Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 277: Traces of Civilization

The rainforest of Sothoryos is denser than imagined, and gives people an indescribable feeling.

It was hot and humid, but everyone in the team was dressed tightly, even Beile was wrapped in thick clothes, and even his eyes were covered with a special cloth. The two dragons slowly glided above the tall trees, and the tentacles of the burning fire fell down and gently brushed the gaps between the trees. It was almost visible to the naked eye that when the tentacles brushed the trees, some mottled colors immediately twisted and fled from where they were before.

It was exactly as recorded.

Dan, somewhat nervously, took one deep step and one shallow step, slowly and cautiously, leading an old man to explore the road ahead.

There was something wrong with the rainforest of Sothoryos, even the air.

The plants and animals here were obviously not growing normally. Everyone was very cautious.

Except Baylor.

Belle's emotion was actually quite simple - curiosity. He looked at everything strange in front of him with curiosity. The strange animals that trembled when the dragon flew by, the flowers and mushrooms that he had never seen before, and the vines hanging from the ancient trees.

He was curious about everything.

He even planned to pull off the thick cloth covering his face. After all, it was very uncomfortable to be unable to see anything clearly.

Then his hand was held down: "Your Highness, if you don't want to die, don't pick it."

The person who spoke was an old soldier.

Baylor shuddered and nodded with some fear, not because of the word "death", but because of this old soldier.

He felt that this old soldier had an aura that was difficult to approach and scary.

"He once followed my father deep into the ruins of Valyria." Dan's voice came over: "There are only a few people who went to the Sea of ​​Smoke back then. He is one of them. Even my father has to call him uncle."

Baylor looked at the veteran in front of him in shock.

The old soldier nodded helplessly. If it weren't for the need to protect Dan and give him some advice on how to go deeper into unknown places, he would have already lived out his life in his own manor.

It seemed to be the magic of Longzel back then, or the influence of the ruins of Valyria. The old soldier had a body that did not belong to his age, and he was so agile that even Baelor could not catch up with the old man if he walked slowly.

"Before setting off, His Royal Highness cast a spell on these clothes." The old soldier explained calmly.

"Belle, you must have learned the story of Nymeria." Dan nodded to the guard next to him. The guard waved his hand and took two people into the woods. After a while, three people stood in front of Belle holding a water jug.

Two giant dragons were circling in the sky, and as if sensing the dragon's breath, the clear water in the pitcher suddenly rippled, as if something invisible was struggling violently in the pitcher.

It seemed as if countless insects invisible to the naked eye were tumbling in the water, trying to escape, but they couldn't.

"Queen Nymeria once led her people to explore Sothoryos, from the Yimen Tower to the Yilin. Her people tried to regard the Yi River as their mother river and live on this ancient land." Baelor suppressed his discomfort and anger, recalling what he had learned: "But she failed. The climate of Sothoryos is not suitable for the Rhoyna people to live in."

Baelor suddenly shuddered and complained, "It's not suitable for Valyrians to live in either."

"Be content." Dan patted the thick clothes with armor plates and unknown materials on his body. "If father hadn't cast blood magic on this set of clothes, we would have had to go into the rain forest naked, enduring the heat and humidity."

"Walking here always makes me feel like I'm back in the ruins of Valyria." The old soldier sighed and said, "I can feel something trying to get into my nose when I breathe, but your highness's magic blocks them outside the veil. I can even feel their struggle and anger."

Baylor quickly covered his mouth and nose. After listening to the old soldier, his mouth and nose suddenly felt itchy, as if something had crawled into his mouth and nose. Seeing that the people around him didn't react, Baylor put down his hands and continued.

"It is said that her people were infected with countless unnamed plagues in a short period of time. The pirates from the Basilisk Islands looted their villages on the coast, the natives of Sothoryos attacked their settlement, and the people of Yilin disappeared overnight. The queen was forced to leave Sothoryos."

"It seems you haven't skipped classes." Dan was very satisfied. "You are my good nephew."

He smashed the pitcher without hesitation. "The fresh water of Sothoryos, whether it is the legend of Queen Nymeria or the record of Ser Eustace Hightower, is not drinkable directly. Baelor, remember, only eat the food we hand you, and don't touch anything unfamiliar." He pointed to the sky: "With the Fire and Cendros, most strange things will not approach us."

His eyes immediately turned into worry. "But there is also a small part that I am worried about."

He was silent.

People knew what Dan was worried about.

He was worried that there was something even stranger or unknown that even the dragon could not resist.

Where no one can see.

A head cautiously emerged. The face could not be seen clearly, but one could only roughly tell from the outline that it was a human.

"Outsiders."

It actually made sounds that sounded like language.

"Terrible, weapons, it seems, deal."

It suddenly seemed to have discovered something, and a stone spear stabbed out like lightning. With a scream, a monkey with long red mane fell from the tree with a clang.

The human-like figure slowly stood up from its hiding place. It looked around the monkey excitedly, checked the monkey, picked up the monkey, and ran excitedly towards Dan and his group.

"Your Highness, can you take off the veil for a while?" asked a guard. Wearing a veil for a long time was indeed a torture for them. Even Dan and Beile thought about taking off the veil.

But for safety, you still have to wear it.

"No." Dan shook his head. "We don't know where the air in Sothoryos is safe. You forgot what Captain Misanben told us before we set out. Even in those coastal towns in the north, their residents generally don't live past the age of 30 and will die from all kinds of strange diseases."

He looked at the complaining soldier: "Who do you think is to blame?"

The soldier shut up.

At this moment, the burning fire in the sky made a creepy cry, and everyone hurriedly covered their ears.

The slender tentacles swept through the jungle and plunged into the river. In the blink of an eye, the river water exploded, and a huge, scaly monster also roared.

But it makes little sense.

The tentacles of the burning fire wrapped around the monster's body like a chicken and pulled it directly out of the river.

It was a strange fish as big as a small boat, with a mouth full of teeth.

The strange fish struggled, but was greeted by a blazing gray dragon flame. The dragon flame roasted the strange fish, and the surging flames also swept across the smooth tentacles.

Faintly, Belle seemed to hear bursts of sharp cries coming from the tentacles.

Dan nodded, and the scholars in the team quickly matched this fish to the existing information.

At this moment, a figure carrying a monkey emerged from the dense forest. It looked at the fire in the sky with some awe, and respectfully placed the monkey in front of the group of people.

"Trade, food."

This strange man with brown and white patterns on his thick skin, long black hair, thick bones, strong muscles, long arms, a sloping forehead, huge square teeth and a thick jaw actually spoke.

It actually spoke Valyrian with a strange accent.

(End of this chapter)