Pyke.
Facing the dragon's invasion, the Ironborn gathered here, vaguely divided into two factions.
One faction didn't want to flee, or knew they couldn't, and chose to follow Balon.
The other faction wanted to flee and chose to follow "Crows Eye" Euron.
At this critical moment, the two factions were still engaged in overt and covert struggles.
A secluded spire.
Euron packed his bags, putting valuable treasures and special gemstones away, ready to flee at any moment.
What else could he do but flee?
Fight a dragon head-on?
Don't be ridiculous.
"Euron, Great Wyk and Harlaw have fallen. We still have some wealth on Old Wyk, enough to support us until we reach the Stepstones and buy a few new ships."
Dunstan Drumm spoke quickly, having already considered his plans after escaping the Iron Islands.
He was the Ironborn lord of Old Wyk, hailing from the ancient-blooded Drumm Family.
Euron glanced at him and coaxed, "That's right. Once we reach the Stepstones, there will be opportunities everywhere. Life will be better than in the Iron Islands."
Lord Dunstan was past middle age but still couldn't change his greedy and stingy nature. Facing the invincible dragon, he immediately had the idea of starting a new venture at sea.
"My Lord, go guard the door for me first. I have something to do."
Euron issued an order for his guest to leave.
Lord Dunstan straightened his back, without the slightest sorrow of leaving his homeland, only expectation for a new life.
Bang!
As soon as the door closed, Euron's face instantly changed: "Idiot!"
If he didn't have a scheme, he wouldn't bother saying a single word to the man.
But Lord Dunstan had money and could help him get to the Stepstones.
Furthermore, the Drumm Family possessed a divine weapon.
A glint of greed flashed in Euron's intact blue right eye, and countless cunning thoughts emerged in his mind to take what belonged to another as his own.
Dunstan had that sword hanging at his waist.
The Drumm Family heirloom, the valyrian steel sword—"red rain."
Through the enhancement of the Gem Sequence, his agility had increased significantly, and his constitution was also subtly improving.
Euron gradually felt that ordinary weapons were now outdated.
Only a valyrian steel weapon was worthy of his identity as a kraken.
"Once we're out of the Iron Islands, I'll find a chance to kill you."
Euron let out an evil smile.
Balon was in a dilemma.
He sought out the "Drowned Man" of the Iron Islands, hoping for guidance from the drowned god.
A Drowned Man was a priest who worshipped the drowned god.
That Drowned Man, with an aged face and wet hair, shrouded in hemp robes all day, actually gave him an idea.
As long as he sacrificed king's blood, plus the lives of a hundred Ironborn.
:
The Drowned Man could communicate with the drowned god and create a way out for the Iron Islands.
"Blood Witch methods."
Balon felt a chill all over, keeping a respectful distance from ghostly sorcery and magic.
But at the thought of the dragons ravaging the Iron Islands, he couldn't stop thinking about the Drowned Man's words, longing for the help of the drowned god.
"King's blood, me?"
Balon rolled up his sleeves, looking at his severely burned arm, falling into a complex mix of madness and fear.
The Drowned Man said his blood was king's blood.
Doesn't that prove he was meant to be a king?
A King of the Ironborn or a King on the Iron Throne?
No matter which king, it was the status he dreamed of.
Balon's gaze gradually changed, and he murmured to himself: "I am a king—"
Boom—
A blast of scorching Dragonfire smashed through the fortifications of Pike Island. Splinters flew everywhere, and the Ironborn wailed across the land.
Daeron rode Caraxes and flew into the airspace of Pike Island.
After sweeping through Great Wyk and Harlaw, it was finally Pike Island's turn.
"If I kill more than half of the Ironborn, this trip will be considered a successful conclusion."
Daeron didn't hesitate and rode the dragon toward Pyke.
Behind him, the Redwyne Fleet and the Shield Islands fleet appeared on the horizon, preparing to attack Pike Island.
A certain rocky cave on Pike Island.
The waves crashed loudly.
Euron gathered a group of Ironborn and loaded the goods onto a longship hidden in advance.
While the two fleets were besieging Pike Island, he intended to use his elder brother Balon as bait and secretly flee.
"Where is that idiot Dunstan Drumm?"
Everything was ready, Euron looked around but didn't see the divine weapon he desired.
"It seems he was summoned to Pyke by Balon."
An Ironborn answered tremulously.
Euron's face darkened, and he flew into a rage: "Then why aren't you at Pyke!?"
"I—I'm your man————"
The Ironborn was dazed by the question, sensing a hint of danger.
"My man? Then give me your life."
Euron suddenly pulled out a dagger, stabbed it into the Ironborn's chest, and then pushed him into the dark channel of the rocky cave.
Just as the other Ironborn were silent as cicadas in winter, thinking it was over...
A limp tentacle reached out from the dark channel, wrapped around the Ironborn's limp corpse, and quickly pulled it underwater.
Crack, crack, crack!
Accompanied by the sound of bones being crushed, a patch of bright red waves surged in the dark channel before slowly returning to silence.
Euron's single eye was sinister as he scanned those present: "This is the consequence of defying me."
He didn't care if the Ironborn died unjustly; he just wanted to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.
This display indeed terrified the other Ironborn.
"Is that a kraken?"
The Ironborn were furious but didn't dare speak, the same suspicion emerging in their hearts.
Euron glanced at the dark channel and told the men to help push the longship out of the rocky cave.
There was a kraken he kept there.
