I Create the Opportunity, You Seize It

"I don’t know." The Thoughtform spread his hands bluntly. "But it should be enough to hold out until we kill you."

"Such big words." Smaug slowly walked up to the clock tower, baring a row of sharp dragon teeth with a slight grin. "But how are you going to kill me? Do you still have any Black Arrows?"

Bard’s heart sank at those words.

The only Black Arrow had narrowly been dodged by Smaug. Now, they could only attack the wound on its left chest with ordinary iron arrows, but they certainly would not be as effective as Black Arrows. At most, they could injure it.

And now that Smaug was on guard, they might not even be able to hit it with iron arrows.

"Yes, and more than one." The Thoughtform stared directly into Smaug’s eyes and waved his white Wand. Three Black Arrows fell onto the wooden rack beside the Wind Crossbow.

"What? Where did these come from?" A string of exclamation marks practically floated over Bard’s head. Wasn’t there only one Black Arrow left in Long Lake Town, the one he had preserved?

"It’s a sad story!" The Thoughtform sighed mournfully. "What did you think I was doing all day? I searched the lake for ages before digging up these three."

"Impossible. You would have had to dive dozens of meters just to reach the bottom, let alone search for things down there."

"I’m a wizard." The Thoughtform smiled meaningfully.

Bard was instantly speechless. Things that made no sense somehow became perfectly reasonable when they involved wizards.

"Black Arrows, Wind Crossbow." Smaug gritted his teeth and roared at Aaron. "Dragon Speaker, why must you oppose me?"

To activate the Dragon-Slaying Magic Crystal?

No, I definitely can’t say that.

After several seconds of silence, the Thoughtform said, "I simply think Dragon Slayer sounds more impressive than Dragon Speaker."

Smaug froze for a moment, then spat out Dragon Fire furiously.

The transparent barrier appeared again, protecting the clock tower, but it soon began to flicker.

Seeing that, Smaug increased its output, and the Dragon Fire became even fiercer.

Bard immediately loaded a Black Arrow into the Wind Crossbow and fired viciously at the wound on Smaug’s left chest.

But this time, it was prepared. It blocked the Black Arrow with its wing, though a patch of green scales cracked slightly in the process.

"Damn it." Bard punched the wall in frustration.

"You can’t stop me." After finishing a breath of Dragon Fire, Smaug said coldly, "The Magic Array is about to break. You can think of your last words, then turn to ash."

"Not necessarily." Aaron tapped the clock tower with his Wand, and the Magic Crystal began supplying magic to the Magic Array. The barrier instantly stabilized.

Smaug was dumbfounded, even beginning to doubt its life as a dragon.

Fuck, killing people used to take no effort at all. Why is it so hard now?

"I will kill you. I will kill you!" Smaug said, one hand guarding its chest while the other slammed violently against the protective barrier.

"What do we do?" Bard asked anxiously. "There are only two Black Arrows left. We have no chance of hitting that wound."

"Opportunities are created. I’ll create the opportunity, and you need to seize it." The Thoughtform spoke meaningfully, then drew his bow again and aimed at Smaug’s right eye.

The arrow shot out at high speed. Smaug instinctively wanted to swat it away with its right claw, but before it could raise its right arm, it saw Bard glaring at it through the Wind Crossbow. It could only close its eyes helplessly.

The iron arrow bounced off Smaug’s eyelid, but it felt no joy at all.

"You despicable bastard." Smaug looked at Aaron speechlessly. For the first time in a battle against humans, it felt utterly stifled.

The Thoughtform chuckled, then turned and gave Bard a look. "Am I despicable?"

Bard: …

"Not despicable. Completely honorable."

The Thoughtform’s eye twitched. Why had he hesitated for several seconds? Was telling the truth really that difficult?

"You heard him, great Smaug." The Thoughtform spread his hands. "If I had a body as big as yours, scales as hard as yours, and claws and fangs as sharp as yours, I’d definitely fight you one-on-one. But I don’t, do I?

"You can bully the small with the big, oppress the weak with the strong, and slaughter innocents at will. Why can’t I… shoot you in the eye?"

Smaug blinked. Then, in the next moment, it roared and smashed both arms down. "I’ll kill you!"

"Fire!" the Thoughtform shouted immediately. At that instant, Bard adjusted the Wind Crossbow’s angle and fired the second-to-last Black Arrow.

The barrier took the heavy blow, and a faint layer of cracks appeared across it.

At the same time, the Black Arrow scraped past several scales and struck Smaug’s wound.

Unfortunately, part of the arrow’s power had been spent. It pierced only its flesh and could not deal a fatal blow.

"Ah!"

Smaug spiraled into the air. The townspeople who were fleeing heard the Evil Dragon’s pained cry. Turning around, they saw a black arrow lodged in its chest.

"He hit it! My dad hit it!" Bain shouted excitedly.

"He hit it! He hit the Evil Dragon!" Kili yelled. "Did you see that?"

"That was a Black Arrow," Tauriel murmured. "No wonder it could pierce dragon hide."

