Infinite Hunter

Among the current powerful people in Westeros, only Cheng Yijiu has not yet made his position clear - it's a good thing that he left King's Landing, otherwise he might have been beheaded like Duke Stark.

They all wanted Cheng Yijiu to join their faction, or at least remain neutral—Cheng Yijiu himself seemed neutral, which made many people feel relieved. Because just thinking about this knight leading elite infantry to charge the front line was already a headache—the magical power of his lion skin was well known. It was invulnerable to swords and spears, and it was also invulnerable to water and fire. The knight wearing such a magical thing was also a modern-day "Sword Saint."

Even more detestable was the fact that this swordsman wielded a strange, unstoppable sword, its devastating devastation terrifying. A clash with him would likely result in a slaying in the first round, and even if a fight dragged on, it wouldn't last more than five rounds. Such a swordsman could probably carve a path in a matter of breaths, guiding the elite infantry behind him to break through the battle line. No one wanted to face such a formidable opponent on the battlefield, not even the Mountain. Even the Mountain, despite his immense size, would still die if his head was severed.

It is said that the Mountain was defeated by the Lion Knight in just two rounds, but the opponent did not kill him.

Cheng Yijiu arrived at Old Harbor, but no one from the Lannister family came looking for him. Perhaps the old lion thought that if he didn't make contact, Cheng Yijiu wouldn't become a variable. After all, he had made it clear that he was going to set sail for the Valyrian Peninsula to slay the dragon. So it would be best for him to leave like this - Tywin Lannister had no shortage of powerful thugs, and the Mountain was his fierce dog. All he needed was a strong man like Cheng Yijiu to leave safely. Lannister was even willing to give him a ship.

This time, Cheng Yijiu purchased a similar boat. The shipyard would modify it according to his wishes. He would modify the rigging and sails. The jib would need to be able to be raised and lowered by one person, as well as steer. The cabin would also need to be enclosed, and his personal lounge would likely have to be semi-sunken, with the upper hull being as low as possible and forming a single piece to facilitate navigation and storm protection.

The hull was nailed to prevent anyone from climbing, and Cheng Yijiu had personally attached a crossbow to the bow—he had even built a rather complex gun carriage, allowing it to rotate 360 ​​degrees and reach a maximum elevation of 80 degrees. Cheng Yijiu was collecting food and carrying buckets; he was about to embark on a solo adventure.

Chapter 21 Across the Sea

It took three days to stockpile food, transport water, and wine. Cheng Yijiu secured them in the hold and then prepared to set sail. During this time, someone did come to him, a knight from the North. He wanted to talk to Cheng Yijiu about the unclear death of King Robert and to prove that Duke Stark was innocent.

"Are you saying that King Robert was poisoned, and that Lord Stark has already found the murderer?" Cheng Yijiu looked at the middle-aged man before him—this man from the far north seemed to be a close official who had served the Stark family for generations. He had come here to persuade the "Lion Earl" to join the King in the North.

After all, the traditional idea of ​​this era is to fight under one's own lord, and Cheng Yijiu is Robert's vassal. If he knew the truth, he should fight for Robert's "last wish" - even if it means joining Robert's two brothers.

Cheng Yijiu didn't care. He told the middle-aged knight directly, "When I left, the king was only injured, and I know he must have been poisoned - I can even guess who poisoned him. The current king is definitely not Robert's child. I know this without you looking for evidence. How could the Lu family have produced a golden-haired child for generations?"

Facing the other party's expectant eyes, Cheng Yijiu said calmly, "The king and I are in an employment relationship. In fact, if it weren't for the king's request, I wouldn't even accept the position of earl. And now the king is dead, and I have to complete my mission, so I don't need the position of earl." At this point, Cheng Yijiu smiled, "Besides, Joffrey probably wants to chop off my head now. Earl? He won't admit it. But the dragon is much more important than him, so let him be."

"This man won't live long, and he can't become king. That's what I said." Cheng Yijiu looked at the middle-aged knight, indicating that the conversation was over.

Cheng Yijiu declined the offer of a war in Westeros. It would only involve tens of thousands of troops, a common sight in medieval Europe, let alone the wars that followed the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Even such a battle was beyond the capabilities of a mere swordsman hunter like him. His sudden and decisive kill of the khal was already a remarkable feat, and that was only a few thousand men, with the main force already engaged in the battle ahead.

"To break through a formation of a hundred people, one must rely mainly on surprise attack, and yet I almost got trapped in it - if it weren't for my extraordinary swordsmanship, which allowed me to kill the opponent at the fastest speed, I really wouldn't have been able to escape." It was for this reason that Cheng Yijiu didn't want to participate in this kind of battle.

