Bear School Astartes

As Smaug spoke viciously, its entire spine had already compressed like a spring storing power.

Then that large mouth suddenly opened in an instant, the long dragon head tilted low to increase its coverage area, biting forward!

Smaug’s sharp teeth and claws were as deadly as its dragon flame.

Even solid metal, stone blocks can be torn and crushed by it!

But a series of attacks had already emptied two heavy crossbow cannon magazines for Lann, whose originally mocking demeanor suddenly calmed down at this moment.

At this time, the fragments of the wooden boat he was stepping on had already been pushed against the wall of a building’s ruins.

The Demon Hunter swiftly loaded the heavy [Roar of the Roaring Dragon] into the Alchemy Pouch at his lower back.

Then immediately somersaulted against the wall, fiercely jumping upwards!

Under the Light Body Skill, which reduced his weight and strengthened his muscles and tendon coils to enhance power, Lann’s wall jump was nearly close to a height of ten meters!

The wall he stepped on directly collapsed under the force from his legs, stone brick wall bursting apart!

Smaug’s mouth, biting close to the ground, instead slid past beneath Lann’s feet.

But... ”Hoo~~~”

The fierce sound of swirling airflow came from above!

The already hazy moonlight and starlight suddenly projected a menacing shadow resembling a guillotine blade wheel!

The Demon Hunter’s slightly glowing beast eyes in the dark glanced upwards—there were Smaug’s raised wing claws during its forward dragon bite!

On the dragon head lying close to the ground, its eyes distributed on either side, one eye at the moment gazed at Lann jumping above it.

In those dim-yellow dragon eyes, there was full of mockery and cruelty!

You thought my massive bite was meant for you to play tricks!? You thought I hadn’t noticed how quick and agile your moves were before!? It was meant for you to dodge! Now see who’s the fool!

”Seems like you are indeed stupid, Smaug.”

Hmm?!

The dim-yellow dragon eyes widened, but directly met the Demon Hunter’s slightly glowing beast eyes looking down from above.

The Demon Hunter was expressionless, the storm stirred up by the dragon wing and the shadow it cast dulled his silver hair yet deepened it further.

Shadows cast half across his beautiful face, in the half-light and half-darkness, Smaug had a moment of uncertainty.

Wait... Where are his eyes looking?!

Just a moment’s realization, the evil dragon immediately sensed something was very wrong!

Because Lann’s eyes were directed at the direction towards the root of its wing after its left wing lifted!

And behind the broken wall that Lann jumped off, a human archer stood up resolutely and fortunately from the rooftop!

At the same time, his bow was fully drawn, and a large arrow like a short spear was already nocked! Moreover, its tip sparkled with golden electric light!

This position was precisely what Lann planned!

”I see it!”

Bard muttered, this was the flaw left by his ancestors on Smaug’s chest!

At the moment he was most fearful, most hesitant to move forward, that flaw suddenly appeared in front of him, a spontaneous hope instantly filled Bard’s chest.

Hope... Just the expression alone of seeing hope on a human’s face carries great contagion.

So Bard unhesitatingly stood and shot at this moment!

Not only Bard, at this time, in the ruins of Long Lake Town, beset by Smaug, elves lightly jumped up.

Eyes wide open, staring intently at this scene!

Bard’s archery had won their recognition, and under these circumstances, hitting the moving dragon’s vulnerable spot on a piece of dragon scale should be no difficult task for him.

Seeing that the dragon dragging the Lonely Mountain Region into desolation and darkness was about to be killed by the black arrow, everyone’s heart was at edge.

The black arrow shot out, carrying snapping electric noise, the arrowhead shimmering with an oily gleam, as well as the humming sound brought by the black arrow’s unique arrowhead design gliding through the air.

As Bard shot the arrow, it seemed like he gathered all his energy, and as the black arrow flew from the bowstring he nearly collapsed, gasping as his gaze followed the black arrow’s flight.

The arrow flew towards the imagined trajectory, headed for the dragon scale’s deficiency.

Bard felt somewhat relaxed here, due to the feeling in his hand.

Like basketball shooting, an archer with a sense knows the result from the moment the object leaves the hand.

But then...

Still in midair, Lann suddenly sensed something unusual behind him.

This was too fierce!

The wind stirred up by Smaug’s dragon wing was too intense!

It’s applying extra force!

In an instant like an electric flash, thoughts completed processing.

The Demon Hunter frowned, raised his left arm guard aiming towards Smaug’s sharp teeth stretching outwards!

With a ’whizz’, the evil dragon’s mouth below Lann’s feet, a sharp tooth inside was instantly hooked and locked by the Projector.

Then a mechanical bite coupled quickly contract.

Lann in midair was immediately pulled down faster, combining gravity with mechanical pull!

And almost brushing past Lann’s hair in midair, Smaug’s wing claw seemed to squeeze out one more force in its deadly crisis.

The speed of crashing down quickening by a fraction.

This fraction of speed was not a hindrance, because Bard’s shot black arrow was still faster.

But what was lethal is... After Smaug accelerated to swing down its wing claw, its chest was thus stretched!

”Clang~”

A crisp sound of metal clashing suddenly resonated, Bard and the distant elves chilled halfway upon hearing it.

Because if the black arrow directly pierces the flesh, that kind of sound shouldn’t be possible!

