Awakening of the Dwarf Prince

"Thorin." Aaron leaned against the wall, looking at him meaningfully. "What do you plan to do? Before Gandalf left, he asked me to protect you, and my answer was that it would be within my capabilities."

"If you choose to stay here and wait to die, I will take Bilbo and escape. I promised him safety, and I will do it."

"Thank you." Bilbo sniffed, somewhat flattered.

"If you choose to fight Smaug to the death, then I will fight alongside you and do my utmost to ensure that everyone survives."

Thorin stared blankly at the corpses scattered on the ground and said, "I will not die like this, curled up, struggling, and on the verge of death."

We will take Smaug to the furnace and fight it to the death.

"Have you decided?" Aaron asked with a smile.

Thorin nodded and looked at the nine dwarves following him. "Let's split up and lure it to the furnace."

If everything is destined to be burned to ashes, then we will all go to the flames together.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"As expected of the dwarf prince, it took immense courage to make this decision." Aaron clapped. "Thorin Oakenshield, you haven't disappointed me."

After saying this, Aaron took out the Arkenstone and used Levitation Charm to levitate it in mid-air.

A milky white light illuminated the dimly lit guardhouse, and the dwarves gazed at the beautiful King's Jewel with utter devotion.

"The Arkenstone." Thorin murmured in disbelief, "You took it."

Aaron shrugged; he never said he hadn't taken the rice.

"I think there's nothing that can boost morale better right now than this."

"There really isn't any left." Thorin excitedly stretched out his right hand, then awkwardly realized he couldn't touch it.

Aaron snapped his fingers, and the Arkenstone fell into his hand.

"I'm sorry, I can't give it to you right now."

"Why?" Thorin glared angrily. "It should have been mine from the start."

"That's right, the Arkenstone was originally yours." Aaron didn't deny it, but then changed the subject, "However, Smaug said the Arkenstone will devour your soul."

You actually believe the nonsense about evil dragons?

"You drew your sword against us for this stone."

Thorin was speechless. He had indeed acted impulsively and shouldn't have drawn his sword against his friend.

The Arkenstone holds the status of the royal seal among the Dwarves, determining whether they can rightfully inherit the throne; its loss is unacceptable.

"If this is the reason, I apologize to you."

"It's alright." Bilbo smiled. "We understand how important the Arkenstone is to you, maybe even more than your life."

"That's why we're worried that you might become a different person because of this stone," Aaron said earnestly.

His worries were not unfounded. Thorin's stubbornness was rare in the world. A prince who had been down on his luck for half his life suddenly became a king with enormous wealth. His mindset might undergo a huge change, perhaps even more so than his grandfather Thrain.

"I won't," Thorin slowly shook his head. "I promise."

Upon hearing this, Aaron hesitated for a moment before putting the Arkenstone into his pocket.

The others stared in astonishment at his actions, Thorin felt even more betrayed.

The atmosphere is already set up here, shouldn't you hand over the gem to me, and then we can all work together to slay the dragon?

"I will give it to him, but only after it is safe." Aaron said awkwardly, "After all, the next step is fraught with danger. If something happens to Thorin, I will give this stone to Kili."

"Gaius," Dwalin said, looking at him with some anger, "This is inappropriate."

Aaron raised an eyebrow and held the gem in front of Thorin. "You make the decision."

Thorin reached out and touched the Arkenstone, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes. After a long silence, he looked at Aaron and said, "I'm entrusting it to you for safekeeping for now."

If I die, I will give it to Fili; if Fili dies, I will take it back to Kili so that he may inherit the throne.

Balin, Dwalin, you..."

"No need to say anything, Thorin." Balin smiled casually. "This old body of mine might die before you, but one thing is certain: my loyalty to the King will not change."

"That's it, loyal to the King," Dwalin said solemnly, and the others nodded silently.

Next, Thorin divided the team into four groups of three and left the guardhouse.

However, Aaron volunteered to act alone, secretly covering everyone's safe arrival at the furnace.

Thorin led Bilbo and Balin through the tunnel from the front, and as expected, they were discovered by Smaug.

"Run! Run! Run for your lives!"

You have nowhere to hide.

A dragon's neck, tens of meters long, emerged from the darkness, and a huge dragon's head appeared before the group.

"Look behind you, little bug."

The three dwarves shouted, drawing Smaug's attention, and Thorin and his companions seized the opportunity to slip into a doorway.

Smaug roared and pounced on the three dwarves.

"Hey! Over here!" Dwalin shouted, and seeing Smaug turn his gaze towards them, he immediately grabbed Fili and Nori and ran.

Smaug was about to give chase, he saw two dwarves run past right under his nose.

How can we tolerate this?

A burst of fiery Dragon Breath forced the two to run for their lives, only managing to escape the raging flames by jumping into a cable car.

