The Manderly Family's castle, the Mermaid Palace.
Stannis Baratheon was looking at the Red Priest kneeling before him with a complicated expression. Just moments ago, Lord Wyman Manderly, having received news of the city's fall, had completely given up.
Then, the plump Lord of White Harbor told Stannis that there was a secret passage beneath his castle, and he should quickly leave with his wife, daughters, and subordinates. The Manderly Family was ready to surrender.
At this moment, the Red Priest Khoron Edvarda suddenly attacked Lord Manderly from behind, plunging a specially made dagger into his chest.
The obese Lord Manderly didn't have time to react and was quickly drained, becoming a husk. He didn't even have time to cry out in pain before dying.
Then, in Stannis's astonished gaze, Khoron Edvarda cut open his own chest with the dagger. His special blood flowed everywhere. Finally, under the influence of some mysterious power, it turned into a bizarre magic circle.
After completing the magic circle, Khoron Edvarda, his face pale, threw the dagger to Stannis, asking Stannis to sacrifice him in the magic circle. Stannis was terrified by the scene and hesitated to act.
Although Stannis had witnessed Melisandre's sacrifices, Khoron Edvarda was now offering himself as a sacrifice, which made Stannis reluctant to act.
Although Stannis was stubborn, he still possessed a heart of compassion at this moment. He hadn't yet become the imbecile who would sacrifice his daughter to stop the snow later on. Therefore, he hesitated to act, as the person before him had sworn fealty to him.
Seeing that Stannis still hadn't made a move, Khoron Edvarda slowly crawled towards Stannis. Blood dripped from his chest, but he seemed to have lost all sensation, continuing his slow advance.
Then, Khoron Edvarda grabbed Stannis's hand and slowly guided the dagger in Stannis's grasp towards his own chest. He looked at Stannis, his lips trembling as he spoke,
"My...my king! I...I have seen the revelation of the 'Lord of Light' in the flames. The prophecy is about to be fulfilled, your Demon Dragon is coming..."
After saying these words, Khoron Edvarda plunged the dagger deep into his own heart. His body began to rapidly wither, and within seconds, he was reduced to a dried-up corpse.
Stannis watched this bizarre scene, his heart pounding. However, in the end, his inner resolve pushed him to pull the dagger from Khoron Edvarda's chest.
Following Khoron Edvarda's last words, Stannis began to stammer through the prayer, and at the same time, he felt a sliver of anticipation. Since he himself carried the blood of the Targaryen Family...
...Stannis had a certain longing for the dragons that had gone extinct a hundred years prior. Or perhaps, this was a shared obsession for everyone who carried the blood of the Targaryen Family.
Especially after Stannis knew he was the "savior," he yearned even more for the Demon Dragon in the prophecy. He already possessed Lightbringer; now he was only missing the prophesied Demon Dragon.
"The traitor's flesh will be its medium of arrival. The flesh of the pious will fill its body with power. The blood of the king will... ah..."
When he chanted to the latter half, Stannis slashed his own palm. However, before he could finish, a piercing pain interrupted him.
This pain was completely unlike what he had imagined. For a seasoned general, cutting his palm was nothing. Curious, Stannis looked at his palm.
Immediately, Stannis was astonished to find that the dagger had "connected" with his left palm and was slowly absorbing his flesh. Stannis tried to struggle, but he found his body was completely unable to move.
"Ah..."
Stannis roared in pain, but he found the dagger was gradually merging into his left hand, and flashes of purple light began to flicker. Then, the dagger suddenly burst forth with a powerful suction. After struggling for a few seconds, Stannis was sucked dry, becoming a mummy.
The purple light continued to spread, eventually transforming into energy tentacles. They pulled the other two corpses on the ground over. And in the magical circle burning with flames on the ground, a large amount of magma surged out from the center of the spiral.
Subsequently, the entire hall was illuminated by a fusion of purple and crimson light, which then merged into a purplish-red glow, even staining the lava below. This purplish-red lava continued to expand, nearly bursting the hall.
The soldiers outside the door seemed to be affected by some mysterious power, completely oblivious to the changes within the room. They were then seized by the escaping tendrils of energy and pulled back in.
Then, this energy began to rapidly contract, transforming into a giant crystalline statue. In less than a minute, this crystal began to crack, and finally exploded.
