House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Seeing the dragon approaching, the sailor reloading the Scorpion froze in place. What would you do upon seeing a gigantic dragon coming straight at you? Would you freeze or run with all your strength?

That sailor found out the answer in the cruelest way possible.

Platinum flames filled his field of view. The man barely felt a bit of warmth before succumbing to eternal sleep. Reduced to ashes almost instantly. He was not the only one; everyone aboard the warship met the same fate beneath the platinum flames.

Bahamut wasted no time and burned two more warships before climbing back into the air. The dragon wound through the air and spun, then changed direction, heading right, before beginning a free fall toward the eight remaining ships.

Maekar narrowed his eyes at the abrupt acceleration and leaned forward, trying to reduce the wind resistance. At the same time, shielding his own body from any arrows.

The dragon surged forward quickly and, suddenly, twisted his body, abruptly changing direction, heading toward the ships on the left and right. The sailors were caught off guard and, before they could do anything, saw flames coming straight at them.

Instinctively, they fired the Scorpions before being drowned in flames and reduced to ashes along with their ship moments later.

The bolts passed through the extremely hot flames and melted, losing all their force before even reaching Bahamut.

However, just as the dragon was about to move on, he detected a whir approaching and looked to the right. Bahamut saw a scorpion bolt coming straight for him. But it was already too late to dodge anything.

The bolt struck the dragon dead on, hitting his chest. The bolt, which was the size of a man, sank into the scales but went no further. The dense muscles, protected by the scales, prevented any real damage.

However, it still caused Bahamut pain. It brought back memories of the pain from his fight with Cannibal, sending the platinum dragon into a fury.

"RHUARRRRRRRRRR!!!" Bahamut spun through the air and changed direction, glaring cruelly at the ship that had fired the bolt. The dragon surged forward without any hesitation and arrived above the warship in a single instant.

Cone-shaped flames poured from the dragon’s mouth.

"RUN!!!" The sailors of the ship only had time to scream before being submerged beneath the sea of platinum flames.

Maekar watched all of this with a cold gaze. After killing so many people, he had already grown indifferent to the terrifying sight before him. At the same time, he felt Bahamut’s pain. This left him rather puzzled.

He had not felt the pain Bahamut suffered when wounded by Cannibal, but now he was feeling the pain the dragon himself was feeling. Even the dragon’s fury and sense of superiority.

Maekar wondered whether the bond between rider and dragon could strengthen over time or whether it was a consequence of the Pure Valyrian Blood in his body.

Descendant of Pure Valyrian Blood (A+): extremely high blood purity, granting numerous attributes.

200% Affinity with Fire Magic, 200% Affinity with Blood Magic, 200% Fire Resistance, 200% Affinity with Dragons, and 200% Magic Resistance.

Maekar wondered whether his dragon affinity was strengthening the bond between him and Bahamut over time. If so, what was the limit to such a thing? Would Bahamut be able to hear his orders mentally? Would he learn to speak and develop his innate intelligence further?

The prince had countless questions, but, since this was not the right moment for them, he focused on the battle and turned a cold gaze on the remaining warships.

The battle that followed was swift and merciless. Bahamut would gain altitude and then begin a high-speed free fall. The Scorpions became useless against such a maneuver. The gigantic bolts did not even come close to Bahamut’s enormous body.

In the end, all ten warships sank into the sea; only the ashes of wood and people could be seen floating on the water. But they soon vanished gradually, sinking into the turbulent waters.

Maekar had Bahamut circle the area for ten minutes, trying to see if there were any survivors, and, when he saw no sign of a single survivor, he had the dragon head back to Dragonstone.

As soon as the dragon entered the cavern in the mountain, he landed with a loud sound that echoed through the enormous cave. He walked with heavy steps to a stone platform and stood still. Maekar unfastened the belt around his waist and jumped down from the dragon onto the platform.

Removing his leather gloves, Maekar looked at the soldiers and spoke in a calm tone. "Bring sheep for Bahamut; he may be in a bad mood, so no one is to speak loudly. Keep your tone submissive and he will stay calm."

The soldiers nodded and spoke at the same time. "Yes, my prince."

Maekar did not leave; he turned around and approached Bahamut. The dragon knew what he intended to do and lifted his body slightly, exposing his chest. The scorpion’s bolt was still lodged between the scales and muscles of the dragon’s chest.

Setting his foot against the scales, Maekar took a firm hold of the enormous bolt and pulled hard. The bolt came free with a sound like flesh being torn. Blood dripped onto the platform, only a few drops. But, being such an enormous creature, a few drops were enough to fill a bucket.

The most remarkable thing was that the blood was extremely hot, almost like lava. It made a sound like something hot touching something cold.

"Go rest; they will bring food in a moment." Maekar spoke in a gentle tone; he rested his head against Bahamut’s head and looked at the dragon with a rather intimate gaze, as though looking at a brother.

"In two hours we will fly again." Maekar added with a smile.

Bahamut gently nuzzled Maekar’s body with his snout and stepped back; his enormous body settled down at the center of the cavern, the warmest spot. He curled up like a cat and rested his head against a rock, staring fixedly at Maekar until he disappeared from view before closing his eyes.

Back at the castle, Maekar climbed the stairs accompanied by a few guards and, upon reaching the Chamber of the Painted Table, saw nobles talking among themselves as they discussed the ongoing war. These men were not the lords of their respective houses but second sons, or even third.

These men, who had no way to inherit the title and holdings, generally became knights in the service of some other noble house. But that did not mean these men were unwanted, quite the opposite, they were highly sought after by other nobles.

The nobility in this world monopolized everything, whether resources or knowledge. So, these second sons were trained from an early age in both military and strategic matters. One could say they represented the pinnacle of what this world had to offer.

These men were not at the Chamber of the Painted Table because Maekar had asked for them but because their own lords had sent them to Dragonstone to serve as his vassals.

Something Maekar accepted quite happily. He had always wanted to train a personal guard. Unfortunately, it was not so easy to acquire men at arms this capable. Especially if you had no prestige. Who would want to work for an unknown lord?

"My prince, a letter has arrived from the Stepstones, delivered by Maester Ollyr." A young man wearing armor approached as Maekar arrived. He, around his early twenties, was tall and strong. He bore a family crest on his chest, a huntsman.

Maekar recognized the crest of House Tarly. It was the younger brother of Lord Samwell Tarly, Lord of House Tarly of Horn Hill, Roland Tarly.

"Thank you, Roland." Maekar thanked him and took the letter handed over by Roland. He broke the wax seal and opened the letter, quickly reading its contents.

Maekar’s eyes went wide upon seeing what was written in the letter.

"Daemon has been wounded; it is not too serious, but he is unable to ride Caraxes to defend Bloodstone." Maekar said aloud. A silence hung in the air.

This meant that the Stepstones could not be defended, and fleets could cross through the islands into the Narrow Sea.

Maekar frowned. The one piece of good news was that this was still a secret; as long as Caraxes kept flying over the island, it would still give the impression that Daemon was riding the dragon.

But this could not last long, since Daemon’s prolonged absence would eventually raise suspicion.

"Damn it, how did Daemon get hurt?" Maekar could not help but curse Daemon for being so irresponsible at such a delicate moment.

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Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard