Chapter 186: Traversing the Demon’s Road

The Next Morning, Grand Pyramid Garden Platform

As Barristan checked the items in his travel bag, he spoke with concern:

"I've heard that once the Faceless Men accept a mission, they never give up."

"There are always exceptions."

Dany was fastening leather straps onto Blackfyre's back to make it easier for Whitebeard to ride. Today, they would resume their journey to Westeros, which had been put on hold.

The old knight was merely a passenger, but Dany could achieve perfect harmony with any of her dragons—if there was no strong wind, she could even perform ballet on Blackfyre's back while he flew at top speed.

"We are incapable of posing a threat to the House of Black and White," the old knight said gloomily.

"I have dragons. The Faceless Men must be aware of the battles in Slaver's Bay—dragons have dropped firebombs onto ships before. Wouldn't that at least put them on alert?"

"Hmm, possibly."

Jorah interjected, "Your Grace, have you forgotten? Braavos is shrouded in mist year-round; from high above, it's nearly impossible to see the buildings on the ground.

Braavos was founded 900 years ago and remained hidden for only a century before openly declaring its existence to the world. That was still 300 years before Valyria's Doom! Yet, the Valyrian Dragonlords feared getting lost in the thick mist, so after accepting compensation from the Iron Bank, they abandoned their plans to punish the descendants of escaped slaves."

Dany shrugged indifferently. "Even if negotiations fail, it's no real loss. The Faceless Men aren't as terrifying as people think—wasn't that tin-headed little Ding-Dang able to uncover her identity?"

At the thought of the dozens of patrol hounds now stationed inside the pyramid, the two white knights fell silent.

This time, Dany changed their flight route. Instead of crossing the Lands of Long Summer, they flew past Slaver's Bay toward Tolos on the opposite shore, then followed the Valyrian Road northwest to Mantarys, before heading straight west to Volantis.

The entire journey would follow the Valyrian Road.

According to the intelligence from the Windblown, one of the invasion routes of the allied army was along this very ancient Valyrian highway, known as the "Demon Road."

Less than two hours later, they saw Tolos, the ancient Valyrian freehold fortress built on a coastal cape.

It was smaller and more dilapidated than Astapor, nearly abandoned.

At the harbor docks, only a few flat-bottomed ships had lowered their sails. Seven or eight sailors were sweating under the sun, unloading barrels of wine and sacks of flour from ox carts parked by the wharf.

A sparse number of pedestrians walked the empty, old gray-stone streets. Vendors in sun hats pushed carts piled high with colorful fruits, shouting their wares along the docks. Silk-clad merchants bustled about, while sailors in short sleeves and shorts flirted shamelessly with gaudy street courtesans.

A blue-robed servant led a towering white elephant through the street, loudly calling for people to make way.

A light breeze lifted the sheer yellow curtain of a palanquin with a gilded dome atop the elephant's back, revealing a young girl in pink peeking out curiously.

The locals wore loose, flowing robes in the ancient Valyrian style, their skin fair and smooth. Most had silver or pale golden hair—typical Valyrians—though a few Ghiscari in tokar robes could be seen among them.

Beyond the docks, the number of pedestrians quickly dwindled. Some squares were completely deserted, giving Tolos a dreary, decayed feel—lifeless, lacking vitality.

They swiftly passed over the one-square-kilometer city. In the countryside, there were estates, orchards heavy with red apples, lush vineyards, golden wheat fields, and scattered vegetable gardens.

Yet much of the land lay barren. A dozen sheep and a few buffalo roamed leisurely along the wide Valyrian Road.

"Tolos has a population of no more than fifty thousand—nothing to worry about," Dany remarked with a smile.

"They pose no threat to us, true," Barristan replied. "But it could serve as a forward base for the allied army, even as a staging ground for their legions."

Dany burst into laughter. "Hahaha! That's perfect! If the allied army truly advances toward Tolos, I'll seize the city first and keep the battlefield far from my own lands."

Tolos had slaves, of course, but being separated by the vast, 700-to-800-kilometer-wide Slaver's Bay, capturing it would only make it an isolated outpost—more of a burden than a gain.

In two or three years, once Meereen and Yunkai were fully consolidated, Tolos would be the next target.

Flying 200 kilometers northeast from Tolos, they arrived at a three-way fork. To the east lay Mantarys; to the west, Polaq.

Tolos, situated on a peninsula, barely managed to survive, but Polaq, on the open plains, had been destroyed by the Dothraki during the Bleeding Years.

From this fork onward, the eastern path led into the range of the "Demon Road." The two riders and two dragons once again entered an area of high-level magical radiation.

Curiously, this time, Blackfyre's consciousness showed not even a flicker of crisis awareness.

This confirmed something for Dany—Blackfyre's sense of danger was not just about his own survival; he could also perceive threats to her safety.

The ancient Valyrian Road through the Lands of Long Summer was deserted, yet along the stone road leading to Mantarys, sparse merchant caravans could be seen.

A group of a few dozen people, over a hundred horses, and thirty to forty ox carts stretched for four to five hundred meters.

Through Blackfyre's eyes, Dany saw four two-headed mutants, eight dwarfs, and countless deformed individuals with extra limbs, crooked noses, or missing eyes.

She guessed this caravan belonged to Mantarys.

Beyond a hundred kilometers of gray-green wasteland, the land suddenly transformed into a vast, endless black sea—the inland sea of the Lands of Long Summer, the Sea of Sighs.

Mantarys lay at the northernmost tip of the Sea of Sighs, a massive black-stone city spanning five kilometers. It had towering, roofless spires, sorcerer towers, black sanctuaries, wide grid-patterned streets, towering residential towers, plazas with fountains, and grand rooftop gardens.

