When Lynd showed an unusual reaction, everyone on the Arrow noticed it. Immediately after Lynd issued a warning, the ship's horn blower sounded the horn before Horth could even give the order.
Following this, all the sailors and warriors on the surrounding ships picked up their weapons and stared intently at the dark and calm sea.
At this point, after determining the sea dragon's location and its intended target, Lynd didn't hesitate. Under everyone's gaze, he drew his Lost Knight's Greatsword and leaped directly from the Arrow's figurehead.
However, he didn't fall into the sea as everyone expected. Instead, he flew rapidly towards an outer warship like a sea eagle. At the same time, countless silver-white snowflake fragments emerged from his body, and under the moonlight, his entire being seemed to drift through the air like a silver meteor, forming a brilliant and dazzling trail.
"The Seven Above." Bishop Josais, who was traveling with the ship, gasped in surprise when he saw Lynd display such a miraculous ability. At the same time, he loudly chanted the Seven Gods' hymn, which was only sung during large church ceremonies.
The other followers of the Seven on the ship were all stunned by Lynd's ability, and upon hearing Bishop Josais sing the Seven Gods' hymn, they were infected and began chanting prayers in unison. These prayers blended into the Seven Gods' hymn without disrupting its rhythm; instead, they added a harmonious effect, making the hymn appear even more solemn and sacred.
Others who were not followers of the Seven were also affected by this sacred atmosphere, and each silently recited prayers according to their own beliefs.
Lynd was completely unaware of the commotion on the ship; his entire focus was currently on the giant beast rapidly emerging from the seabed.
When he flew above the beast's target ship, he then swiftly descended from the sky to the sea surface. The moment his feet touched the water, the sea immediately froze, forming a massive ice layer that spread outwards and downwards.
Facing the sudden obstruction of the ice layer, the sea dragon did not slow its ascent. Instead, it stirred the seawater with its wings, accelerating its charge and directly crashing into the ice layer, flipping up the entire ice layer along with the two warships trapped within it.
People on the other ships now clearly saw how enormous the legendary sea dragon was. Just the portion that emerged from the water was like a hill, and its massive head was almost the same size as the Arrow, which was called a fortress warship. Its open maw could easily bite any of the warships present into two pieces.
With such a colossal sea dragon appearing before them, aside from fervent believers like Bishop Josais who worshipped it immensely, everyone else, even Horth, couldn't help but wonder if Lynd could truly defeat such a giant beast.
At this moment, Lynd, standing on the ice layer, appeared incredibly small, as if the sea dragon could simply flick a front claw and crush Lynd.
However, Lynd showed no sign of panic and paid no attention to the situation of the warships behind him. His eyes remained fixed on the enormous sea dragon before him.
In his mind, he had already rehearsed the battle process countless times, and the current situation was precisely one of the scenarios he had encountered during his rehearsals.
He instantly found what he believed to be the most suitable option from the various plans he had prepared.
His entire being shot towards the massive sea dragon's head like an Arrow, while the Frozen cold air around him instantly dissipated, replaced by Thunder lightning. The Lost Country Knight in his hand also transformed into two sharp spikes, striking towards the sea dragon's right eye.
This sea dragon seemed to possess unusual intelligence. Seeing Lynd strike towards its eye, it quickly closed its right eye, then turned its head and opened its massive maw, biting towards the approaching Lynd.
Although Lynd's flying speed was very fast, he remained extremely agile. He simply adjusted the direction of the hurricane's propulsion around his body, and his entire being, like a nimble bird, bypassed the biting giant dragon's mouth. He then landed on the edge of the dragon's maw, on its massive head, and the Lost Country Knight's Greatsword in his hand pierced into the dragon's forehead.
The dragon's skin, as Lynd expected, possessed extremely strong defensive capabilities. Even with a sharp weapon like the Lost Knight's Greatsword, it still took Lynd a great deal of effort to pierce through.
Moreover, because the defensive layer composed of dragon skin and the fat beneath it was very thick, even though the Lost Knight's Greatsword pierced through, it couldn't cause too much direct damage to the sea dragon, only making it feel a slight stinging pain.
However, Lynd had already anticipated this, and the power he used against the sea dragon was not the direct damage from the Lost Knight's Greatsword, but the power of the Thunder Dragon Rune attached to the Lost Knight's Greatsword.
