Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

However, Viktorion underestimated the monster's defenses. Its fish-scale body was like armor. When the axe struck the monster's chest, Gilian let out a sharp roar, and blood flowed down instantly. It was cleaved open, its skin torn and flesh exposed, even revealing some of its bones.

This was almost a fatal wound, but instead of retreating, he lunged forward as if enraged.

Victalion hadn't expected his opponent to have the ability to fight back. He reacted very quickly, but his opponent still bit his arm, almost severing it. A piece of flesh was torn off, and his body was instantly covered in blood.

Victalion's cheek muscles twitched suddenly, and he let out a painful groan as he threw the giant axe in his hand onto the corridor.

Just as Gillian was about to pounce and bite through Victalion's throat, he was stopped by the crowd that had gathered around him, saving Victalion.

"What kind of monster is this?"

"Quick! Quick!"

"Stop him!"

The sudden outbreak of the battle attracted more and more onlookers. After all, the Merchant's House housed so many guests, and there were also Tiger Robe Army soldiers patrolling near the Upper City. It was impossible for them to let go of the fact that several of their colleagues had been killed in a surprise attack, so they all came after them.

"Kill him!"

"Let's all attack and kill him!"

Then a brown-haired mercenary, holding a longsword, stepped forward and spoke first. "Many hands make light work. If it were just a few people, they might not dare to rush up if they saw such a monster, but now there are quite a few mercenaries, guards, and Tiger Robe Army soldiers gathered around this battlefield."

They all gripped their weapons tightly and surrounded the monster, intending to kill it together.

Although Gillian was furious and let out a low, painful growl, he still retained a sliver of reason.

Blood was still flowing from the wound in his chest, and more and more humans were gathering around. It was no longer possible for him to kill the woman assigned by Viserys, and he might even die here himself.

Then the monster roared and charged towards the weakest point in the group, where the mercenaries were caught off guard and had their throats bitten off.

Gillian landed on all fours, just like the monster he had seen years ago. He moved with extreme agility, smashed through the window, and jumped outside, leaving a long trail of blood. Then, he disappeared into the darkness with a few leaps and bounds.

The battle lasted only a few minutes, but it was extremely thrilling. Including the three Tiger Robe Army soldiers who died outside, the monster killed a total of five people in a short period of time.

Finally, the captain of the Invincible Iron Seed severely injured the enemy with an axe, thus stopping it from continuing its slaughter.

Unfortunately, the monster, which should have been seriously injured or even waiting to die, seemed to be unharmed and still jumped out of the window and escaped.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Victorion, whose arm had been bitten off, nearly fainted due to excessive blood loss.

"Quick! Someone, save him!"

Fortunately, this is the largest inn in Valantis. While there are no scholars on the continent of Essos, there are healers.

An elderly man with gray hair who was well-versed in pharmacology was invited over. He first sprinkled some medicinal powder on the wound to stop the bleeding from the burly man's arm, then added some herbal paste, and finally wrapped it with a clean, soft cloth.

The healers on Valantis' side gave Victalion a simple bandage; otherwise, if the bleeding continued, his life might not be in danger.

...

"This is a legendary monster."

The next morning, after her uncle Victorion had passed the critical period, Asha once again visited Benello, the High Priest of the Cult of the Red God.

This time, she couldn't blame the governor of Valantis, because this time it wasn't someone trying to assassinate her, but a complete monster.

Furthermore, the mysterious High Priest had reminded her of this during the day yesterday, but Asha didn't quite understand it at the time and therefore didn't take it to heart.

But after this incident, Asha could no longer ignore it, so she rushed over to ask the other party for advice.

After listening to Asha's description of the monster, Benello narrowed his eyes slightly and then spoke.

“One of your maesters in Westeros, named Sirren Pike, wrote a book in which a monster similar to the one you described appeared.”

After the monster escaped yesterday, the pursuers followed the trail of blood, only to find that it had disappeared into the Lorne River.

It seems to have jumped into the water to escape, but considering that it was covered in fish scales and had a fin on its back, perhaps the underwater area is where this monster roams.

