While they were busy rescuing soldiers who had fallen overboard, most of the warships remained in position, surrounding the Silence. As soon as the Kraken emerged, more than ten dragon-shooting crossbows were trained on it. The nearly two-meter-long bolts whistled through the air, embedding themselves into the creature's massive body.
The Kraken roared in pain but refused to abandon its search for the Dragon Horn. Just as the archers prepared to unleash another volley, they saw a figure leap onto the Kraken, thrashing about with relentless fury. The scene would be forever etched into the minds of all who witnessed it—it was Viserys. Unfortunately, his dagger wasn't long enough to inflict significant damage.
However, Viserys's attacks were so fierce that he soon turned the Kraken's flesh into a bloody, pulpy mess. Eventually, the creature gave up, allowing Viserys to escape.
The commotion on the Silence naturally drew the attention of Regis and the others. When they saw Viserys alive, a wave of relief washed over them. At that moment, Viserys finally had the opportunity to lay hands on the nearly two-meter-long Dragon Horn. Under the glow of the red comet, the horn revealed a blackish-red hue, as if it had just been pulled from a pool of blood. It was entirely black with a metallic texture, yet smooth and warm to the touch. The horn had the power to confuse minds and control beasts.
With this in hand, Viserys knew that exploring Valyria would be much easier, and it would give him a crucial advantage in future battles. The horn could be used to create chaos in enemy ranks. The original description likened its warmth to that of a "woman's thigh," but that was something Viserys chose not to dwell on.
"Prince Viserys," Regis called out, seeing Viserys staring intently at the horn with burning eyes.
"Let's leave this sea immediately," Viserys ordered, motioning for someone to store the horn safely.
"Yes, Prince!" came the prompt reply.
Euron had become a wild beast, driven by nothing but obsession. The reason he had returned to the horn, as Brynden had hinted, was this obsession. Once the fleet left the battle area, Viserys, Regis, and Webber gathered aboard the flagship.
"My lord, Euron is dead, but we don't know who killed him," Webber reported as the three of them sat down.
"I killed him," Viserys replied.
"Oh, that's not surprising," Regis nodded. Indeed, it made little sense for anyone but Viserys to have managed such a feat.
"What about our casualties?" Viserys asked.
"Of the 20 ships we set sail with, only 13 remain. We started with over 2,000 men, but now we have only 1,500," Webber answered.
Viserys nodded solemnly. The battle had taken a heavy toll, but there had been no other choice. If Euron hadn't been killed here, he would have gone on to cause even more devastation.
Regis and Webber didn't fully grasp the complexities of magic, so Viserys ordered the soldiers to withdraw from the area, planning to return the next day. That night, the soldiers brought Viserys the Valyrian armor Euron had worn and a dragon egg they had found in his quarters.
As Viserys had seen in his Dragon Dreams, it was a blue dragon egg.
As soon as he touched the dragon egg, the panel reacted immediately:
[Touching a dragon egg, gaining 36 attribute points]
This dragon egg, brought by Euron, was more active than any of the others Viserys had acquired. Next, he examined the Valyrian armor. Its high magic resistance had been crucial—without it, he would have killed Euron on the Silence long ago.
Viserys lay in bed, replaying the near-apocalyptic battle in his mind. The scale of the fight, involving just over twenty warships, wasn't immense. In fact, even some pirate conflicts could easily muster more than twenty ships. But this battle had involved more than just warships—there were krakens, whales, sharks, and a red comet.
It wouldn't be long before the red comet was visible to everyone. Those with deep magical roots would soon see their powers surge. Yet, the appearance of this comet puzzled Viserys. He remembered it heralding the War of the Five Kings, but this time it had appeared about six months earlier.
The anomaly of the "Bleeding Star" indicated that this world's trajectory had completely deviated from the original timeline. Though the unpredictable consequences were unknown, Viserys realized he might be able to hatch his dragon eggs sooner than expected.
All his worries and fears stemmed from insufficient firepower. Once he hatched all the dragon eggs in his possession, he wouldn't need to concern himself with any conspiracies, whether overt or covert.
Viserys opened his panel and saw that his skills in Soul Binding, Pyromancy, Water Magic, and Blood Magic had all reached the Expert level. Among them, his most frequently used skill, Dragon Dreams, had nearly maxed out at 9,980 proficiency points.
Without hesitation, Viserys added all the points he had just absorbed from the dragon egg. To his surprise, the entry for "Dragon Dreams" transformed into something new: "Dreamer."
'Dreamer? Why not a walker?' Viserys wondered, puzzled. But soon he felt a shift in his abilities. He discovered that he could now enter the dreams of others—he could directly invade their subconscious.
Closing his eyes, Viserys explored from the perspective of a "Dreamer." Most of the people in the fleet were still awake, which made sense—after witnessing such a monstrous creature firsthand, who could sleep? However, Viserys soon found a suitable target: Regis. The man had wrapped himself in a canvas and was soundly sleeping on the deck.
Viserys entered his dream and found Regis in a lively tavern in Tyrosh. He was holding a massive mug in one hand, boasting to a captivated crowd.
