Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 266 The Frey Family – God of "Life Loan"

Two soldiers—an Ironborn and a Winterfell warrior—took a deep breath, gripped their blazing torches, and bent down to squeeze into the dark opening.

The steps extend downwards, as if leading straight to the earth's core.

Euron and Ed exchanged a glance and followed closely behind.

Behind them, seven or eight elite soldiers gripped their swords tightly, nervously crowding around the entrance to the dark room, ready to deal with any unforeseen events.

However, before their eyes could adjust to the darkness below, an intense, nauseating stench, as if it were a tangible entity, suddenly assaulted them from the depths of the dark room. The smell was a mixture of the cloying sweetness of rotting flesh, the choking stench of aged dust, and an indescribable, damp, musty odor from the depths of the earth, intensely irritating everyone's nose and throat.

The torchlight struggled to dispel the darkness in the secret room, the flickering light eventually focusing on the chilling sight in the center of the room—

An altar, carved entirely from black bloodstone, stood solemnly.

The surface of the altar was not smooth, but covered with natural, deep patterns like the blood vessels of a living creature, which shimmered with a dark red glow in the firelight.

Even more disturbing is that it is densely covered with River Rune symbols that are not the twin towers of the Frey family: the patterns are twisted, like two intertwined embryos, with a broken umbilical cord, and countless mouths that seem to be silently crying out and yearning for something.

On either side of the altar stood two strangely shaped, burning candles. The candle on the left was made of a solidified white grease, said to have originated from the womb of a mare who died in childbirth, and emitted a cloyingly sweet smell when burning, a mixture of milk and decay. The candle on the right was clearly shaped from human fat mixed with sulfur, its flame a vibrant green, like venom, and it emitted a chilling hissing sound from time to time.

The most horrifying thing on the altar was the corpse of a young woman.

Her abdomen had been cruelly ripped open, her internal organs vaguely visible, her eyes wide open, frozen in extreme fear and pain. Her blood had long since drained away, flowing along the intricately carved grooves on the altar into a stone pool of blood below. Now the pool was dry, leaving only dark brown stains and the lingering, inescapable stench of blood in the air. All of this constituted a wicked scene, a desecration of life and the divine.

The torchlight seemed to be swallowed up by some invisible darkness when it touched the wall behind the altar.

On the wall was a huge and twisted relief depicting a "deity" whose image was enough to chill even the bravest warrior. It was not any of the known Seven Gods or Old Gods, but an indescribable monster: it seemed to be composed of countless translucent, still-pulsating umbilical cords, which were intertwined and coiled into the shape of a giant python, showing both the writhing of life and exuding the decaying aura of death.

Standing beside Euron, Eddard Stark's face instantly turned ashen, as if frozen in a winter night. His clenched fists trembled violently with extreme rage, his knuckles cracking, and his grey eyes burned with uncontrollable fury and deep disgust. This scene of desecration of life and trampling of humanity completely shattered the chivalric code he had been taught since childhood.

Even the usually aloof Euron Greyjoy's face was now terrifyingly grim. He stared intently at the eerie totem and the dried bloodstains on the altar, a chilling suspicion forming in his mind. He finally understood that the astonishingly large number of descendants of old Walder Frey, the descendants said to be "enough to form an army," probably did not stem from any vigorous vitality, but rather from this dark and evil sacrificial ritual before him.

The torchlight flickered in the oppressive chamber. Not only Ed and Euron, but also the soldiers who poured in afterward gasped in horror when they saw the altar and the colossal serpent colossus entwined with pulsating umbilical cords on the wall. A surge of uncontrollable rage followed. Some of the younger warriors even turned their heads away, their stomachs churning.

Ed's voice trembled slightly with extreme anger and grief. He stared intently at the gruesome female corpse on the altar and solemnly ordered, "Carefully carry this woman out and find a quiet place to bury her properly."

Euron's eyes were so sinister they could drip water, and his icy voice carried a rare hint of regret—a regret born of underestimating his opponent: "It seems that uprooting the Frey family was the right decision. I'm starting to regret it now; letting that bastard Wald die too easily!"

