Chapter 186: Daenerys the Clever

Inside the Black Wall of Volantis, at the Plaza of the Triarchs.

Sixty elite Tiger Cloaks, just granted entry into the Black Wall, surrounded the Dragon Queen and Magister Dophas, shielding them from the curious Black Wall nobles to keep the content of their conversation private.

The Tiger Cloaks are the city guard of the Free City of Volantis, serving under the Magisters of Volantis.

Their name comes from the radical Tiger Party. Except for high-ranking officers, most soldiers are slaves with green stripes tattooed on their cheeks as a mark; the Tiger Cloaks take great pride in these tiger stripes, wearing tiger helmets and gauntlets with steel claws, while the elite units wear plate-and-mail or iron breastplates.

"In reality, our Targaryen power far exceeds your imagination; on my way here, an army from Matalisi was already defeated by my three dragons."

Daenerys Targaryen announced proudly.

This was also one of the reasons she landed in Volantis.

As the largest dragon, Drogon's flight capability is naturally far superior to the gold-and-cream Viserion and the green Rhaegal.

Since departing from the pyramids of Meereen, to accommodate her two little brothers, Drogon, carrying the Dragon Queen, had even flown a bit slower.

Daenerys only had a rudimentary understanding of the geography of Essos, knowing only that flying northwest would reach Pentos, and flying west from there would lead to the Narrow Sea and King's Landing.

But she had also heard that the lands west and northwest of Meereen were not right, and the now-bizarre Valyrian Road lay among them.

And in the Dothraki Sea to the north, one might not see a soul for hundreds of leagues; traveling that way, the Dragon Queen would likely starve to death.

So, the clever Daenerys chose to hug the coastline, replenishing food in Volantis or the Disputed Lands, and after letting the dragons eat their fill, she would set off again, fly over the Stepstones, and then land near the Stormlands.

For safety, Daenerys steered Drogon to fly a distance to the southwest, only to unexpectedly encounter an army from Matalisi.

That city-state is a traditional ally of Yunkai, and an army marching east was certainly not there to help Daenerys; after attempts to persuade them to surrender failed, the Dragon Queen decisively ordered her three dragons to unleash dragonfire.

Afterward, amidst the screams of the Matalisi soldiers and the crackling of the burning camp, Daenerys mounted her dragon and took off again, leaving behind a camp burned into a sea of fire and thousands of scattered soldiers.

Following this, the Dragon Queen and her three dragons stayed in the vicinity for a day, waiting for the dragons to finish hunting and eat their fill, before setting off again, heading west, flying over the lands north of the Valeria Feixu, and traveling halfway along the Demon Road before landing in the eastern city of Volantis.

Drogon can fly all day without eating or drinking, but Daenerys cannot; the food and water in her pack were gone, and she did not want to eat half-charred, half-raw beast meat, so she had to stop here to ask for some food and water.

"As long as you take the Unsullied and the mercenaries away from Meereen, we in Volantis can certainly live in peace with the Dragon King family."

The portly Dophas raised the wine glass in his hand and took a sip of wine.

For the past ten-plus minutes, he had been representing Volantis in negotiations with the Dragon Queen.

The core demand of the three Magisters was for Daenerys to relinquish her rule over Slaver's Bay and cease her cause of freeing slaves and breaking shackles.

After that, the Dragon Queen could do whatever she pleased; the Magisters of Volantis even wanted to support Daenerys in a clash with the Dragonrider, so that the Western Continent would have no strength to participate in the great war over the Stepstones and the Disputed Lands.

As a member of the Elephant Party, Dophas had always advocated for victory through trade, so he did not quite support the idea of his two colleagues to retake Slaver's Bay by force.

And this "visit" by the Dragon Queen to the Black Wall gave him hope; he had agreed with the two Magisters, Malacho Megar of the Tiger Party and Nysso Visama of the Elephant Party, that as long as an agreement was reached with the Dragon Queen to withdraw from Meereen, they would not do anything untoward to her or the three dragons.

"You also know that we Black Wall nobles revere the Valyrian Dragonlord bloodline most of all; any member of House Targaryen is our honored guest. As long as you withdraw your troops, we can even provide hundreds of large galleys for free to transport your army to the Western Continent, allowing you to take back that Iron Chair yourself."

Daenerys, who also took a sip of wine, smiled lightly, "Mind your wording; the Iron Throne is already in the hands of our House Targaryen, and I do not need to take it back to sit upon it. I am the true master of the Iron Throne."

Dophas looked at this self-righteous, beautiful girl in surprise; he even sat up so that it would be less strenuous to speak.

"You don't think you can become King just by flying back on a dragon, do you? You don't think that Dragonrider will just hand over the throne like that, do you?"

He pointed to the west, "That Arthur has been fighting for over a year just to become King of the Seven Kingdoms, and you want to steal the fruits of victory without having done anything?"

