The next day, as the morning sun rose.
Hundreds of second sons and bastards, all unevenly equipped, stood guard before the tightly shut doors of the Dragonpit.
*Boom!*
The massive doors slowly opened, and two dragon shadows shot out one after the other.
"Skreeee!"
Green dragonfire painted the sky as Greedy soared straight into the clouds.
Syrax followed closely behind, pursuing toward Blackwater Bay.
As the dragons disappeared into the distance, a slender figure emerged from the gates of the Dragonpit.
Sara stepped forward before the Second Sons and said coldly, "The Prince orders you to head to the port and board the ships."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Robb, who had finally achieved his goal of becoming the leader of the Second Sons, led his comrades—brothers united by shared hardships—toward the port.
Sara cast a glance back at the shadows within the Dragonpit gates before following the group on their way.
---
**Above Blackwater Bay**
A black and a golden dragon soared over the sea, occasionally gliding low, their talons slicing across the surface of the water.
"Rhaegar, be cautious when we reach the Stepstones," Rhaenyra cautioned from her saddle.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Rhaegar assured her. "Once you've collected the dragon eggs, head directly to Driftmark."
Rhaenyra was the nominal foster mother of Laenor's two children and had promised to place dragon eggs in their cradles.
After consulting with her father, she was permitted to ride her dragon away from King's Landing.
This journey would take her first back to Dragonstone and then on to Driftmark.
Her mission was not only for the sake of the children but also to accompany Laenor and assist in managing Driftmark.
This would help strengthen ties between House Targaryen and House Velaryon.
The sun climbed higher into the sky.
The rugged, rocky silhouette of Dragonstone came into view.
Rhaenyra commanded Syrax to halt, and the siblings bid each other a gentle farewell.
Rhaegar, astride Greedy, flew past Dragonstone, through the Gullet, and headed straight for the Stepstones.
---
**The Stepstones**
"Attack! Seize Bloodstone Island!"
"Archers, fire!"
On the beaches of Bloodstone Island, chaos reigned as a fierce battle raged.
On one side, dark-haired, tanned Dornishmen charged in waves.
On the other, Ser Criston Cole, clad in silver armor and a white cloak, led royal soldiers in a determined defense, his expression grim.
The battlefield was littered with the dead. Waves repeatedly washed over the blood-soaked sands.
Beyond the island, the sea itself was another front.
On ships adorned with seahorses and mermaids painted on their sails, soldiers stood on deck, bows drawn.
Across the waters, pirate ships from the Kingdom of the Three Daughters waited, their scorpion ballistae loaded and ready to fire.
"Fire!"
At the command, steel-tipped ballista bolts shot through the sky like meteors.
*Boom!*
The devastating power of the ballista bolts easily pierced enemy soldiers and shattered ship hulls.
Screams of agony filled the air as hundreds perished beneath the scorpion bolts.
"Skreeee!"
A dragon's roar echoed along the coastline as Meleys, with her crimson scales, and Sea Smoke soared in, unleashing torrents of dragonfire upon the pirate ships below.
"Attack! Deploy the rams!"
With the dragons now in the fray, the Sea Snake raised his curved blade and ordered his fleet to charge.
Each side had around fifty warships.
Under the assault of dragonfire, the pirates of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters were thrown into disarray. In mere moments, several of their ships were reduced to burning wreckage.
"Reload the scorpions! Aim for the dragons!"
Dozens of scorpions were reloaded, targeting the two dragons circling above.
"Fire!"
As the dragons descended to breathe fire, the scorpion bolts shot toward them.
"Dodge!"
Rhaenys shouted commands. Meleys burned through a pirate ship's mast with a single burst of flame before agilely soaring skyward.
The crimson dragon moved like a streak of light, untouchable by the steel-tipped bolts.
"Skreeee!"
A pained screech suddenly pierced the sky.
Flying too low, Sea Smoke failed to dodge in time and was struck by a scorpion bolt.
A steel-tipped bolt pierced the light gray membrane of Sea Smoke's wing, and scalding dragon blood rained down onto the sea.