As a former swordsman, his hobby had already been satisfied—the thrill of actual swordfighting, even the actual killing of someone, was incredibly satisfying. Having satisfied that, forget about trying it again; working for the feudal aristocracy simply wasn't worth it.

Cheng Yijiu went out to sea. The Ironborn were in great turmoil. Their king was trying to capture the North and establish a foothold on the mainland, but Cheng Yijiu felt that these people would most likely suffer on land. "After all, not every islander can be from England," he muttered.

The Ironborn's actions naturally intensified their looting on the sea, causing the Old Harbor to decline considerably. Cheng Yijiu didn't care at all—after all, he was a single-man boat, and the modified hull resembled a half-turtle shell, making boarding difficult. He could easily handle the few flat decks he could leap onto with his sword—a larger space would only worry about being surrounded by too many people.

So Cheng Yijiu leaned against the stern of the ship, controlling the rudder with one hand and the rigging to adjust the sails with the other. His voyage was the same as last time, mainly sailing along the coastline. As a result, he encountered the Ironmen raiding ship less than half a day at sea.

This was considerably larger than his ship, a two-masted warship sailing through the wind and waves. Its sides were a good bit taller than his own, but Cheng Yijiu wasn't afraid. His ballista couldn't possibly be fully assembled. Was he assembling it now, preparing for a major overhaul once he reached the destination? It wasn't even impossible that it was completely damaged. So, aside from a sturdy base, the ballista wasn't assembled. After testing, Cheng Yijiu disassembled it for storage.

Seeing the lonely sloop, the ironmen waved their scimitars and cheered. Although the prey was not very good, the robbery was still very enjoyable - until they got closer and saw the warriors wearing golden lion skins.

As per custom, Cheng Yijiu did not wear any armor at sea. He smeared the sunscreen oil he bought from Dorne on his body, then stood on the deck of the ship with his upper body naked, wearing shorts and barefoot. The lion skin was originally placed aside, and he casually put it on when the pirates approached.

With a broadsword in hand, Cheng Yijiu was ready to kill. Sinking a ship from a distance? Breaking through the reinforced, copper-clad hull and sinking it was no easy feat. While such a modification significantly reduced the ship's cargo capacity, with only one crew member, this was more than enough.

The large ship lingered behind for a long time before finally abandoning the attempt. The Lion Knights were too renowned, and the Ironborn were unwilling to risk their lives. This converted sailing ship clearly relied on a small number of men for boarding, and with the Lion Knights' strength, wouldn't everyone on board be killed? Perhaps the Iron King could give it a try, but for them, forget it.

There were no further battles. Cheng Yijiu encountered Ironborn warships six or seven times as he reached the south, but they never once attempted to rob him. They were indeed reasonable people. It took Cheng Yijiu two weeks to reach King's Landing. Next, he would cross the strait, sailing along the coastline of Eris until he entered the shattered Valyrian Peninsula.

The bottled water on Cheng Yijiu's boat had long been undrinkable. Algae had grown in large quantities in the water, making it slippery and smelling quite unpleasant. Therefore, he mainly relied on light wine for his water needs, which was at least edible. As for rainwater, it could not be drunk unless it was boiled.

Fortunately, the food had been well preserved. The hard biscuits hadn't been infested with bugs, the bacon was still edible, and most importantly, the preserved lemons hadn't gone bad, and of course the pickles were edible. The bottom of the boat had grown a lot of barnacles and other things, and the speed was a bit slower than when it was first launched. The long summer had caused the growth of marine life to be quite rapid.

After passing the cape, Cheng Yijiu finally saw a huge black cloud at the end of the sky...

Chapter 22 Adventure

Cheng Yijiu sailed straight toward the black fog that stretched from land to sky. His goal lay within it. After about half a day, his boat finally approached the black fog. Once inside, he found his vision unobstructed. "It's a little dim, but not so dim that I can't see clearly." Cheng Yijiu looked at the sea around him. It was gray, but still clear enough to see.

A red light reflected from above, likely the volcano in the distance, erupting continuously. "How many years has it been? Is it still erupting? If this world didn't have 'magic', I'd have thought it was the Emei-Siberian Traps event." The supervolcano's eruption shattered the Valyrian Peninsula, but how could centuries of eruptions not result in the formation of new land? There must be some mystery here.

