After sailing from the River of Tears into Gods Eye, Aegon's boat headed for the western shore.
Inside the cabin.
"Your Highness, are you sure you don't need me to help you relax?
We messengers not only deliver messages to the dragon kin, we're also tasked with easing your mental stress." Ellyn smiled, gently tugging her shoulder strap down a little to reveal her fair chest.
Without looking up from the steel sword he was polishing, Aegon said coldly, "One more word, and I'll kill you."
Ellyn's smile froze. She bowed to Aegon and quietly withdrew.
The boat soon came to a stop at the gathering point for the mission to hunt Harren the Red.
Aegon donned his armor and helmet before stepping ashore.
He glanced around, finding the place vaguely familiar. After a brief moment of thought, he remembered—this had once been the heart tree grove where House Tully and the Riverlands nobility had sworn fealty to him in his past life.
Decades later, it had grown into a small lakeside town.
"Hey!" A voice called from beneath a heart tree.
Aegon turned and saw a beautiful teenage girl in fish-scale armor waving at him.
He noticed the dragon-mark necklace at her throat, realizing she must be a teammate for this mission.
So young? he thought.
As he got closer, he spotted a man dressed like a mercenary resting with his eyes closed against the far side of the heart tree behind her.
"Hello, my name is Sophia, ranked No. 31. Are you a dragon kin here for the Heart Lake Town mission?" she asked warmly.
The mercenary stirred at the sound of footsteps, looking toward Aegon. His face was that of a bearded middle-aged man.
"Yeah, I'm here to kill Harren the Red. Name's Aegon," he replied with a nod.
The mercenary stepped up beside Sophia, arms crossed, and said with clear irritation, "Kid, what's your rank? In a squad of multiple fighters, the highest-ranked leads.
If you won't tell us, how are we supposed to plan tactics?"
Fully armed in helmet and armor, Aegon's dragon horns went unnoticed by the two.
He smiled. "And you are?"
"Davos Baratheon. You've heard of my father, I'm sure. I'm currently ranked No. 12 in the Demon Slayer Corps," Davos said with a touch of pride.
"Aegon Targaryen. You've heard of my father too, I imagine. I don't have a rank yet—but soon, I'll be No. 12." Aegon grinned as he drew his steel sword and beckoned with one finger.
Davos frowned, studying him intently.
He didn't rush in, but instead stared in surprise and murmured, "Royal blood!"
"Is that a problem?" Aegon asked.
"Forget it. If you want my rank, take it—the squad's yours too," Davos said with a dismissive wave, then added, "But you'd better take my advice. You've just joined the Demon Slayer Corps; you're not familiar with fighting demons yet."
Aegon gave a slight nod and sheathed his sword.
He had expected to earn Davos's respect through a fight, but it seemed the Targaryen name carried weight here too.
After quick introductions, the three began sharing their intel.
The demon they were about to face would be no easy foe. The fact that headquarters had assigned them to work together meant the task was beyond the ability of any single person.
The strength of the dragon kin was measured in five attributes: Agility, Strength, Magic, Perception, and Combat Skills.
Each was rated from Level I to Level V—a system that originated in ancient Valyria.
Level I: The average adult male.
Level II: Elite warriors—like the Imperial Guard.
Level III: The human limit, with vitality between 90 and 100—Kingsguard were generally at this level.
Level IV: Extraordinary beings, with vitality or mental power between 100 and 150—top dragon kin often ranked here, and the top 10 averaged this level.
Level V: The standard for dragonborn, with vitality or mental power between 150 and 200—young King-tier Dragons shared this strength.
By this measure, Aegon's stats were: Agility III, Strength III, Magic V, Perception V, Combat III.
Anyone with a single attribute at Level IV qualified for the top ten of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Level III in any attribute qualified for the top twenty, and so on. These rankings were only rough guidelines—real combat was unpredictable, and it wasn't rare for lower-ranked fighters to defeat those above them.
Aegon had learned all this from dragon kin research materials in the Citadel while waiting for Aerea's return.
From his teammates' introductions, he now had a rough gauge of their abilities.
Sophia's Agility and Combat Skills were both Level III—above average for dragon kin.
Davos had Strength III, Magic III, and Combat Skills IV—putting him among the elite.
Aegon's Combat Skills were rated Level III because dragon kin fighting styles had diverged greatly from human techniques.
In the past, humans would consider the damage combat techniques could cause to their bodies, but the Dragon's Kin possessed remarkable regenerative abilities, making their fighting style far more ferocious and without regard for the cost.
In the Demon Slayer Corps, the maximum human limit for strength and combat skill was classified as Level III.
Davos' Level IV combat skills were already at the master tier among extraordinary fighters.
Still, Aegon was confident he could easily defeat Davos, because once he unleashed his demonic energy, his strength and agility would be enhanced in every aspect.
Combined with his superhuman perception, any technique appeared in slow motion before him, making it easy to spot weaknesses and counter or break through them.