The membrane of the wing was injured, and Haiyan let out continuous cries, flapping its wings frantically but struggling to maintain balance.
Lannino turned pale with shock and shouted anxiously, "Haiyan, fly up!"
It was all his fault for being too impatient. In his eagerness to destroy the pirate ship, he had forced Haiyan to fly too low.
"Hiss—Gah—"
Haiyan barely managed to steady itself, shrieking as it soared into the sky, spewing dragon fire in frustration.
"Maintain altitude! Don't get reckless for the sake of glory!"
Renise, having just witnessed the perilous moment, shouted in concern.
The force of a scorpion ballista was strong enough to pierce the scales of a fully grown dragon. The steel-tipped spears were barbed, making them extremely difficult to remove once embedded in a dragon's flesh.
Haiyan was only a sub-adult dragon—its body was still too small, and its scales were not yet fully hardened.
Thankfully, the shot had only pierced the wing membrane.
If it had struck the neck or torso, Haiyan would have lost its ability to fly and plunged into the sea, where it would have been an easy target for more attacks.
"Go support your father!"
Noticing that the ballista below was being reloaded, Renise had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation.
A few dozen scorpion ballistae might not be a threat to Melyas.
But for Lannino and Haiyan, it was a different story.
Lannino hesitated, struggling internally, but after glancing at Haiyan's bleeding wing, he chose to follow his mother's command.
Renise breathed a sigh of relief, her expression growing solemn as she turned toward the pirate ships.
"Melyas, dragonfire!"
"Hiss—Gah—"
Melyas, having not been on a battlefield for some time, seemed exhilarated. The dragon adjusted its flight swiftly, spewing fire that set one pirate ship after another ablaze.
However, due to the limited attack range, the dragonfire's power was significantly weakened.
It could only ignite the masts and decks of the pirate ships, failing to cause widespread destruction.
Just then, the fleet led by the Sea Serpent arrived, ramming directly into the pirate ships. Soldiers leaped onto the enemy decks, engaging in fierce combat.
"Hiss—Gah—"
The two dragons circled high above, unleashing dragonfire from time to time.
*Woo—Woo—Woo—*
The battle had raged on for a long time when a deep, resonant horn sounded.
In the distant waters, more than thirty warships approached, their sails bearing the emblem of a sun-piercing spear.
The Dornish reinforcements had arrived.
Their ships moved swiftly, coordinating with the Three Daughters' pirates in a pincer attack against the fleet led by the Sea Serpent.
"Volley fire!"
The Dornish archers drew their bows, unleashing a hail of arrows with no regard for allies caught in the melee.
A dense rain of arrows descended, striking both soldiers and pirates locked in combat, filling the air with screams of agony.
Haiyan, still harassed by the ballistae, hovered at the battlefield's edge, waiting for a reload gap before launching counterattacks.
Renise maneuvered Melyas through the air, twisting and turning to evade fire while relentlessly attacking the pirate ships despite the threat from the ballistae.
As the first wave of arrows subsided, the Dornish archers continued their merciless assault, loosing another barrage.
Now trapped between two forces, the Sea Serpent's fleet struggled—dodging indiscriminate Dornish arrows while fending off ferocious pirates.
"Corlys, there are too many enemies!"
As soldiers fell in increasing numbers, Renise's expression grew grim. She knew the tide of battle was turning against them.
If they delayed any longer, their fleet would be annihilated.
At this point, even if both dragons attacked with full force, they couldn't shift the battle in their favor.
After all, wars were fought by men, and their soldiers' lives couldn't be ignored.
Hearing his wife's cry, the Sea Serpent bellowed, "Hold on! The fleet from Storm's End is almost here!"
At this stage of the battle, retreat was no longer an option.
Since the Three Daughters had allied with the Dornish, they had launched relentless attacks daily.
The royal fleet had only managed to gather ships from White Harbor and the Crab Isle's Celtigar fleet—nowhere near enough to withstand the combined forces of Dorne and the Three Daughters.
(End of Chapter)