"Look, what a tiny worm! I could crush you with a single finger. But I'm in a good mood right now, and I pity weak humans like you, so I'm willing to chat with a human from outside Lake-town... Worship me! Declare your humble status to the great Smaug! Applaud my renown and legends in the outside world!"
Smaug displayed his arrogance to Arthur, but only if Arthur was truly standing before Smaug, and not speaking through Alfred's body.
In Arthur' eyes, Alfred's movements were utterly comical.
He suppressed a laugh and said, "I think if you surrender to me, I'll specially build a circus for you in my territory, and you'll be the best, most hilariously funny animal performer in the circus."
Smaug wasn't angry; instead, he laughed sarcastically, "You'd make a great jester. My long slumber in the Lonely Mountain has made me a bit bored, and I happen to be missing a clown like you. It suits you perfectly. So tell me, what's your name? That way, it'll be easier for me to assign you a position that matches your name."
Arthur narrowed his eyes, sneering, "So you can enslave others' souls by knowing their names? From the moment you started speaking, your voice has been trying to worm its way into my mind to influence me. The Mayor of Lake-town and this unfortunate fellow you're using to speak to me right now, that's how you controlled them."
"So what?" Smaug had no intention of hiding it and admitted it directly.
However, Arthur could sense that the reason the other party admitted it so readily wasn't because they were magnanimous, but simply because they didn't see him as a threat.
In other words, Smaug didn't think Arthur knowing this would have any impact on him.
How arrogant.
Arthur thought silently to himself, but he liked arrogant enemies like this.
That way, he could fully exploit this to kill Smaug.
Smaug's mouth curved into a cunning smile at this point: "You must be thinking that I'm very arrogant and don't take you humans seriously. So you can use my arrogance to lure me into the ridiculous traps you worms have set, and then eliminate me."
Arthur's lips twitched. Now, he had to add "cunning" to his assessment of Smaug.
Seeing Arthur remain silent, Smaug controlled Alfred to crawl on the ground and continued, "Although I don't know what you human worms are planning, the destruction of Lake-town is already a foregone conclusion. I hope you can live until then. I will torment you thoroughly, burn your limbs with Dragon fire, pierce your lungs with my sharp claws, and finally chew your bones to pieces with my teeth."
Then Alfred's face showed an exaggerated, theatrical expression of realization, his eyes revealing a wanton smile: "Ah, if you can't live until then, I will personally go to your homeland and bring fire and death there."
Arthur chuckled, his fingertips caressing the armor buckle at his waist: "I'd certainly look forward to you actually flying over the Misty Mountains. Then, my people will line up to greet you—playing a triumphal march with the sound of your favorite Dragon scales peeling off."
The puppet controlled by Smaug suddenly crawled with its limbs bent backward, its joints making a grating, teeth-aching creak: "Despicable ant! When I burn your flesh and blood, I will surely chew the bones of everyone you know!"
Then Alfred's facial muscles bulged grotesquely, his mouth tearing to his ears: "Every inch of soil in your homeland will be steeped in wails, just like the dwarf crown I melted a hundred years ago!"
"How about we play a game?"
Arthur's voice grew cold. He took a step forward, grabbing Alfred's body and pulling him up. His dagger pressed against the puppet's neck, the blade stopping precisely at a pulsating vein.
He leaned in close to the puppet's twisted face: "Before you count all the gold coins in the Lonely Mountain's dungeons, my war boots will shatter the bolts of your treasury."
Alfred struggled under Smaug's control, but Smaug found that this human's strength was terrifying. Unless the enslaved human puppet broke its limbs, it would be impossible to escape the other's grasp.
Smaug, of course, wouldn't care if the puppet's body survived or felt pain after its limbs were broken, but just as it was about to do so, it heard Arthur's cold voice: "Take your gaze and roll back to your Lonely Mountain."
Then Smaug found that his connection with the human puppet was severed.
A hint of confusion flashed in its golden Dragon eyes. It lifted its head from the massive mountain of gold coins, and countless gold coins, gems, and jewels rolled down the crevices of its scales or got stuck there.
