When the boy Jimmy noticed fragments of wooden planks drifting across the sea, Daenerys, who had just entered a meditative state in the captain's cabin, was startled awake once again.
A god was approaching her.
The god of death. The aura felt somewhat familiar.
In the next instant, the great black dragon's soul merged with her body. Daenerys transformed into the Stranger and entered the world of death.
Colors faded away, and the ocean became darker and deeper, like an abyss that devoured everything.
On the black sea floated more than a dozen massive gray ships. They were utterly silent, with not a single sailor visible on the decks, as if they were ghost ships.
"You came looking for me?" Stranger Daenerys asked curiously.
Opposite her appeared a strange, small, and frail woman. She wore only a loose white canvas "suit." Her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth were all crudely stitched shut with coarse hemp rope.
It was the Pale Moon Maid.
"I was nearby gathering the souls of Volantis sailors. Their ships encountered a storm and were destroyed," the Pale Moon Maid said nervously. "I never expected to meet Lord Stranger here. Aren't you in Westeros fighting the Others?"
"The Battle of Winterfell has already ended. I'm currently leading a fleet fishing in the Sorrowful Sea," Daenerys replied.
"Fishing…" The Pale Moon Maid found it hard to believe. "You are a god. Do you still need to trouble yourself for food?"
Daenerys did not explain. Instead, she repeated her earlier question.
"You came to Slaver's Bay to find me, didn't you?"
The Pale Moon Maid hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"I happened to be passing by, so I came to deliver you a message."
Daenerys narrowed her eyes. First she assumed that I should be in Westeros fighting the Others, and now she admits she came to Slaver's Bay along the way to deliver me a message.
A monster that had lived for thousands of years would not be this careless. Was this fiend truly so nervous that she was speaking incoherently, or was she acting?
Feigning urgency, Daenerys asked, "Are demon gods preparing to deal with me? Who exactly is coming? The Avengers, or the Justice League? Who are they?"
The Pale Moon Maid waved her hands repeatedly.
"No, no. There are no Avengers, no Justice League, and no divine conspiracy against you.
Didn't you ask me last time to help explain the 'Black Goat rumor' to the gods?
I explained that you do not intend to slaughter all gods indiscriminately. It's just that the Black Goat of Qohor actively participated in the battles in Slaver's Bay and has a personal grudge with you, so you are determined to take revenge."
"And they were that easy to persuade?" Stranger Daenerys asked suspiciously.
"Lord Stranger, whether they believe it depends on your sincerity. As long as you do not harm any god besides the Black Goat, it will prove that you bear no hostility toward us.
You are so powerful that unless faced with a life-or-death crisis, no god is willing to become your enemy," the Pale Moon Maid said earnestly.
Daenerys laughed.
"That makes sense. So we can consider this a reconciliation?"
The Pale Moon Maid nodded.
"With the misunderstanding resolved, the gods will no longer deliberately target you. As long as you wish, you may go to Qohor and kill the Black Goat at any time. None of the other gods will interfere."
"Very good. You helped resolve my grievances with the gods. I should reward you," Daenerys said happily.
"There is no need. Serving you is this minor god's honor," the Pale Moon Maid replied modestly.
"Ah, merit must be rewarded. That's always been my way."
With a wave of her hand, Daenerys said generously, "How about this? When I go to Qohor to deal with the Black Goat, I'll call you along. After killing that bastard, we'll split the death divinity between us."
"Th-that…" The Pale Moon Maid's voice trembled with excitement. "This reward is far too precious."
"Do you want it or not?" Daenerys asked with a smile.
After hesitating for a moment, the Pale Moon Maid nodded lightly, somewhat embarrassed.
"I lost half my divinity last time, so my power was greatly reduced. My efficiency in gathering sea souls has also declined. If I could recover that loss…"
"At the end of her sentence, she could not help sounding slightly eager. "When do you plan to go to Qohor?"
"Perhaps after the Long Night ends," Daenerys said casually. But beneath the hood, her eyes carefully observed every subtle expression on the evil god's face.
The Pale Moon Maid truly became anxious.
"The Long Night might last more than ten years!"
"Well, for gods like us, ten days, ten years, or even a hundred years are all the same," Stranger Daenerys replied indifferently.
"Lord Stranger, the Black Goat knows you intend to deal with him. Ten years would be enough time for him to hide completely," the Pale Moon Maid said tactfully after taking a breath.
"That makes sense." Stranger Daenerys thought for a moment. "How about we go there now?"
"Great! I can help you search for the Black Goat's location." The Pale Moon Maid was overjoyed and volunteered eagerly.
"Search for the Black Goat's location…" Stranger Daenerys seemed to have been reminded of something.
"You're right. He certainly isn't in the Qohor temple anymore."
The Pale Moon Maid froze for a moment, then nodded.
"He's not stupid. He's probably hiding."
Daenerys proposed, "How about this? You first find out his location. When you have the result, come to Dragonstone and inform me."
"Dragonstone? Aren't you fishing in the Sorrowful Sea anymore?" the Pale Moon Maid asked in confusion.
"Did you notice the recent changes in the celestial phenomena? Fishing isn't my main purpose here. I'm practicing wind magic and preparing to condense a domain of wind," Daenerys explained.
"Have you already condensed a domain? How long have you been cultivating?" The Pale Moon Maid was shocked.
"How could it be that easy? It's just that many things have been happening in Westeros recently, and I need to deal with them," Stranger Daenerys said with a sigh.
After the Pale Moon Maid took her leave, Daenerys immediately sent Jiqi to summon Grolay.
