"Tail of the Demon" Hatar had not been happy for the past two years.
It wasn't because the Dragon Queen mistreated him.
In fact, compared to his former master, the Great Benevolent Grazdan, he preferred his current mistress.
He was a cruel interrogator, yes, but he also had a heart that longed for freedom and loathed slave masters.
In that regard, he was quite similar to Lord Bao of Meereen.
The real reason Hatar was unhappy was because his former companion was doing far too well, while he remained stuck in the same place.
Hatar, the Tail of the Demon, and Cleon the Butcher were once known as the "Twin Stars of Astapor" under the rule of the benevolent masters.
One was the finest pig butcher in the city, the most dazzling meat seller; the other was a master of the whip, with interrogation skills unmatched in all of Slaver's Bay.
Thanks to their astonishing skills, the two became household names, true rising stars of the time.
But after Astapor was liberated by the Dragon Queen, their paths diverged dramatically.
Hatar had one brief moment of glory during the Queen's initial efforts to win hearts, but afterward, he had few chances to prove himself.
Cleon, on the other hand, rose steadily through the ranks, step by step—his status climbing, his wealth growing, his fame spreading.
"First Earl under the Dragon Queen!"
"One of the Eight Great Heroes of the Northern Campaign!"
"The most hated enemy of all slave masters, second only to the Queen herself."
"In Meereen, there is Cleon—unyielding and righteous, who discerns loyalty from treachery!"
By the Seven, just listen to those awe-inspiring titles.
The jealousy burning in Hatar's heart was unbearable.When his old companion thrived, he suffered.
The last time Cleon returned to Astapor to stand trial, how Hatar wished the Queen had handed the Butcher over to him—so he could let Cleon feel the fury of his whip, the jealousy in every strike, and the hatred forged over years.
Especially after the trial of the "Harpy's Son" case concluded, when the Earl of Broken Chains invited him out for drinks and lobster, reminiscing while repeatedly—almost boastfully—complained about one thing:
Green Grace Grazdan had, in a shocking twist, confessed to her crimes mid-trial. Because of that, the case's climax—Cleon delivering a passionate speech to the public—was abruptly cut short.
Cleon had spent a long time preparing that speech. He even had the Dragon Queen herself help him polish it. Now it was nothing but scrap paper.
He lost his perfect chance to showcase his glorious revolutionary ideals.
Worse, everyone was now talking about the Queen's verbal sparring with Green Grace, with little attention paid to "Lord Bao of Meereen."
Oh, and the Butcher had also taken that opportunity to smugly introduce Hatar to the tale of "Master Bao of the Sunset Sea"—most of which was pure nonsense that Cleon had made up. After all, the Dragon Queen never told him much about Master Bao's story in the first place.
Hatar longed for the same glory and riches Cleon had attained.
He once had a chance right in front of him—but as an interrogator, he had failed miserably.
Yes, that Faceless Woman who tried to assassinate the Queen.
Hatar had exhausted every technique he knew, tormenting her for months.
In the end, he shamefully gave up—without extracting a single useful word.
What a disgrace.
He didn't dare leave the house for days, afraid to face anyone.
At that time, the Butcher was in Kharne helping the Queen conquer the pyramid—winning battle after battle, his reputation soaring.
Finally, the straw that broke the camel's back came.
Cleon became the ruler of Meereen.Cleon became the sole Earl under the Queen.
Hatar snapped out of his depression—he couldn't go on living aimlessly.
He had to pull himself together. He had to improve his skills.
He began madly refining his whip techniques.
Why had a mere woman from the Faceless Men remained silent under the torment of his world-class whipping skills?
Was it because the Faceless Men were powerful?
Then he needed to be more powerful than them.
He had to elevate his cultivation.
At last, after several months of closed-door training, his whip skills reached a whole new realm.
And luck was on his side—he was granted another opportunity to prove himself to the Queen.
A hundred days to forge one whip. Today, it will strike.
Reeking of blood, Hatar strode quickly before the Dragon Queen, bowed respectfully, and reported, "Your Majesty, I have succeeded. I've gotten that spy to talk."
Hatar was a brawny man with a face full of scars and muscle.
He stood two meters tall, his entire body bulging with strength.
His arms, especially, looked as though they were cast from black iron.
When he flexed his biceps, it was like two basketballs swelling under his skin.
In terms of physique alone, he was undoubtedly the fiercest-looking warrior under the Dragon Queen's command.
"So quickly?" Daenerys said, surprised.
Her expression brought immense joy to the Tail of the Demon.
He flashed his yellow-toothed grin and proudly said, "Your Majesty, after failing with the Faceless Woman last time, I trained relentlessly. I've finally broken through to the realm of the extraordinary, so my efficiency has improved dramatically."
"The realm of the extraordinary?" Daenerys said, raising an eyebrow.
"Just like how Ser Barristan once described the swordsmanship levels: 'as natural as moving an arm,' 'lifting heavy as if light,' 'lifting light as if heavy,' and finally 'transcendence into the divine.' You should know, I reached the peak of the 'lifting light as if heavy' level a long time ago."
At this point, the Demon's Tail couldn't help but sigh inwardly: If he hadn't reached a realm where lightness could be wielded with weight, he would have long been devoured by the Dragon Queen's magical beast for injuring her.
Dany thought back and had to nod in acknowledgment. If whip technique truly had levels, then Hatal hadn't been boasting.
"That blue-bearded first mate seems to have an unusually strong will," she said hesitantly.
