The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Mountain gazed at Daenerys, then glanced at Arianne. Arianne was very competitive and had been constantly vying with Daenerys. But she was pregnant now, and that was important, because the child was his.

"Princess Arianne, you return to Dorne and take charge of mobilizing all the Dornish soldiers. Leave behind only the necessary garrison and patrol troops. The rest of the warriors must prepare for war. The two-month preparation time will be tight. Queen Daenerys will have to trouble herself with the envoys to the six Free Cities."

Instead of having them both act as envoys, with one responsible for four cities and the other for two, which would seem biased, it was better to send Daenerys alone and keep Arianne behind, avoiding any comparisons.

Arianne said, "Your Majesty, I am a Westerosi. Dorne wishes to distinguish itself by conquering and claiming land in Essos."

"Princess Arianne, I will give you the area closest to Dorne: Tyrosh, the Stepstones, Lys, and Myr. Extend Dorne's territory across the Narrow Sea, all the way to the opposite coastline. From now on, all the waters around the Stepstones will belong to Dornish territorial waters."

Arianne's beautiful face immediately bloomed into a smile.

Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh were the three Free Cities located closest to each other. The territory of Tyrosh extended to the eastern edge of the Stepstones, while the territories of Lys and Myr stretched inland on the continent of Essos, encompassing a vast area.

The Stepstones and Tyrosh were havens for pirates from all over the world. The islands were densely packed, and the waters were treacherous, making them an ideal hiding place. Pirates from all directions gathered there, possessing the power to wipe out a medium-sized country.

Westeros had long suffered from the incursions of these world pirates, causing immense suffering. To combat the pirates of the Stepstones, the entire kingdom mobilized its strength decades ago, launching the famous War of the Ninepenny Kings. In the end, the world pirates suffered heavy losses and dared not easily attack Westeros again. However, Westeros was also greatly weakened, losing too much blood, and it took more than twenty years to recover.

To appease and please Arianne Martell of Dorne, the Mountain promised to grant Dorne the Stepstones, which controlled the entire sea route. This meant that the Mountain would eradicate the pirates of the Stepstones.

Although the world pirates entrenched in the Stepstones had become somewhat restrained, they remained a headache for both continents.

And with Dorne gaining the Stepstones, it would control the entire sea area extending from Dorne, all the way to the coastline on the opposite shore.

The Mountain not only wanted to conquer Essos but also to control the Narrow Sea.

Arianne said, "Your Majesty, I obey. I will return to Dorne tomorrow to summon my vassals, train soldiers, and prepare military supplies, ready to cross the Narrow Sea early next year."

The Mountain nodded.

The child in Arianne's womb was his. According to Dornish law and tradition, whether it was a boy or a girl, they had inheritance rights as soon as they were born.

The Prince of Dorne, regardless of gender, was determined solely by seniority. The eldest son or daughter naturally had the right to inherit Dorne.

In the end, Dorne, the Stepstones, Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh would all belong to the Mountain's son or daughter.

The Mountain, who had never been subject to the Iron Throne's military or trade jurisdiction, brought Dorne into his territory through marriage. Previously, Dorne's military, trade, and taxation were completely independent. Only nominal political allegiance was given to the Iron Throne; all other power remained in the hands of the Prince of Dorne.

Marriage was indeed the best strategy that the great nobles had tried and tested for thousands of years. For political purposes, even kings, princes, and princesses had to succumb to pressure and spend their lives with someone they might never have loved.

The Mountain was very satisfied with Arianne's beauty, loyalty, and love!

Of course, Daenerys was not bad either.

She possessed a different kind of beauty, one with a queenly aura. Even without that aura, Daenerys was still stunningly beautiful, charming, and captivating.

Next, the Mountain arranged all the affairs of the expedition one by one, in an orderly manner. He was the Master of War, in charge of all military matters of the kingdom. In fact, the King himself was the supreme commander of the kingdom, and his role overlapped with that of the Master of War, but the Mountain refused to appoint anyone else as Master of War. He held the position himself, firmly grasping the military power of the Seven Kingdoms in his own hands.

