Ch. 441Shattered Teeth

Redd drew an Ice Spear from his system storage after Daemon’s sneak attack, deciding to retaliate despite the danger of drawing the Cold God’s attention. The spear’s icy aura reached across the harbor and made King Ghidorah pause.

  • Raging Tide bit King Ghidorah’s shoulder but broke three teeth without piercing its scales.
  • Daemon taunted Redd over the bleeding wound behind his ear, and Redd promised to pay him back.
  • Redd reflected that Ice Magic and Fire Magic drew the attention of the Cold God and the Red God, whose divine rivalries treated living beings as pieces.
  • Redd decided Daemon and Tormund’s successive sneak attacks justified using the dangerous power he had avoided.
  • Redd drew an Ice Spear from his system storage, and its hum spread through the harbor as King Ghidorah recognized its icy aura.

Ch. 442An instant

Redd impaled Daemon with the Ice Spear and pinned him to the beach, where he subdued him and began to threaten him. Daemon remained defiant as Redd stood over him and asked what he thought would happen next.

  • Redd drew the Ice Spear from the void and threw it at Daemon.
  • Daemon tried to dodge, but the spear pierced his right shoulder and pinned him to the beach.
  • The Ice Spear’s cold began spreading through Daemon’s body as he tried to pull it free.
  • Redd approached Daemon and pressed his face into the sand with his boot.
  • Redd asked Daemon what he would do with him, while Daemon struggled to speak.

Ch. 443An Utter Mess

Redd threatened Daemon with prolonged torture after pinning him to the beach, then ordered Douglas to guard him while Redd returned to the battle. King Ghidorah was nearing victory over Raging Tide and Bloodworm, while Tormund remained unconscious on the tidal flats.

  • Redd threatened to dismember Daemon and keep him alive in a jar, leaving Daemon terrified and unable to answer through his coughing.
  • Redd surveyed the battlefield and saw King Ghidorah overpowering Raging Tide and Bloodworm, while Tormund lay unconscious in the tidal flats.
  • Redd noticed that the Ice Spear’s cold was spreading through Daemon but refused to remove it.
  • Douglas arrived with several surviving soldiers, badly wounded but still deferential to Redd.
  • Redd ordered Douglas to keep Daemon alive and prevent his escape until Redd returned from dealing with the dragon.

Ch. 444Shock

Redd killed Daemon’s Dragon, Bloodworm, with a single Ice Spear while King Ghidorah was still fighting him. King Ghidorah protested that Redd had taken his prey, but Redd ignored him and drew another spear.

  • Douglas followed Redd’s command and bound Daemon’s left wrist to his left ankle as Daemon cursed.
  • Redd approached King Ghidorah, who had pinned Tormund’s Dragon, Raging Tide, to the beach.
  • Redd threw an Ice Spear through Bloodworm’s right eye, killing Daemon’s Dragon instantly.
  • King Ghidorah’s three heads complained after Redd stole the kill, but Redd ignored him and produced another Ice Spear.

Ch. 445Turn Around

King Ghidorah killed Raging Tide before Redd could use his Ice Spear, then basked in Redd’s praise. As Lys City’s residents watched the aftermath, Redd turned to the badly injured Tormund, who had been left hollow by his Dragon’s death.

  • King Ghidorah tore Raging Tide apart and killed it on the beach.
  • Redd put away his Ice Spear and praised King Ghidorah, which rubbed its heads against his hand.
  • Lys City’s residents watched silently as the two Dragons lay dead and Redd stood on the bloodied beach.
  • Redd looked toward Tormund, who lay broken on the tidal flat, unable to process that Raging Tide was dead.

Ch. 446Hollow

After Raging Tide’s death left Tormund mentally shut down, Redd tried to rouse him and demanded to know how he had contacted the Fishmen. Tormund regained focus, recognized that he would die, and considered how he wanted to meet death.

  • Tormund’s mind shut down after he saw that Raging Tide was dead.
  • Redd approached Tormund, used mud and sand to provoke a reaction, and saw his eyes begin to focus.
  • Redd held Tormund’s bone knife to his throat and demanded to know how he had contacted the Fishmen.
  • Tormund recognized Redd and understood that his fleet, men, dragon, and chance of survival were gone.
  • Tormund considered the manner in which he would cross over to death.

Ch. 447Blurred

Redd learned that the Fishmen were summoned by the scent of fresh blood, then ordered King Ghidorah to kill the defeated Tormund quickly. As Tormund died, an unknown watcher with amber eyes observed King Ghidorah from beneath the sea.

  • Tormund told Redd that the Fishmen came when they smelled a fresh corpse in the sea and warned that they would eventually seek revenge.
  • Redd said he would give Tormund a quick end because he valued the bone blade, then walked away.
  • King Ghidorah spotted a pair of amber eyes watching from the depths before they vanished into darkness.
  • Redd ordered King Ghidorah to finish Tormund quickly.
  • King Ghidorah struck Tormund with a precise bolt of golden lightning.

