Aegon's gaze swept across the corpse of Crow's Eye on the ground, frozen in shock and resentment.
This "Crow's Eye," who had ruled the Ironborn with fear and cruelty and once controlled the entire situation, saw his authority vanish into thin air when his proud deterrence collapsed before a grander, more fundamental power.
Things maintained by fear are ultimately fragile.
His gaze fell upon the dragon horn at his side, wound with red gold and dark steel.
It was cold to the touch, and those twisted runes seemed to pulse faintly beneath the skin, carrying an ominous temptation.
According to legend and Crow's Eye's end, the price of blowing it was the burning of the blower's life.
For Aegon, who now possessed "Xiao Laki," this treasure that could control dragons but required a life sacrifice seemed somewhat redundant, even dangerous.
He would set it aside for now; perhaps it would be useful in the future, but it was by no means his first choice.
As he was pondering, the sound of footsteps, deliberately lightened but still somewhat hurried, came from behind him.
"Your Highness," a slightly raspy voice spoke, trying hard to sound respectful, "over there under the collapsed pile of stones, we seem to have found something... it looks like boxes, but they're pinned down, and we can't see clearly."
Aegon turned around at the sound.
It was Mogol.
That Scarface Mercenary from Myr who always carried a sinister aura.
He had actually survived and even mingled among the crowd that had just pledged their loyalty?
Warning bells rang faintly in Aegon's mind.
The scene had been chaotic just now, and he indeed hadn't had time to carefully identify everyone.
"Oh? What is it?" Aegon's tone was flat, but his purple eyes quietly locked onto Mogol.
This guy was still alive and had taken the initiative to come forward and report?
Given the slipperiness and selfishness Mogol had shown before, this was quite unusual.
His right hand seemed to hang casually at his side, but Aegon noticed his body posture was somewhat tense, especially his left arm, which was slightly pulled inward as if protecting something.
"Can't see the details, but it looks like metal, maybe..." Mogol said, taking another small step forward as if naturally, closing the distance.
A look of difficulty and an eagerness to perform was squeezed onto his face, "You need to see for yourself, perhaps it's something important..."
Now!
A murderous light burst from Mogol's eyes as all pretense was instantly torn away!
His left hand, which had been retracted at his side, suddenly jerked up, holding a strangely shaped repeating crossbow that shimmered with a dark, cold light!
The crossbow body was short and compact, but the arms were thick and the mechanism was taut—it was exactly that three-hundred-pound heavy crossbow he cherished, powerful enough to pierce plate armor!
Even more lethal, the short bolt already on the string was coated with a layer of thick, eerie fluorescent green substance, carrying a faint fishy smell.
"Targaryen bastard! Die!" Mogol roared, his voice filled with accumulated, twisted hatred stemming from a family blood feud.
What treasure, what Mercenary? As long as he killed this silver-haired boy, everything would be his!
That dragon whelp didn't seem like much of a threat either! In a flash, he pulled the trigger!
*Twang!*
The mechanism exploded with sound, and the bolt turned into a dark blur indiscernible to the naked eye, shooting straight for Aegon's face!
At such close range, with such a sudden outburst, an ordinary person would find it absolutely impossible to dodge!
But Aegon was no ordinary person.
The moment the look in Mogol's eyes changed, his entire body's muscles had already tensed up.
His extremely high spirit attribute gave him perception and reaction speeds beyond those of normal men.
He didn't try to dodge completely—
The distance was too close, and the bolt was too fast.
With the smallest of movements, he tilted his head sharply to the right with extreme precision!
*Shhh!*
The bolt grazed the silver hair by his left cheek, the cold arrowhead even taking a few strands with it, before finally burying itself deep into the charred stone pillar not far behind him with a dull thud, the fletching vibrating violently.
Meanwhile, Aegon's movements didn't stall for a second.
At the same instant he tilted his head to dodge, his right leg, like a venomous snake that had been coiled for a long time, whipped upward silently but with extreme speed, accurately kicking the inside of Mogol's left wrist which held the crossbow!
*Crack!* The faint sound of a bone fracturing.
"Ugh!" Mogol groaned in pain, a piercing agony coming from his wrist as his fingers involuntarily loosened.
The heavy crossbow slipped from his hand and began to fall.
But it wasn't over yet!
Aegon's extended right leg pressed down with the momentum, the top of his foot hooking and pulling downward like an iron whip, skillfully altering the trajectory of the falling crossbow.
Simultaneously, his left hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Mogol's right shoulder clothing and yanking him fiercely toward his side at the moment Mogol faltered due to pain and the loss of his weapon!
Mogol never expected Aegon's reactions and skills to be so fast, nor did he expect such a sharp counterattack after dodging a fatal blow.
He was yanked into a stumble, his center of gravity leaning forward.
And at that moment, the falling, already-cocked repeating crossbow, guided by Aegon's skillful footwork and Mogol's own forward momentum...
Lined up perfectly, with the crossbow arms facing up, and pressed right against Mogol's own chest and abdomen!
Mogol's eyes widened, his pupils filled with unbelievable horror.
He saw the poisoned bolt on the crossbow and smelled the familiar fishy-sweet scent of the poison he had applied—which now made his soul fly away in terror.
*Thwack!*
The mechanism seemed to be triggered by the force of the fall and the impact, making a soft sound.
That poison-coated bolt, originally intended for Aegon, pierced deeply into Mogol's own body at point-blank range!
*Heh... heh...* Mogol's body shook violently, his hands trying in vain to cover the wound as his strength rapidly drained away.
He looked down at the bolt shaft embedded in his body; the poison stain was spreading rapidly from the wound, and a cold numbness along with intense pain swept through his entire body.
Staggering back two steps, he leaned against the cold stone wall.
His gaze began to scatter, staring fixedly at Aegon, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something, but only blood foam with a strange sweet-fishy smell surged out.
Aegon slowly stood still, looking coldly at the assassin whose life was rapidly fading.
"It seems someone couldn't stand the loneliness," he said, his voice calm yet piercingly cold.
He knew revealing his identity would bring trouble, he just didn't expect it so soon.
And why?
Even a venomous snake should have a reason for biting someone.
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