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BOOM!
Six dragons of vastly different shapes and sizes dove from the heavens, jaws gaping wide as every color of dragonflame erupted at once!
Sickly green, blazing red, bronze… the flames wove together into a searing net of death that swept across the enemy fleet below.
The entire Gullet turned into a blazing inferno. The air itself warped and shimmered from the heat.
The lead warships took the full brunt of the assault. Triarchy soldiers were still reeling from the shock of six dragons appearing at once when massive shadows swallowed the sky and deafening roars split their eardrums.
The next second, savage dragonfire licked across hulls. Planks exploded in showers of sparks. Sails vanished into ash in heartbeats.
"Save me!"
"Jump! Jump into the water!"
Screams rose everywhere. Men ran wildly across burning decks before hurling themselves into the sea. One ship after another became a roaring torch. Masts snapped with thunderous cracks. Entire vessels detonated, hurling flaming debris and cinders high into the air.
The whole stretch of sea glowed blood-red. Dragonfire rained down like falling suns, blasting any ship that dared block the way into splinters.
"Gods above! The sky is full of dragons!"
"The Targaryens emptied their entire dragon pit?!"
Triarchy soldiers stared upward in horror as their comrades' ships burned to cinders. Their scalps prickled. Their hands and feet went ice-cold.
Six dragons wheeled overhead, flames crisscrossing in a nightmarish, beautiful dance. None of them had ever seen anything like it. Not in a hundred years had so many dragons flown together — let alone fought as one.
"Damn those Targaryens! How do they control so many monsters?!"
On the rearmost flagship, the son of the Archon of Tyrosh clenched his fists, face twisted with rage and disbelief.
After the Doom of Valyria, dragons had nearly vanished from the world. Only the Targaryens still carried the blood of dragonlords and kept the eggs alive.
The Three Daughters had gathered over ninety warships for this raid, hoping to plunder the Blacks while they were distracted by King's Landing. They never expected to run head-first into six dragonriders.
"New orders!" he snarled through gritted teeth. "All ships turn! Evade the dragons!"
Regret and fury burned in his chest as the fleet began its desperate retreat.
"More Targaryen monsters! I refuse to accept this!"
On another warship, Sharako Lohar — body covered in old burn scars — watched ship after ship vanish in flames. His teeth ground together so hard they creaked.
He had come for revenge. He never imagined the Blacks could field six dragons at once. Had the Blacks and Greens already made peace? How else could they have so many?
The command spread. The Triarchy fleet swung about, oars thrashing wildly, desperate to escape.
No one could keep their courage when six dragons rained fire from above. The beasts kept diving, scorching anything that moved, giving them no chance to breathe.
"Hahaha! Beautiful work, Cannibal!"
Logar rode high on the black dragon, laughing wildly as another enemy ship disintegrated under green flames.
The screams of dying men and the thunder of exploding hulls sent adrenaline surging through his veins. His blood was on fire.
For a split second it almost felt like playing a video game back in his old world — the enemies' curses and death cries nothing more than background noise.
ROAR!
The Cannibal had fully entered his hunting frenzy. Wings beating like thunder, he dove, spewed green fire, then used the shockwave to capsize ships that survived the flames.
His fire wasn't just powerful — it lasted longer than any other dragon's. The difference was night and day compared to the others who needed time to recover between blasts.
By now, more ships had been destroyed by the Cannibal than by all the other dragons combined. The king of wild dragons was living up to his name.
"Lord Sea Burner's Cannibal is terrifying!" Nettles rode Sheepstealer right beside Logar, heart racing with excitement.
Fighting side by side with the man she admired made her both thrilled and proud.
She patted Sheepstealer's neck, voice bright. "Sheepstealer, we can't fall behind! Burn their ships!"
Sheepstealer was much smaller than the Cannibal — only slightly larger than Vermax, about the same as Sea Smoke. But he was fast and agile.
At his rider's command he skimmed low, spitting flame with pinpoint accuracy. Wooden hulls caught instantly and collapsed. Seawater rushed in. Ships listed and sank while soldiers tumbled screaming into the waves.
On the other side, Hugh Hammer rode the massive Bronze Fury Vermithor. His attacks were slower but carried overwhelming power.
His gaze kept drifting toward Logar and the Cannibal, face dark with jealousy.
He had already noticed how terrifying the black dragon was. Unlike the aged Vermithor, the wild king attacked with savage speed and brutality.
"Stop staring," Ulf the White called lazily from Silverwing high above. "Your Vermithor's no slouch either. If you're so bothered, go kill more ships and show him up!"
Hugh ignored the drunkard and leaned close to Vermithor's neck. "Come on, old friend. You once carried King Jaehaerys. Don't let a wild dragon outshine you!"
ROAR!
Vermithor seemed to understand. His enormous wings slammed the sea, raising walls of water that flipped several small ships like toys.
Then he opened his jaws and unleashed bronze-colored flame straight into the stern of an enemy flagship. The ship erupted into a fireball, debris flying dozens of yards in every direction.
Like an ancient, slow-moving emperor, every strike from Vermithor shook the sea itself. The water around him boiled and steamed.
"Cannibal and Vermithor really are the strongest," Jacaerys thought, riding Vermax. He glanced at his own much smaller dragon and shook his head.
Vermax was simply too small for a crown prince.
But he quickly pushed the thought aside. As Rhaenyra's heir, why should he care about such things? No matter how strong Cannibal and Vermithor were, their riders still answered to him. That was enough.
Just then, a lone arrow whistled up from below, slicing across Jacaerys's cheek and drawing a thin line of blood.
"Prince, watch out!" Addam shouted as Sea Smoke flashed past.
The silver-grey dragon moved like lightning. A burst of silver flame destroyed the bow of the ship that had tried to snipe the prince. The vessel lost control and crashed into another ship beside it.
Vermax beat his wings hard, the gust knocking the next volley of arrows aside.
But more arrows, spears, and even catapult stones came flying — a desperate, thick rain of steel.
On the sea below, soldiers who saw no escape had turned to fight back with everything they had.
"Hahaha! The bastards are finally fighting like cornered dogs!!" Logar roared from the Cannibal's back, thrilled by the enemy's furious last stand.
"They're throwing everything at the dragons! We have to show them what we're made of!"
Sharako Lohar watched another warship burn and sink, eyes blazing with hatred.
He ordered his flagship to stop fleeing and turned to rally the men. "The dragons aren't invincible! Men of the Free Cities never surrender!"
"Never surrender!"
The ships that could no longer run turned to face the dragons, joining the desperate counterattack.
The battle across the Gullet grew even more chaotic.