"What is that sound?" The Magister's words had barely left his lips.
Then they heard the commotion outside again. A group of men, their faces grim, stood up and walked out of the palace with trepidation. By now, they already had an answer in their hearts.
Sure enough, upon stepping out, they saw the giant dragon in the sky.
Ghidorah's middle head rose slightly, and a burst of golden light erupted from its throat. There was no charging up, no warning; in that instant, time seemed to freeze. The words the Magister of Lys had intended to use to explain himself to Viserys were permanently sealed within his mouth.
That Golden Ray, symbolizing annihilation, struck straight into the very center of the palace.
Everything touched by the Golden Ray vanished into nothingness in an instant. As the golden light dissipated, a massive, bottomless hole appeared where the center of the palace had once been, its edges as smooth as a mirror.
But this was only the beginning.
Ghidorah's left head turned, aiming at the eastern side of the palace. Its jaws opened, and an icy blue breath poured out, instantly covering half the palace. Several nobles standing before the black hole, their faces frozen in terror, were turned into ice sculptures.
The right head simultaneously turned toward the west, where palace guards and noble private soldiers were attempting to organize a resistance. This time, what spewed forth was searing Dragonfire.
A pillar of fire descended from the sky, igniting the gathered soldiers. They curled and struggled within the flames, but their screams were drowned out by the waves of fire. The air was thick with the stench of charred flesh.
Ghidorah's attack was not random. Under Viserys's command, in just a few breaths, she turned this palace—a symbol of Lys's centuries of prosperity—into ruins.
Black Flame did not join them in destroying the palace.
It had received more specific instructions. Its dark red vertical pupils swept over the panicked city below, precisely locking onto several seemingly ordinary warehouses or buildings. These were the Poison Workshops Viserys had identified beforehand using his Wayfarer abilities.
It began to dive toward its targets, suddenly spreading its wings when it was still dozens of feet above the ground. The powerful gust of wind knocked over people on the streets below. It unleashed a thick, dark red pillar of fire directly at its target, the flames pouring precisely into a two-story stone house.
The fire spread to every corner of the building. Sounds came from within, and then the windows were blown out by the expanding gases inside, spewing colorful thick smoke—the various stored poisons being ignited.
The sea breeze blew this toxic smoke deep into the city. Wherever it passed, residents and soldiers who couldn't hide in time were either consumed by Dragonfire or clutched their mouths and noses, coughing violently. Some developed festering sores on their skin. They wanted to flee but didn't know which direction to take.
Black Flame did not linger, flapping its wings and flying toward its next target. It was like the most seasoned hunter, efficiently eliminating its marks. Occasionally, warehouse guards would fire crossbows at it, but the bolts struck its thick scales without leaving even a scratch.
Instead, it drew a casual breath of Dragonfire, turning the archers and the warehouse into charcoal. This caused more toxic smoke to spread, letting the Lysene taste for themselves how potent their poisons were.
The scattered resistance in the city was destined to be futile.
Several Scorpion Crossbows mounted on the city walls finally turned and fired, launching massive bolts at Ghidorah in the sky. However, seeing the incoming bolts, she didn't even bother to block them, letting them strike her scales. With a series of crisp snaps, the bolts were deflected one after another, completely ineffective.
However, being shot at repeatedly grew annoying. She turned her middle head and unleashed a Golden Ray, sweeping it across the direction the bolts were coming from. A section of the city wall there simply vanished.
More defenders and Mercenaries began to flee. They threw down their weapons, trying to hide in narrow alleys or houses. But they collided with the crowds fleeing the toxic smoke. People trampled each other, and the narrow streets became total death traps.
Furthermore, after completing their primary objectives, the two dragons stopped discriminating between targets. Any place that looked like a barracks or a noble's mansion became a target for Dragonfire. Ghidorah's three-colored breaths alternated continuously; each cycle meant the disappearance, incineration, or freezing of an area.
Black Flame was more like a tireless flamethrower; wherever it flew, a great fire would ignite.
By the time the Empire's naval fleet appeared on the horizon, Lys's resistance had completely collapsed. The docks were crowded with people trying to seize ships to escape—merchants, soldiers, and minor nobles who hadn't been eligible to attend the meeting.
They shoved and cursed at one another, some even drawing blades, all to fight for a ship that could sail into the sea. Behind them, they could only see a city still burning and emitting eerie, thick smoke.
The Empire's fleet did not approach Lys immediately. Instead, they spread out to blockade all shipping lanes, intercepting any vessels attempting to escape. The fires and smoke of Lys burned for an entire day before dissipating. When the Empire's army entered Lys,
they encountered almost no resistance. After Ghidorah destroyed the high-level command and Black Flame poisoned the entire city, organized resistance simply did not exist.
Occasionally, a few scattered units of noble private soldiers refused to surrender and charged out from the ruins, only to be quickly crushed by the Empire's army. Since the military reforms, the soldiers remaining in the army were those with higher combat effectiveness. More defenders and civilians chose to drop their weapons and kneel by the ruins, while some minor nobles tried to hide among the surrendering crowds by changing into commoner clothes.
Viserys announced that Lys would be brought under the direct jurisdiction of the Imperial Crown, and all Lysene high officials and merchants involved in the assassination plot would be investigated. He decided to make Lys the Empire's "back garden," much like during the era of the Valyrian Freehold, given Lys's excellent geographical location.
But it had to be a garden thoroughly cleansed and free of poison. A bloody purge quickly unfolded; the Lysene upper class was uprooted, and those hiding in the crowds were found one by one. The Targaryen Three-headed Dragon Banner was now firmly planted in Lys.
Some ordinary civilians and honest merchants quickly accepted the new rule; a port protected by dragons and safe for trade was more attractive than what they had before. Those who had lost relatives and friends in the war were heartbroken, but their choice to bend the knee showed they weren't the type to have the courage to resist.
Even if some surrendered in bad faith, it didn't matter. Although Lys was now part of the Empire's territory, it would be under martial law, with military officers filling all official positions. Furthermore, a military base would be established here in the future, distinguishing it from the other City-states.
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