Like a tidal wave, blazing fire spewed out from Smaug’s throat!

The temperature of this flame was unimaginably high; it swept over the spot where Bilbo had just been standing, and in theory that scorching heat only lasted for an instant.

But on the ground, those scattered Dwarf Gold Coins had already lost their sharp edges and angles, turning into a collapsed, liquid state, plastered onto the rocky floor.

The fury of the dragon that had been toyed with burned boundlessly; in the Treasure Hall it spewed fire like a creature gone mad.

Dragonfire surged up from its throat, its elongated neck pointing toward the heights.

The dragonfire rose a hundred meters like a tide, slammed into the mountain mass that formed the Treasure Hall’s ceiling, then, blocked by the rock, spread outward in all directions, and "flowed" back down along the walls of the Treasure Hall.

The enormity and might of this dragonfire was simply beyond description!

Even the awe‑inspiring golden mountains of the Lonely Mountain Kingdom now seemed small and insignificant before this raging tide of fire!

The Lonely Mountain Kingdom, once pitch‑dark, after its long years of ruin and silence, was once again lit by roaring flames!

The enraged dragon, having been made a fool of, vented its wrath wantonly within the Treasure Hall; it smashed and shattered as it went, all the while cursing and swearing loudly.

It swore it would slowly roast the criminals who dared steal its treasure, swore it would devour every last Dwarf who had plotted this scheme, just as it had once done to the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain who had failed to escape.

Bilbo didn’t even dare look back; he could only run up the stairs in one breath. Exhausted and drained, he could only stop at a relatively safe corner, where he took the Magic Ring off his hand and revealed his figure.

Compared to running, wearing that ring put a far greater strain on his body and mind.

And at this moment, Bilbo saw Sorlin, standing further up on the level above him.

The Dwarves’ stairways were built like those of the Elves, without railings or any sort of guard, so Bilbo could directly see the people above him.

Perhaps the dragon’s words to Bilbo earlier had carried some sort of evil Magic Power.

Now, when Bilbo saw Sorlin—this friend and leader with whom he had forged a bond over the journey—his heart suddenly loosened a great deal; he felt he had really been overthinking things before.

They didn’t abandon me, they came straight in to find me!

Bilbo hastened upward and reached Sorlin’s level.

But just as Bilbo was about to grab the Dwarf Prince and retreat together, he saw the look on Sorlin’s face.

This leader who on their journey had been brave, unyielding, and willing to risk his life again and again in the face of danger—in Bilbo’s heart, he had always been worthy of words like wise and valiant.

But now...

Staring at the boundless Golden Silver Sea and the opulent treasure within the Treasure Hall, Sorlin had begun to unconsciously pant heavily, and he hadn’t even noticed that Bilbo was already standing behind him.

This wasn’t normal.

Bilbo thought to himself.

Sorlin was a Warrior among Dwarves; he could climb an entire mountain in full gear without changing expression or slowing his pace, could clash head‑on with a Beastman’s hammer, take blows, and still keep his guard up against arrows flying from afar...

Sorlin’s panting was not caused by the effort of running from the secret door to the Treasure Hall; that bit of distance wasn’t even enough to quicken his heartbeat.

This kind of panting was more like... after having his wish fulfilled, he was so overwhelmed by excitement that his body had automatically started heaving in an attempt to calm his emotions.

Bilbo opened his mouth and raised a hand in some confusion, but then hesitated.

"You’re still alive!" In the end, it was Sorlin—who had just barely managed to pull his gaze back from the Golden Silver Sea—who saw him first.

"If we don’t get out now, we won’t be alive much longer!"

Bilbo also relaxed, setting aside the doubts in his heart. As he spoke, he intended to pull Sorlin away from the Treasure Hall and into the narrow mountain corridors.

But he had barely taken two steps...

"The Aken Gemstone!" Sorlin grabbed Bilbo, relentless. "Have you found the Aken Gemstone?"