He had discovered it when he was seven or eight years old and had been secretly feeding it with corpses, growing it into a massive deep-sea monster.
Unfortunately, the monster had no intelligence and could not be used by him.
..
As the dragons attacked Pike Island, panic spread instantly.
Balon ran to the Lord's bedroom, intending to move his father, King Caleon.
"Heh... heh..."
As soon as he entered, he saw King Caleon fallen on the floor, his face turning blue-purple, his eyes bulging, and his hands tightly clutching his own throat.
"Father!?"
Balon was struck with shock and hurried over to check the situation.
Veins bulged on King Caleon's forehead, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked at his eldest son who had entered as if for help.
He wanted to speak, but he opened his mouth and couldn't make a sound.
After just a few breaths, he suffocated to death in agony.
With a thud, the hands clutching his throat loosened and fell to the floor. His two eyes stared straight at the ceiling, full of resentment and regret.
"Father————"
Balon was dumbstruck.
After a long while, looking at the tragic state of his father who died with his eyes open, he suddenly looked at the cup on the bed.
The cup was overturned, with a few drops of Milk of the Poppy remaining inside.
Someone poisoned him!!
But his father had already agreed to pass the throne to him. Who would kill an old man lingering on a sickbed?
Balon's cunning talent emerged, and he immediately locked onto the target, roaring: "Euron, you beast!!"
It was him; it must have been him.
Because his father passed the throne to him, Euron held a grudge and poisoned his father.
Bang!
Balon burst through the door, searching for Euron's trail like a madman, "Euron, I will definitely kill you!"
"Balon, the Redwyne Fleet is about to attack."
97
Some Ironborn lords saw him and gave a hurried reminder.
Balon ignored them and first went to Euron's residence, finally confirming one thing.
Euron had fled!
He had planned his escape in advance and poisoned his father before leaving.
Realizing this, Balon couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
The person Euron wanted to poison most was probably himself.
But he had been eating and living with the Ironborn lords and hadn't eaten separately.
Instead, it was his father who needed to take medicine, which gave Euron the opportunity to poison him.
"Balon, what are you still looking for?"
Lord Merlin stopped Balon.
He was one of the Ironborn lords on Great Wyk. After Great Wyk was destroyed, he fled to Pike Island.
Lord Merlin grabbed Balon by the collar and questioned: "Where are those Ironborn? You called a hundred Ironborn to scout the enemy's movements. Where are they now?"
Balon's gaze was cold as he grabbed the other man's throat and said in a deep voice: "My father was poisoned by Euron. From today on, I, Balon Greyjoy, am the King of the Iron Islands."
"You must learn to show respect."
Lord Merlin was stunned. Before he could recover from the news of King Caleon's death by poisoning, he heard another bone-chilling piece of news.
"Those Ironborn volunteered to be sacrifices to the drowned god and died for our victory against the invading enemies."
Balon only left him with the sight of his back.
..
Outside Pike Island, the two fleets were about to land.
Whoosh—
A salty sea breeze swept past, the sky gradually changing color as wisps of dark clouds appeared.
Daeron's nostrils flared slightly as he caught an unusual scent.
Water magic was surging.
No, it wasn't just water magic.
Beneath that wave-like moisture, there was an unmaskable scent of saltiness, rot, and corruption, as if a dead fish that had been dead for months had turned over, emitting a nauseating stench.
"Something's not right!"
Alarm bells rang in Daeron's heart.
As members of the dragonlord family, Targaryens had fire magic flowing in their blood.
After drinking the Forest Magic, he had become sensitive to natural auras.
Now, both the fire magic and the Forest Magic were warning him that the magical field of the Iron Islands was becoming turbulent and an ill omen was about to appear.
"Go, Caraxes!!"
Daeron made a prompt decision and rode the dragon out of Pike Island's airspace.
"Screech!"
"Screech————"
Tessarion and Toothless also seemed to catch a bad scent, flapping their wide wings and hurriedly flying away behind their father and elder brother.
The Red Dragon flew over the two fleets first, followed closely by the blue and black ones.
"What's going on?"
Lord Paxter asked in surprise.
Daeron didn't waste words and immediately issued the retreat order, then quickly flew toward the outskirts of the Iron Islands.
No matter what was about to happen, he wasn't prepared to take risks.
Wizards could be fake, and the Seven could be a lie.
But fluctuations in magic would not deceive.
Something must have happened in the Iron Islands for a magical disturbance to occur.
Run!
He had to run immediately!
"My Lord, what is happening?"
Lord Paxter looked at Pike Island, which was close at hand, completely bewildered.
Lord Randyll chose to believe Daeron and said: "The prince has left. Order the fleet to retreat!"
"He's really leaving?"
Jaime didn't understand why.
Brynden observed the sky, sniffed with his nose, and pulled a sea fish from a bucket to tear off a piece of skin and flesh.
His strange behavior immediately attracted attention.
"Go!"
Brynden chewed twice on the fish skin, which had become tough and sour, and immediately spat it out.
Jaime asked hurriedly: "What's wrong?"
Brynden's whole body tensed, and he said in a deep voice: "A storm is coming!"
Crack!
:
A bolt of lightning pierced the sky like a silver bottle bursting, filling the sky with gloom and calling forth endless moisture.
In an instant, the rain began to fall pitter-patter.
"Euron, get out here!"
Balon was like a madman, searching the entire rocky beach for Euron.
From the other man, he felt a vague threat of death.
He had to get rid of him.
"I am the king!"
Balon firmly believed he could be the king.