After waking up, Smaug raised his dragon head from the mountain of gold, followed by his body and tail...

The weight of the gold is undeniable; the gold sliding off Smaug might be just a thin layer, but it weighs at least dozens of tons!

Yet this enormous evil dragon, as if shaking off sand after waking up, appeared weightless.

Awakened from the mountain of gold, Smaug cast even darker shadows in the already dim Treasure Hall.

This is a dragon with the typical image of an evil dragon.

It is deep reddish-brown overall, with a mix of hard skin and scales overlapping, and rugged spines forming sharp angles extending backward from its head.

Its skeleton includes twin wing claws and two legs, differing from the regular twin-winged, four-legged skeleton of the Ancient Dragon of the New Continent.

However, the Rong Buqiu perched on the giant column dared not underestimate Smaug... not only because of its massive size qualifying it as a super-large Ancient Dragon but also because of Smaug’s incredibly human-like, searching gaze after awakening.

Originally, with a body length of at least one hundred and thirty meters, its size is substantial even compared to the Molten Mountain Dragon at Ancient Dragon Crossing!

The Molten Mountain Dragon only sprawls to a length of over two hundred fifty meters! Its height on its two legs is just upwards of eighty meters!

A regular Ancient Dragon’s body length tops out at about twenty-five meters!

What horrified the little cat even more was Smaug’s slight sniff after waking; then... it began to speak!

"Well, intruder, thief."

The enormous dragon lips moved slightly, speaking in a deep voice filled with resignation and scant mockery.

That voice made both Bilbo and Rong Buqiu feel a chill from the core of their being.

Simultaneously, Smaug’s snake-like neck and tail swayed, probing toward the column where Bilbo was located.

Rong Buqiu’s claws nervously extended from its palms.

But Bilbo indeed had his own ’little trick,’ and when Rong Buqiu saw Smaug’s giant dragon retract its head from behind the column where Bilbo was hiding, it didn’t see blood at its mouth or a small Dwarf caught in it.

Strangely, the Hobbit had vanished.

The seasoned dragon detected with its nose that an outsider had entered its Treasure Hall and was very close to it.

Smaug seemed not anxious and was even slightly amused.

The dragon’s broad wings folded and gathered at its side, while its agile, slender tail danced alongside.

Its snake-like neck moved in concert in mid-air.

At least twenty meters separated the two giant columns in the hall, but the dragon’s head hovered near where Bilbo disappeared.

Yet its graceful body and swaying tail could span several columns beyond.

"Interesting, you make yourself invisible to me. But you surely don’t think that’s enough? Your scent, your breathing... Ah, clear, so clear."

The dragon spoke mockingly, its low, malevolent voice unsettling to all listening, with the dragon stench in the nostrils even more intolerable.

And only the vanished Bilbo knew... the dragon wasn’t lying!

Bilbo’s hand now wore a plain gold ring, smooth and without any adornment or pattern.

And upon wearing the ring, his vision made the world appear enveloped in a dark, blurred filter.

An inexplicable and endless wind seemed to blow away things from all forms of life.

Smaug’s body was no exception, but the dragon’s eyes alone radiated a dark golden glow in this vision.

Smaug’s serpentine neck circled around the giant column where Bilbo was hidden, its eyes locked onto the unseen thief’s position, though it could smell and hear him.

"Don’t be shy, you truly have some... uniqueness."

Smaug couldn’t see Bilbo, but merely ’couldn’t see.’ It played with and explored the intruder’s mind and peculiarity.

"Is it a treasure that lets you evade Smaug’s gaze?"

The eye, as large as a Hobbit itself, narrowed slightly, showing contemplation and probing, with nostrils twitching.

"A treasure made of gold... No! Made of gold, yet even more precious! Yes? A treasure of gold!"

The dragon’s murmur seemed to unwittingly carry some subtle, evil force, its voice resonating incessantly in the dim golden reflection of the Treasure Hall, within the massive dark architecture, amidst the dispersing dragon stench.

The unnoticed Rong Buqiu nestled its furry body within the carved groove at the upper part of a giant column, while Smaug’s voice made it feel dizzy.

But the brave and strong Elu Cat still clenched its small tiger teeth, daringly poking its head out to check on its friend’s situation.

Compared to Rong Buqiu, Bilbo, wearing that golden ring, seemed more affected by the dragon’s words.

He swiftly pulled off the ring, suddenly appearing under Smaug’s gaze, discreetly slipping the removed ring into his pocket silently.

Once he reappeared, his underclothes were soaked with cold sweat.

His hair stuck to his forehead due to perspiration, and he was panting heavily.

As if the disappearance had drained his physical and mental energy.

Seeing this, Rong Buqiu crouched defensively atop the column.

At the same time, it let out a low, warning growl.

