EBE #298 - Chapter 32: Erya's Study Abroad Life (I)
#298 - Chapter 32: Erya's Study Abroad Life (I)
As a burst of noise erupted, a group of strong soldiers drove wild oxen and goats into the arena. The three young dragons, seeing this, excitedly growled softly, baring their fangs and claws, ready to pounce forward. Standing beside them, Leviathan let out a deep roar: "Roar~!" as if warning the young dragons not to act rashly. The young dragons emitted timid hisses.
At this moment, Leviathan revealed its ferocious nature, opening its bloodthirsty mouth and biting down on a wild ox, violently shaking its head, tearing it in half. Then, Leviathan threw the mangled remains of the wild ox in front of the young dragons, and once again let out a deep roar: "Awoo~!" (Eat!)
Although called young dragons, their size was comparable to camels, with a wingspan reaching nearly five meters. The young dragons slowly approached the carcass of the wild ox and began to feed. Accustomed to eating semi-raw meat, they spewed out scorching dragon breath, instantly roasting the food until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Then, a frenzy of tearing and chewing ensued, a truly spectacular scene.
The audience erupted in exclamations, filled with curiosity and awe at this rare sight. This scene undoubtedly delighted all the viewers and greatly satisfied their thirst for knowledge.
Just then, as if startled by the cheers of the audience, Drogon, always unruly, suddenly raised its head high, glared at the audience, and began to brew raging flames in its mouth. As if declaring to the people: Stupid humans, how dare you disturb my meal!
Just as Drogon was about to show off its power, it was unexpectedly struck hard by Leviathan's massive wings, directly knocking it to the ground. The dragon breath that was about to erupt was forcefully suppressed. After getting up, Drogon wanted to retaliate, but staring into Leviathan's ferocious eyes, its anger immediately subsided.
Drogon would always remember the other day when it was flying carefree when a big guy suddenly jumped out. With its huge claws, it squeezed Drogon half to death. Any resistance resulted in a beating, leaving Drogon covered in injuries. If it weren't for the dragon's physique allowing for quick recovery, it would still be lying there.
Daenerys, feeling a little pity, said to Liu Yuan, "Does it have to be this way? Drogon looks so pitiful."
Liu Yuan: "Isn't this good? With the loss of the slave trade, Meereen's industrial chain needs to be re-planned. Reopening the arena will restore Meereen's tradition and attract foreign merchants, earning more money. Look at the food expenses for the dragons in the future, someone will pay for you. There's another benefit to doing this, letting those people truly realize the terror of dragons. When they have the idea of wanting to fight you, they will think about whether they can defeat the dragons."
"That makes sense!" Not only Daenerys, but even Barristan and the others thought what he said made sense.
Soon, someone delivered a letter. After Liu Yuan read it, he spread his hands helplessly: "Alas, I'm truly a busybody!"
Daenerys: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Liu Yuan: "A student I've watched grow up since she was little has been found. I want to go see how she's doing."
The hundreds of islands of Braavos divide the bay into many narrow channels, and many stone arch bridges across the channels connect the entire city.
Living space is tight on each island, with stone buildings and granite statues everywhere, not even a tree to be seen. The streets are lined with gray stone houses, so densely packed that they almost touch each other, and some houses are even built on the canals, almost all narrow four- or five-story buildings with tiled pointed roofs.
Spanning the ditches and houses is an elevated aqueduct. Because the water around the islands is seawater and undrinkable, the Braavosi built this aqueduct, crossing swamps and shallows, to transport fresh water from the mainland, hence it is called the Sweetwater River. At intervals, there are ceramic pipes as outlets, and there are even people stationed at the water houses to charge fees according to the amount. Liu Yuan felt a sense of public toilets when he saw this scene.
Braavos is surrounded by water and has docks everywhere. Its two main seaports are one in the north and one in the west. The one in the north is the Purple Harbor, which is only for Braavosi merchant ships to dock, and the one in the west is Ragman's Harbor, which is crowded with foreign ships. All ships must first dock at the Square, where the Sealord's customs officers will board to inspect the cargo holds. The rest are filled with small docks, ferry berths, and old gray shipyards, where shrimp boats, crab boats, and fishing boats moor after working in the mudflats and estuaries.
Arya, dressed in a simple local girl's outfit, was lost in the bustling crowd, inconspicuous. The city-state of Braavos is composed of many ethnic groups, and although each ethnic group has its own settlement, the descendants of Westeros account for a considerable proportion.
Adjacent to the western docks, the four islands are like four bright pearls dotted on the sea, gathering various places providing services for foreign merchants: hotels, taverns, brothels, bathhouses, and theaters, etc. Arya's sight moved through the crowd like a nimble fish, sometimes casually stopping on the target in front—a dark-skinned, burly fat man, whose dress showed that he was a sea merchant from the distant south.
Although the tasks assigned by the House of Black and White usually do not require investigating why the target became an assassination target, Arya has her own persistence in her heart. So, she secretly launched an investigation. The result was shocking: it turned out that the dark fat guy was a pirate leader from the Stepstones! His thick hands were stained with the blood of countless innocent people, and he was full of evil.
Arya quietly followed behind the fat man, her movements agile, cleverly using the surrounding crowd as cover, always maintaining a proper distance from the target. The fat man strode into a noisy tavern, and Arya stood quietly outside the door, carefully observing for a moment. After confirming that this guy had no intention of leaving in a short time, she did not hesitate to step in.
Stepping inside the tavern, a strong smell of smoke and alcohol rushed over her face, mixed with choking smoke. It turned out that because of the butterfly effect caused by Liu Yuan, tobacco had become popular in the Free Trade City-States, especially among sailors and mercenaries who lived under great pressure.
Arya carried a shelf full of fresh oysters, walking through the crowded tables and chairs, while also paying attention to the fat man's every move. At this moment, the fat man and his men were sitting around a round table, talking and shouting, their faces full of smug expressions.
Arya patiently waited for the right opportunity to arrive. Surprisingly, the tavern owner and the waiters seemed to turn a blind eye to her and did not intend to drive her away. At this moment, the fat man suddenly stood up and staggered towards the door, apparently wanting to take care of personal business.