Chapter 156: Euron

Crab's Claw Peninsula, Crackclaw Point.

The waves, never ceasing day or night, battered the stone cliffs; three crooked towers stood at the edge of the towering precipice, and the banner of the local lord, the Brune Family, featuring a cave of crows, was planted at the very top of this dilapidated castle.

After landing a bit further to the west, the Riverlands King led his men straight toward their destination.

There were not many members of the Brune Family at Crackclaw Point; the Jiaodu was named Yustas Bulen, an elderly nobleman of advanced age.

At this moment, this old nobleman was hosting guests of nobility who possessed dragons in his own great hall.

"By my Old Gods, it is actually a real magic dragon."

Crouched by the narrow, cramped window of the great hall, Yustas watched in amazement as Alduin soared outside.

"Do you not claim to be the model subjects of the Dragon Family? Now I need your soldiers to end this endless war for me."

After lingering with a greedy gaze for a few more moments, Baron Yustas turned his head to look at the tall Riverlands King, Arthur.

"That is correct, we are the model subjects of the Dragon Family; once House Targaryen calls, our Brune Family, along with the Boggs Family, the Kettle Family, the Hardy Family, and the Pyne Family, will fight for the Dragon Kings."

Arthur was quite satisfied with this statement. "Very well, then go and assemble your soldiers to fight for me."

Baron Brune walked toward the main seat of the castle, and only after sitting down slowly did he say leisurely, "But I have heard that your surname is Bracken, not Targaryen."

"I already have a dragon; does it matter what my surname is? Besides the bloodline of the Dragon Family, who else could gain the favor of a magic dragon?"

Arthur had not expected this stubborn petty nobleman to get hung up on the trivial issue of a surname; in his past experiences, whenever Alduin appeared, lords who were originally loyal to the Dragon Family would bow their heads and submit, pledging their allegiance on the spot.

"The surname is the most important thing. That Joffrey Lydden in the Westerlands also changed his surname before inheriting the title of King of the Rock from his father-in-law. If you still carry the Bracken surname, even if you have a dragon, you are not a member of the Dragon King family," Yustas said.

The Joffrey Lydden he spoke of was indeed the son-in-law of Jero Lannister III. Because Jero III had only one daughter, the son-in-law changed his surname to inherit the title of King of the Rock.

"I promise to change my surname back to Targaryen at the appropriate time. Are you satisfied now!" The Riverlands King's tone was very firm.

Yustas shook his head. "No, a promise is not enough; we can only send troops after the surname is changed."

The two stared at each other, and the Princess of Dorne hurriedly stepped forward to mediate.

"There is no issue with King Arthur's bloodline; the fire-breathing dragon is proof. How about this: the King shall swear an oath before the gods to complete the name change by a certain time. We are currently in the midst of a great war; changing the surname would require changing the sigils, a vast number of banners, and the surcoats of the soldiers, which is quite troublesome."

Arthur himself was not particularly attached to the Bracken surname; in his previous life, his surname was Li. The reason he kept dragging his feet and using the Bracken surname, besides the trouble of changing sigils and banners, was to give his vassals a proper and accurate explanation.

One must know that the family trees of all nobles are clearly verifiable; rumors can be fabricated, but things recorded in a family tree cannot be trifled with.

After the Riverlands King and Yustas negotiated back and forth for a long time, they finally reached terms that both agreed upon.

It was now the year 299 of the Conquest Era; after Arthur swore to restore the Targaryen surname within the first half of the year 300 of the Conquest Era, Yustas pledged allegiance on behalf of the Brune Family of Crackclaw Point.

"We can provide you with one hundred and fifty men capable of holding weapons."

After kneeling and swearing the oath, Baron Brune introduced his military strength to the King.

Seeing these three dilapidated towers of the Brune family, Arthur did not hold much hope. For a baronial family, one hundred and fifty soldiers was already quite a lot.

Yustas himself was old and frail, so over the next few days, his son took the King to visit most of the castles on the Crab's Claw Peninsula.

Upon seeing the dragon Alduin and hearing the King's oath, over a dozen minor families, including the Boggs, Kettle, Hardy, and Pyne, pledged their allegiance one after another.

They provided Arthur with a total of two thousand eight hundred strong men capable of bearing arms; as for armor, most of the common foot soldiers only had pot helms, and only members of the lordly families possessed iron armor, mostly chainmail covering only the torso and arms.