But subsequently, Rong Buqiu saw Bilbo raising both hands, showing a harmless and weak posture to Smaug.

Simultaneously, he staggered uncertainly on the mountainous gold, tumbled out of the shade of the giant column, fully exposing himself to Rong Buqiu’s view.

The Hobbit specifically faced away from Rong Buqiu’s direction, gesturing as if carelessly in panic.

But in Rong Buqiu’s sight, this action was a clear signal—stay steady, don’t rush.

"Ho ho, there you are, thief in the shadows."

Smaug tilted his long head to one side and approached Bilbo with one eye, laughing softly with a playful malice.

Meanwhile, as the evil dragon focused its gaze and narrowed its field of view, Rong Buqiu quickly began to silently shift positions.

"Oh, oh! Great Smaug! I, I’m not, not here to steal your treasure!"

Bilbo himself didn’t know whether he was in panic or calm at that moment.

Half of his brain, very calmly, after exiting stealth mode, was making arrangements to signal Rong Buqiu and adjust positions.

But the other half of his brain, under the dragon’s intense gaze, almost choked itself while trying to swallow to calm his nerves.

"I just wanted, to admire your great figure! Oh! Great and wealthy Smaug! To see, see if you are as mighty as the legends say."

By the end, Bilbo’s tone involuntarily took on a crying note.

"I, uh~ I didn’t really believe before!"

"And now?"

Smaug seemed to begin enjoying the terror and flattery from this tiny creature before it, its massive body turned, creating waves of dark golden light on the gold mountain, finally revealing its powerful body completely in front of Bilbo.

Its two side wing claws rested on a stone pedestal emerging from the gold mountain, its hind legs crouched. The membrane of the wing claws slightly spread to its side in this position, resembling two fierce blades.

But even this not-so-flamboyant, extended posture completely occupied Bilbo’s entire view.

Making the Hobbit’s whole body go cold to the point of stiffness.

"Now, now I just feel you truly surpass all disasters! Great, Smaug!"

Bilbo’s teeth chattered, but fortunately, he could still flatter the dragon as if singing.

Smaug indeed enjoyed the Hobbit’s compliments, it nodded slightly, even appearing somewhat satisfied and communicative.

"You could be considered a polite little creature."

But immediately after, the corner of Smaug’s mouth twitched, revealing many sword-like teeth inside.

In fact, no one can deceive a dragon with a few flattering words!

"But you are not just a thief! You’re a liar!"

Smaug’s roar alone caused a wave of exploding gold coin heaps in front of it!

Bilbo’s smile had just appeared for less than five seconds before it tightened in horror, his whole being pushed by Smaug’s roar to slide down the gold mountain!

"Ahhhh!!!"

The Hobbit screamed, trying to steady himself on the gold mountain.

Meanwhile, Smaug swam through the gold mountain, its gigantic serpentine body cutting through with surging waves.

It’s not eager to kill this little chatterbox.

So instead of catching up with a single leap, it chose to slither slowly, laboriously behind.

"You carry the scent of Dwarves on you. They sent you to steal, didn’t they? Did you think I couldn’t smell it? Couldn’t tell it apart?"

"I am familiar with dwarf scent and taste, there’s none more familiar in the world than me! You still think you can deceive me in this matter?"

"No!"

Bilbo rolled on the sturdy pile of gold coins, barely responding.

"Nobody sent me! I’m truly, truly out of curiosity!"

In the tumbling meanwhile, amongst the waves of gold stirred by Smaug, a gemstone merely palm-sized and among the Treasure Hall was not ranked, was also tossed into mid-air.

And whether it was the still-rolling Bilbo or the position-shifting Rong Buqiu awaiting opportunity.

Having lost their gemstone value judgment due to the treasure vault, they both instantly noticed this gemstone at the same time.

As if even amid the shining gold heap, even among gemstones the size of human faces, once it appeared, all attention was destined to converge there.

That gemstone, if anything, was more transparent than white, and within the transparent gemstone flashed a misty, multicolored light, like it contained a galaxy.

Indeed, just as Balin instructed: upon beholding the Aken Gemstone, no one will ever have any doubt.

The value of this gemstone is truly unique!

"Pugh!"

Accompanied by his body crashing onto the pile of gold coins, involuntarily exhaling, Bilbo’s gaze uncontrollably focused on the Aken Gemstone.

When Smaug’s dragon-scented, heat-radiating body approached him, he shook his head sharply to come back to his senses.

"Oh, so you came for this? Aken Gemstone?"

With a ’bang,’ the dragon pressed its claw onto the ground near the gemstone.

"Then I understand, thief."

Smaug’s tone carried anger hidden beneath its mockery and cruelty.

"You are hired by Sorlin Oak Shield!"