Chapter 114: Valyrian Monsters, Sealord's Ambition
For hundreds of years, Volantis had coveted the Disputed Lands. When Daemon defeated the Triarchy and captured the Stepstones, the Archons of Volantis, whether Tiger or Elephant, believed it was a godsend for Volantis to seize the Disputed Lands.
However, on this bloody night, facing the two dragons, Caraxes and Meleys, and the Valyrian Fleet, Sistermen Fleet, and Ironborn Fleet that subsequently arrived on the battlefield, the Volantene fleet was utterly routed. Many Volantene warships were set ablaze by dragonfire. Daemon looked down from the back of the giant dragon in the sky, and these Volantene ships were like burning drift bottles on the dark sea, burning and perishing.
Many slaves, mercenaries, and sailors who jumped into the sea to survive were captured by the Westerosi warships.
The golden fingers of the eastern sun reached out, caressing the sea and the beach. Caraxes landed on the beach, and Daemon, along with the Dragon Guard, helped Caraxes pull out the arrows from his wings.
Neither poisoned arrows nor ordinary arrows could truly harm a dragon, but if a giant arrowhead fired from a crossbow hit a dragon, sometimes some holes would be left on the dragon's wings.
At the beginning of the conquest of the Three Daughters, Caraxes's wings rarely had holes, because at that time they were fighting in the Stepstones, and Daemon could rely on his Shapeshifter ability to control the dragon, easily achieving a soul bond with his mount. But now, the further east they went, the weirwood trees disappeared, the old gods had no power here, and after Daemon's magic disappeared, Daemon could no longer mind control the dragon. Caraxes was hit by arrows more often, and the holes in his wings became more numerous.
Daemon pulled out a crossbow bolt, and the gushing dragon blood instantly ignited. Caraxes let out a roar, and Captain Delaine applied ointment to the wound. Daemon said, "Damn Volantenes, they only know how to shoot arrows at dragons. I'm really worried that with more and more holes in his wings, one day he won't be able to fly due to air leakage?"
Delaney let out a hearty laugh. "Prince Daemon, no, Vhagar has even more holes in her wings, yet she can still soar through the sky, can't she? As they age, dragons' scales become thicker and thicker. Now, very few crossbow bolts can pierce Vhagar's wings. Many of these holes are traces left by enemy crossbow bolts hitting Vhagar during the Conquest more than a hundred years ago."
"Balerion the Black Dread also has quite a few holes in his wings, but that didn't prevent him from becoming the most terrifying dragon in the history of Westeros. These small holes are like rust on a knight's armor; they won't cause any trouble for a dragon at all."
In naval battles, many people always drowned in the sea. Some swollen corpses were washed ashore. The Ironborn and Sistermen were scavenging the bodies, taking their daggers, armor, finding bags of coins, and removing their necklaces and rings.
A team of captives was escorted by the Ironborn across the wet beach. A fat Volantene captain suddenly stopped and cursed at Daemon, "Daemon, don't be smug. Don't think you can conquer the world with just dragons. This isn't Westeros; this is the territory of the Old Freehold of Valyria. The curse of Old Valyria will kill every dragon."
Raven Greyjoy, Son of the Wind, who was nearby, swung the hilt of his sword and struck the captain's mouth, instantly bloodying it. Raven Greyjoy grinned. "This guy is asking for death, Prince Daemon. I suggest we offer him to the Drowned God."
The Ironborn are accustomed to drowning captives on the beach, as Drowned God priests believe this pleases the god.
Daemon said, "Choose other Volantene captains and sailors to offer to the Drowned God. As for this captain who spoke rudely to the dragon, I will feed him to the dragon."
So the fat captain was dragged by the Kingsguard in front of Dragon Caraxes. The dragon drooled hot saliva and opened his blood-red mouth. A smell of sulfur, kerosene, and thick smoke rushed out, and the heat was oppressive. The fat captain instantly wet his pants and began to curse. "Don't think dragons can scare me! Volantene sorcerers have summoned monsters lurking in the Valyrian ruins that can easily kill these dragons. Everyone knows that Balerion the Black Dread went to Valyria once and was almost killed by a monster."
