Facing Gram, whose mood changed in an instant, Luke immediately used Apparition to dodge the attack.
When he reappeared, he was on Gram's back.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A dazzling green light struck Gram.
Gram's body stiffened, then it let out a painful roar.
"Damn it!" Luke cursed under his breath, then immediately Apparated away, vanishing.
As an ancient Dragon created by Morgoth in the First Age, Gram's soul was incredibly powerful; even Avada Kedavra only severely wounded its soul, failing to destroy it directly.
And Gram, gravely injured by Luke, became utterly enraged.
"Wizard, I will have you killed!"
Thus, it furiously attacked Luke, continuously spewing out extreme cold air from its mouth, its massive body, thousands of meters long, shaking the ground.
Luke constantly used Apparition, dodging Gram's attacks while subtly luring it away from Isengard.
Smaug also flew in to assist.
And because Smaug could fly, while Gram could not at the moment, although there was a huge disparity in their sizes.
But with the advantage of flight, Smaug also narrowed the gap in strength with Gram, able to continuously maneuver in the sky and constantly spew Dragon Flame to attack Gram.
Sulond also, with his extremely fast flight speed, continuously interfered in the sky, swooping down, dodging the cold air attack, and at the same time, his sharp giant claws fiercely grabbed at the broken parts of the Dragon's scales, instantly tearing off a large chunk of Dragon flesh.
Gram roared in agony, angrily biting towards Sulond , but he dodged.
Immediately, Gram felt a pang of pain from its tail.
Turning its head, it discovered a Cerberus biting its tail tightly, shaking its head rapidly to tear at it.
The highly toxic and corrosive teeth had broken through the Dragon scales' defense, causing Gram to feel pain.
The ten-meter-tall Cerberus was just an insignificant little ant in Gram's eyes; enraged, it powerfully swung its tail, flinging Cerberus heavily several kilometers away onto a mountain wall.
Cerberus let out a whimpering cry and instantly lost its fighting ability.
"Cerberus!" Luke looked anxiously at Cerberus.
Immediately, Luke's gaze towards Gram grew colder.
Along with the change in his emotions, his eyes were quickly covered in white, black mist rose from his body, and his form gradually etherealized, turning into a large, shapeless mass of swirling black mist.
Instantly, the black mist, at a speed surpassing the wind, swiftly rushed towards Gram, carrying extremely destructive power, wantonly ravaging Gram's body.
The black mist was like countless black grains of sand, grinding down the Dragon's hard scales one by one, exposing the more vulnerable Dragon hide, which was then torn by an invisible force, letting out cold blood.
But Gram was not easy to deal with; even with Luke in his Obscurus form, he only injured its exterior, failing to inflict fatal damage.
To prevent Luke from getting close, Gram directly spewed cold air at its own body.
The cold air quickly condensed into a layer of cold, hard ice on the Dragon's body; this ice layer was like the Dragon's armor, protecting its entire body.
Whether it was Smaug's Dragon Flame or Luke's attacks, they could only first destroy the ice layer on Gram's body, completely unable to harm its main body.
For a time, Gram became even more difficult to deal with.
Moreover, Gram quickly perceived Luke's intention to lure it away from Isengard.
Its Dragon eyes scanned the Dunlending warriors and Rohan Cavalry below Orthanc, revealing a cruel sneer.
"You care about these people so much? How about I freeze this place solid?"
Saying this, it gave Luke no chance to answer, directly spewing cold air wantonly in all directions; the cold air rapidly spread outwards, the temperature quickly dropped, the ground quickly frosted over, and even exhaled breath instantly turned into ice crystals!
Everyone felt a biting cold; if not stopped in time, within ten minutes, everyone would be frozen to death.
Luke condensed his upper body into a solid form from his Obscurus state, flew to block in front of the Isengard wall, and waved his hand to summon roaring Fiendfyre.
The Fiendfyre rapidly spread, condensing around Isengard into a high wall of Fiendfyre.
The Fiendfyre wall blocked the spread of the cold air, and then he transformed into a Fiendfyre Balrog.
The Fiendfyre Balrog roared, drawing out a Fiendfyre whip, and lashed at Gram, cracking the ice armor on Gram's body.
The Fiendfyre tried to spread onto Gram, but Gram was no pushover; it spewed cold air, directly freezing and extinguishing the Fiendfyre whip.
Fiendfyre and cold air were evenly matched, relying solely on whoever could continuously suppress the other with sheer quantity.
Amidst the intertwining of ice and fire, the ice was melted and evaporated by the Fiendfyre, and the entire Isengard was shrouded in dense mist, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of their face.
Immediately, it was affected by Gram's cold air, turning from mist into ice crystal snowflakes floating in mid-air.
And in such a situation of obstructed vision, Herpo stealthily sneaked behind Gram, taking advantage of Gram's unpreparedness, biting it in an unscaled area and injecting all of its stored venom into it.
Gram cried out in pain, instinctively turned its head, opened its massive mouth, and prepared to spew cold air to freeze the attacker to death, only to be met by a pair of orange-yellow snake eyes.
