around inspecting everyone's work.

Watching the crowd work with such fiery enthusiasm and brotherly passion, Caslo's drake Caldo cast a sympathetic glance at Smaug's corpse. Then he looked around and quietly shuffled to the side while no one was watching... This place was too terrifying! They looked at Smaug's remains as though they were looking at a pile of treasure, the kind that retained its value! Caldo shuddered. He could ignore temperatures dozens of degrees below zero as a drake, yet at this moment, he felt an inexplicable chill... Humans were terrifying...

"Damn, these Dragon Sinews are long! Pull them out properly for me! How many bowstrings could be made from Dragon Sinews over a hundred meters long?" Roland exclaimed.

In the end, Caldo still failed to escape Roland's group's clutches. At that moment, he was carrying ropes and carefully stepping forward, while the other end of the ropes was tightly tied around Dragon Sinews as thick as a human head...

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, these dragon bones are excellent!" Old Ladyl cheerfully tapped the exposed ribs. The dull sound was incomparably pleasant to his ears.

"Sir Ladyl, aside from making equipment, what else can dragon bones be used for?" Roland asked curiously.

"Hahaha, once Your Highness gains the allegiance of Rhovanion's pharmacists or alchemists, you'll understand. Dragon bones are vital ingredients in countless alchemical items and potions!" Ladyl explained to Roland while stroking his beard.

"Hey, hey, hey! Break off those spikes on its back! Polish them smooth, and they'll make armor-piercing spears!" Reno spotted the overlooked spikes on the dragon's tail.

And so, in less than half a day, Comrade Smaug, once the majestic tyrant of Erebor, successfully contributed to Comrade Roland's development. Rumor had it that Smaug's legacy was even used during the founding years of the kingdom several years later. One could not help but marvel at why warriors throughout history had been so keen on slaying dragons—it was simply too profitable! The wealth from one dragon could support an entire family!

"Several thousand scales the size of washbasins, nearly a hundred bundles of cut dragon hide, sixty-four Dragon Teeth of varying sizes, one dragon crystal the size of a washbasin, seven Dragon Sinews, twenty claws, plus a pile of dragon meat and one hundred barrels of dragon blood!" Roland counted the spoils as he stored them in the system.

"What a sudden fortune!" Roland exclaimed. For one brief moment, he had even secretly glanced at Caslo's drake. So slaying dragons for riches really was addictive!

"Isn't there a Lava Forge in the city? We can process the Dragon Scales into armor!" Roland declared grandly. In his mind, he could already see Rhovanion soldiers in dragon-hide armor and Dragon Scale mail charging across all of Rhovanion.

"Your Highness, we do not yet have the means to equip magical gear..." Ladyl quickly poured cold water over him. Aside from the basic Lava Forge, Flowing City currently had no other rare materials for forging. Besides, rather than wasting time on magical equipment that was not yet essential, they would be better off finding a way to complete Flowing City's walls.

"Sigh... I understand." Roland wilted. He had still been too naive. Possessing immense wealth was a good thing, but unfortunately, he currently had no ability to turn that wealth into usable resources...

Second update! Please send your recommendation votes, everyone!