Three days had passed since Viserys's resurrection.
Aside from bathing himself and meeting with his family, he had refused to see anyone else.
Inside his bedchamber, a large collection of items had been spread across the floor.
A map containing both Westeros and the Free Cities.
Three dragon eggs—blue, red, and purple.
Several Valyrian steel swords. A Valyrian steel crown. The Prince's Spear. The River Elder's tortoise shell fragment.
And, of course, the three hatchling dragons.
Viserys had just fed them, and they were now sleeping with their heads tucked beneath their wings.
The hatchlings snored softly.
A faint sulfurous smell drifted from their bodies.
Honestly, it was not pleasant at all.
The magic tide brought by the bleeding star and the return of dragons had truly begun.
These objects now felt completely different to Viserys compared to before.
First were the dragon eggs.
Viserys could clearly sense them slowly absorbing magical energy from the surrounding environment.
Especially after placing them inside a furnace.
The sensation became even stronger.
Magical energy seeped through the intricate patterns and cracks upon the eggshells.
He could even feel a strange vitality within them.
As for the Prince's Spear, it functioned differently. Unlike the dragon eggs, it did not absorb magical energy into itself.
Instead, it behaved more like a battery.
Viserys increasingly felt that the so-called Prince's Spear resembled a magical staff.
Through it, one could channel and utilize far more magical power.
Then came the Valyrian steel items.
Unlike the previous objects that absorbed magic, the Valyrian steel crown and swords actively repelled it.
It was as though an invisible field surrounded them.
Not only could they reject magical energy themselves, they could also interrupt the dragon eggs and the Prince's Spear from absorbing it.
No wonder R'hllor and Bargo had both regarded the royal guards equipped with Valyrian steel armor and weapons as troublesome atop the Mother of Mountains.
A bean-sized flame burned at the tip of Viserys's finger like ink upon the tip of a pen.
Using that flame as a writing tool, he began tracing names through the air.
R'hllor.
The Great Other.
The greenseers.
The River Elder.
The Seven.
The Drowned God.
The Horse God.
The Old Gods.
Prince Garin.
The Harpy.
The Black Goat.
The Three-Headed God.
The Moon Singers.
The Many-Faced God.
These were all the supernatural factions and powers he currently knew of.
Among them, the name "R'hllor" was written the largest and boldest. It was also the one Viserys feared the most.
Originally, Viserys had assumed that after absorbing Horse God Bargo's divine spark, he would at least possess some means of resisting R'hllor in the future.
But most of the power gained from the divine spark had been consumed rebuilding his body.
And the divine authority itself still remained with Bargo. Viserys had not truly obtained any miraculous abilities.
Of course, absorbing the divine spark had not been meaningless.
At the very least, he had now confirmed that Valyrian steel genuinely possessed suppressive effects against magic and supernatural forces.
After reconstructing his body, Viserys discovered he now possessed regenerative abilities far beyond those of ordinary humans.
As long as his heart was not pierced through or his head blown apart, nearly any injury could heal within a week.
But if wounded by Valyrian steel, healing became extremely slow.
Valyrian steel was also an exceptional anti-magic material.
One could practically call it a "magical insulator."
Now that the magic tide had arrived, fire mages, sorcerers, and similar individuals would undoubtedly grow stronger.
That meant Viserys and his family could become targets. So he needed to gather as much Valyrian steel as possible.
However, eight hundred royal guards were nowhere near enough.
Viserys believed he needed to establish at least a ten-thousand-man [Dragon King Guard].
The elites among them could wear Valyrian steel armor.
At minimum, every soldier needed a Valyrian steel weapon.
As for giving everyone full Valyrian steel armor? He would probably need to visit Valyria itself to gather enough material.
Viserys decided he would eventually seek out these supernatural beings personally.
Ideally, he could recruit one or two as allies.
Once the political situation stabilized, he planned to visit the River Elder again and learn how to obtain divine sparks.
At that moment, he looked toward the sleeping hatchlings.
Although his consciousness could enter their bodies, there seemed to be a distance limitation.
If he wanted dragons appearing on battlefields, they needed to grow quickly.
Back when the dragons hatched, he had transferred only [Sacred Child] Essences into them.
Originally, hatchlings should have been roughly duck-sized.
Yet moments after birth, they had already become as large as adult swans.
Viserys realized that perhaps essences could accelerate dragon growth.
And the resource he currently possessed most abundantly was [Screaming Warrior] Essence.
"Let's try one for each first."
Three [Screaming Warrior] Essences were transferred into the dragons.
The sleeping hatchlings merely flicked their tails.
No particularly obvious changes appeared.
After observing them carefully, Viserys noticed their scales seemed slightly sturdier.
"Add ten more."
As another ten essences entered them, the hatchlings' claws and teeth noticeably sharpened.
Their bodies also grew several inches longer.
That discovery gave Viserys enormous confidence.
He still possessed forty to fifty thousand [Screaming Warrior] Essences.
"More. More. Keep adding until I get bored."
Viserys fed each dragon another thousand essences.
Immediately, all three hatchlings grew from swan-sized to roughly the size of goats.
The dramatic change in size forced them awake.
The hatchlings were visibly startled by their sudden growth.
Yet their blood-bound spiritual connection with Viserys told them instinctively that this "Father of Dragons" was the reason for their transformation.
The three hatchlings immediately pushed their heads affectionately against Viserys's chest.
Dragons were greedy creatures.
From their gem-like vertical pupils, Viserys could practically read their thoughts.
"Lets observe them for a while first. Make sure there are no side effects."
After all, dragons would become one of his greatest assets in the future. And if they grew too quickly, it might terrify neighboring powers.
If the Free Cities began massively expanding their militaries and forming alliances against him now, it would become troublesome.
At minimum, Viserys needed time to fully absorb the Dothraki into his realm and transform them into a true part of his strength.
After some time passed, he planned to meet the Dothraki leaders personally.
Only then could he ensure their complete submission.
'Maybe I should eventually take a Dothraki queen...'
Then he shook his head. 'Forget that. First I should settle the matter of my official queen.'
Just as Viserys's thoughts began drifting further and further away, Arthur's voice sounded from outside the chamber.
"Your Majesty, the Volantene triarch requests an audience," Arthur reminded him.
"I know."
Over the past several days, figures like Malaqo, Tormo, and the various governors, triarchs, and archons had all repeatedly sought audiences with him.
Clearly, every single one of them feared the return of House Targaryen now that dragons had reappeared once more.
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