Upon encountering the Basilisk's eye attack, Gram's soul was once again severely wounded, letting out a painful roar.
"Avada Kedavra!" Luke also appeared on one side of Gram, once again casting Avada Kedavra.
Having consecutively suffered attacks from the Basilisk's deadly gaze and Luke's Avada Kedavra, Gram's soul was already extremely weak.
Facing the encirclement by Luke, Smaug, Sulond , Herpo, Cerberus, and the conjured balrog as well as the nearly ten thousand watchful Dunlending warriors and Rohan Cavalry, Gram felt a threat to its life for the first time, and fear showed in its eyes.
As an ancient Dragon that had survived to this day, Gram was extremely fond of its life; it immediately spewed cold air at Luke and the others to repel them, then turned and fled without hesitation towards the Misty Mountains.
Gram was very intelligent and cunning; it knew that to the east was the Kingdom of Rohan, to the south was the Kingdom of Gondor, and to the west was the Enedwaith region, all areas inhabited by humans.
Only by fleeing north into the Misty Mountains could it successfully escape by utilizing the mountains' ruggedness and mystique.
Thus, unable to fly, it relied on its massive body and strong limbs to move swiftly.
"Chase it, don't let it escape!" Luke quickly shouted, then transformed into his Obscurus form, like a black wind, pursuing Gram.
It wasn't that Luke was unwilling to let Gram go, but he had heard Gram's thoughts and knew this was a Dragon with an extremely strong desire for revenge.
Gram already considered him an enemy, just waiting for an opportunity to retaliate in the future.
Luke always preferred to prevent trouble before it arose, so he naturally couldn't sit by and allow a Dragon that could emerge at any time to seek revenge against him to exist.
Luke flew by his own power for the first time; in his Obscurus form, he seemed to have no weight or form, essentially being a mass of destructive magic.
His flight speed was also very fast, directly catching up to the fleeing Gram.
Gram quickly turned its head and spewed cold air.
Luke, in his black mist form, instantly dispersed his body, avoiding Gram's cold air attack, then re-converged, rushing directly towards the Dragon, covering its body like a black curtain, continuously eroding and destroying the Dragon's body.
Gram cried out in pain, quickly spewing cold air at itself, not only adding a layer of ice armor but also trying to freeze Luke.
Facing the cold air, even Luke in his Obscurus form dared not confront it directly, swiftly dodging away from the Dragon's body.
And just then, Smaug and Sulond also caught up, and even Herpo, wrapped around Smaug's body, followed along.
Smaug spewed Dragon Flame from the sky at Gram below; Herpo, on his back, also seized the opportunity to unleash his deadly gaze upon Gram.
Gram spewed cold air to resist the Dragon Flame's attack, but caught off guard, it once again saw the Basilisk's eyes.
Instantly, it was severely wounded again, and even the spewed cold air was interrupted, allowing Smaug's Dragon Flame to land directly on its body, melting the ice armor.
Sulond seized the chance to dive down, and with his sharp giant claws, fiercely grabbed at the broken Dragon scales, tearing off a large piece of flesh and blood.
The bleeding Gram roared in agony.
"Strike while the iron is hot." Luke also once again cast Avada Kedavra, striking the Dragon.
Gram's soul fire was dim and lifeless, as if it could extinguish at any moment.
Feeling the rapid loss of its life, Gram's eyes were filled with frenzied hatred.
"You want me to die? Then let's all die together!"
Saying this, an incredibly biting cold erupted from its entire body, and a low-frequency growl emanated from its throat, drawing in the surrounding natural energy.
"Not good! Master, he is using Dragon magic to sacrifice his life force! Retreat quickly!" Smaug discovered the anomaly and immediately shouted a warning.
Upon hearing this, Luke, in his Obscurus form, retreated rapidly without hesitation.
The next second, an extreme cold burst forth from Gram's body, sweeping outwards rapidly, freezing the world.
The coldness spread outwards in a ring, freezing everything in its path—trees, rocks, insects, birds, all instantly frozen, even the air itself was frozen, radiating an icy color.
This was Gram's strongest power, unleashed at the cost of its life force.
The affected area covered more than ten miles.
Because of Smaug's early warning, combined with Luke's quick retreat, he moved away from the coldest central area and timely cast a protective barrier, thus avoiding being frozen.
Sulond, Smaug, and the Herpo he carried, all retreated in time and were not affected.
But even so, they were all covered in a layer of frost.
Herpo, affected by the cold, became even more listless, on the verge of falling into hibernation at any moment.
And at the very center of the frozen area, Gram did not die then and there.
In fact, being fond of its life, at the very last moment, it only sacrificed a portion of its life force to unleash its power.
Otherwise, if it had wanted to die together, the freezing power it unleashed would have been far more terrifying than now, enough to prevent Luke and the others from escaping the speed of the freeze.
Gram, having lost a portion of its life force, now looked very weak, unable to even spew cold air.
