Chapter 221: Wolf King Battles Frost Dragon, Stannis Summons the Fire Demon

On the majestic walls of Storm's End, Stannis stood before a holy fire several yards high, his jaw set tight.

"A frost dragon? Are you certain you saw it clearly?"

The large red ruby on Melisandre's snow-white neck shimmered under the starlight and the holy fire.

"Yes, Your Grace. There are no lies in the holy fire. I saw it: the frost dragon spread its wings of death and sprayed icy dragonfire toward the Kingswood. The Kingswood withered, the earth suffered a curse, and all the flowers, grasses, and trees upon the land died."

Stannis's expression was grim. "Icy dragonfire? Do you not often say that fire and ice are mortal enemies? A frost dragon must either breathe fire or breathe ice."

"How can there be such a strange thing as icy dragonfire?"

Melisandre said, "Your Grace, put it this way: the frost dragon's icy dragonfire is cold enough to burn."

"A magic dragon would turn the earth into scorched earth, yet the scorched earth would eventually recover its vitality and greenery. The places bathed in the frost dragon's dragonfire are filled with curses; the earth is withering and dying, and in the future, not a blade of grass will grow, just like the Smoking Sea."

Many lords of the Stormlands wore expressions of fear.

If the frost dragon cursed the land, what use would the unplantable fields be? How were the lords to feed their smallfolk?

Without the land, what would a lord even be?

Recently, many pirates of the Stepstones had been captured by the Royal Fleet and the Lysene Mercenary Fleet of Salladhor Saan. Melisandre could sacrifice one pirate to the Lord of Light R'hllor every day. Melisandre grew increasingly confident; that seductive body of hers radiated warmth at every moment, and her magical power grew ever stronger.

Stannis gritted his teeth. "The wight necromancer's frost dragon will attack Storm's End sooner or later. Must my soldiers use fire arrows to fight a frost dragon?"

The Onion Knight Davos said, "Your Grace Stannis, even Storm's End would struggle to resist the invasion of a magic dragon, let alone a frost dragon. Just how many frost dragons does Cersei have in her possession?"

Melisandre said, "Four in total. The wight necromancer Ogbeta was the first to resurrect the frost dragon Dreamfyre, and subsequently, at Tumbleton, he collected the dragon souls that died in the Battle of Tumbleton during the Dance of the Dragons, creating three frost dragons in one go."

"They are the Dragon of Bronze Vermithor, the Blue Queen Tessarion, and Seasmoke."

"Fortunately, the ones appearing above the Kingswood in the Stormlands are the two smaller frost dragons, the Blue Queen Tessarion and Seasmoke. Vermithor and Dreamfyre may have been sent to attack the Wolf King Eddard at Harrenhal."

Stannis's eyes were cold and hard. "In other words, Cersei thinks that sending two smaller frost dragons is enough to handle me?"

The Hand of the King, Ser Alester Florent, said, "Your Grace, Harrenhal has magic dragons, giant eagles, and griffins, and it has skinchangers. Furthermore, the Young Wolf Robb is bringing tens of thousands of troops from the Westerlands to support Harrenhal."

"Clearly, Cersei feels that the Wolf King Eddard is a greater threat."

Stannis began to grind his teeth. "The Wolf King Eddard is at Winterfell, hatching magic dragons at Harrenhal as easily as a hen hatching eggs; the Corpse Queen Cersei is at King's Landing, blaspheming the Seven and persecuting the followers of the Seven, yet she relies on the wight necromancer to utilize the remains of dragons to create frost dragons."

"Only I, sitting in command at Storm's End, do not even have a single dragon egg. Melisandre, you always say that I am the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, destined to hold a burning sword and save the world."

"But I do not even have a dragon; with what am I to save the world?"

Melisandre said, "Your Grace, it is fated that you will receive a gift from the Lord of Light R'hllor. I know where to find the divine beast bestowed by the Lord of Light R'hllor; I have already smelled the scent of blood and fire."

Stannis raised an eyebrow. "You don't mean the stone dragon on Dragonstone, do you? Using king's blood to awaken the magic dragon inside the stone?"

"If you are still eyeing Robert Baratheon's bastard Edric Storm, save it! I will not sacrifice any innocent child to the Lord of Light R'hllor, let alone one who is Robert Baratheon's own flesh and blood, my own kin."

Melisandre revealed a confident smile. "Rest assured, Your Grace, I would never eye Edric Storm, nor would I attempt to awaken the magic dragon inside the stone."

