GOT: Chapter 368/369

Chapter 368: The Queen's Cheats (Part 1)

Everyone present was stunned for a moment, then they all looked at someone next to them who had been silent just like Daenerys: Moqorro, a High Red Priest sent by the High Priest of the Red Temple in Volantis to guide the Dragon Queen and assist her on the path to fulfilling the prophecy.

This tall Red Priest, when in Meereen, spoke incessantly about the Long Night approaching, darkness descending upon the North of Westeros, and ancient, unspeakable alien gods coveting the lives of all living beings. In short, a lot of baseless, charlatan-like pronouncements that made one's ears callus. But strangely, after Daenerys landed on Dragonstone, he completely reversed his previous urgency and garrulousness. Not only did he stop urging the Queen to go to the far North to fulfill the Prophet's responsibility, but he also quietly sat on the side as background during every meeting. His dark skin, coupled with his low-key words and actions, made the members of the council, especially the newly joined Varys, almost ignore his existence.

But everyone had not forgotten: this big dark man had said not long ago that the strongest follower Daenerys could gain, whom he had been babbling about for a long time, would arrive uninvited from the far North soon after the Queen occupied Dragonstone, meet her, and provide guidance to the true legitimate ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

Moqorro had already displayed too many extraordinary abilities after joining her ranks. Daenerys had long stopped seeing him as an ordinary charlatan. Could it be that Petyr, Varys, and this Night's Watch Commander who arrived today, just as he predicted, together form the three heads of the dragon from the prophecy?

With surprise and anticipation, Daenerys looked at the Red Priest. Moqorro, with a mysterious smile on his face, turned his head to meet the Queen's gaze and spoke first. "Your Majesty, since the person has arrived, why hesitate to let him in?"


---

The ship Aegor was on was not actually flying grey sails, but black sails identifying it as Night's Watch property. It was just that the dyes of this era were of generally poor quality, and after exposure to sun, rain, and several washes, the black sails had faded to grey. Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to Dragonstone is nearly a thousand miles. To ensure speed, after Aegor arrived at Eastwatch, he specifically selected a team of oarsmen with the best physical fitness. Thanks to good weather allowing slow nighttime sailing and favorable winds, they sailed at full speed, not even stopping at Gulltown, and entered Crownlands waters after passing the Vale on the fifth day.

About a dozen miles from Dragonstone, the Blackbird was intercepted by a large galley flying a red dragon flag. After the sailors from that ship boarded to inspect and inquire about their purpose, they led the Night's Watch ship to the military port of Dragonstone.

The island was still the same island where only birds shit, but the scenery around it had changed dramatically during the journey. From the point of interception to entering the port, Aegor saw at least three large warships patrolling. As they approached the island, the military port, which had previously harbored the Dragonstone fleet, was now dense with warships and masts, and the red dragon banners of House Targaryen were flying everywhere.

It was a normal sight, but among the red dragon flags, Aegor saw scattered, yet to him extremely sensitive, kraken flags representing Greyjoy.

What was going on? Yara and Theon Greyjoy were in Crown Town. Could it be that Euron had already connected with Daenerys?

Effortlessly recalling scattered memories of the original plot, the Night's Watch warship was led to shore. After being supervised and waiting for a while in the port's outpost cabin, the news that Dragonstone agreed to receive him came faster than expected. Led by several Queen's guards in red and black armor, somewhat similar to the Night's Watch, Aegor and Melisandre climbed the winding mountain path towards Dragonstone Keep at the very top of the hill. After a good warm-up, they entered this magnificent yet desolate castle for the second time.

The castle was a bit more lively than the last time he visited. Walking through the long, dark corridors, they were led into the surprisingly spacious and empty reception hall of Dragonstone Keep and soon entered the famous scene.

The hall doors were pushed open. Melisandre, who had lived here for several months, was naturally familiar with it, but it was Aegor's first time entering this room. Before he could finish surveying the furnishings in the hall, a clear and high-pitched voice suddenly rang out.

"Sitting before you is the Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, known as the Mother of Dragons, The Unburnt, The Breaker of Chains, Daenerys Targaryen I, Stormborn." A small, dark-skinned girl stood at the edge of the high platform and announced loudly. "Visitor, state your identity."

Despite the important task he bore, Aegor still felt a slight sense of peculiar displacement due to this strong feeling of déjà vu. Fortunately, after a brief moment of distraction, the Night's Watch Commander quickly composed himself. He had no intention of acting like a certain person, first exchanging silly glances with his companion behind him, and then introducing himself in a dry and awkward manner.