A lightning bolt of up to a thousand volts surged from the Lost Knight's Greatsword into the sea dragon's head. The sea dragon instantly felt a dizzy spell, and its body fell into a numb state, rapidly sinking into the sea.
However, as the sea dragon completely submerged into the sea, the ocean absorbed the lightning attack on its body, allowing the sea dragon to quickly recover from its numb state. The previous lightning also made it feel the approach of death; fear instantly enveloped its heart, driving it to instinctively flee. It sank to the seabed, escaping towards its lair.
At this moment, Lynd was still standing on the sea dragon's head, gripping the Lost Knight's Greatsword embedded in the sea dragon's body. However, he had stopped activating the Thunder Dragon Rune and instead used the power of the Ice Dragon Rune to create a sealed environment around his body that isolated seawater and preserved some air. In this way, he sank to the seabed with the sea dragon.
On the surface of the sea, everyone who had witnessed the brief battle stood frozen in place. The sailors on the ships all ran to the edge of the gunwales, lighting all the lanterns to illuminate the entire sea surface brightly, diligently searching for Lynd's figure.
Everyone had seen how agile Lynd was in the air, avoiding the sea dragon's devouring maw, how he landed on the sea dragon's head, and how he plunged his Greatsword into the sea dragon's head, drawing a lightning bolt that struck the sea dragon's head and sank such a massive sea dragon into the sea.
They could all tell that Lynd was not injured, and under normal circumstances, Lynd should have been able to surface.
However, what worried them was that as the time spent searching for Lynd's figure on the sea surface grew longer, Lynd still hadn't surfaced from the sea. Everyone felt a bad premonition, though only the devout Bishop Josais believed that Lynd, blessed by the Seven, would be fine.
The search continued until dawn the next day, expanding from the battle area to the surrounding waters, and they even searched near the coastline, but still found no trace of Lynd, nor did the sea dragon reappear.
"What do we do now?" At dawn, Horth, looking exhausted, gathered the captains of each warship to discuss.
Someone spoke bluntly: "Continue the search. Even if the Earl is in trouble, we should at least see his…"
However, some people did not like to hear such words. Horth's deputy sternly reprimanded, "Shut up! If you can't speak properly, then keep your mouth shut. The Earl is a Chosen of the Seven, and we all saw it then; that enormous sea dragon was as fragile as a lamb before him. How could someone like a god be in trouble?"
Clearly, Horth's deputy was a devout follower of the Seven and a fervent worshipper of Lynd, the Godsworn.
"I was just making an example," the captain grumbled.
"Alright, I'm asking what to do next, not to listen to you argue," Horth said in a deep voice.
At this moment, Bishop Josais calmly stated, "All ships are now forbidden from docking or contacting other ships. All invited merchant guild managers and their guards are to be placed under house arrest; no news must be leaked by them. Lord Horth, you must immediately send a Red Falcon to Summerhall to report what happened here. Let Summerhall make the remaining preparations."
Speaking, he looked at everyone around him with an extremely solemn expression and said, "I believe the Godsworn will be fine, but his disappearance with the sea dragon, sinking into the seabed, must mean some accident has occurred. If he does not reappear for a long time, it will inevitably cause quite a stir. The longer we remain on the sea surface, the more time Summerhall and Tengshi Town will have to prepare for the unexpected. Therefore, I hope you all understand the current situation and do not do anything that would disappoint the Godsworn."
Everyone in the Council Chamber immediately responded, "Understood, Bishop, we will keep this matter strictly confidential and prevent it from spreading."
Horth said nothing more and immediately acted according to Bishop Josais's wishes.
The managers of the various merchant guilds naturally did not want to be placed under house arrest, but they could tell that if they dared to make any move of resistance, only death awaited them, and they would not be given any chance to escape.
So, one by one, they obediently followed Horth's arrangements, laid down their weapons, stripped off all their clothes, changed into the garments prepared for them, and were then all confined to the lower deck cabins. These cabins had only one exit, and daily food was personally delivered by Bishop Josais, ensuring they had no opportunity to pass on messages.
Horth also sent the news of Lynd's disappearance with the sea dragon to Summerhall via Red Falcon.
Almost like Bishop Josais, everyone who clearly knew how powerful Lynd was understood that Lynd would be fine, but they also had to guard against the turmoil that a prolonged disappearance of Lynd might cause, as well as the schemes of certain individuals.