"The place where I smell the scent of blood and fire is not on Dragonstone, but at Summerhall in the Stormlands."

Summerhall was once the summer palace of the Targaryen family. In the final year of Aegon V's reign, as the great-grandson of Aegon V, Rhaegar Targaryen, was about to be born, Aegon V summoned many relatives and nobles to gather at Summerhall to celebrate the birth of Rhaegar Targaryen, while simultaneously summoning pyromancers to hatch seven dragon eggs, attempting to bring magic dragons back into the world."

However, this operation to hatch magic dragons eventually evolved into a tragedy; the fire went out of control, and smoke and flames swallowed Summerhall.

Aegon V, Ser Duncan the Tall, the Dragonfly Prince Duncan, Jenny of Oldstones, Archmaester Gyldayn, and others all died in that fire.

Today, Summerhall has long since become ruins, but because Summerhall is located at the intersection of the Reach, Dorne, and the Stormlands, its geographical location is extremely important.

The Death Storm, leading an army of the undead, attacked Summerhall many times, only to be stubbornly repelled by Stannis's army. The wight necromancer once attempted to resurrect the ghosts of Summerhall.

Now, Melisandre claimed that at Summerhall, one could find the divine beast bestowed by the Lord of Light, and Stannis frowned.

"There would be dragon eggs in the ruins of Summerhall? I sent soldiers to rummage through the ruins long ago; there isn't even a single dragon egg there."

The white-haired Maester Cressen said, "According to historical records, when the tragedy of Summerhall occurred, the pyromancers attempted to hatch seven dragon eggs in the hall, in front of Aegon V and numerous nobles."

"Logically speaking, dragon eggs do not fear fire. After the fire occurred, these seven dragon eggs all disappeared. Your Grace, the tragedy of Summerhall happened forty years ago; even if there were dragon eggs in the ruins, they would have long since been dug up by peasants and travelers."

"It is impossible to find dragon eggs in the ruins of Summerhall."

Melisandre's eyes were as red as burning coals.

"Your Grace, the divine beast bestowed by the Lord of Light that I refer to is not a magic dragon; it is... a certain kind of power."

Stannis was curious. "Not a magic dragon? Then what exactly is it?"

Melisandre said, "Your Grace, this divine beast will be the nemesis of the frost dragons. I saw it in the holy fire: at Summerhall, Your Grace can not only win the support of the divine beast but also resurrect the ghosts of Summerhall to be used by me."

Maester Cressen, the Onion Knight, and the Hand of the King, Lord Alester Florent, were all shocked.

The Onion Knight Davos said, "Your Grace, to resurrect the ghosts of the dead, is that not creating wights with blue eyes? Has this Red Cloak Melisandre already fallen to being as evil as the wight necromancer Ogbeta?"

"Your Grace, this must absolutely not be done!"

Stannis glared coldly at Melisandre.

"I will not rely on the dead to win this war. Is the Lord of Light R'hllor not the mortal enemy of the Great Other? Must we, like the Great Other, resurrect the dead in order to win this damned war?"

Flames danced wildly in Melisandre's eyes.

"Your Grace, the Great Other can resurrect the dead, and so can the Lord of Light R'hllor. The Great Other's dark servants are slaves to winter and ice; the ones the Lord of Light R'hllor resurrects are warriors of flame and light. The Great Other's dark servants cannot contend with the Lord of Light's flame warriors!"

"If we do not resurrect these ghosts of Summerhall, the wight necromancer Ogbeta will resurrect them sooner or later. By then, they will be undead with blue eyes."

"Just imagine: the legendary Knight Ser Duncan, the Dragonfly Prince, and Aegon V, resurrected to fight for Your Grace—what is wrong with that?"

At Harrenhal, Eddard was in the bear pit, using his consciousness to control the wight Wheat.

The wight Wheat was only three years old; she was a wight captured when Eddard conquered Beyond the Wall. She had bright blue eyes and long brown hair.

Because Wheat was too young and posed no great threat, she had been kept at Winterfell and treated as an experimental subject by Archmaester Marwyn.

This time, Archmaester Marwyn traveled south from Winterfell, bringing the wight Wheat with him to Harrenhal.

Eddard had already mastered Element Power; he wore a Weirwood Bracelet on his right hand and a Skull Bracelet on his left. Eddard's skinchanger power was unprecedentedly strong, and using mind control to control Wheat was as easy as controlling direwolves, giant eagles, and magic dragons.