*

In October of the year 301 of Aegon's Conquest, Littlefinger Petyr Baelish set out for Braavos; Daenerys rode her dragon to the six Free Cities across the Narrow Sea; Princess Arianne Martell returned to Dorne to summon her vassals, preparing to cross the sea; Duke Renly of the Reach, Duke Gendry of the Stormlands, Duke Edmure of the Riverlands, the various families of the Vale, Duke Eddard Stark of the North, the various families of the Westerlands, the great nobles of the Iron Islands, and the great nobles of the Crownlands were all summoned to gather their vassals, train new and old soldiers, muster ships, and prepare to invade the continent of Essos...

In King's Landing's Street of Steel, hundreds of master blacksmiths, along with thousands of apprentices, worked day and night to forge weapons and cast cannons. The hundreds of wise men of the Guild of Alchemists refined gunpowder and led the newly recruited thousands of apprentices to cast cannonballs...

Grain from the Reach was continuously transported into King's Landing...

*

November. The Braavosi Sea.

A northbound merchant ship, protected by ten patrolling warships, sailed towards Seal Bay.

The destination of this merchant ship was Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the port at the Wall. After unloading its supplies, it would continue north to the mouth of the Thenn River, where a free folk's market had been built for foreign trade.

Most of the Night's Watch's supplies were shipped through White Harbor or Braavos.

Far beyond the Haunted Forest, in the Thenn Mountains, the free folk tribes living there exchanged goods with the outside world via the waterway. At the mouth of the Thenn River, a fortified settlement built by the free folk served as a free market for exchanging goods with the outside world, operating for hundreds of years.

All the goods in the free market were transported by sea trade ships.

More than sixty percent of these trade ships came from the port of Braavos.

They transported ironware, salt, cloth, wheat, and wine from Braavos, and carried back bear pelts, lion skins, animal meat, wildfire, and other goods.

Recently, due to the rise of a pirate group in Seal Bay, the Braavosi merchant ships were escorted by warships. The pirates appeared and disappeared unpredictably, and no one knew where they would strike. With so many merchant ships, the Braavosi navy could only provide separate protection, mainly through patrols. Generally, it was safe once the merchant ships were escorted into Seal Bay.

Those pirate ships usually did not plunder ships heading to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea inside Seal Bay.

The pirates seemed to make an exception for the Night's Watch's supplies, but they ruthlessly plundered the ships transporting goods to the market at the mouth of the Thenn River, showing no mercy.

On another waterway, the shipping route between Braavos and Lorath was also being plundered by pirates. Lorath's pickled cod, walrus tusks, seal skins, whale oil, and other seafood products were the main export goods, which were eventually exported to all parts of the world through trade ships.

The pirate leader was highly skilled in swordsmanship, having already killed several Braavosi naval commanders and seized more than ten Braavosi warships.

*

The northbound trading ship hoisted the Night's Watch flag: the silhouette of a black-clad man on horseback beneath the Wall. It was said that such a Night's Watch flag could protect merchant ships from being plundered. These experiences were learned by the captains in their trades with the Night's Watch at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and quickly spread throughout the port of Braavos.

Almost overnight, all northbound trading ships hoisted the Night's Watch flag.

The trading ship proceeded forward, and as it approached the entrance to Seal Bay, the patrolling warships began to turn around. Based on experience, it was generally safe once inside Seal Bay.

The pirates in Seal Bay had some inexplicable rules.

But there were always exceptions.

As the trading ship entered Seal Bay, several small boats appeared ahead.

They were fishing boats.

The fishing boats in Seal Bay came from coastal villages in the North, and also from the island of Karhold—once a friendly neighbor, now a pirate haven.

The sailors, captain, and mercenaries on the trading ship became nervous.

The mercenary squad leader, a bald man with a twitching face and a winking right eye, stood at the bow with his hand on his sword hilt, staring intently at the approaching small fishing boats.

Fortunately, it was a false alarm. The fishermen on the small fishing boats sang as they passed by peacefully.

Standing on the deck was a nobly dressed, indifferent-looking man—Littlefinger Petyr Baelish.

He had been ordered by His Majesty the King to persuade the pirate leader—Sandor Clegane, the Hound—to surrender.

The bald, twitching captain was Bolivar Clegane, a cavalry general from the Westerlands—an artist.

Bolivar believed that they were unlikely to encounter the elusive Hound, but Littlefinger bet that they would definitely encounter him.

This puzzled Bolivar.

Littlefinger had only arrived in Braavos recently, yet he had predicted that they would encounter the Hound on this trading ship today, and that it was certain.

There was something strange about this.

