American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

On the other side, having taught the annoying ranger party and Aragorn a lesson, Smaug seemed to be in a good mood, spreading his wings to show off his power while preparing to enjoy the amusing expressions of human cowardice and fear.

Just then, a black arrow whistled through the air and, before the dragon could react, struck precisely the gap in its belly scales.

"Ow~"

With a tremendous howl, the dragon Smaug collapsed to the ground, then rolled several times in agony.

The enormous commotion shook the entire hall.

"Bard, you did it!!! No wonder you're the best archer in Laketown!"

"This evil dragon that has plagued the Central Plains for many years is finally going to die..."

"..."

Seeing the dragon Smaug howling in pain, the Elf Prince Legolas and Aragorn, among others, praised Bard.

“No, something’s not right…” Bard, who had shot the black arrow from the crowd, looked increasingly grave.

Logically speaking, a dragon whose heart has been pierced should die instantly, instead of struggling and panting on the ground like this.

Therefore, there is only one answer: although the black arrow struck the dragon's Achilles' heel, it did not pierce its heart.

"Humans...you have truly enraged me this time..."

Smaug's subsequent actions proved Bard's suspicions true.

Although trembling with pain, the dragon, having endured the initial agony, used its forepaws to pull out the black arrow that had penetrated nearly halfway into its body.

After throwing the black arrow that had nearly killed him to the ground, Smaug's eyes were bloodshot when he looked up again.

"Prepare to meet Smaug's wrath!! I will send you to hell in flames!!!"

Having narrowly escaped death before, Smaug had no time for playing around. When it got serious, its entire body burst into orange-red flames.

Finally, these flames were gathered at the throat, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

"Sure enough, without the wind crossbow, the black arrows are much less powerful..."

Bard, who had only brought a hard bow with him at the last minute, realized his mistake.

Caught in deep guilt, he even forgot to dodge Smaug's attack.

"This is not the time to be spacing out... Get out of the way..."

Realizing the situation was dire, the Elf Prince and Aragorn simultaneously lunged at Bard, intending to pull him aside to avoid trouble.

However, the dragon Smaug was able to wreak havoc in Middle-earth for many years because of his innate fire abilities.

Furthermore, this time it attacked in anger, and the flames that had been compressed to the extreme were spewed out and instantly spread throughout the entire hall.

The Elf Prince and Aragorn, who had escaped the blaze by lying on the ground, even felt that the aftershocks of the flames were almost setting their hair and clothes ablaze.

However, the situation isn't much better now. If the flames burn any longer, they'll be roasted into jerky sooner or later.

Just then, Mike, who was in charge of finishing up, leaped up and used his fire affinity to catch the flames spewed out by the dragon Smaug.

In the end, the flames that filled the sky were once again condensed and compressed into a small, bright red ball in his hand.

"You like playing with fire, huh? Here you go~"

Amidst the provocation, Mike threw the fireball back into Smaug's mouth, which hadn't yet closed.

"Woo...Woo..."

With a frustrated groan, the fireball finally exploded inside Smaug's belly.

Then, amidst a series of coughs, the dragon Smaug spewed out a large amount of black smoke, along with some blood fragments.

Judging from its appearance, this dragon does not have high fire resistance. After being burned by its own fire ability, it suffered serious internal injuries.

"Very well, you just wait... If I can't deal with you, surely I can handle other humans~"

Smaug, having been thwarted once again, angrily grabbed several stone pillars and hurled them at Bud and the others. After holding Mike back, it quickly flew out of the palace.

Clearly, Smaug, who had plagued Middle-earth for many years, was actually a cowardly dragon who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

After suffering a great loss with Mike and his group, they wanted to take their anger out on the ordinary people of Middle-earth.

No, we can't let it leave!

Bud, who was rescued by Mike again, clearly heard Smaug's words before he left.

Then it quickly dawned on them that Changhu Town, only a dozen kilometers away, would probably become the perfect target for the evil dragon's anger.

"Don't worry, it can't escape."

After offering Bud a word of comfort, Mike also flew out of the hall.

Chapter 612 The Dragon and the Treasure of Lonely Mountain

"Did you hear that? It sounds like there's a battle going on in Lonely Mountain..."

On the side of Lonely Mountain, Bilbo, who was helping the dwarves search for a hidden entrance, pressed his ear against the rock face.

Actually, he didn't need to do that. The sounds of the fierce battle in Lonely Mountain were audible to anyone who wasn't deaf.

“It seems that Mr. Mike entered Lonely Mountain before us…” White-bearded Balin looked up at the towering stone wall in front of him and said sadly, “Perhaps it is fate that we dwarves will never be able to return to Lonely Mountain.”

Today is the Dwarfs' Dulin Day, and the sun has already sunk below the horizon, but the Dwarfs still haven't found the side gate to the Lonely Mountain.

In addition, it seems that Mike has already entered Lonely Mountain.

With these two situations intertwined, the dwarves could not help but feel despair.

"When the thrush flaps its wings... standing beside the gray rocks... the setting sun, bathed in the afterglow of the Turin day... will shine on the keyhole..."

At this moment, Thorin, looking utterly defeated, took out a map and began reading the runes on it.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the last rays of Dulinri were about to disappear.

Thorin, a descendant of the royal family of the Durin dwarves, felt a sense of urgency and finally, with a dejected expression, threw the map and the golden key to open the side gate of Lonely Mountain to the ground.

Then, in despair, he walked down the mountain.

The other dwarves, having lost all hope of reclaiming Lonely Mountain, dejectedly followed Thorin away.

"I knew the dwarves were unreliable, they've wasted our time..."

"Yeah, who would have thought the dwarves were so useless. We should have followed Sophia and the others; maybe they would have already reached Lonely Mountain and found the treasure..."