"A 50-meter-long Kraken! The monster's tentacles stretched up to the clouds! One tentacle could overturn a battleship!"
As the onlookers listened in awe, Regis grew more animated. "Thanks to my cooperation with Prince Viserys, we drove the beast away! And we even cut off one of its tentacles for a meal of Kraken meat!"
Viserys's mouth twitched slightly. 'This guy is getting more ridiculous by the minute,' he thought. But it was certainly in line with Regis's character.
Just as Viserys was about to leave Regis's dream, he suddenly noticed another Viserys standing nearby. This doppelgänger, sword in hand, was addressing Regis.
"Regis, I appoint you as Ser Regis," the false Viserys declared.
Regis, overjoyed, quickly knelt to receive the appointment. The real Viserys couldn't help but be amused by the scene and wondered, 'Can I interact with him in his dream?'
Testing the idea, he raised his hand and called out, "Regis."
Regis, not surprised to see Viserys in two places at once, ran over eagerly.
"Prince!"
"I've changed my mind," Viserys said, a hint of mischief in his voice. "I won't make you a Ser."
"Prince?" Regis's face fell, and the onlookers in his dream all burst into laughter, filling the air with a jovial atmosphere.
Viserys then grinned and said, "I'll make you a Lord!"
Regis's face lit up once more as he mumbled, "Lord, hehehehe..."
When Viserys exited the dream, Regis was still giggling in his sleep.
...
Next, Viserys found a new target: Webber, who was near the end of the fleet. In Webber's dream, he was frantically maneuvering a warship to escape as many as seven or eight krakens chased him. It was clear the krakens had left him deeply traumatized.
Just as Viserys was about to intervene, the krakens began climbing onto Webber's deck, and the dream suddenly shattered. Webber woke up in a cold sweat, panting heavily.
'It seems the Kraken will haunt the nightmares of many', Viserys thought, deciding to reward the soldiers who had endured such horrors in the future.
He entered the dreams of several more soldiers and found that many were plagued by visions of the Kraken—some dreamt of being swallowed whole, while others were desperately fleeing.
Suddenly, a new idea sparked in Viserys's mind: How far can my ''Dreamer' vision reach?'
Curious, he channeled more magic to enhance the ability, and soon he saw distant figures illuminated by faint white lights.
"How can there be so few?" Viserys wondered as he extended his Dreamer ability towards Tyrosh. He had nearly reached the city but found only a few lights indicating that he could enter dreams. Lys had two, but Tyrosh only had one.
Intrigued, Viserys chose the light in Tyrosh and found himself entering Dany's dream. Dany hadn't been able to sleep for days, worried sick about Viserys—especially after the sudden appearance of the red comet two days ago. Rumors about the comet were spreading like wildfire through the city.
Mirri Maz Duur, who had previously sought refuge with Viserys, wanted to see Dany, claiming she could explain the comet's appearance.
But Dany, remembering that both Mirri and Jorah were on Viserys's hit list, refused to let her approach. Instead, Dany found some comfort in Kyla's company, and it was only in her presence that she could finally fall asleep.
In her dream, Dany stood at the docks, straining on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of Viserys. Suddenly, damaged warships sailed into the harbor, their masts broken and splintered. Alarmed, Dany hurried to Viserys's flagship, only to find it empty.
Anxiety gripped her as she called out, "Brother! Brother! Where are you?" Dany searched from one hatch to the next, but there was no sign of Viserys. By the time she reached the deck, her voice was trembling with fear.
"Dany." She spun around at the sound of her brother's voice and was shocked to see Viserys, soaking wet and shivering.
"Brother, what's wrong with you?"
"I'm so cold, Dany. The sea is so cold."
"Brother! Brother! What's happening to you?" Dany reached out, trying to grasp the hem of his drenched clothes, but Viserys seemed to drift further and further away.
"Brother!" she cried.
"Dany, help me!" Viserys called out, his voice filled with desperation. Suddenly, tentacles appeared, wrapping around his limbs and neck. Dany frantically tried to dispel the tentacles with her hands, but just as quickly as they appeared, Viserys vanished.
"Brother!" she screamed, her voice full of anguish as if her very soul had been torn away.
Suddenly, Dany bumped into someone. Looking up, she saw Viserys standing before her.
"Brother? Are you okay?"
Viserys, who had entered Dany's dream, had witnessed her nightmare. It became clear to him that Dany also possessed a certain talent for Dragon Dreams. If not for her resilience, she might have been overwhelmed by the terror of her visions.
"Dany, I'm fine. I'm in your dream right now," Viserys said gently, putting his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.
"In my dream?" Dany asked, still struggling to grasp his words.
"I've killed him, Dany. Don't worry about me. I'll be back in a few days."
"Really? That's great!" Dany sighed with relief, finally convinced that her brother was safe.
"But we've suffered great losses this time. You should tell Connington to prepare to mourn to at least 800 people."
Hearing the number 800, Dany knew that Viserys had been through an exceptionally fierce battle.