The Wood Dancer of the Isle of Faces suggested that Eddard attempt to use the skinchanger's craft, using mind control to perform soul possession and occupy a frost dragon.

"Driving the undead and the power of a frost dragon are the same; both are dark magic, the mind control of the Great Other's servants. As long as the skinchanger's power is strong enough, there is every opportunity to occupy a frost dragon."

"Of course, soul possession to occupy a frost dragon is far more difficult than soul possession to occupy an ordinary wight. A magic dragon is a creation of blood and fire in life, and becomes bone and ice after death. A frost dragon has been tempered by fire and ice; you must constantly absorb the power of the elements."

"Steel, trees, rivers, flames, earth... these powers can help you enhance your magical power, allowing you to possess the power to mind control a frost dragon."

If only it were as easy to control an Ice Dragon as it is Wheat, but the difference in difficulty is as vast as the size gap between a three-year-old girl and a Magic Dragon.

The Warg Kanu came before the Wolf King Eddard.

"Father of Life, my Falcon has seen the enemy's Ice Dragon. The Ice Dragon Vermithor is spraying icy Dragonfire upon the earth; the earth seems to have contracted Grey Scale, withering and dying, and all plants have lost their vitality."

In fact, by sniffing the Element Power in the air, Eddard felt the pain of the earth; he could smell the cold and deathly aura of the Ice Dragon Vermithor from dozens of miles away.

Vermithor's Dragonfire struck the river, the river froze, the fish in the river died instantly, and the power of the water element vanished; Vermithor's Dragonfire bathed the forest, the forest withered instantly, and the wood element vanished; Vermithor's Dragonfire sprinkled over the earth, the power of the earth element would vanish, and the earth suffered a curse.

Catelyn placed her hand over her heart.

"The Dragon of Bronze Vermithor was the mount of Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Back then, Jaehaerys I Targaryen rode Vermithor and brought unprecedented prosperity and peace to Westeros; now, Vermithor has actually become the embodiment of death."

Tyrion said: "My lady, the true Black Dread Balerion still lies in King's Landing! However, I think my dear sister will resurrect Balerion very soon."

Eddard clenched his fists, "To let the Ice Dragon run rampant in the Riverlands, the fertile fields of the Riverlands will all be reduced to a barren, dark, and morbid cursed land; I will never allow such a thing to happen!"

"I am going to ride the Magic Dragon to meet the Dragon of Bronze Vermithor!"

Catelyn's fear was clearly written on her face.

"Eddard, this is too crazy! The Magic Dragon is too young, while Vermithor has lived for over a hundred years; the Magic Dragon is simply no match for Vermithor."

Eddard smiled: "In a one-on-one duel, the Magic Dragon is of course no match for Vermithor, but the Magic Dragon's speed is far faster than Vermithor's; I will utilize the advantage of speed."

Archmaester Marwyn said: "There are still some Giant Bats in the wild, Wolf Prince, you must not underestimate the enemy."

Eddard said: "Prince of Giant Eagles Michu will lead the Giant Eagles to deal with those Giant Bats. Rest assured, I will not strike rashly."

Wolf King Eddard rode the Magic Dragon and encountered the Dragon of Bronze Vermithor on the Kingsroad near the Gods Eye.

The Dragon of Bronze Vermithor glared at Wolf King Eddard with its azure eyes, and immediately, Vermithor sprayed a mouthful of azure icy Dragonfire toward the Magic Dragon.

The Magic Dragon nimbly dodged the attack of the icy Dragonfire and began to ascend rapidly; Vermithor gave chase. Before Vermithor, the Magic Dragon was like a swallow before a falcon; the size difference between the two was too great, but the Magic Dragon was faster and soon shook off Vermithor, hiding into the clouds.

Vermithor was still searching for its opponent when the Magic Dragon had already circled behind the enemy. The Magic Dragon let out a roar, and a mouthful of leaping orange-yellow Dragonfire struck the Ice Dragon's wing. The Ice Dragon's wing smoked and turned charred black, emitting an angry shriek; soon, the charred part was covered with a layer of frost once again.

Wolf King Eddard rode on the back of the Magic Dragon, drew his Dragonbone Longbow, and an Obsidian Arrow flew out, striking Vermithor's neck.

If the substance that created the Ice Dragon and the White Walkers was the same, then Obsidian was clearly the nemesis of the Ice Dragon; it was just a pity that the Obsidian Arrow shattered the moment it struck the Ice Dragon, leaving Eddard feeling extremely depressed.