Thus, ravens flew out from the Raven's Nest in Redemption Town's Council Chamber, and orders fell into the hands of Summerhall's various managers, garrison commanders, and army leaders. Troops began to move frequently throughout the territory, and even the Stone Giant stationed at Miracle Sanctuary was recalled to Redemption Sanctuary.
Those sensitive to politics noticed that something was amiss, but they did not connect it to Lynd leading a fleet to hunt the sea dragon. Instead, they thought Lynd might be planning a major move in the southwestern section of the Red Mountains, as there had long been rumors that Lynd intended to gain control of the southwestern section of the Red Mountains to complete the unification of the Dorne March east of Prince's Pass.
Half a month later, the troop movements in Summerhall's territory concluded. Na Melilia Fudeli, Lord of Tengshi Town, led Summerhall's vassals to Redemption Sanctuary and announced in Redemption Sanctuary that she was pregnant with the child of Lynd, Lord of Summerhall. This child would also be the heir to Summerhall and Tengshi Town in the future.
In the Sanctuary, Bishop Hulen declared the legitimacy and sacredness of Na Melilia's unborn child.
This news immediately caused a huge sensation in the territories of Summerhall and Tengshi Town. Everyone was incredibly happy about this news, and various related celebrations were held in towns and villages, plunging the entire territory into a sea of joy.
Lords from various regions, upon receiving the news, sent representatives to offer congratulations. The Westerlands sent Kevan Lannister, the Reach sent Garlan Tyrell, Dorne sent Princess Arianne, the Stormlands had Duke Renly personally come to congratulate, the Riverlands sent Edmure Tully, and the Vale sent Bronze Yohn Royce, Lord of Runestone. Although the North did not send anyone to congratulate, they sent a gift: an extremely rare First Men stone tablet book.
What was strange was that King Robert, who had always had an excellent relationship with Lynd, did not send any gifts, only dispatching Ser Petyr Baelish, who had recently become the Master of Coin. His status was simply too far below that of the envoys from other regions present.
Besides secular lords sending representatives to congratulate, Sanctuaries from various parts of the Seven Kingdoms also sent people to offer congratulations and gifts. Among them, the Great Sept and Starry Sept even had their Bishops personally attend, and like Bishop Hulen of Redemption Sanctuary, they declared the legitimacy and sacredness of Na Melilia's unborn child.
So many dignitaries from the Seven Kingdoms were present at the banquet held by Na Melilia for her unborn child, yet the host, Lynd, was missing, which made many people feel somewhat uncomfortable.
However, thinking that Lynd was currently at sea hunting a sea dragon, they felt there was nothing amiss.
"Nameria, do you really intend to announce this news now?" Moroa asked with a serious expression.
Moroa had been staying by Nameria's side during this time. Although their relationship hadn't improved, it wasn't too bad. Her main role was to guard against anyone trying to poison Nameria.
"They'll find out sooner or later. It's better to announce it now to prevent them from discovering the issue themselves and using it to spread rumors," Nameria said calmly.
Moroa hesitated, then said, "Have you ever considered that Lynd might really…"
"No," Nameria said with absolute certainty.
Then, she turned to look at Moroa and asked, "What about you?"
"No," Moroa shook her head and said, "Even if everyone in this world died, he wouldn't die."
Hearing Moroa's words, Nameria smiled, while the seven Redemption Sisters guarding nearby frowned. Although the statement sounded like it meant Lynd would live a long life, they felt an inexplicable awkwardness about it.
However, they had no time to ponder, because Nameria, now in armor, walked out of the room and headed towards the banquet hall. They followed closely, along with the seven Silent Monks guarding outside, protecting Nameria.
And Glory, who appeared from who knew where, also followed behind, closely protecting Nameria according to Lynd's instructions when he left.
The moment Nameria arrived in the banquet hall, everyone was somewhat confused as to why Nameria was wearing armor.
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Nameria loudly declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have some rather unfavorable news to announce. My beloved, Lynd Tyrell, Lord of Summerhall and Godsworn, disappeared with a sea dragon a month ago while hunting it."
As Nameria's words fell, the entire banquet hall instantly fell silent, and everyone stared at Nameria, dumbfounded.
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