"Roar..."
With the danger resolved, Cannibal raised its head proudly, wisps of dragon flame escaping its maw. Seeing this, Rhaegar chuckled, "Well done, partner."
As Rhaegar and his dragon shared a moment, the mercenaries who had narrowly escaped lay sprawled on the rocky ground, paralyzed with exhaustion.
"My lord, we should get moving."
Several mercenaries, vigilant and back-to-back, kept an eye on the entrance to the ruins while glancing at their weary comrades.
"Agreed." Rhaegar understood the urgency in their tone. He forced his tired body to move, distancing himself from the ruins.
Mercenaries had their own harsh rules of survival, and he didn't need to interfere. For a while, mournful wails echoed from the direction they had come.
When they regrouped on the shore, only seven or eight mercenaries remained, besides the few who had been keeping watch. One had an arm severed, another had lost his left calf. The rest were mostly unharmed, aside from their tattered leather armor.
Rhaegar remained silent as they paddled their canoes back to the sailboats waiting at sea. He knew that the mercenaries left behind were likely infected with greyscale. Those who had amputated limbs were only buying time, hoping the disease wouldn't spread further.
...
As the night wore on, the sea's winds and waves grew fiercer, the gusts carrying a mournful cry like that of a lost woman. The sailboat rocked back and forth, the deck torches flickering in the dim light.
In the captain's cabin, Rhaegar lay in a false sleep, his body gently rocking with the ship. He cradled a green dragon egg in his left arm and held the heavy Brightroar sword in his right.
"Roar..." Cannibal's roar echoed as the sailboat sailed away from the ruins. At dawn, sunlight pierced through thin clouds and fog, bringing a hint of warmth. After a tumultuous night, the sailboat emerged from the smoky sea into a clearer sky.
"My lord, the ruins of the stone bridge are ahead. We should be out of the Smoking Sea in two days," Robert said excitedly, clutching the charts.
Protected by the mercenaries, Robert had emerged unscathed from the previous day's ordeal and was eager to continue his duties.
"Got it," Rhaegar replied, rubbing his forehead wearily. "Inform everyone that their pay will be increased by thirty percent when we return to Volantis."
The fierce winds and waves of the night hadexhausted him.
"Understood," Robert grinned, his single eye gleaming as he set to work.
Soon the ship was filled with the joyous chatter of the mercenaries. The promise of a greater reward lifted their spirits and dispelled the fears of the previous night.
With dark circles under his eyes, Rhaegar leaned against the railing, enjoying the early morning sun. The successful exploration of the ruins had made him feel generous to his hired men.
Time passed slowly as the sailboat drifted toward the ruins of the stone bridge. Rhaegar remained still, savoring an orange and remarking, "I feel much better after a short rest."
Under the clear sky, he glanced occasionally at the approaching ruins and felt a growing sense of calm.
"Roar!"
Cannibal's sudden roar broke the tranquility. Its dark wings beat furiously as it hovered in the air.
Rhaegar's eyes widened at the warning. He stood up, scanning the horizon. His expression shifted as he saw what lay ahead.
As the sailboat neared the stone bridge ruins, a horde of terrifying stone men emerged from the north and south sides, their bodies covered in gray scales. Most were bare-chested, their eyes wild with hunger, yelling as they crowded along the shore.
Just as the sailboat approached, they prepared to swarm.
"My lord, what should we do?" the squad leader asked, his face pale and slick with sweat.
The mercenaries' leader had died the previous day at the hands of the Shadowbinders, leaving the deputy leader in charge.
"Hold your ground. It's just a bunch of Stone men," Rhaegar replied, trying to mask his own unease at the sight of so many of them.
Rhaegar surveyed the north and south coasts, estimating there were at least three hundred Stone men gathered in groups. He sighedinwardly; this was an unexpected obstacle.
"My lord, the sailboat will soon arrive at the Stone Bridge Ruins," the deputy leader said, his voice taut with anxiety as the eerie roars of the Stone men filled the air.
The sixty battle-hardened mercenaries on board could handle a fight against a few hundred men, but these weren't ordinary men. The Stone men, once human, were now monstrous carriers of gray scale disease, and even a scratch from them could be fatal.
Rhaegar understood their fear. "Maintainformation and use arrows to keep the Stone men from boarding. We have a dragon."
"Roar..." Cannibal sensed its rider's resolve, its green eyes gleaming as it hovered above the ship.
