Chapter 186

The sun rarely hid behind patches of white clouds; the bay's cool breeze swept over the highlands, blowing her short hair to the side, and the marching army's footsteps vibrated beneath her feet. The rising and falling wails of the horns and the occasional roars of the dragons made her feel vexed and restless.

The Prince of Dorne and his companion guards stood beside her, while the Unsullied carefully guarded nearby, ready to kill anyone who approached at any moment; in the eyes of some Unsullied, the nearby Dornish seemed more like the enemies they were to defend against, casting wary glances at them, intentionally or not, whenever they moved.

Aside from one Unsullied called Yongshi, she knew only these Dornish people. Having the Unsullied nearby made her feel safe enough to let go, allowing her subordinate officers and Yongshi to go onto the battlefield they longed for.

Ba1li4si1tan3 Knight was appointed by her as Commander-in-Chief; he led the newly formed "Knight" regiment, organized according to Westerosi tradition, which occupied the core, stationed on the high ground ahead of her, centrally commanding her entire army.

Directly ahead of him was a rectangular grand formation of three thousand men led by Yingxiong; the grand formation consisted of small squares, each squad four deep with about ten feet between individuals, the Unsullied stood so tightly packed that she could not count the length and number of each squad.

To the left of Ba1li4si1tan3 Knight were the left and right divisions of the Beast-faced Army, stationed on the outskirts; the left division was cavalry, five hundred strong, directly commanded by Lord Roundhead; the right division was the most disordered, made up of gladiators who refused to return to training and the most unruly soldiers, led by Beiwosi. Danilisis thought that the only command Beiwosi might understand was "Charge."

On the inner left side was a column of about one thousand Unsullied led by a captain named Atisi; the formation was strict, in stark contrast to the Beast-faced Army beside it.

The unit on the left flank is the Unsullied regiment directly commanded by Hui Chongzi; after a brief reorganization it stood still, spears held high and shields raised, looking impregnable. According to the military council's discussion, they are the decisive force for the attack; in the fierce battle the whole army will press forward and crush the enemy utterly. She hopes Hui Chongzi will not disappoint.

Further ahead there are also archers, but too far, she cannot understand the formation; at the meeting she also couldn't hear the deployment and arrangements, so she entrusted everything to the old knight.

This is almost all of her military strength.

Among the remainder, the city guard took the walls, responsible for defending the city; the patrol troops and palace guard are distributed throughout the city, tightly guarding against possible uprisings by the harpy spawn; a portion of the garrisoned Unsullied hold the city's main positions and key thoroughfares; the Violent Crow Regiment and the remaining small Unsullied forces are stationed north of the city, to guard against Volantis's army, prevent it from crossing the Scarazza River and launch a direct assault on Meereen, or to attack them from the flank.

She can see the enemy clearly, but does not know their allegiance; except for a few obviously mounted on warhorses, she cannot make out their troop distribution. She hopes that the Saelimi knight stationed further forward will take in every minute movement of the enemy and drink in every sound.

The bugle calls are numerous and chaotic; she cannot tell whether they belong to the enemy or to her own side, this rising and falling makes her feel confused.

The old knight had briefly introduced her to the functions of various sounds, but listening to them one by one she felt she could discern nothing, and the information conveyed by the bugle calls was also hard to understand.

The old knight told her that different bugle calls have different functions, long and short rhythms represent different orders, different bugle calls also correspond to different units; all this requires prior practice and cannot be easily changed.

It's too complicated; she believes she is destined to be unable to sit in the old knight's position and directly command the army.

"You don't need to understand it fully; pass the orders to the nearby officers, who will convey them by some means." The old knight comforted her this way, but added, "An excellent commander ought to know everything like the back of his hand; at least, my father taught me that, after all, you would worry whether the officers are conveying the correct orders."

She wanted to understand all of this, but she felt it was more boring than facing each petition, and more troublesome than adjudicating each case.

And she was already fed up with petitions and legal cases.

She spent too much time on these boring matters and dealing with the harpy spawn's unrest; the remaining time she also had to listen to various complaints from advisors and officers, leaving too little time for the queen to study.

Time is too short, leisure time even shorter; she would rather listen to a musician's mediocre flute than touch the army's crude 'instruments'.

Perhaps one day she will simply ride on a dragon and directly participate in battle, needing only to give commands to the dragon; then she will no longer need to remember these complex bugle calls and flag signals.

Perhaps his officers will speak for her, for example, that the queen should be responsible for the great dragon battles, while directing such trifles should be left to these mortals.

How wonderful, that would be!

Without a dragon, she cannot take part in these men's battles; she can only boredly observe and wait here.

She waited on the high ground from early morning until nearly noon, watching the troops enter their intended positions and form up neatly.

At first it was quite interesting.

Her mood shifted from the initial excitement and tension to present annoyance and restlessness. The little silver horse beneath her buttocks had nibbled away the grass under its feet, and the assassin was also letting out an impatient snort.

It wants to gallop, but she hasn't ridden a horse in a long time.

"When exactly is the Saelimi knight preparing to open battle? Does he have to wait until the enemy finishes forming up before acting?" Her army had seen no change for a while.

"Soon, Your Majesty." The Prince of Dorne replied, his voice sounding not quite certain.

The prince could have stayed in a safe place inside Meereen, but he kept requesting to follow the troops, even if just taking up a shield and standing in the front line; this request was refused by the Saelimi knight.

He is the queen's honored guest; the knight will not allow him to take risks, so the queen could only, following the old knight's wishes, keep the prince by her side.