But Bolivar couldn't figure out what it was.

He stood on the deck, his eyes wide. After the fishing boats passed, there were no other ships in sight on the sea, except for the waves.

The pirate ship he had expected to see did not appear.

As darkness fell, the trading ship could already see the docks of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, yet they had not encountered the legendary, invincible pirate leader, the Hound.

The trading ship docked at the small port of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Nothing happened overnight. Early the next morning, the trading ship set sail again, continuing north towards the free folk market next to the mouth of the Thenn River.

This time, to ensure safety, the trading ship hoisted a genuine Night's Watch flag, as well as a royal banner with the new Clegane family sigil as its pattern.

Since the Night's Watch institution had been abolished by the Mountain, the Night's Watch corps was no longer independent but belonged to the direct lineage of the royal army. Their flag naturally included a royal banner.

The trading ship left the waters of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and headed north. With a favorable wind, it would reach the free folk market in two days without incident.

The trading ship sailed close to the Haunted Forest, so that if it encountered pirates, it could quickly reach the shore and jump ashore to save lives.

At noon, several large ships appeared ahead, flying a dog-helmet flag.

The pirates famous in this sea area had indeed appeared.

On the bow of the ship, Bolivar Clegane looked at Littlefinger, who had a mischievous smile on his face: "Lord, how did you know that the Hound would definitely appear?"

"It's simple. Analyze the characteristics of the merchant ships he robs."

"What characteristics?"

"Any ship heading north to deliver supplies to the wildlings will basically be plundered. Anyone who is rude, aggressive, and dares to bring mercenaries and claim to fight head-on will basically be killed."

Bolivar looked at Littlefinger with the eyes of a demon: "Lord, how did you know this?"

Littlefinger smiled slightly.

The Hound was not a prophet. How could he know which merchant ships would head north? Why would the brave knights and mercenaries who were rude and determined to kill pirates be specifically targeted and killed by the Hound? Unless the Hound had an informant in the port.

Or perhaps, there were allies of the Hound in the Vinson navy.

Braavos was, after all, a city-state conquered by the Mountain, and it was reasonable that some people's hearts were not truly willing to submit. It was not uncommon to collude with outsiders to disrupt Braavos's trade and destabilize Braavos's administration.

Before the trading ship set sail, Littlefinger had deliberately spread the news that the ship's cargo was to be delivered to the wildlings in the Thenn Mountains, and claimed that if the pirate leader dared to appear, he would kill the dog-helmeted man.

Littlefinger's identity had naturally been disguised. With the cooperation of Commander Vinson, no one in the navy knew about Littlefinger's operation.

And Bolivar Clegane only appeared after the trading ship had set sail.

Even if the patrolling warships had informants of the Hound, they were too far away to clearly see Bolivar Clegane on the deck. If a warship approached, Littlefinger would have Bolivar turn his face away.

Even if these measures were useless, it was not easy to transmit information on the sea. Ravens were a luxury for ordinary generals or soldiers. In Westeros, only nobles could afford to raise ravens.

Moreover, the Hound was arrogant and would not let go of a ship heading north to deliver supplies to the wildlings just because a person resembling Bolivar appeared, especially since the mercenaries on the ship claimed they would kill the Hound.

It was impossible for the trading ship to escape the pirates.

The pirate ship was faster.

The trading ship and the pirate ship gradually approached. This was a trading ship that had been bought by Littlefinger and did not escape to shore as planned.

In fact, many captains were unwilling to abandon their ships.

Bolivar lowered his visor and prepared for battle.

The soldiers behind him were all elites from the cavalry camp.

Among them, two soldiers were very burly. One soldier wore only a single layer of clothing and no armor.

On the opposite flagship, there was indeed a guy wearing a dog-helmet.

Behind that guy stood a unicorn.

A black unicorn, its fur as black and shiny as waves rippling in the sea breeze.

A unicorn that could swim in the sea.

Unicorns originated on the island of Karhold and were naturally aquatic beasts. Unicorns, like dragons, were high-level magical creatures.

Littlefinger said, "Generals Polliver, Ian, and Steven, Commander-in-Chief Vincent, I will have the captain feign surrender first. I will step forward to reminisce with the Hound. Once aboard, watch for my signal and capture the Hound without bloodshed. He is His Majesty's younger brother, the only blood relative of the family. Do not harm him."