Chapter 197: Counter Spell

A piercing cry from the golden eagle shattered the silence, cutting through the clouds. The sailors, who had been lost in the horn's enchantment, suddenly snapped back to reality. Even the man who had just jumped into the sea struggled to swim back to the ship.

Euron looked up, shock and anger flashing in his eyes. He had studied the runes on the horn extensively and knew that the spells inscribed on it were like passwords, with "spells" and corresponding "counter-spells." The cry of the golden eagle was clearly a counter-spell, disrupting the horn's magic.

'He's been watching me', Euron realized with a cold dread. 'Did Viserys know all along? Did he anticipate that I would retrieve the horn from Valyria's ruins?'

But now was not the time for reflection. Although he had just managed to shake off some of the speedboats clinging to his ship, the delay had cost him dearly. Viserys's fleet was closing in fast.

Virgil, now fully aware, had lost two of his speedboats, but he relentlessly steered the remaining two toward the Silence, determined to ram it at any cost.

'I have to get out of this', Euron thought urgently. He grabbed another sailor, who, though terrified, reluctantly put his mouth to the horn, trembling. Like his predecessor, the sailor took a deep breath and blew with all his might. Euron began chanting the spell once more.

Viserys, sensing the dark magic in the horn's sound, knew that Euron was now summoning the Kraken.

Meanwhile, in the other direction, the fleet led by Webber rapidly closed in on the Silence. The warships were now within 200 meters, with the gaps between them narrowing to less than 30 meters. More than ten ships had surrounded the Silence, cutting off any possible escape. To Webber, the battle seemed all but over, and he felt a surge of respect for Virgil, who had led much of the fight. He had already decided never to call Virgil a "hooker" again.

But then, something caught Webber's eye—a mast rising out of the water. The sun, now low in the sky, cast long shadows, making it difficult to see clearly. At first, Webber thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but then more masts appeared, one after another, surrounding Virgil's ship.

'No! Those aren't masts!'

The horrifying realization struck him—these "masts" were alive, thick tentacles rising from the depths and wrapping themselves around Virgil's ship.

"What... what is this thing!?" Webber gasped.

Before Virgil could react, one of the enormous tentacles coiled around him and yanked him into the sea.

Webber barely had time to register the horror before the ship, now ensnared by the Kraken's tentacles, began to shake violently. The deck and railings creaked and groaned under the immense pressure, the sound so terrifying it seemed as though the very bones of the ship—and his own—were breaking.

"What should I do? Attack?" Webber's voice quivered with uncertainty as panic gripped him. He didn't see himself as a coward, but faced with a monster capable of dragging a battleship into the depths, his legs felt like they might give out.

Around him, the sailors were already making their own choices. When the Kraken's tentacles first broke the surface, some ships continued moving forward out of sheer momentum. But when Virgil's warship was pulled under, a heavy silence fell over the battlefield. No one had ever witnessed anything like this before. Even the normally unshakable Unsullied were gripped by panic. Despite the careful selection of soldiers Viserys had made for this mission, two or three ships broke ranks and fled.

The fear was palpable, even among those closest to Viserys. Regis, who had always been by his side, felt his legs go weak. Sensing the growing fear, Viserys stepped to the bow of his ship and shouted to his men, his voice cutting through the terror that gripped them:

"Soldiers! The one controlling this monster is not invincible. If we don't kill him today, he will threaten your sons and grandsons for generations! On my command, full speed ahead!"

Galvanized by his words, the sailors sprang into action, adjusting the sails and pushing the ship to three times its normal speed. Viserys knew that today was the day Euron had to be defeated, no matter the cost. The Dragon's Horn, and even his own ability to project his consciousness beyond his body, were threats that could not be left unchecked. If Euron was allowed to escape, the consequences would be unthinkable—unimaginable terror could be unleashed upon the lands under his rule.

Soon, Euron spotted Viserys's flagship. With a wicked grin, he maneuvered the Kraken beneath it. Suddenly, everyone on board felt a violent tremor beneath their feet as thick, slimy tentacles wrapped around the hull.

The soldiers, who had only just gathered the courage to fight under Viserys's encouragement, were now paralyzed with fear. Jump into the sea? But the monster is in the sea. Attack? How could they fight something so terrifying—a creature beyond anything their fathers, grandfathers, or even great-grandfathers had ever faced?

In the face of this unknown terror, their courage crumbled.

Then, the Kraken's enormous head surfaced on the starboard side of the warship, its height towering over half the mast. Its gigantic eyes, larger than carriage wheels, glared at them with a malevolence that chilled them to the bone. The blackness of its eyes was more terrifying than the abyss itself.

Viserys suddenly understood that Euron wasn't just controlling the Kraken; there was a bond between them, akin to that of a skinchanger and his animal companion. It wasn't just the fact that Euron hadn't blown the Dragon Horn this time—Viserys could see the same malevolent gleam in the Kraken's eyes that he had seen in Euron's. This wasn't a predator's instinctive desire for prey; it was a twisted excitement, a perverse pleasure in witnessing life and death.

Panic erupted on the flagship. Some men, overwhelmed with fear, jumped into the sea, only to face the monster below.

Determined to turn the tide, Viserys grabbed two large jars of wildfire and hurled them at the Kraken. The jars shattered on impact, and two bright, yellow-green flames erupted, blossoming like deadly flowers against the darkening sky. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, leaving only a faint glow, making the fiery explosion all the more vivid against the pitch-black sea.

The Kraken writhed in pain, its tentacles loosening their grip on the ship as it attempted to retreat into the depths.

Seizing the moment, Viserys called upon his fire magic, conjuring two massive green-yellow serpents from the flames. They coiled around the Kraken, forcing the beast to release the flagship completely and sink back into the ocean. Though it hadn't been killed, the Kraken had been driven off, and the ship was free.

Viserys saw that the Silence was now less than twenty meters away. He shouted, "Overpower it!"

But chaos still reigned on the flagship, and the helmsman, paralyzed with fear, couldn't even stand. Euron, seeing his chance, had already changed direction and was attempting to flee.