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A massive golden statue of the Dwarf King suddenly appeared before Smaug.
Smaug froze for a moment.
'What is this? Are you trying to show off your wealth to me, me?!! Really?!'
'Sometimes intelligence is a good thing.
Sometimes it gets you killed.'
'If this were a real beast, would it waste time talking to you. It would have smashed you flat with one swipe.'
Boom!
The golden statue shattered.
Molten gold poured out, crashing into Smaug and burying him beneath a flood of liquid metal.
Thorin clenched the iron chain with one hand, watching as Smaug was completely engulfed.
The dragon went still.
A smile spread across Thorin's face.
He was just about to cheer.
"Revenge? Revenge! I'll show you what real revenge looks like."
Smaug's voice cracked, almost carrying a sob.
The pain from the molten gold had terrified him.
After all, by dragon standards, he was still young.
A dragon child, really.
That was why he had been curious about everything.
Why had he been tricked by Baggins?
Why had he wasted time arguing with Thorin?
Whoosh!
Jimmy flipped down from the overhead beam.
Six wolf claws slammed straight into Smaug's back.
Sizzle!
The molten gold had not fully cooled yet.
Jimmy's skin was instantly scorched black where it touched.
But Smaug did not even realize there was a new rider on his back.
He thought it was just the burning gold again.
With a furious roar, he smashed through the main gate and burst into the sky.
"UAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
The golden-coated Smaug climbed higher, then shook his body violently.
The so-called Thorin-brand gold plating scattered and rained down to the ground.
"I will make the miserable people of Lake-town understand what Smaug's wrath truly is."
"Hey!, Lizard!"
Jimmy's voice cut through the wind.
"You're not going anywhere, Get down. Now."
One wolf claw locked him firmly in place.
The other slashed again and again.
Flesh tore.
Blood sprayed.
"AHHHH!!"
Smaug howled in pain, thrashing wildly through the air, rolling left and right, lashing his tail toward Jimmy again and again.
Not only did the tail fail to knock Jimmy off, but Jimmy also used the momentum.
Thud!
The massive saber was driven straight into Smaug's body.
Roar!!!
That blade was long.
This was not a shallow wound like the claws.
Even if it did not pierce a vital organ, it was close.
Smaug panicked.
He twisted his head around and snapped at Jimmy with his jaws.
Clack!
Missed.
Completely.
Jimmy had already calculated the position.
As long as Smaug stayed airborne, he could not land a clean hit.
Only the very tip of the tail could reach him.
And even if it hit, Jimmy's regeneration was faster than the damage.
Jimmy's plan was simple.
Dig.
Dig deeper.
And keep digging.
Carve a hole straight through Smaug's body.
As long as the dragon did not kill him first, Jimmy was going to be the most stubborn parasite this dragon had ever met.
Smaug realized it too.
Panic turned into raw instinct.
As Jimmy's claws began scraping against bone, Smaug's true savagery finally awakened.
He opened his jaws.
Dragonfire erupted.
…
At that moment, the dwarves reached the front of the castle.
"What's happening?"
CR
"Jimmy, has anyone seen Jimmy?"
"Why is Smaug screaming like that. Why is he flying so erratically?"
Baggins squinted into the sky.
He caught a glimpse of cold steel flashing in the sunlight.
"Jimmy seems to be on the dragon's back."
"What?"
"Where."
"Are we just going to stand here and do nothing?"
"No."
Thorin turned sharply.
"Search the armory. See if there are any dragon-slayer ballistae left. Bombur, come with me. We're going to back up Jimmy."
He looked back at the others, his voice hard.
"Balin, if there are no dragon-slayer weapons, none of you are to come out. If I fall in battle, Kíli will inherit the title of King Under the Mountain."
Thorin drew Orcrist and charged out of the gate.
…
At this moment, Smaug truly went all out.
Dragonfire gathered in his throat.
Jimmy.
The dragonfire engulfed him.
Flesh burned away. Bone was exposed.
His metallic-colored skeleton glowed faintly red, as if molten light flowed through it.
Molten armor dripped from his body, drop by drop.
Even the helmet was about to melt.
Suddenly, Jimmy felt a sharp numbness surge through him.
The next instant, violent lightning exploded from above his helmet.
A massive electric arc surged through Smaug's body.
The dragon convulsed violently.
The dragonfire died in his throat.
Smaug fell straight down.
Boom!
Electric arcs still danced across Jimmy's body.
His wounds had already fully regenerated.
Both of Jimmy's hands moved so fast they left afterimages.
He sliced clean through the membranes of Smaug's wings.
Let's see you fly now.
Without pause, Jimmy mounted Smaug's back again and started digging into him relentlessly.
For some reason, Jimmy's claw blades now crackled with lightning.
Faint red sparks shimmered along their edges as well.
"Howlz, what kind of monster are you?"
Smaug was terrified.
This was the first time he had ever seen a living creature that could not be burned to death by dragonfire.
The armor was nearly destroyed.
Yet the man beneath it was completely fine.
No! He looked even more energized.
Smaug lunged and bit down.
"Hahah, this is nice!"
Jimmy rolled away.
Heat flared at his chest.
The Arkenstone.
I should put this away first.
Jimmy stored it inside the Horadric Cube.
He tore off the warped armor and ripped the helmet free.
Both claw blades gleamed coldly.
Roar!!!
Smaug, 'You are more of a beast than I am.'
Dragonfire erupted again.
Jimmy charged straight through the flames.
One claw slashed.
Smaug screamed as one of his eyes was destroyed.
Jimmy flipped upward, landing on Smaug's head.
His claw blades descended in a storm of strikes.
Smaug tried to take flight.
Then he glanced at his shredded, leaking wings.
Jimmy was like an immortal parasite, dealing relentless damage.
At the right moment, Jimmy drew the Saber.
One decisive strike.
The blade pierced straight through Smaug's remaining eye.
Roar!!!
Jimmy was flung more than fifty meters away.
He rose to his feet, roaring back.
His shout echoed together with Smaug's final death cry.
Boom!
Smaug was dead.
The Saber had pierced through his skull.
His body was covered in countless claw marks.
There were over forty wounds deep enough to expose bone.
Minor injuries were too many to count.
"Huff Huff"
Jimmy was exhausted.
After resting for a while, he ate five or six pieces of elven lembas bread.
He took out a fresh set of clothes from the Horadric Cube and changed.
He placed the Arkenstone into his pocket.
Dragon blood was not worth collecting.
The wing membranes were good.
Thin dragon scales covered them.
They would make excellent armor lining.
The dragon scales themselves were not impressive. Inferior to metal, and Jimmy did not need the extra weight.
The dragon bones were interesting.
Even his claw blades could not cut through them easily. They might be suitable for forging weapons.
They were already partially metallic.
Dwarves were experts in this field.
Thorin and his people could handle it, Dragon teeth were too small and purely bone.
A dragon-tooth dagger was not happening.
Still, bringing them back for Stark to study might be useful.
Jimmy examined Smaug one last time.
Reluctantly, he cut off a large chunk of leg meat, Then he stored Smaug's corpse inside the Horadric Cube.
A single dragon took up four inventory slots.
All of Jimmy's other miscellaneous items combined did not even fill two.
Chewing on lembas bread, Jimmy walked toward the Lonely Mountain.
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