Ser Willem," Viserys Targaryen said, struggling to help the middle-aged warrior to his feet.
Flames engulfed the warship, obscuring their vision.
This was Gillian Lannister's desperate act, setting the ship ablaze when he realized he couldn't escape the encirclement of the Targaryen and Rayder families' reinforcements.
"Your Highness—" Ser Joffrey shouted anxiously, his head held high on the Black Death warship.
As the Targaryen Family's naval commander, he had placed Viserys at the very rear of the battle to ensure he wouldn't suffer the slightest harm.
Unexpectedly, this very action put Viserys Targaryen in danger.
Fortunately, Gillian Lannister was dead, and apart from a few Lannister sailors stubbornly resisting, most of the mercenaries chose to surrender.
"Go!" Viserys, supporting the heavily wounded Ser Willem, stepped onto the Black Death.
What greeted him was a ship laden with gold, silver, and jewels from Lannisport, and Viserys Targaryen's still-shaken heart suddenly grew excited.
"Your Highness, gold dragons, it's gold dragons... a whole ship full of gold dragons!" Ser Willem Darry's eyes nearly popped out, and he began to stammer.
With such a vast sum of gold dragons, it would be enough to hire a mercenary legion from the Narrow Sea!
The mountains of gold dragons were so numerous that even the Targaryen Family's largest hold couldn't contain them; many treasures were even piled openly on the deck like trash.
"Bah, the Old Lion of House Lannister, his shit truly is gold!" Ser Willem Darry spat a mouthful of phlegm mixed with blood onto the deck.
Viserys said nothing.
The spoils of this plunder far exceeded his imagination.
The wealth of the Lannister of the Westerlands truly lived up to its reputation!
Indeed, poverty might not evoke sympathy, but wealth certainly breeds envy.
Fortunately, these gold dragons, which should have been hidden in the Lannister Family's vaults, had now become his treasure.
"Your Highness, there's a treasure chest here!" A guard cleaning Gillian Lannister's warship suddenly shouted.
Following the gazes of the surrounding soldiers, a perfectly sealed treasure chest, cast from a single piece of bronze, was being lifted from the most secret corner of the ship's hold.
Viserys looked at the bronze chest before him, inscribed with ancient Old Valyria spells, and paused for a moment before becoming ecstatic.
This must be a treasure Gillian Lannister had taken from the Valyrian Doom Ruins.
While it was definitely not the chest that could hold the Lightbringer sword, any object packaged so expensively would surely be priceless.
"Woo—" A long horn sounded, and the Royal Navy Fleet finally left Lannisport completely.
Accompanied by towering flames and the crackling sound of burning wood, the entire Lannisport collapsed into ruins.
Fire and wind raged across the continent, while waves and clouds drifted with the sea breeze.
Viserys Targaryen stood on the deck, hands gripping the railing, gazing at the sky full of fireworks and thick dark clouds, silent.
Using the information asymmetry from the original story, Viserys had pushed his knowledge to its limits.
However, in the face of the Targaryen Family's ultimate demise, these minor victories were still a drop in the bucket regarding the overall battle.
He wondered if King's Landing at this moment was still the slaughterhouse for the Lannister Family as it was in his previous life!
Fortunately, he had acted ahead of time, relocating his nominal family members to Dragonstone, thus avoiding this inhumane massacre!
"Hmm?" Looking at the black text in the bronze furnace before him, Viserys Targaryen paused for several seconds, then became ecstatic.
Unnamed dragon eggs — The descendant of Merias, the Red Queen, a magical product of blood and fire.
Magic Recharge: 40% "Continuously increasing"
Bloodline Recharge: 100%
Energy Recharge: 100%
Waking up!
Seeing the words "Waking up!" in the item bar, Viserys Targaryen's heart leaped into his throat.
Before this, the dragon eggs clearly had no way to absorb magical energy.
Despite his tired, bloodshot eyes, his brain still forced him to recall carefully.
A night of fighting had almost exhausted his energy; Viserys had long reached his limit.
"Could it be..." Thinking this, Viserys Targaryen painfully rubbed his temples, trying to stay awake.