They had been traveling together for a year now. Over this year they had first doubted each other, but then gone on to help one another and earn each other’s recognition.

Yet Bilbo had never felt Sorlin’s questioning make him feel so... pricked, as if a needle had stabbed him.

The Hobbits’ lips moved slightly; he froze.

He wanted to say something, but in the end nothing came out. He only ducked his head first and started toward the corridor.

"Let’s just get inside first! The dragon is coming!"

"Clang!"

But just as Bilbo was about to go in, Sorlin’s Longsword swung up, the flat of the blade barring the doorway and blocking his path.

Bilbo stared at Sorlin with a look of incredulity, of utter incomprehension.

The way he looked at Sorlin now was as if he found him even more terrifying than Smaug had been a moment ago.

Sorlin said nothing; he merely looked at Bilbo, the sockets of his eyes, under the glow of the dragonfire, seeming sunken and dark.

Bilbo grabbed his head and glanced about, left and right; he wasn’t really looking for anything, it was just a habitual movement when he could not make sense of what was happening.

Why... what’s wrong with Sorlin right now?

The rumors of the "dragon‑sickness" of the King Under the Mountain Clan—were they true?!

And just then, heavy footsteps, along with a gigantic shadow cast by the firelight, came from the direction of the golden mountain.

Smaug had heard the quarrel here; it was now turning its head toward them!

Under the threat of the dragon, Sorlin seemed to come back to himself a little.

He furrowed his own brow as he looked at the Longsword he had braced across the doorway.

Right after that, a whole group of Dwarves rushed out from the doorway behind Sorlin in a clatter; they had arrived only about half a minute later than he had.

"Come on then! We’re here!"

Each of the Dwarves let out a battle‑cry to steel their courage, gripping hammers, axes, and all manner of implements, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the now‑clear‑headed Sorlin.

"Ah, so it’s a band of Dwarves! Good! Good!"

The dragon’s mutterings, resonating through its massive chest cavity, produced a sound that made one’s heart ache.

Its wing‑claws and hind legs shifted as it moved closer toward the Dwarves.

And on the staircase one level higher, a three-colored figure also lightly leapt down.

It happened to land right in the middle of a row of Dwarf, and the Hobbits sheltered behind them.

The moment Smaug saw Rong Buqiu and Bilbo, his rage flared even hotter.

"Thief! Filthy thief!"

By this time Rong Buqiu had already put his gear back on; its little paw was still reaching into its small pouch, as if about to pull something out.

"I’ll take out..."

The little cat happily began to pull something out, but Bilbo, standing behind it, suddenly tensed up. Before it could finish speaking, he scooped up the Elu Cat in his arms and shouted.

"Run! He’s about to breathe fire!"

After so many years, Bilbo and Rong Buqiu were the only living beings who had faced the dragon head-on and survived.

Coupled with all the setbacks and dangers they had experienced along the journey, the Hobbits and the Dwarf had already acknowledged and trusted each other, so the Dwarf naturally believed his judgment.

At once, a dozen or so people hurriedly ran back.

There was terrain suitable for evading dragonfire there, and also a small door that could be used to relocate.

And sure enough, just as the Dwarf moved...

"Rooaaar!!!"

With the roar, a tidal wave of dragonfire swept over the spot where they had just been.

Fortunately, Bilbo’s warning came in time, and only because Sorlin had taken it upon himself to cover the rear did he get his coat scorched off; everyone else was unharmed.

But the situation was no better; the dragon still blocked their way and was ready to hunt them down inside this Lonely Mountain.

Rong Buqiu, clutched in Bilbo’s arms as they rushed in, cleverly kept his mouth shut, merely casting a puzzled look at his Hobbit friend.

Bilbo inconspicuously pressed down on Rong Buqiu’s little bundle, and at the same time shook his head at it seriously.

Now was not the time to talk, but Bilbo still gave just enough of a hint for Rong Buqiu to understand. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

So although the Three-Floral Elu Cat frowned, it still re-tied the mouth of the little bundle and tucked it away in a safe spot on its body.

