Chapter 011 Negotiation and Concession

Lonely Mountain.

When the massive peak was sighted in the distance, the dwarves knew that the Lonely Mountain was near. This lifted the spirits of the weary dwarves who had traveled far.

The leading dwarf said, "Speed up. We must reach the Lonely Mountain by today."

The dwarves nodded in unison and quickened their pace.

Roar!

But just then, a great dragon's roar came from the sky, followed by a massive shadow that blotted out the sun, plunging the sky into darkness.

The dwarves looked up and saw a dragon soaring in the sky.

"Smaug!!"

Among this company, many dwarves had once lived in the Lonely Mountain and, decades ago, witnessed Smaug destroy their home—an unimaginable nightmare.

Even now, many still dreamed of that terrible scene in the dead of night. They had never forgotten Smaug; instead, as time passed, the memory grew sharper, even etched into their bones.

Now, seeing the behemoth again, they recognized it at first glance.

But what terrified the dwarves even more was that Smaug had grown even stronger.

When Smaug first attacked the Lonely Mountain, he was only about a hundred meters long.

But now, Smaug's size exceeded two hundred meters, nearly doubled. The overwhelming, suffocating dragon's might robbed the dwarves present of any courage to fight.

Boom!

With a tremendous crash, Smaug landed from the sky, and the earth trembled slightly from the impact alone.

Such power inspired awe and fear.

Smaug lowered his head, looked at the dwarves, and said slowly, "Dwarves of the Iron Hills, I have been ordered by my master to bring you to the Lonely Mountain. Now, all of you, come up."

With that, he lowered his wing, signaling the dwarves to climb onto his back.

The dwarves of the Iron Hills stared wide-eyed, hardly believing what they saw—the last great dragon of Middle-earth. Was this really Smaug? The infamous dragon and tyrant who had breached the Lonely Mountain, driven out the dwarves, and claimed all the treasure?

He had actually submitted to a wizard, even willing to obey the wizard's command and let dwarves onto his back.

This was utterly unbelievable.

The arrogant, fearsome, untamable, terrifying Smaug had truly submitted. The dwarves from the Iron Hills felt as if they were dreaming—it was too surreal.

Seeing the dwarves frozen in place, Smaug took matters into his own hands, grabbing them and tossing them onto his back. Then he spread his wings and soared into the sky amidst a gale.

Soon, Smaug reached the Lonely Mountain and shook the dwarves off his back, without harming them in the slightest.

For such was his master's command.

Smaug knew well that his master was immensely powerful. If he disobeyed, he would face terrible punishment. The great Smaug had no intention of being punished for the sake of a few dwarves.

"Follow me!" Smaug said to the dwarves, then strode proudly into the Lonely Mountain.

The dwarves, snapping out of their daze, followed behind Smaug with expressions of disbelief.

The great hall of the Lonely Mountain, once the most sacred place of the dwarf kingdom of Erebor, was now occupied by a mysterious wizard who appeared human.

Even more terrifying, this mysterious wizard was the master of the dragon Smaug.

This left the dwarves of the Iron Hills with mixed feelings, especially those who had once lived in the Lonely Mountain, who were overcome with a flood of emotions.

Wang Bo sat on the throne in the great hall, watching Smaug enter. The dragon had spent a full month in the Time Villa, draining the magic pool dry, and now his body was brimming with magical power.

This had triggered a second growth—or more accurately, an evolution.

This evolution had increased Smaug's size to over two hundred meters, making his bones and flesh stronger and more powerful. Now, even without magic or magical power, Smaug could defeat his former self using only his physical body.

Wang Bo was quite satisfied, as the dragon's potential was indeed impressive.

Wang Bo waved his hand, and Smaug understood, stepping aside to reveal the dwarves behind him.

"Welcome," Wang Bo said with a full smile, snapping his fingers. Behind the dwarves, a splendid chair appeared. "Please, have a seat, envoys."

The leading dwarf bowed to Wang Bo. "Thank you for your generosity, King of the Lonely Mountain."

"You're welcome. A guest is a guest," Wang Bo said warmly. He had sent Smaug to fetch the dwarves, allowing the dragon to display his power. Wang Bo was confident that these dwarves would not dare to act defiantly before him.

Now, all he had to do was play the role of a gentle king.

In this way, he could win over these dwarves.

Sure enough, Wang Bo's gentle demeanor and tone quickly calmed the uneasy dwarves. Wang Bo expressed his desire to establish diplomatic relations, even an alliance, with the dwarves of the Iron Hills.

The dwarves of the Iron Hills did not refuse.

The two sides discussed the matter.

But such matters could not be decided on a whim; they required careful deliberation.

Normally, such affairs would be negotiated and decided by envoys from both sides, with the final treaty signed by the two kings.

However, the problem was that Wang Bo had no subordinates.

In the entire Lonely Mountain, besides himself, there were only Ya Zi, Xiao Bai, and Xiao Qing.

Ya Zi wanted to see more of this world, so she had taken Xiao Bai and Xiao Qing on an outing. Thus, Wang Bo had to handle the matter himself.

Fortunately, Wang Bo was not a petty person; he placed little value on wealth.

He only wanted some dwarves to work for him.

If it came to war, Wang Bo had no need for dwarves. His Time Villa housed over a million mechanical soldiers, enough to withstand any single battle or multiple battles.

Unless it was a interstellar war, where a million soldiers meant little—perhaps wiped out in a single engagement.

But the world of The Lord of the Rings had no interstellar wars. Wang Bo's million mechanical soldiers could easily defeat all forces, whether dwarves or men.

Even the elves might not be able to withstand Wang Bo's million soldiers.

Therefore, during the negotiations, Wang Bo had only one condition: that the dwarves work for him. On everything else, he could make concessions.