From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 279 Fight! Cool!

"Thief! Shameless thief!"

Smaug's rumbling voice echoed in the halls of the kingdom under the mountain. The sound waves reflected back and forth, overlapping and amplifying each other, making the other creatures in the cave feel that their internal organs were shaking.

Ivy didn't hear Bilbo's voice when she walked into the secret passage, but judging from Smaug's rage, he must be safe and sound.

The Kingdom Under the Mountain is undoubtedly an architectural wonder in Middle-earth. It is a kingdom built in the belly of the mountain. The dwarves dug in this mountain for an unknown period of time and actually hollowed out the entire mountain. They were still not satisfied and continued to dig downwards along the traces of gold and gem veins until they dug out the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain, which was buried deep underground.

But the dwarves of the Kingdom under the Mountain do not live in mines. They have built countless halls embedded in the rocks and connected all the halls with stairs and railings. Although they are called dwarves, their architectural style is surprisingly tall and majestic. Giant stone sculptures holding various weapons are arranged around the halls. Even though some have been knocked down and broken by Smaug, it does not affect the shock they bring to visitors at all. Instead, it adds a sense of broken epic.

"...Shall we talk about your dwarf friends?" Smaug's attack must have missed, otherwise he would not have suddenly changed from anger to persuasion.

"They sent you in to die, while they themselves were hiding outside..." In addition to Smaug's voice, Ivy also heard the endless sound of metal objects colliding, which were like waves surging on the seashore, one after another.

It must have been the sound of Smaug moving in the gold.

Ivy quickened his pace. He could already see the faint golden-red light deep in the hall.

"...I am very familiar with the smell of the dwarves, and their taste. For gold, they will chase like flies to blood..."

"...Do you think I don't know that this day will come sooner or later?" More pillars were pushed down by Smaug. "...A group of greedy and hypocritical dwarves, sneaking back to the Lonely Mountain just to get my wealth?"

"Revenge!" Smaug exhaled, blowing up a large cloud of gold coins and gems. "Revenge! The King under the Mountain has been dead for so long! Which of his descendants dares to take revenge? I burned Girion, the Lord of Dale, to death with my flames, and I used his people as snacks to fill my stomach. Who dares to approach me? I can kill or give life, as I please!"

Smaug's voice seemed to be getting farther away, and Ivy guessed that Bilbo was leading it deeper. Looking at the steps that continued to extend downward, Ivy sighed and decided to jump down. The feather-falling effect of the Ravenclaw crown could prevent him from falling from a height, so Ivy chose this more time-saving and labor-saving way to travel.

"My scales are stronger than armor made of ten layers of fine steel, my fangs and claws are comparable to all the magic weapons in the world, my tail can cut mountains in half, the wind under my wings can change the weather, and even my breath is enough to bring death!" Smaug continued to brag about his abilities, not noticing Ivy getting closer and closer to his head.

Crossing the stone pillars and covered bridges, gold like a beach appeared in front of Ivy. Every grain of sand was a gold coin. This was an ocean made of gold, and it was bottomless. The floor built by the dwarves was completely invisible.

The gold reflected the red light from Smaug's abdomen, coating his dark red scales with a layer of gold. What a huge creature!
Smaug is not a four-legged, two-winged dragon in the DND world view. Instead, he is similar to Norbeta, the little dragon that Ivy raised in Hogwarts, with wide wing membranes connected to his forelimbs. His huge head is comparable to the town hall of Long Lake Town. A dozen Ivies squeezed together cannot fill that gluttonous mouth. Wide and smooth inclined plates and spikes protrude above the eyes, and the short and pointed golden-red horns are divided into a series of sections, extending backward from the inclined plates. There are also swept-back spines and frills on the back of Smaug's slightly protruding lower jaw.

The tongue he relied on to bewitch people was long, pointed, and very flexible, and he could speak obscure and exquisite sentences with a vocal organ that was completely different from that of humans. The tongue was hidden behind two rows of teeth as sharp as razors, but Ivy knew that the size he saw now was because he was still far away from Smaug. In fact, each of his teeth was at least half as tall as Ivy.

In the DND world view, real dragons are divided into many different levels according to their age. Each age means that the dragon's body size and natural scales will undergo a huge enhancement. Their body size will start from a super-small egg, spanning seven levels, and gradually grow into a super-giant behemoth. But even an ancient dragon that has lived for more than 1,200 years is definitely not half the size of Smaug.

You should know that red dragons are known for their size. When they reach the super-giant ancient dragon stage, their total length will reach an astonishing 120 feet! This means that Smaug's total length is at least 200 to 300 feet!
Compared with the black arrow that is as tall as a person, it is like using a toothpick to slay a dragon.

Smaug stopped, and Ivy saw Bilbo standing right in front of it, looking up at the tree like a sesame seed.