After introducing their abilities, they moved on to analyze their mission target.
It had been more than ten years since Harren the Red had obtained the [Dragonlord's Egg] and turned into a demon.
During that time, he had multiple dealings with the mystical school, and several experimental technologies had been tested on him.
He was among the most powerful of all demons.
In human form, Harren the Red had black hair and eyes, with a tuft of wine-red chest hair. In his demon form, however, he became a humanoid monster with a shark's head.
"We mustn't let him get into the stream beside Heart Lake Town. If he swims back to the vast Gods Eye, we can kiss this mission goodbye," Davos said.
Sophia shared her own view:
"This group of demons were once bandits. Now they've taken over Heart Lake Town, luring and devouring passing merchants and travelers. There are over twenty of them. A frontal assault isn't wise—we should wait for a chance to launch a surprise attack."
Aegon had no objections.
He had never fought demons before and planned to first follow these two experienced warriors to get a feel for it.
Once they were clear on the team members' abilities and the mission objective, they set out for Heart Lake Town...
On the road, Davos finally gave in to his curiosity.
"Which royal lord are you the bastard son of?" he asked.
"Why can't I be a prince?" Aegon looked at him in puzzlement.
Davos chuckled.
"Don't be ridiculous. No royal family would send a prince to the Demon Slayer Corps—it's a place for second sons and bastards. You really didn't know that?"
"What if I actually am a prince?" Aegon replied with a faint smile.
"Then you must've been framed. A prince wouldn't be sent on a mission this trivial," Davos said.
They crossed a small slope, and the town gates came into view.
At the entrance, a few farmer-looking folk were hawking black bread, but no one was buying—business was dead.
Aegon stopped, removed his helmet, and brushed his bangs aside, revealing two small black dragon horns.
Davos' eyes went wide. He pointed at Aegon's forehead with a trembling hand, his face full of disbelief.
"You… You're the Dragon Prince! Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier!"
"I told you my name was Aegon," Aegon said helplessly, spreading his hands.
"There are hundreds of the emperor's bastards, and plenty of them are named Aegon." Sophia sighed, slapping her forehead. "Looks like we've gotten ourselves tangled in royal family feuds."
"Is it too late to back out now?" Aegon asked with a bitter smile.
Davos drew his steel sword, exhaling sharply.
"Forget about retreating safely. Look at the small forest—we're surrounded."
Aegon glanced around and saw numerous strange shapes moving among the trees. He drew his steel sword as well, his guard up.
The farmers selling black bread by the town gate charged toward them, their forms swelling and twisting to reveal ugly, hulking demon bodies.
"Prince Aegon, don't you have Level V demonic energy perception? We're surrounded—how could you not notice?" Sophia asked.
"My perception is ultra-close range, more like a mental domain. It's different from long-range sensing," Aegon explained.
"Enough talk! Cut a path toward the lakeshore!" Davos shouted.
He led the charge, sword raised, back toward the road they came from.
Demons poured from the forest, their dark green skin stretched over towering, muscular frames. Slightly taller than Smallfolk, they had monstrous faces, jagged teeth, golden predatory eyes, and thick limbs tipped with claws.
"So these are demons?" Aegon muttered.
But what troubled him more was who had sent this mission from the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters—was it the White Party or the Red Party plotting against him?
Davos plunged into the demon horde, Aegon and Sophia close behind in a spearhead formation.
The moment Davos' blade met a demon's flesh, it sliced through as easily as cutting butter.
Such was the overwhelming power of a top-20 Dragon's Kin. When they wielded their specially forged heavy greatswords, ordinary mortals couldn't even compare.
Aegon handled the demons on his flank with calm precision. Each swing of his sharp steel sword took a demon's head clean off.
His extraordinary perception let him detect any demonic energy within three meters, even the energy within living beings nearby.
It was all thanks to the eyes he had inherited from Visenya—eyes with unmatched dynamic vision and terrifying sensory capability.
Aegon moved like an elegant dancer, every strike exact and efficient, killing his target with just the right force, then flowing seamlessly into another attack.
Aegon had pushed Valyrian Military Swordsmanship to its absolute peak—a realm of mastery he had never before attained.
Perhaps, with further study and refinement, he could one day forge a truly practical style of Valyrian Royal Swordsmanship from its foundation.
On the other side, Sophia was struggling to hold her ground, nearly overwhelmed by the tide of demons surging toward her. Ranked only in the thirties, her abilities were still within mortal limits. She might have been at the pinnacle among mortals, but she was now facing demons.
In the Demon Slayer Corps, Dragon's Kin ranked below thirty suffered the highest casualty rates. Many did not fall in battle outright—they were forced to awaken mid-fight, becoming new demons themselves.
In this encirclement, Aegon and Davos were still able to handle the situation calmly, but Sophia was forced to draw on the demonic energy within her body to boost her strength.
Her pupils shifted into vertical dragon slits. The corners of her mouth split upward, teeth lengthening and sharpening. Her skin bulged with web-like veins.
