Chapter 183: A Great Harvest

"Your Majesty, this is a Sorcerer's Lens, possibly the only one in the world," the old man reminded her. "Even if you don't use it yourself, bringing it back to Scholar City as a gift would earn you immense gratitude from the scholars.

They spent forty years and 1.5 million gold dragons trying to create one, yet failed."

"Sigh, it's so bulky and takes up too much space. I'd rather have books."

And what good is their gratitude?

A bunch of useless fools who can't even build a microscope.

"Your Majesty, haven't you noticed?" The old man shook the metal chunk in his hands. "Not a single trace of rust—it's entirely made of Valyrian steel!"

"What?" Dany's eyes widened in excitement. "My god, imagine how many swords I could forge from this if I melted it down!"

The White Knight's lips twitched. This was like burning a zither for firewood.

"Put it down. I'll pack it up. You go back and—hmm—before coming up again, bring me a rope."

Expressionless, the old man set the Sorcerer's Lens down and wordlessly turned to descend the stairs.

Dany, abandoning the lead block she had been cutting, walked over cheerfully to inspect the hunk of iron.

Standing on the ground, the Sorcerer's Lens reached up to her neck. It had a matte, smoky-black surface, cold to the touch, and felt just like a solid block of iron.

Even at the joints, there wasn't a speck of rust—it was most likely genuine Valyrian steel.

She tried lifting it.

Lighter than expected. Despite its size, it weighed less than a hundred pounds.

That made sense. A microscope was made of several hollow tubes, not a single solid mass.

"Huh? Why is the structure so complicated?"

Dany was startled to find that the device contained over 80 lens tubes, all assembled into a complex structure, along with various components she couldn't even identify.

She had no idea how to use it.

"What were the Valyrians doing? A simple combination of eyepiece and objective lens, yet they made it so unnecessarily complicated. Useless junk—I'm melting you down when we get back!"

"Your Majesty, we must hurry. A handmaiden has escaped—she'll surely alert the guards," Barristan, still staggering slightly, urged.

He had wrapped a large bundle of loot in a purple brocade curtain embroidered with gold patterns. A thick rope, as wide as a finger, hung around his neck.

With a heavy thud, the bundle landed on the floor, revealing a leather-sheathed longsword, a large shield with raised embellishments, a massive 14-inch-wide tome, and several fist-sized pearls.

"Is that everything?" Dany asked.

"I found a library with at least a thousand books, far too many to take. I only picked the ones with titles I couldn't understand."

The White Knight pulled out a plain linen bedsheet and wrapped it around the Sorcerer's Lens, securing it to his back.

"You couldn't understand? You can read Valyrian?"

Dany lifted the curtain-wrapped bundle, realizing it weighed nearly two hundred pounds. It was too bulky, so she tied it up with the rope, shaping it into a large package. She left a loop at the top so that Little White could hook its claw through and carry the "gift bag."

"I can recognize the titles but not their meanings. I figured that if even I couldn't understand them, they're likely related to magic," he explained.

"Are you sure you took all the Valyrian weapons?" Dany asked one last time.

"A two-handed sword and a shield."

"That's good enough."

The roofless Sky Tower was designed for dragons to take off and land. Standing at the edge of the platform, they leaped into the air. With their heavy Valyrian treasures, the two dragons glided into the night sky, quickly leaving behind the shouts and curses from below.

They had chosen the perfect time—by now, it was late, around eight or nine in the evening. The people of Oros, with no entertainment to keep them awake, were already fast asleep. If not for that, Dany and her companions wouldn't have been able to escape so leisurely.

Flying northeast for an hour and a half, they finally heard the crashing waves of the sea. It was as if a veil had been lifted—suddenly, the star-studded night sky stretched out above them, crystal-clear and infinite. They had left the Land of Long Summer.

"Wow, what a thrilling day!" Dany laughed heartily.

The dragons, having flown all day without food, were exhausted. They shifted into "first gear," gliding lazily toward Astapor. At an altitude of over a thousand meters, with the wind low and calm, even a conversation held from ten meters apart could be heard.

"Sigh, today's events have completely…" Barristan let out a deep breath, lifting his visor before hesitantly asking, "Was that truly a god of the Valyrians? I've always believed in the Seven. I never doubted the existence of the gods, but I never thought I'd stand before one myself."

"Ser, what do you think a god is?"

"I have always worshipped the Seven—their virtues and their wooden idols. But now, I feel… lost," Barristan admitted with a wry smile.

"Haha, your previous way of worship was good. That was the correct way to believe," Dany chuckled.

After a brief pause, she explained, "I encountered my first god in Qarth."

"The Undying Ones?" The White Knight gasped.

"Yes, the Undying Ones. Gods can be classified into three types.

The first type includes the Old Gods, the nature gods, and the primordial deities—one could call them spirits of nature. I haven't encountered them directly, so I can't say for sure, but one thing is certain: they are all true gods.

Only true gods are immortal.

The second type consists of those who aspire to become gods. Ser, look at me, and then look at an ordinary girl—you'll understand. People are not born equal."

Though it sounded like self-praise, Barristan couldn't deny it.

Could an ordinary girl hatch dragons? Be immune to fire? Command dragons with such ease? Defeat two gods in battle? Ignite glass candles in an instant?