Ch. 448Scattering on the Wind

Redd and King Ghidorah destroyed Tormund, leaving only a charred impression in the beach. Redd then watched Daemon continue struggling against the Ice Spear pinning him down.

  • King Ghidorah vaporized Tormund with a column of golden light, leaving a burned depression in the tidal flat.
  • Redd turned away from the remains and walked across the beach with King Ghidorah, whose heads surveyed the ruins and harbor.
  • Daemon kept trying to pull out the Ice Spear despite his frozen hand, pierced shoulder, and worsening injuries.
  • Redd watched Daemon’s desperate struggle while Douglas and several soldiers stood nearby and maintained their guard.
  • Douglas felt weary and conflicted as he watched Daemon fight on despite having no hope of escape.

Ch. 449Captive

Redd approached the captured Daemon and pulled the Ice Spear from his shoulder, causing Daemon to pass out. Redd prepared to continue tormenting him as he lay unconscious.

  • Daemon repeatedly tried to pull the Ice Spear from his shoulder until he cried out in pain.
  • Redd approached Daemon with King Ghidorah following and pinned Daemon to the beach with his foot.
  • Redd pulled the Ice Spear from Daemon's shoulder, and Daemon fainted from the pain.
  • Redd scraped the flesh from the spear, returned it to system space, and said that Daemon's passing out would not do.
  • Redd drew his bone knife and aimed it at Daemon's wounded right shoulder.

Ch. 450Without hesitation

Redd mutilated Daemon on the beach, amputating both arms and cutting apart his mouth while Daemon screamed and struggled. Daemon was left unable to speak clearly, and the bone knife seemed to grow brighter after tasting his blood.

  • Redd abandoned a further cut to Daemon's damaged side and precisely removed his intact left arm at the shoulder.
  • Daemon woke from the shock of losing his arm and screamed when he saw the bloody stump.
  • Redd removed Daemon's frost-damaged right arm, and Daemon writhed and shouted incoherently on the bloodied sand.
  • Redd wiped the bone knife on Daemon's clothes and said that Daemon's mouth needed fixing.
  • Redd cut apart Daemon's mouth, removing teeth and part of his tongue and leaving him able to make only gurgling sounds.

Ch. 451Shattered at a Touch

Redd’s bone knife drained Daemon’s body of its moisture and life, leaving him a desiccated corpse before the weapon shattered. Douglas and the soldiers watched in horror as Redd realized the knife had been single-use.

  • Douglas held back his nausea and maintained his composure while Daemon writhed and made inhuman sounds.
  • Redd pulled the bone knife from Daemon’s mouth and wiped it on Daemon’s armor.
  • The knife’s aqua-blue glow surged, and its energy flowed into Daemon, drying him into a shriveled corpse.
  • Redd examined the drained knife and found its glow and edge had vanished.
  • Redd crushed the brittle bone knife between his fingers and complained that it had been single-use.

Ch. 452The Desiccated Corpse

Redd defeated Daemon and the forces at Lys, then ordered Douglas to count survivors, repair ships, and prepare to return home after three days. News of Lys’s destruction spread across the Summer Sea, interrupting Tyrosh’s Hundred Flowers Festival and reaching Myr during a grand auction.

  • Redd confirmed that the bone blade had crumbled after a single use and ordered its fragments collected for study.
  • Redd told Douglas to clean up the beach, count survivors, repair usable ships, and dismantle the rest for planks.
  • Redd planned to rest at Lys for three days before sailing home, while amber eyes watched from beneath the sea.
  • A messenger announced Lys’s fall and the deaths of Daemon and Tormund during Tyrosh’s Hundred Flowers Festival, bringing the celebration to a halt.
  • News of Lys’s destruction reached Myr while merchants were attending a grand auction.

Ch. 453Annihilation

After Redd annihilated Lys and killed its defenders, news of his victory spread through the Free Cities. He returned to Dragonstone, where he asked Douglas to report on the battle.

  • A merchant told the Prince of Myr that Lys had been destroyed, and the prince left the auction in shock.
  • News spread to Norvos, Pentos, Braavos, and Lorath that Redd had annihilated Lys, killed its dragons, and defeated the Citadel’s weapons.
  • Envoys from Tyrosh and Myr arrived on Dragonstone as the Free Cities confronted Redd’s overwhelming victory.
  • Redd returned to Dragonstone aboard King Ghidorah with Douglas, the sole survivor of the fleet, and met with Jasent, Theora, and Marcus.
  • Redd asked Douglas to tell the others about the situation in Lys.

Ch. 454Scraps

Redd rejected the envoys from Tyrosh and Myr, then planned how to govern the Free Cities after their submission. He established a council and divided military authority among Jasent, Theora, Marcus, and Douglas, while warning them that Mysaria's intelligence network would report any disloyalty.