Subsequently, Vermithor sprayed icy Dragonfire toward the Magic Dragon; the surrounding clouds froze instantly, the air temperature dropped sharply, and Eddard felt as if he had fallen into the belly of an Ice Dragon.

The Skull Bracelet on Eddard's right wrist emitted a blue halo, and Eddard concentrated his attention, attempting to use the Warg's possession technique to control the Ice Dragon Vermithor.

Vermithor's soul was as cold as profound ice; as expected, the first attempt to control the Ice Dragon Vermithor still failed.

At this moment, another roar came from the other side, and the Ice Dragon Dragon Dream Fire appeared in the sky.

It turned out that Dragon Dream Fire had been lying in ambush in the clouds in the sky; because it was flying too high, even Eddard could not perceive the existence of Dragon Dream Fire.

Vermithor and Dragon Dream Fire sprayed icy Dragonfire together; the clouds surrounding Eddard and the Magic Dragon were all frozen, and even the Magic Dragon and Eddard were frozen.

Eddard felt the pain of his blood freezing; if it were an ordinary person, they would have frozen to death instantly upon being struck by the icy Dragonfire.

Fortunately, Eddard possessed the power of elements in his blood, and the flames within his body protected him; at this moment, the Magic Dragon sprayed flames, broke through the ice, and escaped to safety.

The Ice Dragons Dragon Dream Fire and Vermithor wanted to continue the pursuit, but at this moment, the screams of Giant Eagles and Griffins came from the sky.

Prince of Giant Eagles Michu, leading the Giant Eagles and Griffins, struck from the flank to attack Dragon Dream Fire and Vermithor; the Ice Dragons could only turn back to deal with the Giant Eagles and Griffins.

Wolf King Eddard rode the Magic Dragon and returned to attack the Ice Dragons; subsequently, the Giant Eagles, the Magic Dragon, and the Griffins all fled toward Harrenhal.

Vermithor and Dragon Dream Fire pursued relentlessly; when they waved their wings of death and arrived above Harrenhal, the Imp Tyrion on the ramparts waved the banner of the Direwolf.

"Fire!"

The cannons on the battery let out a roar, and the cannonballs struck the Ice Dragons; the Ice Dragons had never seen such a weapon, screaming repeatedly as thick green blood flowed from their wings and skeletons, and they turned and fled.

On the walls of Harrenhal, the soldiers of the Stark Army let out bursts of roars and cheers.

Tyrion smirked: "Wolf Prince, even Ice Dragons are afraid of cannons! It seems Cersei will have to create more Ice Dragons."

Eddard said: "I fear Cersei will not have the chance; once the Stark Army retreating from the Westerlands arrives at Harrenhal, I will march on King's Landing."

Tyrion said: "News from across the Narrow Sea: the Mother of Dragons Daenerys has already begun her march on Westeros."

Eddard said calmly: "I know. Cersei is about to welcome a woman more beautiful and younger than her."

The night at Summerhall was overcast with dark clouds.

Stannis, under the protection of the Holy Knight Regiment, looked at the ruins of Summerhall, and torches lit up the night sky.

The Onion Knight Davos said worriedly: "Your Grace, coming to Summerhall at night is simply an adventure. Giant Bats and Ice Dragons could attack us at any time; Summerhall is not Storm's End."

Melisandre said: "Onion Knight, you need not worry; if the Giant Bats and Ice Dragons dare to come tonight, it will be nothing but throwing their lives away!"

"Tonight at Summerhall is destined to belong to blood and fire."

Melisandre lit the holy fire, and flames several fathoms high licked the sky, illuminating the ruins of Summerhall.

Subsequently, Melisandre began to chant toward the holy fire.

"Lord of Light, shine upon us! For the night is dark and full of terrors!"

The screams of Giant Bats came from the sky, and several Giant Bats swept across the night sky.

Godry Farring, Justin Massey, Clayton Suggs, and other Holy Knights hurriedly nocked arrows and fired Fire Arrows to attack the Giant Bats in the sky.

However, unlike the dense phalanx of archers standing on the walls of Storm's End, on the ruins of Summerhall, the Holy Knights' Fire Arrows attacked the Giant Bats in the sky from the ground, and the effect was very poor; many arrows missed their mark.

Several Giant Bats swooped down, snatching up Holy Knights along with their horses, tearing them apart and devouring them in the air; a rain of blood sprinkled from the sky, and some severed limbs fell from above.