"Those with extraordinary gifts can perceive and awaken supernatural powers from within their own existence—sorcerers, divine priests, mages, and the like.

If a sorcerer has enough talent, knowledge, and ambition, they can enter a state between mortal and true god.

In this state, they can absorb external forces—the spiritual energy of nature, the magic of the Tides, and most notably, human faith and devotion!

At that point, they can be called demigods, or 'faith spirits.'"

"So, the Immortals and Baleris are merely faith spirits?" Barristan felt significantly relieved.

"You noticed it too—Balerion, who descended upon Jenny, was not invincible. In fact, if three knights as skilled in swordsmanship as you charged at him without fear of death, there's an eighty percent chance they could hack that bastard to death."

"You should have let me try," Barristan said with a smile.

"Haha." Dany laughed as well.

She knew the old man was merely trying to lighten the mood, not regretting losing the title of 'Godslayer.'

If three knights wielding Valyrian steel swords charged in, at least one or two would have to 'fill the pit'—sacrificing themselves to exhaust the opponent's sorcery, creating an opportunity for the last knight to strike the fatal blow.

"The third kind of deity is the 'doctrine god,' created by humans. With so many churches in the world, it's impossible for every single one to have an actual god backing it."

The old man hesitated and asked, "Then what about the Faith of the Seven?"

"I'm not entirely sure. These theories are just my own conclusions after encountering two demigods."

"Then why did Balerion attack you? Even if you inherited the legacy of the Grand Sorcerer, Valyria is long gone. What's the point of clinging to old rules and regulations?" The old man was puzzled.

Sigh. "At first, I didn't understand either. But later… When Jenny's body exploded, did you notice that every fireworm let out a different sound?"

"Hmm." The old man nodded and said with a wry smile, "To be honest, I was terrified. It was too eerie."

"I suspect that the souls behind those voices were all devoured by Balerion. Or rather, Balerion is the collective embodiment of the ancestors of the Fourteen Flames from generations past.

The Immortals are the same way.

They all want to consume my life and soul. The fact that I can hatch dragons means my bloodline must be extraordinary. It's just that…"

Barristan, deep in thought, took over the conversation and said, "It's just that he previously misjudged and thought you weren't the prey he needed."

"Exactly." Dany furrowed her brows, wanting to understand what Balerion had misunderstood.

"Fortunately, that Balerion can't leave the Land of Long Summer," the old knight sighed.

"We don't need to fear him. When we return, we'll melt down the sorcerer's lens and equip every Bloodrider and Kingsguard with a Valyrian steel sword—let's see if we can't hack him to death!" Dany declared boldly.

"Your Grace, I think it's best to keep the sorcerer's lens. If we really need Valyrian steel, we can melt down Mormont's armor instead," the old man advised.

"We'll decide when we get back."

If she truly managed to create an optical microscope, she would definitely melt down the sorcerer's lens.

"Your Grace, what exactly did you inherit? Earlier, I saw you use 'True Dragon Roar' multiple times in a row."

"Other than the first time, when I used it to help you escape, I wasn't targeting you afterward. You could still hear it?" Dany asked in surprise.

"Yes, I could faintly hear a dragon's roar. It sounded even more majestic than Black Diamond's usual cries."

"Black Diamond's roars are just sound waves. The sorcery I used mimics the Dragon Horn."

"It really did sound similar," the old knight suddenly realized. It was also his first time witnessing Dany's 'Soul Strike.'

"Besides 'True Dragon Roar'…"

That name sounds so weird, Dany thought. It reminds me of 'Lion's Roar'… Lion's Roar Technique, the landlady, a loudspeaker?

She shivered and quickly shook the thought from her mind.

"The inheritance only included a basic meditation technique, which helps train my mental power. I don't really know its full effects yet—I'll need to practice for a while and see."

"Oh, wait, that's not entirely right. Now, I can cleanse the 'curse' of the Land of Long Summer," Dany said cheerfully.

"You can cleanse the entire Land of Long Summer?" The white-bearded knight was shocked.

"No, just the curses on you and me."

"What?! We're cursed? But we were wearing anti-curse armor," the old knight exclaimed.

"Uh…"

Dany felt a little embarrassed.

"I made a mistake. Those radiations aren't nuclear radiation but high-energy magical radiation."

Radiation isn't just nuclear radiation. For example, when a hot object transfers heat to a cooler object, that's also a form of radiation—thermal radiation.

Almost all objects with high-energy levels can emit radiation toward lower-energy objects.

The Valyrians extracted magic from the fire beneath the earth, which is a form of high-level energy. As a result, the Land of Long Summer is now filled with this magical radiation.

The Grand Sorcerer's inheritance didn't teach Dany this knowledge, but after learning basic meditation, she became capable of sensing the ebb and flow of magical tides, just like Quaithe and the great warlock Pyat Pree.

She wasn't sure about others, but she could now absorb external magic through meditation and fuse it with the mental power in her spiritual sea, refining it into sorcerous power.

Previously, when she used 'Soul Strike' against the Faceless Man, she had to burn through her own soul force, clashing her and Black Diamond's souls directly against the opponent's mental sea. It was a single, all-out attack—one that left both her and Black Diamond unconscious for a short time.

But after learning meditation, 'Soul Strike' consumed sorcerous power instead. Even after using it four times in a row, she only started to feel slightly fatigued.

(End of Chapter)

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