Braavos is the most unique and powerful of the nine Free Cities.
It is composed of a series of islands at the northwesternmost tip of the continent of Essos, located exactly where the Narrow Sea and the Shivering Sea meet.
Looking down from the sky, the most striking feature of Braavos, besides the iconic Titan of Braavos statue, is the wide waterway that runs through Braavos.
This wide waterway is called the Grand Canal and is the main thoroughfare of Braavos.
Just like the main streets of first-tier cities in his previous life, the Grand Canal is often jammed with all sorts of snake boats and barges.
At the northernmost end of the Grand Canal sits the Truth Palace with its green copper dome, while to the northwest are the Black and White House, the Temple of the Lord of Light, the Isle of Gods, and other temples.
And in the city center area where the Grand Canal flows, stand the tall towers of many Lord families, such as Zaneos Palace, Antarion Palace, and Prestain Palace.
At this moment, in a luxurious sleeping chamber in Zaneos Palace inlaid with countless gold and gems,
an old man wearing a simple and plain grayish-brown robe was lazily lying on a large goose-down bed.
Beside him stood two rows of burly guards and two rows of maids holding various daily necessities.
And a beautiful maid wearing a transparent, light veil, with her graceful figure on full display, was kneeling by the bed,
feeding some kind of medicinal soup to the old man with a golden spoon in her hand.
"Lord Sea King, Lord Montella requests an audience!"
A swordsman, relatively smaller in stature compared to the other guards and wearing black tight-fitting clothes, entered the sleeping chamber and reported to the old man on the goose-down bed.
"Cough, Garcia, you all go out, let Montella come in alone!"
The current Sea King of Braavos, Herman Zaneos, swallowed the medicinal soup in his mouth,
and then weakly gave the order to his chief swordsman, 'Water Dancer Master' Garcia Valentin.
"As you command, Lord Sea King!"
Garcia nodded in response, then gestured to the guards and maids in the sleeping chamber, turned around, and walked out of the sleeping chamber.
After they left, a middle-aged man, so fat that he was shapeless, entered the sleeping chamber, panting like a moving turtle.
"Hoo, hoohoo!
Lord Sea King, Pentos has replied.
The distinguished guest you invited has already departed today and is expected to arrive in Braavos tomorrow."
Montella Rayan took a few rapid deep breaths, slightly calming the panting caused by the strenuous exercise for him, and then reported to Herman.
"Hmm, very good.
Although you were derelict in your duties in the previous naval battles and the Disputed Lands matter,
being able to invite him here can be considered atoning for your mistakes by making a contribution."
Upon hearing this news, a look of satisfaction appeared on Herman's face, and then he replied to Montella in a weak and powerless voice.
"Lord Sea King, please forgive my previous dereliction of duty.
But the Lords of Braavos, led by Prestain and Frega, have been secretly interfering with the Sea King Fleet.
I believe a large part of the reason for the continuous defeats in the previous wars is due to their meddling."
Hearing Herman's words, Montella quickly lowered his head and respectfully expressed his thoughts.
"Cough cough, although what you said is just speculation, it is indeed possible.
My illness has become increasingly severe in recent years, and my control over Braavos is not what it used to be; various forces are all vying for more benefits after my death.
Heh heh, these founding families of the Iron Bank are becoming increasingly corrupt.
After I regain new life through this ceremony, I will begin to clean things up properly.
Oh, and your Rayan family will become the second most powerful family, besides the family to which that body belongs after me!"
Herman still spoke in that weak and powerless manner; while giving orders to Montella, he did not forget to paint a grand picture.
"Thank you, Lord Sea King, our descendants of the Rayan family will forever be loyal to you."
"Heh heh, I believe that.
However, your family has indeed served me loyally for hundreds of years.
Oh, has the candidate for the next Sea King been decided?"
Hearing Montella's flattery, Herman chuckled and continued to inquire.
"It has been decided; it was just selected a few days ago according to the mysterious process you passed down.
The banquet for you to hand over the position of Sea King to him is also conveniently scheduled for tomorrow."
Montella immediately replied to Herman's question upon hearing this. After a slight hesitation, he tentatively continued to inquire,
"Lord Sea King, isn't this ceremony a bit rushed?
Your current body should be able to last for a few more years!"
Upon hearing Montella's question, Herman immediately knew that he wanted to obtain some information from him.
But it was also time to give the other party a little sweetness, after all, raising a dog, besides training it with a whip, also requires giving it meat-laden bones from time to time.
