Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

In Braavos, at the checkered dock, heavy snow fell from the sky, covering the harbor with a layer of silver. On the sea, cargo ships lined up to be inspected by customs officials, while Braavos soldiers patrolled the streets fully armed, their faces solemn.

Since the last incident where White Walkers sneaked into the waters of Braavos, the Braavos authorities have increased patrols on the water and on land.

Although no one knows what the White Walkers wanted to do by sneaking in, and it would be impossible to interrogate them severely if they were captured alive, since they were already dead, it was never wrong to stop the enemy from doing what they wanted.

The only White Walker ever captured alive by humankind is now imprisoned in the underground dungeons of Braavos.

Once, Victalion and other artificial deep-sea creatures captured this unfortunate fellow from the seabed and hastily bound him with a dragonglass chain. However, this was not a long-term solution. After some time, they rebuilt an incredibly sturdy dragonglass cage and imprisoned the White Walker inside.

Meanwhile, humanity's research into the White Walkers never stopped. Braavos was a city-state with freedom of religion, and it consisted of hundreds of small islands that made up an island city. Among them was an island called the Isle of the Gods.

On the Isle of Gods, various faiths coexist, such as the Temple of the Moon Singer, the Temple of the Lord of Light, the House of Black and White, and the Church of the Seven Saints. Even the Sanctuary has become a "common courtyard," where all kinds of gods, large and small, from all over the world are enshrined, many of whom have been forgotten by the world.

Because of Braavos's free and diverse religious beliefs, the country is home to a diverse array of priests and monks. The King of Braavos invited these individuals with knowledge of the occult to collectively study the captured White Walker, hoping to achieve some breakthrough and help humanity defeat the White Walker and emerge from the Long Night.

Unfortunately, most of the people Aquaman invited were charlatans with no real skills. They could fool ordinary people, but when faced with a real White Walker, they were so frightened that their legs went weak and they couldn't help but turn around and run away before they even got close to it.

However, while most of these people were frauds, a small number of them did possess extraordinary skills. For example, in a brothel called "Happy Wharf" in Braavos, there was a prostitute named Ina who was a witch with hidden talents. There was also the high priest of the Temple of the Moonsingers, the priest of the Cult of the Red God, Machiro, the vice-principal of the Valyrian Imperial Theological Seminary, Dr. Marwyn, the Imperial Grand Scholar who possessed the Valyrian Steel Chain Ring, and so on.

When these people heard that Braavos was holding the only White Walker in the human world, they all rushed over from all over the world.

They began to study the White Walker. Machirro tried to melt it with a flame using a Cult of the Red Gods incantation, but to no avail. The High Priestess of the Moonsinger, a pale-haired woman, attempted to purify it with the Moonsinger's blessing, but the White Walker stared at her calmly, its eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, mockery or fear, as if looking at an inanimate object, a table, or a glass of water.

Aside from the dragon glass weapon that was plunged directly into the White Walker's body, and the Valyrian steel, they couldn't find any other weapon that could kill the White Walker. For the first time, these masters of magic and even sorcery felt utterly helpless.

"Don't these things have any weaknesses?"

The High Priestess of the Moon Chanter couldn't help but ask.

"Dragon crystal might be the biggest weakness of these things."

Dr. Marwin, who was about the same age as the High Priestess of the Moon, turned to look at the woman and then spoke.

"Dragon glass is much more mysterious than we imagined. The Valyrians call it 'frozen fire,' and glass candles are also made of dragon glass. Perhaps it is a gift from the earth to us."

Dr. Marvin came from the City of the Indus, and although the City of the Indus has long been broken up, many of his academic ideas still come from the City of the Indus.

Scholars had studied dragon crystal long ago. Dragon crystal is extremely sharp, even sharper than steel, but its drawback is that it is extremely fragile and will break if touched carelessly.

"Is it possible that the White Walkers, dragons, and dragon glass all originated from a mysterious underground world?"

"Therefore, only products of the underground world can harm it."

At that moment, Melisandre suddenly spoke up, and Dr. Marwyn, upon hearing her words, shifted his gaze from the High Priestess of the Moon to her.

Are the White Walkers from underground?

That's certainly a bold guess.

However, there is currently no evidence in academia to prove any connection between the White Walkers and the Underworld. On the contrary, one of the most radical academic arguments is that the White Walkers may have come from the heavens, brought by an extraterrestrial force from a meteorite eight thousand years ago.

There are many things that can corroborate this scholar's conjecture, such as the legend from the Yi lands, that the Bloodstone Emperor disrespected the gods of the Yi lands and instead worshipped a black stone that fell from the sky, which ultimately led to the arrival of the long night.

