Chapter 168: Daenerys's Intentions

The Wall, Castle Black.

In a straight line from Bay of Seals to Frozen Shore, the seven-hundred-foot-tall Wall stands silently here. The Night's Watch has nineteen castles in total, including Westwatch-by-the-Bridge, Shadow Tower, Sentinel Stand, Nightfort, Deep Lake, Castle Black, Queensgate, Oakenshield, Sable Hall, Rimegate, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, but now only three castles remain garrisoned.

Castle Black is one of them, and the main figures of the order, such as the Lord Commander, the Master-at-arms, the First Builder, and the First Blacksmith, are also here.

After a difficult journey, Samwell Tarly and the wife he picked up, Gilly, finally arrived here.

As soon as he entered, the cute fatty received a warm greeting from his brothers of the Night's Watch.

"Yo, the fatty is back. We don't have enough food as it is, yet a big glutton managed to survive."

"Isn't this Sam the Coward? How come you brought a woman back? Did the Wildlings scare you so much you forgot the rules?"

"It's fine, we're all brothers. I'll help you take this woman to Mole's Town!"

Sam glared at this group of slacker brothers, took a few deep breaths, and without replying, led Gilly, who was holding the baby, directly toward Maester Aemon's quarters.

Lord Commander Jeor Mormont had been killed by traitors, and the one who could decide whether to let Gilly stay was now the most prestigious and oldest, Maester Aemon.

The two climbed the layers of wooden stairs, and after entering the old Maester's quarters, Sam told him about what he had encountered at the Fist of the First Men and the Nightfort.

"... The long night has come, the army of the dead has marched south, and we do not have much time left."

Sam was still very responsible in stating the important matters first.

The blind Maester was enjoying the warmth from the firewood in the fireplace, and upon hearing such chilling news, he immediately ordered:

"You must quickly write letters to the lords in the south, send ravens to Lord Bolton at Winterfell, Lord Wyman Manderly at White Harbor, and those great lords in King's Landing, tell them what has happened north of the Wall, and beg them to send men to help, for the long night is coming."

Because the recruitment ravens of the Night's Watch died in the south, the number of men replenished during this period was very small, and coupled with the mutiny at the Nightfort which caused the rangers to suffer heavy losses, the situation of the entire Wall suddenly became dangerous.

Sam was already responsible for feeding the ravens and collecting and organizing incoming mail; after Maester Aemon gave the order, he immediately sat at the desk in the room and began to write dozens of letters with the same wording.

Of course, he also asked the old Maester for his opinion on Gilly.

"Women are not allowed in the castles of the Night's Watch; this is the rule, and it is also the oath."

Maester Aemon's words were a heavy blow to the kind-hearted Sam, and Gilly, who was standing to the side holding the baby, was suddenly at a loss.

Of course, the blind Maester could not see.

"But Mole's Town and Queenscrown do not have this rule," Maester Aemon added.

Fifty leagues south of the Wall is the territory of the Night's Watch, and the residents of the Gift pay taxes to the Night's Watch in the form of food and labor.

The northern twenty-five leagues were gifted by Brandon the Builder, and the southern twenty-five leagues were gifted by Queen Alysanne the Good, the latter being known as the New Gift.

Mole's Town is located in the old Gift, and Queenscrown is located in the New Gift.

As Samwell wrote the letters, he felt that sending Gilly to Mole's Town was the only option.

He decided to send Gilly and her child there tonight.

The Stormlands, mountains west of Griffin's Roost.

In a hidden mountain hollow, Tristan Rivers waited quietly with fifty Knights and three times that number of Cavalry.

He was a senior officer of the Golden Company, and since Jon Connington left, this Bastard of the Riverlands had become the strongest contender for the vacant position of vice-captain.

If he could take down Stannis this time, the vice-captain position would be his.

"Gods preserve me, the one coming is the damned Stag King," Tristan Rivers muttered while stroking his golden armband.

This was a piece of pure gold jewelry, worth enough to cover the ransom of a minor lord.

He believed the golden armband would bring him good luck, so he wore it on his person and did not take it off even in battle.

Behind the Cavalry, a fifteen-foot-tall war elephant was uneasily swinging its long trunk, and two mahouts were trying to calm the heavily armed behemoth.