"The book is titled *Strange Stones*. Scholar Sir Sirren believes in the existence of a humanoid monster that lives underwater, describing it as 'a strange, deformed race, half-human, half-beast offspring of creatures from the salt flats and human women.'"

Benello spoke in a hoarse voice, "It's hard to imagine that a top-ranking charlatan in the Red God Cult is also well-versed in various books."

Chapter 724 The Mystery of the Sea Monster

Sir Syllen, whose real name was Syllen Park, was a bastard son of an Iron Islands man who lived about a century ago.

He has a deep understanding of marine life and is one of the most professional scholars in the field. He is dedicated to researching and searching for evidence of the existence of some ancient sea monsters.

The monster described by Asha appeared in his manuscript "Strange Stones" and was named "Deep One" by Sir Sirren.

Scholar Sir Sirren found the remains of these monsters and believed they were the prototypes of mermaid myths, and that their ancestors, those marine creatures, were the prototypes of drowning god worship.

He also stated that the ancient buildings on the island, the foundations of the towering tower, and the sea stone positions were all built from a similar black stone, and the origin of these buildings is unknown. Therefore, he presumed that they were all creations of the Deep Ones.

However, his hypothesis was later refuted by another doctor in the Citadel, Dr. Corleone, who argued that although the foundations of the Seastone and the Tower of the Sky were both built with blackstone, they were not the same type of blackstone.

The Sea Stone Position is an oily black stone with a slightly greasy surface that seems to absorb all light, while the foundation of the Tower of Heaven is a dry black stone with a completely different feel and appearance.

Furthermore, the Sea Stone is a naturally formed strange rock, and no one knows who created it. According to legend, this black rock was already lying quietly on the beach of Old Wake Island before the early settlers landed on the Iron Islands. Scholar Cox speculated that it was brought and left by visitors from the Sunset Sea.

The ancient buildings on the island of conquest clearly show signs of artificial carving and are similar to many of the black stone buildings left by Valyrian dragon kings in Dragonstone and the trading city-states.

It is suspected that many years ago, guests riding dragons visited the Old Town, but current history and archaeology cannot prove that Valyrians ever came to such a remote place as the Old Town.

These findings provide crucial evidence for pushing back the timeline of the dragons' existence, as the ancient architectural traces on the Isle of Conquest date back to before the arrival of the First Men in Westeros, a claim that also supports the Valyrian origin theory.

Because some scholars believe that they originated from the area of ​​present-day Oldtown in Westeros, and that they lived peacefully with the Children of the Forest, the Valyrians' history predates the First Men's arrival.

Their priests foretold a future crisis in Westeros that would sweep across the world—the coming of the Long Night—which is why the Valyrians fled their homeland.

However, there is currently no conclusive evidence to support the Valyrian origin theory.

While Dr. Corleone refuted Maester Syllenhaal's hypothesis that the Blackstone originated from the same source, he also affirmed the existence of the 'Deep Ones'.

He believes that the ancient architectural remains on the island of conquest and the labyrinth builders of Loras are the same kind of people, because they both built labyrinths. However, in the ancient legends of Loras, these labyrinth builders were eventually killed by marine creatures, possibly half-human, half-fish deep-sea creatures or mermaids.

Currently, there is no consensus in academia as to whether the deep-sea divers are mermaids or simply merfolk, although some scholars hold this view.

"Am I being targeted by a mermaid?"

Asha Greyjoy paused slightly after hearing High Priest Benello's explanation.

She had never really believed in ghosts and spirits, yet what attacked her yesterday was indeed a monster. But considering its appearance—sharp fangs stained with blood and flesh, covered in fish scales and smooth skin, a pair of scarlet eyes...

Asha shivered slightly; she found it hard to associate this monster with the legendary, beautiful, and gentle mermaid.

The people of the Iron Islands believed that the greatest king of the ancient Iron Islands, Grey Sea King, married a mermaid and had a hundred sons. When Asha was a child, she heard this story and asked her fourth uncle, Ellen, "Mermaids don't have that thing down there, so how did Grey Sea King marry a mermaid and have a hundred sons?"

