Chapter 41:
Bite Bay, upon the sea.
This was an unequal slaughter.
Or, more accurately, a "dimensional downgrade strike" that spanned eras.
Boom——!!!
The forward main guns of the Black Prince once again spat out long tongues of flame.
A high-explosive shell weighing over a hundred kilograms tore through the air with a deathly whistle and slammed precisely into the center of an Ironborn longship attempting to close in.
There were no flying wood shards. In the instant of the explosion, the entire ship was swallowed by an orange-red fireball!
The massive shockwave sent seawater surging into waves dozens of meters high, capsizing two nearby small ships. The Ironborn on board fell into the sea like dumplings, only to be harvested by the shrapnel that followed.
"Monster… that's a steel monster!"
An Ironborn captain desperately swung his axe, trying to hack at the hull of the Black Prince.
Clang!
Sparks flew everywhere.
The finely forged steel axe curled its edge against the cemented armor plate, while the hull didn't even lose a speck of paint.
Immediately after, a row of Gatling guns on the side of the Black Prince began to spin their barrels.
Zzzzt zzzzt zzzzt——!
A metal storm swept across. The captain and his dozen or so men were instantly turned into sieves.
In just ten minutes.
More than twenty burning wrecks were already floating on the sea.
The once-dominant Ironborn fleet was now like sardines hunted by a pack of sharks, with no ability to fight back.
…
On the flagship Silence.
Euron Greyjoy watched the scene. Instead of fear, his single visible eye burned with even greater mad excitement.
"Wonderful… truly wonderful…"
He licked his lips as he gazed at the steel behemoth spewing black smoke, impervious to blades and fire.
"No sails yet it moves, all iron yet it doesn't sink. This must be a new mount gifted to me by the Drowned God!"
"Captain! We should retreat!"
The first mate was also a blood-soaked ruthless man, but now his pants were soaked in terror. "That's a devil's ship! Our grappling hooks can't catch it! Axes can't cut it! If we don't run now, we'll all feed the fish!"
"Run?"
Euron grabbed the first mate by the collar and slit his throat with a dagger in one swift motion.
"I am the storm! Storms never retreat!"
He kicked the corpse aside and strode to the center of the deck.
There lay a huge and sinister horn.
It was six feet long, made from the horn of some giant dragon, its surface wrapped in glossy black bands covered with unsettling Valyrian runes.
[Dragon Horn.]
[A legendary artifact said to control dragons, but the one who blows it will surely die (unless offered a blood sacrifice).]
"Bring up all the captured slaves!" Euron roared.
A dozen captured sailors were dragged forward and forced down beside the horn.
Euron grinned viciously and slashed their throats open. Blood gushed out, splashing onto the horn.
The originally dim runes, after drinking the blood, suddenly glowed with an eerie red light, as if they had come alive!
"Listen to this sound, you steel monster!"
Euron took a deep breath. Although he knew the horn was mainly for controlling dragons, the demonic sound it produced could also shatter mortal wills!
He didn't want to sink the ship — he wanted to seize it!
Woooooo——!!!
A low, hoarse sound, as if coming from the abyss of hell, instantly pierced through the roar of cannon fire and echoed across the entire bay!
This sound was not heard with the ears — it exploded directly inside people's minds!
It felt like thousands of red-hot steel needles stabbing into the brain, or countless vengeful spirits screaming in one's ears.
"AAAAAHHH!"
On the deck of the Black Prince, soldiers operating the secondary guns suddenly clutched their ears in agony. Some even bled from all seven orifices and collapsed, convulsing.
Even Tyrion, hiding inside the armored command room, felt as if his head was about to split open. He dropped to his knees in pain. "Make it stop… make that sound stop!"
This was a psychic attack!
It was the power of Valyrian black magic!
There was only one exception.
Victor stood at the center of the bridge, brows tightly furrowed.
He heard the sound — it was noisy and disgusting, but that was all.
In his vision, a faint blue light screen was flickering.
[System Warning! High-intensity psychic contamination detected!]
[Source: Valyrian blood magic.]
[Soul Firewall activated… Immunity successful.]
"Too noisy."
Victor looked coldly at the distant Silence, which was emitting a red glow.
This thing was a disaster if left alive. If he ever blew it at Drogon later, it would be trouble.
"Are the gunners unconscious?"
Victor pushed aside the fainted gunner and personally took the main gun's firing position.
