"Is he going to be alright? I can see his legs shaking," Mr. Bard whispered, looking through a small hole at Bilbo.
Although they were beneath the gold coins, the protective shield isolated them, and the space was not cramped at all, even allowing them to move about freely.
"I trust him," Aine said.
"Very well, I just hope he is in sync with you," Mr. Bard said, adjusting the angle of the wind-lance to aim at the spot on Smaug's left underwing where the scale was missing, and then praying that the dragon would actively approach.
Although the dragon's entire body was covered in scales, those scales fit together tightly, not overlapping from front to back like fish scales, but rather smooth like the scales of certain snakes, arranged just right to pave the surface like neatly inlaid floor tiles, making it look like bare skin at first glance.
Yet those floor tiles had a piece missing, revealing a small pit where the true skin of this wicked dragon lay.
Bilbo subconsciously rolled his eyes and glanced toward their position. After confirming the spot, he stumbled backward in their direction.
"Great Smaug, you must believe me, I absolutely had no intention of toying with you! Your physique is so massive and robust, while I am so frail, how could I ever dare to toy with you?... I promise, my emotional expression might have been a bit off, I know, but that was only because upon seeing you, I became too excited, which led to your misunderstanding..."
"Misunderstanding?" The dragon immediately crawled toward him, making him feel the pressure brought by that huge size even more vividly, while staring at him without blinking. "You certainly have a way with words, Baggins. Can you state your true origins now?"
Bilbo took