Chapter 282 Digging Dragon Eggs
King's Landing.
The Red Fort, the king's palace.
"Cough cough cough..."
Viserys looked sluggish, leaning on the bed, coughing violently.
Grand Scholar Melos stood aside and spoke slowly: "Your Majesty, you are infected with the cold and should pay attention to rest."
"How can that be done? I still have a lot of things to deal with."
Viserys suppressed a cough and panted: "How are the preparations for the tournament? The nobles in the north also want to inform me that I will hold a grand event that will be heard throughout the Seven Kingdoms!"
The time for the tourney is getting closer and closer every day.
In order for the eldest son to have an unprecedented coming-of-age ceremony, the tournament must be grand enough to go down in history.
"With all due respect, you should leave this matter to the queen and princess." Melos said helplessly.
"No! They are women, how can they understand the significance of the tournament."
Viserys refused without thinking.
Melos shook his head and sighed: "Then you should also take care of your health. I think the prince doesn't want you to be dragged down by worldly affairs."
Viserys clutched his chest and forced a smile.
As soon as his thoughts crossed his mind, he wondered, "Rhaena and the others are back, and Rhaegar is going to Volantis for fun. Why does it take so long?"
If he remembered correctly, Rhaenyra had said that Rhaegar had gone to Volantis for diplomatic purposes.
Half a month has passed and no news has been sent back, which is really worrying.
Meros' eyelids twitched and he said vaguely: "The people of Volantis are very warm, and the prince must have been warmly received."
Hearing this, Viserys smiled helplessly: "The brat has controlled the biggest wild dragon king, no one dares not to entertain him well."
He had heard rumors that the eldest son was "domineering" in the riverlands.
He wanted to chat a few more words, but he couldn't catch his breath. Viserys' face turned red and he coughed uncontrollably.
"Ahem, I'll drink the medicine later. Please step back first."
Viserys waved his hand and told the Grand Maester to retire.
Melos knew that the king's physical condition was not a big problem, so he put on his backpack and walked out of the palace.
boom--
The door was closed, and coughs could be heard from time to time in the bedroom.
Melos did not return to the attic to rest, but walked all the way to the open-air corridor of the Red Castle.
Rhaenyra, dressed in a red dress, sat on a bench, looking out at the gallery in a daze.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Rhaenyra came to her senses for a moment, holding a piece of letter tightly in her hand.
"Your Highness Princess." Melos saluted respectfully.
"Thank you for your hard work, Grand Maester."
Rhaenyra turned around and smiled.
Melos shook his head: "The king's health is still good, but he should not be too tired. You must persuade and share the burden appropriately."
"I will."
Rhaenyra pursed her lips and said hesitantly, "Don't tell my father about Rhaegar yet."
The ravens of Volantis arrived in King's Landing yesterday and returned Rhaegar's handwritten letter.
While Viserys was busy planning the tourney, Meros delivered the letter to Rhaenyra.
Rhaenyra read the letter, anxious and annoyed.
Targaryen should not be allowed to wander into a place like the Sea of Smoke.
Considering that her father was not in good health recently, she wanted to keep the matter secret.
To avoid extraneous branches.
Melos knew what the princess meant and did not reject it blindly. He muttered: "The prince said in his letter that he would be back in a month, but the actual situation is difficult to predict."
As a bachelor, he clearly knew that Yanhai was a dangerous place.
History is not without the remaining dragon kings of the Freehold Empire commanding an army and riding dragons back to the old site of Valyria.
But in fact, the giant dragon and the naval fleet of one hundred thousand people disappeared after entering the sea of smoke.
The prince went to the Sea of Smoke to explore, taking a high degree of risk.
Rhaenyra's eyes were lowered and she said solemnly: "Rhaegar is not an impulsive person. He clearly stated in the letter that he has the sea map and the address of the ruins, and he will definitely return on time."
"I hope so. Legendary people have legendary experiences."
Melos had a frown on his face and had no intention of arguing.
After the Conqueror's War, only a handful of people could become legends.
Taming the King of Wild Dragons, burning the Kingdom of Three Women, becoming the Emperor for a Day...
These experiences are enough for a newly adult crown prince to write a legendary story.
Rhaenyra held her forehead helplessly and waved for the other party to go down.
"I will keep it a secret." Melos said and walked away silently.
Rhaenyra sighed deeply and said melancholy: "Rhaegar, you must come back soon."
King's Landing is a sewer with leaks from all sides, and the news cannot be kept secret for long.
After her trip to Storm's End, she noticed an evil wind blowing in the court.
She couldn't stop this evil wind, and Rhaegar needed to deal with it himself.
the other side.
Melos walked down the open-air corridor and came to the door of the queen's palace.
Dong Dong...
There was a knock on the door.
…
Sea of smoke, underground ruins.
As Rhaegar and his party passed through the dark tunnel, they heard the sound of running water.
"Is there a source of water?" Rhaegar listened intently.
Robert whispered: "Sir, there are some green plants on the shore, and there may be undercurrents underground."
"It makes sense, let's take a look first and then talk."
Rhaegar led the team forward, dozens of torches lighting up the tunnel.
Soon, a winding underground river appeared in front of us.
Rhaegar's eyes did not stay on the slightly turbulent underground river, but fell on the rugged black rocks on the shore.
I leaned over and touched the rock. The texture was crispy.
Crush some crumbs and smell it, mixed with a sulfur smell.
Rega looked around. The area around the underground river and the walls of nearby caves were all covered with this kind of rock. He whispered, "This is gray rock with dried magma. There should have been underground lava here."
"What about this underground river?" Robert was full of doubts.
Rega stood up, clapped his hands, and thought: "The doomsday catastrophe has changed the tectonic plates, and the undercurrent is what circulates after the disaster."