It immediately fled deeper into the Misty Mountains without looking back.
Seeing Gram flee, Luke didn't hesitate: "Chase!"
Smaug and Sulond immediately followed in pursuit.
Only Herpo, affected by the cold, was barely holding on to his consciousness to avoid falling into hibernation, and he didn't have much fighting power left.
So, Luke simply left him there to sleep and planned to pick him up on the way back.
Gram fled in front, with Luke and the others in pursuit.
Gram moved incredibly fast on the ground; its massive body, thousands of meters long, traversed the rugged mountains as if on flat land.
Meanwhile, Luke and the others continuously attacked him from behind.
They moved northward along the Misty Mountains.
Due to his previous outburst, Gram had temporarily lost his ability to breathe cold air, but his strength was still not to be underestimated.
The earlier icy burst had covered him with an even sturdier layer of ice, which even Smaug's Dragon Flame couldn't quickly melt.
At the same time, Luke couldn't maintain his Obscurus form for long, so he transformed back into human shape, riding on Smaug's back, and continued the chase.
Thus, Luke and Gram battled their way, crossing countless mountains.
They stopped when they reached the middle section of the Misty Mountains, near Silverlode Peak, which is above Moria.
In the distance, the Durin's Tower on Silverlode Peak was where Luke and Gandalf had once fought the Balrog.
Many Dwarves, who currently guarded Moria, had seen Smaug and Sulond, but they had never seen the even larger Gram, and they were even more shocked by him.
Immediately, a commotion arose, and the warning horns were blown.
Luke, however, paid no attention to the commotion on Silverlode Peak in the distance, but instead watched the stopped Gram warily.
Gram looked extremely tired and weak, constantly gasping for breath.
This wasn't because Gram was exhausted from running, but because the poison was taking effect.
Herpo had injected all his venom into him; just a single drop of that venom could fell an elephant, let alone the amount Herpo stored, which would be more than enough to fill barrels.
Such potent venom could even poison Smaug, yet Gram had endured until now and still hadn't collapsed.
Such strength made Luke click his tongue in admiration.
At the same time, he became even more cautious.
After all, even a trapped beast will fight, and an existence like Gram is most dangerous in his final moments.
The layer of ice on Gram's body had almost melted away under the continuous scorching of Smaug's Dragon Flame.
Gram looked at Luke and pleaded, "Wizard, I am willing to surrender! As long as you spare my life, I am willing to serve you, just like your little Dragon!"
Upon hearing this, Luke raised an eyebrow, showing a surprised expression.
"You want to surrender to me? Is that true or false?"
Gram nodded repeatedly.
"Of course it's true!"
But Smaug's scales bristled, and he eyed Gram with wary suspicion, as if looking at a thief trying to steal his home.
"Master, don't believe his nonsense; he's definitely lying to you! In this world, besides this Dragon, there's absolutely no other good Dragon!"
Gram, however, provocatively said to Luke:
"Wizard, taking me in would definitely be better than this little Dragon. I've lived since ancient times and know many secrets, including those of my former master, the Dark Lord Morgoth. Moreover, my strength is countless times greater than that little Dragon's!
I can help you dominate this world! Even replace Sauron and rule this world!"
Gram's voice was full of temptation, striving to showcase his advantages.
Luke seemed to be swayed and said, "If you truly surrender, then sign a magic oath with me, obey all my commands without defiance. Can you do that?"
Gram showed hesitation and struggle upon hearing this, but seeing the menacing Luke, Smaug, and Sulond, he finally resigned himself and lowered his head.
"I am willing."
Luke's face lit up with joy upon hearing this.
"Then I'll Apparate onto your back. You must not resist, and sign the oath contract with me!"
Gram nodded.
Seeing Luke seemingly colluding with Gram, Smaug immediately became anxious.
"Master, don't believe his nonsense! This old Dragon has lived for ages and is very cunning; he can't possibly surrender so easily..."
"It's alright, Smaug, trust me, no matter what, you are my most trusted companion, and that will never change!" Luke gently patted Smaug, then instantly disappeared with Apparition.
A few seconds later, he Apparated onto Gram's back.
Holding his wand, he said to Gram, "Now you and I will perform a blood oath. A drop of your blood and a drop of my blood will merge to create an unbreakable vow. Do not resist."
Gram nodded in submission, biting his tongue, and instantly, cold blood flowed from his mouth.
He turned his head and asked, "Master, is this blood enough?"
Luke waved his hand repeatedly: "Enough, enough! Just one drop is enough, no need for so much."
"That's good! Master, please take it!" Gram brought his head closer, looking utterly compliant.
But the moment he got close to Luke, his submissive and gentle eyes instantly turned sinister, and he suddenly exhaled an extremely cold breath from his throat.
Luke, unprepared, was instantly engulfed by the cold air, turning directly into an ice sculpture.
"Master!!!" Smaug was shocked, disbelieving.
Sulond let out a mournful cry, then angrily charged towards Gram.
