Chapter 311: The Triarch of Volantis

"It's good to see you again, Emon."

Within the port of Volantis, the air was thick with a potent mix of fishy, floral, fecal, and decaying smells.

The girl with the fiery red ponytail, Mia, still had two daggers strapped to her thigh. Seeing him, she walked over to greet Viserys.

The expedition was not compulsory, and many mercenaries who joined before signing a contract still had the right to back out.

After all, everyone knew that exploring the ruins of Valyria was extremely dangerous, a venture of life and death. If not driven to a dead end, no one would choose this path.

Unfortunately, there were many in this world who found themselves at such dead ends.

"I'm not sure if I'm happy to see you, Mia."

Viserys, clad in leather armor, heard Mia's voice, turned his head to look at the girl in front of him, shook his head, and spoke.

Mia was the first Volantene he met, and also the first friend Viserys made after he put aside his king's mantle and came to this world as an ordinary person.

In fact, compared to being a king high above, under the scrutiny of countless eyes, Viserys found these days of freedom in Volantis more in line with his inner desires, as he was an ordinary person in his previous life.

This was a dangerous thought.

Robert had thought the same, and then he died.

Being a king was like being a canary trapped in a cage, of course, one couldn't act recklessly. So, Viserys cherished this opportunity to go out alone.

However, for this reason, Viserys joked that he didn't want to see the girl because the trip to the ruins of Valyria was fraught with danger.

Mia, with her lively and straightforward personality, naturally understood that it wasn't that Viserys didn't want to see her, his friend, but that he was worried about her encountering danger.

"It's okay, I'm happy enough to see you."

The girl seemed optimistic, squinting her beautiful eyes, laughing as she spoke.

Mia might not be a pretty girl, but her eyes were beautiful, full of sunshine.

"I believe the gods will protect me."

"If they wanted me dead, I would have died many years ago."

Viserys, hearing Mia's words, relaxed his brow slightly, revealing a small smile.

This feeling of freely chatting was indeed good, rather than facing the same respectful faces every day. Mia's optimistic attitude also affected him, making his mood much lighter.

"Do you know our route this time?"

"No, we don't have the privilege to know such secrets."

Mia shook her head like a bobblehead.

"Only the big shots would know such secrets."

"I see."

Viserys thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, not asking further.

In his hand, he held a route map drawn by Gillian years ago. This route theoretically could pass through the layers of obstacles in the Smoking Sea and ultimately reach the lost civilization.

But after so many years, and with the current turmoil in the Grey Mist, what had happened and changed within the Smoking Sea, whether this map was still useful or not, Viserys didn't know.

However, he didn't expect to succeed in exploring the secrets in one go. The main plan was to follow the large force and let them explore the way. If this attempt failed, he could summon Balerion to help him escape and look for another opportunity.

As Viserys and Mia were chatting,

Woo—

The melodious horn sounded from the port of Volantis. Twenty warships of

various sizes were ready.

And on the coast, there stood thousands of explorers, half of whom were slaves.

The power of the Triarchs of Volantis was immense. The Tiger Party had lost its dominant position nearly three hundred years after the defeat in the Century of Blood.

The Elephant Party firmly controlled the Volantene government, maintaining more than two Triarch positions.

Viserys and Mia, standing amidst the vast crowd, were not very conspicuous. He saw the 'boss' who organized this operation, the only Triarch of the Tiger Party, Malacho Maegyr.

He was an old man who had lost all his teeth and had little hair left. However, riding on the back of an elephant, he was still fully armored, his eyes bright and spirited, living up to the name of a fierce tiger.

"He's an old tiger. It's best not to provoke him if it's not necessary."

"Emon."

Mia whispered in Viserys's ear.

Viserys claimed to be an adventurer from Tyrosh in the expedition team.

Tyrosh was not too far from Volantis, but not too close either, and Tyrosh also had a number of people with silver hair and purple eyes like Viserys, so it wasn't a strange thing.

Moreover, Tyrosh was close to Westeros, so some of the island's inhabitants spoke the Common Tongue of Westeros. Viserys could seamlessly switch between the two languages, so naturally, there was no suspicion.

Viserys nodded slightly when he heard the girl's words.

"Mm, I know."

Then he felt the stern gaze of Malacho's guards sweeping over them. Both of them immediately shut their mouths, not wanting to cause trouble for themselves.

The 'Aging Tiger' Malacho Maegyr, clad in armor, sat upright on the back of the elephant, speaking loudly, while Viserys below was somewhat disinterested.

He had heard this kind of morale-boosting speech countless times, and before, he had always played the role of the speaker.

He had thought that his impassioned speeches had inspired and uplifted his soldiers.

But now, mingling in the crowd, Viserys only heard the low laughter and discussions about whether this old guy could still 'get it up.'

"So this is what it feels like to listen from below."

Viserys hadn't listened to a speech in a long time, so much so that he had forgotten what it felt like. It seemed that he should reduce his speaking time in the future.

Just as Viserys was somewhat distracted,

The old Triarch Malacho finally finished his speech, then the old man rode away from the scene on his elephant, surrounded by his guards.

Of course, he wouldn't go himself.

Everyone knew that exploring the ruins of Valyria was a matter of life and death. Volantis had previously suffered several losses in this endeavor.

History has proven that the more people there are, the higher the chances of survival, but no one can guarantee that they will be the lucky one.

This expedition was just a counterattack by the Tiger Party, hoping to find some ancient technology, precious treasures, or even magic, dragon eggs, etc., left by Valyria in the ruins.