Chapter 270 The Birth of the Dragon Slayer
At this moment, Aaron was on Erebor, enjoying his thought form's heroic performance.
At the same time, he was secretly pondering whether to place an order for Transfiguration, as he had only earned a thousand magic points, just enough to qualify for a splurge.
But he was also hesitant; he could guess that his Animaguswould be a raven and a Dragon, but judging by the form of his Patronus, he knew that even if he transformed into a Dragon, he would only be a dozen meters tall.
Given how badly his Patronus was being beaten now, he estimated he wouldn't fare much better when it was his turn.
Transfiguration was powerful, true, but it wasn't quite enough to face Smaug; he could be torn to shreds in less than a minute, and he didn't want to die without a complete corpse.
"Is that… a Dragon?" Bilbo murmured, watching the white Dragon fighting Smaug above Lake-town.
"Evidently," Balin said. "But it can't defeat Smaug, and it doesn't seem like a real Dragon; it must be a profound form of magic."
As he spoke, he looked at Aaron, and the others also eyed him suspiciously.
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you all looking at me?" Aaronchuckled awkwardly. "I'm right here; is that the kind of magic I can use?"
"But there's no one else but you," Bilbo smiled. "Didn't you say everything was arranged? Lake-town is Smaug's burial ground."
"Gaius," Thorin looked at him meaningfully. "Can you explain?"
"Alright! Yes, it's exactly as you think; that Dragon was summoned by me." Aaron proudly lifted his head, gazing down at everyone. "This ancient magic can only be learned by a few geniuses, and I, humble as I am, am one of them.
However, each use is a crazy drain on magic power; one careless mistake, and the thought form might just disappear."
Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, then very tacitly agreed that this magic had nothing to do with Aaron; from what they knew of Aaron, he wouldn't be so high-profile.
"Aaron," Bilbo pointed in the direction of Lake-town. "Honestly, tell me, is this really something you conjured?"
"Of course, it's my arrangement," Aaron said casually. "Besides me, who else would know such profound magic? It can't be Gandalf, can it?"
"So that's it, Gandalf is back!"
Bilbo immediately felt he had seen through the truth. No wonder Aaron confidently guaranteed that Lake-townwould be Smaug's burial place; he must have discussed the strategy with Gandalf beforehand.
Aaron: …I'm an honest child, but no one believes the truth!
Just as Aaron was thinking this, a cry for help from his thought form came from his mind. Turning his head, he saw the holy Dragon Patronus being savagely beaten by Smaug, its form threatening to dissipate.
"Everyone, I have to go help; without me, they can't kill that Dragon." Aaron sighed helplessly, then used Apparition to instantly teleport to the bell tower.
"Did he go to Lake-town?" Bilbo asked incredulously.
"I'm afraid so, Bilbo," Balin said. "With him joining, perhaps we can kill the Dragon."
..."Sorry, I didn't arrive very timely, but it's not too late." The moment Aaron appeared, he took the black wand from his thought form's hand and quickly cast the Patronus Charm.
"Expecto Patronum!"
With a powerful surge of magic, the battered white holy Dragon suddenly regained its strength, its dissipating form gradually solidified, miraculously repelling Smaug, and then recklessly pounced again.
"My magic energy is less than one-tenth of what it was," the thought form said weakly.
"Then get ready quickly!"
"You two… are you… twins?" Bard asked, stunned.
"No." x2.
Aaron and the thought form said in unison.
Bard raised an eyebrow, convinced they were indeed twins.
"Bard," the thought form picked up a Black Arrow from the ground and said solemnly, "You know what to do, right?"
"I will hit it, but it may not kill Smaug."
"Don't worry about that, leave it to me," Aaron said. "You just need to hit it."
The thought form and Aaron exchanged glances. The former used a Disillusionment Charm, while the latter feigned breathlessness and stopped casting spells.
The holy Dragon Patronus instantly dissipated, turning into white specks of light and vanishing.
Smaug paused, then looked triumphantly in the direction of the bell tower, "You can't hold on, can you!"
Aaron didn't answer, merely took a step back, intentionally or unintentionally.
"It seems I guessed correctly," Smaug's lips curled into a cold sneer. "But I won't get close; I won't give you any chances."
Aaron:...Holy crab! When a Dragon plays it safe, no one can do anything.
"Indeed, opportunities can only be created by oneself!" The thought form sighed helplessly, then directly used Apparition to teleport to Smaug's back, forcefully plunging the Black Arrow in.
Sizzle!
As a spark flashed, a piercing sound rang out on Smaug's back, followed by an angry roar.
"Who?"
The thought form didn't answer, but instead, holding the Black Arrow, dashed forward.
The Dragon scales on Smaug's back clinked, and a line of sparks flashed by, particularly conspicuous in the night sky.
The damage was minor, but the humiliation was extreme.
"Damn bug."
Smaug cursed under his breath, turned his head to look in the direction of the bell tower, and spiraled high into the sky, intending to deal with the fellow on his back first.
"Bard."
"I'm aiming, but he's too fast," Bard said anxiously, the angle of the windlass crossbow constantly adjusting.
