Josh’s Story

Smaug turned tail and fled without hesitation, and Josh genuinely hadn’t reacted in time.

Honestly, he had considered both possibilities: Smaug having great pride, or no pride at all. After all, the odds of either were fifty-fifty.

So Josh hadn’t dared push him too hard. What if this guy had an excessive sense of pride, just as Josh had worried before, and decided to take them both down with him? Josh would be taking a huge loss.

But Josh had never expected Smaug to care so little about something like dignity. Or rather, the guy simply didn’t care about dignity at all!

Josh hadn’t even been attacking at full strength. He had been worried that he might accidentally kill the guy. A Seventh Tier fighting a Sixth Tier was a complete crushing advantage!

Yet after Smaug realized that he might not be Josh’s match, he actually chose to run without another word!

That decisiveness, that sheer instinct for self-preservation, left Josh dumbfounded. Was this really the Smaug from the movies, the one who never stopped talking and looked down on everyone else as ants?

"Fuck, this guy’s more cautious than a rat! Just how arrogant was he back then to let Bard fire the Black Arrow at him? He nearly got himself killed!"

To be honest, Smaug had truly overturned Josh’s worldview. This was the first time Josh had seen someone so cautious when facing a powerful opponent.

Yet when facing weaker creatures, he behaved completely differently. Josh finally understood: this guy was simply terrified of death and bullied the weak while fearing the strong.

And people like that had one especially obvious trait: they were incredibly vindictive! It wasn’t just Bard who could tell that Smaug was flying toward Lake-town. Everyone present could see it!

Clearly, the guy was seeking revenge. He had suffered badly at Josh’s hands, and he didn’t think he could defeat Josh, so he could only flee. But simply running away was too humiliating, so he had decided to take revenge on Josh and the others.

Josh might have looked like a half-elf to him, but whether one was a half-elf, a human, or an elf, creatures like them were naturally incapable of flight!

Smaug was a dragon. Flying was practically instinctive to him, so naturally he would make good use of that advantage.

Since he couldn’t do anything to you, and probably couldn’t beat you anyway, he would just find someone else to vent his anger on. If you were so capable, so powerful, then come chase him!

It had to be said that the dragons of this world really were pathetic. No wonder their reputation was so terrible when they attacked ordinary people so recklessly.

"Your Majesty! What… what should we do?"

Bard looked at Josh anxiously. He was truly panicking now.

Lake-town might not have been a particularly large place, but it was filled with humans. More importantly, his children were in Lake-town! There was no way he could remain calm or unafraid.

Bard had already lost his wife. His three children were his only remaining family. He simply could not accept the possibility of anything happening to them.

And he remembered Josh saying that there would be no problem dealing with Smaug, that nothing would go wrong.

But what about now? Smaug had run away, and he was clearly flying toward Lake-town with revenge on his mind. How could Bard possibly endure that?

If Josh’s previous display of power had not still been weighing on him, this former dragon-slayer would probably have started cursing already!

"Something did happen. I really didn’t expect this dragon to be so afraid of death, and so shameless."

Josh came back to his senses and spread his hands helplessly. But though he looked somewhat resigned, he was not overly nervous. It wasn’t as if Josh couldn’t fly! And before coming here, he had marked Lake-town’s location, so he could teleport there directly.

"But don’t worry. Don’t forget, he can fly, but so can we."

"You mean… your dragon?"

"Something like that. And I can teleport there directly as well. Don’t worry. I’m really annoyed right now. That damned bastard actually made a fool of me."

A silver halo intertwined with mysterious runes instantly appeared beneath Josh and the others’ feet. As Josh’s control over his magic improved, he had become fully capable of freely controlling where Warping Leap led. Just like now, he gave the dwarves no chance to react before directly activating the spell.

In the blink of an eye, Josh and the others vanished from the palace within the Lonely Mountain. The next moment, they appeared directly in Lake-town!

Their sudden appearance terrified the residents who had come out to see what was happening. If they had not spotted Bard, they would probably have fled at once!

"Father!"

Bard’s children ran toward him immediately, and Bard immediately embraced them.

In fact, when Josh had awakened Smaug and clashed with him, the residents had already sensed it. Josh and Smaug could be said to stand at the peak of this continent; every movement they made could shake the earth and mountains!

Perhaps neither Josh nor Smaug had noticed anything, but the residents of distant Lake-town felt even their casual exchange with extraordinary clarity. The violent tremors had made them wonder if an earthquake had struck, but when they heard the dragon’s roar, they knew what it was.

