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"The dragon! It is our dragon!"
"Brothers, reinforcements have arrived! Kill these bastards from the Kingdom of the Three Daughters!"
"Long live Prince Jacaerys!"
At the sight of the massive black shadow sweeping across the sky, the soldiers of the Velaryon fleet erupted into exhilarated cheers, their spirits soaring.
On the right deck of Queen Rhaenys, the defensive line—on the verge of collapse just moments before—suddenly stiffened, their wavering resolve replaced by unyielding determination.
There were even signs of a counterattack beginning to take shape.
The commander of the forward ranks in the Kingdom of the Three Daughters' fleet, Forrest, reacted instantly.
He and Coleman—one a seasoned warrior, the other a cunning strategist—were the right-hand men of Racallio.
The moment Forrest saw the dragon appear, he roared for all archers in the fleet to take aim at the saddle on the dragon's back and release their arrows.
At the same time, the massive ballistae mounted on the warships were adjusted, their tensed strings groaning as they were drawn tight.
Dragons typically flew low when unleashing their flames, making them vulnerable to a dense barrage of arrows—a mortal threat to any dragonrider.
Yet, the massive green-scaled dragon, its form illuminated by the raging fires below, paid no heed to the incoming storm of arrows.
It swooped down toward one of the larger warships of the Three Daughters' fleet, its claws unfurling—and only then did the soldiers below realize what it had been tightly gripping.
WHOOSH!
Under the flickering firelight, everyone saw it clearly—the dragon had just released several sealed wooden barrels, bound together.
*BOOOOM!!!*
A deafening explosion tore through the night as a burst of orange-red dragonfire ignited the barrels.
Brilliant embers scattered through the dark sky, and in an instant, yet another large warship of the Three Daughters' fleet was engulfed in flames.
But as the green-scaled dragon swooped low, reckless in its assault, the dense rain of arrows finally struck its entire back.
DING! DING! DING!
Forrest, his eyes locked on the descending beast, saw that most of the arrows bounced off the dragon's tough scales.
But the saddle on its back—was empty!
What? There is no dragonrider controlling the dragon!
Then how was this dragon executing such precise attacks?
There was no time for Forrest to dwell on the question, for the tide of battle was shifting once again.
Woo—woo—
A deep, resonant horn call echoed across the waters.
From the pitch-black sea beyond the Velaryon fleet, a series of blazing lights suddenly appeared, stretching out like a long serpent.
A fleet bearing silver seahorse banners surged forward like flying fish, cutting through the churning waves as it charged straight into the battlefield.
A trap!
Damn it! Hadn't the scouting ships patrolled these waters just today?
Where did this Velaryon fleet come from?!
Forrest's face turned ashen, his mind swirling with frantic thoughts.
After a moment of hesitation and inner turmoil, he finally gave the order—
An all-out assault on the two Velaryon warships that had split the battlefield in two.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The heavy thunder of war drums carried Forrest's command across the battlefield.
On Queen Rhaenys, the soldiers of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters broke ranks, retreating in chaotic panic.
Vaemond had intended to press the attack, cutting down as many fleeing enemies as possible.
However, his forces had already suffered heavy casualties.
Were it not for the allied dragon bolstering their morale, his men might have long since thrown themselves into the sea in utter rout.
Forrest's judgment was correct!
The two Velaryon warships, which had barely held the line against the rear half of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters' fleet by exploiting the terrain, were now under ferocious assault.
Forrest's four warships closed in from both sides, steadily driving the Velaryon defenders back.
However, the very war drums that relayed his commands also exposed the location of his flagship.
ROAR!!!
A surge of blazing dragonfire engulfed the mast and sails of Forrest's command ship, turning them into a towering inferno.
BOOM! BOOM!
The two large ballistae on the flagship, already aimed skyward, loosed their bolts at the green-scaled dragon.
