An unexpected gain.
Aegor's utterly scummy display of loyalty had a simple starting point: since the outcome was predetermined, rather than argue, it was better to build up Daenerys's favor... which would be beneficial for both official and personal matters in the future.
Who would have thought that perhaps due to a lack of affection, and the conversation happening near the Dragon House, Daenerys would actually declare on the spot that he should try riding Rhaegal!
The implication was that as long as he could sit on him, Rhaegal would be his mount from then on.
To be rewarded with a dragon!
Even though he felt he had already done enough for Daenerys, such an unconventional yet significant reward still exceeded Aegor's expectations.
What was the value of a dragon?
Economically, no one could say for sure, as there were no definite records of adult dragons being explicitly priced and traded in the known history of the world of ice and fire.
But militarily, there was a ready example to refer to, right before Aegor's eyes:
In the decisive battle during the day, the Reach Army had dared to push the dragon-hunting scorpions, which should have been positioned behind the lines on standby, to the front precisely because Daenerys and the dragon had not appeared for a long time. This action actually caused a series of chain reactions: because the dragon-hunting scorpions' ground fire put immense pressure on Daenerys's western infantry, Aegor had to immediately commit three second-line phalanxes to provide support, while also deploying half of the artillery to suppress them. These two responses did alleviate the pressure in a short time, but the former order left him with almost no soldiers available for the final wave of attacks from the water, while the latter resulted in insufficient firepower suppression on the other two fronts of the Western Expeditionary Army. In short... it turned a battle that was originally a sure victory into a precarious situation.
It was imaginable that if there had been two dragons from the start, no, even just one, circling above the battlefield... even if they and Daenerys were afraid of the threat of the dragon-hunting scorpions and did not dive down to participate, and even without counting the morale boost to their own side and the psychological pressure on the enemy, it could at least be certain that the Reach Army's "anti-air units" would never dare to rashly switch to ground combat. And this would mean that dragons could at least tie down the output of more than a dozen of the enemy's major weapons and hundreds of elite ballista engineers, thereby making the Western Expeditionary Army's ground operations easy and orderly, unfolding as originally envisioned and achieving victory step by step without suspense until the outcome was decided.
Putting it together like this, a rough but clear conclusion emerged.
Two dragons, on the battlefield, were equivalent to the armed strength of at least three phalanxes, or six thousand elite soldiers. This number could further swell with the correct choice of timing and method of deployment, as well as skillful command... with no upper limit!
Furthermore, if Aegor remembered correctly, Daenerys regarded all three dragons as her children.
This meant that in the decision to "allow others to try riding a dragon," the value of the dragon itself, or how many divisions it was worth, was not the most meaningful topic for discussion. The more core, or rather, more noteworthy point lay in the permission or even encouragement itself, and the subtle emotional change it represented: in her heart, Daenerys had already placed Aegor's status and importance above that of her "dragon sons."
With such a good foundation, after riding the dragon, riding the Dragon Rider was likely just a matter of time.
Under Daenerys's approving and relieved gaze, and the startled stares of the surrounding guards and soldiers as they drew in cold breaths, Aegor also raised a hand. Mirroring Daenerys on the left and right, he placed it on Rhaegal's nose, which had been nudged toward them.
The direct touch instantly transmitted the might of the true dragon in the form of bioelectricity into Rhaegal's skull. Rhaegal shivered all over as if he had eaten a large mouthful of mustard. Then, a scene somewhat similar to when they had met outside Last Hearth last time played out again: after shaking all over, he bent his knees, lowered his shoulders, and dropped his neck. His chin crushed the fence that the Western Expeditionary Army soldiers had built around the Dragon House with wooden planks, ostensibly to contain the giant dragon but actually to prevent idiots from seeking death. Once again, he performed the body language whose meaning any species or culture could understand at a glance: prostrating himself completely, he lay down!
Daenerys unexpectedly raised her eyebrows.
Unlike Aegor, this was the first time she had seen Rhaegal behave in such a docile and submissive manner. This posture seemed shameful, but it was actually very similar to the posture Drogon assumed when she was about to get on or off his back. The rare difference was that the black dragon would not press his entire tail to the ground when lowering his body.
Even when she, his "biological mother," wanted to ride him, Drogon was not this obedient!
"Since Your Grace has given instructions, I shall naturally obey."
This was a king's reward, and there was no reason to refuse. Aegor had no idea that a hint of sourness was rising in Daenerys's heart. He said something pleasant with a smile, and without any hesitation, while still stroking Rhaegal's steaming surface with his hand, he took a step, crossed the broken fence, and walked toward the "shoulder" of the huge winged lizard.
Not far away, the black dragon snorted heavily. The soldiers drinking and eating nearby were also attracted by the commotion, and soon, a thin layer of onlookers gathered by the Dragon House.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, both human and beast, Aegor walked past Rhaegal's solid and broad neck as if walking past a wall, and stopped at Rhaegal's wing root.
As he stopped, the scene also fell silent. The lively discussions from moments ago completely ceased at this moment. Everyone closed their mouths and held their breath, quietly waiting for the Hand of the Queen's next move, afraid of making any noise that might disturb the giant beast beside him.
