Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 388 Nas Island - The People of Peace

The giant wings of the thousand-year-old dragon Halsien whipped up a fierce wind, casting shadows on the tranquil coastline of Nas Island.

As the colossal creature slowly descended into a clearing in the forest, the colorful birds that had been playing among the trees scattered in panic, and the Nas people hiding among the leaves were terrified.

They put down their lutes and woven baskets and quickly disappeared into the dense acacia forest like a herd of startled deer.

Only when two figures nimbly leaped off the dragon's back and stood in the sun-drenched forest did the eyes that had been hiding behind trees and in rock crevices cautiously reopen. They clung tightly to the arms of their loved ones, filled with both fear and barely concealed curiosity—for the first time in thousands of years, outsiders had descended upon their homeland riding legendary creatures.

Alicia's soft voice echoed along the silent coastline: "I am Alicia, Queen of the Isle of Women, and a friend of your Queen Freya."

Euron stood quietly beside her, his gaze calmly fixed on the rustling woods, patiently awaiting a response.

A moment later, the branches and leaves of the acacia tree were gently parted like a curtain by a delicate hand.

Freya slowly emerged from the depths of the woods, the morning light filtering through the leaves, casting a hazy glow upon her.

She wore a freshly woven floral crown, her dark skin like the night shrouded in mist, making her amber eyes appear even brighter—a gentle, reassuring quality, like honey melting in the forest. She had a beautiful oval face, with smooth, graceful lines, and her thin lips held a hint of a smile when slightly pursed. At approximately 1.7 meters tall, she appeared graceful and elegant, her curves flowing naturally beneath her white silk dress, like a magnolia blooming serenely in the moonlight.

She stood amidst the dappled shadows of the trees, resembling a black elf straight out of the legends of Nath Island. Even the well-traveled Euron couldn't help but slightly lower his gaze.

As if sensing the tranquility of this land and the unease of its inhabitants, Halsien, upon touching the ground with its massive body, relinquished the majesty befitting a thousand-year-old dragon. It slowly lowered its scaly head, almost touching the soft sand, and obediently folded its wings to its sides, curling itself into a gentle mountain.

It lay there motionless, only its golden eyes slowly turning, gently following the figures that appeared and disappeared in the forest. There was no predator's sharpness in its gaze, but rather a knowing curiosity, as if silently telling the terrified Nas people: there is no need to be afraid.

Freya's gaze first fell on Halsien's massive body, and then she recognized her friend standing in the shadow of the dragon's wings.

Her golden amber eyes lit up with surprise: "Alicia, is it really you!?"

Alicia stepped forward, smiling and opening her arms, letting Freya flutter into her embrace like a light butterfly. The two women embraced in the woods, as if trying to melt all the longing of the past years into this hug.

To Euron's surprise, after Freya released Alicia, she fearlessly walked towards the prostrate thousand-year-old dragon. She met Halsien's gaze, reached out her slender hand, and gently stroked the iridescent scales on Halsien's neck, her fingertips carrying the unique tenderness of the Nathians.

"Aren't you afraid of it?" Euron's voice held a hint of curiosity.

Freya turned and smiled, the morning light dancing on her dark skin. "Its eyes tell me that it, like us, loves peace and abhors war." Her palm remained pressed against the dragon scales, feeling the steady heartbeat beneath her. "How could such a creature harm me?"

Euron looked at the woman who appeared particularly petite under the dragon's wings and smiled, "You are the first person who, after seeing it, was neither afraid nor had any thought of harming it."

Freya then noticed the strange man beside Alicia. She blinked apologetically, "Sorry, I was so busy talking to Alicia. Are you one of her friends?"

Euron nodded slightly and said, "Euron Greyjoy."

Freya turned to face her tribesmen still hiding in the forest, her voice clear and melodious: "Come out, all of you. They are friends who have come with good intentions." Seeing that they were still hesitant, she gently placed her palm on Halsien's scales and said softly, "Look at its eyes. They are golden, just like ours, like the gentlest fawn in the forest. It will not harm anyone."

As if to confirm her words, Halsien suddenly stuck out his rough tongue and gently licked Freya's cheek.

She chuckled softly at the unexpected intimacy, her silvery laughter echoing along the shore: "It tickles!"

Seeing this, the Nas hiding behind the tree finally took the first step cautiously.

A few of the bolder Nas children couldn't contain their curiosity and peeked out from behind their parents, tentatively reaching out their little hands to touch the scales of the Thousand-Year Dragon.

The children gasped in delight as they felt the warm touch on their fingertips.

Halsien let out a comfortable, low hum from its throat, a sound like the gentle plucking of an ancient harp string. It then extended its tongue, covered in fine barbs, and gently licked the children's cheeks, making them giggle and laugh, melting away the last bit of barrier between them.

As if the ice and snow were melting in the spring sunshine, more and more Nas people emerged from the depths of the woods.

Holding earthenware jars filled with amber-colored mead and carrying wicker baskets brimming with tropical fruits, peaceful smiles returned to their faces.

Before long, people sat in a circle on the clearing in the woods, their laughter and chatter carried on the wind, weaving together with the sound of the distant waves into a wonderful melody.

Euron stood quietly to the side, silently watching the incredible scene before him.

These Nath people sat around the dragon without any suspicion, their fingertips tracing the hard scales as if caressing the cheeks of a loved one. Their eyes shone with pure joy, without a trace of the vigilance and sharpness that should be present in such a chaotic world.

Euron narrowed his heterochromatic eyes slightly. Such a tribe, which neither wields swords nor fortifies its cities, has managed to survive to this day on the narrow sea, where pirates roam and slave traders run rampant. It's as if a solitary lamp has never been extinguished in the storm.

In a daze, he suddenly understood—it was precisely this pure indifference to worldly affairs, this nature that they were unwilling to harm even wild beasts, that made them recognized as the most suitable people to be slaves in the known world of the survival of the fittest.

Freya never inquired about Alicia's purpose for visiting, nor did she try to find out Euron's intentions. In her view, friends gathering together was the most natural thing in the world, just as the tide would rise on the beach on time and acacias would bloom during the rainy season.

Queen Nath simply took Alicia's hand, tucked a freshly picked star-shaped flower into her hair, then turned to Euron with a completely untroubled smile, handing him a ceramic cup filled with mead. She treated this Ironborn captain, whom she had just met, no differently than she had treated Alicia, whom she had known for half her life—simply because Alicia had said, "He is a friend."

This unreserved trust is as pure as the clearest stream on Nas Island, yet it is also so fragile that it frightens onlookers.

Euron gazed at Freya, who was playing with children, and watched as she gently placed a petal on Halsien's nose, the dragon purring contentedly in response. The words "people of peace" rolled silently between his lips, for the first time no longer a cold judgment, but imbued with warmth.

If his golden sea monster flag could truly bring peace to this tranquil land amidst the chaos of the world, allowing these people, whom even butterflies wouldn't dare disturb, to continue singing their songs, it would indeed be a commendable act of kindness. This thought, like moonlight on the sea, gently rippled through his usually calm and calculating mind.