Gram sprayed cold air at the attacking . Although Sulond dodged in time, one of his wings still got caught by the cold air, was frozen and unable to fly, causing him to plummet directly.
"Hahaha, just a foolish human, tricked by a few words from me!" Gram looked at the ice-sealed Luke, his eyes full of triumph and the pleasure of revenge.
During the chase, he had long since recovered his ability to breathe cold, but he had feigned not having recovered, precisely to launch a surprise, fatal blow to Luke.
Gram looked at Luke, who was like an ice sculpture, with disdain, sneering, "My master has always been only the great Dark Lord Morgoth. Not even Sauron could make me submit, let alone a mere Wizard like you!"
"Now that you've fallen into my hands, I'm going to eat you to vent my hatred!" With that, Gram swallowed the ice-sealed Luke in one gulp.
Then he looked up at Smaug in the sky, who seemed to be still processing what had happened, and said with contempt and disgust, "A descendant of the mighty Dragon Ancalagon, bowing before a human, truly a disgrace to the Dragon race! Your master has now been eaten by me, begone!"
Gram wished he could eat this little Dragon, but his wing was broken, so he couldn't do anything to Smaug in the sky, and thus had to let him go for now.
"Who said his master is dead?" A voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The next moment, Luke appeared on Smaug's back, looking down at Gram with a playful expression.
Seeing Luke appear, Gram's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
"Impossible! Weren't you eaten by me? How are you not dead?"
Suddenly, he reacted, feeling very uneasy in his heart, "What was that 'you' I just ate?"
"You reacted so quickly? Truly worthy of an old Dragon who has lived from ancient times until now!" Luke said with a praising smile, then asked with a playful expression.
"Do you feel a warmth in your belly now? I considered that you might have a cold stomach, so I specially prepared some good things to warm it, like Balrog Fire Crystals and such."
As the saying goes, 'the devil is one foot high, but the Dao is ten feet high.' Gram had always harbored ill intentions, and Luke had never trusted Gram.
Both sides were feigning compliance, trying to find an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the other.
Therefore, the few seconds Luke was delayed when Apparating onto Gram's back were actually spent going to another hidden place.
The "Luke" that Gram had eaten was actually Luke using Transfiguration to transform a Mithril Furnace containing all the Balrog Fire Crystals into his likeness, then using a Portkey to teleport it onto Gram's back.
Balrog Fire Crystals are crystals formed from the condensed power of Balrogs over centuries in their lair at the bottom of the Moria mines. They possess extremely high temperatures, enough to melt Mithril.
Balrogs are a higher-tier existence than Dragons, and the crystals of their condensed flame power cannot be extinguished by Gram's cold breath.
Now, Gram swallowing the Mithril Furnace containing all the Balrog Fire Crystals was tantamount to swallowing a time bomb.
The moment Luke remotely activated the Mithril Furnace,
In the vast stomach of Gram, the Mithril Furnace automatically opened, releasing the heat of the Balrog Fire Crystals.
The originally freezing cold stomach became intensely hot, with temperatures exceeding ten thousand degrees Celsius, directly evaporating the gastric acid, and scorching the surrounding stomach walls.
The enormous stomach cavity rapidly swelled like a balloon, growing larger and hotter.
Outside, as soon as Luke's words fell.
Gram felt intense pain in his belly, as if a scorching flame was burning inside him, melting his internal organs from the inside out.
Even through his belly, a scorching temperature could be felt radiating from within.
Gram let out an agonizing shriek, writhing violently on the ground, destroying surrounding boulders and trees, and causing the ground to shake continuously.
His mournful cries even reached Moria, causing countless Dwarves to turn their heads.
Luke coldly watched as Gram's belly swelled larger and larger, finally spewing hot air from his mouth along his trachea, much like a boiling teapot constantly hissing steam.
Gradually, Gram's body also became scorching hot, turning crimson all over, like a cooked shrimp.
With his internal organs completely cooked, Gram was on his last breath, his painful eyes filled with unwillingness.
"Avada Kedavra!" Luke wielded his staff, once again unleashing the Killing Curse with full power.
The dazzling spell struck Gram.
This time, Gram immediately fell silent, his pupils dilated, and he completely ceased to breathe.
Gram's complete demise finally allowed Luke to breathe a sigh of relief.
However, the deceased Gram, due to the furnace containing the Fire Demon's Fire Crystal it had swallowed, still emitted scorching heat from its body, with hot air constantly spewing from its mouth.
Luke, at this moment, paid no mind to Gram and used Apparition to arrive at the spot where Sulond had fallen.
Seeing Sulond lying injured in the center of a smashed forest, Luke, with a pained heart, quickly pulled out various Potions and fed them to Sulond.
Sulond's injuries were not too severe; only one of his wings was frostbitten, preventing him from flying for a short period.
But it still caused Luke immense heartache.
Sulond was different from other pets; he had been abandoned by his kin and raised by Luke since he was young.
Thus, his affection for Luke was the deepest, and his reliance was the strongest. Moreover, unlike other pets, he wasn't bound by a contract magic, making him extremely loyal.
