"sun chaser!" Seeing this weathered ship, a name came to Lord Lynd's mind. This old sailboat, so out of place among the other ships at the dock, should be the sun chaser belonging to the female navigator Alyssa Farman, mentioned by Corlys Velaryon in his book, and possibly the only ship in this world to have completed a circumnavigation.
After briefly lamenting this legendary ship, Lord Lynd ordered Deltos to fly along the Ash River, which flowed through the city, towards the Shadow Lands.
For those living in Asshai, the Ash River is like an intensely disliked but inescapable companion. Although this river flows with Asshai's extremely scarce fresh water, few people drink from it or eat fish from it, except for a few crazy individuals.
During the day, the Ash River appears inky black, while at night, the river water emits a faint green phosphorescence. Necromancers, Pyromancers, Shadowbinders, and other spellcasters believe that the Ash River contains extremely mysterious fire power. This fire comes from the Seven Hells, it is hellfire, and mastering this fire allows one to glimpse the mysteries of death.
Therefore, it is common to see necromancers, Pyromancers, and Shadowbinders gathering on both banks of the Ash River in the city late at night, using their secret arts to decipher the secrets of the phosphorescence in the Ash River.
However, the secret of this phosphorescence, which had troubled Asshai spellcasters for countless years, seemed very simple to Lord Lynd. Just by flying over the Ash River, he had already discovered that the secret of the phosphorescence was merely a special type of algae. This algae was also the reason for the mutation of life within the Ash River, and it was also a magical creature, as Lord Lynd observed faint magical fluctuations within these algae.
It is precisely for this reason, coupled with the increasing magical activity in the entire world, that Asshai will become exceptionally important. Therefore, Lord Lynd decided that after dealing with Euron and returning to Summerhall, he would find a way to expand the Miracle Merchant Guild into eastern Essos, until Asshai was included within its shipping routes.
Afterward, here, centered around Master Quellier's Magic God Temple, he would establish an organization similar to Black Hollow, allowing Summerhall's influence to penetrate this ancient city and find a way to bring the spellcasters here under his command.
Additionally, the continent of Ulthos, across the sea from Asshai, is also one of the migration options when the extreme cold moves south in the future, so early planning is needed to prepare for the future.
As Lord Lynd pondered how to occupy Asshai and how to utilize Asshai, Deltos had already flown out of Asshai City and entered the mountains of the Shadow Lands along the Ash River.
The mountains of the Shadow Lands stand like towering, majestic walls, with almost no gentle slopes, only steep cliffs, constantly pushing northward like layers of barriers.
Within the mountains, there are countless fissures. These fissures divide the mountains into countless sections, and in the deep valleys beneath the cliff fissures are numerous small streams and rivers. These small streams and rivers converge to form the Ash River.
Under Jhaben's guidance, Deltos flew into a cliff fissure, entering the mountains within the Shadow Lands.
Deltos's massive body and the dragon's might it exuded disturbed the creatures resting on the cliff faces. These creatures let out mournful cries and flew from the cliffs, quickly fleeing out of the cliff valley.
Initially, the creatures' appearances were relatively normal, just bats, falcons, and similar beings. But as they delved deeper into the Shadow Lands, entering the outer regions of what Jhaben called the Shadow Heart, the monsters inhabiting the cliffs became grotesque and terrifying.
Giant bats with ten-meter wingspans and bodies covered in horny scales flew back and forth in the valley. Jellyfish-like creatures with mouths all over their bodies floated in the air, constantly probing the Ash River below with their tentacles to prey on fish and shrimp. Strange creatures resembling centipedes but with worm-like bodies clung to the rock walls, their heads reaching into caves to bite out and swallow the creatures residing within.
Additionally, there were numerous caves on the cliffs on both sides, inhabited by indescribable monsters. In short, it was as if all the mutated monsters in the world had gathered here.
After Deltos tore apart the large bats blocking their path with lightning, Lord Lynd shouted to Jhaben, who was gripped in its claws and facing north, "I heard that demons and dragons also inhabit the Shadow Lands?"
"Demons reside in the Shadow Heart, near Styria, and I suspect those demons were the original inhabitants of Styria, only twisted by some force during Styria's decline," Jhaben loudly replied. "There are also dragons, but they are not true dragons, just large pterosaur-like creatures."
Almost as soon as Jhaben's words fell, a huge monster burst out of a cave next to the cliff, rushing towards Deltos at an extremely high speed, and opening its massive mouth, attempting to bite Deltos's neck.
However, Deltos was much faster. A lightning bolt instantly struck the monster, causing it to shriek in agony and plummet from the air. Deltos then glided, grabbing the monster's head in its claws, crushing it instantly. Afterward, it flung the monster into a stream of dragonfire, turning it into a fireball that fell onto the bank of the Ash River below.
The firelight from the burning monster illuminated the pitch-black canyon below. The intense light immediately caused a commotion among the creatures in the canyon. Large numbers of insect-like creatures scattered, hiding in the surrounding shadows, only emerging when the flames extinguished to tear at the roasted monster.
As they entered the Shadow Heart region, Lord Lynd and his companions encountered more and more attacks. The monsters here seemed to attack any intruder, and their aggressive desire was so strong that it surpassed the oppressive might of the dragon. They continuously emerged like annoying flies, attacking them.
For this, Deltos did not hesitate to expend magic, gathering lightning around its body to form a high-voltage electric net that could both warn and kill enemies, electrocuting approaching monsters into charred remains.
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