Herman said weakly, "Just three days ago, the Temple of the Lord of Light, the Black and White House, the Temple of the Moonsingers,
and all the temples, big and small, on the Isle of Gods, all heard divine oracles.
Haven't you noticed that all the temples have been summoning believers for various sacrificial activities these past two days?"
"Uh, that is indeed the case. Although I found it a bit strange before, I didn't think much of it.
And Lord Sea King means that these sacrificial activities are related to the divine oracles of the gods?"
Montella pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then replied.
"Heh heh, they are secretly selecting favored ones of the gods who have firm faith and meet certain conditions."
"Oh? They are selecting favored ones of the gods!
Hiss, does this mean that those who are chosen will ascend to the heavens in one step and control the entire religion?"
Herman glanced at Montella upon hearing this, and said with a chuckle, "Favored one of the gods is just a nice name.
In fact, they are just disposable containers that can accommodate divine descent.
Their fate is even worse than the next Sea King who is chosen!
How about it, want to give it a try?"
Montella's face immediately changed dramatically upon hearing this, and he repeatedly waved his hands in reply, "No, no, no, Lord Sea King, you may have misunderstood.
I would never have any disloyal thoughts."
"Hmm, no need to say more.
Go and make preparations in advance to welcome the distinguished guest!"
"As you command."
Time flew by quickly, and soon it was the next day.
The handover ceremony between Herman and the new Sea King should have originally taken place in the Sea King's Palace.
However, since the current Sea King knew he was seriously ill and did not have long to live, this handover ceremony was arranged to be held on the rooftop of Zaneos Palace.
On this day, Lords of Braavos of all sizes and countless commoners gathered around Zaneos Palace.
Rarely encountering such a grand event, everyone erupted with unparalleled enthusiasm.
However, except for a few people shouting Herman's name, most people were shouting the name of the new Sea King, Toss Homi.
Since the new Sea King usually generously distributes money and food upon ascending to the throne, many commoners of Braavos treated this day like a lively and festive New Year in their previous life.
On the rooftop terrace extending from Zaneos Palace, Herman, with an unusually pale face that clearly indicated his impending death, leaned back on a specially made reclining chair and weakly described the duties of the Sea King.
The new Sea King, Toss Homi, stood before him with a solemn expression, listening quietly.
And the hall was also filled with the powerful class of Braavos, including Lords, high-ranking officials, and wealthy merchants; they were the witnesses to this handover ceremony.
When Herman finally finished speaking with great difficulty, he handed Toss a palm-sized golden statue of the Titan, which represented the authority of the Sea King.
This golden statue was exactly the same as the Titan at the entrance of Braavos, representing the will of the citizens of Braavos to always stand proudly and never again kneel and become slaves.
Clap clap clap!
As Toss received the golden statue, thunderous applause immediately erupted around Zaneos Palace, which had just quieted down.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Just as the new Sea King, Toss, was about to loudly deliver his inauguration speech, a sound of dragon wings tearing through the air suddenly came from the sky.
Ooh ah!!!
When the commoners of Braavos saw the huge crimson dragon shadow in the sky, they immediately exclaimed repeatedly.
If it weren't for the sufficient number of soldiers of Braavos maintaining order around today.
Just this alone could have led to a large-scale stampede among these commoners.
The crimson dragon shadow was naturally 'Blood Wyrm' Caraxes, and the distinguished guest invited by Herman was naturally Daemon Targaryen.
"What are you panicking about? A distinguished guest is here, hurry and welcome him, how impolite!"
Herman's weak reprimand woke up the many Lords and officials of Braavos on the rooftop terrace.
The Lords and officials, led by Montella, hurried downstairs to welcome Daemon.
Under their guidance, Caraxes landed on a small island in a nearby lake that was used as a garden, and Daemon arrived at Zaneos Palace by boat.
With all this commotion, the Sea King's handover ceremony was already completed, meaning Daemon just happened to catch the lavish lunch in Zaneos Palace.
At this lunch, two people were surrounded and doted upon by many powerful figures of Braavos like stars surrounding the moon.
One was naturally the new Sea King, Toss, and the other was Daemon.
As mentioned before, in this world, having a dragon means being a distinguished guest wherever you go.
Even without a dragon, just the Targaryen surname and bloodline could grant a life of wealth unimaginable to ordinary people.
Of course, the freedom of the latter would certainly be restricted.
Cough!
Although Herman had already stepped down, the lingering prestige from years of controlling Braavos remained.
He coughed heavily, and Zaneos Palace, which had been as lively as a marketplace, immediately fell silent.
"Prince Daemon, does your willingness to come represent your agreement to form an alliance with us, Braavos?"