So, after personally witnessing 'Luke' being devoured by Gram, he frantically and desperately attacked Gram, solely to avenge his master.
After comforting Sulond for a while, Luke redirected his gaze to Gram.
The colossal Dragon's body, stretching over a thousand meters, still left Luke awestruck.
Had it not been for the surprise attack, using the Fire Demon's Fire Crystal to destroy Gram from within,
Luke would have had no confidence in being able to completely finish off this powerful ancient Dragon.
It was also fortunate that Luke didn't know Saruman had used a similar method to subdue Gram: hiding Ungoliant's venom inside a Fellbeast and letting Gram eat it, thus falling victim.
Otherwise, he would have complained about Gram's forgetfulness, falling for the same trick twice in a row.
Once, it ate a Fellbeast containing potent poison, and another time, it ate a fake Luke containing a Fire Demon's Fire Crystal.
It looked more like a foodie Dragon.
"How should I transport it?" Luke scrutinized the mountain-like Dragon corpse, frowning in distress.
Gram's size was simply too enormous, almost ten times larger than Smaug, making it impossible for Smaug to pull.
However, the most pressing matter was to retrieve the furnace from Gram's belly.
Luke assigned this task to Smaug.
After all, Gram's defense was astonishing, and its body was too massive; a cutting charm simply couldn't inflict a significant wound.
Although the sword of fire and spear aeglos could pierce the Dragon's scales, it was like poking a Giant with a toothpick; even when the spear was fully inserted into Gram's body, it failed to penetrate the Dragon's thick layers of muscle and fat.
So Smaug used his sharp claws and teeth to tear open Gram's belly.
After waiting for a long time, Smaug finally broke open Gram's belly.
The moment Gram's belly was torn open, a wave of heat surged out, scorching Smaug, who was usually unafraid of Dragon flame, causing him to grimace.
Luke, even more so, quickly cast a spell to block it.
Inside Gram, its internal organs appeared as if they had been boiled, steaming hot.
Especially the stomach, which was burned through, and its blood was evaporated.
Looking at the furnace in the Dragon's stomach, Luke cast a spell to reseal the furnace, and only then did the scorching high temperature finally subside.
The surrounding temperature also dropped back down.
Finally, Luke's attention fell on the enormous heart.
Gram's heart was astonishingly large, the size of a small house, with its internal chambers large enough to accommodate an adult.
Unlike the other boiled internal organs, Gram's heart still exuded a chilling aura.
Luke pulled out a mithril container from his spatial bag, cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on it, and then approached the heart with it.
Then, he used spear aeglos to pierce the heart.
Instantly, an icy, sapphire-blue blood flowed from the Dragon's heart.
The blood was bone-chilling, and if one accidentally touched it, they would be frozen, making it very dangerous; even Luke had to collect it carefully.
Gram's heart was enormous, and there was a great deal of blood. Luke collected the equivalent of thirty barrels of blood before the heart's blood ran dry.
A Dragon's entire body was a treasure, especially an ancient Dragon like Gram, which had lived for a very long time, making it incredibly precious.
And among the ingredients for making the Elixir of Life, Dragon blood was one of the indispensable and important materials.
So Luke carefully put away the mithril container filled with Dragon blood, also casting a preservation spell.
Although Nicolas Flamel used the blood of a Dragon for his Elixir of Life,
the blood of a Gram should also be usable.
After draining the blood from the heart, Luke also removed the entire heart, then, feeling for the heart, he used a sharp mithril knife to cut it open and extracted a two-meter-long heart nerve.
The Dragon heart nerve, also known as a Dragon heartstring, was one of the materials for a wand core.
And this particular Dragon heartstring, belonging to Gram, exuded an icy attribute and possessed powerful magic properties.
If it were paired with the best wand wood, it could create a powerful wand, and when casting spells like freezing charms, it would have a very strong amplification effect.
Luke put away the Dragon heartstring and also placed the enormous Dragon heart into his spatial bag.
Subsequently, Luke continued to collect the Dragon liver, Dragon lungs, Dragon kidneys, and other organs into his spatial bag.
These things were all ingredients for making Potions; he naturally wouldn't let them go.
"Master, I feel something in its head," Smaug said, pointing to Gram's forehead.
Luke, curious, walked onto the enormous Dragon head and, following Smaug's senses, forcefully inserted spear aeglos into Gram's forehead.
Gram's head was protected by a hard skull, and it took Luke a great deal of effort to successfully split its head open.
Then he saw an irregular, ice-blue crystal the size of a soccer ball, emitting an extreme cold and a faint blue light.
As it was exposed to the air, the surrounding temperature rapidly dropped, and the exhaled breath turned into frost mist.
Even spear aeglos, which Luke used to split the Dragon head, quickly condensed a layer of frost the moment it touched the crystal.
The chill was conducted through the spear to Luke's hand, almost freezing it numb.
"This is...?" Luke had never seen this before and couldn't help but show a look of astonishment.