"Life... Yes, only life can be exchanged for life!" Viserys Targaryen's eyelids twitched.
He suddenly remembered this ancient Old Valyria proverb.
Although it was later proven to be a rumor, Viserys now discovered its profound meaning.
The dragon eggs's magic increased because he personally killed a direct descendant of the Lannister Family.
Just as he thought of this, he rushed out of the ship's cabin to look at Gillian Lannister's remains.
A huge Old Valyria inscription appeared before his eyes: Gillian Lannister, ancient diluted Golden Lion bloodline, deceased.
Indeed, Gillian Lannister was no ordinary person!
The reason life could be exchanged for life was not an equal exchange of life, but a transfer of magical life energy.
In other words, only those with magical bloodlines, i.e., sorcerers, could perform life transformation.
As soon as he thought of this, Viserys Targaryen suddenly had an epiphany.
No wonder Daenerys Targaryen's dragon eggss could hatch from fire in later generations.
She merely triggered blood magic by accident, relying on the sacrifice of sorcerers, her son, and Khal Drogo, who was suspected of having the bloodline of the Horse God, to fully activate the three dragon eggss.
"My Lord," Randal Tarly interrupted Viserys's contemplation.
He urged, "The clouds over Dragonstone are very thick, almost unseen for a hundred years! We should sail to Dragonstone as soon as possible!"
"Dark clouds?" Viserys was stunned.
He looked up and realized that a vast, sky-obscuring cloud had completely enveloped the entire fleet.
A deathly silence instantly enveloped Viserys's heart.
"Damn it, how could I forget this!" Viserys slapped his head, startled.
On the day his sister Daenerys Targaryen was born, a storm comparable to the Old Valyria Doom descended upon the seas of Dragonstone.
This storm completely extinguished the Targaryen Family's last hope of restoration.
Counting the days, it was roughly around this time!
"Turn around, turn around quickly!" Viserys Targaryen shouted anxiously at the fleet's helmsmen.
"Your Highness," Ser Joffrey frowned, looking at Viserys's almost frantic appearance.
Although Prince Viserys had led everyone to victory in every battle, he was, after all, only an eight-year-old child.
Without the unanimous approval of everyone, even if Viserys ascended the iron throne, he would only be a puppet banner put forward by the royal family!
Seeing Ser Joffrey's perplexed expression, Viserys Targaryen could only suppress his fear and quietly reminded him, "The Lannister's navy in the port has been almost annihilated by us; as long as we eliminate House Manderly of White Harbor, the Narrow Sea will become an unshakeable Wall for Dragonstone!"
"White Harbor, Manderly?" Ser Joffrey frowned.
Clearly, Viserys's sudden excuse did not fool the shrewd Ser Joffrey.
At this moment, he had just received a raven letter from Dragonstone; Queen Rhaella urged Viserys Targaryen to return to Dragonstone as soon as possible to rally support and ascend the iron throne.
However, facing the future new king, he did not want to offend the less than eight-year-old child before him.
He helplessly looked at the upright Ser Randal Tarly beside him.
"White Harbor only has a few dozen small boats, which have almost no impact on naval power!" Randal Tarly interrupted Viserys Targaryen's suggestion: "Compared to House Manderly's ice-free port, even the navy of House Frey of the Riverlands is stronger!"
Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads, silent, even Ser Willem Darry, the The Red Keep's master-at-arms, who was always loyal to him, remained quiet.
Everyone was waiting for Viserys Targaryen to compromise.
"Damn it!" A feeling of powerlessness welled up in Viserys's heart.
Once upon a time, his father, King Aerys, didn't take him seriously at all!
In everyone's eyes, Viserys was ultimately a reckless brat, with no authority whatsoever.
Even if he had led everyone to win two battles, in the eyes of his vassals, it was merely opportunistic, relying on overwhelming numerical superiority.
The important matters of the Targaryen Family would ultimately be decided by his mother, Queen Rhaella, who was far away on Dragonstone.
"Your Highness, the matter of ascension cannot be delayed!" Ser Joffrey stressed seriously.
Then, he added, "This is a direct order from Queen Rhaella!"