"I almost gave it to you... If only I could make Oakenshield feel pain... until he was destroyed... corroded... messed with his mind, drove him mad..." Smaug whispered, and the scales under his chest and abdomen began to emit hot flames from the gaps.

"But I changed my mind... our little game should be over... maybe you should consider which way of death would make you happier?" Smaug lowered his long snake neck and looked at Bilbo on the ground with difficulty. "Let me guess... being burned to death by the fire I exhale?"

"Perhaps... Respected Smaug, great Smaug! Can you spare my life?" Bilbo had already seen Ivy approaching the dragon from above, and stood there trying to delay time.

"Hahaha..." Smaug laughed softly, "I refuse! Let me choose one for you!"

Fire surged from Smaug's belly and condensed in his throat in the blink of an eye. Even approaching from above Smaug's head, Ivy could still feel the overwhelming heat.

"Run!" Ivy raised her sword and aimed at Smaug's head, shouting to the hobbits below.

The hobbit who was Smaug's target suddenly disappeared. The dragon was stunned, then looked up to find Ivy who was making the noise above his head.

However, it was this action of raising his head that added a new wound to Smaug's body, which had not been injured in hundreds of years.

The Beast Bite Sword surged with the power of three elements, with a dark paleness, breaking through the keratinous thorns around the dragon's eye sockets and nailing it fiercely on the narrow pupil of Smaug's huge eyeball.

Ivy was originally aiming at Smaug's huge head, because Ivy had no experience fighting in the air. In order to get the first blood as much as possible, he aimed at the target that was least likely to miss.

Who knew that Smaug's subconscious behavior would actually bring his weak eyeball directly in front of him. If he didn't strike him with a sword now, how would he have a chance next time?
"Roar--"

Hot blood spurted out of the orange-yellow eyeball. Ivy kicked Smaug's eyelid and used the force to pull out the Beast Bite Sword.

Before Smaug's roar stopped, raging flames spewed out of his mouth. As his right side was out of sight, Smaug only sprayed his anger in a general direction, shaking his neck as much as possible to make the flames burn as wide as possible, because he knew that even the strongest rock could not withstand the burning of the flames in his belly, so as long as a spark touched the attacker, it would be enough to set him on fire.

Unfortunately, he met Ivy, a wizard who was well prepared.

The flames he was so proud of did hit Ivy, who was in midair and had no power to gain leverage, but they did not cause him any harm. This was because he had deeply connected himself with the flames, and the fiery power could not hurt him at all. Smaug did not hear the expected screams. He spread his wings and jumped back swiftly, twisting his head to observe the situation on the battlefield with his intact left eye.

A young man in an elegant green robe, holding a staff and a sword, was standing there, looking at him with a smile on his face.

"A human! How dare you face the great Smaug alone?" Smaug raised his head as high as possible, on the one hand to bring psychological pressure to his opponent, and on the other hand to stay as far away as possible from the weapon in Ivy's hand. He had been stabbed in the eye by a toothpick-sized object, and he would never let that thing get close to the weak parts of his body again.

"You are wrong! Smaug, I..." Before Ivy could finish her words, Smaug launched an attack, it was his tail hidden under the pile of gold coins.

The gold coins swept up by its tail rained down on Ivy. The cunning dragon had no intention of chatting with Ivy, but wanted to kill him while Ivy was lowering his guard.

However, the dragon's tail that swept over with the force of thunder missed. As a sword master, the last thing that could happen to Ivy was being attacked by surprise. Besides, Ivy had already taken the initiative in this battle.

After a burst of silver mist, Ivy appeared under Smaug's dragon claws, and then slashed between the solid scales with a sword. The scales with gems and gold coins in the gaps could not block Ivy's blade for a moment, and a huge wound was cut. Such a wound might be enough to cut a person in half, but for a giant like Smaug, it was just a scratch.

The wounds between the dragon's claws no longer gushed out hot blood, but instead many crystal ice fragments appeared. Ivy had dealt a heavy blow with this sword, and it was the additional effect of the heavy blow that created these ice crystals to hurt Smaug.

Since Ivy knew very well that the dragon was immune to fire damage just like himself, when he used his arcane ability to enchant the Beast Bite Sword, he did not choose the old three abilities of Blazing Flame, Frost, and Electric Shock, but instead chose Ice Blast as a replacement for Blazing Flame and Frost.

Ice Explosion is an advanced enchantment of Frost, which consumes two points of weapon bonus brought by arcane ability. For general attacks, Ice Explosion, like Frost, will add an additional d6 freezing damage, but for attacks that cause critical hits, Ice Explosion can also evoke the power of icy cold to cause a second damage, and the damage dice is d10. Moreover, if the weapon's critical hit multiplier is tripled, then this additional damage will be increased to 2d10.