However, Cheng Yijiu had no interest in discovering the secrets. His goal was to find the surviving dragons and kill one, and that would be the end of his mission. After entering the sea, he began assembling his crossbow, keeping his eyes fixed on the sky. Unfortunately, he didn't see any dragons flying by until he approached a massive volcanic island. All he saw was a shattered road. The spot where he had landed was clearly once a highway, but part of it, as well as its end point, had vanished into the sea.

There was a layer of ash on the ground, which Cheng Yijiu found a bit strange. If the volcano had erupted for hundreds of years, the ash would have completely buried the place long ago. How could there still be large paving stones? Walking along the road, he could see ruined buildings. "They seem to be residential houses?" From Cheng Yijiu's observation of the ruins, these houses were almost all flat-roofed, two- to three-story buildings, mainly made of rammed earth, stone, and a few pieces of wood.

The air and the ground were both quite dry, and Cheng Yijiu was pulling a cart loaded with food and water. No one knew if the water in this place was drinkable, and was there anything edible? It seemed quite dangerous right now. It had to be said that Valyria's technology was truly advanced during its heyday. Even after such turmoil, the remaining sections of the roads they paved were still as solid as ever, and the surface was remarkably smooth after hundreds of years.

Some houses still stood, looking quite intact. Cheng Yijiu had also checked out a few and found that most were well-preserved. Although the interiors were rather messy, they were still habitable. "I don't know if it was messed up by adventurers or by residents fleeing the catastrophe." The furniture inside was already broken into pieces, and not much was left.

This was a residential area, likely completely plundered by decades or centuries of adventure, and expensive Valyrian steelwork was unlikely to be found there. Of course, there were no dragons overhead, so Cheng Yijiu figured he needed to get closer to the volcano, as there were likely dragons there. Perhaps he could lure the dragon to the ship and inflict sufficient damage with his ballista.

Continuing along the road, Cheng Yijiu realized that the reason why the exploration of the broken Valyrian Islands hadn't yet fully explored the islands, and even the news of dragons hadn't been heard, was because such exploration was extremely dangerous. Not far into the journey, Cheng Yijiu encountered a monster. It was black, with a skull-like head, but its teeth had transformed into sharp beast-like fangs, and its limbs were more like those of a cat or a canine.

The monster was lurking in a residential building. Cheng Yijiu had no interest in the houses along the road—he wasn't out to pick up scraps. Suddenly, the monster leaped out from the second-floor balcony, ready to attack Cheng Yijiu on the road. The monster, on all fours, moved swiftly. However, the experienced hunter Cheng Yijiu seized the opportunity to strike and struck it to the ground with a single blow. The blow split its body in half, severing its spine.

The enchanted cold iron greatsword was incredibly sharp, rivaling even a Valyrian steel sword in every way. While at King Robert's side, Cheng Yijiu had once pitted his Soulbreaker against a Valyrian steel sword. His sword was slightly heavier than the Valyrian sword, but equally strong and sharp. When the two swords clashed, there was no sign of the blade breaking or curling. Cheng Yijiu knew that if he applied more force and used his mental power to activate it, he could very well cut the Valyrian sword in a quarter of its width...

The monster's skin and muscles were incredibly tough, like a soldier wearing cowhide armor. Even a normal sword wouldn't be able to cut through its skin—the blade would simply slide off. The monster collapsed to the ground, but surprisingly, it was still alive, demonstrating its incredible resilience. Cheng Yijiu casually severed the monster's head with a single stroke of his sword. The separated head and body struggled for over ten minutes before finally coming to a complete stop.

Flowing from the broken hole on the ground was a rather viscous blue-black liquid, which could be considered blood. Cheng Yijiu later dissected the monster and discovered that its internal organs, with the exception of what was likely the heart, had shrunk completely. "How did this thing survive? It's simply impossible—its entire digestive system has degenerated and shrunk, and the liver and kidneys in its body cavity have shrunk to the size of a finger, replaced by hypertrophic muscles..."

When Cheng Yijiu dissected the body, he found that although the muscles in the hands and feet had not swelled, they were very strong and difficult to cut with an ordinary steel knife. Mutations had appeared at the ends of the limbs, with abnormally long claws, shortened fingers, and hypertrophic palms. Cheng Yijiu split the opponent's head again, and the brain was also atrophied. The facial muscles had also atrophied, but the masseter muscles had become elastic tendons, with extremely strong contraction force.