Purple demon blood sprayed in every direction. Their breakout was going smoothly—against Aegon and Davos, these creatures were little more than a drain on stamina.
The air was filled with the eerie, overlapping wails of the demons. Steel carved through flesh, scattering limbs and fragments of demon bodies across the ground.
Two slender demons dropped from the trees on either side of the road, monkey-like in their movements, diving straight at the trio.
Aegon narrowed his eyes, and his steel sword flashed twice in the air.
Two shrill screams split the air. The monkey-like demons were severed mid-leap, their bodies falling in pieces. Purple blood rained from above like a grotesque storm.
Sophia gasped for breath, staring wide-eyed at the dazzling display of swordsmanship. Inwardly, she marveled, "So this is the power of the Pureborn… to kill any foe in a single effortless strike. Prince Aegon's strength must be enough to place him within the top ten."
A hand landed on her shoulder—it was Aegon.
"Don't activate your demonic energy any further," he said evenly. "Once a Dragon's Kin surpasses eighty percent activation, the awakening is irreversible. You're at your limit."
"Prince, I… I'm useless," Sophia choked out, her head already twisted into a beast-like shape, her voice deepening into an animalistic growl.
Davos frowned, glancing at her. The girl couldn't have been more than her mid-teens, yet her mind was slipping, dragging her toward the brink of awakening.
He weighed whether to cut her down now. Trusting his back to a half-awakened fighter was far too dangerous.
"Sophia, you have ten seconds. If you can't keep your demonic energy below fifty percent, I won't let you stay in the squad," Davos barked.
Aegon glanced his way but didn't intervene. At a moment like this, mercy was a luxury they couldn't afford.
"Lord Davos, hiss! I can do it, hiss! Hiss! Don't abandon me, hiss…" Sophia shouted, her voice growing rougher. Her head had fully transformed into that of a snake.
Her body swelled from one point six meters to over two meters tall. Her chainmail burst apart, revealing a muscular frame covered in densely packed scales.
Sweat formed on Davos' brow. Watching her transformation out of the corner of his eye, he knew—it was already too late. Sophia was awakening.
Awakened beings were far more dangerous than ordinary demons. The Dragon's Kin themselves had been created from the flesh and blood of such monsters.
"Aegon, cover me! I'll kill her first! All out!" Davos roared, swinging his greatsword in a brutal horizontal slash.
Aegon saw clearly—demonic energy surged into Davos' arm, swelling it with iron-like muscle and coarse, dense hair.
'Is this Davos' Level IV combat skill?' Aegon thought. 'Just a simple partial awakening?'
The greatsword bit into Sophia's serpentine body with a dull, resistant thud, like hacking into a tire. The blade stuck fast.
By now, she had fully awakened, her lower half a serpent's body over five meters long.
While fending off surrounding demons, Aegon kept one eye on Davos' fight with the awakened form.
Davos' heavy strike hadn't been fatal—yet suddenly, a muffled boom erupted from within Sophia's body. Her long, coiled tail exploded into two writhing halves.
The upper half of the awakened form lay on the ground, its snake head gaping wide. From its jaws uncoiled a tube-like tongue, and at the tip was a miniature, naked version of Sophia's upper body.
Tears streamed down her face as she reached for Davos.
"Lord Davos… please don't abandon me… I beg you… don't—"
Crack!
Davos' next strike slammed into the snake head, burying the blade deep. Half a heartbeat later, another explosion ripped the upper body apart.
Demonic energy swirled in Aegon's golden eyes as he studied the flow of Davos' technique. This was a combat style worth learning.
...
After the bloody push forward, they reached the shore of the Gods Eye. The boat that had ferried Aegon was still moored, waiting silently for him.
Davos, panting heavily, allowed a faint smile.
"Looks like the crisis is over," he said.
Aegon flicked purple blood from his blade, expression calm.
"No. The real battle is only just beginning."
Davos turned toward him, puzzled—until he saw why.
Two figures stood on the boat's deck. One was a tall man with jet-black hair and deep black eyes, his bare chest marked with a tuft of wine-red hair.
He wore a coat of animal skins and stood like a mountain at the bow.
When his gaze fell on Aegon and Davos, he bent his knees slightly—then launched himself high into the air. The sheer force of the leap made the boat dip into the water.
In an instant, he soared over ten meters. His body began to swell and twist, his neck sinking into his shoulders as his head reshaped into something monstrous—a shark's head, its jaws packed with serrated teeth.
The rest of him retained a roughly human frame—muscles hard and full, arms thick with strength, his entire body sheathed in slick, bluish-gray skin that radiated a cold, predatory aura.
With a heavy crash, the nearly three-meter-tall shark-like demon slammed into the lakeshore mud, spraying dirt high into the air.
"Harren the Red!" Davos called sharply.
Aegon ignored the shark-headed fiend, his gaze locked on the other figure on the deck.
"Long time no see, cousin Viserys," he said quietly.
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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