Three other crossbowmen were adjusting their weapons, and they were also equipped with Spears to prevent anyone from harming the war elephant.

Not far to the east of this mountain hollow, a group of Florent Cavalry was approaching rapidly.

Stannis, who was in the lead, was leading his wife's kin warriors to chase a slave-catching party of about thirty men.

In the past month, such slave-catching parties had appeared frequently in the southern Stormlands, looting a large number of farmers and fishermen.

Stannis, who considered himself the King, could not forgive such behavior, so he immediately dispatched noble Knights from Bronzegate, Harvest Hall, Haystack Hall, Tarth, and other places, dividing their Cavalry into small groups to hunt down the slave-catching parties.

It was just that the Stormlands had many mountains and were often hit by gales and rainstorms, so the lords' actions were not very effective.

Thus, Stannis took the Cavalry into battle himself; most of the Dragonstone soldiers were infantry, so those following the King of the Stormlands were Florent Cavalry.

"Speed up, we will catch up soon," the King without a shadow ordered loudly, ignoring the ruggedness of the mountains and the coming rainstorm.

Stannis, who was as hard as iron, would never show mercy to his subordinates; since he had encountered a slave-catching party, he would never let them go.

The Florent Cavalry were all Reachmen who had only trained in mounted combat on the plains; in this situation, not falling behind was already a struggle.

Their lord, Lord Alester Florent, had died in battle long ago, which made some soldiers begin to waver.

In the mountain hollow, Tristan Rivers watched the enemies gradually passing by, and after careful identification, he recognized the leader as Stannis.

"Excellent, we charge out and block them at both ends." This Rivers waved his arm, and the elite Cavalry of the Golden Company immediately moved.

Stannis was leading his men in a vigorous pursuit when a large group of enemies suddenly rushed out from a mountain hollow on the side.

"There's an ambush? But is this few enough to surround us?"

The King quietly sent two Cavalrymen back to call for reinforcements, then prepared to have a big fight with the slave-catching party that had stopped and the ambushing enemy troops.

The Florent Cavalry followed the King's choice, until they saw that terrifyingly large war elephant.

The Cavalrymen were on horseback, yet they were only half as tall as the war elephant.

King's Landing, Weisanniya Qiuling.

In a cramped and narrow alley, Ser Velo Quy was searching alone until he saw his destination.

This was a very inconspicuous small inn, and the innkeeper, catching a glimpse of the blue-bottomed six-yellow-flower crest on the visitor, closed his eyes and pretended not to know.

Ser Velo walked into the back room and was then led into a deeper secret chamber by a mysterious person wearing a black cloak and hood.

"I heard you are now in charge of the guards of the Red Keep?"

Velo Quy nodded, not knowing what this was all about.

The mysterious person handed a letter to the Knight, the letter sealed with a wax seal of the six-flower crest.

It looked like news from the main house; Sir Velo thought about the possible circumstances while peeling off the wax seal, and by the faint light of the candlestick, he began to read it carefully.

The further he read, the more exaggerated the middle-aged Knight's expression became.

"This..."

Velo's face was already filled with fear.

"You need not worry; it is said that the Dragonrider intends to replace the garrison of the Red Keep with Reachmen, and you actually do not have much responsibility."

King's Landing, Flea Bottom.

A child slipped into a residential dwelling without a sound, handed the small note in their hand to Varys, and then turned and left.

After reading the letter, the Spider folded his hands into his sleeves and began to worry.

Where could he find a suitable assassination target?

Illyrio's letter requested that the person to be assassinated must have a noble status and be the key to the marriage alliance between the Dragonrider and the Reachmen.

Could it be that he, this fatty, was expected to assassinate Margaery Tyrell, that fiancée who was always glued to the side of the God of War Arthur?

This was somewhat difficult for the fatty.

Varys sat down on the bed with a thud, causing the wooden bed frame to groan.

Olenna Redwyne?

The Queen of Thorns likely had people guarding her at all times.

After thinking it over, Varys felt that only Mace Tyrell was suitable, but Duke Mace was not in King's Landing at the moment, and he did not have many opportunities to strike.

It is difficult!

The Spider decided to sneak into the Red Keep to observe the situation first.

