Chapter 278: The Valyrian Ruins

After Lynd left, everyone finally returned to their senses. Their attention immediately shifted to the sisters Ella and Yara, hoping to get some information about Lynd and the dragon. However, the head of the Miracle Merchant Guild's liaison office quickly intervened and stopped them.

Although he couldn't help but feel a certain prejudice toward the conjoined sisters and couldn't understand why Lynd would place such importance on them, he still followed Lynd's orders faithfully. He brought Ella and Yara to the liaison office for protection and mobilized all available personnel to guard the room where they were being housed.

With Ella and Yara placed safely under the care of the Miracle Merchant Guild, the group lost their only lead for information. Left with no alternative, they began discussing among themselves. Besides speculating about the strange dragon, they also talked about what Lynd had said before leaving—he was heading to explore the ruins of Valyria.

Everyone knew that the Valyrian ruins were like hell itself, a place of no return. Countless bold treasure hunters had tried and failed to come back. And yet, surprisingly, they were all in agreement: Lynd might just succeed in exploring the ruins and even discover the treasure of the once-mighty Valyrian Freehold.

After all, Lynd wasn't an ordinary person—he was a god walking the earth. While the ruins were deadly to common folk, for a god, navigating such danger might be as easy as taking a stroll in the backyard.

As everyone discussed Lynd and the dragon, Jon Connington hurriedly left with his men. They needed to reach Khal Drogo and strike a deal before he returned to the Dothraki Sea.

Though news of Lynd riding a dragon was shocking, the oddly shaped dragon he was riding now wasn't his first. Compared to this one, the massive sea dragon Cannibal was the true monster that had stunned the world.

Still, Lynd's reappearance sparked a glimmer of hope in Jon Connington for restoring the Targaryen dynasty. He suspected the dragon Lynd was riding had likely hatched from a dragon egg.

Everyone knew that Lynd had acquired a dragon egg from the ghost in Summerhall. For a long time, there had been no news of it hatching, and most assumed it was a dead egg, just like many of the Targaryen eggs from the past. As a result, the egg had been largely forgotten.

But now, it seemed the egg had indeed hatched—and into such a strange-looking dragon. Considering it had come from a ghost, perhaps the egg was no longer a normal one. A mutated dragon hatching from it wasn't out of the question.

In Jon Connington's view, if Lynd could hatch a dragon from an egg, so could they. With the dragon hatched, House Targaryen—with its Dragonlord blood—would stand a chance of taming it and reviving the Targaryen dynasty.

That said, hatching a dragon egg remained a far-off dream. For now, Jon Connington focused on something more practical: marrying House Targaryen into the most powerful Horse King of the Dothraki. If Daenerys wed the Khal, she would gain the support of his fearsome warriors. They could first seize a city on Essos to establish a base, then plan to take the Iron Throne.

Meanwhile, as Lynd flew toward the Valyrian Freehold, he found himself thinking about Jon Connington.

Though he had no particular affection for House Targaryen, Lynd had never stopped keeping tabs on them. Over the years, he had collected extensive intelligence on the family.

Perhaps due to his own influence on history, Aegon Targaryen—who went by the alias Young Griff—had contacted Daenerys and Viserys earlier than expected. Thanks to the return of dragons and the belief in the "three-headed dragon" prophecy, even though Viserys held no fondness for Aegon, the three had still chosen to form an alliance.

Now, with Jon Connington, they were living in Volantis, funded by Illyrio. It seemed they had also gained the support of the Red Temple and had gathered a small force.

The latest intelligence indicated that House Targaryen had been introduced to Khal Drogo through Illyrio. If all had gone according to plan, Aegon and Viserys intended to marry Daenerys to Khal Drogo in exchange for Dothraki troops.

What Lynd couldn't understand was why these Targaryens and their backers believed the Dothraki alone could win them the Iron Throne. And what role, exactly, did they think he would play in this plan?

He didn't believe Jon Connington was ignorant of the power gap between Khal Drogo and himself. Forget facing Summerhall directly—even if the Kingdom of Lorne went to war, the outcome would still be uncertain.

To put it plainly, with the power Lynd now held, if he didn't give his blessing, no one would be able to claim the Iron Throne securely.

So, he was curious to see what the Targaryens would do to persuade him to support their cause—unless they no longer aimed for the Iron Throne and intended to start something entirely new.

Since he didn't need to worry about anyone else, Deltos's return flight to Oros was much faster. In just over an hour, they were already back outside the Dragon's Nest near the Magister's palace.

The corpse of the Kraken that Deltos had frozen was still there, and the terrified citizens of Oros had yet to return.

Deltos didn't stop in Oros. He simply glided over the Kraken's corpse, breathed another wave of frost to further encase it, and continued flying toward the Valyrian Peninsula.

The coastal waters were riddled with searing-hot reefs, and the seabed teemed with active volcanoes. The boiling lava and rocks evaporated the seawater, creating clouds of black and yellow poisonous smoke. Ships could only pass through when the smoke thinned.

Even flying high, Deltos couldn't escape the toxic fumes. As they passed through the Smoking Sea, Lynd had to activate the Storm Dragon rune, conjuring a space that shielded them from the poisonous clouds.

Strangely enough, Deltos seemed to enjoy the environment—especially the sulfurous stench in the air. Lynd could clearly feel the dragon's delight.

