Chapter 140: Heart of the Star

"Hmm?"

Viserys then took the slightly heavy wooden box from the soldier's hands.

Creak...

He opened the lid of the box and saw a dark red stone inside, like congealed blood, lying still.

"What is this?"

Viserys' eyes narrowed slightly, feeling an instinctive sense of unease upon seeing the object.

He then looked up at the captured Brotherhood leader, whose face turned ashen as he saw that Viserys had found the box.

This was what they had risked their lives for, losing several brothers to search through the wreckage of the fallen Red Comet.

It appeared to be the core of the Red Comet, still emitting a strong red glow and possessing an alarming heat on its surface when they first found it.

The followers of the Lord of Light endured the smoky, fiery environment for a long time as the 'stone's' surface gradually cooled down, which had caused a significant delay.

They then placed the Heart of the Star into the wooden box and had just brought it down the mountain when they encountered the Andalos army, who had arrived early as well.

The Andalos forces also spotted them and sent two teams of light cavalry to encircle them from both sides. By that time, it was already too late for them to escape with the 'stone.'

In the end, these desperate men could only brace themselves to confront Viserys, hoping to either take him hostage or deceive him and escape with the Heart of the Star to sell for a good price.

However, their audacious plan was foiled before it could even begin, and they were apprehended on the spot.

"Did you find this inside?"

Viserys sat on his horse, one hand holding the heavy wooden box, but he did not hastily reach out to touch the seemingly eerie object.

He then turned his head to address the Brotherhood leader who was now bound and kneeling on the ground.

"Yes... yes, Your Majesty."

At this point, the bandit leader no longer wished to keep the treasure, only wanting to survive. He bowed his head and pleaded, hoping Viserys would spare his life.

But Viserys merely squinted his eyes, not immediately agreeing to their request.

He then looked up at the thick smoke in the sky. Although the wind was blowing in the opposite direction and the smoke wasn't spreading toward them, they still couldn't see what the Red Comet's crash site looked like.

"Seal off this area completely; no one is allowed to approach."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The guards beside him acknowledged the order, and it was quickly passed down.

The long line of troops began to spread out, surrounding the road leading to the site of the Red Comet's crash.

"Find a few more men, including him."

Viserys then pointed at the Brotherhood leader who worshipped the Lord of Light.

"Let's go up and check if there's anything else."

"Understood!"

Next, soldiers stepped forward to unlock the chains on the captive's feet and released several other prisoners.

Dozens of Andalos soldiers covered their mouths and noses with wet, coarse cloth, following the captives into the thick smoke, gradually disappearing from sight.

A wildfire wouldn't be extinguished in a day or two, and Viserys couldn't wait here until it was put out.

Sitting on his horse, Viserys gazed up at the gloomy sky above, with the setting sun far away gradually approaching the horizon.

Nightfall would soon arrive.

Moreover, this was no place to linger. If the wind changed direction, the Andalos army at the foot of the mountain could be in grave danger.

...

The evening breeze was cool as Viserys ordered the main army to retreat, leaving only a few dozen cavalrymen to follow quietly at his side.

Then, Viserys glanced at the dark red 'stone' placed in a wooden box and reached out to take it from the box.

The stone had a cold touch, and Viserys shivered slightly when he first came into contact with it.

"So cold?"

The young king's face showed surprise, as he had not expected the fiery red 'stone' to feel so icy cold to the touch.

"Could this be the core of the red comet?"

Viserys knew that when a meteorite fell from outer space, the intense friction with the atmosphere generated an extremely high temperature, burning away the impurities on the meteorite's surface and leaving only the hardest stony, metallic, or some unknown special material. In the short process of falling, it was as if the meteorite had been tempered a thousand times before it reached the ground.

Then, Viserys applied a little force with his fingers.

An icy chill penetrated his mind through his fingers, making him shiver as if he were holding a solid block of ice.

And indeed, there were no traces on the surface of the 'stone'.

"This doesn't look like a stone, but rather like a meteoric iron."

"Take a look."

Viserys looked a few more times, then handed the heart of the red comet's star to Oberyn, who sat on horseback beside him.

The Prince of Dorne was well-traveled and knowledgeable, and it was he who had just noticed that these people disguised as merchants were no good, so he advised Viserys to capture them.

Oberyn did not refuse, taking the stone from Viserys's hand, and he too shivered slightly.

"This thing is so cold."

He weighed it in his hand.

"You're right, this weight and feel don't seem like a stone, but rather a meteoric iron."

Then Oberyn looked up at the young king wearing a crown and spoke.

"The Dayne family of Starfall, as one of the oldest families on the continent of Westeros, can trace their history back to the Dawn Age, ten thousand years ago."

"It is said that the first Dayne followed a fallen star to a small island at the mouth of the Torrentine River, where he found a magical heart of a star and built a castle, which is now Starfall."

"The ancestral weapon of House Dayne, 'Dawn', is said to have been forged from this heart of a star."

"Congratulations, Viserys."

Oberyn pulled on the reins and returned the heart of the star to Viserys.

"You may soon have a weapon that rivals Valyrian steel."

"Really?"

Viserys took back the heart of the star, but his expression did not reveal much excitement.

"It's just...given its size, at most it can only be forged into a longsword."

The heart of the red comet's star wasn't very large, and perhaps when melted, it could only forge a longsword, not even a greatsword.

And at that moment, noisy sounds came from the distance, and it seemed that a troop was rushing over the horizon.

However, they had already seen the Andalos Legion stationed here and cautiously stopped in their tracks.