The commander of this army was a distant relative of Baron Brune, a Landed Knight from Brown Hole Mountain, Bernard Brune.

Under the leadership of this middle-aged knight, the native soldiers of the Crab's Claw Peninsula would assemble at Maidenpool and garrison the city alongside the soldiers of Lord William Mooton until Arthur led his army south.

As for the Riverlands King himself, he took men by ship and headed from the waters of Crab Bay toward Saltpans.

He had to take Alduin to set a great fire on the south side of the Mountains of the Moon.

……

The waters west of the Reach, Oakenshield.

Oakenshield was the northernmost island of the Shield Islands, located west of Highgarden, and was considered a shield to prevent the Ironborn from harassing the Mander River basin.

The Shield Islands was the collective name for four islands: Green Shield Island under the Chester Family, Grey Shield Island ruled by the Grimm Family, Oakenshield under the Hewett Family, and South Shield under the Sery Family.

Along the jagged coastlines of these islands, grey-bearded old men in watchtowers still followed ancient traditions, maintaining vigilance. As soon as they saw a longship, they would light the beacons, letting the message pass from one hilltop to another, from one island to the next, allowing nearby villages and castles to prepare.

But now, these warning lines had already failed; the castle of Lord Hewett had been occupied by the Ironborn led by Euron Greyjoy.

In the dim castle great hall, many Ironborn were holding a party; they did not even fear the gaze of others, and began to copulate right there in the hall.

Lord Humfrey Hewett himself had also been captured by the Ironborn, tied to a bench in a crucifixion pose, watching powerlessly as his daughter and granddaughters were raped by the Ironborn.

The most beautiful, Falia Flowers, was possessed by the Ironborn King, Euron Greyjoy.

Euron, who was quite handsome in appearance and exceptionally robust in body, lay on the main seat, with Falia sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped around the neck of the Ironborn King.

"Listen to me, have you seen my father's beautiful wife? And my sisters? You can let them take off their clothes and serve your soldiers."

Euron caressed the place he desired for a good while before whispering in Falia's ear: "You really are a vicious woman; why treat your stepmother and sisters this way?"

From the surname Flowers, Euron could tell that Falia was the bastard daughter of Lord Humfrey Hewett, but he did not yet understand why Falia would make such a request.

"Because they treated me like a maid, making me wash clothes, mop floors, and clean toilets all day long, living with the servants and waiting on my sisters. Although my mother was of lower birth, I am also a lord's daughter; how could I do such menial labor."

"Understood." Euron gave a charming smile, turned Falia's head, and kissed her deeply.

About an hour later, Euron had finished. He draped a garment over his back and began to pound the wooden table in front of him.

"Quiet down, everyone. We have achieved an unprecedented victory in this campaign, and I intend to reward those who have rendered meritorious service."

In the previous naval battle, Euron had dispatched Torgold "Brown-Tooth" and Red-Hand to lead his longships along the main channel of the Mander River to lure away the Shield Islands' fleet.

By the time the allied fleets of the Hewett, Grimm, Chester, and Sery families realized something was wrong and led their fleets back to reinforce, the Iron Islands' longships had already set an ambush, capturing thirty-eight longships and a considerable number of Reach nobles at the cost of only six ships.

Naturally, the Shield Islands also fell entirely into the hands of the Ironborn.

After the King prepared to bestow rewards, the chaos in the great hall quickly vanished; the Ironborn, whether sitting or standing, pricked up their ears, listening carefully to their leader's words.

"……Because of the meritorious service you have all rendered, I have decided to bestow the position of leader of Oakenshield upon Nute the Barber; the leadership of South Shield shall go to Adrik; Maron Volmark shall be the leader of Green Shield Island; as for the Grimm family's Grey Shield Island, it shall go to Ser Harras Harlaw—who else has a Valyrian sword as sharp as Nightfall!"

Euron very magnanimously bestowed all four islands.

Nute was a crew member on the Iron Victory, the ship of his brother Victarion Greyjoy; Adrik was an Ironborn ship captain under the command of his rival, the Drumm family; Maron Volmark was a supporter of Victarion.

As for Ser Harras Harlaw, he was a potential supporter of Euron's niece, Asha Greyjoy.

In the defensive line against the Ironborn invasion, the Shield Islands were the first line of defense for the Reachmen, and also the territory least likely to be lost.