Otherwise, there shouldn't be limestone in the crypt and the tunnel wouldn't be so dry.
After finding the right direction, the group of people followed the undercurrent downstream.
According to the information from the smuggling ship, the broken stone tablet was found at the end of the tunnel.
As soon as he moved out of the crypt, he was attacked by stone people and fled.
Now that we have passed the tunnel, we can only explore the ruins on our own.
As we walked, the crypt gradually opened up.
The undercurrent becomes wider and wider, running through the river channel where the limestone accumulates.
The space suddenly becomes larger, giving people a sense of openness and contrast.
Rhaegar paid attention to his surroundings as he walked, feeling an indescribable feeling for a moment.
This kind of crypt is somewhat similar to the Dragon Mountain Lair on Dragonstone Island.
It's also a bit like a dragon pit under a dragon's lair.
Suddenly, a huge claw mark appeared on the cave wall.
Rhaegar narrowed his eyes slightly, comparing them with the claw marks of the glutton in his memory.
"It's the mark of a dragon's claws."
Thinking silently in his heart, Rhaegar suspected that this ruins was originally a dragon lair of the Belerys family.
The claw marks on the cave wall are undoubtedly dragon claw marks, but they are not as big as those of the glutton.
It was probably left behind by an adult dragon similar in size to Red Queen Melias.
Forget it about Korakxiu. Its breed is different from ordinary dragons. Its hind feet are small and have wing membranes, so it cannot leave such deep marks.
Dang rang rang…
After a while, the group of people came to a corner, and there was a clanking sound of rocks being hit.
Rega perked up and turned to wink at the mercenaries.
When the mercenaries heard the sound, they consciously lowered their movements and quietly dispersed to both sides of the corner, holding scimitars on standby.
Rhaegar quietly approached the corner, hiding the torch behind him, and looked inside.
After many times of knowledge infusion, his strong mental power enhanced his five senses, and his eyes could see something clearly in a dim environment.
Behind the corner is an empty crypt.
There is no longer limestone here, but there are more black lumps.
Rhaegar recognized the object, it was dried dragon dung.
When he was repairing Harrenhal, he often sent people to collect manure from Dragonstone and King's Landing. Whether it was fresh or old, he knew what it was like.
Obviously, the dragon dung in the cave has accumulated over time.
Dang clang...
Rega glanced briefly, focusing on the corner where the knocking sound came from.
There was a flickering firelight, illuminating a dark area.
Several thin figures wearing black robes and shaved heads.
Rega squinted his eyes and vaguely saw the face of the man in black robe wearing a mask whose shape he couldn't see clearly.
What was even more surprising was that one of the men in black robes raised his arms and muttered something.
An ever-twisting shadow snake was wrapped around his arm, and its grotesquely flat snake head kept hitting the old dragon dung on the ground.
Every impact broke a large piece of the solid dragon dung into pieces, as if it was digging for something.
"Sir, they seem to be shadowbinders from Asshai, who have the witchcraft to control shadows."
Robert squatted under Rhaegar, his voice trembling.
"Quiet, I recognize you."
Rega looked solemn and waved his hands to the mercenaries on the left and right sides.
It's just a shadowbinder, it's not like he hasn't been killed before.
Not every Shadowbinder is as scary as the dead heads encountered on Crab Claw Peninsula.
The mercenaries acted according to the opportunity and took out their bows and arrows and pointed them at the flickering fire.
"put!!"
Rhaegar shouted loudly, and instantly fired a volley of arrows.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
A round of arrows passed by, and there seemed to be several screams coming from inside.
Rhaegar turned a deaf ear and continued to order: "Let it go again!"
A man cannot withstand the arrows, and he will not be merciful.
Several rounds of arrows fell until the mercenary's quiver was empty.
In the cave, the torches were extinguished long ago in the rain of arrows, and they fell into darkness.
"follow me!"
When the time came, Rhaegar pulled out the dragon's claw, and flames suddenly spread all over the sword, illuminating a large open space.
He is a pyromancer, and naturally restrains these sneaky shadowbinders.
The mercenaries held torches and swarmed past their employers.
Several men in black robes were shot into hedgehogs. They lay limply on the ground covered in blood, their limbs twitching subconsciously.
Rhaegar looked closer and saw that everyone was wearing a painted mask, no doubt the Shadowbinder.
"Ho ho..."
One of the Shadowbinders gasped violently and stared at Rhaegar, as if he wanted to speak.
"I...curse..."
Poof——
As soon as he opened his mouth, Rhaegar swung his sword down and chopped off his head.
Looking at the heads rolling on the ground, Rhaegar was still worried. The dragon's claws stabbed the head and body one after another, and the flames burned them to ashes.
"You still want to curse me, you really think you are the God of Death!"
Rhaegar sneered, and the dragon claw in his hand burst into flames, illuminating half of the cave for a moment.
"Sir, this seems to be a dragon egg."
Jobert's eyes widened as he squatted in the pile of dragon dung where the shadow monster hit, and held out a dusty dragon egg with both hands.
Hearing this, Rega turned his head and looked at the excavated dragon egg.
"Cunning man, you have to pay the price!"
Suddenly, a Shadowbinder who was hit by several arrows suddenly jumped up, roaring and pounced on Rhaegar, who had his back exposed.
From his arms, he took out a Mitsubishi cone-shaped dagger at some point and stabbed it out with a cold light.
Lei Jia's eyes flashed coldly, his body did not dodge, he turned the dragon claw in his hand, rubbed his waist and stabbed back.
With a pop, the sword pierced the flesh.
Before the Shadowbinder could stab out his dagger, his heart was pierced by a sharp dragon claw.
There was disbelief in his eyes, and he fell limply into the dragon dung.
