A man cannot get rich without a windfall, and a horse cannot grow fat without night grass. The ruins of Valyria certainly held many treasures, but unfortunately, this place was far too dangerous; it was practically a game of extreme survival.
Rhaegar gathered the Baelarys family purple robe, helmet, true dragon sword, seal, and dragonlord ring he had obtained from the dragon skeleton. In truth, the massive dragon skeleton of the Baelarys family before him, which exceeded one hundred meters, was also a rare treasure; the dragon bone had a high iron content and dragonbone bows were immensely valuable, but it was simply too difficult to transport. Even just with the treasures he had on hand, together they were worth a kingdom. They were not only exquisite but also bore traces of flowing magic, revealing the formidable strength of the Baelarys family—a True Dragon set. After all, they were the Chief Dragonlords of the past, with power comparable to the emperors of a universal empire; their heritage was not something that current small nations or the Free Cities could even compare to. When the Valyrian Empire was at its peak, perhaps only the Golden Dynasty of Yi Ti in the east could rival it. However, the Golden Dynasty was currently in decline and fractured; if there were a chance, he might go there to see it. According to news from afar, the Golden Dynasty had fallen on hard times, and the Emperor's word might only carry weight within a few cities.
"These two swords, like the Great River Staff of the Rhoynar people, are not just for physical attacks; they are engraved with magical runes and are suited for the blood and flame sorcery of a dragonlord." Rhaegar tested the true dragon sword. When he channeled flame, the purple gemstone on the sword began to emit a faint glow. On the magic dragons on both sides of the hilt, and on the magic dragon scale decorations on the sword's handle, shimmering patterns, runes, and symbols appeared. These symbols were not obvious, but they would slowly manifest when they encountered the fluctuations of flame. The Baelarys family had also treated this sword, making it better suited for the dual attributes of a warrior and a fire sorcerer.
"Flame!" Rhaegar raised the sword, and flames coiled around the blade. Rhaegar raised his hand, and the fire shot forward like a straight arrow. "It has the effect of a flame accelerator!" Rhaegar was overjoyed; a high-quality magical weapon should be like this. It reduced personal consumption and accelerated the gathering of fire elements; with this sword, his firepower was fiercer and more potent. Ordinary mages were almost never as direct as dragonlords; a top-tier dragonlord was a dual-class powerhouse, both a warrior and a fire sorcerer. As for the sorcery of Qarth and Asshai, they lacked the corresponding magical bloodlines, so summoning magic required long periods of time and consumption, harming their own flesh. The spellcasting time for these wizards was too long, the magical drain was too great, and most of these wizards were physically frail, unable to withstand a single blow.
"Among the followers of R'hllor, there should be some rather formidable mages? Now that the war of ice and fire has arrived, followers of the Lord of Light will certainly appear, and perhaps we cannot avoid meeting them!" War was the best time to spread faith, and Rhaegar would certainly encounter those priests of R'hllor. If there were no red priestesses, there would be Red Priests.
[Explorer: Congratulations on discovering the great legacy left behind by the Baelarys family: True Dragon helmet, True Dragon robe, true dragon sword, dragonlord seal, and dragonlord ring!]
[Collection: The supreme dragonlord ring of the Baelarys family, the ancient and noble Chief Dragonlord family of Valyria, the Purple Dragon family; the dragonlord seal of the Baelarys family; and numerous dome fragments from the Baelarys family's Tower of the Dragon.]
Rhaegar looked at the ruins of the Baelarys family with reluctance. This purple ring was much more valuable and noble than his own bronze-colored one; one belonged to an heir, and the other to the patriarch of the Baelarys family. The space and material were different; the purple ring required much more magic, and the space was much larger—it was a priceless treasure. The two swords of the Baelarys family with magical wills, True Dragon and Queen's Kiss, were also extraordinary; they were not just swords but could also serve as staves. He wondered if there were other good things left in the ruins of Valyria, such as large dome fragments, or if there were still dragon eggs and treasure vaults. However, the firewyrms causing trouble outside were about forty or fifty meters in size, and Rhaegar needed to go help as soon as possible, so he could only return next time. But he had already obtained the best; the items in the ruins of other families could not possibly compare to the ruins of the Baelarys family.
