Chapter 140: The End, or the Beginning
Vermithor's massive body blocked out the sun, and the dragon swept across the bay, growing larger at a visible rate. On the Mouse, Hugh watched in awe as Vermithor slowly soared over them. As the years passed, Vermithor's size grew even more immense, now surpassing the former Vhagar and nearly matching the Black Dread. As he gradually lowered his altitude, the gales from his wings stirred up furious waves on the sea. If the Mouse weren't a large ship now, it probably couldn't withstand the waves stirred up by the dragon.
"Master, the dragon..." A sailor with wave tattoos on his face knelt in despair. Hogg and Ben watched with pale faces as Vermithor drew closer, their ship already at its limit. It couldn't go any faster. The people on the ship could only watch as the dragon approached, until he hovered directly above the ship.
Tyraxes was a step slower, only flying near Vermithor when Dragonzel, riding Vermithor, flew over Hogg's ship. The young purple dragon seemed like a mouse next to a giant elephant before the Bronze Fury; this might be an exaggeration, but the size difference was indeed that vast.
Vermithor let out a deafening roar at the oar-sail ship. The sailors still standing on the ship were thrown off balance and knelt in a heap by the shout. Only Hogg and Ben remained on the deck, their legs trembling as they watched Vermithor slowly lower his altitude.
"Prince Draezell, what are you waiting for?" Joffrey shouted. "If you don't move, I'll have Tyraxes send them down. Do they not know how to spell 'death' if they dare to steal my big brother's dragon?" Joffrey wished he could directly control Tyraxes to swoop down and incinerate the dragon thief's ship into the sea, but with Vermithor nearby, he knew this wasn't his place to interfere.
Just then, Caraxes's sharp roar also echoed over Blackwater Bay, and Daemon, riding Caraxes, slowly rose from the other side of Dragonstone, flying toward this direction.
"Speak, Hogg, and Ben." Dragonzel frowned. They were indeed acquaintances. After House Varezes rose through his father Cleorius's miraculous means, the dragon lord families, who were high-ranking members of the Tiger Party in Black Wall, began to seek good relations with House Varezes. They completely disregarded their past criticisms of House Varezes, who had become landlords and would only grovel to the "cowardly" Elephant Party. However, those self-proclaimed noble dragon lords were kept at a respectful distance by his father.
As for these two dragon thieves, Dragonzel knew them. Hogg Belarris was the heir of House Belarris. His family held twelve seats in the Senate, and Hogg himself had a councilor's seat, making him an important member of the Tiger Party. When Dragonzel sold his land, House Belarris heavily supported Dolan Megya, who acquired a large amount of House Varezes's land and mines. As for Ben Oonebal, Dragonzel honestly didn't know why he got involved in such a matter. In Dragonzel's impression, Ben Oonebal was one of the few calm members of the Tiger Party. He had no interest in the Tiger Party's constant advocacy for rebuilding the Valyrian Freehold. House Oonebal was also one of the few relatively low-key dragon lord families.
After all, even during the Freehold period, House Oonebal was not among the top forty dragon lord families. In Black Wall, House Oonebal relied more on their early and deeply entrenched operations in Volantis, rather than the past glory of their family.
"Ben, why are you mixed up with Hogg?" Dragonzel patted Vermithor, signaling him to lower his head. He sat upright in the dragon saddle, asking with some confusion.
"Prince Draezell," Ben Oonebal looked at the vaguely visible Dragonzel on the dragon's back and couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart. He said loudly, "Dragon—only because of dragon!"
Hogg took over Ben's words, pointing indignantly at Dragonzel, who was flying high in the sky, and said, "That's right, we came for the dragon! Dragonzel, I admit, we were envious. Why is your House Varezes so lucky to actually re-possess a dragon? Why, after you got a dragon, did you not stay in Volantis but instead run to this barbaric place? Dragonzel, I ask you, what's so good about Westeros? You have dragons, we have money, and dragon blood flows in our veins. Why can't we cooperate and recreate the past glory of the forty dragon lord families, with thousands of dragon knights soaring in the sky, ruling the entire world?"
Hogg pointed at Joffrey, then at Daemon who had just arrived. He gestured around and then roared, "Why was it the Targaryen family that survived back then? Why, when they clearly had dragons, could we have swept across the continent a hundred years ago with the Targaryen family's dragons and Volantis's hundred thousand Tiger Cloak Army? Why did you betray us, not only failing to help us but also destroying our army? You Targaryen bastards, do you know how desperate the dragon lord descendants present were when Aegon's dragonflame destroyed our Tiger Cloak Army? Do you know how much we yearn to ride dragons into the sky like our ancestors? A dragon lord family without a dragon is nothing but a joke!"
Hogg, with bloodshot eyes, pushed away Ben Oonebal, who was trying to stop him. His voice was already hoarse, but the desperate silver-haired youth still tried to make the three "lofty" dragon riders on the dragon's back hear his shouts.
