The Mountain of Ice and Fire

"Are you sure?" Lord Mace asked in a low voice.

"Absolutely certain!"

Mace remained silent for a good while: "Grand Maester, if the dragon crossbows can't stop three dragons, what good advice do you have?"

"My Lord, in the War of the Usurper in the year 283 of Aegon's Conquest, who did you choose to support?"

"The Targaryen royal family."

"But in the end, the Targaryen royal family was defeated. How did House Tyrell manage to retain its dominion over the Reach?"

"Robert was a generous brute."

"From what I know, Daenerys Targaryen is very generous to her own people, and very ruthless to her enemies."

"Our House Tyrell has always been loyal to the Targaryen family. During the War of the Usurper, I led my army to besiege Storm's End for a year. My bannerman, Randyll Tarly, is the only famous general who has ever defeated the combined forces of Robert and Eddard."

"My Lord, Littlefinger sends his regards." Grand Maester Qyburn slowly took out a letter from his bosom and gently placed it on Lord Mace's desk. The wax seal on the letter was intact.

"Thank you, Grand Maester, for your guidance." Mace Tyrell stood up and paid his respects to Qyburn. He spoke politely, but he did not intend to share the contents of Littlefinger's letter with Grand Maester Qyburn.

"My Lord, I will take my leave first. If there is anything, I will come and discuss it with you again."

"Grand Maester, within the Red Keep, who else feels close to the Targaryens in their heart?"

"My Lord Hand, I can only say that many courtiers have private dealings with Littlefinger. They are all former servants of the Targaryen family."

"Former servants? We, House Tyrell, are all former servants of the Targaryen family."

The Grand Maester nodded, smiled, and turned to leave.

Mace Tyrell broke the wax seal and slowly pulled out the letter. The letter was indeed written to Mace by Littlefinger. It began with a lot of nonsense and pleasantries, and then mentioned their powerful naval land cavalry. Finally, Littlefinger introduced the invincibility of the three dragons, saying: They already knew that Master Tobho Mott had built dragon crossbows in King's Landing, but no matter how many dragon crossbows there were, they would need a certain amount of time to reload. And the dragons would never attack while the soldiers were reloading the dragon crossbows.

The second part of the letter was a promise to guarantee the continued rule of the Reach by House Tyrell, as long as Lord Mace cooperated from within and joined forces with the Dragon Mother's army to annihilate the Mountain's army. As for the Iron Throne, it belonged to the Targaryen family, and Daenerys was only coming to take it back.

Mace Tyrell read the letter over and over again. He was not satisfied with Littlefinger's promise. He hoped to stay in the Red Keep, and he hoped to become at least a member of the Small Council. But Littlefinger's letter did not promise Lord Mace any official position.

Mace Tyrell was not satisfied with the price of this sale.

After a long while, Mace put the letter away and shouted loudly, "Someone."

The guard came in, and Mace ordered him to invite Queen Margaery Tyrell and Ser Garlan Tyrell of the Kingsguard to the Tower of the Hand. The guard hurried away.

Mace suddenly became furious. If the Mountain hadn't lost the dragon, he would never have compromised with Littlefinger. The Mountain had received so much grain and military supplies from the Reach, yet he had failed to protect the dragon. Even if another ten thousand or twenty thousand people had to be sacrificed, the dragon could not have been allowed to be harmed!

Originally, victory had always belonged to the Red Keep, until the Mountain lost his dragon, and the balance of power between the two sides was reversed. Dragon crossbows could only kill dragons as secret weapons. Once Daenerys knew that there were dragon crossbows, she would definitely not choose to attack during the day. She would ride the dragons to raid the military camp on some dark night when everyone was asleep.

Daenerys, who possessed three dragons, was invincible, just like Aegon I Targaryen the Conqueror... Littlefinger had always been a cunning and treacherous person. His silver tongue had actually persuaded the Free Trade City-States to join his army. The new addition of 1,500 warships meant that the combined strength of the Clegane Navy, the Redwyne Fleet, the Iron Fleet, and the Royal Navy was less than half of the enemy's fleet.

The new dynasty established by Robert, Eddard, and Jon for eighteen years had come to an end...

And in the fleet guarding Blackwater Bay, the Redwyne Fleet was a vassal of House Tyrell...

*

Night. A caravan of carriages rested at the Trident River Ferry Inn.

This Trident Inn had been destroyed by war several times, but after a while, the inn would reopen again.

This was a necessary route connecting the Riverlands, King's Landing, the Vale, and the North. There was a constant stream of guests coming and going, and because it was profitable, the local villagers rebuilt the inn on the ruins again and again.

The carriage caravan that came to rest tonight came from the Westerlands. They carried the royal banner of Tommen of the Red Keep, the military banner of House Clegane of the Westerlands, and the six-shell banner of House Westerling of the Crag.