Rhaegar returned to the starting point, moving at high speed. In front of the ruins, a battle was underway. The dragon group was circling in the sky, and two firewyrms had appeared from somewhere. The firewyrms were confronting the dragon group on the ground; the firewyrms also spat fire, wanting to advance to the ruins, but the dragon group returned the favor with Dracarys.
"Come on, partner!" A bright light ignited between Rhaegar's brows. The silver dragon let out a joyful whistle, and with the firepower support of the purple dragon and the black dragon, Rhaegar rode the Silver Emperor into the battle.
The silver dragon flapped its leather wings, its molten-gold eyes watching the firewyrms. The magic dragon's scales and spines were shimmering like silver jade. The magic dragon sensed danger from these annoying species from underground; the firewyrms had little intelligence and only knew how to destroy and spit fire. Rhaegar also looked at the firewyrms before him. A fifty-meter-long firewyrm could be considered quite large among firewyrms. It seemed the most massive firewyrms could exceed one hundred meters. These things had thick skin, were resistant to high temperatures, and could also spit fire. The firewyrm opened its mouth, and within that circle of grim, black teeth, red flames began to emerge.
The dragon group circled in the sky, occupying the air. Although the firewyrms' flames were fierce, the dragon group was more agile. The firewyrms seemed to be enraged; the two firewyrms wove through the peak of another black ruin and began to spit fire. As the flames clashed, the temperature in the air began to rise, and thick flames began to explode in mid-air. It was all fire; it seemed difficult to break their attack.
"River!" Rhaegar summoned the river within the Valyrian city. This river was the mother river of the Valyrian people, flowing through Valyria, though it was now polluted beyond recognition. The river slowly gathered into a massive waterspout, which flew toward the firewyrms. The firewyrms probably had not expected this sudden dragonlord to fight so dishonorably. Rhaegar had not stored any Ice Dragon cold ice, so he could only call upon the river on the spot. Scattered water splashed onto the firewyrms, catching the two firewyrms off guard. They spat two large balls of flame at the sky and then prepared to dive underground.
"I am a one-of-a-kind dual-class sorcerer!" Rhaegar began to increase the volume of the waterspout. The firewyrms were not without weaknesses; first, their vision was poor, as their long-term underground life made them somewhat like blind worms. Secondly, they hated water and ice, especially freezing ice.
The massive attack of the waterspout left the huge red firewyrm momentarily stunned; in a world of fire, how could the fury of water appear? But this moment of hesitation was the killing blow in a clash between masters. One firewyrm saw that the situation was dire and burrowed into the ground to escape first. Another firewyrm was a little late, and what it received was death!
"Dracarys!" Rhaegar whistled, and the dragon group, under the cover of the waterspout, fired precise Dracarys bolts at the firewyrm's head! It was difficult to strike other parts of the firewyrm; only their mouthparts were their fatal weak point. The bright Dracarys bolts exploded. The firewyrm received three Dracarys bolts in succession; caught off guard, its entire head was shattered by the suddenly exploding flame bolts. Gold-silver, purple copper-foil, and black-red flames danced wildly, and the air seemed to shimmer from the explosion. Bloody rain appeared in the sky; the firewyrm's mucus, tissues, and skull fragments splattered everywhere. A fifty-meter super-large firewyrm had been destroyed by the magic dragons.
"It seems the firewyrms' flame also originates from special throat tissue." Rhaegar thought as he touched a fragment of the firewyrm's corpse that was still warm. He just didn't know if it was a matter of air concentration or if the firewyrms themselves stored flammable gas; the chemical gas they stored would ignite and explode upon encountering air, as they stored minerals or flammable chemical substances. It was a pity that one had been lost; the other had already run away, otherwise, he could have dissected it to study it.