Northern Slaver's Bay, Meereen.

Meereen is situated on the northernmost coast of Slaver's Bay, near the mouth of the Skahazadhan River, and the entire city is built on a sandstone promontory.

This place produces salt and wine, and the coast once had olive groves that had grown for hundreds of years, but the slave masters burned them all down before they arrived. Meereen also produces copper, but this metal is not that valuable in Slaver's Bay.

Meereen, like the other two slave city-states Yunkai and Astapor, is built of bricks, but Meereen's bricks are multicolored rather than purely yellow or red. The walls are high and thick, well-maintained, and there are defensive towers at every corner, with bronze harpy heads on the walls that can spray boiling oil at enemies. The northern wall runs along the riverbank, the river flows through the city, and the western wall is built along the bay; the city's sewers lead to the Skahazadhan River.

The city has wide streets and red fighting pit stands. The wealthiest citizens of Meereen live in smaller pyramids, and there are about twenty much smaller pyramids in the city.

"Mhysa, Mhysa, Mhysa~" The sound of the calling was deafening, echoing throughout the entire bay.

At this moment, tens of thousands of slaves whose shackles had been broken were shouting the word for "mother" in the Old Ghis language to express their simple emotions to Daenerys Stormborn.

Of course, it is incorrect to call them slaves; the term Free Folk is more suitable for them.

Daenerys, in a sky-blue robe, walked along the stairs of the largest pyramid in Meereen, greeting the new Free Folk cordially; although they did not share a language, they could establish good communication through the smiles on their faces and physical interaction.

Jorah Mormont, Sir Barristan Selmy, Grey Worm, Missandei, and others accompanied her to today's public outreach event.

Since the city of Meereen was conquered by the Dragon Mother's army, this was the first time the city had been this lively.

After hearing enough of "Mhysa," the group finally returned to the palace at the top of the pyramid to discuss the next move.

For the Dragon Mother, the current situation is not very good.

The Wise Masters of Yunkai defeated the council Daenerys left behind and regained control of the city.

Even worse, New Ghis on the Isle of Ghaen has formed an alliance with Yunkai, and the two are preparing to take Astapor and then march north to attack Meereen.

Matalisi in the east is a traditional ally of Yunkai, and they will also send some strange soldiers to besiege the uninvited guests in Meereen.

"Meereen's large ships are enough for us to return to Westeros; I propose that Your Majesty immediately lead the army back to your own kingdom." Jorah Mormont looked affectionately at the Dragon Mother sitting on the throne and voiced his suggestion.

Jorah Mormont is lucky because, due to the intervention of the spoiler Arthur, Tywin has always been busy fighting in the Riverlands and the Westerlands, and has had no time to send letters of pardon here to sow discord between him and the Queen.

Daenerys ignored him and turned to look at the more experienced Sir Barristan.

"I have heard that the kings of Westeros stand together and strife is constant; what do you think?"

The old Knight with graying hair sorted through the intelligence he had recently heard, "When I left, there were five kings in the Western Continent; I heard that after a round of changes, five kings have appeared again, which is good news for us. Because their infighting will consume their strength, while our military strength will rise rapidly."

After weighing his words, he prepared to persuade the Queen to stay, learn to govern this city first, and take the opportunity to expand the army.

"The way of a king lies in commanding and governing; the examples of Yunkai and Astapor are right before us, and I think you should start by governing one city, and then go on to govern a country."

Barristan's tone was very humble, but what he said was very blunt.

Sixteen-year-old Daenerys was at a rebellious age, and she asked in confusion: "But my brother said that as long as a Targaryen leads an army to set foot on Westeros, a large number of nobles will swear allegiance to us? For example, the Rowan, Tarly, Tyrell, and Merryweather families of the Reach, as well as the Darry, Mooton, and Whent families of the Riverlands."

Because her brother had muttered it in her ear dozens of times, Daenerys easily named seven or eight great noble families loyal to the Targaryens.

Barristan shook his head, "Your Majesty should have heard of the Dragonrider; he has already won over most of these families. In addition, there is an Aegon who claims to be your nephew; he took the Golden Company to the Stormlands and will also win the support of some families. If we go back now..."

He was negative about landing in Westeros immediately.