Seeing that no one was around, Smaug sniffed the air and followed Thorin Oakenshield in the direction he had gone.

Thorin ran wildly through a wide corridor, not even noticing the entrance to the smelting room.

"Over here, Thorin!" Bilbo shouted.

Thorin heard the sound and immediately realized what was happening, but before he could take a step, Smaug appeared at the end of the corridor, brewing Dragon Breath.

Thorin silently calculated the distance and knew he couldn't outrun Smaug's Dragon Fire. As soon as Balin followed Bilbo, he turned and jumped into the mine.

Barely dodging the Dragon Fire, Thorin continued to fall, clinging to the chair in the mine shaft.

Before he could recover, Smaug caught up with him. Its body was enormous, but just big enough to squeeze into the mine shaft.

Just as it was about to bite Thorin, Dwalin chopped down the corresponding minecart with his axe. Thorin, who was holding onto the seat, was quickly pulled up, barely escaping from the edge of the dragon's mouth.

Seeing Smaug turned around and, as Thorin rose, bit the rope connecting him to the seat.

"Tsk! I have to admit that the dwarves' mining skills are truly exceptional." Aaron's voice came from the side. Turning his head, he saw Aaron casually sitting on another chair, leisurely swinging in the mine.

"Thorin, you seem to need some help!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Thorin roared.

"Alright." Aaron held up his index finger at Smaug. "Sectumsempra."

A pale red light shone on the dragon's mouth, Smaug felt as if he had been pricked by a needle. He instinctively opened his mouth and placed Thorin on it.

Smaug didn't seem to mind, but looked at Aaron with a meaningful expression. "Dragon Speaker, your magic is somewhat special, but unfortunately you're too weak."

"That's normal, after all, I'm only fourteen." Aaron smiled shyly. "If I were forty, I'd kill you in a heartbeat, believe it or not?"

"Unfortunately, you won't have that chance." Smaug said, opening his mouth and letting his hot breath hit you.

Aaron immediately stretched out his right hand, and an ice-blue intermediate Magic Array appeared in front of him, from which a thick stream of water gushed out.

The water flowed into Smaug's mouth before the flames could be released, forcing the Dragon Breath to stop, and Smaug was choked and exhaled a large amount of white steam.

"You deserve to die!" Smaug roared angrily, raising his paw to strike.

"Aaron!" Upon seeing this, Thorin and the others were filled with rage.

The black and white vortex flashed and disappeared, and Aaron landed beside the others. "What did you call me for?"

"You, you, you..." Dwalin looked at Aaron, then glanced at Smaug below, his words tumbling out incoherently.

"Magic!" Aaron explained casually. "That's what makes it hard to understand."

"Teleportation magic." Thorin's eyes twitched slightly. He knew about Warlock when he was a dwarf prince, but he had never heard of Warlock possessing such incredible abilities.

Aaron:...

"Few people can learn it, but I am a once-in-a-century genius in the Gaius family, so naturally I am a different story."

"Roar!" Smaug's roar echoed from the mine. "Where are you? Dragon Speaker, where are you?"

Upon hearing this, Thorin and the dwarves beside him looked at Aaron with complicated expressions. "You can speak Dragon Language?"

"Uh... it's always good to have more skills when you're out in the world!" Aaron said with an embarrassed smile.

"Gandalf has found us a great teammate," Thorin exclaimed, then glanced at Smaug, who was still searching for people in the mine, and decisively pushed the crane next to him aside.

The crane plummeted rapidly and soon struck Smaug in the neck.

"Let's hurry, we can't hold him off for long."

"Wait a moment." Aaron looked at the deep mine shaft and slowly waved his arm, a large ice-blue Magic Array covering the top of the mine shaft.

Half a minute later, a huge block of ice fell from the Magic Array and crashed straight into the depths of the mine.

The group clearly heard the sound of a heavy object striking their skulls, followed by the dragon's furious roar.

"Why don't we throw a few more? Maybe we can kill it!" Fili said.

"Brother, there isn't enough time, and my magic isn't enough either."

As soon as he finished speaking, fierce flames surged up from the depths of the mine.

"Go, go quickly."

Thorin roared and led the group into the smelting chamber.

Everyone gathered here without exception, but they were all disappointed when they saw the cold furnace.

"This plan won't work; the furnace is cold," Dwalin said regretfully.

"He's right, we don't have fire to light the furnace," Balin said bitterly.

"That's not necessarily true. I also know Incendio."

"The Incendio."

Aaron pointed to the furnace, where a ball of crimson flame fell.

Boom~ Boom~ Boom~

The first enormous furnace was successfully ignited, followed by the second, the third...

All the furnaces were engulfed in fierce flames, and the extreme heat slowly melted the gold ore inside into a pure golden liquid.