When Danyla saw the equally coal-black, savage Great Dragon behind the three young dragons—Cannibal—she immediately understood what was happening. It seemed that the two young dragons never mentioned in later histories had been eaten by Cannibal.
"Dreamfyre, attack!"
Cannibal was one of Dragonstone's older Great Dragons. Some legends claimed he was even older than Balerion the Black Dread. He was wild and savage enough, but even now he measured only just over a hundred meters, a size smaller than Vermithor, the Bronze Fury!
Dreamfyre was already seventy meters long, so she had no reason to fear him.
Besides, having a Dragonriding entity greatly enhanced a dragon's fighting power. At Danyla's command, Dreamfyre immediately accelerated and charged at Cannibal.
"Rooar~ grrr~"
Dreamfyre's cry was deep and commanding, the most majestic of all the Great Dragons.
Having finally cornered three young dragons, Cannibal would never tolerate Dreamfyre ruining his feast. He roared furiously at her.
"Skree~"
"Dragonfire!"
The instant Cannibal entered the range of Dreamfyre's dragonfire, Danyla ordered her to breathe flame. Deep blue fire engulfed Cannibal in an instant.
But Danyla dared not let her guard down. Once Dreamfyre finished breathing fire, she quickly ordered her to climb, keeping her own eyes fixed on what lay beneath the flames.
Sure enough, the cunning Cannibal used the flames and thick smoke as cover, opening his jaws wide and lunging to bite Dreamfyre.
Fortunately, Dreamfyre had already gained altitude, and Cannibal's sneak attack missed.
Danyla had already ordered Dreamfyre to breathe another stream of fire to obscure Cannibal's vision, then circle into his blind spot behind him.
"Dreamfyre, Silence, jump onto his back and attack."
Obeying her command, Dreamfyre darted toward Cannibal's back while he was still distracted by the dragonfire.
But Cannibal truly was a crafty old dragon. Just as Dreamfyre was about to seize his back, the cunning beast abruptly twisted around and kicked his claws toward her. At the same time, he climbed rapidly, trying to tear open the oil sac in Dreamfyre's chest.
Dreamfyre
"Dragonfire!"
At such close range, Dreamfyre's dragonfire struck Cannibal hard enough to send him reeling, and sparks flared on his Dragon Wings.
When she saw sickly green dragonfire erupt from Cannibal's throat, Danyla hurriedly ordered Dreamfyre to pull back and climb, barely avoiding his thick, jetting flames.
That old dragon really knows how to fight!
Danyla could not help marveling inwardly.
I'm already quite skilled at riding Dreamfyre, and there was nothing wrong with my strategy, yet Cannibal still gained the upper hand.
Over the years, Danyla and Dreamfyre had raided no fewer than a thousand ships and hunted hundreds of fierce creatures, including whales and sharks, yet they still could not best Cannibal.
Fortunately, the three young dragons had disappeared into the clouds by then and were safe for the moment.
Danyla therefore ordered Dreamfyre to keep a safe distance from Cannibal and stay away from thick clouds to avoid an ambush.
As long as they could drive him off and stop him from harming the young dragons, that was enough. Danyla had no intention of continuing the fight.
She had even dropped the great white shark she had worked so hard to catch because of this battle.
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Dreamfyre and Cannibal were fighting near Dragonstone, so the people in Dragonstone Castle soon spotted them.
Her cousin Daemon, who had been bare-bottomed, hurriedly dressed when he heard the Great Dragons' furious roars and ran toward Bloodworm, Quicksilver, who was perched on the rocks by the sea.
Meanwhile, Quicksilver was already letting out a constant stream of whining cries at the two battling Great Dragons!
Though King Jaehaerys was old, he could no longer sit still once he heard that Danyla was fighting with Dragonriding. He hurried to Dragonmont to summon his own dragon, Vermithor.
Princess Rhaenys reacted fastest. By the time Daemon ran out of the Firekiss Garden and the old king reached Dragonmont, Meleys, the Red Queen, had already taken flight from the mountain.
Rhaenyra's Syrax was resting in Aegon's Garden, so she, too, secretly climbed onto her dragon's back and flew out of Dragonstone Castle just after Meleys.
Looking at Danyla fighting in the distance and Rhaenyra following close behind her, Princess Rhaenys gave a deeply gratified smile.
"Now those are true princesses of House Targaryen!"
Meleys, the Red Queen, lived up to her reputation as the fastest Great Dragon. In mere minutes, she swept from Dragonstone onto the battlefield where Dreamfyre and Cannibal were fighting.
"Attack, Meleys!"
Though Meleys, the Red Queen, was only a little over sixty meters long, she was exceptionally fierce. With ringing roars, she charged straight at Cannibal.
Against Dreamfyre alone, Cannibal could still hold an advantage. With Meleys joining the fight, however, he began to struggle.
Danyla seized an opening and had Dreamfyre rake several deep gashes across his chest, making Cannibal howl in pain.
Princess Rhaenys grew even more pleased with Danyla and could not help praising her inwardly.
Such outstanding dragonriding skills at eighteen. Truly remarkable!
Rhaenyra finally reached them on Syrax, but faced with three Great Dragons locked in battle, neither she nor Syrax dared do anything but watch from a distance.
All the courage that concern for Danyla had stirred in her earlier was now completely spent.
"Eee, eee, eee~"
"Skree~"
With two Dragon Roars, King Jaehaerys on Vermithor and Daemon on Quicksilver finally arrived.
At the sight of them, Cannibal immediately drove Dreamfyre and Meleys back with dragonfire, then fled swiftly toward his lair.
Princess Rhaenys rode Meleys, the Red Queen, close behind Cannibal to ensure that he obediently returned to his lair.
Jaehaerys and Daemon followed Cannibal as well. Only after watching the cunning old dragon enter his lair did they turn back with Rhaenys.
Meanwhile, Danyla rode Dreamfyre back to where she had dropped the great white shark to look for her prey.
Fortunately, it had not sunk yet. Dreamfyre soon found it, immediately snatched it up, and flew toward Dragonstone Castle.
Seeing that her aunt was still in the mood to retrieve a shark at a time like this, Rhaenyra felt the guilt born of her earlier fear transform into burning anger.
She rode Syrax straight toward Dreamfyre.
"Danyla! You caused all this trouble first thing in the morning, and you're still in the mood to catch sharks?!"
"You're completely hopeless!"
Danyla pointed at her ears, waved her hand, then pointed at her mouth.
"I can't hear you! Shut your mouth, niece!"
Clearly, Rhaenyra understood what Danyla meant, which only made her angrier!
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