"A strange creature, or rather a biochemical weapon from fantasy—its teeth are definitely poisonous, and its bodily fluids are likely poisonous too. If you're bitten or killed, you'll become like it." Cheng Yijiu sighed, thinking it was likely true. He soon confirmed it was the case because he saw the "dormant" monster. The three-headed monster was huddled on the first floor of a residential building, wearing tattered clothing that looked like a soldier's armor.

Cheng Yijiu's presence awakened them a little over ten seconds later—the dust kicked up by their activity proved they had been dormant for decades. Now that they were active, Cheng Yijiu wasn't shy. Before they could even leap, he'd already chopped off half of one monster with a single blow of his sword, pinned another to the ground with a hurled spear, and then easily severed a third monster in half, even as it pounced like a beast.

Chapter 23 Bait

Cheng Yijiu finished off the fallen monster with a single blow, beheading it. The other two monsters also lost their heads, halting their movements. Cheng Yijiu used the tip of his sword to pick up the shattered armor. "As expected, the inhabitants of Valyria mutated. If we can find a mutated monster that was killed by them, then we can be sure of it."

Cheng Yijiu continued to drag the car toward the volcano, encountering no more similar monsters along the way. However, he stopped and squatted by the roadside, examining the pit in front of him. He took a few steps back. What he saw was clearly a three-clawed footprint, but it was unexpectedly large.

"It's nearly three meters long and about two and a half meters wide. The 'heel' is an irregular oval with a diameter of about one meter." Cheng Yijiu confirmed the size. This should be the so-called dragon footprint. "It's about twenty meters long, maybe bigger or smaller, but it's definitely an adult dragon, right? It should be able to meet the mission requirements."

Unfortunately, the footprints were covered in dust, as was everything here. Cheng Yijiu couldn't tell how long ago the footprints were—even judging by the color of the dirt was impossible. Fortunately, there wasn't just one footprint; Cheng Yijiu found several more within a few dozen meters, proving that the dragon had arrived during the Cataclysm, or at least after the peak of the Cataclysm.

"Maybe it still exists now," Cheng Yijiu muttered. Unfortunately, it was difficult to follow the dragon's footprints. Cheng Yijiu continued forward. Before him lay a ruined city, a vast city surrounding a majestic volcano. The city was covered in volcanic ash. Most of the buildings had collapsed, and the once magnificent palace had become ruins, but it still looked huge and majestic.

The volcano was very large. Cheng Yijiu stood on a hill beside the road and looked over. The base of this chimney-like volcano was probably four or five kilometers in diameter, but the height could not be seen at all - because it pierced directly into the dark clouds. Only the very high places were shining with red light, which illuminated the dark clouds below from above, and along with the light there was also a never-ending rumbling sound.

"This city is really huge," Cheng Yijiu muttered. The prosperity of Valyria was simply on another level. Cheng Yijiu was not surprised, because wasn't the Valyrian Empire modeled after the Roman Empire? Perhaps many aspects were different, but in terms of civilization and influence, it was undoubtedly on par with the Roman Empire.

The city before him was very dangerous. At least when Cheng Yijiu looked at it, he felt a kind of palpitation. The city itself was like a dormant volcano that might erupt if he wasn't careful. Cheng Yijiu thought of the many residents who had lived in the city.

"Not too many. If even one in ten people mutates, there will likely be tens of thousands of monsters, and even much stronger monsters." This city is larger than King's Landing, but it's not yet the capital of Valyria. Cheng Yijiu observed from the outskirts of the city, wanting to know what was happening with the dragons.

He spent precious food and water, spending three days outside the city. His patience paid off—finally, through the thick clouds, Cheng Yijiu saw the faint sight of giant wings. He wore earmuffs to block out the incessant rumbling, but the price was that he couldn't find the dragon by sound.

Cheng Yijiu spent a long time tracking the faint pair of wings with his eyes. This thing was flying around a huge volcano. After a volcanic eruption disturbed the clouds, Cheng Yijiu finally saw the owner of the wings. "A wyvern," he muttered.

This dragon was likely over 40 meters long from head to tail. Its forelimbs resembled a pterosaur, with the ring fingers extending to support the wing membranes. Its hind limbs were also quite developed, but still relatively short, suggesting that this dragon likely crawled on all fours. Its long neck and tail, with a wingspan of over 30 meters and spines at the end of its tail, and its head, covered in horns and bony spurs, perfectly embody the concept of a "dragon."

"This thing can spit fire, and it's a high-temperature flame that's full of 'magic'." Cheng Yijiu has excellent dynamic vision, so he can clearly see the posture of the dragon in the sky - not to mention he has a secret weapon, a telescope made of brass and crystal.

