When Vaegon finished speaking, Lord Daemir, whose face bore a sword scar, sneered and said,

  "Your clothes do not support your arrogance. You come here and speak to us with such conceit, but you are nothing more than a peasant who happened to stumble inside the barrier by sheer luck."

  Upon hearing Lord Daemir’s derisive words, Vaer, angered by what was said earlier, retorted,

  "So what? Your clothes don't hide the fact that you are a bastard. In the past, you wouldn’t just offer your daughter, but you would have tried to put your mother in my bed as well! And you dare call us peasants? The real peasant here is you!"

  As Vaer finished his words, Lord Daemir, who had been listening with a scornful expression, began to twitch with anger, his gaze clearly revealing his murderous intent. Vaer, noticing the look on Lord Daemir’s face, smirked—until Vaegon struck him on the head and said,

  "Vaer, mothers are sacred. If you are going to insult a man, do not bring his mother into it."

  After hitting Vaer on the head, Vaegon turned to the still-seething Lord Daemir and said,

  "I apologize for my brother's words about your mother. But you are overstepping your bounds. Do not push your luck, or next time, I will not forgive you."

  Then he turned to Elenya and asked, "Elenya, do you have any water with you? If you do, bring it to me."

  Vaer’s insult and Vaegon’s words only fueled Lord Daemir’s anger further. Just as he was about to open his mouth to hurl another insult, a deep, hearty ugh echoed through the air. He turned toward the source of the ughter and saw that it belonged to Lord Vaelman. But it wasn’t just Lord Vaelman who was ughing—everyone outside of his own group was ughing too.

  Enraged by this humiliation, furious that people who normally feared him were now ughing at him, Lord Daemir raised his sword in the air and shouted,

  "What are you ughing at? Do you wish to die? You used to tremble before me! Have you forgotten who you are?"

  At Lord Daemir’s outburst, everyone who had been ughing immediately fell silent—except for Lord Vaelman. Seeing that Vaelman was still smiling, Lord Daemir became even angrier and demanded,

  "Did you not hear what I just said, Vaelman? Why are you still ughing? Where does this newfound courage of yours come from?"

  At st, Lord Vaelman stopped ughing, but his lips remained curled in amusement. Looking at Lord Daemir, he said,

  "What am I ughing at? I am ughing at you, Demir Daemir. They are insulting you, yet you do nothing. What could be more amusing than this?"

  Just as Lord Daemir was about to respond, Vaegon spoke in a firm, commanding voice,

  "Enough! Silence! We do not have time for your foolishness! Now tell me how many people survived the camity, how many of them are soldiers, how many currently suffer from greyscale in the Great Arena, the amount of food you have left, and the names of the crops that are growing!"

  Then he turned back to Elenya and repeated, "As I said, if you have water, bring it to me, Elenya."

  At Vaegon’s command, Elenya lowered her head and said,

  "My lord, forgive me, but I do not have any water with me."

  Upon hearing this, Lord Vaenis turned to Rhenor, who stood to his right, and whispered, "If you have water, give it to Elenya. Right now, we must comply with their demands."

  Then he turned to his aide, Daemiona, who stood on his left, and added, "When the time comes, rey the information that concerns us. Do not forget—we need the fertile nd in that estate."

  Following Vaenis’s orders, Rhenor moved to the back, where Elenya stood, pulled out the waterskin from his belt, and handed it to her. Turning to Vaerys and Laenor, who were beside her, he ordered, "Release her."

  Taking the waterskin, Elenya immediately approached the barrier and said,

  "My lord, here is the water."

  Ignoring everything that had just happened, Vaegon turned to Darion and commanded,

  "Darion, go take the water from Elenya and bring her inside. Then, fetch some apples for our guests."

  At Vaegon’s order, Darion, who had been silently standing by the barrier, moved forward. He reached out his hand to pull Elenya inside, but as soon as his hand touched the barrier, it was repelled. He tried again, but once more, his hand could not pass through.

  Seeing this, Lord Vaenis and the others furrowed their brows, while Lord Daemir sneered and said,

  "Have you forgotten how you entered? You must leave the same way. One must be truly brainless not to realize this."

  Frowning, Vaegon approached the barrier and asked Darion,

  "Why can’t you reach through?"

  Before Darion could answer, Vaer mockingly interjected,

  "As you said, we are too brainless to figure out how to leave. But apparently, you are too brainless to enter! And yet you mock us? At least we are inside, while you do nothing but throw words from the outside like a coward!"

  Having just mocked them moments ago, Lord Daemir began to twitch with anger once more upon being called a coward.

  Meanwhile, Vaegon reached the barrier and extended his hand toward Elenya, with everyone watching closely—even Lord Daemir, who had just been taunting them. As the air grew tense and everyone held their breath, Vaegon’s hand passed through the barrier. He grasped Elenya’s hand and pulled her inside.

