Chapter 160: The Valyrian Alliance

The Riverlands, Saltpans.

This is a small town situated on the edge of Crab Bay, possessing a trading port where one can board ships to sail out of Crab Bay. On the high ground slightly north of the small port, there stands a towering square fortress and a city wall. The high ground where the castle sits overlooks the entire port.

At this moment, the camp of a nine-thousand-strong army is pitched around the high ground and the small castle; infantrymen are going in groups to the military kitchens for dinner, while auxiliaries and attendants are busy feeding the warhorses of the Knight lords.

Cavalrymen bearing the sigils of golden trees or twin towers patrol near the camp, and the changing shift of cavalrymen holding torches gradually replaces their former companions.

In the castle parlor, Arthur summons Janos Bracken and Lyman Darry alone.

In the three or four days heading south, he has already selected the envoys to Slaver's Bay.

These two, along with one other person, are the envoy team Arthur has selected.

"Lord Lyman, Ser William Darry is your uncle, is he not?" the Riverlands King asks.

Young Lyman nods, "Yes, my father's three brothers all died for House Targaryen in the Battle of the Ruby Ford; Uncle William is one of the few among my close kin who lived past the Usurper's War."

As the most loyal Dragon Party family, the Darry family even has the basements of their castle and farmhouses filled with portraits of successive Targaryen kings, which shows their loyalty to House Targaryen.

During the Usurper's War, the adult males of the main Darry line were essentially wiped out, including the Mad King's Kingsguard, Ser Qiongen Dairui, who was also the brother of Raymond Darry.

"My old uncle, I recall there is also a Sworn Knight named Darry at Stone Hedge, is that correct?"

Janos Bracken, whose frame is quite hunched, looks curiously at this nephew whom he finds increasingly difficult to understand, not knowing why he is asking this.

But he still answers obediently: "That is correct, Ser Hans Darry, over forty years old. Like his several cousins, he is fierce in battle and a capable hand at leading troops."

"He will go with you as well," Arthur signals for the two to move closer to him.

"I have a very important Task to entrust to you. Stormborn Daenerys Targaryen is currently in Meereen in Slaver's Bay. You are to make a trip, find the Dragon Mother, and explain clearly about my Dragon and the situation in Westeros... Tell her that I am also a firm abolitionist, and we shall establish the Valeria Tongmeng to recreate the glory of the Freehold!"

The Riverlands King makes the goal of their journey clear.

During Daenerys's childhood, the person who gave her the most sense of security was the Red Keep Master-at-arms, Ser William Darry. At that time, Viserys, Daenerys, and the old Knight lived in a house with a red door in Braavos, free from want, with several servants to care for them.

After the old Knight died of illness, the servants stole all their belongings, and the Sea Lord of Braavos did not allow the Targaryens to survive on his territory, so the teenage Viserys took his sister and drifted through the Free Cities, their lives going from bad to worse until they were rediscovered by Illyrio Mopatis.

Because she has suffered, Daenerys is very sentimental, and the Darry family means a great deal to her.

Therefore, Arthur chose young Lyman and Hans Darry to go; as for Janos Bracken, it was out of another consideration.

Those serving as envoys must at least be graceful and elegant in speech and manner, and have a distinguished bearing and appearance.

Lyman is still young, and Hans is only a warrior; it is best to have an idle noble of count rank accompany them.

Coincidentally, Arthur truly has such a person on hand.

Janos Bracken has been the Count of Stone Hedge for decades; if thrown into a crowd, he looks different from others.

At the very least, that imperious attitude is not something an ordinary person can act out.

"Old uncle, this time, as long as you can bring back Daenerys's Unsullied army and her three Dragons, I will return Stone Hedge to you, with the territory completely intact, and you will still be the original Count Bracken."

To ensure Janos works wholeheartedly, Arthur goes all out.

"As for Lyman, you must also earnestly play the emotional card with the Dragon Mother; once the matter is accomplished, the complete Darry castle territory will be yours."

Young Lyman's eyes light up instantly, while Janos is much more rational.

"Aren't you already going to marry Lady Sansa Stark? If Stormborn asks about marriage, how should I answer? Who will sit on the Iron Throne?"

Although taking back Stone Hedge tempts him greatly, the former Count Bracken still wants to clarify his nephew's bottom line.

"The Valyrian Freehold has a tradition of polygamy; if she is willing, she can marry me. As for the Iron Chair, she can sit on it if she wants, but the King must be me, because by the time she lands on the Westeros continent, I may have already taken King's Landing."

