Suddenly, outsiders breached the dragons' sanctuary.
Red Dragon Vhagar, the 'eldest sister' of five young dragons, was the first to sense something amiss.
"Rrrahh!"
The female dragon, covered with red scales, stretched her wings and let out a deep roar as a warning.
Among the young dragons, the 'second brother,' Gold Dragon Tyraelyx, was the next to be alerted. His golden scales shone like the sun.
He immediately took to the skies, flying toward the treetops, ready to identify the uninvited guests and protect his siblings.
The dragons' dwelling was usually a forbidden area, filled with the scent of their lives—the smell of their scales, the odor of their droppings.
Other creatures would flee from these scents, not daring to approach. But something was now moving against this norm, drawing closer, naturally arousing the young dragons' vigilance.
The deep blue female dragon, Mylaxis, and the Crystal Dragon, 'Little Lady' Xulaxis, both fluttered their wings and flew to the treetops.
Only the youngest of the five dragons, whimsically named Silver Piece by Viserys, still lay on the grass, snoring away.
He was inherently deficient, and despite the rapid growth rate of young dragons, he was still only about a meter long after several months. He was also lighter than his siblings.
Silver Piece was a male dragon, but his physique was even less robust than his third sister, Mylaxis, and only comparable to the delicate Little Lady, appearing like a dainty 'young miss.'
At that moment, the sound of crossbows rang out from the woods.
Thud, thud, thud—
Bolts, flashing with cold light and trailed by ropes, were aimed directly at the golden young dragon Tyraelyx. His scales were too eye-catching, radiating light like a dazzling sun.
"This dragon is beautiful!"
"Seize it!"
One of the masked men in black cried out. Tyraelyx's appearance was alluring, almost fulfilling all human fantasies about the perfect mythical creature.
Graceful, handsome, filled with a sense of power.
Tyraelyx didn't realize that his exceptional beauty had brought danger. Startled by the sudden attack, he let out a roar of alarm and anger.
"Rrrahh!"
He then furiously flapped his wings to dodge the bolts, which fell into the air and dropped.
On the other side, the fiery-tempered eldest sister, Vhagar, saw the intrusion and dived down from the treetops with a roar.
Her speed was incredible, and she bit through the throat of one masked man. Blood spurted instantly.
Vhagar was the first to hatch among the five young dragons, and although a female, her ferocity surpassed her brother Tyraelyx.
When the two siblings fought, Tyraelyx often ended up bitten and scarred.
"'Scorpion'!"
One of the masked men growled.
They were all Faceless Men, long forgetting their names when they became servants of the Many-Faced God. In meetings at the House of Black and White, they referred to each other by code names.
'Scorpion' was one, skilled in poisons, loving the invisible act of killing.
Her 'Strangler' was one of her favorite poisons, used in several assassinations without her presence, killing targets through poisoned objects.
But unfortunately, facing the young dragons, she didn't have a chance to showcase her skills. Vhagar bit through her neck, and even her head went into the dragon's mouth, chewed and crushed.
"Roar!"
Red Dragon Vhagar let out a low roar, then opened her mouth and spewed fire.
Whoosh~
Dragon flames surged out, burning the leaves. But due to her young age, the flames were not abundant, like a small flamethrower, easily dodged by the Faceless Men.
Thud—
The leader of the Faceless Men, a man with red and white hair and wearing a mask, rolled to avoid the flames, and his crossbow bolt hit Vhagar's wing.
The young red dragon let out a piercing scream, blood flowed, and then she beat her wings and flew into the sky.
The young dragons were too young, only a few months old, facing the skilled Faceless Men with weapons to hunt them; they had to flee.
Seeing his elder sister injured, the golden young dragon Tyraelyx roared and dived, his dragon flames pouring down, burning another Faceless Man who tried to lasso Vhagar into a human torch.
The Faceless Man screamed, and Vhagar took the opportunity to break free from the ropes, escaping their control.
The other two female young dragons, the deep blue Mylaxis and the Crystal Dragon Xulaxis, flew to the sky under their elder brother's protection, leaving only the inherently deficient little brother, Silver Piece, lagging behind.
He had just been sound asleep, and as he awoke to the commotion, a rope snagged his hind leg, pulling tightly.
The silver-white young dragon beat its wings, trying to fly, but was pulled down, letting out a scream.
The other four young dragons had no time to consider their little brother's safety. Their elder sister was seriously injured, and Tyraelyx caught Vhagar, gaining altitude and flying into the sky. The two other female young dragons also flew in different directions to escape danger.
"We've caught a dragon!"
"'Scorpion,' 'Fat Man,' and 'Lord' are dead," one of the Faceless Men said, his voice heavy.
The strict selection system made the Faceless Men rare, and every official member was precious. However, they had lost three members in this operation.
'Scorpion' had been killed by the fierce red dragon, 'Fat Man' had been burned alive by the handsome golden young dragon, and 'Lord' was bitten in the throat and killed by the unassuming deep blue female dragon, and then escaped.
The leader of the Faceless Men, the man with red and white hair wearing a mask, looked at the three corpses on the ground and the captured Silver Dragon, thinking about the 'ominous' coin toss earlier, just about to speak...
But then, from above, came the furious roar of Viserion.
"Roar!"
The dragon's roar echoed through the wilderness, causing countless wild beasts to flee.
The Faceless Men in the forest heard the roar from the sky and looked up, their faces turning pale.
"Something's wrong."