Therefore, in the coming months, Highgarden will certainly organize a large-scale counterattack, which will cause great attrition to the Ironborn left behind here.

Victarion, feeling slightly tipsy, had his head cleared instantly after hearing his brother's rewards.

He is trying to win over my crew!

"Nute, you are not yet a captain and cannot accept rewards of this level. I order you to refuse the title of Lord of Oakenshield."

Nute the Barber, short and stout but with exceptionally long arms, shook his head and said, "I think that even you, Captain, would not refuse such an investiture, let alone a commoner like me? Since the King has bestowed Oakenshield upon me, I must accept it."

Ignoring his captain's order, he calmly accepted the King's investiture.

Victarion looked at Nute helplessly, then glanced at his own crew members who were green with envy, and his vigilance toward his brother Euron increased a few notches.

The King of the Ironborn was very satisfied with Nute's attitude; after casually offering a few words of praise, he said loudly:

"Although we have taken these small islands, we cannot be complacent. The wealthy Reach lies right before us. Those foolish lords are taking their soldiers to the Crownlands to fight for that Iron Chair, and even the Redwyne Fleet is in the distant Blackwater Bay. This is a great turning point unseen in centuries; we must seize the opportunity to go to the Reach and plunder a fortune."

The Ironborn, inspired by the King, were filled with righteous indignation and could not wait to sail their longships to the Green Lands to start plundering on the spot.

But Euron clearly had his own ideas; he waved his hands to quiet them and arranged a battle plan.

Lord Humfrey Hewett and his wife and daughters also heard the plan, but Euron did not care at all; they wouldn't live past today anyway.

……

Highgarden.

Willas Tyrell, sitting in his wheelchair, stared at the note with a stern expression.

Beside him, his uncle, the Steward of Highgarden Garth Tyrell, and his bastard Gareth Flowers were quietly waiting for the Castellan's orders.

"The Shield Islands have been taken by the Ironborn. Many of the lords of those four houses have been captured, and not many longships remain."

Willas first explained the situation to his uncle.

"We can send a letter to Oldtown and have Morin dispatch the longships of House Hightower to retake the Shield Islands," Garth suggested.

Morin Tyrell, the commander of the Oldtown garrison, was indeed his younger brother and also one of Willas's uncles.

Willas sighed and rejected this proposal.

"The Ironborn are coming in full force; relying solely on the ships of House Hightower is not enough. I intend to send a letter to King's Landing to have my uncle send more longships to fight the Ironborn."

He closed his eyes and thought for a moment, "But that is still not enough. Coastal castles like Old Oak, Red Lake, Bandallon, Three Towers, and Blackcrown are all within the range of the Ironborn's attacks. Most of the lords and soldiers from these places have followed to the Crownlands, so they are basically indefensible."

As Willas spoke, he had an idea, "Send a raven to Oldtown and have them dispatch troops and longships to patrol near the coastline. Send a raven to King's Landing as well, asking my uncle to send more longships, and at the same time, have Garlan lead a large army back to reinforce us."

Garth noted down his nephew's instructions and went out to find a Maester to send the letters.

……

King's Landing, Tyrell residence.

Garlan, who was on Willas's mind, was reporting his findings to his grandmother.

"Because Stannis occupied the Red Keep for a period of time, Cersei became extremely suspicious after she returned and replaced all the servants and laborers. Our foundation here in King's Landing is a bit shallow, so we have no way to intervene, and we don't know what the lions are doing in the Red Keep."

The cautious Queen of Thorns, after Cersei's visit, had secretly asked her most reliable grandson to send people to investigate the affairs in the Red Keep.

"Incompetent!"

Olenna first scolded her grandson, then asked: "Have all the lords going to the Throne Room been notified? What about the Landed Knights? How many people are going in total?"

Garlan reported in a low voice: "Everyone has been notified. Wearing Iron Armor that day, plus the Landed Knights, we will have over four hundred warriors in the Throne Room. Besides, Cersei has also agreed to let some soldiers line up on the road here to the Throne Room, so I imagine there won't be any major issues."

The Queen of Thorns pondered carefully, "I am still a bit worried. How about this: you will not go to the Throne Room that day; stay in the military camp outside the city. In case something happens, lead the main army to charge in from near the Mud Gate."

(End of chapter)