Conflict and Dragon Egg

As soon as he spoke, he charged out.

"W-what?"

Gillian froze, glancing at the soldiers around him. He had not expected the other side to choose a direct confrontation despite being outnumbered five to one.

Daeren said nothing and grabbed him by the collar.

Gillian reacted half a beat too slowly and instinctively reached for the sword at his waist.

The moment his fingertips touched the hilt, a knee slammed viciously into his abdomen, nearly knocking last night's meal out of him.

"You bastard!"

The intense pain ignited his fury. Gillian endured the piercing agony, grabbing the wrist clutching his collar with one hand while throwing a punch at Daeren's face with the other.

Daeren reacted swiftly, catching the incoming fist in an instant.

"How is this possible?"

Gillian stared in disbelief. Despite being seven years older, not only could he not pry free of Daeren's grip, but even his punch had been caught with ease.

"Idiot!"

Daeren sneered, slowly twisting the fist in his grasp until crisp cracking sounds rang out.

After two upgrades from farming and gathering, along with eating Special Crops every day, his Life Force was already far beyond what it had once been.

When it came to strength, he feared no one.

"I surrender..."

Gillian panicked. He was truly terrified.

However, Daeren gave him no chance to surrender. He jerked his head back and smashed it into Gillian's face, cutting off his words.

The next second, his left foot, rooted to the ground as though it had grown there, rose and kicked cleanly at the weakest point between Gillian's right calf and ankle.

Crack. Gillian, who had nearly passed out, instantly snapped awake and let out a shrill scream.

Bang!

Daeren hooked both hands around him, spun, and executed a beautiful back suplex before raining down punches.

It was only a fight.

As the saying went, first hit the mouth to prevent begging, then break the legs to prevent escape. After that came free fighting.

One punch, two punches, three punches...

After only a few blows, Gillian's face was unrecognizable.

Daeren remained expressionless, still dissatisfied. He grabbed Gillian's conspicuous golden curls and repeatedly smashed his head into the gravelly ground.

"Hiss, this is going to end badly."

Lord Owen hid in a corner, avoiding being caught in the crossfire.

Yet only a few dozen seconds had passed since the conflict began, and the Lannister man had already been beaten half to death.

"Prince, calm down!"

Lord Owen was both frightened and anxious. He stomped his foot, then ran out to stop him.

Using a man's head like a soccer ball—if this continued, his brains would splatter.

Daeren smashed Gillian's arrogant face into the ground one more time. After catching his breath, he stopped and said calmly, "I am very calm, my lord."

Gillian had only himself to blame for running into him.

Ever since he was young, no one had dared show him disrespect to his face because he was the Mad King's beloved son.

This was a perfect chance to make an example of him.

The battle on the other side ended even faster. Ser Jon held a longsword and crushed a fully armed squad of Lannister soldiers.

Judging by how hard the prince had struck, he showed no mercy to the weak either.

All eight men in the squad were brought down. Two had their throats slit and died, one had his belly cut open with his intestines spilling out, while the rest wailed without end.

"Open your eyes and look. They suffered because of you."

Daeren sat on Gillian, grabbing his prized golden hair and forcing him to raise his head to witness the soldiers' miserable state.

Blood covered Gillian's head and face. While nearly unconscious, he cracked open his eyes, tears of fear and regret appearing in them.

The double blow to body and mind made him pass out completely.

Daeren released him and said blandly, "At least he has some conscience."

If Daeren remembered correctly, Gillian was the kindest of Tywin's three brothers. He would later vanish while sailing out in search of the family sword.

By severely injuring him this time, Daeren had spared him from dying at sea.

Gillian ought to thank him.

Lord Owen was frantic. "You struck a member of House Lannister. You're in trouble now."

"What trouble could there be when a Targaryen beat a Lannister?"

Daeren wiped the blood from his fingertips and said calmly, "Take the materials back to the Prince's territory. Haul that wooden stump back to the Red Keep."

"Oh, and bring that fellow back while you're at it."

Consider it a good deed for the day.

Lord Owen was beside himself with worry, but he could not persuade the prince and had no idea how to help.

After all, King had hardly attended court since ascending the throne. For more than a decade, the kingdom had been governed by Lord Hand Tywin.

Lord Hand Tywin's power had long grown strong enough to threaten royal authority.

The prince had beaten his blood brother. Tywin would not let this go.

"What a mess!"

Watching Daeren leave as though nothing had happened, Lord Owen sighed repeatedly and honestly handled the aftermath.

Half an hour later.

The atmosphere in the Red Keep had quietly changed, and the servants began walking on eggshells.

Daeren's expression did not change as he passed through the bustling entrance hall.

He had not taken the matter of beating the Lannisters to heart.

Right now, he needed to confirm one thing first.

He climbed the staircase and passed through a long corridor.

A sharp glint flashed in Daeren's eyes as a worn iron Axe quietly appeared in his right hand.

The strange dream from last night had not been an illusion, nor had the White Wall materials he encountered today appeared without reason. There had to be some deeper meaning guiding him.

He arrived at a room and pushed the door open.

Shayani was inside. The rough sound startled her, and she spread her arms in front of her two younger brothers.

This was Daeren's own room.

"Second Brother!"

Jaeherys cried out in delight. He was about to step forward when Shayani's slender arm stopped him.

Shayani's confused gaze fell upon the Axe in her brother's hand.

Before the door was pushed open, the three siblings had been gathered around a wooden stump.

"Move aside."

Daeren fixed his gaze on the stump that had been brought back. He silently channeled Life Force into his arms, raised the Axe, and chopped down hard.

Bang!

The Golden Nanmu was indeed tough. One swing only cut away a few chips.

Shayani shuddered in fright and retreated two steps while shielding her two young brothers.

They had heard that Daeren had beaten some Lannisters and then placed a wooden lump in his room. They had come to check on him, only to stumble upon this absurd scene.

Bang! Bang!

Daeren's eyes blazed as he continued chopping without pause.

Before Gillian arrived, he had not been alert.

But the instant he began throwing punches, his blood boiled as though some deeply hidden switch had been triggered.

He suspected...

No, he was certain that something inside the stump was calling to him.

"Ha!"

Daeren gathered all his strength, raised the worn iron Axe high, and brought it down for one final strike.

Thump!

The golden nanmu, hard as iron, suddenly split apart, revealing a special wedge-shaped groove filled with dry straw.

As though it had completed its duty, it let out a sharp sound of tearing wood and crashed to the ground.

The wood split in two, and straw scattered everywhere.

Under Daeren's intense gaze, an oval red Dragon Egg rolled out and landed lightly upon the soft straw.

"Dragon Egg!!"

Shayani's eyes widened as she covered her mouth and cried out.

Jaeherys and Viserys were drawn over as well, both standing there with their mouths agape.

The Axe clanged as it slipped from his hand. Daeren's body swayed slightly, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Just as I thought. My intuition was right."

The Dragon Egg was red, with intact scales marked by golden spots and black spirals.

It was a Dragon Egg that still retained a faint trace of vitality.