It believed Bilbo had his reasons for doing this.

The Lonely Mountain Kingdom was made up of a vast hollow carved out by the Dwarf constantly digging down beneath the Lonely Mountain.

The place was crisscrossed with passages, and many sections were extremely narrow.

The dragon had trouble harming people hiding in such spots, but it didn’t need to.

As long as he blocked the exits at the upper levels, then in this Kingdom that had been abandoned for ages, Sorlin and the others would be trapped alive!

This was originally a giant mining pit; all living supplies depended on gold and Gemstone being traded in from the outside—every sip of water, every mouthful of food came that way.

Sorlin and his company were forced down to the lower levels, and by rights they should have already been trapped.

But when facing Smaug—the enemy who had destroyed his Kingdom—the Dwarf Prince unleashed boundless hatred and resolve.

His disregard for life and death inspired all the Dwarf; in the end, relying on their familiarity with the terrain and mechanisms in the Lonely Mountain, the Dwarf fought with everything they had and finally wounded Smaug.

They lured the dragon into the King’s Hall, before the unfinished statue of the previous King.

In the end, they shattered the stone shell covering the statue, revealing its true form, over fifty meters tall, solid and massive... the entire statue was made of pure Gold!

The Dwarf had beforehand used Smaug’s flame as kindling to restart the alchemical furnace; with Dwarf craftsmanship, this kind of furnace could easily stoke the fire to blue!

The melting point of Gold was not high, just over a thousand degrees.

Under such continuous heat transfer for a period of time, this gigantic statue, left unfinished even when the Lonely Mountain was taken, collapsed almost instantly from solid to liquid the moment its stone shell fell away!

Obsessed with Gold as he was, Smaug hadn’t known there was such a treasure hidden in the mountain, so he stared, entranced, at the statue for a moment.

But right after, the over fifty-meter-tall Gold statue liquefied, its massive weight turning into viscous flowing metal that surged straight at the dragon, pressing him down beneath the molten Gold!

The King’s Hall was originally a central courtyard encircled on four sides by five tiers of steps; this enormous volume of liquid Gold filled the courtyard almost in an instant.

Smaug’s enormous body vanished beneath the molten Gold.

The Gold pool was only as deep as those five levels of steps, yet such a huge dragon was pressed so flat by the Gold that, from above, all one could see was a seamless surface of golden liquid.

Staring at that vast pool of Gold shimmering with a bewitching glow, Sorlin’s gaze grew hazy and immersed.

However, a dragon was not so easily killed.

Even with his chest cavity crushed down to a height less than those five tiers of steps by the immense weight of the molten Gold, Smaug still went berserk, struggling up out of the Golden pool!

When he crawled out of the pool, the entire dragon was coated in a dazzling layer of Gold!

He clawed and scrambled his way forward, the agony of his nearly-crushed chest tormenting him, yet at the same time making his fury burn even hotter alongside his fear!

"You came for revenge on me! Fine! Revenge! I’ll show you what revenge really is!"

Now weighed down even more by the layer of gold plating his body, the dragon thrashed about on the ground, dragging himself forward.

He no longer dared continue tangling with the Dwarf inside the Lonely Mountain, but that did not mean he couldn’t take revenge!

"If you’re here, then you must have had help from those lowly fishermen of Long Lake Town!"

"They think that by helping the Dwarf they can get a share of the treasure? A bunch of fishermen’s rotten schemes!"

He shouted harshly as he ran out!

Bilbo, however, panicked at once, even trying to step in front of Smaug as the dragon ran out, waving his arms to stop him.

"No... no, no!"

At first the Hobbit’s voice was small, just muttering, but by the end he was shouting.

"It’s got nothing to do with them! If you want revenge, come for me!"

"No, I refuse to come for you!" Smaug was determined to leave, and no one could stop him now, so he even lowered his head to answer the Hobbit.

"You care about them? Then all the more reason I should go for them! I’ll make you watch them die with your own eyes!"