Chapter 100: "Crow's Eye"
The eye beneath Euron Greyjoy's eye patch indeed held magical powers, capable of rendering people into a dazed stupor. Wright had fallen victim to it once years ago during the siege of Pyke. The commotion he caused in Braavos had spread across both continents, and now Euron had specifically come to trouble him, which surely meant he had some kind of advantage.
As Euron Greyjoy removed his eye patch, the crew members hidden aboard the warships surrounding them quickly emerged onto the decks. They unfurled black sails and wheeled out massive crossbows. These heavy crossbows were designed years ago for the sole purpose of slaying dragons, each bolt as tall as a person. When fired, the force was immense, and ordinary wood would shatter under the strain. Thus, the shafts were made of regular steel, while the arrowheads were forged from fine steel, capable of killing dragons and piercing enemy ships alike.
Euron Greyjoy unleashed the magic in his eye, and Wright stood frozen in place.
"All heavy crossbows, aim at Wright, fire!" Euron commanded, then put his eye patch back on. He grabbed a wine goblet from a servant's hands and drained it in one gulp, blue liquid dripping from the corner of his mouth. Euron relied on drinking this mysterious magic Water to replenish his magical energy.
Some of the grotesque figures near Wright began retreating, fearing the crossbows, knowing that a direct hit would either kill or maim them. Just as the heavy crossbows were about to fire, Wright suddenly leaped off his horse, soaring through the air to avoid the bolts.
Wright's mastery over illusion magic had reached the level of a grandmaster. Over the past years, he had developed countermeasures for dealing with illusions cast upon him, knowing that he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. When he felt the illusion take hold of him, although he couldn't fully immunize himself, his immense magical power and expertise allowed him to break free in less than a second by consuming just a bit more mana.
Once he realized the crossbows were about to fire, Wright remained motionless, waiting for the attack. Several bolts struck the ground around him, while a few pierced through his skeletal horse, Arvak. In a puff of purple smoke, Arvak vanished.
Wright encased himself in a suit of ice armor, which he summoned in mid-air. Before he landed, he extended his hands, unleashing purple magical energy into the ground. Two purple orbs of magic appeared, and as the light faded, two figures materialized.
The two figures were clad in jet-black full-body plate armor, adorned with intricate red patterns and designs. The shoulder plates were exaggerated, with spikes extending upward in an impractical fashion. Strapped to their backs were two massive, oddly shaped two-handed swords. They weren't wearing helmets, revealing their brown skin and faces painted with red markings, with horns protruding from their hair. Wright had summoned two Draemora Lods!
"So many fallen souls!"
"I smell roasted human flesh, how nostalgic!"
Wright landed between the two Draemora Lods. "Stop talking, get to work!"
The Draemora Lods unsheathed their swords, one charging in one direction. Wright had already marked every living creature in the port as an enemy. He could link his magic to the Draemora Lods, giving them commands to attack, but he couldn't control their speech.
The Draemora Lods, whose power in the Sky Province allowed them to walk unhindered, saw these grotesque people as little more than cattle to be slaughtered.
"Cut down those armored men!"
"Strip them of their armor!"
"That armor's mine!"
Some of the grotesque figures, the ones that didn't run, eyed the Draemora Lods' fine armor, wanting it for themselves, but there were only two sets, not enough for the hundreds of them. As they swarmed towards the Draemora Lods, they began attacking one another in their frenzy. But were the Draemora Lods easy prey? As soon as the two sides clashed, a single swing of the Draemora Lods' swords severed limbs and caused blood to splatter. Another swing sent organs flying, heads rolling in all directions, while the grotesque people's weapons only sparked against the Draemora Lods' armor.
The pustules on the grotesque figures exploded, spewing foul liquid, which splattered onto the Draemora Lods. One of the Draemora Lods licked the pus from his face. "Delicious!"
The ones afflicted with the Gray Scales and other mutations were equally powerless. Their claws and teeth did nothing against the Draemora Lods' armor. The Draemora Lods weren't at all intimidated by their appearance, and they were even more vulnerable to attack than normal humans.
Soon, the grotesque people realized this was a one-sided massacre — two Draemora Lods against hundreds of them.
"Blood! Blood!"
"Your organs are delicious!"
The two Draemora Lods grew more excited as they continued to slaughter, their weapons relentlessly swinging. The grotesque people began to scatter in all directions, but the Draemora Lods were quick to pursue them, slaughtering them as they ran.
At the same time the Draemora Lods began their assault, Wright dashed toward the warships docked at the port.
The heavy crossbows were a serious problem that needed to be dealt with first.
"Mul\~\~\~qah\~\~\~diiv\~\~\~!" The yellow, white, and blue-colored magical armor enveloped Wright once again. He stepped onto the ropes and leaped onto the warship.
"Ah-ba!" "Ah-ba!" The crew aboard the ship couldn't speak, only shouting incoherently as they rushed at him with swords, axes, and other weapons. The deck was small, leaving nowhere to dodge, but Wright cast a chain lightning spell, instantly electrocuting over a dozen of them.
Reaching the crossbows, Wright saw that they were made with high-quality wood and refined steel. Destroying them would take some time, but he didn't have that luxury. He swiftly severed the bowstrings and followed up with a fireball spell to burn them.
After dealing with the crossbows on this ship, Wright jumped to another one, making his way through and taking out the next set. The crossbows were mounted on movable stands, and while some were obstructed by the ship's structure, there were still some that had a clear shot. But with Wright's reflexes, he could easily dodge the incoming bolts.
He cut the bowstrings and burned them again. After disabling several more crossbows, Wright was about to leap to the next ship when suddenly, he found himself frozen in place.
"Boom!" A steel-tipped heavy crossbow bolt struck him directly in the chest, its powerful momentum pushing Wright backward. The force of the bolt caused him to crash through the deck, falling into the ship's hold.
"Prepare the crossbows again! And give me more Shade of the evening!"
Euron Greyjoy, relying on the magic of his "Crow's Eye", was not one to underestimate Wright. He had witnessed Wright's strength firsthand and was always cautious. As a servant handed him a cup of blue liquid, Euron didn't even look at the hole Wright had made in the deck. He grabbed the cup and drank deeply. Afterward, he wiped his mouth, but his lips had already turned blue.
Ever since the Iron Islands were defeated, Euron and his followers had fled to Essos. In the years since, he had wandered, adventured, and mostly acted as a pirate in the Stepstones. During storm seasons, he would visit the ruins of Valyria to explore. Over time, the title "Crow's Eye" had grown in infamy in the Stepstones.
There, he had slowly gathered more followers, and his pirate fleet had grown, along with a band of grotesque creatures from various places. He had heard the rumors about Wright and analyzed them carefully. The infected people had been specially prepared to fight Wright. As long as Wright came into contact with their blood, he wouldn't die but would instead transform into one of them.
Using his cursed eye to freeze Wright in place, Euron gave the signal for his crew to fire the crossbows. These bolts could easily shatter large stones and, at the very least, could injure Wright. Once that happened, the grotesque creatures would swarm him, and Wright could very well die here.