"..."

Those rangers who had previously betrayed Sophia to join the dwarven adventure party in hopes of making a fortune began to criticize Thorin and the others after they gave up.

Then, one by one, they angrily pushed past the dwarves and rushed down the mountain.

It seems they want to try and see if they can rejoin Sofia's ranger team and get a share of the profits.

"That...that's Smaug the dragon! They've awakened the dragon!!!"

Just then, among the dwarves who were preparing to descend the mountain, someone spotted Smaug flying out of the main gate of the Lonely Mountain.

Even though they were two or three kilometers apart, the dragon, which was over a hundred meters long and kept spewing flames from its nose, still greatly shocked the dwarves.

"Something seems off. That dragon seems to have been provoked and is heading towards Lake Town. It looks like it wants to destroy human towns again..." Whitebeard Balin analyzed in surprise.

At this moment, Smaug, who was flying and spewing flames, exuded a menacing aura that anyone could feel.

In this state, the dragon is destined for disaster.

"Is there even a question? Mike must have angered the dragon, causing it to vent its anger on the residents of Lake-town." While his own defeat was regrettable, the fact that his opponent had caused such a disaster gave Thorin the urge to gloat. "Isn't that 'Healer' considered humanity's hope? Let's see how he explains himself to the residents of Lake-town this time..."

The dwarves in the adventure party had all heard about the good deeds Mike had done at the Gondor defenses.

However, the more outstanding Mike was, the more unhappy Thorin became.

So, with a puzzled expression, he wasn't in a hurry to go down the mountain. He found a spot with a good view and prepared to watch Mike's "show."

"Thorin, I should try to help the residents of Lake-town. They are all innocent..." As an old man, Balin the Whitebeard had witnessed the tragic scene when the evil dragon destroyed Riverdale, and thus felt compassion.

Moreover, as the "chief steward" of the Durin clan, Balin also believed that if Thorin wanted to succeed Thor, the king of the mountain, he should have the magnanimity of a king.

Instead of standing by and watching disaster happen, and then gloating.

"Why should we help those foolish humans? Have you forgotten the ostracism we suffered in Lake-town?" Thorin said coldly. "They deserved it..."

Seeing the new King of Dulin react this way, Balin sighed and said nothing more.

However, there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

Clearly, Thorin is now blinded by his own pride and is not a qualified king.

At the same time, the other dwarves' gazes toward Thorin also became more complicated.

One thing at a time, although dwarves may be rude and awful, they should never be the kind of people who stand by and watch others die and gloat over their misfortunes.

Of course, the dwarves' discussion took place in a very short time, and Smaug had only just flown to the sky above Long Lake, a dozen kilometers away.

Then, in the afterglow of the setting sun, the dwarves saw a figure radiating white light, which then flew out from the Lonely Mountain.

“That’s Mike…he’s trying to stop Smaug…”

"I don't know if it's too late..."

"..."

As I said before, dwarves may not have the best personalities, but they are definitely not bad at heart.

They were delighted to see Mike stop the dragon Smaug and save the residents of Lake-town.

Then, amidst the dwarves' gasps, Mike, trailing a white "tail," quickly caught up with the dragon over Long Lake.

Immediately following a series of flashes of white light, the dragon Smaug was struck and tumbled several times in the air.

Finally, amidst screams, it stretched its neck and fell into the long lake below.

The icy lake water at the turn of autumn and winter instantly extinguished the flames of anger on Smaug's body, and a large cloud of white mist rose up.

"Yes~ Well done!!!"

"As expected of the man who slew Yama, the fact that he took the treasure of Lonely Mountain means our Lin clan isn't ashamed at all..."

"..."

The dwarves cheered when they witnessed Mike defeat Smaug.

They even gradually came to terms with the fact that the treasure of Lonely Mountain had been taken away.

In this situation, only Thorin, who had been waiting to see the "good show," looked increasingly grim.

Of course, none of the dwarves, who were in the midst of their emotional outburst, noticed this.

Perhaps Whitebeard Balin saw it, but this time, the steward did not choose to persuade the new Dulin Dwarf King as he had done before.

……

"Smaug, what did you just say? You said you'd go and destroy human towns and make me regret it??"

On the other side, after shooting down Smaug, Mike also landed on the lake and walked towards him across the shimmering water.

“No, you misheard me. I meant that the treasure of Lonely Mountain belongs to the virtuous, and naturally it should belong to you… As for me, I should leave…” Smaug, who looked like a drowned rat, actually managed to squeeze out a fawning expression on his dragon face.

It is clear that it is quite intelligent.

Moreover, its decision to leave decisively was based on a vague feeling that the human in front of it was very strong, but it never expected him to be this strong.

It rendered it completely powerless to resist.

If it had known this would happen, it certainly wouldn't have said those harsh words when it ran away.

However, it seems there is still time to back down. Smaug is not only a cowardly dragon who bullies the weak, but also a clever dragon who can bend and stretch.

In fact, given Smaug's strength, Middle-earth is not without people who can deal with him.

However, there must be a reason why it has been able to wreak havoc on Gushan for so many years and has not been eliminated.

It is known that the dragon has bullied dwarves, humans, and even the elves in the Black Forest, but it has never actively provoked any of the stronger beings in Middle-earth.

"How come I heard you say something different before..." Mike's fists once again gathered holy light, preparing to give this "cunning" evil dragon a hard blow.

Clearly, Smaug has met his match this time.

"Spare me... If you spare my life, I'm willing to submit to you and become your mount..." Sensing that death was imminent, Smaug began to beg for mercy, tears streaming down his face.

It's quite remarkable that it can make such a human-like expression.