The carriage caravan was protected by three fully armed companies of a hundred men each. The leading knight came from the Crag and was a knight of House Westerling.

The brothers crowded the dozen tables in the inn, and all the other guests were driven aside. All the rooms were vacated to accommodate these soldiers.

Kyu!

A dragon's roar came from the night sky.

This team was not familiar with the dragon's roar. They were the land army of Gawen Westerling, and had stayed on Dragonstone for a long time, and had not been close to the Mountain's dragon.

The dragon's roar was very special, it was a golden jade sound that everyone had never heard before. It was as if huge pieces of jade were colliding with each other in the sky, making a melodious loud noise.

Just as everyone in the inn was holding their breath, the second dragon's roar sounded, right on the roof of the inn. The sound seemed to resound in everyone's ears, as if someone was blowing a metallic sound that penetrated their bodies and souls next to their ears...

"Dragon's roar!" There was a panicked voice from a soldier, but it was suppressed by the echo of the dragon's roar, and others could only hear a faint sound.

These soldiers had never seen a dragon, and had never heard a dragon's roar, but they had heard of the Mountain's dragon, and they had also heard of Daenerys's three dragons. All kinds of rumors about dragons had long been spread in the army. After tea and dinner, many people liked to talk about the stories of dragons they had heard or seen. By word of mouth, every soldier had heard descriptions of dragon roars and dragon fire...

Kyu!

Another dragon's roar, this time it seemed to be in the courtyard. The horses in the stable and the cattle pulling the carts had all prostrated on the ground, daring not to neigh, daring not to escape, but only prostrating on the ground and shivering... The innkeeper and workers had already hid, and the warriors drew their swords, but everyone's faces were pale, and their expressions were suspicious and uncertain...

The rumors that the Mountain's dragon had been seriously injured by the Night King and could not be saved had also spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Those rumors spread faster than the wind. If it wasn't the Mountain's dragon, then whose dragon could it be?

The soldiers quickly knew the answer. A woman's voice was full of majesty: "Lords, soldiers and people, I am Daenerys Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone, the Mother of Dragons, the Unburnt, the Liberator of Slaves, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. I order you to surrender to me immediately. I will save your lives and protect your territory. Whether you are a general or a soldier, you will not be harmed. Lord Gawen Westerling, come out and surrender. Kneel and surrender to me, and the Crag will still be the territory of House Westerling."

In the inn, the generals and soldiers looked at each other!

Daenerys, riding on the back of the black dragon, did not wait long. Knights and soldiers marched out in formation, raising their long swords and giving up resistance.

The three dragons hovered in the air, and their baleful aura permeated the air.

The soldiers who saw the real dragon for the first time were all frightened!

"Who is Gawen Westerling?" Daenerys asked loudly.

"Your Majesty, Lord Gawen is not in the team," said Ser Rossetti Erton, kneeling on the ground.

"Where did he go?"

"He led a fleet north from the Sunset Sea in the Westerlands, passed through Ironmen's Bay, landed in the Neck, and boarded a ship at White Harbor in the North to send gold to Braavos."

"Then what are you transporting?"

"Stones, Your Majesty."

Whoosh!

The black dragon breathed out a stream of dragon fire, setting fire to the big tree in the courtyard. This was a manifestation of Daenerys's inner anger: "Turn all the things in the carriages out for me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Nearly a hundred carriages were overturned one by one, and the goods inside were all dumped on the ground, all of them were stones.

Kyu!

With a dragon's roar, the black dragon rose higher and flew north. The green dragon and the white dragon followed on the left and right. Soon, only three black dots remained in the blue night sky, but in the blink of an eye, the black dots melted into the night and could no longer be seen.

*

The sky was getting brighter, and Daenerys rode the dragon to the sky above White Harbor.

Along the way, the dragon did not see any convoys in the Neck.

There was only one road through the Neck, a causeway just wide enough for one carriage to pass. Gawen Westerling could travel by sea very quickly, but it would be impossible for him to travel hundreds of miles through the Neck no matter how fast he was. However, the three dragons flew over the Neck and did not see a long convoy.

White Harbor, located south of Winterfell, is the fief of House Manderly. White Harbor is the largest settlement north of the Neck, but it is the smallest of the five major port cities in Westeros. White Harbor is the North's main trading port. Because of trade, White Harbor has the most contact with the South, and therefore has more knights and followers of the Faith of the Seven than other northern regions. There are good fishing grounds here, and it is also home to many silversmiths. During the Targaryen dynasty, White Harbor was the mint of the kingdom's silver stags.

The old mint still exists today and has become a market for silversmiths to exchange gold and silver jewelry.

