Chapter 487: A Parent’s Love for His Son Is Far-Reaching


    "A dream?"


    Viserys picked up on that, putting his bad mood aside.


    Rhaegar was a rare Dreamer in House Targaryen, and each of his special dreams symbolized something that intersected with reality. Viserys had long coveted such a gift and valued it highly.


    “I dreamt that two young dragons hatched at the end of the world,” Rhaegar said, frowning slightly as he recounted part of his dream.


    Viserys sat up straight, his face growing serious. “Dragons on Dragonstone?”


    As thest surviving family of Dragonlords, every dragon was a treasure to House Targaryen. The loss of a dragon would be unthinkable; the problem was too serious.


    Rhaegar understood this and said softly, “I don''t know for sure, so I''m going back to Dragonstone to investigate and find out about some missing items.”


    He slightly embellished his words, omitting details about the Smoking Sea and the Dragon''s Horn. Both were beyond the Targaryens'' knowledge and carried an inherent danger.


    “Then hurry up and leave. Don''t miss any of the young dragons,” Viserys urged, specifically reminding him, “The dragons must not fall into the hands of Braavos. Never!”The nine Free Cities spread across the western continent of Essos, and Braavos was undoubtedly the most unique due to its geographical and cultural background. While dragons could fly over Braavos, its harbor was difficult for fleets to navigate, surrounded by reefs and shrouded in mist year-round. For this reason, the Dragonlords in the Free Cities had not destroyed Braavos, instead strengthening trade with the Iron Bank.


    Braavos now held a favorable geographical position and the Iron Bank was incredibly wealthy. The Targaryens had just fought a war, leaving both people and soldiers exhausted.


    Rhaegar understood this and assured, “Don''t worry, the Morghul incident was enough for once.”


    He had a hunch that the Targaryens and Braavos would not be at war anytime soon.


    “That''s good,” Viserys said, slightly relieved by his eldest son''s reassurance. For the sake of a Smoking Sea dragon—Morghul—he would rather go to war with the Triarchy than lose the wild dragon. Although the result was not satisfactory, it was good that Morghul had left behind a descendant.


    Observing his father''s weakplexion, Rhaegar did not bother to say more. “The Sea Snake and my aunt have just left the Red Keep. I''ll see them off.”


    “Good,” Viserys nodded, reminding him, “Rhaenyra will be acting regent while you''re gone.”


    In his heart, his favorite daughter always had special privileges. Rhaegar readily epted and opened the bead curtain to leave.


    He had to go to Dragonstone, and the Sea Snake and Daemon were returning to Driftmark together, so they were both busy. Sea Snake and Daemon, with their formidable sea and sky forces, were a double-edged sword that needed careful handling to avoid constant worry for the royal family.


    “Wait,” Viserys suddenly called out, stopping his eldest son from opening the door.


    Rhaegar looked back in confusion.


    Viserys hesitated, then said slowly, “Leave the Sea Snake and Daemon alone for now. There will be some internal changes soon, and you should stay out of it.”


    Changes? Rhaegar’s eyes shed as he tried to deduce his father''s n.


    “Don’t guess. It has nothing to do with you,” Viserys frowned, disliking his eldest son''s scheming. He warned, “The coronation is being prepared, so you must not take any action against Alicent or Daemon. Did you hear me?”


    Finally, his eyes turned serious.


    Rhaegar, sensing his father''s determination, promised, “Okay, I''ll focus on the young dragons.”


    “Hmph, get out of here,” Viserys snorted, waving his hand dismissively.


    Rhaegar left the room, his mind swirling with mixed emotions. He thought about Alicent''s fate and the entanglement with Daemon and the Sea Snake, realizing that his father was paving the way for his session during this period.


    “Prince!” Steffon, at guard, and Ser Lorent greeted him in low voices, their appearances immacte.


    Rhaegar looked at the two Kingsguard and nodded with a smile, “You''ve worked hard.”


    ...


    As he left <em>Maegor''s</em>Holdfast, Rhaegar was stopped in the courtyard of the Red Keep. There was a tournament arena in the courtyard, surrounded by many nobles and knights watching the spectacle.


    Rhaegar was dragged to a corner and asked in surprise, “Hena, what are you waiting for me here?”


    The two siblings stood face to face in front of the main gate of the armory. Hena, wearing a green cloak, looked serious. “Mother is praying in the chapel. I''vee to give you something,” she said.


    She took out a stick wrapped in ck cloth from her cloak.


    Rhaegarughed as he watched her carefully unwrap the ck cloth to reveal a long, delicate sword.


    Swish!


    Hena unsheathed the sword, and a sh of cold light apanied the sound of a clear de.


    Rhaegar''s smile faded as he took her seriously. The cross-shaped de was carved with a seven-pointed star, a symbol of the Seven Gods. The de was silvery white and translucent, with ayer of evenly rippling water covering the surface.


    “Vignce?” Rhaegar recognized the sword at once. “This sword should be in the High Tower.”


    Valyrian steel long sword - Vignce, the family sword of House Hightower in Oldtown.


    Hena raised her face and said proudly, “You like to collect old things. I wrote to Selena to discuss it. Little Lyonel sent it by horse.”


    Selena was Aegon''s betrothed and a direct cousin of Ormund and Otto. Little Lyonel had taken over as Lord of Oldtown and head of House Hightower. Both were her little followers, and a letter was gently persuasive.


    Rhaegar was impressed and asked with a smile, “Is it for me?”


    “Well... that might not be possible.”


    Hena''s face flushed, and she stammered, “The Hightower family sword. The letter says it''s a loan, but I’ll have to return it after a while.”


    Her face flushed with embarrassment.