  • Redd told the kneeling envoys to surrender their cities' wealth and authority, then said their magistrates could die once the transfer was complete.
  • Theora warned Redd that he would need experienced officials, merchants, and fleet commanders to keep the newly submitted cities running.
  • Redd appointed Jasent, Theora, Marcus, and Douglas to a council overseeing the nine Free Cities and their magistrates.
  • Redd divided military command among the four, assigning Marcus to Dragonstone's guards and mobile forces.
  • Redd revealed that Mysaria's intelligence network covered the Free Cities and warned the council members against disloyalty.
  • Jasent accepted Redd's oversight, and Douglas vowed to remain loyal.

Ch. 455Reactions

Douglas recounted the destruction at Lys, and Redd learned that Tyrosh and Myr had sent envoys to submit unconditionally. Redd told the envoys they had come too late and rose to face them, leaving their fate unresolved.

  • Douglas calmly described the fleet’s entry into the channel, the battle involving the dragons and King Ghidorah, and Redd’s survival in the fire.
  • Jasent asked how the remaining city-states would react, and Redd revealed that envoys from Tyrosh and Myr were waiting at the harbor.
  • The Tyroshi and Myrish envoys knelt and offered their cities, wealth, fleets, lands, and people to Redd without conditions.
  • After letting the envoys fear his judgment in silence, Redd told them their voluntary submission was too late.
  • Redd explained that an earlier submission would have allowed the envoys to keep power, wealth, or status, then rose and approached them.

Ch. 456The corpse

Redd ordered Daemon’s mummified corpse sent to King’s Landing so Viserys would see what had become of his brother. When Viserys opened the coffin, the sight made him collapse unconscious.

  • Redd ordered Daemon’s body returned to King’s Landing in its mummified state.
  • Jasent arranged for the corpse to be placed in a black oak coffin and sent across Blackwater Bay.
  • A guard told Viserys that men from Dragonstone had arrived with Daemon’s body.
  • Viserys opened the coffin and saw Daemon’s mutilated, desiccated corpse.
  • Viserys fainted, and the guards caught him and called for a healer.

Ch. 457Collapse

Viserys woke after a long unconscious spell, devastated by what had happened to Daemon. On Dragonstone, King Ghidorah devoured the Dragons Bloodworm and Raging Tide, then settled contentedly beside Redd.

  • Viserys woke in his bedchamber and asked about Daemon, but the Small Council and maesters could not answer him.
  • Viserys wept and repeatedly asked why, while those around him remained silent.
  • King Ghidorah eagerly tore into Bloodworm and Raging Tide after their bodies were brought to Dragonstone.
  • Redd refused Jasent's suggestion to send Bloodworm's remains to King's Landing, saying the news might kill Viserys.
  • King Ghidorah ate both Dragons completely, then rested on the beach as Redd patted and comforted him.

Ch. 458Moving forward

Redd watched his plans for his empire advance while Viserys remained gravely ill in the Red Keep after fainting from fright. Viserys sent Alicent away so he could speak with Rhaenyra alone.

  • Redd looked out over the moonlit sea and reflected on his expanding empire and the plans unfolding in Westeros and Essos.
  • The royal maester treated Viserys, but the king remained pale, weakened, and haunted by the corpse and severed arm he had seen.
  • Alicent, pregnant with her fourth child, tirelessly cared for Viserys and kept his maids away from him.
  • Viserys woke and asked about Daemon, but Alicent urged him to take his medicine first.
  • After drinking the medicine, Viserys asked everyone to leave so he could speak with Rhaenyra alone, and Alicent withdrew.

Ch. 459Disappointment

Viserys confessed to Rhaenyra that he had wronged Daemon and secretly supported his occupation of the Stepstones. He explained that he did so because he feared Redd’s power, which now threatened Westeros across the Narrow Sea.

  • Rhaenyra sat beside the ill Viserys and reflected on his frailty and the contrast with Aegon the Conqueror’s strength.
  • Viserys admitted that he had wronged Daemon, describing how their family and the court had rejected his brother.
  • Rhaenyra remembered Daemon’s affection for her as a child and how he later became angry and left for the Stepstones.
  • Viserys revealed that he had secretly helped Daemon occupy the Stepstones, prompting Rhaenyra to ask why.
  • Viserys said he had acted because of Redd, whose control of all nine Free Cities, vast forces, and three dragons could let him invade Westeros.

Ch. 460The destroyer

Viserys confessed to Rhaenyra that fear of Redd had led him to use Daemon as a pawn to delay Redd’s advance, and mourned Daemon’s death. He then asked Rhaenyra to tell her husband that he intended to grant Redd the title King of the Narrow Sea.

  • Viserys admitted that he had used Daemon and encouraged cooperation with the Triarchy to keep Redd occupied.
  • Viserys wept over Daemon’s death and said he had expected Daemon to survive or escape.
  • Rhaenyra asked Viserys why he had told her about his actions.
  • Viserys said that, as king, he wanted to grant Redd the title King of the Narrow Sea.
  • Rhaenyra recognized that the title would formally acknowledge Redd’s independent royal authority.
Show
Page 23 of 31
Page 23 of 31