The Most Valuable Dragon in History-Golden Smaug

"Damn it, Gaius." Thorin patted Aaron's arm, then looked at the others.

"Bombur, make the fire burn even more fiercely."

Bombur immediately jumped to the open space in front of the furnace and pulled the chains.

The blower started up, blowing air into the furnace, and the flames turned a light blue.

"Bilbo, go over there, listen to me, pull that switch."

Following Thorin's directions, Bilbo climbed to the waterwheel switch and prepared to start.

"Balin, can you still concoct Flashfire?"

"Yes, it will only take a short while." Balin immediately led the two dwarves into the storeroom at the back, where all the materials he needed were located.

At this moment, Smaug climbed out of the mine and found the people in the smelting chamber. The huge iron door was quickly torn open by its claws.

"We're running out of time," Dwalin murmured.

"I'll buy you some time," Aaron volunteered. "But there's not much time I can gain."

Thorin nodded. "The rest of you, prepare to provide support."

Aaron took a deep breath, walked up to the huge iron gate, and gave Smaug a big smile.

"Warlock," Smaug with a sneer, looking at him. "Not a grey robe, not a brown robe, not a white robe, not a blue robe. Who are you then?"

"Aaron Gaius." Aaron gave a simple bow. "Just an ordinary Archmage. No, my power is not yet complete, so I may not even qualify Archmage."

"Unlike others, Gaius the Dragon Speaker."

You possess greater potential than that Warlock; surpassing them is only a matter of time.

"I think so too."

"No, you don't understand what I mean." Smaug's tone was seductive. "You are the greatest Warlock, and there is absolutely no need for you to help those vile dwarves."

The combined might of dragons and Dragon Speaker is unstoppable; you can become a great king, a true hegemon.

Humans, elves, and dwarves alike will revere you; even that necromancer will show you some respect.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone, including Balin who had configured the Flashfire, stared at Aaron in astonishment.

No one could have imagined he would have such potential, and no one could have imagined that he would make even a dragon show rare kindness. But what everyone was more worried about was whether Aaron could resist such temptation.

Although Aaron's performance has been incredibly skillful and flawless, it is undeniable that he is only a teenager. What if he throws a tantrum?

"Pfft! Hahaha~"

Aaron couldn't help but clutch his stomach and laugh, "Interesting, so interesting."

If you were to dangle some other promise in front of me, I might agree, but when I left home, my elders specifically warned me that I must not have any thoughts of domination, or I would be expelled from the family.

Do you want to make me homeless? Or do you want me to be abandoned by everyone?

Smaug:...

Everyone:...

"Then there's nothing to talk about." Smaug shook his head. "It's a shame you made the wrong decision."

Smaug pounded on the iron gate even more vigorously.

"Protego." Aaron cast an Iron Armor Charm on himself, and then began to inscribe Magic Array.

A brownish-yellow star appeared in mid-air and adhered to the iron gate.

The circular Magic Array slowly rotated, mobilizing earth elements to reinforce the iron gate, coating it with a thick layer of rock.

Smaug grinned coldly, then turned his head and unleashed a fierce burst of flames.

"Roar!"

The Magic Array shattered after only one second.

Aaron immediately inscribed a mid-level Defense Magic Array in front of him, and with the added defensive power of the Iron Armor Charm, he barely managed to block the aftershocks of the Dragon Fire.

Even so, it was still blown more than ten meters by the flames before it came to a stop.

"Of course, intermediate-level Magic Array are unreliable." Aaron dusted himself off and stood up, looking somewhat disheveled.

"You're too weak now, you can't even stop me from sneezing." Smaug mocked Yu, violently tearing open the iron gate and entering the smelting chamber.

Aaron slowly retreated, but Smaug pressed forward step by step, his abdomen turning bright red.

"It's over, young Dragon Speaker."

"Here!" Thorin suddenly roared.

Smaug glanced at him instinctively. "Oakenshield, I'll take care of you first."

"Pull."

Upon hearing this word, Bilbo immediately jumped up and pulled the switch.

Several stone statues on the wall spewed large streams of water from their mouths, which extinguished the flames in Smaug's chest.

White steam emanated from Smaug's body, making him very uncomfortable, and he wriggled restlessly.

Coming to his senses, Smaug coldly stared at Thorin and slowly moved toward him.

Bombur pulled the iron chain of the blower with all his might, and the blue Incendio, completely melting the gold ore in the furnace.

Balin and the others also ran out of the warehouse, and they distributed the prepared Firefly Potions to the other dwarves.

The flashbang struck Smaug, emitting a bright light like a flashbang, but it couldn't attract his attention at all.

Aaron looked up at the rows of minecarts hanging above and decisively cast several spells. The minecarts, loaded with ore and along with their cables, barely managed to hold back Smaug's steps.