Cheng Yijiu was truly in a dilemma. How could he kill a flying dragon flying at an altitude of at least two or three hundred meters? It seemed that even with a crossbow, he would only have a chance if the dragon could dive within a hundred meters—and that only if it didn't dive vertically...

"Damn it! To deal with this thing, we should use a 20mm Boggs machine gun! 40mm would be even better!" Cheng Yijiu cursed while looking at the flying dragon. If there really were such things, Cheng Yijiu hoped it would be a quadruple-mounted one. He was absolutely sure that he could tear the dragon into pieces with a quadruple-mounted anti-aircraft machine gun.

Dragon scales blocking a bed crossbow is nothing! If you dare, why not try using it to block a 20mm cannon bullet? "Under high-speed armor-piercing, explosive, and incendiary bombs, all beings are equal!" Cheng Yijiu could only comfort himself with these words. He was also very disappointed. If this flying dragon didn't land, he really couldn't do anything.

Using bait? Does that black, shriveled dragon still need to eat? No one knows. Cheng Yijiu has already seen the obvious protrusion of ribs on the dragon's body. This thing, like the monsters he killed, should no longer be considered a "living thing", right?

"Maybe it's a half-dead creature, neither alive nor dead." Cheng Yijiu sighed. He thought maybe he could give it a try - so he jumped out, shouting and waving his hands towards the sky, the golden lion skin reflecting a dim red light.

Using himself as bait, Cheng Yijiu just hoped that the flying dragon would attack the living people who entered this land like those monsters did. He was exposed in this position. Even if there were monsters awakened in the city, they would probably not be able to catch up with him. Anyway, Cheng Yijiu had already made up his mind that once a large number of monsters broke out in the city, he would escape immediately.

At that time, I would just sit on the handle of the cart and use my legs to push to escape. Fortunately, the road is quite flat and there is no disrepair, so I should be able to escape quite quickly.

The dragons in the sky were still circling, and there seemed to be no commotion in the city. Cheng Yijiu felt a little embarrassed. "Maybe it's because I'm too small? That the dragons aren't interested?" The hunter had just thought of this when he suddenly found himself glowing slightly - a warm and fiery light...

Chapter 24: Mental Frailty

This light was incompatible with this world, filled with brightness and beauty. When the light shone, Cheng Yijiu also felt that his condition had instantly improved. Hunger and fatigue were swept away, replaced by high morale and a strong body. The dragon in the sky roared fiercely and pounced towards Cheng Yijiu. "It seems that this light can greatly stimulate them." Cheng Yijiu thought this was most likely a trick of Phobos Apollo.

The favor of the God of Light never leaves.

The dragon was rapidly approaching, and Cheng Yijiu was actually embarrassed. He only had a greatsword no longer than 1.3 meters and a short spear as tall as his body. How could he kill this 40-meter-long dragon in the sky? Although this dragon's body length was more than half of its long neck and tail, the greatsword and short spear were still no more than a toothpick to it. How much damage could a toothpick do in three minutes, let alone three seconds?

"I have no choice but to give it a try!" Cheng Yijiu zeroed in on the direction and braced himself. The dragon could breathe fire, and he had to seize any sign of it breathing fire. He had to immediately reverse course and disengage at the first sign of it. Even though he was wearing a lion skin, even though it seemed impervious to fire and water, he still didn't want to challenge the flames. Sure enough, the dragon opened its mouth as it rapidly approached, and began to spit fire about twenty meters from the ground.

Cheng Yijiu decisively ran in the opposite direction, easily allowing the flames to land behind him. Adjusting the flying dragon's direction wasn't easy; it had to spit for a distance, then climb, and then turn. In theory, as long as Cheng Yijiu changed direction quickly enough, the dragon would never be able to hit him. And indeed, Cheng Yijiu watched the dragon create a path of flames over fifty meters long, then used the momentum to climb.

After reaching a height of over a hundred meters, it turned and dived towards Cheng Yijiu again, repeating the process. "How stupid." Cheng Yijiu didn't even need to expend much energy. He could run in the opposite direction and stop within twenty meters to watch the fire. After six times, the flying dragon left six crisscrossing lines of fire on the ground. It looked very spectacular, but if it were to do it again, the dragon's reserves would be exhausted and it would be unable to spit out more.

The dragon dropped its altitude, attempting to swoop down and take Cheng Yijiu away. However, Cheng Yijiu's method of dodging was the same: he would first move in the opposite direction, avoiding the swirling tail and, if possible, inflicting a small wound with his greatsword. The Soul-Breaking Sword, also bathed in a warm glow, proved surprisingly effective against the dragon's black tail, easily breaking through its armor. The dragon also failed to bleed, instead leaking a thick black liquid, suggesting it had similarly been "contaminated."

