"Hiss—Screech—"
The Devourer let out an arrogant roar, its body streaking through the sky like a black meteor, charging toward Hazy Smoke.
Hazy Smoke abruptly lifted its head, feeling an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"Devourer, capture it!"
Facing the fierce wind, Rhaegar issued his command.
Without a rider to control it, Hazy Smoke launched a vengeful and indiscriminate attack.
Since it had already come to this, it had to be stopped and forcibly restrained.
Boom!
The Devourer dove, its dragon maw unleashing a torrent of dragonfire.
A ghostly green blaze, like mist and smoke, rained down, engulfing the pale silver dragon entirely.
"Hiss—Screech…"
Hazy Smoke shrieked in terror, frantically beating its wings in an attempt to escape.
But the Devourer was faster. Its massive form loomed overhead like a dark storm cloud, and its eerie green flames swept away all obstacles.
Hazy Smoke managed to fly a short distance before the highly adhesive dragonfire clung to its body.
The pale silver scales ignited with green flames, making its spine appear as though it were covered in a layer of eerie green fur.
As a young dragon, its scales were neither thick enough nor strong enough to resist such an attack.
Hazy Smoke let out a bloodcurdling scream, its vertical pupils squeezing shut as it desperately burst out of the dragonfire's range.
Whoosh—
Breaking free from the terrifying flames, Hazy Smoke threw its head back and spewed out a massive burst of dragonfire.
The fire surged forward with incredible speed, forming a blazing curtain.
Without hesitation, Hazy Smoke dived into its own fire, sizzling black smoke rising from its body.
Rhaegar, witnessing this scene, let out a surprised "Oh?"
Breaking through its own flames had visibly weakened the ghostly green dragonfire that clung to its body.
By about thirty percent.
It was a clever move—restraining the flames and preventing them from consuming it like a relentless parasite.
"What an intelligent dragon."
Rhaegar's eyes gleamed as he leaned forward slightly and commanded in a clear voice, "Devourer, dragonfire!"
Among the new generation of dragons, Hazy Smoke had the most combat experience.
It had been on battlefields and fought other dragons before.
Its decisive response to the Devourer's attack was already beyond what both Surax and Sunflare were capable of.
"ROAR!!"
The Devourer's dragon maw curled into a cruel grin as its massive head lifted high. Its dive shifted into a controlled glide.
Then, with its abyssal mouth wide open, it unleashed another torrent of dragonfire.
"Hiss—Screech…"
Hazy Smoke let out a mournful wail, struck with cruel precision.
After the first blast of green dragonfire, its once-pale silver scales had already been charred black. It thrashed desperately to extinguish the lingering flames.
Now, with a second wave of dragonfire raining down, it was utterly powerless to fight back.
At that moment—
The black dragon abruptly dove, its enormous body blotting out the light as its razor-sharp claws reached forward.
Slash!
One claw seized Hazy Smoke's neck, while the other dug into the scales on its back.
"Hiss—Screech…"
Hazy Smoke thrashed violently, shaking its head in desperation, but it couldn't break free.
Boom!
The two dragons crashed to the ground, locked together.
Hazy Smoke landed in utter defeat, coughing up dragon blood, its serpentine body writhing in pain.
Its outstretched wings lay flattened against the ground, adding a tragic elegance to its suffering.
"ROAR!"
The Devourer let out a fearsome, dominating roar, pinning Hazy Smoke's neck beneath its massive claws. Its piercing green eyes burned with unyielding arrogance.
Hazy Smoke trembled all over, its chest and abdomen bleeding profusely from its shattered scales.
Against a top-tier predator, it couldn't even unleash a tenth of its true strength.
The fate of Mogul flashed through its mind, sending waves of despair through its body.
But the Devourer was unmoved. It stood atop the young dragon like a merciless tyrant, its menacing presence that of a true dragon overlord.
"That's enough, Devourer."
Rhaegar chuckled helplessly, watching from the sidelines.
The Devourer's display was almost too much to bear.
Its vertical pupils, already green, were glowing with an eerie intensity as it locked eyes with Hazy Smoke, nearly drooling with excitement.
Glancing around, Rhaegar saw that they had already moved beyond the village's boundaries.
Looking back, he could see windmills burning, thick smoke rising into the sky—truly unfortunate for the villagers.
