Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

"Flame does not lie."

"This is different from worshipping false gods in a temple of lies."

The two walked and talked in the long corridor, with the Hands of Holy Fire, clad in magnificent armor and orange cloaks, wielding flaming spears, everywhere on both sides. They were the guardians of the entire temple.

Benello's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, because in Westeros, the Red God's followers often used this to attack the Seven's followers, arguing that they were worshipping a non-existent god, a false god worshipped in a temple of lies.

Fortunately, Asha does not believe in the Seven Gods, and her faith in the Drowning God is not particularly strong; she only prays to him when necessary.

"Darkness and destruction."

Then Benello paused slightly, and Asha, not understanding why, also stopped.

Then I saw a tall, thin man with pale skin and flame tattoos on his chin and bald head raise his hand and point into the distance.

That was the end of the road leading to the Temple of Rahllo. On a solitary, towering red wall, two Valyrian runes that Asha couldn't understand were faintly engraved. It looked like countless years had passed. And beneath this solitary red wall was a tattered futon.

When Asha saw the two intricate runes, her mind went completely blank, as if she had fallen into some kind of hallucination. Fortunately, Asha's will was strong enough that she shook her head and broke free from the hallucination. Her eyes were filled with disbelief, and she was breathing heavily.

"What's this..."

Asha looked up at Benello in shock and asked in confusion.

Although she knew these were ancient runes from Valyria, she didn't recognize them. At the same time, she didn't know what had just happened to her; her mind suddenly went blank, as if she had been drugged.

Could it be because of these two Valyrian runes?

"Their meaning is darkness and destruction."

Benello turned his head slightly and looked at Asha in surprise, because an ordinary person would not break free so quickly when seeing it for the first time. Then he began to explain.

"This temple was built along with the city of Valantis. Originally, there was a square here, and then this temple appeared out of nowhere."

"These two runes appeared along with the temple, and no one knows who left them behind."

Benello was not joking, because Valantis is the oldest free trading city-state, the first colony of the Valyrian Freehold. It was originally just a military outpost, but according to records from that time, there was never a temple to the Red God; it was just a square.

No one mentions Valantis in any of the past documents describing it. No one knows when it was built or who built it. Moreover, this magnificent building is three times larger than the Great Cathedral of St. Belle and could not have been built in just one or two years, yet there is no record of it in the long history.

Because the people from that time are long gone, there is no way to verify it, and it has stood quietly on the east side of the long bridge in later generations.

"Darkness and destruction."

"The truth is hidden in two different places."

The bald man, whose head was covered in flame runes, sighed deeply.

“Once this matter is settled, I will send my messenger, Machiro, to King's Landing to meet His Majesty and tell him these truths, not that woman from Assassin.”

As for you...

Then Benello paused slightly halfway through his sentence, a flame seemingly burning deep in his eyes, before turning around and scrutinizing Asha Greyjoy from head to toe, sending chills down her spine once more and raising goosebumps all over her body.

“You have the lingering aura of an evil god on you; you’ve been targeted.”

Chapter 720 The Deep Ones

As Benello finished speaking, in another corner of Valantis City...

Located west of the Lorne River, this place was inhabited by mercenaries, foreigners, slaves, and commoners. The roads were dilapidated, the houses were old and run-down, and the streets were filled with all sorts of people.

In this place, which is completely opposite to the Upper East Side and seems to be in a different city, there is an unremarkable, dilapidated two-story building facing the street.

The small building was entirely black, with some mottled marks on the walls, exposing what was inside. The front door was always tightly closed, and the neighbors had hardly ever seen the owner come out. Even the windows were covered up, so no light could get in.

Rumor has it that the owner of this place was an exiled nobleman from across the Narrow Sea, but he never returned after a voyage many years ago, and may have died.

However, some people believed these people's words. They were probably drunkards who couldn't find a place to sleep, and thieves who were a little short of money and guessed that there might be gold and silver hidden in the mansion of a wandering nobleman.

But once they entered the gloomy and dark building, they never came out again. People gradually realized this and began to spread rumors that it had become a 'haunted house,' so they avoided it and were unwilling to go near it.

However, all the dead were insignificant social scum, so they did not attract much attention from the authorities. Apart from the people living nearby, this place gradually became a forbidden zone that no strangers were allowed to enter.

However, right now, in this very black hut that is considered a forbidden zone, a figure is swaying slowly.

"He's back..."

"He came to see me..."

The figure trembled as if talking to himself, or perhaps to someone unseen hidden in his heart. His voice was hoarse, like the sound of blades rubbing together, sending chills down one's spine.

"No, he didn't come to me; it was someone else."

“Asha Greyjoy, a woman from House Greyjoy, she is his subordinate.”

The voice talking to itself recognized the Greyjoy family; those names were still etched in its hazy mind, but it had no recollection of Asha.

It wasn't that he had a bad memory; Asha was only a few years old when he left Westeros, and the heir to House Greyjoy wasn't this girl, but also Rodrik and Marlen. He only heard of her name later, after the Iron Fleet's visit.

The figure in the room remained silent for a long time, seemingly finally calming down and regaining his senses. He then spoke to himself again, this time with an unusually calm voice.

"She is not dead."

Ever since he escaped, he had been hiding in Valantis in fear, terrified that death would come knocking on his door again. He was afraid of that person, or more accurately, afraid of the familiar scent emanating from him.

He was so familiar with that smell that it became the source of countless nightmares.

The crazed monster, the humanoid creature with fish fins on its back, the shrill screams of his companions, the torn corpses, the blood splattered everywhere—all these scenes made it difficult for him to sleep.

Although he is now hiding in Valantis, he rarely goes out. Every time he does, it is in the dead of night, and he has to cover himself up completely, for fear that others will see him as he is now, and more importantly, he is afraid of seeing himself.

