The aunt and niece duo made their decision and immediately sprang into action.
Sea Snake deployed a small team from the port, using the guise of a patrol mission to head for the Stepstones.
Meanwhile, Rhaegar and Rhaenys secretly slipped out of the castle to find their respective dragons.
There were now several dragons on Tideshead Island.
Aside from Seasmoke and Sunfyre, who were in hiding, the most conspicuous was Caraxes, who had crawled from the shallows to the rocky outcrop.
Known as the Blood Wyrm, Caraxes was grievously wounded, with one wing broken and his body covered in scars.
Thanks to a dragon's remarkable vitality, he managed to cling to life.
With his wings injured, Caraxes temporarily lost his ability to fly and could only survive through regular feeding of cattle and sheep by soldiers.
Once his condition improved, they planned to transport him back to either the Dragonpit or Dragonstone.
…
Not long after, Rhaegar mounted the saddle on Cannibal's back and set off to meet Rhaenys at the eastern coastline.
Meraxes' lair was there, undisturbed, making it a perfect spot for hunting deep-sea fish.
"Hsssaaa..."
After the two met, Cannibal let out a piercing screech and darted out of Tideshead Island.
Meraxes narrowed her vertical pupils, shaking off her languid demeanor, and spread her wings to give chase.
There was no denying that Meraxes lived up to her reputation as the fastest dragon in history.
After soaring for a while, Meraxes overtook Cannibal like a red streak of lightning.
Cannibal pushed himself to his limit, struggling to follow her flight path.
"No wonder Aunt Rhaenys is so confident!"
Rhaegar gazed in awe at the massive red dragon ahead.
Roughly an hour passed.
Meraxes slowed down, allowing Cannibal to catch up, and the two dragons flew side by side.
An endless expanse of ocean revealed a series of rocky islands.
From above, they looked like scattered stones dropped on a blue canvas.
"Rhaegar, this is the Stepstones," Rhaenys called out from atop her dragon, her voice loud and clear.
Rhaegar looked down at the cluster of islands, densely packed yet chaotic in their arrangement. It was his first time seeing the Stepstones.
The Stepstones were once part of the Arm of Dorne, connecting Westeros to the continent of Essos.
Thousands of years ago, when Old Valyria's Freehold launched its conquests across Essos, enslaving land after land, the ancestors of the First Men were among those subjugated.
Unable to bear their oppression, the First Men crossed the Arm of Dorne to invade Westeros.
At that time, Westeros was ruled by the Children of the Forest and giants, leading to fierce wars between them and the First Men.
In the end, the greenseers of the Children of the Forest unleashed powerful magic to shatter the Arm of Dorne, creating the Stepstones.
Thus, the Stepstones now lie between the Broken Arm and the Disputed Lands.
Thanks to its advantageous location, the Stepstones became a breeding ground for piracy and lawlessness.
The Free Cities of Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh often fought for control over the islands.
After forming the Triarchy, or the Kingdom of the Three Daughters, they annexed these islands and purged the pirates.
However, the Triarchy's navy proved worse than the pirates.
They imposed exorbitant passage fees, kidnapped women and boys to sell to brothels, and, in their greed, plundered passing ships, earning the hatred of many.
This exploitation was one of the key reasons why the Sea Snake and Daemon launched the first Stepstones campaign.
"It's certainly a prime location, controlling the crucial maritime route between two continents," Rhaegar said as he surveyed the islands below, recognizing why wars had raged here for centuries.
"Hsssaaa..."
Cannibal suddenly let out a sharp cry, his vertical pupils fixed on the southeastern corner of the islands.
"You smell blood?"
Rhaegar tensed up.
"Hsssaaa..."
Cannibal responded, flapping his wings and heading toward the source of the scent.
Rhaegar signaled to Rhaenys, and the two dragons advanced together.
"Finish them off quickly! Kill these weaklings!"
"This is the last ship for today. Hurry up and secure it..."
Near a secluded, chaotic island, several bloodstained ships were anchored, and shouts of fighting and looting rang out loudly.
When Cannibal arrived overhead, they saw a group of pirates boarding another ship, killing its crew and stealing everything in sight.
"Should we act, Aunt?"
Rhaegar frowned, disturbed by the massacre below.
"Watch out for stray arrows. Make sure your dragon stays high enough!"
Rhaenys didn't answer directly, instead issuing a warning before diving toward the scene atop Meraxes.
"Dracarys!"
A loud roar echoed as Melias unleashed its crimson dragon flames, incinerating the pillaging pirates.
"Ahhh!!..."
Caught off guard by the sudden burst of dragon fire, the pirates let out agonizing screams before being reduced to charred corpses.
Rhaegar was momentarily stunned but quickly grinned. "Glutton, watch for ambushes. It's our turn to join the fight!"
"Hiss-screech..."
The scent of blood awakened Glutton's primal instincts. It let out an excited roar and dove toward the chaos with a powerful beat of its wings.
**Boom—**
Without waiting for further orders, a torrent of green dragon fire rained down, scorching the pirates who had leapt into the sea.
"Glutton, target that pirate ship and sink it!"
Rhaegar's sharp eyes locked onto the warship commandeered by the pirates. With a firm grip on Glutton's reins, he guided it into a fiery assault.
"It's a dragon! Watch out for the flames! Shoot it down!"
Panic spread among the pirates as their leader unsheathed his blade and shouted orders, rallying the remaining forces to retaliate.
The pirates capable of drawing bows were the elites among them.
Despite their fear of the two massive dragons circling overhead, they nervously obeyed their leader's commands, drawing their bows with trembling hands.
**In an instant.**
Arrows rained down like a storm, aiming for the two dragons in the sky.
Melias, agile and quick, flapped its wings to ascend higher before the arrows could hit, and as it departed, it unleashed dragon fire, burning the ship's mast to ash.
"Hiss-screech..."
Glutton, more aggressive by nature, confronted the incoming arrows with a single, devastating blast of dragon fire, reducing them to ashes and molten droplets of iron.
Such an attack was utterly feeble in the face of the dragons' might.
"Retreat quickly! Abandon the cargo and get back to the ship!"
Realizing their attacks were futile, the pirate leader, trembling with fear, scrambled back to the warship via the gangplank, barking orders at the helmsman to set sail.
**Boom—**
But Rhaegar had no intention of letting them escape. Glutton dived down, its dragon flames pouring out like a torrential flood, engulfing the warship.
"Ahhh!!..."
In a matter of moments, most of the warship was consumed by flames, leaving behind only anguished screams.
**Whoosh—**
Just then, a sudden gust of wind howled as a steel spear shot out from the shadows.
"Glutton, lower your left wing!"
Rhaegar spotted the spear in time and hurriedly issued a command.
Sensing the danger as well, Glutton deftly altered its flight path, dodging the incoming spear with ease.
Rhaegar scanned the surroundings and quickly located an inconspicuous island.
Behind the small island, another pirate ship lay hidden.
"Glutton, burn them to the ground!"
Without hesitation, Rhaegar issued his next order, his gaze icy as he stared at the ship that had launched the ambush.
"Hiss-screech..."
Glutton roared furiously, flapping its wings as it closed in on its prey.
**Whoosh—**
Seeing the dragon approach, the pirates aboard the hidden ship were in a frenzy, hastily reloading their scorpion ballista to fire another steel spear.
Glutton's slit-pupiled eyes glinted with disdain. With a slight tilt of its body, it effortlessly dodged the second spear.
"Dragon fire!"
In the brief moment of evasion, Glutton soared over the pirate ship. Following Rhaegar's command, it unleashed an inferno of raging dragon flames.
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