And as Smaug straightened up, revealing its belly, a wound filled with dazzling gold coins and jewels was clearly visible.
That human dared to trick me!?
Flames brewed in Smaug's mouth, and the gold coins embedded near its mouth melted into golden liquid and dripped down.
It spread its two massive Dragon wings, ready to fly out of the Lonely Mountain towards Lake-town.
No, he's deliberately provoking me, enraging me, trying to lure me to Lake-town.
Smaug thought again, then lay back down on the gold mountain, crushing countless piled gold coins and jewels, and closed its eyes again.
It had decided that when Sauron's orc army took Lake-town, it would kill all the prisoners from Lake-town, leaving none alive.
On the other side, Arthur looked at Alfred, who he had knocked unconscious, and the anger on his face slowly dissipated.
Just now, when Smaug threatened him and said he would go to the Erdtree's territory for revenge, an uncontrollable surge of anger welled up in Arthur's heart.
If not for his last bit of rationality telling him that this was just a puppet controlled by Smaug, his black blade would have pierced this human's neck.
Nevertheless, Arthur still felt an inexplicable irritation, forcing him to take several deep breaths before he could barely calm down.
"Tsk, what about the two of them now?" Arthur looked at the unconscious Mayor and Alfred on the ground, feeling troubled.
Ultimately, Arthur decided to dump these two problems on Gandalf, letting the old wizard who was slacking off in the inn deal with them.
So he tied up the Mayor and his sycophantic secretary again, then hid them under the wide bed in the Mayor's bedroom, ensuring that when they woke up, they couldn't make a sound, couldn't move, and wouldn't be discovered.
When Arthur returned to the inn room, Thorin immediately stood up from his seat, finally letting out a sigh of relief, having been worried all this time.
Bilbo had already returned to the room, and Balin, Fili, and Kili, whom Millison had brought back, were also there.
Gandalf saw Thorin's expression and teased, "I told you, you should trust Arthur. The only thing around here that could cause him trouble is probably that Dragon in the Lonely Mountain."
Then Gandalf heard Arthur say, "I did encounter Smaug."
The old wizard opened his mouth wide, his eyes bulging, nearly dropping his pipe as he nervously asked, "What did you say?"
Arthur waved his hand, "No need to be nervous. Its main body is still inside the Lonely Mountain. I merely exchanged a few words with a human puppet whose soul it had enslaved."
Gandalf immediately reacted, "I have heard that Dragons like Smaug can cause people to fall into a Dragon's spell and be compelled by its will. I didn't expect it to be true."
Arthur glared at Gandalf, annoyed, "Since you knew Smaug might have this ability, why didn't you tell us?"
Gandalf awkwardly pursed his lips on his pipe and replied, "I wasn't sure if it was true or not, and saying it might have affected you."
Thorin's focus, however, was elsewhere: "So, the Mayor of Lake-town, as Bard said, was suddenly acting strangely because he was controlled by Smaug?"
Arthur snapped his fingers, nodding to confirm Thorin was correct, then he recounted everything he had heard at the Mayor's house.
Gandalf frowned, "So the Mayor of Lake-town and his secretary are still alive, but you can't find a way to break the Dragon's spell, so you want me to handle it?"
Arthur nodded, but Thorin said, "Now is not the time to worry about the Mayor. I think even if the Mayor died, the townspeople of Lake-town would only celebrate and not shed a single tear for that vampire. What we need to deal with now are the orcs who have entered Lake-town."
He analyzed seriously, "Azog's son, Bolg, is already dead. We must rescue Bard's daughters before these orcs realize it, and at the same time, eliminate them. As Arthur said, these orcs led by Bolg are elites. Once they realize Bolg is dead, these orcs, without supervision, will not continue to disguise themselves obediently, and the townspeople of Lake-town will definitely suffer greatly."
Gandalf took a puff from his pipe and said with satisfaction, "You actually care about the safety of the Lake-town townspeople. That's not like you."