    Rhaegar smiled wickedly and pinched her cheek. “I''m just teasing you. I''ll return the sword in a couple of days.”


    “Oh!” Hena was stunned for a moment. Under Rhaegar''s gaze, she covered her slightly protruding chest with her small hands, relieved.


    “I’ll leave first.”


    Rhaegar’s gaze paused for a moment, then he decisively withdrew. Vignce in hand, it was time to run.


    In fact, when he was living in Oldtown, he wanted to use “Vignce” to trigger the Explorer System. Unfortunately, their rtionship was tense, and there wasn’t a good opportunity. He thought he would borrow it again when he visited Oldtown in the future.


    Hena had brought it to him, so it couldn''t have been better.


    As soon as he took the sword, the system beeped.


    “This exploration mission has begun. The target is the Valyrian steel sword, Vignce.”


    Leaving Hena, he checked the system panel.


    Vignce


    Exploration Progress: 0.5%


    "There is already 0.5% progress in the quest. It should be an epic relic," Rhaegar muttered as he reced Truefyre with Vignce.


    Over time, he had gradually figured out the rules for exploring relics. Valyrian steel swords were rted to the material and were all within the scope of exploration. The sword itself carried historical events and time deposits, which would raise the grade of the relic. ckfyre and the Dark Sister were the highest grade. The rest of the Valyrian steel swords were slightly inferior because they had not had a good owner. Vignce, which had been passed down by House Hightower for thousands of years, was considered a very good relic.


    Rhaegar was in a hurry.


    Hena took a long time to react, tilting her head. “Huh?”


    No hug? He just left?


    Hena pounded her head, her pupils unfocused, and muttered unconsciously, “Who woke the sleeping giant.”


    Then she turned around and went back to her room in a daze.


    ...


    ckwater Bay


    The sea stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with dozens ofrge ships, their distinctive seahorse gs fluttering in the wind.


    “Grandpa, are weing back?” Rhaena stood on the deck, looking back at Mud Gate with a downcast expression.


    The Sea Snake, standing beside her, gently stroked her petite, thin body and whispered words offort, “We will return. Your foster mother is here. Don’t forget.”


    “Mmm,” Rhaena murmured, feeling her grandfather’s love. She rested her little head on hisp, still too young to stand tall beside him.


    Her grandfather, the strongest adventurer who had made nine voyages, held her close.


    "Roar!"


    Their intimate moment was interrupted by a sudden, arrogant roar.


    In King''s Landing, near the Mud Gate, a ck dragon with green eyes soared over the city walls. Its wings cast shadows across the sea as it pursued the fleet.


    "Roar!"


    Another thunderous roar ripped through the air.


    From Dragonpit, Vhagar, with clouded pupils, ran and leapt into the air with surprising agility for its age. The ancient dragon’s roar was a demonstration of its enduring power.


    Vhagar’s pupils sharpened, focusing on the ck dragon ahead. Summoning its inner strength, the old dragon’s heavy, hole-riddled wings pped vigorously, trying to increase speed.


    In no time, the two dragons, one ck and one green, were soaring towards ckwater Bay.


    Cannibal, unperturbed, cast a shadow over the entire fleet as it flew past, its tail swayingzily.


    The Sea Snake looked up, half his face hidden in the shadows, holding the still small Rhaena in his arms.


    “It’s so big!” Rhaena eximed softly. She nced back at the cabin, where her young dragon, Morning, was locked in a cage.


    The Sea Snake sighed, looking at her with aplex expression. “Your dragon will grow to be this big someday.”


    Rhaena was skeptical. She measured the Cannibal’s size with her hand as it gradually disappeared, then ced her hand on her stomach and measured again. Disappointed, she said, “My Morning is so small, only the size of a fingernailpared to my cousin’s dragon.”


    “No, that’s not true,” the Sea Snake smiled, stroking Rhaena’s head.


    "Roar!"


    Vhagar slowly flew in, keeping its body level with the ship, soaring up and down at a controlled speed.


    Rhaena looked up again, admiring her mother’s dragon.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar..."


    Soon, two scarlet dragon shadows shed by, overtaking old Vhagar and keeping pace with the fleet on either side.


    Thump, thump...


    The cabin door opened, and Ba dragged little Daeron along with her, both of them gazing at the dragons in amazement.


    When Ba saw the green Vhagar, she eximed, “Look, look! It’s my mother’s Vhagar, the biggest and oldest dragon in the world.”


    As Targaryens, dragons were not creatures to be feared. However, adult dragons like Vhagar, Cannibal, and Vermithor rarely showed themselves to humans—they were too massive and powerful.


    After a few steps, little Daeron panted, shook off Ba’s hand, and pointed to the ck dragon disappearing into the distance, saying proudly, “See that? That’s the Cannibal. After devouring Morghul, it’s grown bigger than Vhagar. It’s thergest dragon in the world now.”


    Ba was unconvinced. She pointed at Vhagar and retorted, “Vhagar is the biggest, the godness of war!”


    “You’re blind,” Daeron crossed his arms. “It’s too old. Have you ever heard of the Deathwing?”


    “No, but I’m going to beat you up,” Ba red at him, angrily rolling up her sleeves.


    The little girl’s character was deeply influenced by her mother and father; she never hesitated to get physical. She grabbed her ymate and started pounding him.


    Little Daeron, three years older, was no match for her. Ba chased him all over the deck.


    “Haha, naughty kids,” the Sea Snake smiled knowingly.


    Far away at the Mud Gate, which was about to disappear from view, a figure stood silently on the city walls, gazing across the miles of water at the departing dragons and fleet.


    They looked at each other silently, though neither could truly see the other.


    And so, they each withdrew their gaze.