Chapter 145: The Strange Cheers
The sea serpent was so frightened it couldn't even maintain balance in the water. Its massive head and long tail drooped, its entire body going limp like it was dead.
If Drogon hadn't been holding onto its spine, it might have already sunk slowly to the bottom of the sea.
Drogon hadn't expected a single roar infused with dragon might to scare it this badly.
He had no intention of killing it.
Otherwise, that earlier breath of fire would've been enough—there would've been no need to hold back.
He dragged the serpent out of the water and placed it on the reef, then began examining it carefully.
Its body was black-red, thicker than a man could wrap his arms around, and over twenty meters long.
Drogon didn't know if sea serpents in this world could evolve into something like a dragon—but if they could, this one probably wasn't far off.
He glanced at the octopus nearby.
Dead.
Those few hits had been enough—he hadn't held back, and hadn't expected it to be so fragile.
The sea serpent had just recovered a bit when it saw the octopus lying there, black foam spilling from its mouth.
Its body trembled again.
Was that going to be its fate too?
Drogon had no intention of killing it.
A creature like this—keeping it as a pet wasn't bad.
Killing it would be a waste.
There were rumors of demons and sea monsters in the Smoking Sea. Drogon hadn't believed them before.
Now, even if he hadn't seen demons—
He had already encountered two sea monsters.
He used to think the kraken symbol of the Iron Islands was just an imagined totem.
Now he had to reconsider.
Creatures like that giant octopus and this sea serpent—
Maybe they really existed.
At the Wall, he had seen giants, mammoths, direwolves.
Here, he had seen mutated octopuses and massive sea serpents.
There were said to be many other strange creatures in this world—shadowcats, firewyrms, the Children of the Forest…
Though the Children weren't really beasts—more like a different kind of people.
He wondered when he'd get to see them.
The octopus was dead, but its body couldn't go to waste.
Its skin might have been fragile under his claws, but made into armor, it would definitely rival heavy plate.
Even his shed dragon scales had been collected by Jorah and forged into strong armor.
As for the sea serpent—
It was terrified, but not necessarily fully submissive.
Drogon didn't trust it enough to let it swim freely beside him.
If it suddenly tried to escape, catching it again would be troublesome.
He looked around.
Nothing else worth investigating.
He flew up into the air and shifted back into his full-grown form—his smaller body couldn't carry both creatures.
Seeing him transform, the sea serpent's eyes widened.
If Drogon's small form needed a roar to show his dominance—
His true form didn't.
Just standing there, he radiated overwhelming pressure and untouchable authority.
The fear in the serpent's soul only deepened.
Whatever thoughts of escape it had—
Were gone.
---
With one claw each, Drogon grabbed the octopus and the sea serpent, then flew out of the Valyrian ruins.
On the lead ship, Daenerys hadn't ordered the fleet to stop—but she had been standing at the stern the whole time, looking back, silently praying for Drogon's safe return.
Not long after leaving the Smoking Sea, Drogon saw two familiar figures waiting outside—
Rhaegal and Viserion.
They had wanted to follow him in earlier, but he had driven them back.
Instead of returning to the fleet, they had stayed outside, waiting.
The moment they saw him emerge, they flew over.
But as they got close—
They froze midair.
Staring curiously at the octopus and the sea serpent.
The serpent, having rarely left the water—let alone being carried through the sky for this long—was already on edge.
Then it saw two more dragons approaching.
Though they were much smaller than Drogon, and didn't inspire the same overwhelming fear—
The serpent still began trembling.
Because the way they looked at it—
Was exactly like looking at food.
Rhaegal and Viserion circled around Drogon twice before taking position on his left and right, following him back toward the fleet.
Less than twenty minutes later, the fleet came into view.
The soldiers aboard had already spotted the three dragons.
Most of them had heard from the captains that the queen's black dragon had gone into the Valyrian ruins—the so-called Demon Lands.
After hearing that, their reactions had been mixed. Some worried for Daenerys, while others had complete confidence in Drogon, believing he would return safely no matter what.
Now, seeing the three massive figures in the distance—
The entire fleet erupted in cheers.
After the fighting in Meereen's arena and the battle against Euron, Drogon had become more than just a protector of Meereen.
Even the soldiers revered him.
As long as Drogon was present, they felt certain of victory—and their casualties would be minimal.
Flying above the fleet, Drogon looked down at the cheering soldiers, slightly confused.
He had only been gone a few hours.
Had they already fought and won a battle?
But with such a large fleet, who would even dare attack them?
If there was no battle, then what were they cheering for?
Only when the surge of faith flowing into his mind grew stronger did he understand—
They were cheering because he had entered the Valyrian ruins…
And returned alive.
Seriously?
Just going in once and coming back safely was enough to make them this excited?
Drogon couldn't quite relate.
For ordinary people, the Valyrian ruins were a place of death.
But who was he?
A dragon.
The dragon god worshipped by the Dothraki.
Entering the Demon Lands once didn't seem like anything special.
Thinking this, he slowly flew toward the lead ship.
But suddenly, the cheers grew even louder.
At the same time, the scattered faith in his mind surged sharply.
He looked down.
The soldiers were pointing at him, their faces filled with shock.
Only then did he realize—
They had noticed what he was carrying.
The octopus.
And the sea serpent.
Seeing the soldiers stretching their necks, trying to get a better look at the sea monsters beneath him, Drogon deliberately lowered his altitude and slowed down.
Not because he wanted to show off his trophies—
But because he understood their curiosity.
Just like when he had gone to the Wall to see giants and mammoths, and later wanted to find shadowcats and the Children of the Forest.
For these soldiers, sea monsters were nothing more than legends.
They might have heard stories from pirates or merchants, but most had dismissed them.
Now—
They were seeing them with their own eyes.
A massive octopus.
A giant sea serpent.
Creatures that could only be called monsters of the deep.
How could they stay calm?
"That sea serpent… it's still alive!"
At first, the soldiers had thought Drogon was carrying two corpses.
The octopus was clearly dead, its tentacles hanging limp.
The sea serpent looked no different—its head drooping, tail hanging, weakened by Drogon's pressure and being out of the water for so long.
But just now, startled by the rising cheers—
It lifted its head slightly.
As if to prove—
It was still alive.