Sighing lightly, he dismounted.
"Hiss—Screech…"
Hazy Smoke let out a sorrowful cry, its wings and tail flailing helplessly, stirring up clouds of dust.
The Devourer pressed down harder with its claws, nearly snapping Hazy Smoke's neck.
Hazy Smoke let out a sharp, agonized scream, its body seizing up, tail jerking violently upward.
"Alright, alright. You're old comrades—go easy on it."
Rhaegar spread his hands, stepping in to prevent further cruelty.
Assaulting a dragon right in front of a Targaryen? Truly reckless.
The Devourer shot him a disdainful look, huffing heavily from its nostrils. The sulfurous gust nearly knocked Rhaegar over.
Rhaegar chuckled, shaking his head.
One man, one dragon—bonded by the Dragonborn connection—yet this fierce beast was growing more rebellious by the day.
Ignoring the Devourer, Rhaegar strode toward Hazy Smoke and spoke in the language of dragon taming:
"Overcome your fear."
His voice was deep and soothing, with a rhythmic cadence.
"Gah?"
Hazy Smoke's vertical pupils widened in astonishment.
Its frantic struggles suddenly stopped.
It seemed to understand.
Rhaegar faced the dragon's head and slowly approached. "Suppress your anger. Return to Dragonstone."
His true purpose was exposed.
Lannino was missing. Sea Smoke should not linger outside; Dragonstone was its home.
The appearance and death of Mogul had stirred unnecessary thoughts across Westeros and Essos, drawing covetous gazes from the shadows.
Rhaegar regretted Lannino's demise. The man had liked him since childhood, and they had shared a deep bond as comrades.
But dragons belonged to House Targaryen.
"Hiss—Gah…"
Hearing its rider's name, Sea Smoke recalled its pain and thrashed violently, struggling out of control.
Its cries were shrill, piercing the ears.
Rhaegar covered his ears, his inhuman physique enduring the dragon's roar.
His brows furrowed—something felt wrong.
In Sea Smoke's wails, he detected sorrow and reluctance.
Rhaegar murmured softly, "This dragon is searching for its rider."
It wasn't venting its fury—it was searching every corner.
And each time it failed to find him, it lashed out in attack.
Rhaegar's furrowed brows slowly relaxed, his emotions turning complex.
Whether in the ancient texts of the Dragonlords, the brief history of House Targaryen, or the maesters' analyses of dragons—
They all emphasized that dragons possessed intelligence no lesser than that of an adult human.
With intelligence came emotions.
Sea Smoke had hatched on Dragonstone and had been tamed by Lannino before it could even carry a rider in flight.
Man and dragon had lived together for over twenty years, forging an unbreakable bond.
A dragon's emotions were intense and pure.
Rhaegar's gaze softened as he attempted to soothe it. "Calm down."
Just like the end of Balerion, the mourning of Vhagar, and Vermithor's yearning for its old master…
Sea Smoke wasn't wrong—it needed comfort.
"Hiss—Gah…"
Sea Smoke ignored him, summoning strength from some unknown source. Its wings and hind legs pushed against the ground, attempting to break free from the dominion of the dragon-eater.
"Roar!"
The Devourer's gaze remained indifferent. It pressed down slightly with its claws, effortlessly suppressing Sea Smoke.
Did this struggling dragon think it could escape?
Wild dragons had to fight to survive, sometimes even devouring their own kind.
Strength, endurance, and speed—none could be lacking.
Especially speed—it was the Devourer's greatest asset.
Among dragons of the same size, if it willed it, neither the cumbersome old dragon nor the bronze dragon could even touch it.
"Hiss—Gah…"
The brief moment of respite vanished. Sea Smoke let out a pained cry, its neck nearly driven into the earth.
Dragons were naturally restless, their tempers worse than one another.
Having suffered back-to-back calamities, Sea Smoke fell into despair and resisted with reckless abandon.
Its jaws gaped open as it twisted to bite the black dragon.
The Devourer pressed harder with its claws, instantly snuffing out the dragonfire in Sea Smoke's throat.
Sea Smoke's cry caught in its throat. Its body twisted unnaturally under the pressure, its spine arching violently. Its hide began to crack.
"It's ready to fight to the death?"
