Chapter 264: The Demon Dragon in the Elven City is Vanquished
"Aiwen George, this is the ring my father gave me when I left Valinor. Today, I give it to you.
If you ever encounter any problem, no matter how difficult, I will help you. This is my vow to you!"
Finrod took off a ring from his hand and solemnly handed it to George.
The ring's design featured two snakes entwined together, their eyes inlaid with emeralds. Their heads met—one facing upward, the other downward—together supporting a golden crown, the emblem of the House of Finarfin.
"Quite fitting for someone from the House of Serpents like me. Seems like there won't be a Ring of Barahir anymore—only the Ring of George."
George did not refuse and accepted the ring, putting it on.
"As expected, not an ordinary ring!"
The moment the ring touched his hand, George immediately sensed that it wasn't just a regular ring, but a magical one. It carried some of the power of the Sacred Tree and could even serve as a substitute for a wand.
Its effect should be much better than an Elven longsword.
And as for the vow Finrod made with the ring, George firmly believed in it.
Because, if he remembered correctly, Barahir's son, Beren, in order to marry Lúthien, daughter of Thingol, brought the ring to Finrod and asked him to accompany him in stealing a Silmaril from Morgoth.
Knowing it was a suicide mission, the noble Finrod still gave up his throne, led ten Elves, and went with Beren to Angband—only to die midway at the hands of Sauron.
"The Second and Third Princes probably won't hold out much longer. We need to hurry back and support them."
George accepted the ring, picked up Sauron's demonic sword, and spoke to Finrod.
The Elven stone giant he conjured with his Transfiguration Spell was, after all, only made of stone. It couldn't possibly be a match for the demon dragon and likely wouldn't last long.
So if they delayed any longer, the central defensive line could be breached.
"Bardû, take a small team to Hithlum and inform the High King of the situation here. Have him immediately send troops to defend this canyon. Best if Fingon comes himself to support the central front. The rest of you, follow me to go on to Glaursonion!"
Finrod nodded and swiftly issued the orders.
Fingon was his cousin and the most powerful Elf of their generation.
He believed that if Fingon were to face Sauron one-on-one, he likely wouldn't lose.
Sauron's western army had already been severely weakened by them, so it probably didn't need much more defending. Just a few troops in the canyon to hold the line would suffice.
The most important thing now was to gather all their forces to support the central and western fronts. They couldn't allow Morgoth's army to break through the triple encirclement line they had maintained until now.
"There's no time, my prince. I can use spatial magic—let me take you there first."
It had taken him half an hour to fly here, and even with the Elves riding at full speed, it would take an hour and a half.
So to be safe, he would take the strongest warrior, Finrod, and use Apparition multiple times to return quickly to the Elven city and help with the defense.
"Alright, let's go first then!"
Finrod naturally had no objections; he was also deeply concerned about his two younger brothers.
He gave a few more instructions to his men and then disappeared along with George.
After a few Apparitions, they arrived above the Elven city of Glaursonion.
At this moment, the city was engulfed in flames. Compared to when George left, now only less than a third of the Light Elves remained, and fewer than two hundred human warriors.
The Elven statues made of white stone had already been shattered. Angrod and Aegnor, the two brothers, were fiercely battling the demon dragon.
Bregorlas and Barahir, along with human warriors and the remaining Elves, were holding their ground at the city wall—now less than half intact—desperately resisting the onslaught of the balrogs and orc army.
"Kill the demon dragon first. It's the commander of the central army. Once it dies, the army will definitely retreat!"
George, with Finrod in tow, charged straight toward the demon dragon.
Sauron had escaped, but this demon dragon could not be allowed to flee. He was still counting on using the dragon's body to make this world's version of dragon crystal, hoping to become a Dragon Slayer Mage.
Angrod and Aegnor's strength was clearly far inferior to that of their elder brother Finrod. The two of them combined still couldn't match the demon dragon and had already had most of their armor shattered.
Had George and Finrod arrived even half an hour later, they might have only come to collect the bodies.
"Demon dragon, meet your end!"
Finrod was thrown by George from the sky toward the dragon, wielding his Elven sacred sword to strike down at the dragon's head.
Sensing the danger, the demon dragon immediately gave up attacking Angrod and Aegnor and spewed a breath of demon fire toward Finrod before turning and fleeing without a word.
It could sense the strength of the awakened Light Elf and, though it believed it could still win, chose to retreat out of caution, letting the balrogs and orc army take the front line.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Seeing how quickly the dragon fled, George was speechless. This guy really cherished its life.
After all, while demon dragons were strong, they were like the orcs—creations of Morgoth. When they died, they truly died.
Unlike balrogs, who would return to the Eternal Void in the end.
"Apparition!"
There was no way he'd let the prey slip away. He teleported directly above the dragon, his body swelling in size.
"Giant Magic!"
His body expanded to thirty meters tall, and he landed straddling the dragon's neck. Electrical energy surged through his body, enhancing his physical strength. He clasped both hands and hammered the dragon's head, slamming it into the ground.
The demon dragon was momentarily stunned by the sudden attack. It shook its head as it pulled itself from the ground and attempted to breathe fire at George, who was riding on its neck.
But George clung tightly to the dragon's head, forcing it down, preventing it from turning back to breathe fire on him.
The demon dragon Glaurung's magic resistance was likely even higher than Sauron's. Using magic might not be very effective—he couldn't afford to let it escape again.
So he decided to rely purely on giant magic and electrical enhancements to engage the dragon in close combat.
Of course, even so, given the dragon's size—over two hundred meters long—he probably wouldn't have the upper hand.
But that didn't matter. As always, he wasn't the main attacker; he was the support. He wasn't fighting alone—three Elven princes wielding sacred swords were charging in.
His main job was to pin down the dragon, preventing it from fleeing like Sauron.
He had used various magical restraints on Sauron; now he was using pure physical control on the demon dragon.
"Damn human!"
Realizing he couldn't shake off George riding on his neck, and with the three Elven princes already upon him, the demon dragon decided to stop fighting and just flee with George still on him.
"Still trying to run? Stay down!"
George flipped and landed in front of the dragon, seized its massive head, kneed it hard in the chin to shut its fire-spewing mouth, then clamped his legs around its neck and locked it down.
"For the glory of the Elven race!"
Before the dragon could react, the three Elven princes were already swinging their holy swords down on the dragon's neck.
At that moment, George returned to his normal size and dodged out of the way.
Demon dragon blood was highly poisonous—it would be troublesome if it splashed on him.
The three holy swords emitted golden light and merged into a massive sword of radiance, which in one blow severed the dragon's head.
Thus, the first demon dragon raised by Morgoth, which had appeared for less than a day, had already met its end.
(End of Chapter)