But the moment the Dothraki maid opened the door, she saw Blackbeard and several sailors approaching from the corridor.
Grolay also froze for a moment. Glancing past the maid toward the room, he lowered his voice and asked, "Has Her Majesty rested?
A wrecked ship has drifted toward our fleet. We salvaged this red-robed priest from it. He's from Volantis."
"Not yet. Her Majesty was just about to send me to find you," Jiqi said as she stepped aside and opened the door.
The captain's cabin was cramped, less than twenty square meters. Grolay waved his hand and entered with only the second mate, Kuer, who carried the stretcher with him. The rest of the sailors remained in the corridor.
Daenerys frowned as she looked at the stretcher.
Lying on it was an imposing black man. He was over 2.1 meters tall and wore a striking bright red robe. His skin was dark like thick ink, and his cheeks and forehead were tattooed with patterns of crimson flames. His hairstyle resembled that of the Golden-Haired Lion King, but he was very old, with completely white hair and beard. His belly was round like a giant cobblestone.
His appearance was so extraordinary that Daenerys was immediately drawn to him and nearly forgot why she had summoned Grolay in the first place.
After a while, she withdrew her gaze from the red priest and said to Blackbeard, "Grolay, send orders to the fleet. Change course and head for Hellgate Island."
As soon as the words fell, Blackbeard was about to respond when the red priest on the stretcher suddenly opened his eyes. Looking pleadingly at the Dragon Queen seated on the high chair, he said, "Wait, Your Majesty. Please wait."
Grolay looked at the Dragon Queen for instructions.
Daenerys frowned.
"Why did you bring him here? And you, you came from Volantis, right? What do you want to say?"
"Your Majesty, this red priest refused to rest in the cabin no matter what. He insisted on seeing you immediately.
He said he saw a prophecy. If he didn't come to see you, thousands of people would soon fall into the Pale Moon Maid's hell," the second mate Kuer explained.
Now Daenerys was interested. She waved her hand, signaling Grolay to stay, and asked the "African Old Xie Xun,"
"What did you foresee?"
"Your Majesty, long ago I foresaw that I would meet you today. A few days ago, I also foresaw that a great storm would destroy the ship I was traveling on.
Just last night, I foresaw that if I did not come to see you immediately, you would lead your fleet to change course at once. Then my companions would lose their final chance to survive."
The African Old Xie's voice was weak, but his eyes shone like stars.
"And did you foresee the final outcome?" Daenerys asked, narrowing her eyes while concealing the sharpness in her heart.
"I did," the African Old Xie sighed.
"Let's hear it," Daenerys said with a faint smile.
Even if you are Yuan Shoucheng, and even if I were the Dragon King of the Jing River's mother, there isn't a Wei Zheng alive who dares to execute me.
"We mortals can only do our best. The final result will be determined by you," the African Old Xie said, lowering his eyes.
Daenerys sneered.
"What a cunning monk."
"Your Majesty, I am an honest monk. Facing you, I can only speak with the utmost sincerity and say what is in my heart," the African Old Xie said with a bitter smile.
Then, before the Dragon Queen could ask more, he quickly continued,
"Your Majesty, my name is Moqorro, an archbishop under the High Priest of Volantis.
By the orders of the High Priest Benerro and the Archon Dofas, I led eight thousand Tiger Cloaks to march toward Slaver's Bay.
Dofas told us that the allied forces had already achieved the final victory in the Battle of Meereen, and Meereen had fallen into their hands. We would take over the administration of Meereen so that the allied forces could continue marching south to Yunkai and Astapor."
"Utter nonsense!" Jiqi said coldly.
"The Battle of Meereen ended more than a month ago. You've been drifting at sea and never received the news?
You claim to foresee the future, yet you failed to foresee something everyone else already knows?" Grolay mocked.
"We shouldn't have rescued this monk. But it's not too late to throw him back into the sea," Kuer said darkly.
The African Xie Xun shook his head and sighed.
"The moment the sun dimmed, regardless of the outcome of the Battle of Meereen, Volantis would no longer devote its attention to Slaver's Bay, because they knew the Long Night had arrived.
In the past, when the defense of Volantis was entrusted to the Tiger Cloaks, the nobles behind the Black Walls were not worried about rebellion.
By granting them higher status than ordinary slaves, greater honor, and a more prosperous life, the nobles could easily control the Tiger Cloaks.
The Tiger Cloaks were also willing to suppress slave uprisings in order to maintain their 'superior' social status.
But now, vast amounts of food have been consumed in the campaign in Slaver's Bay. The Black Wall nobles fear they will not survive a Long Night that may last a generation, so they have decided to abandon the parts of Volantis outside the walls.
The Tiger Cloaks are not alone. They have families and friends, and their families and friends are slaves who are not allowed to enter the walls.
Under such circumstances, the Tiger Cloaks are no longer trustworthy.
Not only are they untrustworthy, they are also the strongest military force in Volantis. Now the very nobles who once armed them have begun to fear them.
The Tiger Cloaks have become an unstable factor that must be eliminated.
Thus I was ordered to lead them to Slaver's Bay as cannon fodder.
Even if the Battle of Meereen had ended in a complete defeat for the allied forces, Archon Dofas would still have achieved his goal.
With the sun extinguished, the sky dark, and the sea unpredictable, our fleet would be destroyed by disaster before even reaching Slaver's Bay."
"Hiss… how vicious those Volantis people are!" Grolay and the others exclaimed.
(End of Chapter)
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