Rhaegar's eyes widened as he instinctively took a step back.
He wasn't afraid of dragonfire—he just didn't want Sea Smoke to suddenly slap him.
"Hiss—Gah…"
Sea Smoke's wails were filled with grief, its massive wings sweeping the ground and carving deep trenches with its powerful hind legs.
Even from several steps away, Rhaegar could hear the creaking and cracking of Sea Smoke's neck and spine.
Was it acting out of rage or fear?
Watching the dragon's wings thrash like battering rams, Rhaegar was relieved that he had the foresight to step away.
"Roar!"
The Devourer's green slit pupils flickered with irritation, its lips curling into a menacing grin.
Sea Smoke's scorching dragon blood splattered across the ground, its scent awakening the dragon-eater's hunger.
Snap!
In a flash, a pitch-black whip lashed through the air, striking Sea Smoke squarely on the head.
"Hiss—Gah!"
Sea Smoke shrieked, its body weakening as it collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Between the two silver-white horns atop its massive head, a thin whip mark appeared.
Though small, it was starkly visible.
Rhaegar tilted his head, his right hand still wielding the dragon-taming whip that glowed with dark light.
Not listening? A lash should do the trick.
"Hiss—Gah…"
Sea Smoke fell still for a moment before glaring with fury, its slit pupils widening as it struggled again—this time, even more fiercely.
"It didn't work? Let's try another."
Rhaegar muttered, striking again, swift and ruthless.
With a flick of his right hand, fire-infused magic surged into the whip's hilt—man and whip becoming one.
Crack—
The whip's body extended several times its original length, like a serpent darting out of its lair, sinking its fangs into its prey.
In Rhaegar's sight—
The Dragon-Taming Whip emitted a dark, radiant glow. Its sinewy body seemed to come alive, snapping tight around Haiyan's neck in an instant.
The next second—
The whip's densely packed scales trembled, locking into the gaps between Haiyan's own scales, completely restraining the massive dragon.
"Hiss… Gah…"
Haiyan's cry was abruptly cut off. His enormous head slumped to the ground, drained of all strength.
Rhaegar tightened his grip on the whip's handle, nearly stumbling forward as Haiyan's struggling motions tugged at him.
Haiyan's head remained pressed against the ground. His vertical pupils suddenly regained clarity, and his frantic resistance slowed.
Seeing this, Rhaegar's eyes lit up with hope. He spoke in the language of dragon tamers: "Stay still, remain calm!"
It was his first time using the Dragon-Taming Whip, and he was eager to see how effective it was.
Haiyan heard the command, and the words echoed through his mind. Instinctively, he chose to obey.
Thud!
The entire dragon collapsed onto the ground.
Rhaegar's expression shifted slightly. He stumbled forward a couple of steps, dragged along by the tension in the whip.
"Good dragon. You're really strong."
He couldn't help but laugh.
Glancing around, he noticed that the whip's length had remained unchanged, while the runes engraved on its handle gleamed with dark light.
Turning his gaze back to Haiyan, Rhaegar started to grasp the whip's true capabilities.
The Dragon-Taming Whip combined tenacity, vitality, restraint, and the enhancement of binding spells into one extraordinary tool.
A lash from the whip inflicted pain upon a dragon.
A binding from the whip forcibly snapped a dragon out of its berserk rage.
"As expected of a dragon-taming artifact—its effects are incredible."
Rhaegar couldn't hide his excitement.
It was no surprise that the powerful kingdom of Guvaleria had possessed such remarkable magical tools for so many years. In fact, what would be shocking was if they didn't have them.
On the battlefield, a dragon rider wielding the Dragon-Taming Whip would be nearly unstoppable.
A sudden thought struck him, and a piece of knowledge from Diane Rhaegar surfaced in his mind.
Rhaegar muttered to himself, "If the Dragon-Taming Whip is already this powerful… wouldn't the Dragon's Horn, which summons entire flocks of dragons, be completely invincible?"
Yet as soon as he said it, he shook his head.
The Dragon-Taming Whip was specifically designed to control dragons.
Meanwhile, there were very few records about the Dragon's Horn, and its exact abilities remained unclear.
The only known description was that it could summon distant companions.
But that raised a crucial question—how many companions could it actually summon?
(End of Chapter)