剑圣对于斩击的精通让他们获得了【完全猛击】的能力，并且能在造成重击的时候，通过付出2点奥能让伤害倍率再次提升一倍，因此艾维的这一发重击不但造成了三倍武器伤害，而且附着在武器上的魔法武器加值，还有神圣、冰爆和电击三种武器特效，以及艾维20点敏捷带来的5点属性调整值都会乘三（3d10+15+12的挥砍伤害、6d6光耀伤害、3d6+2d10冰冻伤害、3d6闪电伤害）。

This damage number would be terrifying even for a Ringwraith like the Witch-king of Angmar, but Ivy was facing a dragon as big as a mountain. Even a heavy blow with triple damage was just a pedicure for Smaug.

As a dragon that had never been injured and only lost a piece of breastplate when facing the black arrow shot by the wind crossbow, Smaug's experience today was simply incomprehensible to him. Ivy's first attack blinded one of his eyes, and then he dodged his large-scale fire and tail sweep, rushed to his feet and cut off a large piece of his foot skin.

"What! Who are you? What kind of weapon is that!" Smaug roared in shock and anger, and retreated again. For a creature like him, it is instinctive to seek benefits and avoid harm. Since the opponent can break through his defense with the sword in his hand, it is obviously a more appropriate strategy to use long-range strikes to destroy the opponent. Smaug does not want to risk his life, he just wants to avoid getting hurt.

But the underground space of Lonely Mountain is very advantageous to Ivy. Although the dwarves built the halls and palaces in the kingdom very tall, and even had enough space to accommodate behemoths like Smaug and huge amounts of gold, the height of the underground space is limited after all. Smaug cannot use his powerful wings and cannot make himself invincible.

The golden waves stirred up by Smaug's movement caused great trouble for Ivy. As a very dense metal, gold is very difficult to pull out when it forms a beach, let alone being completely buried. In order to avoid the oncoming golden waves, Ivy had to use the phantom step to move again.

This time he hid behind a broken pillar, watching the golden wave crash into the pillar like a reef, and then surged from both sides, almost surrounding him. Fortunately, the weight of gold made it lack the fluidity of water even in a very large amount, otherwise Ivy would be buried in the gold pile.

Smaug, who was watching Ivy's movements closely, noticed this as well, sensing that the humans below were dodging the waves of gold as if they were his tail, proving that both would cause trouble to the man who was giving himself a pedicure with a toothpick.

So Smaug began to move over a larger area, trying to roll up more gold to kill Ivy.

"Greedy invader! Arrogant person who wants to slay a dragon! This is your end. Be drowned and swallowed by gold! Drown here in despair!"

When Smaug roared threateningly, Ivy added new spell enhancements to herself. One was the extrasensory spell from the wizarding world, which was used to increase the sensitivity and perception of Ivy's reflex nerves. He needed to pay attention to the movements of gold in all directions at all times while fighting Smaug.

The second is the second ring of Spider Walk, which allows Ivy to gain the ability to move on vertical surfaces or ceilings within an hour. If the gold under your feet is too hot, then moving to the top to launch an attack is obviously a reasonable strategy, and Ivy has already had a successful experience.

Ivy ran along the pillar where she was hiding, and challenged Smaug from the top, "Are you really the evil dragon Smaug? I think you are just a lizard that can breathe fire!"

"How dare you!" Before Smaug could use his remaining left eye to determine Ivy's location, a wave of cold air surged out from Ivy's staff and successfully hit Smaug 100 feet away.

This wave of cold air froze a large area on Smaug's wing membrane. It was the fifth-ring evocation spell Frostbone. Facing the vulnerable freezing damage, Smaug's proud defense was no longer effective. He let out an ear-piercing roar and sprayed his own flames in the direction of the freezing air wave.

However, Ivy was no longer there. The route he chose was to the right of Smaug. With one eye blind, attacks from this direction were more difficult to detect. Since he had already created an advantage through the attack, he should try to maximize it.

Smaug noticed the sound of Ivy stepping on the pile of gold coins, and then turned his head to adjust the direction of his breath.

But Ivy was faster. After sprinting a few steps, he slid and hid under another stone platform.

However, Smaug's flames did not stop. He was determined to burn through the entire rock platform and turn Ivy behind him into ashes.

But after leaving Smaug's sight, Ivy had already thought of a plan to escape and launch a counterattack. He picked up a huge golden plate at his feet and opened a mysterious door on it. This is a six-ring conjuration spell that creates two portals placed within the caster's sight. All creatures or objects that pass through one portal will appear from the other side, as if the two portals are adjacent to each other.

Ivy's target was a giant clock on a high platform in the distance. Its surface was now covered with a lot of dust, but it was still hanging on the clock base as if it had just been made. Perhaps this was a copper object, otherwise Smaug should have collected it as part of his treasure pile.

In order to be able to move between the two portals, Ivy also used telekinesis to place the golden plate on the pile of gold coins. As soon as he got in, the telekinesis would be cut off due to insufficient range, and the golden plate would roll down the slope, thus avoiding the consequence of being melted into golden water by Smaug's flames.

(End of this chapter)