Asha had peeked through the crack in the door at the adults in bed, and even flicked her brother Theon's penis, making her more precocious than anyone else. Ellen Greyjoy was defeated by his niece's innocent questions and never told her a story again.

Now, Asha thought of the mermaid story her Uncle Ellen had told her, and when she thought of the monster she had encountered last night, she felt a deep chill.

If the mermaid and that monster are really the same thing, then she truly admires the Gray Sea King. He is indeed a werewolf, worthy of being the warrior who killed the sea dragon Naga.

"But it's alright, Your Excellency."

"Although the power of the evil god is terrifying, it is destined to be unable to contend with the true god."

The tall, thin priest of the Crimson God Church, with prominent facial features, spoke in a calm voice.

He had long sensed an evil aura emanating from Asha, as if something bad was targeting her.

But Benello did not expect that his opponent would make a move so quickly, especially in the bustling upper city of Valantis, the headquarters of the Cult of the Red God. This monster was far too disrespectful to him.

“You have been targeted by the servants of an evil god. You need the protection of the true god. Otherwise, once it recovers, it will come after you again, and you will not be able to escape so easily.”

Benello was telling the truth. This monster was half-human and half-fish, so launching an attack on land would not be friendly to it, especially in a bustling city like Valantis.

Asha would eventually have to leave by ship, but once she reached the open sea, she would be in the other party's territory, and the monster could come knocking on her door at any time.

Back then, there might not have been another Victalion to stop them. Now, although Victalion has passed the critical period, he still has a high fever and will definitely not recover anytime soon.

Furthermore, the other party has learned from its mistakes; even the most dim-witted animal knows this principle, let alone a monster like this. Next time it attacks, Asha probably won't be able to escape so easily.

"this…"

The woman with short black hair looked somewhat uncertain upon hearing Benello's words.

She knew that the other party wanted her to convert to the faith of the Red God. Benello was indeed the supreme priest of the Red God Church; even at this moment, he did not forget to preach.

However, as an Ironborn, she considers herself the true heir of the Iron Islands. Although she is not a Drowned One and her faith in the Drowned God may not be particularly firm, she still cannot easily betray the Drowned God. Otherwise, even her subordinates would not be able to explain themselves and would probably leave her.

"I cannot betray the Drowning God."

Asha's expression was uncertain. After pondering for a while, she finally shook her head and spoke.

Chapter 725 Fishing Gets the Bait

Benello kept a close eye on the woman's expression the whole time. He noticed a fleeting look of conflict on her face and knew that he couldn't force her to do this.

As a priest of the highest rank, understanding people's hearts is naturally his forte. He also knows that Asha is stubborn and that pushing her too hard could backfire.

"In that case, there is another way."

Benello's voice was somewhat shrill, and his eyes seemed to burn with flames, which also enveloped his lipless mouth.

“Your Excellency, you may remain in the temple and wait for him to come to you.”

"At that time, I will naturally take care of him myself."

"Will this... work?"

Asha frowned slightly upon hearing the High Priest's words, her face filled with worry.

She figured that unless the monster was an idiot, it wouldn't just blindly rush into the Temple of Laherlo; wouldn't that be courting death?

But Benello remained calm, shook his head, and spoke.

"If it doesn't come, you won't really lose anything, and your uncle can recover here smoothly."

"Moreover, I observe that the other party's actions seem somewhat reckless. They must have only recently been infected by the power of the evil god and have not yet completely fallen into corruption. They are still unaware of their own limitations."

"His audacity in committing violence in Valantis is tantamount to him not taking me seriously."

"Therefore, it may not be afraid to break into the temple and continue its rampage."

Benello spoke with great confidence, even arrogance. If this monster really came, Benello was confident he could deal with it.

After all, he was the highest priest of the Crimson God Cult, and was revered by believers as the 'Fire of Truth,' the 'Light of Wisdom,' the 'First Servant of the King of Light,' and the first-class high priest of the Crimson God Cult.

If he couldn't even handle such a small thing, Benello wouldn't have been able to hold his position in the talent-rich Red God Cult.

"This seems to be the best solution at the moment."