"I am the highest Commander of the sworn brothers of the Wall, Commander of the Night's Watch, Aegor West. I greet Your Majesty."

After his introduction, which was steady in tone, concise yet not exaggerated, and full of vigor, Aegor straightened his back and looked up at the silver-haired woman not far in front of him.

At this sight, a sense of dread, as if his very spine was trembling, shot up from behind his waist like an electric current, all the way to his back and forehead, making his scalp tingle.

Before transmigrating, which character's personal chapters did Aegor like to skip the most when reading the original novel?

Answer: Daenerys.

Before this young Queen rose to power, she and her brother were displaced and relied on each other, yet she was sold to the khal by Magister Illyrio just as she reached adulthood, had her virginity taken by a barbarian under the open sky, finally saw some hope in life only to face the loss of her husband, and was ultimately deceived by a witch, resulting in a miscarriage. Even her last hope, her child, was gone. Aegor did not have the trait of finding pleasure in being abused. This somewhat tragic and depressing story made him want to skim over it and never read it a second time.

And after she rose to power? The style suddenly went to the opposite extreme, a continuous surge of power, sweeping through everything, unstoppable. No matter what difficulties, what dangers, Daenerys always seemed to overcome them through luck, coincidence, or men who knelt at her feet. This typical protagonist template quality always made Aegor feel like he was not reading A Song of Ice and Fire but an ordinary online power fantasy novel, a treatment so out of place compared to any other point-of-view character in the book that he found it hard to empathize.

And the Mother of Dragons on screen was another story entirely. Quiet as a virgin, smiling like a fool, speaking like a peashooter, her looks fluctuating between one and ten points, often just one expression could instantly break immersion. While being amused by her various bizarre videos and images, Aegor, as a viewer, would often fantasize: which actress could portray the most beautiful woman with more flair?

But at this moment, he suddenly understood: the casting was irrelevant.

Because in the world before he transmigrated, there was simply no woman, nor could there ever be, who could portray even one ten-thousandth of Daenerys's beauty and charm.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 369: The Queen’s Cheats (Part 2)

She sat with her legs crossed on the stone throne at the front of the great hall. The bulky and simple seat only made her appear more petite and elegant. Light filtering through the small round windows high in the thick walls of Dragonstone Keep slowly fell and enveloped her, making the Queen's skin glow like jade and her hair shine like silver. Her face was so beautiful and dazzling it was impossible to look directly at it, as if she were a masterpiece created by a creator god who had poured all his energy and effort into it. Aegor felt such a strong sense of being at a loss for words for the first time, he simply could not find the right words to describe the scene he was witnessing.

His pupils dilated, his heart instantly accelerated to a frantic pace, and a hot current rushed to his forehead. His blood was boiling, every muscle, every cell, every segment of DNA seemed to be roaring hoarsely: this is the most perfect mate and object for procreation, she must be obtained at all costs!

However, suppressing the unusual feeling in his body, and staring at Daenerys for a moment longer, Aegor noticed something was not right.

Regarding appearance, in the modern world with the four evil arts of sex change, plastic surgery, makeup, and photo editing, Aegor had seen more perfect and flawless faces on screens or in photos. Not discussing the fake ones, even Cersei Lannister, whom Aegor had seen, was definitely not uglier than Daenerys when she was ten years younger.

Regarding figure, the slender and graceful Nina, the full and alluring Melisandre, the astonishingly long-legged Yara Greyjoy, and even Arya Stark, who was small and thin but full of vitality and spirit. Some he had been intimate with, some he had not, but each had her own characteristics and style. There is no accounting for taste, and it is impossible to say who is better or worse.

And regarding charm, in the South there was the stunningly beautiful and captivating Little Rose Margaery Tyrell, in the North there was the dignified, elegant, and beautiful Sansa Stark. Even the Little Princess Myrcella Baratheon, who was currently a guest in Crown Town, possessed a delicate temperament that made anyone who saw her feel pity, coupled with her obedience, perceptiveness, and intelligence. When she grew up, she would definitely be a siren who could charm men to death.

And Daenerys?

Relying on the vast knowledge and experience he possessed from being bombarded with information in the internet age, he suddenly made a subconscious judgment that was inconsistent with his intuitive feeling: what made his heart pound and his hair stand on end was not just Daenerys's beauty.