Indeed, that was the case.

The arrowhead, entwined like two snakes, did not land precisely on the vulnerable spot where a piece of dragon scale had been shed on Smaug’s chest, due to his own body movements.

First, it struck the dragon scales surrounding the vulnerable spot several times, creating sparks.

Because it was caught between several dragon scales and the collision frequency was too high, it sounded like a single noise.

Subsequently, during its ricochet, it diagonally pierced into Smaug’s flesh.

The arrowhead, shimmering with golden electric currents and a greasy sheen, penetrated beneath the dragon scales into the dragon skin.

Smaug immediately neglected Lann, who was near its mouth, and his eyes opened wider than ever, emitting an earsplitting scream!

Its enormous dragon body twisted in agony, and its wings flailed wildly, nearly stirring a storm over the lake water!

The hunting [Loose Gold Rosin] caused it extraordinary pain.

And the [Higher Dragon Race] sword oil, entering through its blood and muscles, began to poison the tissue around its wound.

But undoubtedly... these couldn’t kill it!

The surrounding flames blazed fiercely, fueled by the dragon’s impassioned roars!

Even the dwarves far away in the Lonely Mountain, and the residents of River Valley City who dared not light a lamp, could clearly see the flames of Long Lake Town flare up into the sky!

”You think... this... ah!... this can kill me!?”

Smaug twisted its massive body in anguish, but its flexible wing claw still managed to grasp the black arrow on its chest, painfully pulling it out!

”You’re... dreaming!”

The lightweight black arrow, visibly deformed, had its arrowhead heated to a dark red within Smaug, before finally being yanked out and discarded.

Bard’s caution towards the black arrow was justified; even just a few harsh impacts against the dragon scales during its flight greatly diminished the killing power of this precious and delicate dwarf weapon against the dragon.

If speaking only of the length of the black arrow, even if shot accurately, at a perpendicular angle aimed at the chest, it would only be about the same thickness as the dragon’s skin and muscle.

A one-centimeter needle piercing a human chest would likely not be fatal, as the thickness of chest muscles, fat, and skin exceeds one centimeter.

The size comparison between Smaug and the black arrow was much the same.

”No... no no!”

Bard, almost bewildered, could not hold onto his longbow, letting it slip from his hands and fall into the lake along with the rooftop.

The only black arrow in this world, and he dropped it!

...just like his ancestor Jirian.

And back then, his ancestor lost his life due to his mistake, with the city being massacred by the dragon.

What about him now? His three children are still in the ruins of River Valley City, and Smaug has long since realized this.

Panic, despair, the negative emotions flooded Bard’s heart in an instant.

Driven by duty and family love, he could, as a fisherman with remarkable archery skills, launch a life-sacrificing shot at the dragon.

But after missing, this emotion almost crushed him.

And on the other side of Long Lake Town, the elves who had been providing support and harassment were at a loss, looking at Thranduil.

Amid the intense flames and ruins, Smaug rampaged, spreading its wings to exhibit its authority and might.

This wicked dragon, once its wings spread, covered nearly a fifth of the sky above Long Lake Town!

At this moment, the Elf King subconsciously touched his left cheek.

A face with scars concealed by Illusion Technique.

His expression was stern and disappointed, but he finally raised his spirits, gesturing to the archers around him.

”Let’s go.” Before turning away, he looked with sympathy at the dejected and despairing human archer standing on the rooftop before the dragon. ”There’s no chance anymore... it’s over.”

”Let’s return and prepare for the dragon’s retaliation. Be sure to stop it in the Obscure...”

But just as Thranduil adjusted his black cloak with silver threads to leave.

Before he could say the latter ’Forest,’ an elf archer exclaimed in surprise.

”What’s that?!”

Thranduil, having composed himself, frowned and looked back.

He happened to see Smaug, wings spread wide in arrogance, flying low and lunging towards Bard and Lann ahead.

At that moment, they were close enough that such a move wasn’t necessary, but Smaug delighted in completely crushing and overwhelming the spirit of its angered adversaries.

Thus, it painstakingly took off, diving down.

However, just as Smaug’s two hind paws barely lifted off the ground, the clouds above began to flash with electric light.

A blue and white glowing figure abruptly appeared over the vast lake outside of Long Lake Town, hurtling rapidly toward the town!

Immediately, before the dragon could react, a thick bolt of lightning struck down from the clouds!

With a ”clang,” it crashed onto its back!

”Aaaahhh!”

Smaug roared furiously, the precious metals caught in the gaps of its scale armor possessing excellent conductivity.

The scattered gold across its body even formed a network with the electricity, encasing Smaug’s form.

This still did not injure it, but the spasms and tingling from the electric shock caused its nascent flight to crash back down.

And just at the next moment when the current disappeared.

A hook aimed at the vulnerable spot on Smaug’s chest shot forward, prompting the dragon to swiftly retract its twitching wing claw to block it.

But immediately, someone was pulled over by the hook.

Without insistence on reaching the distant dragon chest, they rather stood on the wing claw’s wing bone.

Lann had neither Bard’s dismay nor Thranduil’s swift, pragmatic decision to turn away in the face of futility.

He calmly and methodically carried out his plan.

A great sword so massive even by Smaug’s sight was staggeringly huge, found itself slung over Lann’s shoulder somehow.

And then... ”Boom!!!”