Viserys's unease was soon validated.
Just as he was on his way back to Valyria, an attack from the shadows descended upon Dragonstone.
Through the vision of a Wayfarer, he observed the chaos unfolding in Dragonstone late at night and urgently arranged for Black Flame to provide support.
It turned out that shortly after he and Ghidorah left Valyria, assassins had bribed merchant ships to blend into the fleet heading for Valyria. After landing at the docks, they used disguise and stealth techniques to evade the tight patrol teams and sneak near Dragonstone.
In the middle of the night, they launched an assassination operation.
They split into two teams. One team attempted to sneak into the temporary dragon nest of Dragonstone. Their targets were the Young Dragons; if they could capture and take them away, that would be ideal, but if not, they were to kill them all if possible.
The other team crept toward the castle's living quarters, their objective being to assassinate members of the Targaryen Family.
These assassins came from the Temple of Immortals in Qarth; they were well-trained Shadow Binderss and Shadow Assassins, proficient in shadow magic and poisons.
The team that sneaked into the dragon nest bypassed the tight guard of the Unsullied. After all, they knew shadow magic, and evading the sight of the Unsullied was more than within their capabilities.
Although it was currently a low-magic period, it did not mean that magic could not be cast at all. Many wizards and the like could still perform it through certain special methods.
For instance, these assassins before them could cast magic by sacrificing their own lives.
However, they still underestimated the extraordinary perception of dragons themselves and the strength of the Young Dragons. Especially the four that had hatched earliest, which were now nearly the size of ponies.
When figures carrying the aura of dark magic and clear malice approached, the resting Balerion opened his dark red vertical pupils and let out a low, warning hiss.
Meraxes's golden vertical pupils accurately locked onto a twisted silhouette in the darkness, and then she directly breathed a blast of Dragonfire, burning him to death.
Almost simultaneously, seeing their tracks exposed, the assassins immediately launched an attack, firing poisoned throwing knives at the Young Dragons, while two others cast magic to summon shadow killers.
Balerion angrily spat out a burst of Dragonfire; although the scale of the fire was not large, it carried his unique corrosive energy, igniting the summoned shadows with a'sizzling' melting sound. An assassin screamed as he emerged from the shadows, strange black smoke rising from his body.
A golden light flashed in Vhagar's throat, and a flame laced with gold threads shot out. Although far inferior to Ghidorah's Obliteration Ray, it still pierced through an assassin's chest.
Meraxes also breathed out a flame carrying a chill, dealing with an assassin.
The Unsullied guards outside realized what was happening, quickly alerted the castle, and raised their spears, forming a formation to surround the area. Though these assassins knew magic, they were still flesh and blood after all and could not withstand the spears at all.
The assassination squad that had sneaked into the dragon nest was quickly slaughtered under the counterattack of the Young Dragons and the encirclement of the well-trained Unsullied.
But the true deadly threat was still in the castle's living quarters, especially in Daenerys's room.
Despite his age, the old knight Earl Jonothor Darry possessed sharp instincts from decades of service in the Kingsguard. When the warning and the hissing of the Young Dragons came from the distant dragon nest, he immediately woke from his sleep, grabbed the longsword hanging on the wall, and rushed out of his room.
"Alarm! Go protect the Princess and the ladies!" His voice echoed through the corridor.
After making simple arrangements, he personally led a squad of elite guards from Westeros and rushed toward Daenerys's room.
When they arrived, they happened upon four assassins in strange attire and with blurred faces about to break down the door. Two bodies of castle guards lay at their feet.
One of the assassins held a black short blade, while another was chanting incantations, the shadow at his feet writhing like a living creature.
"Sorcery!" Earl Jon was startled but still fearlessly led the charge. "For Targaryen! For the Princess!"
The guards also clashed with that eerie shadow. However, the shadow could change shape at will, making it impossible to defend against. Fortunately, these men were equipped with valyrian steel weapons, which could cause damage to Shadow Creaturess.
The assassin with the black short blade was extremely skilled; in just a few moves, two guards had died at his hands.
Earl Jon's martial skills were also quite refined. After killing one assassin, he faced off against the one with the short blade. But he was old after all, and having come in a hurry, he wasn't wearing full armor, only a simple breastplate. Soon, after a mistake, he was stabbed in the waist.
However, after dealing with the remaining two assassins, the guards arrived in time to help him and let him retreat to the back to rest.
The assassin watched as more and more guards gathered, a flash of madness appearing in his eyes.
He gave up on a direct breakthrough or continued fighting. Instead, he pulled a black crystal bottle emitting a pungent odor from his robes and smashed it hard against Daenerys's door. The crystal bottle shattered, and thick black liquid splashed everywhere, some flowing inside through the cracks in the door.
He was soon subdued, with several weapons piercing his body. But before he died, he used magic to ignite the liquid. The flames were black and extremely hot, instantly engulfing the door and corridor and rapidly spreading inside.
Even more terrifying was that this fire seemed unquenchable; when the guards threw water on it, the fire grew even fiercer. One guard risked the danger to reach out and try to open the door, but the flames caught his arm and then his entire body.
He soon died in the flames, and even after death, his corpse continued to burn.
When Viserys and Ghidorah returned to Dragonstone, the castle was still in a state of high alert, the air thick with the smell of char and a faint scent of blood.
With grief and anger on their faces, the guards were attempting to use sand and soil to bury the still-burning flames.
A captain stepped forward quickly, knelt on one knee, and briefly reported the situation. All the assassins were killed, the Young Dragons were fine, but Earl Jon was seriously injured, and Princess Daenerys was still in her room. However, the flames could not be extinguished, and they had no way to confirm the situation inside. Everyone who tried to enter had died in the fire.
Rhaenys and Ashara stood nearby, their faces full of worry. Because they did not have the Unburnt bloodline, they could not enter either. The assassins on their side had been killed by the arriving guards before they could even find their rooms.
After learning that Daenerys was trapped in the sea of fire, they had been waiting here.
Rhaenys stepped forward and hugged Viserys, tears in her eyes. "Brother, Dany will be alright, won't she?"
"Of course, Rhaenys. I can sense it; Dany is fine."
This was not just Viserys comforting Rhaenys; he really had just checked.
Although he knew Daenerys had the Unburnt talent, these flames were quite strange, so he had been somewhat worried at first.
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