Driven by intense hatred, Ed wanted nothing more than to purify this filthy place completely. He roared, "Burn this place—burn all of this down! Burn it all to the ground!"

"Wait." Euron raised his hand to stop him, his gaze returning to the distorted relief of the evil god, his eyes flashing with a mixture of inquiry and ruthlessness. "Before burning it, I want to take a closer look at what kind of monsters and demons the old man and his filthy family are worshipping."

Ed nodded heavily, filled with grief and disgust, and turned to leave the blasphemous chamber to arrange the poor woman's funeral. Euron, meanwhile, signaled all the soldiers to withdraw, remaining alone in the eerie place.

As the last footsteps faded into the distance, only the flickering torch and himself remained in the secret chamber. Euron's black left eye, shrouded in shadow, seemed to transform into a bottomless abyss, piercing through the veil of time. A fragment of Walder Frey's memory flooded his mind like a tidal wave. In the secret chamber late at night, old Walder Frey dismissed all his servants. With his withered fingers, he caressed an ancient bronze key, and tremblingly opened the heavy iron door hidden behind the stone wall of the wine cellar.

Tonight's offering is the young wife of a minor nobleman, "invited" to Lihe City because her husband owed her an exorbitant toll. She is four months pregnant; medication keeps her conscious, but she is completely immobile, placed upon a cold, black bloodstone altar. The tear tracks at the corners of her eyes have dried, leaving only an utterly empty terror; beneath the skin of her swollen abdomen, bluish-purple veins pulsate weakly.

Wad shed his magnificent robes, symbols of power, revealing a withered, aged body, like a wrinkled tree trunk. He held a strange meteorite iron dagger, its blade riddled with eroded holes, and began chanting ancient incantations in a hoarse voice: "With frozen blood—" He slit the woman's left wrist, letting the blood drip into a groove on the side of the altar. Strangely, the warm blood instantly congealed into frost-like patterns upon contact with the bloodstone—a sacrifice of life to the god of cold.

"With the essence of boiling—": The dagger then plunged into the woman's right wrist, and as the blood dripped into the groove on the other side, it immediately boiled and vaporized, making a hissing sound—this was a sacrifice of new life to the god of fire.

"Bridge of two rivers—": Finally, he pressed the cold dagger against the pregnant woman's violently heaving belly and recited the core contract word by word: "With this body, pass through this gate; give a life, receive a life."

The instant the incantation was completed, the natural vein-like patterns on the altar suddenly emitted a dark light, writhing like living black spiderwebs. The woman's abdomen heaved violently in unnatural motion, her skin becoming translucent, revealing the fetus within being rapidly drained by an invisible force—first its limbs withered like dead branches, then its torso collapsed, and finally its head turned to dust. Meanwhile, a twisted, life-giving energy flowed along the altar's patterns and into the body of the spellcaster, Walder Frey.

The old marquis, panting, revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth and whispered with satisfaction and greed, "Another one—I can have at least three more offspring."

Immediately afterwards, Euron's "gaze" pierced through the essence of the altar and saw the being that Wald had communicated with—a reflection of twin faces that sent shivers down one's spine.

At the focal point of the energy spiral, the sacrificer will see two extremely opposing faces:

One face is the epitome of infancy: smooth, flawless, like a holy infant yet to be born, but its eyes are two enormous, pure black compound eyes, reflecting all the desires and greed of the sacrificer's life. This face represents "acquisition".

One face is one of utter decay: withered, rotting, wrinkled, and moldy, its open mouth a bottomless black hole from which emanates not sound, but the agonizing pain of absolute debt. This face represents "repayment."

These two faces are not separate entities; their temples are connected by a thick, pulsating blood vessel, symbolizing that "gain" and "loss" are two sides of the same coin.

He is the God of "Life Lending." He does not create life, but rather trades in the potential of life. His domain is procreation.

Debt, interest, blood ties, and all the unavoidable costs. The Frey family's "prosperity" is built upon this bloody and cruel exchange.

The illusion dissipated, and Euron stood alone in the cold, sealed chamber, surrounded only by deathly silence and thick darkness. He had finally glimpsed the nauseating truth behind the Frey family's prosperity.