  Everyone stared in astonishment. After pulling Elenya in, Vaegon took the waterskin from her hand and said,

  "Darion, as I said, go and bring some apples for our guests."

  Darion and the others made their way toward the apple tree, while Vaegon raised the waterskin to drink. But before he could, Vaer warned him,

  "Vaegon, stop! The water could be poisoned!"

  Vaegon ignored his brother’s warning and drank the water. Then, he smirked and said,

  "Brother, right now, only we can enter the barrier. Do you think they would dare kill us before their business is done?"

  Vaenis, who had been ready to snap at Vaer for his words, fell silent at Vaegon’s remark—because he was right.

  After addressing Vaer, Vaegon turned back to the lords, furrowed his brows, and repeated,

  "Did you not hear what I said earlier? Tell me—how many survived the camity, how many of them are soldiers, how many currently suffer from greyscale in the Great Arena, how much food you have left, and the names of the crops that are growing! Speak!"

  In response to Vaegon’s words, Lord Beagor said, "Lord Vaegon, let me introduce myself first. I am Lord Beagor of House Gaern. Perhaps you could let us in so we can discuss your demands inside?"

  Frowning at Lord Beagor’s request, Vaegon replied, "First of all, it is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Beagor. However, I must inform you that I will not be letting you in. Whatever we need to discuss, we will do so here."

  Upon hearing Vaegon’s words, Lord Daemir smirked mockingly and said, "What’s the matter? Are you afraid of us, my lord? You were just insulting us so fearlessly."

  Growing more irritated, Vaegon could no longer contain himself and shouted, "Anogrion, come here immediately!"

  Right after Vaegon’s shout, Vaer also called out, "Aeloris, come here!"

  No one could understand why Vaegon and Vaer had suddenly started shouting, and Lord Daemir mockingly added, "See? They are mad! You are making us deal with lunatics."

  As everyone outside the barrier tried to make sense of what was happening, a sudden, thunderous sound echoed: "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

  Among the crowd looking around in confusion, Lord Beogon turned his gaze to the sky. The moment he saw what was approaching, his knees trembled. Seeing Lord Beogon’s reaction, the others also looked up—and they, too, were struck with fear. Two enormous, white-winged creatures were flying toward them.

  At that moment, Vaegon commanded, "Dracarys, Anogrion!"

  Upon Vaegon’s command, Anogrion opened its mouth and unleashed fmes from the sky toward the barrier. However, the barrier withstood the powerful fire. As the massive beast and its fmes filled the sky, everyone trembled in terror and fell to their knees. Meanwhile, Anogrion descended near the cages behind them.

  Watching this, Vaegon smirked mockingly and said, "What’s the matter, my lords? Are you afraid? Don’t worry, as long as I do not permit it, he won’t harm you. Now hurry up! State your demands and introduce yourselves before speaking."

  At the same time, Aeloris, summoned by Vaer, also nded near the cages. Facing the two colossal creatures and the unshaken stance of Vaegon, the lords exchanged fearful gnces and signaled to their attendants. Five men stepped forward, trembling, and immediately fell to their knees again. However, none of them dared to speak.

  Vaegon pointed at the man standing in front of Lord Vaelman and ordered, "You, start. Who are you, how old are you, and state the information I asked for."

  The chosen man, shivering with fear, stammered, "M… My… My name is Daelor, and I am 23 years old, my lord. I am the son of Lord Vaelman. As for the information you requested, House Qelon currently holds a total of 400 people, including 200 warriors. We have maize, potatoes, beans, and fire grapes. We possess 210 sacks of maize, 300 sacks of potatoes, 40 sacks of beans, and 10 casks of fire grapes. Additionally, due to greyscale, 20 people remain in the great arena, 15 of them having been sent there yesterday."

  Vaegon nodded and then pointed at the man before Lord Baegor, who also trembled as he spoke:

  "M… My… My name is Aeldric, and I am 30 years old, my lord. House Gaern holds a total of 200 people, including 50 warriors. We have maize, potatoes, and beans. We possess 70 sacks of maize, 500 sacks of potatoes, and 31 sacks of beans. No one is currently in the great arena."

  Vaegon nodded again and turned to the man trembling in front of Lord Daemir.

  "M… My… My name is Aeryon, and I am 17 years old, my lord. I am the son of Lord Daemir. House Onys holds a total of 600 people, including 230 warriors. We have maize, potatoes, beans, fire grapes, and onions. We possess 400 sacks of maize, 600 sacks of potatoes, 100 sacks of onions, 60 sacks of beans, and 30 casks of fire grapes. Due to greyscale, 14 people remain in the great arena."

  Narrowing his eyes at Aeryon, Vaegon asked, "Do you have a sister, Aeryon? If so, how old is she?"

  Aeryon quickly replied, "I have two sisters, my lord. One is 15, and the other is 9 years old."