Thorin frowned and looked at Gandalf, "If we liberate the Lonely Mountain, these people in Lake-town will be the only humans nearby who can trade with us. Considering this, I certainly don't want the townspeople of Lake-town to suffer too much loss, otherwise, it would also be a loss for us dwarves."
Gandalf took a few more puffs from his pipe, "Whatever the reason, it's better than sitting by and watching these poor people suffer. I have a way that can not only rescue Bard's daughters but also eliminate those orcs."
Arthur looked over curiously, "What way?"
Gandalf narrowed his eyes, "Since you have already captured the Mayor and his secretary, although I am not confident in breaking the Dragon's spell, I can use witchcraft to deceive Smaug and make the Mayor obey my commands. This way, we can, in the Mayor's name, gather all the orcs who have entered the city, leaving no one to guard Bard's daughters. Thorin, arrange for a few nimble-footed and quick-witted dwarves to rescue Bard's daughters during this time."
Thorin nodded and looked at the dwarves in the guest room, "Fili, Kili, and Balin, Ori, the four of you go rescue the little girls."
Fili and Kili assured that there would be no problem with their combat strength if they encountered any unexpected situations.
And the kindest Balin and the most knowledgeable Ori were responsible for quickly convincing the two girls to believe that they were sent by Bard to rescue them.
Then, without waiting for Gandalf to speak, Arthur proactively said, "Then Bernal, Millison, and I will be responsible for eliminating the orcs who have entered Lake-town. Igon, thank you for providing us with long-range support from the highest bell tower at the Mayor's house."
Thorin also agreed, "If it's left to the three of you, certainly not a single orc will escape. However, not all orcs will necessarily listen to the Mayor. Gloin, you take the remaining dwarves to Lake-town to deal with those disobedient orcs."
Gloin patted his chest, his fiery red long beard swaying a few times.
Bilbo was about to ask what his task was, but before he could speak, Thorin proactively looked at the hobbit, "Bilbo, you are responsible for meeting Balin and the others with me."
Bilbo then nodded.
After deciding on the next course of action, everyone who had been assigned a task immediately sprang into action.
However, to avoid attracting unnecessary attention due to too many people acting together, Arthur and his group left the inn in batches.
First, Arthur and Gandalf arrived at the Mayor's house together. Thanks to Gandalf's witchcraft, the nearby orcs did not notice Arthur and his group.
When Arthur dragged the Mayor of Lake-town and Alfred from under the bed, both were still unconscious. Gandalf successfully used witchcraft to awaken the Mayor and make him obey his commands.
Everything went very smoothly afterward. Perhaps because the orcs all knew that the Mayor had long been enslaved by Smaug and become the Dragon's puppet, they had no doubt about the command when the Mayor ordered them to gather in the empty guard barracks within Lake-town.
Only one orc, who appeared to be Bolg's adjutant, asked where Bolg had gone and why they were suddenly being assembled.
Because Gandalf, through Arthur, knew what Bolg intended to do, he directly revealed Bolg's plan to attack the dwarves and respectfully told the adjutant that Lord Bolg had already gone ahead to scout the situation.
After hearing this, the adjutant had no doubts and immediately led the heavily cloaked orcs to the location the Mayor had indicated.
The most troublesome phase was over; all that remained was the tedious task of slaughtering orcs.
With Arthur, Bernal, and Millison unleashing their full power, nearly a hundred orcs that had ambushed Lake-town were thus eliminated.
Bard's two daughters were also successfully rescued by Balin and his group. The only relatively troublesome part was finding these two little girls among the many houses where the orcs were staying.
"Your teacher is coming soon, Arthur. She'll be just outside Lake-town in a moment."
Gandalf came to Arthur's side and suddenly said.
Arthur looked over and saw a fluffy gray moth obediently perched on Gandalf's hand.
"Bernal, I'll leave the cleanup of these orc corpses to you," he instructed, then turned to Gandalf and said, "Let's go. I'm also curious what method Teacher Sellen has to bring the Erdtree army here in a short time."