But Smaug, however, showed a look of joy.
"Master, this is a Dragon Crystal! It's the source of this Gram's magic, and why it can spew cold air!"
Dragon Crystal? Luke was very surprised.
"What is the purpose of a Dragon Crystal?"
"A Dragon Crystal is the core of a Dragon's power. If other Dragons eat a Dragon Crystal, they can become even stronger. That's why the Dragon race used to kill each other, not just to fight for treasure, but also to devour each other's Dragon Crystals," Smaug explained.
"Of course, Dragon Crystals can also be made into magic items, using their power to unleash powerful effects."
Hearing Smaug's words, Luke understood, and then his gaze fell on Smaug's head.
"So, does that mean you also have a Dragon Crystal in your head?"
Smaug immediately recoiled, fearing Luke had ulterior motives.
"Master, not all Dragons have Dragon Crystals. Only powerful and ancient Dragons can naturally form Dragon Crystals within their bodies. I've only lived for over a thousand years; I'm very young among the Dragon race and haven't grown a Dragon Crystal yet!"
Seeing Smaug's fearful expression, Luke didn't tease him further.
He then waved his hand, causing the Dragon Crystal to float up and send it in front of Smaug.
"If this Dragon Crystal is useful to you, then it's yours."
He noticed the longing in Smaug's eyes for this Dragon Crystal, but he had remained silent.
"Really?" Seeing the Dragon Crystal presented before him, Smaug's eyes widened in disbelief, "Master, do you really want to give me the Dragon Crystal?"
Luke smiled and nodded, "Of course it's real. I'm just a little puzzled. This Gram's Dragon Crystal has an ice attribute, completely different from your Dragon's fire attribute. Can you eat it?"
After all, ice and fire were two conflicting forces; wasn't Smaug afraid of getting an upset stomach?
After all, Gram was a cautionary tale; it had literally eaten itself to death by consuming the Fire Demon's Fire Crystal.
Hearing Luke's answer, Smaug was instantly overjoyed.
"Master, you are too kind to me! Don't worry, I, Smaug, will never betray you, Master! Not even for all the gold in the world!"
Luke found this amusing.
For Smaug, a money-grubber, gold was his lifeblood.
For him to make such a vow now definitely held more credibility than any solemn oath.
Immediately, Smaug eagerly swallowed the Dragon Crystal and explained:
"Don't worry, Master, the Dragon race shares a common origin. Although our attributes are different, I can still absorb Gram's Dragon Crystal. However, until I fully digest and absorb the Dragon Crystal, I won't be able to breathe fire temporarily."
As he spoke, Smaug shivered all over, becoming somewhat stiff, and a layer of frost appeared on his body.
At the same time, what he spewed out was no longer Dragon flame, but a plume of black smoke, and even his exhaled breath carried a chill.
Luke looked at Smaug's reckless behavior with a speechless expression.
"No one's fighting you for it, why eat so fast? Can you still fly now?"
Looking at Smaug, who was almost frozen stiff, Luke doubted if he could even fly.
Now, Sulond had one wing frostbitten; although he had taken Potions, he couldn't fly temporarily.
And the massive body of Gram also couldn't be moved.
If Smaug also couldn't fly... Thinking of this, Luke felt a headache coming on.
How was he going to take all of these back?
To his relief, although Smaug was almost frozen stiff, he could still manage to fly somewhat unsteadily, not adding another burden to Luke.
And just then, a team of Dwarves approached from a distance.
"Balin! Why are you here?" Luke was a little surprised to see the leading Dwarf.
Balin, clad in mithril armor and wielding Durin's Axe, embraced Luke warmly upon seeing him.
Then he stepped back a few paces, smiling, "The lookout on Durin's Tower saw the figures of Smaug and Sulond, and immediately reported the news to me. I then guessed you must be here too."
His gaze then fell upon Gram, and he gasped, "I thought Smaug was already enormous, but I never imagined there could be such a massive Dragon in the world!"
Balin looked at Luke with awe and reverence, "Luke, you are truly amazing! Not only can you subdue Smaug, but now you've killed an even larger Dragon! This is truly astonishing!"
Luke smiled and waved his hand, "It's not just my credit. Smaug, Sulond, Herpo, and others all contributed, and finally killing it was also due to luck."
"Oh, and I need to trouble you with something..."
On the journey flying south from the Misty Mountains, Smaug clutched Sulond in his talons, while Luke stood upon his back.
Luke held a large box in his hand, crafted entirely from Mithril alloy, making it extremely sturdy.
This box was a gift from Balin, and Luke had cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on its interior, allowing it to barely contain Gram's corpse.
Balin had originally invited Luke to be his guest in Moria.
However, Luke was in a hurry to return to Isengard to attend to matters, so he politely declined Balin's invitation.
Before leaving, he presented Balin with a tooth from Gram.
Balin was extremely fond of this gift, and personally, along with other Dwarf craftsmen, forged a Dragon Tooth Sword using Mithril and the Dragon tooth.