"Did we win?" Bofur let out a breath. "Can we leave now?"

"No." Tauriel immediately said, "Just in case, we cannot leave the range of this Magic Array until we are sure the Evil Dragon is dead."

Smaug pulled the Black Arrow from its chest in midair, and a great spray of red blood fell into the lake.

It spewed flames at Long Lake Town, venting the overwhelming rage in its heart.

"That still didn’t kill it?" Bard could hardly believe it. Then he lowered his head to look at the final Black Arrow. "There’s only one chance left. It’ll only get harder from here."

"We have to try no matter how hard it is!

"Also, I have bad news. The Magic Array is about to give out."

"That really is bad news." Bard gave a bitter smile and loaded the Black Arrow into the Wind Crossbow.

After turning Long Lake Town into a sea of fire, Smaug landed before the clock tower again. However, it was much calmer than before.

"It’s regrettable, but no one can kill me. No one."

"We still have one Black Arrow." The Thoughtform said flatly, "Before it is fired, you have no right to be arrogant."

Smaug’s voice came to an abrupt stop. It immediately beat its wings and pulled away from the two of them.

Its wings stirred up a hurricane, disrupting the Black Arrow’s trajectory. While flying at high speed, it sprayed Dragon Fire at the clock tower’s Magic Array.

"Damn it, it’s gotten smarter." The Thoughtform cursed. "Do you have to be this cautious? Come down and fight me one-on-one if you’ve got the guts!"

Bard’s mouth twitched, and he was even more speechless inside.

Smaug had nearly died. Anyone with a brain would know not to take risks now.

Crack! Crack!

"Gaius, the barrier is about to shatter."

"I know. At worst, I’ll use my own Magical Energy to supply the Magic Array."

"But even then, we can only buy a little breathing room. If Smaug keeps this up, it can wear us down to death."

The Thoughtform frowned deeply. He understood their current predicament as well.

After taking several deep breaths, the Thoughtform turned to Bard. "You must seize the opportunity I give you."

Bard nodded heavily. "What are you going to do?"

"Obviously, I’ll do it myself." The Thoughtform smiled and pointed his Wand at the lake.

"Black Arrow, come."

A black arrow flew out of the lake and landed in his hand.

"A Black Arrow?"

"Don’t get your hopes up. Spells have limits too. I was lucky to find one, and this one was prepared for me." The Thoughtform crushed Bard’s lingering hope, then raised his white Wand.

"Patronus Charm."

A white vortex emerged from the tip of the Wand. Rich magic spread outward in ring after ring, and even the blazing flames around them were suppressed.

The white ripples of magic forced Smaug back, but they could not break through its defenses.

"Impressive magic, but do you think this can stop me? I am Smaug!" Smaug roared.

"Of course not." The Thoughtform shook his head and increased his magic output.

A dragon-shaped Patronus formed in the sky, radiating holy light from head to tail.

Aaron’s first Patronus had been a raven. His second Patronus was Abei—the Holy Dragon.

However, he was only an Archmage now. The Holy Dragon Patronus he summoned was merely over ten meters long, nowhere near comparable to Smaug.

"A second dragon." Smaug said in astonishment. "No, you are not a real dragon. You merely possess a dragon’s form."

Aaron waved his Wand, and the Holy Dragon Patronus roared as it flew toward Smaug.

"You seek death."

Smaug opened its jaws and spewed crimson flames.

The Holy Dragon Patronus did not yield either. A white Magic Array flashed before it, and holy White Dragon Fire poured from its mouth.

The two streams of flame collided, entwining with one another, neither able to gain the upper hand.

But the Patronus’s attacks consumed the caster’s magic. The Thoughtform felt the energy inside him draining rapidly, consuming several times more magic than summoning the raven.

Bard stood dumbfounded, his gaze shifting constantly between Aaron and the White Dragon. "Heh… I must be dreaming. To think we can fight Evil Dragon Smaug to this extent."

The townspeople who had been fleeing also stopped. Their eyes were filled with reverence, and some even fell to their knees in worship.

"Gaius… was this powerful?" Kili widened his eyes in disbelief. "We’re definitely going to win now."

"No." Tauriel looked at the Thoughtform, her brows knitting slightly. "This magic is powerful, but it also consumes a great deal. He is only in his teens. He cannot hold on for long."

That was indeed the case. The Thoughtform’s right hand was already trembling.

Even a mid-level Archmage would not dare expend magic so recklessly, much less a clone with only half its power remaining.

"Bard, don’t, don’t, don’t lose focus!" The Thoughtform gave a strained smile and controlled the Patronus to slam violently into Smaug.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One large and one small dragon fought in the night sky in the most primitive way possible.

Smaug had a size advantage several times greater than the Holy Dragon’s. It held an absolute advantage in close combat, continuously attacking with its wings, claws, and fangs until the Holy Dragon could barely maintain its form.

The Thoughtform swayed unsteadily. In less than two minutes, less than a quarter of his Magical Energy remained. If this continued, even he would disappear.

Main body, where are you? You said you’d provide timely support!