  Vaegon smiled and nodded before signaling Daemion, the man in front of Lord Vaenis, to speak. Daemion, his voice trembling, said:

  "M… My… My name is Daemion, and I am 28 years old, my lord. House Pekaerys holds a total of 270 people, including 60 warriors. We have maize, potatoes, onions, and fire grapes. We possess 100 sacks of maize, 200 sacks of potatoes, 30 sacks of onions, and 5 casks of fire grapes. Due to greyscale, 21 people remain in the great arena, 15 of them having been sent there yesterday."

  Vaegon nodded and pointed at the st man, who spoke while trembling:

  "M… My… My name is Viserys, and I am 38 years old, my lord. House Zaerd holds a total of 390 people, including 150 warriors. We have potatoes, beans, and onions. We possess 800 sacks of potatoes, 150 sacks of onions, and 170 sacks of beans. Due to greyscale, 9 people remain in the great arena, while 3 who have recovered from the disease now serve as guards there."

  At that moment, Elenya and Darion returned from their trip to get apples. Seeing Anogrion and Aeloris, Elenya dropped the apples in fear, while Darion frowned and said, "Vaegon! Why did you summon Anogrion? This was not part of our pn!"

  Vaegon responded calmly, "A minor issue arose, and we are fixing it, Darion. Now, forget about the apples and bring Vendieron so we can move these cages out. Also, hand me the medicine kit. After we remove the cages, I will be heading to the great arena."

  As the lords scrambled in fear to follow Vaegon’s orders, he gave them one final warning:

  "Now go! Gather all your food, money, weapons, and people. We are leaving this cursed pce!"

  Vaer nodded his head to show his understanding. Then, he gave Aeloris the command to lift the cage into the air. While Aeloris lifted the cage, Vaegon held onto Aeloris's cw. In this way, Aeloris carried the cage and flew towards the barrier, passing through it. Once Aeloris passed through the barrier, the people outside held their breath. Vaer said, "Don't take Aeloris too far, leave him by the barrier."

  Elenya was watching this scene with her mouth open. When Darion saw Elenya in this state, he said, "Close your mouth, Elenya, or the flies will get in."

  Elenya, hearing Darion's reminder, closed her mouth. Meanwhile, Vaegon had dismounted the cage and passed through the barrier. While moving towards the other empty cage, he shouted, "Darion, you also go up like Vaer and collect the people one by one."

  Upon hearing Vaegon's words, Darion went to Vendieron, who had just arrived, taking Elenya with him. Once Darion mounted Vendieron, he said to Elenya, "Go to Vaegon and get in the cage, Elenya."

  After hearing Darion’s command, Elenya quickly ran towards the cage Vaegon was waiting for. When she reached the cage, Vaegon immediately took her in and closed the door at the same time. After locking Elenya in the cage, he climbed back onto the cage using Anogrion's head and shouted, "I'm ready, Darion! Come on!"

  Once Vaegon indicated he was ready, Darion commanded Vendieron, "Soves, Vendieron!" to make him take off.

  At Darion’s command, Vendieron took off and flew towards the cage Vaegon was waiting for. Using his cws, he grabbed the cage and flew towards the barrier, passing through it. Darion, stopping Vendieron right next to the barrier, dismounted. Meanwhile, Vaegon was using the bars on the side of the cage to descend.

  As soon as Vaegon nded, Darion handed him a bag containing healing potions. After receiving the bag, Vaegon entered the barrier to collect his own cage. Vaer, on Aeloris’s back, pointed to the person Vaegon had chosen and asked, "Which lord do you serve?"

  Rhenor looked at Aeloris in fear and said, "I serve Lord Vaenis, and my name is Rhenor, my lord."

  Vaer turned to Darion and said, "Why aren't you taking these people? They’ll come with you. We can pick up both the people and the supplies where we're going," while pointing to the lords and guards waiting below.

  As they were speaking, Vaegon had entered the barrier and mounted Anogrion's back.

  "Soves, Anogrion!" Vaegon commanded for Anogrion to take off. At Vaegon’s command, Anogrion took flight. Once Vaegon had his own cage, he guided Anogrion towards the barrier.

  Once Anogrion passed through the barrier, Vaegon took him to the pce where Rhenor was. After nding the cage, he said to Rhenor, "Your name was Rhenor, right? Quickly get in the cage, and let’s head to the main arena." Then he called to Vaer and Darion, saying, "Gentlemen, I overheard your conversation. We’ll all meet in Lord Vaenis's territory, so hurry up."

  Once Rhenor entered the cage, Vaegon shouted, "Let’s go, children! These are our st hours on this damned nd, hurry up and shorten these hours. Fly, hurry!"

  At Vaegon’s shout, three dragons took off. Two flew in the same direction, while the rgest one flew in the opposite direction.

  Friends, I would like to consult you about this. Should they go with the current citizens with the dragon of Vontis, or should they use a ship and move forward with a new house and some more people