Like Oros, this Valyrian direct-controlled city-state had no walls.

Or rather, that wasn't quite true—Mantarys' demonic inhabitants had rebuilt a red-brick wall.

The red bricks, fired from clay, formed a crimson wall that clashed starkly with the city's predominant black hue.

"Sigh, why are there so many people?" Dany looked disappointed.

"Moreover, the roofless Sky-Piercing Tower in the city center is heavily guarded, making it impossible to 'descend from the sky.'" Whitebeard also spoke with regret.

Uh, Dany had promised that if she found Valyrian steel armor in Matalis, she would definitely let him use it.

So, even the old knight had started to lose his integrity.

Or maybe, after enough looting, one just gets used to it?

The environment in Matalis was no better than Oros—both were shrouded in magical radiation, both filled with deformed beings. However, this city connected Slaver's Bay with Volantis, making it a bustling hub of commerce and agriculture.

Dany noticed that there were crops outside the city, but not staple grains like wheat. Instead, there were large, strange deep-purple chrysanthemums the size of bowls and towering dark-red leafy grass taller than a person.

"Oh my god, that's sorrel leaves! They've... they've grown several times larger!" Whitebeard, tilting his head while observing the ground through a telescope, exclaimed in shock.

"Sorrel leaves?" Dany was startled. Taking a closer look, she realized they indeed resembled the sorrel leaves she had seen in the fields of Slaver's Bay—greenish-red leaves, about three to four times smaller than tobacco leaves.

Its function was somewhat similar to betel nut or chewing tobacco—people would chew on it, mixing the dark red juice with their saliva and spitting it out. Not only was it unhygienic, but it also stained their teeth blood-red.

Dany despised people who chewed sorrel leaves.

"Mutation… The plants here have all mutated under magical radiation."

The sorrel leaves in the field had grown even taller than tobacco plants, their color turning a darker shade of red—presumably making their flavor even stronger.

"So, what about those?" Whitebeard pointed at the deep-purple chrysanthemums below and asked, "Don't they look like mugwort?"

"The color and size are different, but judging by the stems and flowers, they do resemble mugwort."

Mugwort had significant medicinal value. When combined with mint, wormwood, honey, and a small amount of peppermint oil, it could be made into Moon Tea—a unique herbal remedy in this world used for contraception and abortion.

"I see… This wretched place can't grow staple crops, yet it produces even more potent medicinal herbs." Dany murmured.

Continuing their eastward flight, they spotted small fishing boats on the Sea of Sighs and vast poppy fields along the shores.

The stone road leading to Volantis wasn't deserted either—on average, a caravan appeared every fifty kilometers.

"Huh? Demonic beings are attacking a caravan… It's brutal!"

The two dragons instinctively slowed down. Barristan picked up his telescope for a closer look, and his skin immediately crawled.

Like a swarm of locusts, countless twisted mutants fearlessly charged at a wagon train that had formed a defensive circle. Every second, demonic beings were slaughtered, but the ones nearby would immediately abandon their current foes, swarming over the fallen bodies to snatch a piece of flesh. Without hesitation, they squatted down and started gnawing.

Once they finished eating, they resumed their attack.

Occasionally, a guard from the caravan would slip up and get dragged out of the defensive ring. Their blood-curdling screams were cut short, replaced by the horrifying sounds of bones being crunched.

When the mutants were nearly full, they scattered away from the road, disappearing into the nearby grasslands and forests—leaving behind what resembled a slaughterhouse. Or rather, if one ignored the vast pools of blood, it looked more like a dining table that had been licked clean by its guests.

Dany's face turned pale. "No wonder they call this the Road of Demons. After witnessing such carnage, anyone who survives must either go mad or lose all courage."

"I wonder how many more of these creatures are lurking nearby. If the allied forces form up properly, these thousand or so mutants probably won't be enough to stop them."

Barristan's expression was complicated. Should he hope for more of these hellish monsters to weaken the allied forces, or should he wish for the army to restore peace to this land? He wasn't sure.

They continued flying east for another two hours when, suddenly, the landscape changed.

The scenery became bright and vivid—blue skies, white clouds, a blazing sun, lush green grasslands, and fresh, crisp air that made even breathing feel more refreshing.

They had finally left the somber, gray wasteland of the Long Summer region and entered the Great Plains of the Rhoyne.

To traverse the Long Summer region as quickly as possible, both dragons had been flying at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour. After taking off in the morning and flying for over seven hours, they were beginning to feel fatigued.

Spotting a herd of gray-haired wild cattle drinking from a small stream in the open fields, Dany decided to land.

Blackfyre was the first to dive down, releasing a brilliant red burst of dragonflame that engulfed an unlucky bull too slow to escape. The shallow waters nearby sizzled and boiled for a while before settling down.

Barristan unstrapped his backpack, waded into the stream, drew his sword, and hacked off a large chunk of the charred yet still bloody meat from the bull's hindquarters.

Using a dagger, he sliced away the burnt outer layer, cut the meat into strips ranging from well-done to medium-rare, placed them into a meal box, and sprinkled them with Sichuan peppercorns, fennel, fire dragon peppers, cumin, and salt powder, mixing everything evenly before handing it to Dany.

As for himself, he simply bit into a piece of meat that was less than half-cooked—bloody and unseasoned.

"It has a primal fragrance and sweetness," the old knight said, enraptured.

"As long as you enjoy it," Dany mumbled, chewing on a mouthful of beef.

(PS: The Age of Bloodshed—The nearly century-long period of social turmoil in the eastern continent following the collapse of the Valyrian Freehold Empire due to the Doom, four hundred years ago.)

(End of Chapter)

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