This is normal. When the flying dragon swooped down, Cheng Yijiu discovered that this thing could be called a "mummy dragon". It looked like a skeleton covered with a dragon skin.

Finally, the flying dragon landed on all fours, scrambling towards Cheng Yijiu. The monster's head was taller than Cheng Yijiu, and its mouth could fit him upright. To deal with this massive monster, Cheng Yijiu felt compelled to risk climbing onto the dragon's body. "If only I had a gun..." He couldn't bring himself to do it, so he had to force his way in. The long neck wasn't particularly flexible, but rather stiff for strength's sake.

Cheng Yijiu approached quickly, dodging the dragon's jaws as they bit. He didn't jump, but instead used the lion's hide as a buffer, absorbing the impact of the dragon's head. He grabbed the thorns behind the dragon's head, stepped on the scales, and used his sword as a handrail, stabbing it into the dragon's neck to gain leverage and climb up. The lion's hide couldn't be pierced by the dragon's thorns, and Cheng Yijiu, with his body aglow, also displayed extraordinary physical strength, resistance, and power.

The greatsword kept stabbing into the flying dragon's body. The dragon roared furiously but it was useless. Its claws and fangs could not hurt Cheng Yijiu. Cheng Yijiu was like a tick nailed to the dragon's body. He reached out and grabbed the dragon's scales, and kept slashing and stabbing with the greatsword in his right hand, creating a wound big enough.

The Sword of Light was extremely effective in splitting the dead flesh. Before the dragon could bear it any longer and tried to fly, he had already created a wound over a meter deep on its neck, and the pale white spine could be seen. At this time, the dragon pushed off the ground with its feet and flapped its wings, preparing to take off. The movement was so large that Cheng Yijiu gave up jumping immediately - he decided to give it a try.

"One last strike!" Cheng Yijiu gripped the sword with both hands, gathering all his strength in a furious slash. Then, using the recoil, he rolled down, now more than ten meters from the ground. Before Feilong could react, Cheng Yijiu had already landed, rolling to dissipate most of the impact. Even so, his legs were still slightly numb.

His furious slash almost broke the dragon's thick cervical vertebrae, which put the dragon in a very troubled situation - this injury could not "kill" the dragon, after all, it was uncertain whether this guy was dead or alive, but the broken and separated bones made it difficult for it to support its head, which made the dragon very uncomfortable.

Its head and neck formed an angle, and the flesh and remaining bones continued to break the remaining cervical vertebrae of the flying dragon as it flew higher and higher. The air resistance and gravity continued to break the connecting part of the cervical vertebrae of the flying dragon, which was already covered with cracks.

The flying dragon was flying in a crooked posture, looking like it was about to crash, and it did crash - there was an obvious error in its judgment of altitude and direction, and the flying dragon fell like a stone at a certain height, hitting the ground heavily.

"The wing must be broken." Cheng Yijiu approached the dragon from behind, avoiding any area that might be covered by the dragon's breath. "The Cataclysm has actually greatly weakened the dragons. They have lost most of their intelligence." Cheng Yijiu pondered. He had read some ancient records. The intelligence of Valyrian dragons was at least comparable to that of human teenagers. They would not engage in such a mechanical battle - this only proved that they had lost their normal intelligence.

"It's alive, because it's still breathing." Cheng Yijiu swung his sword with all his might, severing a portion of the dragon's tail. A thick, black liquid oozed from the wound—the same thing had happened when he'd chopped off the dragon's neck before, but it had been purified by the light radiating from Cheng Yijiu's body. Cheng Yijiu watched as the black liquid quickly dried, gradually turning to ash, and finally vanishing in a wisp of smoke...

Chapter 25 Harvest

"Can the blessing of Apollo, the god of light and the sun, be activated across the world?" Cheng Yijiu pondered this as he carefully and methodically chopped off the dragon's hind legs from back to front. It had to be said that a Western-style heavy sword felt quite useful as a felling weapon. With three swings, Cheng Yijiu severed the dragon's hind legs midway up the thigh. Next, he would sever the dragon's well-developed flying forelimbs.

Falling from the sky, the dragon had already taken away most of its life—let's just assume it was alive. Its forelimbs, in particular, had suffered complex fractures, and Cheng Yijiu simply chopped them off to treat them thoroughly. The cold iron sword, blessed by the gods and possessing the power to break demons, was incredibly sharp. In just two or three strokes, it had already ripped through the dragon's shoulders. Cheng Yijiu's movements were like felling a log, each slash creating a gaping wound.

