Bard kills the dragon Smaug in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Bard is a skilled archer from Lake-town, also called Esgaroth. When Smaug attacks the settlement after leaving the Lonely Mountain, Bard learns from a thrush that the dragon has a vulnerable spot on his underside. He uses the Black Arrow to strike Smaug in that exposed area, killing him as the dragon flies over the town.
Bard’s victory does not end the story. Smaug’s death causes the dwarves, men, and elves to dispute the treasure beneath the Lonely Mountain, and the conflict contributes to the Battle of the Five Armies. Bard later becomes the founder and king of Dale, which had been destroyed by Smaug years earlier.
Readers sometimes attribute Smaug’s death to Bilbo because Bilbo discovers the dragon’s weak point. However, Bilbo only reports what he has learned; Bard is the character who fires the fatal arrow.