Anyone who could withstand dragon might—would they really fear a whip?
Hatal sighed. "That guy is indeed a tough one. A month ago, I wouldn't have been able to do anything to him. But now, I've comprehended the ultimate essence of whipsmanship and reached a transcendent realm.
At first, he gritted his teeth and endured in silence.
But under my extraordinary techniques, he only held out for fifteen minutes before he started groaning. After another half hour, he was screaming hoarsely. An hour later, he was begging for mercy. After three hours, I could ask him anything, and he'd answer truthfully."
The Dragon Queen was intrigued and asked, "This ultimate essence—what kind of level is it? Can you give an example?"
"Of course," Hatal puffed out his chest, pride tinged with a trace of wistfulness. "I once could lash a fly resting on tofu to death without leaving a single whip mark on the tofu beneath it.
Now, I can place the tofu in a porcelain bowl, cover it with a saucer, and with one strike of my whip, I can shatter the saucer without damaging the tofu or the bowl.
If I want to break the tofu, the saucer won't even slip off the bowl, let alone break. If I want to shatter the bowl, the tofu will fall neatly onto the shattered pieces, with the saucer still covering it."
"That's truly transcendent! Though I do wonder what effect it has on prisoners," the Dragon Queen marveled.
Hatal let out a sigh. "Used on prisoners, their skin won't break, their flesh won't tear, but their bones will fracture in several places. I can make them feel pain wherever I want—however much I want."
"I'd like to see a demonstration sometime," Dany said with interest.
Then she caught a reproachful look from Aemon and quickly added, "I meant the part with the tofu and the saucer."
"Your Grace, I can perform either one for you anytime."
"Actually, there should be a realm even beyond transcendence."
Dany was deeply moved by Hatal's commitment to honing his skills after hours.
It was like a programmer bound by a soul-crushing labor contract—already working 996—and still coding hard on the seventh day at home. How could the boss not be touched?
With such a motivated employee, she felt she ought to encourage and support him.
"Once, in Wester—" The Dragon Queen stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that Archmaester Aemon was standing nearby.
He was an old Westerosi and a scholar. What Westerosi anecdote could possibly fool him?
"Ahem. Back when I was in Westeros, I heard a tale about an ancient Sword Saint. His name was 'Invincible and Lonely,' and he often said, 'Standing at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, I am far too lonely. My greatest wish is to be defeated by a worthy opponent.'"
"That's incredible," Hatal said dreamily, full of longing.
Even old Aemon temporarily set aside his doubt—"How come I've never heard of a swordsman named 'Invincible and Lonely'?"—and murmured, "To say something like that and not be killed on the spot, he must have been a peerless master."
"Hatal, do you know what level of swordsmanship 'Invincible and Lonely' achieved? Beyond transcendence, the first stage is: no sword in hand, but a sword in the heart. The second stage: no sword in hand, no sword in the heart—everything can be a sword."
The Dragon Queen sighed and encouraged the towering executioner, "Hatal, you have great potential. Keep working hard. One day, you may become 'Hatal, the Lone Whip.'"
"The Lone Whip?"
The executioner murmured the name, his eyes unfocused, as if entranced.
Aemon, however, had no interest in Hatal's whipsmanship. He asked directly, "Hatal, you looked panicked when you came in. What did the spy say?"
Hearing this, Hatal snapped out of his reverie and said urgently, "Your Grace, please send someone immediately to seize the ship Erudite. That's another spy vessel. They brought in ten stone men and dumped them into the sea near the docks."
"Stone men? You mean victims of greyscale, whose bodies have turned to stone?" Dany asked.
"Yes, they were brought from the Lands of the Long Summer," Demon's Tail said, his face filled with righteous fury and teeth clenched.
"The spies wrapped them in oilcloth and hid them at the bottom of the cargo hold, so they could bypass our customs inspection.
Once docked at the ports of Astapor, Khyzai, and Meereen, they planned to smuggle the stone men into the cities with the cargo and throw them into public wells in residential areas."
"By the Seven, the allied forces are truly that cruel?!"
Old Aemon's eyes widened in horror, his face ashen, and he staggered.
Dany quickly caught him and turned to ask, "Hatal, did you record Bluebeard's confession?"
"Yes." Hatal hurriedly handed over a bloodstained scroll of "Dragon Paper"—a type of paper invented by Dany's artisans after two years of research. Initially named "Dany Paper," the Dragon Queen later felt that sounded too lowly and renamed it "Dragon Paper."
The confession was recorded with proper formatting: name, place of origin, age, assigned department, immediate superior, contact person.
Dany skimmed through those details, focusing instead on the sinister plot of the allied forces—to throw stone men into the public wells of Slaver's Bay's busiest districts.
Greyscale disease couldn't be explained by modern medicine. The symptoms caused victims to gradually turn into stone men.
It was pure fantasy—actual living stone men!
Stone men, being denser than water, would naturally sink to the bottom of the well without being discovered.
And they wouldn't die immediately either. They could live for an unknown period, serving as a long-term source of infection.
However, Tyrion's sudden infection incident disrupted the allied spies' plan.
To avoid being caught red-handed, Bluebeard decided to "sacrifice the pawn to protect the king," drawing attention from the Dragon Queen and the Unsullied by acting recklessly, thereby giving Erudite a chance to destroy the evidence.
Well, the corpses weren't destroyed. Those bastards dumped them into the sea.
(End of Chapter)
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