As it broke free of its ropes, Thorin immediately pulled on an iron chain, and several furnaces simultaneously opened a gap, allowing golden molten gold to flow out along the channel, quickly converging and flowing in one direction.

"Lead him to the royal corridor!" Thorin shouted, then pushed a minecart and jumped into the scalding liquid gold, rowing into a low tunnel like a boat.

The other dwarves also dispersed and rushed towards the royal gallery.

Just as Aaron was about to leave, he heard Bilbo's shouts.

Smaug's movement to free himself from the ropes shattered the spot where he was standing, sending him crashing to the ground without even having to descend the steps.

Bilbo had just raised his head when his gaze met Smaug's beside the furnace.

Before he could react, Aaron ran to his side, pulled him up, and jumped down a slope, avoiding the sharp claws.

"Run, don't stop," Aaron said.

Bilbo followed closely behind him, and just as the two reached the back of the Hall of Kings, a roar came from behind, and Smaug burst through the wall.

Desperate, Aaron pulled the Hobbit behind him and hid behind a pillar.

"Do you think you can fool me?"

You come from Long Lake Town, and this is a conspiracy orchestrated by the vile dwarves and the wretched Long Lake.

"Those cowards who wail and cry with longbows and Black Arrow, perhaps I should pay them a visit." Smaug said, preparing to leave, intending to destroy Long Lake Town first.

Aaron frowned upon hearing this.

Although he didn't know why Smaug guessed so accurately, it didn't conflict with his original plan. However, he had to weaken its combat power as much as possible beforehand, or at least injure it.

"This isn't their fault," Bilbo jumped in. "Wait, you can't destroy Long Lake Town."

Aaron slapped his forehead speechlessly and followed him out, lest he be burned to ashes by Smaug's Dragon Breath.

"You're going to kill them, aren't you!" Smaug turned around meaningfully. "Then watch them die!"

"Wait a minute." Aaron sighed. "If you take Long Lake Town, you'll die."

Bilbo rolled his eyes. There was no doubt about that; Smaug wouldn't believe it.

Sure enough, the next moment Smaug burst into laughter, "You think you can scare me with those words? I'll make those people feel what disaster is again."

"Here!" Thorin shouted from atop a massive statue, "You ignorant piece of trash, I'm taking back what you stole!"

"You will get nothing back, dwarf." Smaug approached slowly. "I have defeated your older generation of warriors, and planted fear in the hearts of mankind. I am the king of the mountain."

"This is not your kingdom, this is the land of the dwarves, this is the gold of the dwarves."

"We must have our revenge!" Thorin shouted, pulling on the chains beside him. "Come out!"

The other dwarves behind the statue simultaneously pulled on their chains, causing the locks on the statue to fall off one by one, and the surface of the rock to crumble rapidly.

A colossal golden statue appeared before Smaug's eyes; it was the image of Thorin's grandfather, Thor, cast from freshly poured molten gold.

Smaug gazed at the golden statue that stood shoulder to shoulder with him, its dazzling golden light making his eyes glaze over. He couldn't help but move closer, wishing he could press himself against it.

Bang~ Bang~ Bang~

Just as it was admiring it, the golden statue's eyes suddenly burst open, gushing out scalding golden liquid.

Smaug was stunned for a moment, before he could react to what was happening, other parts of the Thor statue also burst open.

The entire golden statue melted completely within seconds, and the scalding gold liquid was poured onto Smaug's body, submerging him in the blink of an eye.

Smaug let out a painful roar, struggled for a while, and then sank into the scalding gold liquid that filled the entire hall.

Thorin's face lit up with an excited smile. So what if Smaug's scales and swords are impervious? The golden pool below is at least a thousand degrees hot. I bet it'll scald you to death.

"Did it succeed?" Bilbo asked in a deep voice.

"No." Aaron said solemnly, "There's still a heartbeat in the pool. Smaug is still alive."

The next moment, Smaug roared and burst out, its body seemingly plated with gold, leaving no trace.

"This is absolutely the most valuable dragon ever made, without a doubt." Aaron stared in awe at the Golden Smaug, never imagining that a dragon could be so dazzling.

"Revenge, revenge, I'll show you what revenge really means!" Smaug dragged his golden body out of the main gate, leaving behind a trail of golden liquid.

Thorin watched Smaug leave in disbelief, a sense of powerlessness instantly washing over him.

The dragon burst through the City Gate, soared into the sky, spun a few times in mid-air, shook off the golden liquid covering its body, and flew towards Long Lake Town.

"What have we done?" Bilbo murmured, filled with endless regret. Perhaps they shouldn't have disturbed the dragon's eternal slumber.

"The Prophecy is about to come true." Aaron patted Bilbo on the shoulder. "Long Lake Town will be ravaged."

"It was our fault," Bilbo said listlessly.

"This day would have come even if we hadn't," Aaron said in a deep voice. "Bard gave the townspeople a choice, and without exception they chose gold. Now it's time to pay the price for their greed."