Therefore, the doors and windows of this small house were tightly closed, even completely sealed off, so that no light could be seen, and there were no mirrors in the room.

"She's not dead..."

"I was so well prepared."

His voice was low and hoarse, and his hand was stroking the scales on his cheek. His once free-moving fingers had somehow become webbed.

And on his back was a fish fin just like the one he had seen before. He could breathe freely underwater and swim hundreds of miles a day.

Now, after just standing there for a while, a puddle of water has appeared under his feet. So many years have passed, and he has unknowingly become the monster he once saw, but he still cannot accept this outcome.

Just then, a bolt of lightning flashed outside the window, followed by a rumble of thunder. The lightning illuminated his grotesque face, which was no longer human, and a heavy rain began to pour down.

The last time he heard about the Imperial fleet's visit, a long-forgotten fear rose in his heart, as if that familiar feeling was rushing towards him again.

He was terrified that Viserys would find him, and he lived in constant fear.

Therefore, he decided to strike first. He took out some money, disguised himself as a mysterious man, and hired a mercenary group to assassinate Asha Greyjoy, so that the Iron Throne fleet would stop at Tyrosh and not continue eastward.

However, the assassination attempt failed, and Asha Greyjoy was rescued and escaped death. He witnessed the scene from a short distance away and felt as if it were fate. Therefore, he was so frightened that he fled back to Volantis in a panic.

He had no idea what happened afterward.

All the prisoners in the prison in Tyrosi were strangled to death by the stranglers. The bribed jailer claimed that a Valantean with a flame tattoo on his face had given him the poison. He said that this had nothing to do with him and that someone else had taken the opportunity to frame him in an attempt to muddy the waters of the trading city-state.

However, he didn't care if someone framed him, because he wasn't even human anymore, so why would he care about such things?

But Asha's arrival reminded him of unpleasant memories, which gradually surfaced...

He had murdered that poor maester and then infiltrated Viserys's inner circle under his identity.

As an inside man for the Iron Throne, he provided a wealth of information about the Targaryen family, but was unexpectedly exposed a few years later.

Viserys, remembering their past friendship, gave him a cup of poison to send him on his way. He was already heartbroken, so he took the cup and drank it all, then bled from all seven orifices and died.

However, when he opened his eyes again, he was not in heaven or the seventh level of hell, but in a pitch-black tomb.

Something seemed to be hidden within him, perhaps a curse or a virus, which wouldn't allow him to die like this. The presence of the poisoned wine happened to trigger it, bringing him back to life.

He then dug up his own grave and escaped, making some disguises at the scene to make it look like it was dug up by someone else rather than dug from the inside.

Then he fled.

Chapter 721 Gillian Lannister

Gillian Lannister, Tywin Lannister's youngest brother.

He once sailed from Lannesport to Volantis aboard the Laughing Lion, intending to explore the Valyrian ruins and retrieve his family's Valyrian steel sword, Light Howl. He never returned after that, and has not been seen for more than ten years.

Everyone thought he was dead, but in fact Gillian was still alive and became the longest-living of Tywin's brothers.

Tywin was beheaded in King's Landing after his defeat. Kevan was killed more than a decade earlier while pursuing the second prince of the Targaryen family. Tygate died even earlier, in 285 Aegon's year, from smallpox.

Gillian, on the other hand, struggled to survive. He did not die in the Valyrian ruins, but managed to escape from the monster.

However, although he managed to escape, he seemed to be cursed by that mysterious soil. He drank the poisoned wine and died, but the curse took effect and brought him back to life, only as a half-human, half-fish monster.

If he could get to know Benjen Stark, the two might have some common ground.

However, compared to Benjen, who was trapped on the ice field, Gillian didn't seem to be in much better shape.

Benjen lost his life, his soul residing only in his dead body, while Gillian was resurrected. His body still had warmth, still needed to eat flesh and blood, and would bleed when injured, but he had become a complete monster.

Even Gillian himself couldn't accept his own changes and became passive and escapist.

"I can't run away anymore."

After a long silence in the deep, dark room, Gillian's soliloquy was heard again, his voice now completely calm.

Ever since he dug up his own grave and escaped, Gillian had been filled with unease. He felt as if someone was watching him from the shadows, and it seemed like they were getting closer and closer, which was why he hid himself completely.

Gillian felt that the person searching for him was Viserys, because only on him could he smell that familiar scent.

Although Gillian kept a low profile, he was quite concerned about the situation on Westeros.

He knew that the silver-haired boy had already conquered the Seven Kingdoms and ascended the Iron Throne by riding a dragon, using Andalus and Pentos as stepping stones.

He has also destroyed House Lannister, and now the 'Blackheart' Toyn, formerly of Stormlands, occupies Casterly Rock. Their motto is 'Fly High and Far,' and his brother Tywin Lannister was beheaded in King's Landing.

If Gillian had known about this in the past, he would have been furious and vowed to avenge his family. However, these things no longer even aroused his anger.

No one could understand how he felt, but he seemed to be completely immersed in a kind of fear. The feeling that danger was approaching step by step almost overwhelmed his nerves, making him feel that everyone around him was someone who wanted to frame him.

Therefore, everyone who accidentally enters this place will disappear without a trace, and even their bodies will not be found, because they have all become his food and were eaten alive by him.

Now Gillian believes that the Iron Throne sent a fleet on a mission to search for his whereabouts.

However, Viserys had no idea he was still alive. When his grave was desecrated, Viserys assumed that the Lannisters had stolen his body for burial.

But Gillian was unaware of all this. His fragile and sensitive nerves were stimulated, so he believed that he had to strike first.

"I want to kill her myself!"