Since her brother's death, Daenerys has considered herself a true dragon, so Arthur, who also possesses a Dragon, is a significant temptation to the Dragon Mother.

"Once Ser Hans arrives here, you will depart immediately, first take a ship to Pentos, then hire one—no, three ships to Volantis, and then go by sea to Slaver's Bay..."

Arthur explains the departure time and the matters during the journey clearly.

The most common route from Crab Bay to Slaver's Bay is by sea: first reach Pentos on the other side of the Narrow Sea, then sail south, passing the Stepstones, Lys, and other places, to transfer at Volantis.

Because there is a large amount of trade between Slaver's Bay and Volantis, one can take a ship from there to Slaver's Bay, bypassing the Valeria Feixu on the way, passing the large island of Valuosi, and after resupplying at Astapor, one can reach Meereen in the northernmost part of Slaver's Bay either by land or by sea.

There is also a land route to reach the vicinity of Slaver's Bay: enter the Duosilake Dacaoyuan, head east all the way, then turn straight south near Wisi Dierfu; this way, one can bypass the Caihui Shanmai and reach Meereen.

Wisi Dierfu is the name used by the Free Cities; in the language of the Dothraki, the place is called Hazidaen Nuo.

The unreliable part of this road is that the Dothraki tribes, the khalasars, run back and forth everywhere.

One might be walking along and suddenly have tens of thousands of screaming warriors chasing them.

There is another land route to Meereen: first travel by land from Pentos to Volantis, passing through Shangxin Ling, the Rhoyne, Saihelu Zhen, Walisa Zhen, Weilongsesi Zhen, and other places, finally arriving at Volantis, and then heading toward Meereen along the Emo Zhi Lu.

The Emo Zhi Lu is a section of the Valyrian Road, and one can tell how dangerous this road is just from its name.

Not to mention the strange and misshapen natives of Matalisi and Bahalaxi, the custom of pickling people in Matalisi alone is enough to make one afraid.

Moreover, it is rumored that Matalisi is a traditional ally of the slave city Yunkai; if one goes from that vicinity to Meereen to find the Kaulian Dapo Zhe, one might be directly beheaded by the natives, then pickled and sent to Daenerys.

Therefore, one must honestly follow the trade route by sea to find Daenerys.

Because real-time communication is impossible, the three of them consider all possible situations now, and Arthur also explains what the envoy team should do in each scenario.

The Stormlands, Summerhall.

Under the cover of night, dozens of cavalrymen holding torches surround the ruins, and five important figures are discussing near the remains of the bonfire.

The leader of the Golden Company, Ser Ha Li Strickland, is staring warily at someone in a black robe.

Since being brought here by Illyrio Mopatis, this is the only person who has made him feel his life is in danger.

Judging by the degree of respect the cheese-monger shows this person, this individual is likely some truly important figure.

The Mad King's former Hand of the King, Jon Connington, and Aegon Targaryen VI surround Illyrio, listening to what the fat man is saying.

"... If there are no accidents, the Dragonrider hatched that black dragon right here, and Joffrey was likely burned along with it. Randyll Tarly once led men to investigate here; with the abilities of him and the accompanying Mathis Rowan, this place should be our destination."

Illyrio states his conclusion to his most important allies.

The black-robed figure drifts silently in a circle over the bonfire ruins; if one were not staring at it constantly, it would be easy to think the black-robed figure was just a Shadow.

This makes the three lower-ranking individuals even more nervous.

Jon Connington and Ha Li Strickland, both of whom have seen much, are the first to guess who the black-robed figure is.

A Faceless Man from the House of Black and White!

The most powerful group of assassins in the entire world.

Just as the two were shocked by this person's identity, the figure in the black robe spoke.

"It sounds similar to the situation of the Dragon Mother we investigated; both require Dragon Eggs, both have kings, and both have people of Targaryen blood."

Their voice was exceptionally illusory; clearly speaking right in front of the few, yet it sounded as if it were coming from all directions.

"If not for your cleverness, we could have had a few more Dragon Eggs," the black-robed figure rebuked Illyrio.

They were referring to the time Illyrio gifted three Dragon Eggs to Daenerys Targaryen.

According to the Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Zongdu of Pentos, those three Dragon Eggs came from the Shadow Lands east of Asshai, and because they had existed for thousands of years, they had become fossils.