In the gap between their words, the impatient black dragon Drogon had already flapped his wings and flown away, leaving the interior of the Black Wall.

This unfilial son must have gone to forage; Daenerys glanced at the black dragon and paid him no mind.

It was fine as long as the green dragon Rhaegal and the gold dragon Viserion were there.

These two little ones were much more obedient.

Daenerys used her gloved right hand to stroke the dragon head of Viserion, who had nudged closer, and responded softly:

"What you say is not without reason, but as far as I know, the Dragonrider is the bastard of my brother Rhaegar, and according to the succession laws of Westeros, a bastard has no right of inheritance, so I am the true master of the Iron Throne."

"As for the throne you mentioned, I will convene a Great Council of nobles at Harrenhal and let the lords choose the King themselves."

Her experiences in Qarth and Slaver's Bay had made Daenerys much smarter; she casually spouted a few lines of nonsense.

Her true thought was to see if she could marry her adult nephew; after all, internal marriage within House Targaryen is a tradition, and it wouldn't matter if it skipped a generation.

Two hundred years ago, the Realm's Delight, Princess Rhaenyra, married her own uncle, Daemon Targaryen.

Dophas, however, thought that was exactly what Daenerys was thinking, and he began to explain the succession laws of House Targaryen to the Dragon Queen.

"I must remind you that the Great Council of 101 convened by Jaehaerys I has already determined the order of succession in the Western Continent: sons always rank ahead of daughters, and the eldest daughter ranks ahead of an uncle; you cannot win by relying on a Great Council, as the lords will only choose an adult man to be King."

The causes and results of the Dance of the Dragons had clearly and unequivocally proven the order of succession in Westeros; aside from the bastard issue where the Dragonrider held no advantage, the Dragon Queen was truly no match for her adult nephew in other respects.

The prolonged conversation made Dophas very tired; he ordered the slave girl beside him to wipe the sweat from his brow before continuing:

"That is why I still suggest you take your army and land in the Western Continent. With a massive army of ten thousand in hand, any Dragonrider or Aegon VI will obediently submit at your feet, kissing your feet and honoring you as Queen."

"We in Volantis and several city-states to the west are even willing to provide war funds for you, the legitimate Targaryen; we have plenty of large galleys for troop transport, as well as grain, soldiers, and military supplies."

Dophas was still inducing the Dragon Queen to take her army and leave Meereen, but the other Magister, Malacho Megar, could no longer hold back.

Coming from the Tiger Party, he advocated for much more violence.

In a secret chamber within the Plaza of the Triarchs, he and the other Elephant Party Magister, Nysso, were engaged in a heated discussion.

"The Dragon Mother has brought the dragons to us; the lamb meat has been delivered to our mouths, so why are we not acting? Has there been such a good opportunity in hundreds of years?"

Malacho stared fixedly at his colleague, as if that could make him make up his mind.

Inside the Black Wall, the old nobles with ancient bloodlines now had no appetite and could not sleep soundly, fearing even the sound of slaves sharpening knives in the kitchen.

He continued to persuade his colleague: "Look across all of Volantis; it is the slaves who produce our food, clean our streets, and educate our children; it is the slaves who guard our walls, sail our warships, and charge into battle."

"Now these slaves have all turned their eyes to the east, looking forward to the glorious and brilliant savior Queen, that so-called Liberator. Not only can the old nobles not tolerate this situation, but even the poor in the city cannot stand it. According to the law, even the lowliest beggar in the countryside has a higher status than a slave, and now the Dragon Queen wants to take away their last bit of comfort; how can one not be indignant?"

Nysso, from the Elephant Party, was already dissatisfied with Daenerys, "You are right; occupying Slaver's Bay can only be considered a childish act, but freeing slaves touches our bottom line. Even the sea hegemon, Braavos, would not dare run over here to forbid us from slave trading."

The city-state of Braavos was built by runaway slaves from Valyria and absolutely forbids slavery, but the Sealord of that city-state would not reach his hand into Slaver's Bay and Volantis.

The words spoken made Nysso's thoughts even clearer, and his gaze gradually became firm.

"The two of us can already veto Dophas's proposal; let us go and summon the soldiers now, and keep the Dragon Queen and her three dragons here first."

According to known information, anyone with a drop of Dragonlord blood in their body can be close to dragons, and there are quite a few nobles within the Black Wall who possess a drop of dragon blood.

At worst, Lys in the west has a large number of people with dragon blood; in the five-thousand-year history of Valyria, Dragonlords often flew their dragons to Lys to visit brothels, so the bloodline of those with dragon blood there might be even purer.

Therefore, the two of them were not worried about the issue of feeding the Dragon.

Malach nodded with satisfaction, "This is the wise choice; capture the dragon first, then consider how to ride it."

The two bigwigs immediately summoned their officers and began to secretly implement this plan.

