Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 400: Escape from Volantis
The Senate of Volantis was once the most magnificent building within the Black Wall. Now the dome collapsed, the stained windows shattered, and the gilded beams were charred and twisted by dragon fire. Centroros did not like this ancient building, so he destroyed this magnificent palace with dragon fire when he was bored. Dan Varese stepped on the broken remains of Valyrian statues, and the sole of his boot rolled over a ruby ​​that had once belonged to a family crest ornament of a Black Wall noble, but now it was just another speck of dust in the pile of trophies.

The dragon rider returned to the dragon's back.

The elephant party nobles knelt in front of Dan, their foreheads pressed against the blood-stained marble floor. Their silk robes were soaked with soot and sweat, and their gold chains and gems had long been discarded when they were chased by the Tiger Party. Only embarrassment and fear remained. The voice of Vasa Cyrenaica was hoarse at this moment, as if it had been rubbed by sandpaper.

"Lord Dragon King..." He didn't dare to look up, just staring at the tip of Dan's boots, "The Tiger Party has been defeated, but..."

Dan tapped his fingers lightly on the dragon saddle of Centrolos. The dark green dragon crouched behind him, its butterfly-shaped tail club swaying slightly, making a harsh sound as it scraped the ground.

"go on."

Archon Vasa swallowed hard, his Adam's apple rolling. He knew that the next words would determine the final fate of the Elephant Party, whether they would live as collaborators and continue to rule Volantis, or be devoured by the dragon flames as enemies.

The Tiger Cloak Army, which Volantis relied on to dominate the East, has been defeated. The 70,000 Tiger Cloak Army assembled outside the city were completely defeated on four battlefields, and the 20,000 Tiger Cloak Army in the city were directly burned to death by the dragon.

Although Volantis has always claimed to have an army of 500,000, everyone knows that the game is over.

"The Tigers are still around, and they claim to hold the key to making Volantis great again - a benevolent dragon king." Archon Vasa's voice sounded like it had been rubbed with sandpaper. "We are willing to offer -"

"Rohanne Blackfyre," Dan interrupted, speaking coldly. "Aemon Blackfyre, Aegon Blackfyre, Daemon Blackfyre. Four names, Volantis or Volantis."

The wind swept sparks across the square, and in the distance came the rhythmic calls of Braavos sailors, who were dragging the bodies of Blackwall nobles to the long bridge with iron hooks for public display. These rude sailors also looted the library of the Blackwall nobles. Parchment scrolls were thrown away at will, gilded pages were torn off and stuffed into belts, and thousand-year-old Valyrian tomes were thrown into the bonfire as fuel. Closer, Qohor's Black Goat Riders were holding their "entry ceremony": hanging the heads of the Tiger Cloaks on spears and lining up along the avenue.

Vasa's Adam's apple rolled. He didn't dare to disobey Dan's order, but he really didn't know the situation of the Black Fire remnants: "They... may have gone south to Slaver's Bay in the Tiger Party's defeated army."

Cendros suddenly let out a breath of sulfur.

"Then go find them." The Braavos general held his rapier to Archon Vasa's throat. "Every village you search, you burn. Every ship you find, you sink. Until—"

"Be quiet."

Dan interrupted the Braavos general's rant.

The dragon knight glanced at him expressionlessly, which instantly frightened the general who had just been so complacent.

It was enough to allow the Braavos and Qohor to plunder Volantis; any more would have damaged their reputations.

"We will definitely try our best."

Archon Vasa agreed without hesitation.

The port of Volantis burned, and thick smoke covered the broken docks like a shroud. Aegor, or rather, the shadow of Aegor, moved among the overturned cargo boxes and charred bodies, his steps as light as a cat. His purple eyes swept through every shadow until he found Lady Rohanne and her three children huddled in a corner behind a half-collapsed spice warehouse.

The shadows of the warehouse smelled of cinnamon and blood.

Lady Rohanne held the children behind her, her fingers digging into the folds of her dress until her knuckles turned white. Baby Daemon slept in her arms, while little Aegon and little Aemon clutched her skirt tightly, their eyes fixed on Aegor. Their pupils shone particularly brightly in the dim light, like two pairs of beautiful amethysts.

Iger did not step forward immediately. He stood in a beam of sunlight slanting in from the broken window, his purple eyes scanning the three children, slowly but carefully.

The two older children felt uneasy when they saw the look in Eger's eyes. "Uncle Eger?" Little Emon tried to make himself look more dignified.

"Your Majesty, let's do it."

The dragon chaser Simon Belleris had his hand on the hilt of the sword. His keen sense allowed him to smell danger, and the "Aegor" in front of him made his spine chill.

Harold Hightower narrowed his eyes and deliberately asked in a relaxed tone: "Lord Aegor, you are still alive. I heard that you..."

Aegor's mouth curled up slightly, but there was no smile. "Now is not the time to reminisce about the past, nor is it the time for you to doubt me." His voice was like a blunt knife scraping across bone. "Volantis is no longer safe. The Tigers collapsed too quickly, and they didn't have time to kill them all. The Elephants are now filled with hatred. The Shayel who came to burn Damion Varese in Volantis can smell fear, and you—" he glanced at the children, "—smell of fear."

Rohanni's face turned pale instantly. She hugged little Damon tightly, her silk cuffs stained with cigarette ash. "Then we..."

"Get on board. The Braavos are busy looting cities, and no one will care if a ship leaves without a port." Aegor said briefly, pointing to a narrow, flagless clipper in the darkness. "The Gith in Slaver's Bay only recognize gold coins, not dragon flames. Besides, they have the Unsullied."

"But we don't have gold coins." Mrs. Rohanni's face suddenly changed: "No"

"Don't worry, ma'am. We have gold coins. The Blackwall nobles have close trade with Slaver's Bay. We have enough gold in the banks in Yunkai, Milim, and Astapor to buy thousands of Unsullied." Simon closed his eyes.

As the narrow clipper slid into the smoke like a rat.

Damien Varese walked on the muddy ground, the soles of his boots stained with half-dried blood, and he held a skinny boy by the collar like a chicken to be slaughtered.

"Say it again, little mouse." Damion's voice was terribly gentle, and Sayer snorted with the smell of rotting meat behind him. "Where is the 'kind lady'?"

The boy's crotch was soaked, and he kept glancing at Sayer's hideous head that looked like a Dunkleosteus. "Wharf, wharf, warehouse," he stammered, "a terrible master said he wanted to take his wife and the young masters to the south."

Damion smiled. He let go of the boy and he collapsed to the ground.

"South?" He stroked Shayel's thick bone armor, and the carmine dragon purred in his throat. "How interesting. Are you going to take them to Slaver's Bay?"

Sayael suddenly raised his head, his bony nostrils twitching—it smelled something. Damion narrowed his eyes and looked toward the sea level in the southeast.

Damion narrowed his eyes.

As the clipper ship "Gray Eel" tore through the thick smoke, Rohanne was feeding her child water mixed with poppy milk with shaking hands. Simon Belleris stood at the stern, staring at the dark sea behind him.

"We can't get rid of a dragon," he said suddenly, "especially when it remembers your scent."

Aegor was adjusting the sail ropes. Hearing this, he didn't even turn his head and said, "So we are not going to Slaver's Bay."

Harold Hightower's head snapped up. "What?"

"Our friends have prepared a second ship for transfer at Pepper Island." Aegor's purple eyes reflected the burning city in the distance. "Damien will follow the Gray Eel's route to Slaver's Bay, and we..." He finally turned around, ". can use this to escape."

The baby in Rohani's arms suddenly started crying, as if it had sensed the fork in fate.

(End of this chapter)