"Dracarys!" Rhaegar commanded.
As the sailboat neared the ruins, Cannibal swooped low and unleashed ghostly green dragonfire. The fire engulfed the southern bank of the stone bridge, reducing hundreds of Stone men to ash.
"Prepare to draw your bows!" shouted the squad leader, strengthened by the dragon's power.
The surviving Stone men, now frenzied, leapt into the sea and swam towards the sailboat. Rhaegar remained composed. "Dracarys!" he ordered again.
Cannibal pivoted and directed its flames at the north shore, incinerating Stone men both on land and in the water. Despite the dragon's efforts, a few Stone men managed to cling to the hull of the ship, using their sharp nails to climb.
The mercenaries fired arrows at the climbers, managing to keep most of them at bay. Thesituation seemed under control until a sudden burst of firelight appeared on the hazy sea more than ten miles away.
Rumble-
The ground shook violently, sending ripples through the seawater and causing the sailboat to rock uncontrollably.
" Everyone, prepare yourselves!" Rhaegar shouted, struggling to keep his balance. He barely managed to stay upright as several mercenaries were thrown from the deck by the suddentremor.
The stone men in the sea seized the opportunity and pounced on the fallen mercenaries with ferocious intensity.
Rhaegar clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Damn it!"
He looked up to see a bright red flame shoot into the sky in the distance, exploding like fireworks. "A volcanic eruption," he muttered, watching the magma pour into the sea, sending up plumes of smoke.
The undersea volcano was dangerously close to the ruins of the stone bridge, and the situation was rapidly deteriorating.
"Helmsman, turn the helm! We have to get out of here, now!" Rhaegar ordered.
The volcanic danger spread quickly. The air grew thick with acrid smoke, and the temperature of the seawater rose, making it difficult to breathe.
Despite the imminent danger, the Stone Men continued their assault, climbing onto the sailboat. The mercenaries, struggling to keep their footing, found it increasingly difficult to fend them off with their arrows.
"Roar!" Cannibal, sensing the chaos, flapped his wings furiously, sending gusts of wind andindiscriminate bursts of dragon flame at theStone Men in the sea.
Some of the Stone Men managed to climb onto the deck and launched frenzied attacks on the mercenaries.
"Do not panic! Follow me and fight off the Stone Men!" Rhaegar shouted, drawing Dragon Claw from his waist and decapitating a Stone Man with one swift blow.
The seawater began to boil, bubbling with hot water and steam. Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the raging sea and moved quickly toward the slowly moving sailboat. Vaguely, several soft, vine-like limbs could be seen twisting and reaching out.
On the deck, Rhaegar raised his sword and sliced a Stone Man through the chest, sending him crashing back into the sea. Just as he was about to face another, a cold shiver ran down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
"Something's wrong!" Rhaegar's heart skipped a beat as he instinctively searched for the source of the danger. The Smoking Sea was notorious for harboring all manner of demons and devils, so he knew he had to be extra vigilant.
With a sudden crack, a crimson limb shot out of the sea, lashing out like a whip.
"Roar!" Cannibal roared furiously, spewing a stream of dragonfire.
Man and dragon were in perfect sync. Reading Cannibal's intent instantly, Rhaegar stepped back, twisting to protect himself with the Dragon Claws. A thick, soft limb came down and tried to crush him.
Bang! The impact was tremendous. Rhaegar raised his sword to block the blow, but he was thrown backward, slamming into the solid wooden hatch of the cabin.
In the next moment, Cannibal swooped down and unleashed a torrent of dragonfire that scorched the surface of the sea. The water boiled and churned under the eerie green fire, revealing a massive shadow.
"Sea monster! A legendary Kraken!" Robert, cowering in a corner, shouted in horror, staring at the colossal creature with limbs tens of meters long. This was no ordinary monster but a giant squid, a true terror of the deep sea.
House Greyjoy of the Iron Islands had a golden kraken as their emblem, a nod to this verycreature.
Rhaegar coughed violently, his body heaving. He lay amidst the rubble of the shattered hatch, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His skin was covered in a layer of green scales, as if he were possessed by a dragon.
"It hurts!" Rhaegar groaned, struggling to get up as his body spasmed uncontrollably. He managed to roll over and looked down, his eyes widening in fear.
From his neck down to his collarbone, left chest, and side waist, the bronze scales manifested by ancient runes were shattered in large areas. The overall glow was dim, indicating the severity of the blow he had taken.
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