Because the White Walkers come from the heavens, they have the ability to influence celestial phenomena, such as reversing day and night, bringing long nights, and causing rising white mists and winter.

Although this conjecture was extremely outrageous and hard to accept, the atmosphere within the Citadel was one of diverse perspectives. While most maesters at the time did not believe that White Walkers truly existed, a small number of them still made their own speculations based on this.

Compared to the 'heavenly theory,' there is also the 'human-made theory,' which states that the Children of the Forest created these monsters to fight against the invasion of their ancestors. These monsters then broke free from the Children of the Forest's control and eventually turned into a world catastrophe. This speculation is also very bold, but after consulting with the Forest Child girl, Yezi, she denied it. The Children of the Forest have never mentioned this story in their generations of tradition, so it is most likely fabricated.

But no one has ever suggested any connection between the White Walkers and the Underworld, because only a few people know of the existence of the Underworld. The Underworld is an even more mysterious existence than the White Walkers, and there is no conclusive evidence to prove whether they actually exist or are just a legend.

Sensing Dr. Marwin's gaze, Melisandre pursed her lips slightly and then shook her head.

"This is just a guess."

"Perhaps dragon glass is exactly what counters the White Walkers."

Chapter 847 Sky-Piercing Light Pillar

"The White Walker doesn't feel like a dead person to me."

Dr. Marwin stroked his chin and then spoke.

"They are like...like a kind of humanoid intelligent being made of ice, living a different kind of life, devoid of humanity, elegant and dangerous."

After a long period of research, Dr. Marwin came to these conclusions. He was unsure whether his views were correct, but the many truly talented magicians present nodded in agreement, a rare occurrence.

Their research over this period has indeed piqued their interest in the White Walkers, not just to unravel their secrets and find a way for humans to defeat them, but to genuinely become fascinated by them.

The White Walkers are strange and beautiful, like ice sprites. These people present are among the most skilled in magic in the world, so it's not hard to understand why they would be interested in such a peculiar creature.

"To be honest, before I saw the White Walkers up close for the first time, I never imagined they would be like this."

Dr. Marwin remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Their bodies, the ice arrows, and the reflective, icy armor that allowed them to blend into their surroundings were like a calm pond."

"I'm pretty sure they're made of a kind of ice, but not ordinary ice; perhaps magic has bound them together."

"The White Walkers can use this ice to do things and create matter. The ancestors of the Stark family may have had their bodies reshaped by ice."

“We don’t know why it’s the Stark family, and why not others, but so far the White Walkers have only revived them, and no one else has.”

"Perhaps we should bring in someone with Stark blood to help with the research."

The Otherworldly creature in front of them was very 'obedient'; its hands and feet were bound by chains made of dragon glass, and it was imprisoned in a cage.

Dr. Marwyn didn't know if the person in front of him was a historical Winter King, because there was no trace of the Stark family on him. But when he deliberately mentioned the Stark family in front of him and used Common Tongue, he was carefully observing the other party's expression the whole time.

He wanted to know if the White Walker could understand him, so Melisandre was fine, but Ina and the High Priestess of the Moonsing looked completely bewildered.

They hadn't expected that Dr. Marvin, who had just been speaking in Higher Valyrian, would suddenly switch to Common.

When the prostitute Ina was young, she knew a few words of common language when she served customers, but she wasn't fluent. As for the high priestess Moonsinger, she didn't understand a single word.

To Dr. Marwyn's disappointment, however, when he brought up the Stark family in front of the White Walkers, and the possible connection between the Stark family and the White Walkers, the other party remained calmly seated, as if asleep.

However, the icy blue flames still flickering in its eyes prove that it has never been asleep.

The White Walker has been imprisoned in the underground dungeon of Braavos for several months. It neither eats nor drinks, nor does it need rest. It can always keep its eyes open and watch the soldiers who imprison it, to the point that the soldiers responsible for guarding it have broken down psychologically and even have suicidal tendencies.

Braavos prison then withdrew its human supervision of the White Walker, as humans gradually discovered that once confined in the dragonglass cage, the White Walker seemed to 'disconnect,' constantly in a daze and not continuing to struggle, thus gradually lowering their guard.

After saying these words, Dr. Marwyn carefully observed the White Walkers' reactions, then remained silent for a moment before suddenly slapping his forehead.

Snapped--

"A senile old man."

He forgot that the Stark family had the blood of the First Men flowing through their veins. Many ancient Winter Kings should theoretically not understand Common Tongue. They spoke the ancient language of the First Men, or some other more obscure language. He didn't know who this man was, but he might be an ancient Winter King before the Andal invasion.