Pieces of flesh flew everywhere, but the blood and flesh on the sword vanished into black smoke in the light. The bones, too, were cleaved after just three or five blows, the fragments darkening, shrinking, and finally turning to dust. Amidst the dragon's feeble wail, Cheng Yijiu removed half of its limbs. The dragon's neck muscles were indeed incredibly strong, and even with bones nearly broken, it relied on the muscles and skin of the lower half to prevent its head from being separated from the body...

Furthermore, Cheng Yijiu only broke bones, leaving the creature's arteries intact and its body still able to move—proving it was no longer a living thing. Cheng Yijiu noticed the creature's head was bent at an abnormal angle, looking incredibly awkward, so he decided to help by simply removing it. He carefully avoided the direction the dragon's mouth was pointing—safety first.

Under the glow of the lion's hide, Cheng Yijiu began his diligent labor. The dragon had completely lost its resistance, leaving Cheng Yijiu to perform the work of a butcher. With a final, long, gurgling sound, Cheng Yijiu severed the dragon's head. With its head ripped off, the dragon quickly began to rot. Flesh and bones quickly decayed, leaving only a few large bones. But amid the decaying ashes, Cheng Yijiu found a round stone egg.

"Dragon egg?" It felt like stone, but its surface had a lizard-scale texture, and its pitch-black color made it a dragon egg. Cheng Yijiu looked around and saw no signs of hatching. "I'll probably have to burn it," the hunter muttered. He couldn't see a door, so the mission might not be over yet. This mission had been irritating for Cheng Yijiu, and now he was feeling fed up.

While battling wits and courage with prey was fun, spending most of the time in this shabby medieval place was frustrating. It seemed like killing a flying dragon wasn't even enough to complete the quest. Cheng Yijiu, feeling a bit frustrated, tossed the dragon egg onto the cart and turned away. The return trip was much quicker than the outward journey, as he'd already cleared out the active monsters along the way, and he knew exactly where to return.

Sitting astride the handlebars, Cheng Yijiu alternately pushed the ground with his legs, moving the cart forward along the road. Valyria's level of civilization was indeed far superior to Westeros. At least Westeros didn't have a road as smooth as this one. Even the King's Road was just a slightly smoother stone road, which was already a miracle in Westeros. Of course, the castles of Westeros were even more amazing, always making Cheng Yijiu feel that they were far beyond his normal technical capabilities.

All we can say is that this was probably based on an era of magic, created by people who possessed magical powers.

Relying on manpower, with ordinary farmers being conscripted for labor, it would probably take hundreds of years to build those clifftop castles, those massive conjoined castles. Just the Lannisters' stone castle alone, with all the rooms and passageways carved out of such a massive rock, would take more than a hundred years.

In short, this world is just so strange. Even before leaving Westeros, Cheng Yijiu heard rumors of unusual movements in the north, suggesting sightings of blue figures. Returning to the sailboat moored on the shore, Cheng Yijiu was delighted to discover it was intact, so he boarded and prepared to depart. The food and water on the cart were all gone, and if the boat broke down and sank, he'd be dead. Cheng Yijiu didn't dare drink the water in this land.

There was also light wine on the boat, which tasted strange but was at least drinkable. The water in the barrels of boiled water had already gone rancid and was unpalatable. Cheng Yijiu simply emptied the barrels. He thought it would be more reliable to expose the barrels to the sun and collect rainwater after leaving the sea shrouded in black fog. It took Cheng Yijiu three days to leave the sea, and the faint glow emanating from him ensured that the entire process was completely smooth.

Back in the sunshine, Cheng Yijiu stretched, enjoying the feeling of recharging himself. The wooden barrel sat facing upward, basking in the sun. Amidst the roar of the waves, Cheng Yijiu suddenly heard a strange rumbling sound. He followed the sound and saw the dragon egg he had casually tossed onto the deck—scaled and egg-like, it must be a dragon egg. It was rolling on the deck, spontaneously.

Not only was it rolling, but even the scaly shell was showing tiny cracks. "Is this considered hatching?" Cheng Yijiu was curious. If he could kill the dragon with a single blow after it hatched, perhaps his mission would be complete. The sun's rays shone brightly on the dragon egg. Cheng Yijiu thought it was focused like a solar oven. Soon, the eggshell shattered completely, and a lizard emerged from within.