Half an hour later.

In the Magister's square, over a thousand fully armed Tiger Cloaks rushed in, the soldiers wielding various Crossbow and large fishing nets, preparing to capture the Dragon alive.

The movement of a large number of soldiers could not be hidden from the Dragon Queen; as soon as they rushed in, she sensed them.

"I knew you were up to something."

The quick-witted Daenerys immediately jumped onto the back of the white-gold Dragon Viserion, holding her small bundle in her hand and tucking a cowhide waterskin under her arm.

The enemies who had just rushed in were still over a hundred paces away from the Dragon, enough time for the two Dragons to take off.

At the signal of the Dragon Mother, the two well-behaved and obedient Dragon kicked the ground with their hind legs, flapped their wings rapidly, and flew toward the sky.

Of course, before leaving, the Dragon Queen did not forget the most important High Valyrian phrase.

"Dracarys!"

Two streams of Dragonfire erupted from the mouths of the Dragon, instantly covering the unlucky Dophas.

This Magister's carriage did not escape unscathed either; the slaves carrying the carriage fled in all directions, and the sixty Jiu Nulvbing surrounding them had not received orders to attack, so they merely guarded the nobles and did not stop the Dragon Queen's departure.

"She killed the Magister!"

"Keep her Dragon."

Several Black Wall nobles shouted, and all the Tiger Cloaks went into action.

Although Viserion and Rhaegal had already taken off, they were not yet far from the crowd, and immediately hundreds of Crossbow bolts were shot at the Dragon.

The vast majority of the Archery could not harm the scales and thick skin of the Dragon, but a few specially made Myrish Crossbow could pierce the belly scales of the two young Dragon, though it was only enough to break a layer of skin.

Daenerys glanced at the state of the green Dragon beside her and knew that this kind of Crossbow could not break the defense of her dragon son.

It was just that while the damage was small, the insult was extremely high.

"A group of demons who enslave others, separate mothers from children, separate husbands from wives, and let innocent children be castrated—is it reasonable that you can occupy such a magnificent city?"

After catching a glimpse of many slaves in the square, Daenerys, having ensured that the arrows on the ground could not harm the Dragon, began to spout rhetoric.

"... Under my rule, the existence of slaves is absolutely not allowed, the separation of mothers and children is absolutely not allowed, and innocent children being castrated is absolutely not allowed..."

After instilling these thoughts into the slaves, Daenerys, growing more and more spirited, even controlled the Dragon to fly to the West City, then shouted in the sky for a long time before leaving once Drogon, who had a telepathic connection with her, flew back.

West City, an inn.

Jenos Bracken, Lyman Darry, and others watched the Dragon Queen riding her Dragon westward, whispering to each other about whether they should also pursue her to the west.

Jorah Mormont, who was three streets away from them, was much more determined; he immediately ordered the few mercenaries following him to pack their luggage.

"Our Queen has gone west; we must find her and serve her."

King's Landing, Dragonpit.

Starting from the afternoon, the battle lasted for nearly half an hour.

Not long after Arthur, dressed in gold armor, gold sword, and gold cloak, left the Red Keep, his mental connection with the Dragon Alduin was restored.

From this Bluetooth-like connection, Arthur I learned that Alduin not only did not feel afraid but was actually incredibly excited.

If Arthur had come out any later, Alduin might have even been prepared to start a fire outside the Dragonpit to burn the enemies to death.

But the King, who already viewed King's Landing as his own property, naturally stopped this idea on the spot and ordered it to fly to the relatively safe Red Keep.

The current Alduin was not wearing dragon armor and could not yet ensure that mundane Crossbow bolts could not completely penetrate its dragon scales.

The Peake soldiers, having lost their target, only held out for a short time before fleeing in all directions.

Since the west wall was as good as non-existent, once some leading soldiers fled west, all the Peake soldiers scrambled to leave.

This caused the King and his army to spend a long time capturing the rebel soldiers, and it was not until evening that the situation within King's Landing was settled.

In front of the Red Keep, on the small square named after Baelor Targaryen, Arthur I announced the punishment for House Peake.

"The six hundred and thirty-four soldiers already captured are to be sent to the Wall to serve as Night's Watch, with the soldiers of House Fossoway responsible for the escort."

"House Peake is stripped of its Viscount title and all its lands, and its Jiaodu Tytus Peake is also to serve as Night's Watch; this is to be executed immediately once he is captured in the Westerlands."

Tytus Peake was still in the hands of House Lannister, so the execution of this order would have to be delayed.

"As for Starpike and its lands, they are awarded to the Earl Randyll Tarly for his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion."

Brightwater Keep was originally to be inherited by Lord Tarly, but the Rose family had interfered, so Arthur used Starpike to compensate Horn Hill.

It just so happened that these two castles were not far apart, so Tarly would not need to split his family.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.