"Calm down, Sea Smoke!"
Amidst the storm, Sea Smoke, who had been quietly hiding above the clouds with Sevan, watching the spectacle, suddenly became restless and, uncontrollably, began to rapidly flee into the distance with Sevan.
This caught Sevan off guard, but the situation was indeed somewhat unexpected. Although Sea Smoke's body was already nearly twenty meters long, dealing with those three sea monsters was still quite dangerous.
Moreover, the extent of damage to the four factions had already exceeded their expectations, so Sevan had no choice but to let Sea Smoke take him away.
Not long after Sea Smoke left, a massive, pitch-black dragon silhouette appeared from within the clouds. This giant dragon was even larger than Dreamfyre, covered in scales that were black with a reddish hue, and its golden eyes shimmered with intelligent light.
Its ferocious dragon horns and sharp dragon claws gleamed with a chilling light amidst the lightning and thunder. Its speed was incredibly fast; in just a few breaths, it had already arrived above the previous battlefield.
There was no resounding dragon roar, no Dragonflame spewed. After pinpointing the sea monsters below, it executed a direct high-altitude dive, descending with astonishing speed.
During this process, its scales rapidly transformed to red. By the time it snatched the first sea monster from the ocean, its entire body was covered in blood-red scales.
"Gargle, gurgle~"
The captured sea monster desperately flailed its tentacles, attempting to coil around the giant dragon. But by then, the giant dragon's massive maw had already bitten off its head, then swallowed it in a few gulps.
It seemed unlike other giant dragons; this one actually ate raw food!
Although the sea monster's still-writhing tentacles continued to tighten and coil around the giant dragon's body, they were soon effortlessly plucked off by the giant dragon one by one, then slowly swallowed into its belly.
The sudden turn of events left the other two sea monsters below, who were still enthusiastically feasting, momentarily unable to comprehend what had happened; their companion had already perished on the spot.
The sea monster with the metal ring on its head reacted more quickly, hurriedly stuffing the corpses it had wrapped with its tentacles into its mouth, then swiftly diving into the deep sea.
But the giant dragon's reaction was even faster, its movements even more agile. It plunged directly into the ocean, forcefully tearing off most of the sea monster's body and the majority of its tentacles.
This, however, gave the sea monster an opportunity to escape by sacrificing a part of itself. It dragged its remaining three legs and fled in a flash towards the bottomless deep sea.
The giant dragon, with a large portion of the sea monster's body in its mouth, rapidly burst out of the water. While devouring the sea monster's remaining half, it attacked the last remaining sea monster.
By this time, the remaining sea monster was terrified. Its dozen or so tentacles desperately thrashed the water, attempting to escape, but it was quickly overtaken by the giant dragon.
The sharp Dragon Claws snatched the sea monster like an eagle grabbing a chick. Then, flapping its Dragon Wings, it rapidly ascended, quickly disappearing into the clouds.
From the giant dragon's appearance to the elimination of the three sea monsters, it did not even take a quarter of an hour. If not for everyone witnessing it clearly in plain sight, they would have surely thought it was a nightmare.
However, the surviving four factions had no time to worry about such things now. In this irreversible battle, they had all suffered heavy losses. Their rare unanimous thought at this moment was to escape the area as quickly as possible.
As the four fleets departed, the storm gradually dissipated, and the sea surface slowly returned to calm. On the sea, spanning several kilometers, only damaged ships, drifting wreckage, and severed limbs remained.
Soon, seabirds and sharks were attracted by the pervasive smell of blood, ready to enjoy the unfinished blood feast.
"Hiss-gah~"
After flying several tens of kilometers, Sea Smoke finally calmed down. Not far ahead was Dreamfire Island. Hundreds of neatly arrayed ships were silently guarding the area.
Lord Tarth, the fleet's supreme commander, meticulously observed the distant sea with the latest telescope developed by Holy Flame Island.
"Everyone, get ready. They are already coming."
Sevan, on Sea Smoke's back, could clearly see the movements of the Purple Fleet and the other four factions, so he quickly flew towards Lord Tarth.
"Lord, the Purple Fleet, the Pattiliuss Family Fleet, and the surviving pirates are sailing towards the Stepstones. The Three-City Alliance Fleet has already turned towards Braavos."
Sevan had Sea Smoke land on the main ship of the Tarth fleet and reported the movements of the four factions in detail to Lord Tarth.
"It's a pity we couldn't capture them all, but aside from their dilapidated pirate ships, the Three-City Alliance Fleet has nothing else of value. Let them go; after all, their strongholds in the Stepstones have already been completely eradicated by us."
Lord Tarth and his forces had already raided the Three-City Alliance and the pirates' homes in the Stepstones when they were out.
Now, Sea Smoke Town, near the Dreamfire Island docks, has grown considerably, with a total population of over 30,000. There are over 10,000 robust salt workers. Just from selling sea salt alone, Sea Smoke Town can generate over ten thousand gold dragons in monthly income.
During this period of Long Night and Winter, Dreamfire Island, which was not significantly affected, not only developed large orchards but also established extensive redwood forests along the coastal mudflats. It has become the only green island in the Stepstones.
The large reservoirs built on the island not only meet the needs of residents and livestock but also provide freshwater supplies for passing merchant caravans.
The buildings in Sea Smoke Town are neat and clean, with over a dozen entertainment establishments alone. Whether it's the mercenaries of the Three-City Alliance, the pirates entrenched in the Stepstones, or passing merchant teams, they often frequent this place.
Therefore, Lord Tarth and his forces had long investigated the details of the Three-City Alliance and the pirate leaders, not to mention having Markris, the great insider.
So, from the moment the Pattiliuss Family Fleet left Braavos, these four factions had already fallen into Daenerys's calculations.
However, the only thing that somewhat surprised Daenerys's calculations was that this naval battle actually attracted sea monsters and another giant dragon.
Everything that followed went smoothly. With the Dragon Sea Smoke present, Lord Tarth and his forces easily captured the Purple Fleet, the Pattiliuss Family Fleet, and the pirates who had fled back in disarray.
The gains this time were quite substantial; they confiscated seventy to eighty large ships alone. Over a thousand mercenary prisoners, these strong and healthy individuals were perfect for supplementing the salt workers.
They incorporated three to four thousand shipwrights and slave crew members, who could continue to work on the ships, saving time for recruitment and training.
The Purple Fleet carried a large amount of valuable cargo, and although a significant portion sank to the bottom of the sea during the naval battle, the remaining portion had a total value exceeding thirty million gold dragons.
The Pattiliuss Family Fleet, needless to say, although the fleet suffered many losses, their family assets were all on a few main ships, totaling forty to fifty million gold dragons.
Thus, the entire Stepstones finally fell under Daenerys's control.
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