When Euron glimpsed the true nature of the god of "life lending," the phantom of the giant serpent on the altar, formed from countless umbilical cords, seemed to suddenly awaken! It twisted its nauseating body, its black and red tongue hissing, and its compound eyes were fixed on Euron.

A strange voice, imbued with seductive and twisted power, echoed in the secret room, directly affecting the depths of the soul: "Believe in me—I can grant you countless descendants—family prosperity—eternal glory—"

Euron Greyjoy faced the eerie whisper head-on, remaining unmoved. Instead, a chilling sneer curled at the corner of his mouth: "To believe in you? A god who only dares to hide in the shadows, clinging to life by stealing others?!"

Before he finished speaking, the ancient bloodline belonging to the Grey Sea King within him surged forth! That power, originating from the former king of the Iron Islands who once commanded the ocean and storms, now coursed through his body. In the perception of the evil god, Euron's body seemed to instantly grow incredibly tall, like a giant rising from the deep sea, radiating a terrifying pressure.

The two-faced evil god at the core of the umbilical python—the god of "Life Loans"—let out a shrill howl mixed with terror and pain. It struggled, trying to reclaim its power.

But it was all too late.

Euron's deep, abyss-like black left eye seemed to transform into a vortex leading to nothingness, generating an irresistible, immense suction force. The essence of the evil god, composed of energy and curses, was forcibly peeled and torn from the altar totem, thread by thread, like fragile spider silk, screaming as it was swallowed into that endless darkness.

But in an instant, the blasphemous howl came to an abrupt end.

The suffocating, eerie pressure within the sealed room vanished abruptly, and the vein patterns on the altar completely dimmed, as if they had never been lit at all.

Evil gods, annihilation!

You slay the God of "Life Loan," gaining 100000 Soul Points and 60000 Bloodline Points: Gray Sea King Bloodline—1. Extended Ocean Perception: Consciousness can spread outwards like a jellyfish, allowing you to perceive subtle changes in ocean currents, the movement of fish schools, and even the approach of large creatures (such as seals and sharks) within miles without visual observation. This is especially strong during stormy weather, enabling you to "read" the anger and rhythm of the waves. 2. Large ocean creatures will instinctively feel awe or curiosity towards you, rather than actively attacking you; you can even command legendary sea beasts. 3. Deep-Sea Body: Strength and endurance are significantly amplified in water, and swimming speed rivals that of the fastest dolphins. The body can better resist water pressure and cold, allowing you to dive to depths far exceeding those of ordinary people and maintain core body temperature and mobility in icy seawater. 4. Bloodline Majesty: Ironborn who worship the Drowned God will be inspired with a deep-seated awe and obedience. 5. Unknown. 6. Unknown. ————

The fifth attribute has changed: 5. Divine Power Devouring: It can absorb the power of gods and turn it into its own power.

You have absorbed the God of "Life Loan", your Strength +5, Agility +5, Spirit +10.

Euron sensed the cold and eerie power of the rules surging into his body—"Life Loan." Its core was simple: the lives killed would be transformed into pure life energy, stored within him. This energy could be used to prolong his own lifespan or bestowed upon others.

A thought involuntarily flashed through Euron's mind: "So, does that mean I can easily have countless descendants like old Frey?"

But the thought only lasted a moment. Euron glanced at the shattered, lifeless statue of the evil god on the altar behind him, a disdainful sneer playing on his lips. "Prosperity" gained through theft and sacrifice is nothing but a tree without roots, destined to backfire.

Euron didn't linger any longer, turned around and slowly walked out of the dark room filled with sin.

Once outside, Euron gave a brief order to the Ironborn and Winterfell warriors waiting outside: "Bring oil, pour it in, and burn it."

The soldiers moved swiftly, pouring buckets of thick, black oil into every corner of the dark room. As a torch was thrown in, a raging inferno instantly engulfed everything. The firelight illuminated Euron's expressionless face, and utterly reduced the altar, the statues, and all the blasphemous objects associated with the evil god to ashes.

The towering flames seemed to be the most thorough purification and end to this dark history.

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