"Ooooh..."
From the smoke, a strange roar suddenly echoed, followed by the appearance of a bizarre dragon-like creature within the hall's magic circle. It possessed three strange heads, each resembling a face. A face similar to Stannis's was located on the dragon's forehead.
On either side, where the dragon's eyes should have been, were two completely different faces. Those two pairs of eyes had become bestial, appearing to be connected to Stannis's strange face, giving the impression of six eyes from a distance.
Its body resembled a giant serpent, its thick, dark scales like molten iron, with blood and lava occasionally seeping out.
It had six strange limbs, neither human nor beast, a horrifying sight. Moreover, it had a pair of bony wings on its back, the black bone spurs appearing as though they were stained with ink.
Immediately afterward, "Stannis," located right in the center of the Demon Dragon's forehead, slowly opened its blood-red eyes. After sensing the changes in its body, it was also frightened by its strange appearance.
"Roar..."
Stannis wanted to speak, but he found that he couldn't speak human words at all. All the questions and dissatisfaction finally turned into a strange roar.
At this moment, shouts of killing and screams entered the ears of the dragon-shaped monster Stannis. Then, under the influence of these sounds, a certain consciousness in its body seemed to awaken.
"Roar... Death... Flesh..."
Waves of violent and hateful consciousness began to echo in Stannis's mind. Realizing something was wrong, Stannis quickly reacted. He tried hard to control his body, but found that it had no effect at all.
At this moment, Stannis was like a bystander, only able to watch his body and consciousness gradually become chaotic. He howled in pain, and his final consciousness was also submerged in endless bloodlust.
"Awoo..."
The dragon-shaped monster let out a strange roar, the invisible sound waves shattering the surrounding glass. As its cry echoed, the massive pillars of light surrounding the castle vanished.
The castle's defending soldiers witnessed this. Many officers looked at each other, thinking the miracle brought by the gods had disappeared. But at that moment, a strange roar came from behind them.
Then, the windows of the Manderly Family's Mermaid Palace suddenly exploded. Everyone saw a dark shadow smash a large hole into the building.
"Boom..."
With the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, a thick smell of sulfur and burning filled everyone's nostrils. Before anyone could react, smoke and flames appeared on the battlefield.
"Howl..."
With the monster dragon's roar, the smoke dissipated instantly. After the smoke cleared, the soldiers were terrified by the scene before them and retreated in fear.
But some didn't think so. Some sharp-eyed Red Priests saw the monster dragon's appearance and became excited, some even began to pray directly.
"My loyal followers of the Lord of Light, our De…ah…"
The monstrous dragon formed from Stannis wouldn't bother with these believers. It swallowed the chattering human in one gulp and, after a few chews, the dragon closed its eyes contentedly.
Then, it looked greedily at the surrounding soldiers. With the dragon's appearance, both sides in the battle stopped their actions simultaneously. Facing the terrifying monster, everyone was afraid.
In the river channel below the Manderly Family's ancestral castle, a fleet of over 20 warships was waiting in formation, ready to receive the retreating troops.
However, since they hadn't seen their king for a long time, some of the generals and nobles on the ships were beginning to feel anxious. Even with the appearance of a miracle, in the eyes of many experienced officers and nobles, the battle was already lost.
On a huge three-masted warship, Stannis's queen, Selyse Baratheon, was excitedly watching the monstrous dragon that had appeared. Because of the distance, she didn't see the dragon eating the man.
Queen Selyse prayed fervently, whispering praises to the greatness of the Lord of Light. She was also very excited, and the surrounding maids and some knights followed her in prayer.
"Did you see that? That's the Light…"
"Your Grace! I'm sorry to interrupt, but I believe that is indeed a Demon Dragon, and a man-eating one at that. It's slaughtering our soldiers. I must go to the King now; something is definitely wrong up there."
Davos Seaworth, the "Onion Knight," put down his spyglass and interrupted his queen's impassioned speech with a touch of helplessness.
Although Davos didn't believe in the Lord of Light, he had, over time, learned a great deal about prophecies through exposure.
"Sir Seaworth, please, you must save my father. Mother and I cannot lose him."
Stannis's only daughter, Shireen Baratheon, spoke to Davos, her heart filled with worry for her father.