Herman didn't hide anything and directly asked Daemon in front of everyone.
"Of course, but only if you can indeed fulfill the alliance conditions in the letter.
I think you all know that my 'good son' alone possesses four dragons.
I'd like to hear how you can help me reclaim the Iron Throne."
"Heh heh, the Targaryen family possesses the strongest creatures in this world, dragons.
However, there are many beings in this world far more terrifying than dragons.
I cannot tell you the specifics now.
Once you truly agree to ally with us, I will let you see it with your own eyes."
Herman's words immediately piqued Daemon's interest, and he nodded, replying, "Alright, I agree.
Now let me see it with my own eyes!"
"Prince Daemon, don't be so impatient.
Although I am pushing for an alliance between you and Braavos, I have already stepped down as Sea King.
I will tell everything I know to the new Sea King, Toss, and he will certainly let you see it with your own eyes tomorrow."
"Hmm, I'll wait."
Since Herman had said so much, Daemon naturally couldn't keep pressing.
So he simply began to enjoy the delicacies in Zaneos Palace.
Night gradually fell, and most of the guests left Zaneos Palace.
Daemon was arranged in the guest room area of Zaneos Palace, and for a distinguished guest like him, the guest room was naturally extremely luxurious.
Moreover, it was equipped with several young and beautiful private maids; if Daemon was interested, he could completely do those indescribable things with them.
However, Daemon was completely uninterested; the reason he came was because he heard that Braavos had a conspiracy against Jacaerys.
This was his nature.
No matter how much he, Daemon, and Jacaerys fought, it was an internal family struggle.
When outsiders like Braavos tried to get involved, he would unite with Jacaerys to face the external threat.
So this trip was ostensibly for an alliance, but in reality, it was to gather information.
Daemon dismissed all the private maids on the grounds that he liked peace and quiet.
Then, carrying dark sister, he disappeared into the vast Zaneos Palace under the cover of night.
You know what, Daemon was very lucky.
Before long, he happened to encounter a pair of guards carrying something heavy.
Seeing the nervous expressions of these two, Daemon knew there was something wrong with them.
So he quietly followed behind.
The two of them turned left and right, arriving behind a large wall deep within the palace, looked around, and then pulled a candlestick on the wall.
Click!
A stone door popped open from the large wall, and the two of them quickly slipped inside.
Daemon came to the wall after they entered and listened closely.
Only after the sound of footsteps inside the wall disappeared did he pull the candlestick and enter the stone door that had opened again.
Behind the stone door was a secret passage staircase leading underground; although this secret passage was illuminated by candlesticks on either side, it was still dim.
Facing this somewhat eerie secret passage, Daemon, who was bold due to his skill, did not hesitate at all and crept in.
Slowly reaching the end of the secret passage staircase, he found that below was a temple hall similar to the Black and White House.
However, the shrine in this temple hall did not enshrine various deities, but rather a living person, Herman Zaneos, who had just handed over the position of Sea King today.
And those two guards who were carrying the heavy object had now become corpses,
and beside their corpses, the chief swordsman Garcia carried the human-shaped heavy object and walked towards a pool full of blood in the center of the hall.
Daemon saw through the dim light that the human-shaped heavy object was the new Sea King, Toss.
"***"
At the same time, Herman, sitting on the shrine, hummed in an unknown language, and the blood in the pool in the center of the hall was like boiling water, constantly bubbling.
Subsequently, the blood in the entire pool seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, forming a sphere, which enveloped Toss and floated in the air.
And the blood from the corpses of the two people beside it also seemed to be drawn, flowing into it like water.
Garcia, seeing this strange scene, knelt down devoutly and prayed, like a loyal believer.
A stream of black and red blood spewed from Herman's mouth on the shrine and merged into the blood sphere,
Subsequently, the blood sphere enveloping Toss was all poured into his seven orifices.
Toss, who was floating in the air, slowly landed on the ground and stood up, then he opened his blood-red eyes, but his eyes were full of confusion.
"Great Sea King, the blood ritual went very smoothly, congratulations on gaining new life again!"
Garcia quietly glanced back at the mummy-like corpse on the shrine, turned around, and respectfully congratulated Toss.
Upon hearing this, the blood red in Toss's eyes gradually receded, he seemed to remember who he was, examined his palms for a while, and then replied with some disappointment:
"This is not new life, it is just another postponement of death!
In this era of great conflict, I must break through the limits to gain true eternal life.
Garcia, in the next few days, get me some blood from Daemon Targaryen and his dragon.
These things can help me gain more power!" (End of this chapter)