The others present looked at Dr. Marvin with strange eyes, wondering what he was doing after rambling on and on and then slapping his forehead.

However, research on the White Walkers is indeed extremely difficult. Only through close contact with them and dedicated study can one discover that the White Walkers are not what they believe to be. In reality, they are not concrete things, and it is very difficult to describe them in words.

However, while the prostitute Ina, Melisandre, the vice-principal of the Imperial Theological Seminary, and the High Priestess of the Moonsinger were engrossed in studying the characteristics exhibited by this White Walker...

Not far from here, in another part of the city of Braavos.

Beneath the palace of the Father of Waters on the Isle of Gods lies an underground palace. The Father of Waters is the name of a forgotten deity who, according to his teachings, takes a bride every few years, and when he does, he renovates and rebuilds his palace.

There are very few believers in Braavos nowadays, but their faith is very strong and has never wavered. Every few years when they marry a bride, these believers will renovate the entire palace and spend a lot of money to find a young and beautiful virgin to stay in the palace for one night.

Miraculously, the woman then became pregnant without losing her virginity and gave birth to a baby boy. The baby boy was then taken away by the believers and never heard from again, making it impossible for the mother to find her child.

Now, beneath the palace of the Father of Waters on the Isle of Gods, an underground palace has been quietly built at some unknown time. Given that this place is repaired every few years, it would be quite simple for them to secretly dig out an underground palace without anyone knowing.

Inside this deep underground palace, a group of fanatical believers knelt and kowtowed repeatedly before an ice altar, which had been built long ago because these fanatical believers had suddenly received 'divine enlightenment' at that time.

The Great Father of Waters commanded his followers to build an underground palace beneath his own palace, without anyone knowing. He then instructed them to cooperate with a cold, icy man wrapped entirely in strips of cloth to build an altar of ice.

These fanatical believers had no doubts whatsoever. The will of the god was directly transmitted into their minds, so what was there to doubt? Therefore, they did as instructed without question and had no suspicion of this cold and mysterious man.

Subsequently, the ice altar was completed.

"Allah!"

"Father of all waters!"

In the underground palace, fanatical believers kowtowed before the icy altar, hoping to ascend to His divine kingdom. The world would eventually be destroyed under the long night, and they would be reborn after the birth of a new world.

Then, the cold-looking person, whose entire body was wrapped in strips of cloth, slowly walked up the steps of the ice altar and placed a black stone fragment the size of a human head at the core of the altar.

In an instant, an icy blue light tore through the ground above and shot straight into the sky, as if connecting with the other side of the world. The intense beam of light cleansed everything, radiated in all directions, and dispelled the boundless darkness, as if dawn had arrived.

Chapter 848 Sea King

A dazzling icy blue light shot straight into the sky, shattering the dome of the underground palace with devastating force, and even overturning the palace of the Father of Waters that covered it.

Everyone in Braavos could hear the sound of the explosion and then see the pillar of light. This extraordinary sight terrified many people.

Some clever people immediately sensed something was wrong and felt that this strange sight must be something terrifying, especially since it was still the middle of the night. So they took off running away from the pillar of light. But some bolder people thought that the pillar of light might be some kind of treasure, and even ran in the opposite direction.

"Lord Neptune!"

"Lord Neptune!"

Ever since Neptune's palace was burned down by Viserys riding a dragon, although it was later rebuilt, the current Neptune, Thormor Freygar, has become more cautious, changing his residence every day for fear of assassination or divine intervention.

After all, the Dragon Stealing Incident back then proved that the mighty Braavos had no chance to fight back when faced with a dragon attack and could only passively take the beating. Although it did not fall, it was still unbearable to have a fast-flying dragon setting fires everywhere above its head.

Thormo Frega, completely naked and embracing his concubine, was fast asleep when he was suddenly awakened by an explosion.

"what happened?"

However, before he could even react to what was happening, a municipal official on night duty rushed over, and his bodyguard, Braavos's chief swordsman, also woke up and grabbed the rapier beside him.

"Lord Neptune, look outside!"

Thormo Frega was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He then calmed his concubine down, put on a nightgown, and walked out of the room. He looked outside and then suddenly froze on the spot.

"This is..."

Inside a towering tower in the Sea King's Palace, the young Sea King stood frozen, staring at the blue pillar of light that seemed to connect heaven and earth rising into the distance.

He didn't know what it was because it was beyond his comprehension.

But Thormo Frega had, after all, become the King of Braavos through a series of fiercely contested elections, so he was no fool. He was only slightly stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening and quickly spoke up.

What kind of place is that?

"It might be in the direction of the Isle of Gods, sir."

The municipal official next to Neptune carefully examined the matter and then spoke up.