It was Smaug, the terrifying evil dragon hidden within the Lonely Mountain!

The residents of Lake-town were terrified, because they knew that a group of dwarves had headed toward the Lonely Mountain under the guidance of their Guardian, Bard. Now, it seemed that they had awakened the dragon.

Not long afterward, they saw a terrifying figure appear in the sky—the evil dragon Smaug! He seemed to have been enraged and was flying madly toward Lake-town!

They were stunned senseless. The residents were completely frightened by this sudden turn of events!

But before they could turn around and rush home to pack their things and flee, a silver halo suddenly emerged in an open space at the center of town. Then several people appeared—Bard, the dwarves, and a few unfamiliar people dressed very properly.

"Father, what happened? That evil dragon woke up?"

Bard’s children clung tightly to him and kept asking questions. They were terrified.

Bard had gone to the Lonely Mountain with the dwarves, and now the evil dragon had awakened. He must surely have had something to do with it. One could imagine the looks those dwarves were receiving.

"It’s all right, it’s all right. The evil dragon may have awakened, but with His Majesty Josh here, everything will be fine."

Bard held his children tightly as he comforted them, but his words were also heard clearly by the surrounding residents.

His Majesty? His Majesty Josh? What kind of king was this?

And what ability could such an ordinary-looking king possibly have that would keep everyone safe? More importantly, which one of them was His Majesty Josh?

Their sudden appearance was already astonishing, but with the danger of a dragon looming over them, the residents had no time to think about such things. But in the next moment, they realized just how absurd their thoughts had been. Among those strangers, a young man in a black robe suddenly sprouted a pair of pale golden wings of light from his back.

At that moment, he looked incomparably holy. Then the young man shot into the sky and flew straight toward the dragon, leaving everyone utterly stunned!

How terrifying was that? A human could actually fly? What kind of person was he?

There was no concept of angels in Middle-earth, so Josh naturally did not have to worry about being mistaken for the servant of some god he despised. As for what the residents thought, that was none of Josh’s concern. He was already flying toward the dragon.

"Mr. Bard, who is this His Majesty?"

After Josh left, the residents were all extremely confused. They did not know the dwarves present, nor did they know the strangers who had come with the king Bard had mentioned. So they could only ask Bard who this king was.

"He… he is a half-elf, and he is also an Elf King!"

"An Elf King? His Majesty Josh? Good heavens! Will there really be no problem with this Elf King fighting that evil dragon? I mean…"

"I understand. Don’t worry. Do you know why that evil dragon came out?"

Bard naturally understood the residents’ concerns, but he shook his head, signaling that they need not worry about it.

All those moments since meeting His Majesty Josh, all the things he had done that had shaken Bard to the core, had left Bard speechless. He truly could not understand how a half-elf could be so powerful that he inspired the same despair as a god.

In Middle-earth, there had never been someone who could stand against an army alone. Yet His Majesty Josh had completely shattered that notion, and he could even take it to an entirely different level!

He could destroy an entire country by himself, and do so without the slightest effort!

Just think about it. Smaug alone had once destroyed the Lonely Mountain and occupied Erebor for a hundred and seventy years. Yet when facing His Majesty Josh, that dragon had actually chosen to flee!

Bard did not dare think any further. It was too terrifying.

"Mr. Bard, why did that evil dragon come out?"

"Because His Majesty Josh clashed with him head-on. Smaug realized that he was no match for His Majesty Josh, so he chose to run. But he probably thought His Majesty Josh could not fly, so after leaving the Lonely Mountain, he chose revenge. And the target of that revenge was Lake-town."

"What! Th-this… how is that possible?"

"There’s nothing impossible about it. Do you think I would lie about something like this? If you don’t believe me, ask these dwarves!"

Bard looked at the residents solemnly. At the same time, Thorin and the other dwarves spoke up, helping Bard prove that he was telling the truth.

Honestly, the dwarves were stunned as well. But they were even more delighted, because once that evil dragon was dealt with, they would have their homeland once again!

"Can you tell us the story of His Majesty Josh?"

As everyone discussed it fervently, Bard’s son suddenly tugged at Bard’s clothes and asked.

His words also resonated with all the residents. That was right, His Majesty Josh was far too unfamiliar to them. They had never heard of this Elf King before, and they were all very curious.

"Of course, my child. But I do not know much myself. We have a better storyteller, don’t we?"

"Of course." Bilbo nodded. He walked over to Bard’s children, thought for a moment, and began to tell the story.

"Actually, His Majesty saved us twice. The first time was when we were surrounded by an army of Orcs before the Mountain of Dale."