Seeing that Lynd was unharmed, Deltos even descended to fly low over the water, deliberately choosing areas where the toxic smoke was thickest.

Though the fumes obscured his view, Lynd could still make out movement in the boiling, smoke-shrouded sea below. Large sea creatures were swimming beneath the surface, and bizarre-looking beasts loitered on volcanic reefs. As Deltos flew overhead, these creatures panicked and leapt into the scalding water.

Lynd couldn't get a good look at them, but based on their general shapes, they weren't human—more like mutated seals or walruses.

Before long, Deltos passed through the Smoking Sea. When Lynd saw the towering cliffs ahead, he knew they had entered the Valyrian Peninsula.

According to historical records, during the Doom, the volcanoes surrounding Valyria erupted first. The resulting tsunamis submerged the peninsula's lowlands, and the entire landmass rapidly sank. The connection to the continent of Essos was severed completely as the surrounding lands vanished beneath the sea.

Then came the meteor storms—some were molten rock from the eruptions, others were real meteors. The Lands of the Long Summer, for example, were struck repeatedly. Even Valyria's Dragonlords had no time to flee, and every last dragon was lost in the catastrophe. The cliffs formed by the sinking land became a natural barrier, deterring all would-be explorers. Only a rare few managed to find a way onto the peninsula.

"Careful!" Deltos must've gotten carried away—he charged straight at the cliffs without slowing down. At the last second, he turned sharply, soaring up the vertical rock face. The sudden motion gave Lynd the gut-churning sensation of riding a roller coaster from his past life.

Once they cleared the cliffs and flew a bit farther, Lynd spotted a ruined city similar to Oros. Compared to Oros, though, this one was in much worse shape. Almost nothing remained of its structures. The ground was buried in a thick layer of volcanic ash—some of which had hardened into a cement-like crust that sealed the entire city underground.

Lynd guessed this must be Tria. There were rumors that people still lived there, but clearly, those were false. Judging by the current state of Tria, no creature could possibly survive here.

He made a quick loop around Tria before heading straight for the heart of the Valyrian Freehold.

From the layer of dust across the peninsula, it was evident that the volcanic fumes from the sea hadn't spread outward for centuries. Instead, they were all drawn inward toward the peninsula. This wasn't just due to geography—it was the result of the chaotic magic blanketing the entire Valyrian Peninsula, like a black hole disrupting reality and pulling in everything around it.

As they drew closer to Valyria, volcanic ash and poison smoke were swept upward by an invisible magical force, forming dark storm clouds. Streaks of black and crimson lightning crackled within, and the ash, melted by the lightning, turned into molten rain and splashed down to the ground.

Because the smoke and ash had been pulled into the sky, the air near the ground was clearer than expected. Aside from the absence of light, it was breathable—albeit foul-smelling, reeking of sulfur and rotten eggs. Still, it was far more bearable than the suffocating fumes found elsewhere.

Everything was pitch black, with only flashes of lightning providing brief glimpses. Even Deltos wasn't comfortable, so he activated his lightning magic to illuminate their surroundings.

Only then did Lynd realize they were already flying above the ruins of Valyria—it had just been too dark to see earlier.

Under Deltos's glow, Lynd could see that the entire Valyrian city was filled with meteor craters. Some were large enough to swallow entire districts; the smaller ones could easily fit an estate. At the center of each crater were chunks of greasy black stone—something Lynd had seen before. The Hightower in Oldtown, the Seastone Chair on the Iron Islands, and even the legendary Asshai had all been built from the same black stone.

Unlike the Hightower's black stone foundations, these stones radiated intense chaotic magic. This was the very source of the magical chaos that cloaked Valyria.

The moment Deltos saw the black stones, he pounced like a dog spotting a juicy bun, eager to land on a slab the size of a house.

But Lynd stopped him. He remembered what had happened the last time someone flew a dragon into Valyria—how Balerion the Black Dread and his rider Aerea Targaryen were attacked by unknown horrors. Some of those creatures had even burrowed into Aerea's body.

All signs pointed to the existence of terrifying and unknown lifeforms here—creatures powerful enough to wound even Balerion. That was reason enough for Lynd to proceed with extreme caution.

He had Deltos circle the ruins a few times—not just to scan for threats, but also to map out the different districts, hoping to find the area where dragon eggs had once been bred and hatched.

Soon, Lynd spotted something on a hill at the edge of the ruins. The hill had been struck by three meteorites, with part of it completely obliterated. The resulting craters overlapped, covering most of the slope.

Around the craters lay countless dragon bones. Judging from the number of skulls, there were over a hundred dragons buried here. And not just adults—many juvenile bones were mixed in too. It felt like a centralized dragon-rearing site, a proper Dragonpit.

Lynd directed Deltos to land. The dragon eagerly settled on the largest of the black stones and immediately began absorbing its magical energy.

"Be careful, Deltos," Lynd said as he leapt from the dragon's back, giving a quick reminder.

Deltos grunted in response, then continued absorbing the magic in earnest.

Lynd didn't say more. He stepped out of the crater and made his way toward the massive pile of dragon bones.

When seen from the air, the pile hadn't seemed all that large—but now, up close, Lynd realized it covered an area big enough to fit all of Redemption Town.

Just as he was about to enter and see if any dragon eggs might still be buried within, a strange sound echoed from nearby, halting him in his tracks.