The massive projectiles, thick as a man's arm and as long as lances, streaked toward the beast with lethal force.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The green-scaled dragon flapped its wings rapidly, twisting in midair with remarkable agility.
At the same time, it tilted its head, turned sideways, and evaded both deadly bolts with astonishing precision.
Forrest was once again struck with disbelief.
Although, he had never personally battled a dragon before, many veterans who had fought Daemon and Laenor in the Stepstones had spoken of their experiences.
A dragon without a rider, they claimed, was nothing more than a massive, fire-breathing beast—formidable, yes, but ultimately lacking intelligence or precision.
Yet this green-scaled dragon not only struck with the accuracy of a human but moved with a dexterity unseen in riderless dragons.
*BOOOOM!!!*
As the dragon wheeled through the sky, raining destruction on another warship of the Three Daughters' fleet, the Velaryon reinforcements finally arrived.
With full force, they slammed into Forrest's four warships.
But one ship stood apart.
Unlike the other Velaryon vessels bearing the silver seahorse banner, the warship that rammed Forrest's command vessel flew a black banner emblazoned with a three-headed dragon.
CLANK! CLANK!
Fully armed Velaryon soldiers surged across the boarding planks, storming onto Forrest's flagship.
"Brothers! The two enemy ships blocking our way will soon collapse!"
"If you want to live, hold this ship with me—fight, and we'll return to Bloodstone together!"
"Yes, sir!"
With a ferocious roar, Forrest hefted his massive battle-axe in both hands.
The battle aboard the command ship erupted into chaos.
Dressed in black dragon-scale armor, his helm forged in the shape of a dragon's head, Jacaerys stood upon the deck of Laenor, the ship named in honor of his late father.
Fourteen sworn guards, armed with swords and shields, surrounded him and Baela, who was also clad in battle attire.
"Pass the order—recall all forces originally sent to rescue those two large warships."
"Instead, we shall focus entirely on annihilating these four enemy warships."
Jacaerys, his gaze sharp as a torch, watched as the enemy soldiers on the command ship braced for a determined defense and immediately saw through their intent.
Without hesitation, he turned to the man beside him—Stone—and issued a command.
Jacaerys had deliberately chosen not to ride Vermax in this night raid.
The first reason was that battling atop a dragon at night made it difficult to see incoming arrows, increasing the risk of being struck by stray shots.
The second was that from the skies, he would have no way to effectively command his fleet.
This was his first battle as a commander—he had to secure a decisive and flawless victory.
But more importantly, he could control Vermax remotely through their mental connection.
Remote dragon control!
From a strategic standpoint, this ability was even more valuable than the combat power increase granted by the system panel.
Since Jacaerys had already seen through Forrest's tactics, he naturally had a countermeasure prepared.
Thus, the green-scaled Vermax, rather than circling back to attack the enemy command ship, instead veered toward the two Velaryon warships that had already been overrun by soldiers of the Three Daughters' Kingdom.
*ROOOAR!!!*
Up until now, Vermax had held back—but now, it unleashed its full power. With an all-out burst of dragonflame, it engulfed the Velaryon ships below.
"Ahhh!"
Screams echoed as the massive green dragon streaked past at high speed, turning everything in its path—friend and foe alike—into living torches.
The Velaryon warships, already littered with corpses from the brutal battle, now became fuel for the searing flames.
The inferno spread rapidly, consuming not only the two Velaryon ships but also the enemy warship that had rammed into them.
Now, the three massive warships, stripped of life, stood like a burning wall upon the sea.
On the flagship of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters' fleet, Racallio gritted his teeth, his eyes locked onto the green-scaled dragon soaring through the night sky.
In the end, he made the bitter decision to retreat to Bloodstone Island.
There was no other choice.
His fleet had been on the verge of regrouping and stabilizing the battle—but the dragonrider had shown such ruthless resolve, setting his own allies' ships ablaze along with their enemies.
And those two Velaryon warships still had at least one or two hundred surviving soldiers aboard!
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[Chapter End's]
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