Blood almost dyed the entire sea red, and Viserys Targaryen's lips curved into a smug smile as he watched the giant beasts of the deep flee in panic.
"Well done!"
Viserys Targaryen shouted loudly.
He lightly kicked Sunfyre's flank, guiding him to continue circling the whale pod.
This time, it was training low-altitude passes over the sea, followed by sharp turns, sudden stops, takeoffs, and changes in direction... Through this sea hunt, Viserys Targaryen not only tried to train them how to nimbly dodge ballista shots but also their coordinated combat abilities.
This continued for about an hour, until the dragons' bellies were all distended, and Viserys Targaryen himself felt his muscles ache and was utterly exhausted.
Only then did he decide to turn and fly back to Pentos.
Suddenly, the taste of the sea breeze seemed to change.
One moment it was the familiar salty tang, the next, a faint, elusive scent of sulfur and ash mingled in the air.
He was sharply alerted and immediately disengaged from the mental link with Sunfyre.
Looking out, a layer of dirty yellow smoke seemed to drift in the air, and the once azure sea now presented an ominous dark green, some even shimmering with a strange, rainbow-colored oil slick.
"Stop!"
Viserys Targaryen growled, sharply tightening the reins.
He felt a slight discomfort, a forbidden fear from deep within his bloodline arising inexplicably.
Sunfyre beneath him also snorted uneasily, and even the wild dragons following behind all slowed down, emitting low, threatening roars, scanning their surroundings warily.
"This is Valyria, the dragons' homeland, a land cursed by the gods."
Viserys Targaryen frowned, cold sweat breaking out.
He hadn't expected to have veered so far off course, so far as to intrude upon the edge of this cursed smoking sea.
Just as Viserys Targaryen was trying to leave this accursed place as quickly as possible, his gaze suddenly narrowed.
A ship abruptly emerged from the thick, almost impenetrable grey-green smoke ahead.
Its hull was unusually tall, yet it bore no resemblance to any ships from either side of the Narrow Sea.
Fortunately, a banner with a golden background, embroidered with a pure black giant kraken, hung from the main mast.
"Greyjoy, the kraken banner of the Iron Islands, how could it appear here?"
Viserys Targaryen was somewhat puzzled.
The Valyrian Doom Ruins, this was a place even the bravest navigators shied away from, a place even the ancient dragonlords dared not set foot in, yet someone had managed to return from it unscathed!
Suddenly, he remembered a legend from the original story.
Euron Greyjoy once boasted that he had entered the smoking sea of Valyria and brought back a dragonlord's horn that could command all dragons and a blue dragon eggs.
Later, he even tried to use the dragonlord's horn as a dowry to marry his sister, Daenerys Targaryen.
Everyone thought it was an absurd rumor, but unexpectedly, it was true!
Countless terrifying thoughts flashed through Viserys Targaryen's mind.
It was well known that Valyria harbored a large number of dragonlord legacies.
Whether it was the method for forging valyrian steel or those lost sorcerous knowledge, they would all threaten the core interests of the Targaryen Family.
The secrets of the dragonlords must never fall into the hands of anyone outside the Targaryen Family!
At this thought, an offended rage ignited in Viserys Targaryen's heart.
Sunfyre also seemed to sense his master's vigilance and anger.
He let out a hostile roar towards the eerie warship, and his scorching breath brought a wave of heat into the air.
"Awooo—"
This dragon roar clearly startled the people on the ship.
Several small figures immediately appeared on the deck, looking up to observe the giant dragons in the sky.
Though still far away, Viserys Targaryen could still see the fear and horror in their eyes through Sunfyre's dragon sight.
"Greyjoy..."
He whispered the surname, his voice full of murderous intent.
Viserys Targaryen felt a strong urge.
He wanted to immediately dive down and turn this ominous ship, along with its secrets, into a blazing torch on the sea with Sunfyre's Dragonflame.
But reason held him back.
This sea area itself was a huge threat, and he absolutely could not take risks lightly.
In Viserys Targaryen's eyes, Euron Greyjoy had already courted death!
He clung tightly to the black warship, which was accelerating wildly and heading towards normal waters, flying towards the outer edge of the smoking sea... At this moment, the "Silence" was dilapidated, like a piece of rotten wood salvaged from the abyss, barely gliding on these waters of death.
The seawater beneath the hull was a solidified, thick inky black, shimmering with an eerie iridescence.
A sailor leaned weakly against the main mast.
His skin had completely lost its softness, presenting a grayish-white, rough, stony sheen.
This was greyscale, the most prominent mark of the curse within the smoking sea of Valyria.
Another sailor was coiling ropes.
His back was severely hunched, one shoulder unnaturally bulging, covered in dull, rough keratinous growths, like some unformed carapace.
One of his arms was long, the other short, and he walked with a twisted gait.
The one huddled in the corner had a face covered in constantly oozing, viscous pustules, and his skin was purplish-black.
However, there were no whites in his eye sockets, only two deep, pitch-black vertical pupils like deep wells.
"Sailors cursed by the Valyrian Doom Ruins?"
Viserys Targaryen frowned gravely in the air.
Even with his dragonlord body, he couldn't help but shiver.
He certainly didn't want to contract these strange diseases.
Ever since Valyria defeated the Ghiscari people, these strange diseases had become prevalent within the Valyrian Freehold.
Many people said that it was the curse of the Ghiscari people at work!
Even from a distance, Viserys Targaryen might not be able to guard against these calamities from ancient Valyria!
Suddenly, Viserys Targaryen's eyes widened, looking in disbelief at the middle-aged man standing at the bow of the ship—"Crow's Eye" Euron Greyjoy.
He was tall and handsome, and there were no traces of any curse on him.
On this ship, twisted and cursed by a magical cataclysm, in this forsaken place, this man was completely out of place with everything around him.
"He really knows dark magic, he's asking for death!"
Viserys Targaryen was furious, and he guided Sunfyre to dive down.
He would never give this potential enemy any chance to survive!
"My lord, the dragons above seem to be charging at us!"
A sailor with a growth on his back and difficulty moving clumsily gestured to Euron Greyjoy.
Watching the charging dragons, Euron Greyjoy's lips curved upward almost imperceptibly: "What's there to fear? We are already out of the smoking sea, those monsters can't pursue us!"