Contract Fulfilled, Facing the Evil Dragon

Aaron walked up to Thorin and took out the Arkenstone. "Now it's time to fulfill the contract."

"Arkenstone." Thorin swallowed hard.

"One-tenth of Erebor's treasure is my reward, is that alright?"

"Heh!" Thorin gave a bitter laugh. "Is there any point in talking about this now?"

"Of course," Aaron said with great certainty.

"Gaius, Lord Bagins, 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 expedition long ago, never reaching Lonely Mountain, never opening the secret door, and perhaps never even surviving.

It is my honor to have friends like you, but I still have to apologize, as the contract may not be able to be fulfilled for the time being.

Smaug is still alive, and he will not relinquish the wealth of Erebor; even if I wanted to give it to you, I am powerless to do so."

"What it thinks is unimportant; what matters is your decision." Aaron held up the Arkenstone in his hand, which shimmered with a milky light. "One-tenth of the treasure."

"What time is it, and you're still thinking about money?" Bilbo looked at Aaron with exasperation. "Long Lake Town is about to be destroyed."

Aaron ignored him and looked at Thorin seriously. "Whether we can get the treasure from the dragon is another matter."

"Just tell me whether you're willing to acknowledge that one-tenth of Erebor's wealth belongs to me."

Thorin looked at the Arkenstone in Aaron's hand and nodded silently.

They are no match for Smaug, but if they inherit the throne, they can summon the army of the Dwarves, and then they will surely be able to kill him and seize Erebor.

"Then..." Aaron placed the Arkenstone in Thorin's hand, "The contract is complete."

After saying that, he focused his attention on the first System Mission: [Complete the contract with the dwarves; reward 1000 Magic Points], and promptly claimed the 1000 Magic Points.

"Aaron," Bilbo shook his head speechlessly, "Don't forget, Smaug isn't dead yet!"

"It will die soon," Aaron said meaningfully. "I've made all the arrangements. Long Lake will be Smaug's final resting place."

"Are you kidding me?"

"If you don't believe me, we can find a place to watch the game."

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it won't see the Sun tomorrow morning.

Everyone:...

"They're here." The Thought Form opened its eyes and turned to look at Tauriel. "Take them downstairs and don't leave the Magic Array's range."

Looking at the firelight rising on Lonely Mountain, Bofur couldn't help but worry, "I hope Thorin and the others are alright."

"They are all alive, none of them are dead, and none of them are injured."

"How did you know?" Kili asked, puzzled.

"Don't underestimate Warlock. I am the most outstanding heir in the Gaius family within a hundred years," the Thought Form said with some arrogance. "You should leave now. I can't take care of you anymore."

"Aaron," Bain called to him, "I'm entrusting my father to you."

The Thought Form made an OK sign, turned to look at the clock tower outside the window, and then used Apparition to teleport past.

Everyone in the house stared in astonishment as Aaron suddenly disappeared.

Bain and his sister were alright; they had witnessed the Magic Array earlier that day and quickly recovered. Tauriel had also seen the power of the Patronus Charm in the Mirkwood and could barely accept Aaron's way of moving.

The three dwarves looked at each other in bewilderment. Having traveled together for most of the journey, they seemed to have never truly understood Aaron, who was as mysterious as if there were no limits to his abilities.

"Let's go!" Tauriel picked up his bow and weapons and led the six people in the house to hide inside the Defense Magic Array beneath the house.

The clock tower.

The Thought Form teleported to Bard's side, startling him.

"You... do Warlock have such methods?"

"There's a lot you don't know," the Thought Form shrugged. "How's the preparation going?"

Bard took a deep breath, looking at the oppressive black shadow on the horizon getting closer and closer. His solemn expression was tinged with determination. "The Black Arrow has been loaded onto the Wind Crossbow, but the trump card cannot be used lightly."

Once Smaug is on guard, killing him will become many times more difficult.

The Thought Form nodded secretly, having also received the memories of the original body.

Smaug not only incredibly strong, but also exceptionally shrewd; you can't be too careful when dealing with him.

Upon hearing the dragon's roar, the residents of Long Lake Town came out of their homes.

The firelight on the Lonely Mountain instilled in them a long-lost sense of fear, especially as the evil dragon drew ever closer, and they finally realized what kind of disaster Long Lake was about to face.

The dragon's silhouette lingered in the dark clouds, and the howling wind sounded like the scythe of Death God.

Some of the older people who had witnessed Smaug's power trembled at this moment, the shadow of the Apocalypse instantly creeping into their hearts.

Faced with the ever-present threat of death, the townspeople did not hesitate to abandon their desire for gold and flee in panic.

The few wooden boats available became highly sought after, making the river extremely crowded. Those poor souls who couldn't get on a boat could only hide in the corners of houses and pray they wouldn't be noticed by the evil dragon, or they simply jumped into the icy lake and swam desperately to the other side.