Aegor was no longer a chuunibyou teenager. He had no fiery desire or strong expectation for riding a dragon. But even setting aside psychological factors like prestige and glory, a flying, fire-breathing dragon was still a fast and convenient mode of transportation, as well as a war weapon with astonishing destructive power... With the aura suppression from the scales bestowed by R'hllor, he had no doubt whatsoever about his ability to ride a dragon. His only previous concern was not wanting to overstep Daenerys's permission and presumptuously offend her private property.
And now, the last concern also vanished with Daenerys's permission.
He began to "mount the dragon."
Rhaegal had never carried a person before. His original purpose for lying down was merely to show obedience and submission, not to imply that Aegor should get on him. So it was not surprising that although Rhaegal was lying low, he did not skillfully assume a posture that allowed people to easily get on and off like his older brother.
But the impact was small.
The leathery scales on the surface of an adult dragon's body were already rough and hard, no less than a tire. Furthermore, they were covered with crisscrossing textures and protrusions similar to enlarged warts on a toad, making the dragon's body itself a platform for "rock climbing" with extremely low difficulty. As long as you were not afraid of the scorching body heat they emitted, and the dragon itself cooperated by not moving around, climbing up was actually not difficult at all.
And these two requirements were coincidentally both met at this moment.
R'hllor's Scale on his chest emitted a slight warmth under his skin. The dragon's body, which would be burning hot to ordinary people, became warm and pleasant under his palm. And Rhaegal, whom Aegor had stroked with his hand all the way as he approached the wing root, was so intimidated by the astonishing pressure of R'hllor's Scale that he did not even dare to breathe heavily, let alone move around and affect his climb.
Thus, grasping the hard protrusions at the base of Rhaegal's wings with both hands, digging the tips of his boots into the half-foot-deep surface texture, and exerting force with both hands and feet, Aegor effortlessly flipped onto Rhaegal's wing-root membrane and stood on the giant beast's shoulder. Amid the collective gasps from the entire field, he did not hesitate at all, but quickly pressed on. After taking a step to build momentum, he jumped off the dragon's massive shoulder blade, stepped on Rhaegal's rough, arched spine, and vaulted onto Rhaegal's back in one go.
With no effort at all!
A thunderous exclamation instantly spread throughout most of the camp. The simpler-minded spectators were purely marveling that their Lord Commander could ride a giant dragon, while those who thought a bit deeper had already realized that the ability to control a giant dragon had extraordinary political implications within the true dragon dynasty. The wealth and safety of them, the followers, had gained another layer of security!
Not to mention the onlookers and soldiers who were making a commotion, even Daenerys did her best to hide her astonishment. She did not know much about the Valyrian Freehold before the Doom, but one thing was certain. On this continent of Westeros beneath her feet, taming an adult giant dragon so smoothly was something that had never happened before.
Moments before, she had been worried that Rhaegal would not comply obediently and had deliberately pressed his head with her hand. Now, she instead suspected that there had long been a "clandestine affair" between this dragon and this man.
This man likely still held many secrets waiting to be unearthed!
"Don't move around. Find a safe place before you sit down!"
Daenerys's reminder penetrated the sounds of awe and discussion and reached the dragon's back. This was not a random remark just to say something. It was a warning that was almost half a beat late because Aegor's actions in mounting the dragon were too fast. The dragon's back was so rough that it was like desert rock walls weathered for thousands of years. As soon as Aegor climbed up, he immediately lowered his center of gravity, imitating the posture, and squatted down right in the middle of the junction between Rhaegal's neck and back, directly above the giant dragon's overall center of mass. He was thinking of lowering his center of gravity to avoid being thrown off by the dragon's movements, but as he was only halfway down, his crotch hit something hard and painful. After hearing Daenerys's warning and looking down, he saw that along the spine on the dragon's back, there was a row of large and small, stout, hard, spiky protrusions.
Good heavens, how do you ride this?
If he were to just plop down with full force like that and then take off and fly half a circle, he would probably only be able to obediently ride the dragon for the rest of his life and would not need to think about riding the Dragon Rider anymore.
"Alright, Rhaegal has accepted you. It's nighttime now, you can't fly, come down!" As someone with experience, Daenerys's shouts continued to come from below. "Just climbing up is useless. It's best to prepare a saddle and safety ropes. Tomorrow, I will teach the dragon-taming ritual I learned in the Shadow Lands to two Red Priestesses and have them perform it for you. As long as your thoughts are slightly linked to Rhaegal's consciousness, you can save over a decade of skill training and directly become a qualified Dragon Rider!"
Aegor followed Daenerys's suggestion and returned to the ground along the same path.
At this moment, two soldiers ran quickly along the camp road west of the Dragon House. At first, everyone thought they were just busybodies who had heard what had happened at the Dragon House and wanted to join the fun. It was not until they ran breathlessly to Aegor and Daenerys and reported loudly.
"Your Grace, Hand of the Queen. Highgarden has sent a negotiating delegation, and they are waiting outside the west gate of the camp for a reply and permission to enter!"
(To be continued.)