"I'll make him slow down," Aaron said, waving his wand forcefully at the lake.
A magic circle large enough to cover half of Lake-townemerged from beneath the lake, and dozens of icy, bone-chilling streams of water flew from the lake, colliding at extreme speed with Smaug, who was circling and flying in the sky.
"This…" Bard's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I spent a lot of time today preparing this magic circle at the bottom of the lake; finding the Black Arrow was just an afterthought.
I originally wanted to create a water prison, but for now, this will have to do!"
Bang ~ Bang ~ Bang ~
Smaug's abdomen took a hit first, and the Dragon fire he was brewing was doused with a splash of cold water. He couldn't help but stagger in mid-air.
Then, more and more streams of water impacted various parts of his body, which infuriated him, but his massive Dragon body still uncontrollably plummeted downwards.
Bard seized the opportunity and decisively fired the last Black Arrow.
Thud!
This time, Smaug was completely unprepared; the Black Arrow struck the wound on his left chest, the shaft fully piercing into his body, with only the fletching exposed.
"Agh!"
Smaug let out a cry of Pain!, his body crashing down and destroying large sections of buildings.
He staggered to his feet, enduring immense Pain! to flap his wings and fly upwards, but as he ascended, he also gasped for air, teetering precariously.
Seeing this, Bard breathed a sigh of relief, "We won."
"But it's not completely over," Aaron said with a knowing smile.
The thought form Apparated back, its body gradually becoming transparent and merging with the main body.
"This is?" Bard swallowed with difficulty. "You, this…"
"Don't overthink it, we're really not twins; this is just a simple thought form technique," Aaron said lightly, then looked at Smaug struggling in mid-air, feeling it necessary to give Death a bit of respect.
He grabbed the Black Arrow left by the thought form, his body entering a black and white spatial vortex, and when he reappeared, he was in front of Smaug's chest.
"Time to claim the Dragon's head," Aaron thought, somewhat excitedly, one hand gripping the fletching on Smaug's chest, the other hand forcefully stabbing the Black Arrow in.
Then he continuously cast several spells: "Cruciatus Curse, Cruciatus Curse, Cruciatus Curse…"
"Agh!"
Smaug let out a horrifying, bloodcurdling shriek, and the entire Dragon fell from the sky.
Ordinarily, the curses wouldn't harm him, but now, having been struck by two Black Arrows and on the verge of death, the effects of these few curses were infinitely magnified.
Bang!
Smaug crashed into the town, making a ground-shaking sound.
A shower of gold coins rained down like confetti, leaving Aaron utterly bewildered; even if there was a reward for Dragon slaying, it wouldn't be so casual!
But when he saw the mayor's corpse not far away, he suddenly understood; Smaug must have crushed the unfortunate fellow during his descent, overturning the treasures on the boat along with him.
However, this was his just deserts, not worthy of an ounce of sympathy.
"Why?" Smaug lay on the dilapidated town, looking at Aaron and asking with a faint breath, "You and I should have been the closest allies; why did you oppose me?"
Aaron sighed with a complex expression, hesitating whether to let him die with understanding, when he saw Bain and others rowing over.
He immediately adopted a righteous demeanor and said with conviction, "Of course, it's for the justice in my heart."
Smaug:...He really wanted to curse the other party for being hypocritical; in his long life, he had never seen anyone so shameless.
But the rapid draining of his life force left him with no strength, and his eyes quickly turned dim.
Aaron shook his head and silently took out a Dragon Slaying Magic Crystal.
Strands of reddish-gold light flew from Smaug's body and merged into it; the originally transparent crystal slowly turned crimson.
As the Dragon soul was extracted, Smaug's corpse became particularly shriveled, and even its hard scales turned into sand and dissipated.
"What's going on?" Tauriel looked at Aaron with alarm and uncertainty. "What did you do?"
"Uh… don't misunderstand." Aaron suppressed his excited feelings, put away the activated Dragon Slaying Magic Crystal, and explained earnestly, "I won't use Smaug's body, but I have to prevent evil people from using it. It's also a way to eliminate future troubles; you wouldn't want it to fall into the hands of a Necromancer, would you!"
Tauriel was immediately speechless.
"Where's my dad?" Bain asked. "Is he alright?"
"He's very good; he should be coming down from the bell tower now," Aaron said with emotion. "His archery makes me feel ashamed.
Every arrow hit Smaug, especially the weakness on his left chest, which he hit a full two times.
Congratulations, from today onwards, the world will know that Bard killed the Dragon with an arrow; from now on, you will be the descendants of the Dragon slayer."
At the same time, Thorin and the others on Erebor also saw the Dragon's fall. Everyone breathed a heavy sigh of relief, the gloom in their hearts completely dispelled.
Caw! Caw! Caw!
Black ravens flew from the distant sky.
"The ravens of Erebor have returned," Gloin said excitedly.
"Yes! The news will spread, and everyone in Middle-earthwill know that the Dragon is dead," Balin laughed, and the others cheered, only Thorin returned to the great hall with a blank expression.