Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 256 Promotion to Four Ranks

Deathclaw moved with extreme speed. The instant Smaug broke through the city gate, its hunting instinct, ingrained in its genes, made it, like a apex predator, instantly wrap its arms around Smaug's neck and begin to tear at it desperately.

However, just like a high-speed plane crashing, Smaug was so fast when he rushed out of the gate that even though Robin had his neck bitten, he still flew dozens of meters into the air with his Deathclaw, which weighed over ten tons, before crashing down, smashing through many rocks and carving a deep trench in the hard muddy ground.

However, as a terrifying behemoth capable of withstanding miniature nuclear bombs with its bare body, Deathclaw's physical defense is far stronger than Smaug's.

Even after falling from a height of tens of meters and crashing through the ground, Deathclaw seemed completely unharmed, still biting the dragon's neck tightly, swallowing continuously. Was it devouring Smaug's flesh or drinking his blood? Its vertical pupils, like those of a venomous snake, were flashing with an unusual light.

When Wayne rushed out of Lonely Mountain and arrived at the spot where the two giant beasts had fallen, this was the scene that greeted his eyes.

Smaug, considered the most powerful evil creature in the entire North, lay limp on the ground like a lump of mud, his once gleaming vertical pupils now dull and lifeless.

The massive Deathclaw was happily feeding on its neck, and when it saw Wayne approaching, it even let out a cheerful purr and slowly wagged its thick tail, just like a large husky.

Upon hearing this voice, Wayne, who was fluent in animal language, couldn't help but chuckle.

It turns out that Robin was enjoying his meal so much that he felt Smaug's flesh and blood were very beneficial to him, and he even invited his master to have a few bites with him.

Looking at Smaug's enormous body, Wayne approached and met the eyes of those huge eyes. Unfortunately, the dragon, whose blood had almost all been drained, was no longer responding, and its once burning hot body was gradually losing its temperature.

Wayne thought for a moment, took out a meteorite knife from his pouch, and then went to Smaug's soft belly, preparing to skin and dismember the dragon while it was still hot and collect the usable materials.

After all, in terms of physical strength and power alone, Smaug the dragon is far more precious than the dragons in the Wizarding World, and the materials on his body should be enough to make a lot of powerful equipment.

The Witcher Order is currently in dire need of rebuilding and urgently requires a batch of powerful equipment to strengthen everyone's abilities. Smaug's size should be enough to meet the needs of many.

While the master and his pet were busy with their own affairs, Thorin led a group of dwarves out of the Lonely Mountain. The dwarven warriors, who had been prepared to fight to the death, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise and cheers when they saw the dead Smaug.

The way they looked at Wayne and Deathclaw Robin unconsciously revealed heartfelt respect and admiration.

They hadn't expected things to go so smoothly; they didn't even need to participate in the battle. Smaug, the dragon that had always appeared in their nightmares, had already been killed by Wayne and turned into a corpse.

Upon seeing Thorin and the others appear, Wayne put down his meteorite dagger, gave a slight bow to the dwarf prince, then smiled victoriously and said in a calm voice:

"Prince Thorin, congratulations! Smaug the dragon has been defeated, we have reclaimed Lonely Mountain, and the objective of this expedition to Lonely Mountain has been achieved."

"You will soon receive the Arkenstone and become the new King of the Mountain."

"And our contract has been fulfilled."

"Lord Thorin, what do you think of my mission?"

After hearing Wayne's words, Thorin's previously excited expression turned slightly serious. He nodded approvingly at Wayne and then said:

"You've done a great job, Mr. Wayne."

"You are the most powerful adventurer I have ever met, and a lifelong friend of our entire Elven race."

"Without your participation, this expedition would not have gone so smoothly. We wouldn't even have been able to figure out how to defeat Smaug and reclaim Lonely Mountain."

"You are the greatest contributor to the expedition to Lonely Mountain in this world."

"On behalf of all the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain Kingdom, I pay my respects to you. Your story will be passed down among us Lonely Mountain dwarves forever, and every dwarf of the Durin tribe will always remember your help to us."

After hearing Thorin's solemn words, Wayne was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected that the stubborn and greedy dwarf prince in the original story would behave so gracefully.

Could it be that because Bilbo didn't obtain the One Ring, the prince was also not affected by its invisible spell, and thus the dragon disease didn't manifest?

As Thorin came to approve of him, the two high-level quests he had undertaken with the dwarf prince were completed, and the system notified him that they were finished.

Ding! Master-level quest [Obtain Arkenstone] has been completed.

Rewards: 450 experience points, Master-level treasure chest.

Ding! The epic quest "Hunting the Dragon Smaug" has been completed.

Rewards: 4200 experience points, Epic Chest.

In just a moment, Wayne felt a subtle change in his body. From the start of the expedition to Lonely Mountain in the Shire to now, nearly four months have passed. He has completed two Master-level quests, one Epic-level quest, as well as more than a dozen Expert-level quests and a large number of Ordinary quests along the way.

Meanwhile, King Elrond has a master-level quest reward for clearing out the orc clans of the Misty Mountains, which awaits him.

In just a few months, he has earned over 6,000 experience points and a large number of high-level treasure chests.

His own level also increased directly from level thirteen to level seventeen, a full four levels higher, gaining a total of more than twenty points of physical fitness improvement and four ability points.

Such a harvest can truly be described as a great success. Thinking that he might be able to take on an epic Five Armies War mission soon, Wayne's mood immediately became even more cheerful.

Sure enough, high-level missions provide the greatest boost; one epic mission is equivalent to half a year or even a year of his hard work.

After expressing his gratitude, before Wayne could even bring up the matter of payment, Thorin's expression shifted slightly. He looked at his companion, then at Wayne and behind him, Deathclaw Robin, who was completely absorbed in devouring Smaug's corpse. He exhaled a breath of stale air and said:

"Come on, my brothers, my friends, now that this expedition to Lonely Mountain is complete, it's time to divide our spoils."

At this point, the handsome dwarf prince looked up at the sky, sighed, and said:

"Actually, ever since I first saw the gold in the vault, an evil thought has been constantly taunting my reason. It's like a nightmare that's hard to shake off, constantly urging me to take all that gold for myself."

"However, I don't want to let down everyone's efforts, I don't want to lose everyone's trust, and I don't want to tarnish the reputation of the King of the Mountain."

"So let's divide up that gold as soon as possible, otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my promise."

(End of this chapter)