Daenerys slowly lowered her altitude in the morning sun. She saw the city's wide and straight streets, and white stones were used to build all the houses and city walls. She saw a huge rock towering in the sea in the outer harbor's entrance channel, like a small island, choking the outer harbor's entrance channel. There was a circle of weathered stones on the top of the rock, and the people of White Harbor used these stones to build a military fortress, erected ballistae, flamethrowing crossbows, and there were crossbowmen walking back and forth on it.

Daenerys could see that the port here was divided into an inner harbor and an outer harbor, separated by a breakwater. A new stone wall, thirty feet high and nearly a mile long, had been built on the breakwater, with a tower every hundred meters. Crossbowmen could be seen on the tops of the towers and in the corridors.

The port was heavily guarded, and these military facilities were all thanks to the pirates. Without this, it would be difficult to curb the pirates' attacks. Pirates once entered the inland river White Knife through the inner harbor and plundered the nobles of the North.

Daenerys noticed that within the tall city walls, a white stone fortress was built on a hill. A high castle ladder led directly from the bottom of the mountain to the top. This was the residence of Lord Manderly, and people called the Lord's castle New Castle. The Merman's Court is the hall of New Castle, where House Manderly handles state affairs.

Daenerys selected two targets to attack: the huge rock in the sea that guarded the outer sea passage and had military facilities built on it, which the locals called Seal Rock; and the white stone castle located on top of the hill within the city walls. Judging from the banners of the castle, it was the family castle of House Manderly.

Daenerys was not in a good mood this time. She did not see the carriage convoy in the port. The team transporting the hundred golden hero statues should be very conspicuous, but there was no decent carriage team to be seen in the port and city.

Daenerys suspected that she might have been deceived by Lord Gawen's knights at the Trident River Ferry Inn.

Without a dragon's roar as a warning and a signal before the attack, Daenerys directly issued the order to attack: Dragon Fire!

The three dragons swooped down from the high sky, and three pillars of fire spewed onto the military fortress on Seal Rock. Soon, thick smoke rose from the military fortress, and a big fire broke out. Inside and outside the port, shouts of dragons came one after another, resounding throughout White Harbor.

Daenerys noticed that the ships in the inner and outer harbors were not moving. Could it be that the gold had not taken this route either?

With a delicate shout, the three dragons roared to the sky above New Castle. Suddenly, many soldiers appeared on the castle ladder and towers of New Castle, either carrying spears or carrying bows and arrows, and lined up to meet the enemy.

The Northerners were much tougher than the Westerlanders!

Daenerys felt much better after burning Seal Rock. She did not intend to slaughter the city. She was more concerned about the gold.

"Lord Manderly, I am Daenerys Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone, the Mother of Dragons, the Unburnt, the Liberator of Slaves, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. If you hand over Gawen Westerling, I will not burn down your family castle."

An extremely fat white man appeared in front of the gate of the Merman's Court, surrounded by a team of archers: "Daenerys, there is no Lord Gawen Westerling in White Harbor."

"Lord Manderly, I have received reliable information that Lord Gawen will board a ship in White Harbor to go to Braavos. Has he already left, or has he not been here at all?"

"Daenerys, Lord Gawen has not been here."

"Do you swear?"

"I swear in the name of the gods of the sky, the earth, and the sea, in the name of the Old Gods and the New Gods, and in the name of the thousand-year glory of House Manderly, Lord Gawen Westerling has never been to White Harbor at all."

Daenerys choked with anger!

"Lord Manderly, kneel and surrender to me."

"Manderly only kneels to the King of the North, Stark." The fat white man was panting. He was too fat, and it was very tiring to shout and talk.

"House Stark must also surrender, otherwise they will be eliminated."

"No one can eliminate House Stark. The territory of the North will always belong to House Stark."

Daenerys's cold laughter resounded throughout the city. She shouted sternly: "Lord Manderly, please tell Stark to prepare to surrender, otherwise, you will all die - Dragon Fire!" The three dragons flew down from three directions, and the soldiers of White Harbor fired arrows in retaliation, and for a time, the arrows swished like rain.

Daenerys's three dragons circled and maneuvered, avoiding a direct assault, each fireball striking New Castle, which quickly erupted in flames...

"Manderly, tell Stark, failure to submit to Targaryen means extinction."

With a whoosh, the black dragon soared higher, flying into the sky, heading south. The white and green dragons followed closely behind.

In the afternoon, Daenerys, riding her dragon, caught up with the small Westerling family contingent led by Ser Rossetti Elton, who were heading to King's Landing. She couldn't find Earl Gavin's convoy, and she believed Ser Rossetti Elton had deceived her. Furious, Daenerys didn't waste any words. The three dragons suddenly and violently attacked the legion from the sky. Dragonflame blazed, and the unprepared group of several hundred people was completely annihilated!

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