But in reality, those three Dragon Eggs were still quite young. More than two hundred years ago, Yilisha Faman stole these three great treasures from the Long Ting of Dragonstone.

"I thought at the time that the Targaryens could hatch a Dragon near Asshai. After all, there are Blood Witch sorcerers there; perhaps they could truly recreate the glory of Valyria. But it doesn't matter, the magic Dragon has finally reappeared in the world, and our plan can still be carried out."

After being scolded by the black-robed figure, Illyrio explained sheepishly.

"Hmph! Although there are these two cases of hatching Dragons, our Targaryen blood is not very pure. The Dragonrider and the Dragon Mother's magic Dragons have already grown quite large, so in the time to come, we must seize the time to breed Dragons. On one hand, follow this configuration to prepare for hatching, and on the other, I will send people to the Citadel to search for other methods of breeding Dragons," the black-robed figure said coldly.

They were referring to the Faceless Man who was impersonating Jaqen H'ghar; at this moment, that Faceless Man had already headed to Oldtown in the Reach.

The black-robed figure's voice had almost no ripples, and in an environment like the dead of night, it was easy to make one's skin crawl.

"Understood, understood!" Illyrio agreed first, then explained to the others.

"This important figure from the House of Black and White is also our ally. In order to revive the glory of Valyria, we have decided to hatch Dragons. For the period following this, everyone must work hard for the sake of breeding Dragons."

"Commander Ha Li Strickland, Sir Jon Connington, you two are responsible for capturing Stannis, so that we may hold the fire sacrifice ritual."

Anyway, Stannis had burned people several times before; Illyrio had no psychological burden about burning him to hatch a Dragon.

Ha Li, with his fleshy face, asked curiously: "I mean no offense, I just want to ask, where do the Dragon Eggs come from? Do we have real Dragon Eggs?"

The black-robed figure let out a cold snort, "For this Dragon Egg, we have already assassinated one king, and next we will assassinate another king. Do you think this is a real Dragon Egg?"

Ha Li could not afford to provoke the Faceless Man, but he could afford to provoke the fatty, "Capturing a king with an army of ten thousand is no easy task..."

He was the commander, so he naturally knew his own strength.

Although the news he released claimed the Golden Company had a full twenty-thousand-strong army, in reality, there were only ten thousand warriors, including five hundred Knights with three horses each, five hundred Attendants with one horse each, one thousand archers, three war elephants, and the rest were all infantry and untrained mounted mercenaries.

Such an army could barely go fifty-fifty with the family soldiers of the noble lords of the Stormlands; being able to defeat Stannis's army on an open battlefield would already be a blessing from the gods, and capturing the enemy commander-in-chief was almost impossible.

"Use your brain a little." Illyrio extended his right hand and circled it twice near his own head, "Stannis strictly adheres to the law; in the current Western Continent, he is perhaps the king who cares most for the commoners."

The Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Zongdu of Pentos pointed to the north, "So when he hears that you are wantonly looting the farmers of the Stormlands, he will inevitably send troops to protect his citizens. If you operate well, it is not impossible to lure him to come in person. Find a suitable location, ambush him, and capture him alive."

Ha Li thought for a while and felt this plan was feasible.

"We have war elephants; we could actually near the Yulin..."

Yulin was another large forest in the southern part of the Stormlands, which could easily conceal war elephants.

Illyrio clapped his hands, "That's right, anyway, looting farmers to sell as slaves is a predetermined action; you can capture Stannis while you're at it."

Hiring this top-tier mercenary group from the Eastern Continent had basically spent all of this Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Zongdu's wealth, so he had long ago set the plan to loot farmers to sell as slaves, and Commander Ha Li also knew of this plan and firmly supported it.

The black-robed figure was very satisfied with the allies' stance, "That's right, if we work together, we can always revive the glory of Valyria."

Jon Connington listened in a daze for a long time, "Is our goal not to restore the Targaryen Dynasty? When did it become so grand? And the Dragonrider is also of Targaryen blood; should we not form an alliance with him first?"

His idea was to first win over all the forces supporting House Targaryen, defeat the forces of the Lion and the Stag first, and then divide the Iron Throne internally.

"I have a reliable source of information; the Dragonrider has explicitly stated he will not keep slaves, and plus, with His Majesty Aegon VI, we are also enemies with him," Illyrio ruthlessly interrupted Jon Connington's thoughts.

The few discussed for a long time, and yet another Valeria Tongmeng was established.

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(End of chapter)