"Your Grace! I will bring back our King. I swear on my life, Shireen! You…"
Davos said to Shireen, his eyes filled with tenderness. He had seven sons and had never experienced having a daughter. So, over the years, though it was a bit inappropriate, he had always treated Shireen as his own daughter.
Then, Davos began to gather his trusted subordinates, preparing to enter the city to rescue Stannis. They had originally agreed to leave together, but Stannis had been kept behind by that Red Priest.
Since it was his king's command, Davos had no choice but to obey. After rescuing the queen and princess he served, Davos had been observing the dynamics of the battlefield.
Stannis's royal fleet had been sent to sea by Davos after White Harbor fell. He had witnessed the terror of the Demon Dragon and didn't want his king's fleet to be lost to dragonfire.
While Davos was gathering troops to rescue his king, his "king" was slaughtering his own people. The soldiers of Stannis's allied forces were now completely mad.
After the Demon Dragon devoured a large number of soldiers, it unleashed a torrent of blood-red dragon breath upon everyone. Dragons usually breathed fire, but this Demon Dragon spewed forth terrifying blood and chunks of flesh.
This blood and flesh dragon breath was like a living monster. When it touched human corpses or bodies, it was like a living parasite, directly burrowing into the person's body.
The corpses of the dead soldiers would transform into Wights, except these Wights had blood-red eyes, and were just as cruel and bloodthirsty.
Those living humans would transform into twisted monsters covered in scales. Even if they weren't directly hit by the bloody dragon breath, the blood-red energy fog it created would turn people into mindless, indiscriminate madmen.
Seeing this, Bloodhand Blackstone, commanding the soldiers of the Valyrian Empire, decisively ordered a retreat. After creating a sufficient distance and buffer zone, Bloodhand ordered the crossbowmen to attack.
Because as time passed, Bloodhand gradually discovered that the terrifying Demon Dragon was actually growing bit by bit, which he couldn't simply ignore.
If the Demon Dragon grew, then the Valyrian Empire soldiers would likely be the ones to suffer. So, he decisively ordered an attack, attempting to kill it.
This attack, however, enraged the Demon Dragon, which was enjoying its meal. It bit through the corpse of a soldier in its mouth and roared, charging towards the shield wall formed by the Valyrian Empire soldiers.
Just as the Demon Dragon reached a certain area, a dense volley of flaming arrows struck it directly, followed by a burst of sky-high, emerald-green flames.
"Boom...Roar..."
This burst of flames radiated a terrifying heat, causing the Demon Dragon to howl in pain. It thrashed desperately, and blood-red energy scattered everywhere, with pus flowing all over the ground.
But the flames burned quickly and disappeared quickly. After the flames diminished, the Demon Dragon rushed out, though it looked somewhat miserable. Its entire body was charred black, and lava and blood flowed everywhere. Some damaged flesh and scales littered the ground.
Just as the Demon Dragon was about to charge into the Valyrian Empire soldiers' formation, a blood-red pillar of light with destructive power struck the monster, piercing through its neck.
The monstrous dragon recoiled, a torrent of blood gushing from its wound. The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air. Then, the blood-eyed cyclops charged out from amidst the soldiers.
It radiated a terrifying, violent aura, crimson energy churning around it, a truly fearsome sight, its power unmatched.
The blood-eyed cyclops, Khoron Edvarda, used his massive hands to seize the dragon's neck. His left hand plunged into the wound, tearing and ripping at the flesh. Blood and gore sprayed everywhere.
Khoron Edvarda wasn't afraid of the dragon's corrosive flesh because the powers of both the cyclops and the dragon came from the same source: demonic energy. They weren't affected by each other.
Moreover, Khoron Edvarda attacked with even more ferocity than the dragon, fighting without any regard for his own safety. He relentlessly tore at the dragon's body with his gaping maw.
Furthermore, Khoron Edvarda made full use of his advantages, attacking with both hands and feet, looking every bit the bloodthirsty monster. The dragon, in turn, wrapped its serpentine body around Khoron Edvarda, attempting to squeeze him to death.
Khoron Edvarda, however, kept attacking the dragon's wound, constantly tearing at the dragon's flesh. The two of them rolled back and forth among the soldiers of the allied army.
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