Bang!
The war-hammer smashed into the monster's skull.
Bone cracked with a sickening crunch; rancid green blood and shards flew.
The creature shrieked, its body flung sideways, the fangs meant for Aegon knocked aside; venomous drool hissed on his pauldron.
Aegon moved like lightning.
He surged up, drove the broken sword—now half a blade—deep into the soft flesh under the thing's neck.
Thud—filth-blood spurted.
Aegon rolled clear of the spray, sprang, and kicked the spine that still looked almost human.
Before it could writhe again he gripped the hilt with both hands and heaved.
"Die!" The word cracked through clenched teeth.
With a wet rip the rusted shard sawed clean through the neck; only a strip of black-scaled hide held the lolling head to the twisted carcass.
Henry froze mid-swing, stunned by the savagery in Aegon's cold violet eyes.
He swallowed hard.
"Stop gawking—move!" Aegon snarled, striding to a fallen Mercenary and snatching up a blood-slick longsword.
Calm lethal purpose glittered behind the fury.
The road was chaos.
Mercenary milled like headless chickens; some were dragged screaming into crevices, others cowered awaiting death, only a few flailing blades at random.
Ironborn stood back-to-rock, shields locked, spears stabbing through gaps—holding a tight ring, losses few.
Fresh horrors clambering from the fissures veered toward the disordered Mercenary mob.
Sulphurous smoke reeked of screams and blood.
Aegon's gaze locked on one figure in the turmoil: the Myr sellsword, Mogol.
A black-scaled beast lunged, talons poised to tear.
In a blink Mogol yanked a petrified Mercenary in front of him as a shield.
Thud—claws punched through the wretch's chest.
In the same instant Mogol's blade whipped down, hacking the exposed neck; the monster collapsed, its blood mingling with that of the human shield whose dead eyes stared.
Aegon's own stare hardened—ruthless and cunning, that one.
He snapped his attention back; three scaled predators were already slinking toward them.
"Henry—here!" he barked.
He slashed a silver arc, driving off one flanking horror.
"Back-to-back!" He hauled the dazed Henry behind him.
Henry swung wildly; his hammer connected, shattering scales, but the momentum left him wide open.
A second beast leapt from the side, bone-scythes aimed to gut him.
"Down!" Aegon's shout rang with steel; his salvaged blade flashed, parrying the claw in a spray of sparks.
He kicked Henry forward, out of reach, and in the same breath sliced the attacker's wrist joint.
Pain made the creature recoil; Aegon's return thrust lanced through its gaping maw.
Henry gasped, back pressed to Aegon's, hammer clenched, sweat cold on his spine.
Around them the road had become a butcher's yard—entrails strewn, men still alive held down while scaled heads burrowed into their bellies to feed.
Screams, agony, despair—a vision of hell on earth.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn luffy1898