Not to mention that the most powerful Reach has already made its choice, even the less powerful Aegon VI is not a potential ally of the Dragon Mother.

After the Golden Company tore up the agreement with the Free Cities of Myr, they immediately crossed the Narrow Sea and landed in the Stormlands. It was Barristan who killed the ferocious "Malisi," and he had roughly guessed the origin of the Aegon VI supported by the Golden Company.

But the Dragon Mother clearly thought differently from him.

"Of course I have heard of the Dragonrider Arthur Targaryen; since he has dragons, he is a true dragon, and therefore my kin."

Daenerys did not know how that kin in the distance hatched his Dragon Egg, but based on her experience, it was likely the same as her own, hatched by a great fire.

That true dragons are not afraid of fire had become her stereotype.

Barristan was dumbfounded, "Your Majesty, the Dragonrider is a Bracken; he absolutely cannot be your kin."

This old Knight had a nickname called "Gossip-stan," named for his love of eavesdropping on all kinds of rumors.

With his seniority from having spent so many years in the Red Keep, he naturally knew that there were only two surviving Targaryens: Maester Aemon and Daenerys.

When did another Dragonrider pop up?

Moreover, even if the Dragonrider were a Bastard of House Targaryen, he would still bear the surname Rivers and could not possibly be called Targaryen.

"You speak as if you were hiding under my brother's bed at all times; does he need your permission to raise a Bastard? The mere fact that he has a dragon is enough to confirm he is my kin."

Daenerys was a bit angry; her family was already dwindling, and now that an adult nephew had finally appeared, how could she let him go so easily?

Furthermore, the Dragon Mother had not had her monthly flow for a long time, and after discussing it with several of her handmaidens, she believed she was likely infertile.

As for the other little nephew, "Aegon VI," because he had no dragon, and because her brother Viserys had already confirmed that all the children born to their eldest brother's wife had been killed by The Mountain, Daenerys did not quite believe in him.

Seeing that the two were speaking somewhat awkwardly, Jorah Mormont stepped forward to smooth things over: "Your Grace, we could send someone to scout the situation first; if we can make contact with the Dragonrider or Aegon VI, it won't be too late to decide when to return."

Daenerys clapped and said it was good, "You are right, I have decided to send you to do this. Depart immediately, take a ship to Volantis, first find out the situation in Westeros, and after sending word to me, go to the Western Continent to try and contact Arthur Targaryen; once you have confirmed his intentions, return and report to me."

She felt more and more that the way Jorah Mormont looked at her was not right, and the clever Daenerys prepared to send the big bear away.

"As for you," she pointed to Ser Barristan, "no matter what our next move is, we need more soldiers; you must select reliable men from the Free Folk to form a new army."

Currently, the army under Daenerys's name consisted of eight thousand Unsullied, about two thousand mercenaries, and several thousand servants and laborers brought from Yunkai.

Whether for the sake of contending for the Iron Throne or fighting against the alliance of New Ghis and Yunkai, such an army seemed a bit thin.

It just so happened that Ser Barristan was also an excellent commander, so the Task of expanding the army was perfect for him to execute.

While Daenerys, far away in Slaver's Bay, was making these choices, Arthur was having a much harder time.

After carefully analyzing the cards in his hand, he realized that as soon as Margaery gave birth to a boy, the Queen of Thorns would inevitably take action.

House Tyrell did not know that the offspring born to the Little Rose could not ride dragons.

What was worse, the war situation was not going very smoothly; after Garlan received the news that King's Landing was controlled by the Reachmen, he led the majority of his soldiers south, leaving only the coalition of a dozen minor houses to block the Golden Road.

Meanwhile, the nearly ten thousand Lannister soldiers returning west, led by "Adam the Oarman," directly scattered the blocking Reach Army and continued their return toward their homeland.

To resolve the issues in the Westerlands, and to ensure there were servants and guards in the Red Keep loyal to him, Arthur decided to make a trip back to Harrenhal.

Those traveling with him included Lord Aurane Waters, Brienne of Tarth, and others, as well as "Lady Stark," who had been secretly transferred into his custody.

This mother-in-law was quite satisfied with him after hearing that he had ordered the death of Cersei.

Arthur decided to use her to get Sansa to agree to him taking more wives.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)