He gripped the brass handwheel and pressed his eye firmly against the optical sight.
[System Assisted Aiming Activated.]
[Distance: 1200 meters.]
[Wind correction… wave correction…]
[Target: That trumpet-blowing idiot.]
Euron was still blowing. Seeing that the steel warship's gunfire had stopped, he thought his magic had worked and a ferocious grin of ecstasy spread across his face.
It's mine! As long as I kill everyone on board, this ship will be mine!
However, just as he prepared to blow the second, climactic note —
Clank.
The forward main gun turret of the Black Prince made a nearly imperceptible one-degree adjustment.
Victor took a deep breath and pressed the red firing trigger.
"Shut the fuck up!"
BOOM!!!
A 203mm armor-piercing high-explosive shell screamed through the air!
This time, there was no ranging shot, no adjustment.
This was Victor's absolute will.
The shell traced a perfect parabolic arc through the air.
One point two seconds later.
Bang!
It did not hit the horn directly (the target was too small), but the shell struck the deck right beside Euron's feet! It drilled straight into the lower deck!
BOOM——!!!
A massive explosion erupted from inside the Silence!
The entire warship's stern was smashed as if struck by a giant's fist and instantly blown into pieces!
The sinister horn was hurled into the sea by the shockwave.
Euron, who had been blowing the horn, was protected at the last moment by several Ironborn bodyguards who threw themselves over him as human shields. Even so, he was still blasted dozens of meters by the shockwave and smashed hard into the sea!
"Captain!" the surviving Ironborn cried in terror.
"Forget the ship!
Save him! Save him now!"
Several fast ships that had been escorting nearby desperately charged over, fished the blood-covered, barely alive Euron from the sea, and then fled into the fog toward the open ocean without looking back.
At this moment, on the Black Prince.
With the disappearance of the horn's sound, Tyrion and the soldiers finally recovered.
"Damn it… what the hell was that sound?" Tyrion wiped the blood from his nose, his face full of lingering fear. "I felt like my brains were about to boil."
"That was magic, Tyrion."
Victor watched the distant sinking wreckage of the Silence and the few fast ships escaping into the mist.
He did not order a pursuit.
First, there was fog. Second… if Euron didn't bring news of what happened here to Cersei, how would Cersei learn to fear him? And how would she be driven to seek even darker powers to oppose him?
"Clean the battlefield."
Victor gave the order calmly. "Tow back any ships that haven't sunk. Salvage all usable materials."
"Is that madman dead?" Tyrion asked.
"Most likely not."
Victor recalled the feel of that last shot. Although it had destroyed the ship, some strange power seemed to have protected Euron.
The Drowned God? Or something else?
"But he won't be blowing any horns for a while."
Victor turned and walked down from the command platform.
"Back to White Harbor. We still have an even bigger ship to build."
…
Three days later, King's Landing.
Underground secret chamber of the Red Keep.
Cersei Lannister paced back and forth anxiously.
Maester Qyburn (the original one, here set as a double agent or another Qyburn bought by Cersei, or simply a clone/apprentice) pushed open the door.
"Your Grace, news from Euron has arrived."
"How did it go? Did he seize Victor's ship?" Cersei asked urgently.
"…Failure."
The apprentice's face was pale. "Lord Euron's fleet was completely wiped out. He himself is heavily injured and is currently recovering on Pyke."
"According to the survivors… Victor has built a kind of steel sea monster that needs no sails, fears no fire, and can spit thunder."
Cersei collapsed into her chair in despair.
"Even Euron failed… who else can stop him? Must I hand the Iron Throne over to that upstart?"
At that moment, a figure emerged from the shadows.
He wore gray robes and a heavy maester's chain around his neck.
It was the Grand Maester from the Citadel.
"Your Grace, there is no need for despair."
The old maester's voice was as cold as a snake.
"Steel may be hard, but it is still mortal."
"Since Euron's black magic was not strong enough, we will use an even older and purer power."
He took out a vial glowing with an eerie green light from his robe and placed it on the table.
"Although the Citadel opposes magic, we have studied it for thousands of years. We know… how to create a true dragon-slayer."
"What is this?" Cersei stared at the vial.
"'Divine Grace'."
The old maester smiled faintly.
"If we let that monster called 'the Mountain' drink it… he will become the wrath of the gods walking upon the earth."
"Sufficient to tear apart steel, and also… to crush dragons."
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