"We can't waste these! They are filled with magic!"
Rhaegar peeled off the red plates of the firewyrms; they were slippery, similar to snake skin or earthworms, hairless, and possessed an inherent warmth.
They were cold-resistant and served as high-grade fireproof and wear-resistant materials.
If one were to have a rug made of firewyrms, it would be the most expensive in the world.
As for the meat of the firewyrms, Rhaegar left it all for the dragon group to enjoy.
The dragon group stepped forward, and the flames they exhaled completely roasted the firewyrms.
These creatures had thick skin and tough flesh, making them more fire-resistant than ordinary organisms.
The dragon group feasted heartily, but Rhaegar could not bring himself to enjoy such a meal.
Rhaegar looked in the direction where another dragon had fled; the dragon had already escaped from the center of the Valyria city.
In years past, firewyrms would not have dared to do such a thing, but after the Doom, the firewyrms had already dug tunnels beneath the base of the city.
Rhaegar also noticed the magical technology of Valyria that was quite ahead of its time.
Apart from the black towers of Valyria, Rhaegar could also find street lamps adorned with red gems, with pillars made of obsidian, glass covers, and red gems in the center for illumination.
These red gems could absorb heat and automatically emit light at night.
Rhaegar took a look; these were also good things, so he scavenged all of them.
"Not a single copper coin can be left behind!"
In the ruins of Valyria, according to the order of inheritance, the Dragonlord naturally held the first priority.
"Did Valyria have these magical factories? But after the volcanoes erupted, these magical factories must have been completely destroyed."
"In that case, the ash, smoke, flames, and those bugs—all the radiation must have risen."
"This place has completely become a wasteland."
Rhaegar fiddled with the street lamp in his hand, contemplating.
The people of Valyria were lovers of wonders, and having used a great deal of magic while relying on the Fourteen Flames, there must have been considerable side effects.
Even though the magical technology of Valyria was advanced, those theaters, council halls, plazas, and baths made extensive use of the magic of fire mages.
Once the volcanoes erupted, those factories that manufactured black towers and flames must have also generated immense radiation.
After the dragon group had eaten their fill, Rhaegar rode the dragon group to the Fourteen Flames closest to the town.
Amidst the ash, smoke, and flames, if the Fourteen Flames were to erupt simultaneously, the power would overturn what was once the greatest power of that era.
"What is that?"
Rhaegar saw a broken circular stone pillar, as thick as a barrel.
The pillar should have originally been about eleven meters high; although broken now, it was still three meters tall.
It was a pillar made of dragonglass, with an ancient map depicted on it.
There was no Smoking Sea; at this time, Valyria was not yet an island.
Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen were the three leaves beside the blue Slaver's Bay.
Westeros was far away at the distant end of the map.
A dragon was flying in the sky, and the pillar was adorned with red gems, with the paintings on the pillar featuring runes and symbolic markings.
"Is the stone pillar a type of magic array? A fire-control array?"
Rhaegar activated the stone pillar with fire; upon touching the pillar, he could feel a sense of gentleness and tranquility in the flames, making the flames calm and not restless, and it could even absorb flames.
Rhaegar thought to himself that it might have been placed on the volcano by fire mages to control the balance and stability of the volcano, or perhaps placed deep within the volcano.
Unfortunately, all the volcanoes had erupted.
The Fourteen Flames were all active volcanoes; without such fire-control arrays, the people of Valyria living in the city would surely have been like dancing on a grave.
But when the Doom arrived, the Fourteen Flames exploded all at once.
Whether it was due to the infighting between the Dragonlords and the fire mages, or the sudden death of the fire mages, this terrain would sooner or later face destruction.
But not being able to escape the destruction—this might just be a shadow and a conspiracy.
The failure of the fire-control array might have led to the premature arrival of the disaster.
Rhaegar decided to take the black stone pillar away first and bring it back for research.
The dragon circled in the sky, and suddenly the silver dragon roared.