"If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place!" Bard sighed helplessly.

"Don't feel guilty, this is the price they have to pay for making the wrong decision." The Thought Form didn't seem to care. "No matter when, fools always die the fastest."

And this day will come sooner or later, it's just that you've chosen to selectively forget it.

In fact, I admire you very much. You actually dare to be the neighbor of the evil dragon for so many years. Your luck is really... unparalleled. "

"We really have nowhere to go," Bard said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Give me a break!" The Thought Form scoffed dismissively. "If you want to leave, you can always leave, but if you don't want to, who can you blame?"

"Is that your mayor?" The Thought Form looked meaningfully at a ship below filled with gold, where the mayor and Alfred were standing, directing several guards to row away.

Bard turned his face away in disgust. He was utterly humiliated. Having a mayor like that was definitely the biggest stain on the reputation of the residents of Long Lake Town.

"Impressive, they still have so much money at this time. But at this speed, everyone has probably escaped. They can't even row the river out."

But the next moment, the mayor kicked his lackey into the river, reducing the weight of the boat by one person.

The Thought Form twitched slightly as it turned to look at Bard, whose expression was equally interesting, and asked, "Doesn't it feel especially good?"

Bard opened his mouth, about to say something, when Smaug roared and flew down.

The fierce Dragon Fire instantly destroyed a corner of Long Lake Town, and many residents were reduced to ashes.

"Our turn." Bard immediately drew his bow and fired an arrow at Smaug.

The arrow struck Smaug in the abdomen, but was deflected by his tough dragon armor, causing zero damage.

"It's useless unless you hit its weak point. Otherwise, this kind of arrow can't even break through its defenses."

"I know, but we can't just stand by and watch," Bard said, firing several more arrows in quick succession. "Attracting its attention might give more people a chance to escape."

Thought Form:...

Standing next to you is really dangerous.

"Fine, I'll help you out. If you want to attract attention, this is what you have to do." The Thought Form took a deep breath, pulled back the other string, and aimed at Smaug's right eye, which was constantly spewing flames.

The iron arrow magnified in Smaug's vertical pupils, and he instinctively closed his eyes, using his eyelids to block the arrow.

"Who?" Smaug roared angrily.

It can ignore the arrows that came before, but that doesn't mean it doesn't care; it just wants to enjoy the Despair of humans before they die.

But this arrow is too much. If someone were hit by it, they might not become One-Eyed Dragon, but they would inevitably be blind for a period of time.

"See that? That's what you call skill," said the Thought Form.

Bard was speechless. This technique was very useful, but he might not be able to learn it.

"It's you?" Smaug looked at Aaron on the clock tower in surprise. "No, you can't possibly be faster than me."

What's your relationship with the Dragon Speaker? Are you twins?

Aaron immediately gave Bard a wink, then smiled at Smaug and said in Dragon Language, "Is it possible that I am him?"

Smaug paused for a moment, a thoughtful look flashing in his cold eyes.

The smell was the same, the movements were the same, the expressions were the same, even the tone of voice was the same—cynical, and it was even in Dragon Language.

Smaug immediately became alert. "What's wrong with you?"

Before it could even utter "Come here," it heard a sharp whooshing sound, followed by a frantic warning in its mind, and its body reacted instinctively.

"This is troublesome." These words simultaneously flashed through Bard's and the Thought Form's minds.

A dark blue mongoose scale was dented by the impact.

Smaug felt as if he had been pricked by a needle, and his massive body shuddered.

It noticed the Wind Crossbow Bard, but even if the Wind Crossbow fired Black Arrow, it would only cause it pain at most, and would not make it feel a fatal crisis. So where did this crisis come from?

It touched the scales on its body that had been hit by the arrow, and was surprised to find that the feel was a little off. It looked at the lake and finally saw that there was a small patch on its left chest that was not covered by scales. It immediately realized what was going on and roared angrily to the sky.

It sneered at the two of them, "That human left me with this weakness back then, is this what you're trying to exploit?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking." The Thought Form rolled its eyes.

"It's a pity that you missed your only chance."

"What about the golden armor?" Thorin Oakenshield 'Pegasus imaginative ideas more than made up for that. "Smaug said, his abdomen turning red, "But I don't want anyone else to know, so please, die!"

A torrent of fiery Dragon Breath erupted, and blazing flames shot toward the clock tower.

Just then, a Magic Array suddenly appeared, and a transparent circular barrier enveloped the clock tower, separating it from the flames.

"Call!"

Thought Form a heavy weight of relief, breathed a sigh of relief; the ultimate Defense Magic Array had indeed not disappointed him.

"Interesting magic," Smaug murmured in surprise, then looked at Aaron meaningfully. "But how many times can you block it?"