Daemon, the Sea Snake, Captain Delaine, and Princess Rhaenys exchanged suspicious glances. The Targaryen family, the Dragon Guard, and the well-traveled Sea Snake had all heard the terrifying legends of the Freehold of Valyria's smoking ruins.
Caraxes opened his blood-red mouth and bit the fat captain. The fat captain struggled in the dragon's mouth for a while. Caraxes bit off his waist with a crunching sound and swallowed him.
Raven Greyjoy, Son of the Wind had a faint smile on his face and contemptuously said, "This is truly ridiculous. Balerion is the largest dragon in the world. Back when Balerion burned Harrenhal and ended Harren the Black's line, Balerion the Black Dread was truly the Ironborn's nightmare! This idiotic captain actually claims there are monsters that can harm Balerion. How is that possible?"
Captain Delaine cleared his throat, his tone heavy. "Greyjoy, don't jump to conclusions about things you don't understand. Balerion the Black Dread did indeed go to the Valyrian ruins, and he was indeed bitten by some creature. That was more than forty years ago, and I was just a little boy then."
Raven Greyjoy, Son of the Wind's smile froze and disappeared. "How could such a thing be possible?"
Captain Delaine said, "I was very young then and always played with Princess Aerea. This Princess Aerea was the daughter of Princess Rhaena Targaryen, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen's elder sister, and was once an heir to the Iron Throne
Gael might even get scared and abandon the city and flee."
Cicipas broke out in a cold sweat, "Someone who shares a bed with Daemon would be scared and abandon the city and flee? There are so many Dragons in Tyrosh. I've heard for a long time that Daemon controls Dragons through sorcery, and those female Dragons can transform into Dragon-women, make love with Daemon, and lay Dragon eggs. If we attack rashly, Daemon will use sorcery to control the Dragons to attack our fleet. By then, our fleet will surely be battered and bruised beneath Tyrosh's strong city walls."
These past few days, Cicipas had been suffering from insomnia because Pentos had decided to join the alliance against Daemon, and if the war went badly, Cicipas would not escape death, because according to Pentos's tradition, if the war went badly, or if there were disasters or bad harvests, the Archons would slit the Prince of Pentos's throat to appease the wrath of the gods in heaven.
Now Pentos had already begun electing the next Prince, and almost all citizens believed Cicipas's days were numbered. Therefore, Cicipas dared not attack the city rashly, as a failure in this military operation could very likely send Cicipas to the chopping block.
Hagathe Haegrossi, Sea Lord of Braavos, looked up at the Dragons in the sky above Tyrosh, a greedy glint in his eyes. Hagathe Haegrossi's journey south this time was certainly to gain benefits from the war between Daemon and the Three Daughters, but even more so to seize Dragons and Dragon eggs.
In the palace of the Sea Lord of Braavos, three Dragon eggs were hidden. These were brought to Braavos from Dragonstone in 54 AC by Alys Farman. This lover of Queen Rhaena Targaryen, under the alias Alys Hysan, sold the Dragon eggs to the then Sea Lord, using the money to build the great ship Sun Chaser at the Braavos arsenal, with the remaining money deposited in the Iron Bank. Alys Farman then, as captain, quietly returned to Westeros on the Sun Chaser, recruited a crew in Oldtown, and challenged the Sunset Sea, attempting to find a new route to the East.
But Alys Farman disappeared; she and her ship vanished beyond the horizon, but the Dragon eggs remained in Braavos.
Afterward, King Jaehaerys dispatched Maester Barth to investigate the whereabouts of the Dragon eggs. Maester Barth went to Braavos to demand the Dragon eggs. The then Sea Lord denied possessing the Dragon eggs and promised to reduce the Iron Throne's debt, which saved the Dragon eggs.
Sea Lord Hegesys said, "Tyrosh must be captured immediately. I want to capture Daemon's wife and children."
Then Sea Lord Hegesys would try to find the secret to hatching Dragons. If that didn't work, the Sea Lord planned to use the hostages to bargain with Daemon for more Dragon eggs or hatchlings. If he was lucky enough to kill Daemon on the battlefield, the Sea Lord even considered marrying Gael. The Sea Lord's wife had died many years ago. Gael was young and fertile; she had already given Daemon three healthy sons, proving her fertility.
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