The Sealord's Palace was filled with buildings of all shapes and sizes.
Perhaps out of habit, Quairo had stationed a large number of scorpions on the rooftops.
But in the blink of an eye, the dragons plunged downward, rendering the scorpions useless.
Quairo immediately spotted Viserys riding atop one of the dragons, along with Arthur, who looked slightly unsteady after jumping down.
'He brought only two men and three dragons to assault the Sealord's Palace?'
Quairo's brows furrowed.
He immediately ordered the guards to surround the dragons.
Within moments, guards emerged from the various buildings throughout the palace grounds like ants, each carrying a spear as they surrounded the dragons.
But in the next instant, dozens of soldiers emerged from beneath the shadows cast by the three dragons' wings.
Where had all these men come from?
For a moment, Quairo wondered if his eyes were deceiving him.
The scene before him looked almost like something created by magic.
Viserys remained mounted on Balerion's back and decided to strike first.
°Dracarys°
Three streams of flame, black, white, and green, swept over the heads of the Targaryen soldiers and crashed into the palace guards wearing blue cloaks.
The heat of dragonflame seemed capable of setting even the air itself ablaze.
The instant the flames swept across the guards, they became human torches.
Viserys's soldiers took advantage of the opening, driving their spears into the burning men and killing them.
Under the combined assault of dragonflame and soldiers, the encirclement Quairo had hastily assembled was torn apart like paper.
"Scorpions! Bring the scorpions here! Quickly!"
Quairo shouted desperately, staring wide-eyed at the rampaging dragons.
The dragonflame was not burning only soldiers.
The surrounding shrubs and flowers had also caught fire.
Under the flickering flames, some of the exotic beasts kept within the palace grounds shrieked and fled in panic.
The fire also illuminated the battlefield for both sides.
Quairo could even clearly make out Balerion's enormous silhouette and his golden eyes.
Under the gaze of such a monstrous creature, Quairo could not help feeling his heart tremble.
But when he remembered that Freygo was still inside the palace, he tightened his grip on his sword and fought back with renewed determination.
Viserys sat upon the black dragon's back, holding his dragonbone bow as he fired.
He deliberately targeted guards who appeared to be officers.
By reading their memories, he could quickly determine Freygo's location.
After reading the memories of the fourth officer, Viserys finally confirmed where Freygo was.
"North! Move north! Freygo's chambers are to the north! Capture Freygo alive!"
Arthur shouted his orders.
Surrounded by his soldiers, Balerion slowly advanced northward.
Vhagar and Meraxes flew at low altitude, using their dragonflame to clear obstacles from the soldiers' path.
Most people could not summon the courage to fight such enormous beasts and fled in terror.
Yet a small number still chose to remain and fight.
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk!
From the darkness came the furious roar of scorpions.
More than a dozen bolts were fired at Balerion, naturally putting Viserys in their sights as well.
The rider and dragon relied on their keen instincts to evade most of the bolts, but one still tore through Balerion's broad wing.
The bolt punched through the leathery membrane.
It was not a life-threatening wound, but hot dragon blood immediately began seeping from it.
The nerves in a dragon's wing were not particularly dense, but the pain was enough to enrage Balerion.
He roared toward the direction from which the bolts had come.
Viserys could feel how desperately the dragon wanted to pounce on those who had dared attack him and tear them apart.
But without an order from his rider, Balerion did not act recklessly.
The dragons continued clearing a path.
After another fierce melee, Viserys finally caught sight of Freygo's chambers.
It was also obvious that Quairo's expression was growing increasingly anxious.
"Ser Arthur! We need to move faster. Freygo's reinforcements will arrive in no more than fifteen minutes!"
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Arthur cut down a man with a casual swing before leading the soldiers rapidly toward a palace building decorated with statues depicting half-dragons and half-fish.
Viserys had chosen to fight on the ground, greatly reducing the threat posed by the scorpions.
And a dragon's strength was not limited to its flames.
Their bodies were extraordinarily powerful as well.
Balerion's massive tail swept across walkways and bridge supports, sending great chunks of stone flying.
Watching the assault force advance like an icebreaker smashing through everything in its path, Quairo was overcome by a deep sense of helplessness.
There was only one option left.
He had to reach Freygo's chambers before them and move him somewhere safe.
Quairo glanced at the soldiers still fighting around him.
He hardened his heart, abandoned them, and ran toward Freygo.
Without his command, the guards' assault quickly began to collapse.
Viserys realized what was happening.
"Grab the ropes! Quickly!"
The soldiers who heard him hurried beneath the dragon's wings and seized the thick ropes of Balerion's harness.
Balerion only needed to beat his wings a few times before he reached the entrance to Freygo's chambers.
Quairo had just arrived at the doors when he stared in horror at the descending dragon.
As Freygo's chief swordsman, he was also an accomplished Water Dancer.
The art of the Water Dancer relied upon nimble, elusive footwork and graceful movement.
Quairo was certain that no one had noticed him when he left.
Yet the speed with which Viserys had caught up to him was beyond anything he had imagined.
There was no choice left.
Quairo quickly calmed his mind and prepared to face his fate.
Arthur and more than a dozen soldiers emerged from beneath the dragon's wing.
After several years, the two men finally stood face-to-face once more.
"Lord Quairo."
"Ser Arthur."
Arthur's expression was solemn.
Quairo, meanwhile, wore a faint, bitter smile.
Back then, when Freygo had tried to lure Viserys into a trap, he had specifically ordered Quairo to lose to Arthur.
Today, however, both men had reasons they had to win.
Neither would hold back.
"Ser Arthur, I can give you only two hundred heartbeats."
Viserys reminded him from atop the dragon.
Arthur nodded.
Under the watchful eyes of a dragon and more than a dozen Targaryen soldiers, Quairo and Arthur began their duel to the death.
Arthur's techniques had been forged through years of fighting on battlefields.
His every movement carried a heavy killing intent, his attacks broad and powerful.
Quairo, as a Water Dancer, relied on nimble footwork and graceful movements, slipping around Arthur's attacks with ease.
Viserys kept a close eye on Arthur's condition.
He would not allow himself to lose one of his Kingsguard here.
The moment Arthur began to fall behind, Viserys would transfer his own essence to him.
But both the Sword of the Morning and Freygo's chief swordsman were still ordinary men.
Neither possessed the monstrous physical attributes of someone like Drogo.
Quairo knew that Viserys could easily have ordered the dragon to kill him.
Yet he had still allowed Arthur to duel him.
This was how Viserys honored and respected his loyal servants.
No wonder so many people were willing to give their lives for House Targaryen.
Quairo himself had been given the opportunity to fight Arthur without restraint.
Neither man held anything back.
It was as though they intended to unleash everything they had learned throughout their lives within those brief two hundred heartbeats.
Arthur had spent years campaigning alongside Viserys.
The experience he had accumulated over that time gave him the advantage over Quairo.
His broad greatsword came slashing down.
Quairo saw only a flash of white before his eyes.
Then a voice came from the chambers behind him.
"I surrender."
___________
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