"Dragonzel, remember this: our arrival is all because of you, because you and your brothers rode dragons. It's you brothers who gave us hope. Oh, can we, families who have lost dragons for hundreds of years, still possess dragons? Can the glory of our ancestors still be restored in us? Dragonzel, and you Targaryen bastards, there are more dragon lord families in Black Wall than just us few. Dragonzel, we are just the first to come. Guard your dragon eggs, guard your masterless wild dragons. Haven't we intermarried for hundreds of years, committed incest, just so that one day we can restore the glory of Valyria?"
"Are you threatening us?" Tyraxes let out a roar. Joffrey looked at the deranged Hogg Belarris with astonishment. The boy only felt a sense of absurdity. Was this man out of his mind? Who gave him the courage to threaten three dragon riders?
"Yes, I am threatening you." Hogg, with bloodshot eyes, stared intently at the silent Dragonzel. "To be honest, I understand why you didn't stay in Volantis. I also understand that while Volantis is large, it cannot withstand the fear of dragons, the encirclement of other Free Cities coveting dragons. Ben's ancestor died ignominiously in his own mansion; a slave, a slave who usually dared not look up at a dragon lord, killed him. That bastard not only killed Ben's ancestor but also his young son and his son's newly hatched dragon. Even if you have three dragons, the constant threat of encirclement and assassination, and the Targaryen family's revenge, are things you cannot bear. I understand you, but I still envy you. I'm so envious I'm going crazy." Hogg gave Ben Oonebal no chance to speak, as if this calm man speaking would destroy the atmosphere he had painstakingly created. "Come, Dragonzel, kill us. But you must remember, the descendants of the dragon lord families will never give up the hope of family revival. Dragons are our everything."
Seeing that among the three dragon riders, even the most impulsive Joffrey remained motionless, looking at him with the eyes of a fool as he spread his arms, waiting to be consumed by dragonflame, Hogg paused, then spread his arms again. "Come on, dying by dragonflame is also an honor for the descendants of the dragon lord families. Come on."
Dragonzel looked at this fellow helplessly. "Since you understand why I came here, why are you still so fixated on stealing dragons?" Dragonzel knew the answer, but still asked with a smile. "What you mentioned—you would encounter the same things if you rode dragons. And they would be even more secretive and deadly. Hogg, you know better than I do how much water these so-called dragon lord families in Black Wall contain, and how much heritage they truly have."
"All we want are dragons." Hogg said without hesitation. "As long as we ride dragons, even if we die the next moment, we will be willing. As long as our people can ride dragons again, one day, the dragon lord families will bring back the Valyrian Freehold to the world. At that time, whether it's the commoner descendants of Braavos, or the Dothraki barbarians, the Westerosi barbarians, or even the wealthy empire of Yi Ti, they will prostrate themselves at our feet, with all peoples as slaves, and I will ride a dragon, standing high in the heavens as king." Hogg fervently recited ancient Valyrian poems in High Valyrian: "This is what we want. Come, Dragonzel, burn us to death with dragonflame. Our bloodline began in flame, and it will end in flame."
"Shut up, Hogg." Ben Oonebal finally found an opportunity to interrupt Hogg's wild talk. "Look closely, is he going to burn us to death with dragonflame?"
Hogg was about to say something when he heard a loud "thud." The ship beneath his feet shook violently. Hogg lost his footing and fell directly onto the deck.
The Mouse directly collided with Hogg's ship. Dorco, raising his arakh, leaped onto the ship, cutting off a slave's neck with one stroke. The Dothraki barbarian held his dripping blade, followed by the fully armed Hugh carrying a warhammer, and similarly armored Dennis and other City Watch soldiers in silver cloaks. Even Adam and Elin each held a sailor's blade, having casually thrown on some clothes and followed along.
However, when Joffrey saw Elin and Adam, and the short woman with wrapped hair by the Mouse's helm, the boy suddenly froze, as if something had occurred to him.
Hogg hadn't even gotten up when the Dothraki barbarian grabbed him by the hair and delivered a cut. Dorco held up Hogg's silver-haired head, his eyes still wide in death, and proudly displayed it to his Dragon Sand Great Khal.
Dragonzel smiled and nodded. Dorco actually jumped up like a child, showing Hogg's head to everyone. Dragonzel watched Dorco's actions, smiled, and waved his hand, grabbing something from thin air and tossing it. Dorco understood the Great Khal's meaning and casually threw Hogg's head into the sea.
Until this moment, Ben Oonebal did not summon the soldiers from below deck, but stood calmly surrounded by everyone.
"Ben, I can see there are still people below deck. Are you surrendering?" Dragonzel had some goodwill toward this calm individual, and his tone of voice softened a bit.
"No, Your Highness, although I don't agree with Hogg's actions, I followed him here." Ben looked at Vermithor and Dragonzel on his back, and slowly said, "Hogg is right, Dragonzel, your success has given hope to the surviving dragon lord families. You have proven that we too can possess dragons. This is already an undeniable fact."
Ben scanned the three dragons.
"Are you ready to welcome those with dragon blood who dream of restoring their ancestors' glory—and those who dream of instant success?"
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