This Dragon Tooth Sword was carried by Balin, the Lord of Moria, and in the future, it would become a treasured heirloom of Moria, renowned alongside the Axe of Durin.
Of course, this was a matter for much later in the future.
Currently, Balin had only just acquired the Dragon tooth, and there was still a good while before the Dragon Tooth Sword would be forged.
Standing on Smaug's back, Luke could feel the chill emanating from Smaug.
Due to swallowing the Dragon crystal, Smaug had temporarily lost his ability to breathe fire, his body had grown cold, and his breath was icy, making him appear as if he had transformed into a Gram.
"Smaug, how long will it take for you to absorb the Dragon crystal?"
"Gram's Dragon crystal contains immense energy; it will take at least ten years to fully absorb it," Smaug replied.
"Ten years! That long?"
"That's not long at all, Master," Smaug shook his head and said, "This is the Dragon crystal of an ancient Dragon born in the First Age. Once I absorb its energy, I will become as powerful as Gram—no, even stronger than him! And as massive as him!"
"And all this in just ten years! I will gain thousands of years of Gram's accumulation. This is a benefit all Dragons can only dream of!"
"So, in these ten years, you won't be able to breathe fire?" Luke asked with concern.
Dragon flame was one of Smaug's most powerful abilities. Without the aid of Dragon flame, he would be no different from a cold Dragon that couldn't breathe fire.
In fact, due to the influence of the Dragon crystal's coldness, Smaug's strength had weakened, and he had entered a "weakened state."
If he were to encounter a battle like today's again, he could easily fall into danger.
Smaug shook his head. "It's not like that. In about one to two years, I'll be able to suppress the Dragon crystal's coldness, and then I can breathe Dragon flame."
Hearing this, Luke felt a little relieved.
Worst case, for these one or two years, he would just let Smaug guard the Weathertop treasury until his "weakened state" passed.
Then Smaug, with a hesitant and somewhat awkward tone, said, "Master, after we return this time, I will fall into a deep sleep to accelerate digestion and absorption. At that time, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you..."
Luke waved his hand. "Go to sleep; you don't need to worry about other matters."
He thought that after this failure, Mordor would likely not make any rash moves for a while.
Moreover, even if something happened, there were Sulond, Herpo, Kraken, Cerberus, and others he could command, so there was no rush.
Subsequently, on the way back to Isengard, Luke also picked up Herpo, who had fallen into hibernation, and put him into the box to take away.
Upon arriving at Isengard, what met his eyes was a scene of devastation.
Trees were destroyed, boulders shattered, the ground was pockmarked with craters, the walls surrounding Isengard were reduced to broken ruins, and un-melted frost was everywhere.
Even Orthanc, the most sturdy, had sustained damage, with its spire and top collapsed.
It was utterly a scene of utter destruction.
Seeing this, Luke's brows furrowed, and he couldn't help but sigh.
This was the first time his territory had suffered such a large-scale attack. He was fortunate that this was not Weathertop, and there was no densely populated city like Amon Sul.
Otherwise, the losses would have been disastrous, and countless of his subjects would have died or been injured.
At this time, the Dunlending warriors and Rohan Cavalry were still holding their ground around Orthanc, wary and vigilant against the enemy's arrival.
The warriors, led by Brog, the chieftain of the Dunlendings, patrolled the skies on Hippogriffs, on alert.
At a higher altitude, Griffin Aslan, with his superior eyesight, was responsible for surveillance.
On the ground, Cerberus, uncharacteristically not attacking the surrounding warriors, had his three heads looking in three directions, constantly alert for the enemy's arrival.
When the figures of Smaug, Luke, and Sulond appeared, the uneasy and anxious hearts of the crowd finally settled.
"Lord Luke!"
Everyone joyfully rushed forward to greet him.
"Lord Luke, what happened to the ?" Brog, the chieftain of the Dunlendings, asked with concern, seeing Sulond placed on the ground by Smaug.
"One of his wings was frozen by Gram's cold breath, so he can't fly for now, but it's nothing serious," Luke explained.
Sulond also let out a clear cry, indicating that he was fine.
Unable to fly temporarily, he walked on two legs, exuding a majestic yet somewhat comical air.
King Thengel of Rohan also asked, "Wizard Luke, what about Gram? Did he escape?"
Luke smiled and lifted the box in his hand.
"He's in here."
Hearing this, everyone's faces showed disbelief.
"Lord, are you saying Gram is dead?" Brog asked, shocked.
Luke smiled and nodded, then opened the box.
Everyone looked into the box and saw that the vast space was filled with the enormous, thousand-meter-long body of a Dragon, emanating a chilling aura.
And in the crevices of the Dragon's body was Herpo, in hibernation.
Seeing Gram's corpse, everyone finally confirmed his death.
They were both shocked and extremely excited.
They had all witnessed the terror of Gram firsthand; he was truly like a natural disaster, almost destroying all of Isengard.
They never expected this Dragon to be killed by Luke.
The originally martial Dunlending warriors became even more reverent and worshipful of Luke.