There was chaos all around; Stannis drew his Burning Sword, and the red sword of heroes cast rays of light: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.

"Giant Bats, feel the wrath of the Lord of Light!"

However, the holy light emitted by the Burning Sword not only failed to drive away the Giant Bats, but instead attracted the attacks of the Giant Bats.

Several Giant Bats swooped down toward Stannis simultaneously; several knights beside him were killed by the Giant Bats, and Stannis and the Onion Knight fled in a panic.

The Onion Knight and Stannis hid behind a giant rock on a hill, and the Onion Knight said: "Your Grace, I told you long ago that this is simply a crazy act, a stupid act!"

"Melisandre will be the death of us!"

The Red Cloak Melisandre stood before the holy fire; there were more and more Giant Bats in the sky, and the holy fire danced like a giant, accompanying Melisandre's chanting. The Giant Bats in the sky did not dare to provoke Melisandre beside the holy fire, only concerning themselves with slaughtering the Holy Knights on the side.

The large red ruby on Melisandre's neck sipped the flames.

"Lord of Light, please send your servant to the human world to fight against the Dark Servant!"

A halo of light tore through the night sky, shining upon the ruins of Summerhall; in an instant, Summerhall began to tremble, and immediately after, magma and raging flames tore through the earth.

After the flames passed, a giant over two meters tall stood up from within the fire; his entire body was covered in flames—orange, yellow, and blood-red flames—and his eyes were a smear of black, as black as an abyss.

Stannis and the Onion Knight were both stunned, watching as the flame giant brandished a Fire Whip in his hand, burning fiercely.

Melisandre was drenched in fragrant sweat, "Your Majesty, your servant the Balrog is fighting bloodily for you!"

The Balrog let out a roar, dancing within the flames, as the Fire Whip in his hand transformed into over a dozen streaks of fire, tethering the Giant Bat in the sky.

The Giant Bat let out bursts of miserable shrieks, burning and shattering, dying just like that under the strangulation of the Balrog Whip.

Stannis's soldiers let out cheers.

"Long live Stannis!"

The Balrog easily cleared the Giant Bat from the sky, and subsequently, the Balrog knelt on one knee before Stannis, causing the earth to turn bright red.

"Your Majesty, your servant the Balrog Gros is willing to serve you."

Stannis said, "You are just like a giant furnace; what does your fire rely on to burn?"

The Balrog said, "This is Fire Magic, and also the Truth Fire that helps Your Majesty purge the Dark Servant."

Stannis finally possessed a magical creature capable of resisting frost dragons and dark bats, but why did the Onion Knight feel that the Balrog was just as evil as an Undead necromancer?

Subsequently, Melisandre incanted a spell, and several ghosts appeared within the flames.

"Lord of Light, please resurrect the ghosts of Summerhall to fight for your servant Stannis!"

Before long, the tall and legendary Kingsguard "Duncan the Tall", Aegon V, the Dragonfly Prince, Jenny of Oldstones, and Archmaester Gyldayn were all resurrected; they rode burning horses and brandished Burning Swords, yet their faces were no different from those of humans.

The Onion Knight felt as if he were living in a fairy tale; the stories of Dengken Jueshi and Aegon traveling the Seven Kingdoms, as well as the story of the Dragonfly Prince and Jenny of Oldstones, were known to every woman and child, and now, they had all actually been resurrected at Summerhall.

Also resurrected at the same time were seven fire mages. These people one after another swore allegiance to Stannis in the name of the Lord of Light.

Stannis pondered for a long while, "Aegon V is the father of my grandmother Rhaelle Targaryen, he is my ancestor. Melisandre, if you can resurrect Aegon V, why not resurrect my parents?"

"Back then, my parents died in Shipbreaker Bay below Storm's End."

Melisandre said helplessly, "The Lord of Light witnessed the flames of Summerhall, but did not witness the storm of Shipbreaker Bay. Your Majesty, I am merely a servant of the Lord of Light, a tool of the Lord of Light; I cannot resurrect your parents."

"However, thanks to the bright light of the Lord of Light, I have resurrected the Balrog."

"With the Balrog, Your Majesty is sufficient to contend with the Undead necromancer's frost dragons!"

Thanks to Lin'an Farmer, 20230209235819731, and 3 Daoist Sage Books 3 for the monthly tickets sent; thank you for the support!

(End of this chapter)