Amidst the smell of sulfur and the aura of smoke and dust, Rhaegar noticed a volcano in the westernmost part of Valyria.
At the foot of the volcano, there were shipwrecks, and the wreckage had been at sea for a long time.
Those glorious, great golden fleets were now broken and dilapidated; he did not know how long they had been lingering by the volcano.
After the volcanoes on the Valyria peninsula erupted, the Smoking Sea separated the island from the Lands of the Long Summer.
The Warlock of Qarth came from the east, while the fleet of House Lannister clearly came from the west; they did not arrive from the Lands of the Long Summer as Rhaegar had.
Instead, they had locked onto the position of the peninsula and arrived from both the east and west.
Rhaegar rode the dragon and hovered over the sea, finding the largest flagship.
Rhaegar saw skeletons inside the broken armor on the ship; those soldiers with lion-headed helmets were clearly once soldiers of House Lannister.
Those armors that once shone with brilliance were, after all, not made of Valyrian steel, and they could not withstand the passage of time.
It was just that when this golden fleet died, he did not know if it was because of firewyrms, sea monsters, or perhaps a great storm, but they had all been wiped out.
The dragon circled above the flagship, and Rhaegar saw a gleaming sword.
The ripples were one of the characteristics of Valyrian steel.
The king on the ghost ship had long since died, but he still carried his beloved sword.
"A fine sword!"
Rhaegar lifted the sword. The hilt of Brightroar began with a roaring lion, representing the former King of the West, House Lannister, and also representing "Hear Me Roar."
The hilt was made of gold and also had golden ripples on it.
The blade was relatively wide, which could be considered a greatsword, and the rippling patterns were indeed typical of Valyrian steel.
A century before the Doom of Valyria, the King of the Rock spent a great deal of gold to exchange for Brightroar, a legendary greatsword.
It was said that the weight of the gold used to purchase the greatsword was enough to organize an army.
About a century after House Lannister obtained Brightroar, King Tommen II led a golden fleet to explore the Valyria destroyed by the Doom, but went missing after stopping in Volantis for supplies.
At that time, King Tommen had also promised half of his wealth to Volantis, but unfortunately, both the people and the ships had vanished.
The following year, the Magistrate Magallio Tagaros attempted to search for them, but also failed.
After House Lannister lost the sword, all the lords of House Lannister felt infinite regret, especially Tywin, who wanted it desperately; a great noble family should have a matching greatsword made of Valyrian steel.
It was just that House Lannister did not have the luck of House Stark.
After House Stark lost their first Ice, they did not know how much money they spent to acquire another Ice.
Tywin had many times found impoverished families in the kingdom and offered large sums of money to purchase their Valyrian steel swords, but was repeatedly refused.
Actually, Rhaegar had a rather good idea: the Ironborn families also had Valyrian steel swords.
It would be better to wait until the Ironborn were being slaughtered and extort them from the Ironborn.
There was a hierarchy of contempt for Valyrian weapons, based on the amount of Valyrian steel used and the legendary status of the weapon.
The magic weapon sword and Valyrian steel scale armor of the Baelarys family that Rhaegar had on hand should be the most scarce and precious.
As for other Valyrian steel swords, greatswords used more material than thin swords, and the Longswords used by kings and heroes certainly carried special meanings.
For instance, Blackfyre represented royal power, and Dark Sister represented warriors.
Rhaegar swung Brightroar; he would collect it for now and talk about it later.
He might now be the person in the world who owned the most Valyrian steel weapons; his standards were high, and he wouldn't have that feeling of heart-pounding excitement.
Perhaps this was the mindset of a scumbag, looking for a horse while riding a donkey.
But he did indeed possess too many weapons; the orphan maker was still the most comfortable to use.
Greatswords like Ice or Brightroar were not actually very easy to use when one truly arrived on the battlefield.
Rhaegar had asked the Old Wolf; often, such greatswords were used as ceremonial swords, not for charging into battle.
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