She was indeed very beautiful, but she was by no means beautiful enough to completely surpass all other women in the world in every aspect. It might be difficult to find someone more beautiful than her in the world, but there would certainly not be too few who were equally or nearly as beautiful. In fact, the reception hall in Dragonstone Keep was vast, and Aegor was standing twenty to thirty meters away from her at this moment, so it was impossible for him to take in all the details of her appearance at once. The intense physiological reaction his body felt just now, which his reason could not suppress, was less being awestruck by the Dragon Queen's beauty and more like feeling a strong threat to life, as if seeing a tiger that was not in a cage.

Daenerys carried a unique, indescribable aura, which had an attraction to the opposite sex, but more so, it had an aura of authority and oppression. A word surfaced in Aegor's mind: kingly aura.

There is no such thing as a kingly aura in the world, at least that is what Aegor had always believed. Kings, Hands, and Lords, he had seen a great many, more than he could count on one hand, and he had even tricked most of them. He was qualified to express his opinion: the so-called aura is actually a comprehensive subjective feeling created by clever coordination and reinforcement between appearance, clothing, expression, speech, and demeanor, combined with the scene, and finally converging together.

The Dragon Queen had just returned from overseas, and Aegor was the first well-known figure to proactively visit. It seemed plausible that Daenerys intended to stage a show to intimidate the neutral faction and give the Night's Watch Commander, who was close to the North, a bit of a warning.

But the Queen was as beautiful as a painting and as gentle as water, wearing a red and black coat that highlighted her figure and looked somewhat like a couple's outfit with the Night's Watch black robe. She had a friendly shallow smile on her face, and she did not say any harsh words or have a large contingent of soldiers draw their swords and line up beside her to intimidate him. Aegor did not see any dragons flying in the sky as he entered the castle. She clearly had no intention of intimidating him, so why did he still feel such strong authority, to the point where his hair even stood on end?

There is only one explanation: this authority is real, a field of mental influence like a magic barrier.

This domineering aura, combined with another indescribable attraction and her real beauty, was like Daenerys had been subjected to constant powerful mental magic spells of charm and awe. It was able to leave a deep impression on others regardless of their aesthetic taste and strength of will, and able to be loved and respected more easily than normal people. "Mother of Dragons is cheating" might not just be a joke from readers and viewers, but a fact. This might be an ability that comes from her True Dragon bloodline, or it might be an ability bestowed upon her later because she was chosen as the Prophet. The beauty and kingly aura that Daenerys possesses are her cheats.

If this guess is true, then everything makes sense: she was clearly a wife bought by Drogo, but unknowingly she received genuine respect and love from her husband. Jorah Mormont was originally sent to monitor her movements, but eventually fell uncontrollably in love with her and was willing to die for her. Daario Naharis was clearly hired to fight against her, but in the end he killed the other two lords and defected with the Stormcrows. So many wealthy merchants and magnates, slave owners, and local powers in Qarth and Astapor, who coveted Daenerys's dragons immensely, yet not a single one dared to seize them by force. These plot points, which seemed strongly illogical and contrived when viewed through paper or a screen, in short, protagonist's halo, now became so reasonable the moment Aegor met the real person.

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"Cough..." A soft female voice interrupted Aegor's myriad thoughts. It was Daenerys, who could not bear the silence any longer and spoke first. "Commander, I have long heard of your name. Is your visit this time specifically to swear fealty and support me in eliminating the usurper family and reclaiming the Seven Kingdoms?"

Aegor was startled and quickly returned to reality from his thoughts. He had never been so rude. The aura Daenerys carried was so powerful that he unintentionally stared at her for several seconds, almost like a pervert. Fortunately, perhaps because she was used to men staring at her, she did not show any displeasure, and her attitude could even be described as friendly.

"Your Majesty, you jest." Quickly composing his expression, Aegor lowered his gaze and no longer looked at Daenerys. "The Night's Watch swears neutrality, impartiality, and will never participate in the internal disputes of the Kingdom. Please forgive me for being unable to swear fealty to you or provide direct support. But I have brought you another gift, Your Majesty will surely like it."

He took out a flat object wrapped in silk cloth from inside his coat and handed it to Missandei, who had quickly approached at the sight, so that she could pass it to Daenerys on the throne.

The Queen took it in her hand and lifted a corner of the silk cloth, finding it was a thin booklet. The material was strange and special, something she had never seen before. It should be the rumored plant fiber paper, which was not unusual, but on the exposed part of the cover was a handwritten large character that looked very new: "King."

(To be continued.)