This lizard is quite ugly. It's born with spines on its head and a horn on the tip of its nose—not surprising, as these are the horns lizards use to crack eggshells, and they soon fall off or degenerate. Its two forelimbs are also exceptionally long, with wing membranes extending all the way to its waist. Its hind legs are similar to those of ordinary lizards, and it has a long, thin tail. Of course, its neck is also quite long.

"It's black scales, just like the dragon that was chopped to death." Cheng Yijiu didn't think about killing the little creature for a moment. Curiously, he picked up the dragon cub, which was devouring its broken eggshell, and held it in his palm to observe. "It's still different. Although they can only be called two-legged dragons, they are different from the 'master'..."

Chapter 26 Young Dragon

A closer look reveals a different look. This young dragon has a large head, a short neck, a small body, and a short tail. It's perfectly adorable as a juvenile—except it's incredibly ugly. This young dragon has bony protrusions on its cheeks, extending from below its eye sockets to its temples where a small protrusion appears—this is likely the starting point for the dragon's horns. Short spines flare across its forehead and crown.

The face still had some flesh. "This face looks a little familiar. Why do I always feel like I've seen it somewhere... This face is a bit like a chimpanzee or a gorilla, with these exposed nostrils..." Cheng Yijiu had not thought about killing the young dragon with a single blow. Hunters would not kill cubs or mothers with cubs, and of course they would not kill pregnant mothers - except for the above-mentioned aliens...

This little creature was also bony, with sharp spines and membranes extending from the middle of the cervical vertebrae behind its head all the way to its back, folding and disappearing at the front of the wings. Cheng Yijiu could tell from its bat-like wings that the ring finger extended to form the skeleton, as in the case of pterosaurs. Therefore, the claws formed by the index, middle, and thumb also had a grasping function. Its hind legs were quite long, which should have allowed this little creature to stand for a short time.

The tip of its tail is a sharp spear point, so this little guy is actually quite dangerous. Cheng Yijiu looked at the dragon's mouth, "No lips? Almost all the gums are exposed? This is similar to crocodiles, which have teeth from birth." Cheng Yijiu placed the dragon on the deck, dug a hole in an empty bucket, and turned it upside down on the deck to serve as the dragon's nest.

Cheng Yijiu remained quite leisurely. He took out his fishing rod, put on the bait, and cast it directly into the sea. The weather was fine and the sea was bright, so he just needed to keep the boat from straying too far—after all, if he stayed close to the coast, it was unlikely he'd get lost. After catching the fish, he gave most of it to the young dragon—the little creature had an incredibly voracious appetite, devouring a fish larger than itself in just half an hour.

The dragon's growth rate was visible to the naked eye. The ship had only been at sea for less than a week, and the dragon had already grown to the size of a full-grown hound. The water bucket had long since outgrown its space, so Cheng Yijiu had no choice but to let it sleep on the deck in the open air. The dragon couldn't fly yet, though it flapped its wings diligently for practice. Even though it couldn't fly, the wind it created was quite strong.

"Eating so much, yet still so thin? Perhaps this is the nature of this flying dragon." Cheng Yijiu didn't eat much fish, and almost all of what he caught was thrown to the young dragons. He himself mainly ate dry food and dried meat cooked together—the rain was still plentiful here, and Cheng Yijiu had already filled his buckets early in the morning. Cheng Yijiu's cabin was stocked with high-quality anthracite stored in wooden barrels. He used this fuel for cooking, heating water for bathing, cleaning, daily washing, drinking, and drying clothes.

The kitchen and showers were located in a semi-open cabin on the deck, with only a waterproof canvas overhead to keep out the rain, for fire protection. The young dragon loved to stay by the stove, especially when Cheng Yijiu was working on it. Perched by the cast iron stove, the young dragon wasn't afraid of the heat.

The dragon's head was now smaller than it had been previously, and its horns and bone spurs had grown considerably. The horns, in particular, had fine, goat-like joints that grew from its temples, extending horizontally for a while before curving forward. The flesh on the dragon's cheekbones was increasingly diminishing, and combined with its chimpanzee-like nose and face, it began to resemble a skeleton.

"Even its gums seem to be receding, making it look even more like a 'black dragon.'" Cheng Yijiu was a swordsman, and of course he also played tabletop games. The dragon's head reminded him of the black dragon from the Forgotten World; it was practically identical. But that dragon was a true dragon, the second weakest of the five-colored dragons, but a true dragon. This dragon before him was a wyvern, strictly speaking, a sub-dragon.