Even the Rohan Cavalry looked at him with fervent eyes.
Even the King of Rohan was no exception.
"Lord Luke, this is your golden bow." Brog respectfully presented the golden bow.
As for the Mithril arrows, they had been used up in the previous battle.
"Wizard Luke, this is your horn. It is now returned to its rightful owner."
King Thengel of Rohan also returned the Horn of Victory, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes.
This horn played a huge role on the battlefield; it could not only boost the morale and strength of one's own side and summon allies but also weaken the opponent's courage and disrupt them.
King Thengel had personally experienced the power of such a divine artifact.
In the previous battle, although Thengel did not directly participate in the attack, he exerted a huge auxiliary effect by relying on the Horn of Victory.
If Rohan possessed such a divine artifact, they could be invincible.
Even with King Thengel's strong mind, he couldn't help but feel reluctant to part with it.
But he also knew that he had neither the ability nor the qualification to possess such a divine artifact, so he voluntarily returned it.
Luke also did not stand on ceremony, taking back the golden bow and the Horn of Victory.
Then he thanked Brog and Thengel, saying, "Today, I am very grateful for your assistance, which saved Isengard from a crisis. As a token of my gratitude, I will prepare some gifts for you."
With a whistle from him, the Hippogriffs flew over one by one.
Luke patted the lead Hippogriff and smiled at Brog, the chieftain of the Dunlendings, saying:
"Brog, you and your people, disregarding the danger, returned from the Rohan battlefield to rescue Isengard. I have felt your loyalty. So, as a token of my gratitude and a reward, this group of Hippogriffs will henceforth be given to you, to become your mounts and companions."
Hearing Luke's words, Brog and the other Dunlendings were immediately overjoyed.
"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Luke! We will certainly take good care of them!" Brog promised excitedly.
They were very fond of the Hippogriffs but had always known that these Hippogriffs belonged to their Lord and dared not covet them.
They never expected that the Lord would now bestow them upon the Dunlendings.
This sent Brog and the other Dunlending warriors into ecstasy.
King Thengel of Rohan, witnessing this, showed a look of envy.
He also wanted a Hippogriff!
Then Luke turned his gaze to the King of Rohan.
"King Thengel, you were able to resolutely lead half of your cavalry to support Isengard even when Rohan faced a crisis. For this, I am very grateful, and I accept this profound friendship."
Saying this, he took out a sapphire brooch and handed it to King Thengel.
"This is a Portkey. When Rohan encounters a crisis, whether it is you or your descendants, as long as you gently tap the sapphire three times, it will transport the holder of the brooch to me, and I will help once."
Hearing the function of the sapphire brooch, King Thengel's eyes immediately lit up.
This brooch was not only a life-saving item but also a promise from Luke.
Now he no longer envied the Dunlendings' Hippogriffs.
Although Hippogriffs were rare, how could they compare to a promise from Luke?
King Thengel was immensely grateful for his decision to come to their aid; otherwise, he would never have obtained such a life-saving charm.
He decided to treat this brooch, given by Luke, as a family heirloom, not to be used unless the kingdom faced annihilation, and then passed down through generations as the ultimate trump card for a comeback.
After thanking King Thengel, who was at the forefront, Luke then looked at the other warriors, not forgetting them either.
He smiled and announced to everyone, "To celebrate today's victory, we will have an open-air barbecue feast today, and the main ingredient will be Dragon meat!"
Saying this, he pointed to the countless Dragon corpses on the ground behind him.
In this war that besieged Isengard, the most casualties were among the Dragons.
Saruman's bred Dragons were completely annihilated.
And Luke's Dragons also suffered considerable losses.
To reward these nearly ten thousand Dunlending warriors and Rohan Cavalry, Luke prepared to entertain them with these fallen Dragons.
And upon hearing Luke's words, the scene immediately erupted in a roar of excitement.
Eat Dragon meat? This made everyone disbelieving, yet subtly expectant.
That was a Dragon! Were they fortunate enough to eat Dragon meat today?
Seeing everyone excited, Luke's smile remained.
"But before that, I'll restore the surroundings first."
Saying this, he activated the staff in his hand, and the ring of power also provided its enchantment. The surrounding environment seemed to flow backward in time, the pockmarked ground continuously repaired, the ruined walls re-erected... Everyone watched this miraculous scene in awe.
Their gaze fell upon that tall figure, filled with even greater reverence and admiration.
(T/N: I felt the chineese in this chapter strongly.)
(I live in a wood cabin in the woods so I have to add wood chopping to my itinerary since it's gotten pretty chill)
Crazy?They say I'm crazy.Crazy in my cabin.A cabin in the woods.The woods with whispers.Whispers in the walls.Walls that breathe at night.And breathing makes me crazy.Crazy?They say I'm crazy
Crazy in my cabin.A cabin in the woods.The woods with whispers.Whispers in the walls.Walls that breathe at night.And breathing makes me crazy.
Crazy?
They say I'm crazy
....