She likewise did not stay in Meereen; this was her own demand: "I must watch the Yunkai collapse, grind them to dust, destroy them." Advisors bitterly urged her, officers also worried she would be in the way, thus they opposed; so she found another excuse: "I don't want to, while you all fight bravely against the enemy, be idle in the Great Pyramid, feeling restless."

They eventually agreed. But she now feels that staying on this battlefield actually makes her more restless.

Annoyance, fatigue, palpitations—various feelings overwhelmed her at once.

This morning after rising she ate only a little; after the long excitement and tension she was quite hungry, but she absolutely would not ask the prince and the Unsullied beside her for food at this time.

The battlefield is so boring; after the novelty of the troops and formations wore off, she wanted to ride back to Meereen, but the black-and-red three-headed dragon banner raised before her eyes repeatedly made her abandon the idea of 'fleeing'.

The wait was agonizing; she felt her heart pound, felt sweat continually breaking out from her forehead, she wanted to sweep her hand across to check, but her hand began to shake. She pretended nothing was happening, slipped her hand under the saddle, and gripped it tightly.

She wanted to send someone to the old knight's side to ask the reason, even to go herself, but recalling Quaithe's words she gave up.

Those mysterious 'prophecies' still affected her.

"Ugh..." Finally, a low bugle sounded from the camp; she followed the sound and confirmed it was her own side's: it was deeper than any other bugle, more penetrating than any bugle call.

She saw in the distance soldiers taller than Belwas on the rampart, cheeks puffed, blowing a huge bugle held up by two men. She had seen that bugle before; it was said to be made from the tusk of a mammoth.

She was certain the battle would begin.

She heard some officers shouting, but could not make out what they meant.

Other bugle calls blew together.

Her army slowly advanced, whether center, left wing, or right wing.

Dust rolled across the position; before long it seemed all her soldiers had vanished beneath the ground, only the cadence of their footsteps rang out in unison, the earth shaking, mountains trembling.

She finally became tense again.

Archers loosed arrows from the front; after several volleys of arrow rain they began to retreat. She could hardly see what gain the bows had achieved.

At the high point of Saelimi's middle army, colored flags fluttered; Orys, the right flank of the left wing under Belwas's leadership, roared as they charged the enemy ahead.

Arstan's Unsullied ranks followed closely behind, stepping in regular rhythm, moving forward step by step to the shouted cadence, like a moving forest eroding the enemy's line.

She could not see the colored flags being waved again; at this moment, the hero-led phalanx of the middle army began to advance in large steps under rhythmic shouting, the formation remaining neat and orderly even as it moved.

She was utterly captivated; this was a rare beauty and supreme power.

At that moment the Unsullied regiment on the right wing automatically spread leftward, filling the gap left by the middle army; then the first phalanx ahead moved forward in the same way, leaving the following phalanxes to guard the middle army's right flank.

The enemy appeared dense, their formation in lines, not much different from this side.

At this moment the gladiators engaged the enemy in close combat; she saw the front-line foes continually falling, and some gladiators also fell wounded by arrows.

When the enemy's formation, under the gladiators' impact, showed a clear gap, she saw the round-headed adult's cavalry sweep past the advancing Unsullied, roaring forward, leaving behind a huge trail of dust.

The middle army's Unsullied began to meet the enemy, spears like a forest, advancing slowly, mercilessly thrusting at the opposite side, like fire eroding the enemy's position.

At that moment the enemy raised a great clamor; a block of troops on the right wing began to surge leftward, and the enemy crowd at that moment began to churn, looking like a spoon stirring butter.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They lost." the Prince said, "They seem to be killing each other."

She had been waiting since early morning, and the battle had barely just begun.

"Now it's just a matter of how your soldiers can achieve the greatest victory."

Da Li Ao will be jealous to the point of madness.

Hui Chongzi also seemed to notice this sight, and at that moment the Unsullied regiment on the right flank began to press forward all at once; the neat ranks began to split, forming small clusters, which from afar looked like ink stains dispersing in water.

The overall roar turned into a chaotic battle cry, drifting from afar, like the sound of mosquitoes.

The enemy's flagpoles fell one by one, and the enemy crowd began to panic and flee backward at this point.

The Unsullied in the center maintained their formation, continually driving the enemy rearward, while both sides closed in.

The Unsullied on the left flank at this point sped up, cutting into the enemy's central core.

The battle unfolded like a clear chessboard before her eyes, and she finally knew what each unit, even each squad, should do and how to do it to achieve the greatest victory.

But she knew that now any officer of company commander rank or higher could no longer command any unit; she believed that Ser Sai Ermi, commanding the center, shared the same view.

At that moment, the center where the old Ser was stationed let out a roar; a knight took the lead, bringing a large contingent of the old Ser's guard cavalry, charging wildly down to the left flank, winding around to the far left, and then began to charge into the enemy's rear.

The Unsullied on the left flank exerted enough effort, firmly lodging the spearhead at one-fifth of the enemy's position, leaving large numbers of the enemy to turn around and flee or withdraw in the opposite direction.

Half were fleeing, half were withdrawing.

In the enemy formation, a huge covered wagon was abandoned at this moment; the queen noticed that a person in noble attire on the wagon, surrounded by many soldiers, began to retreat backward.

That was undoubtedly the leader of Yuan Kai's army.

She almost wanted to shout loudly at Hui Chongzi to have him intercept.

"Your Majesty, we can't do anything now; we can only wait for news."

"You'll only wait?"

The Prince instantly blushed all over his face.

"I don't want to fight them a second time!" the queen had no time for his little mood, "If I could ride..."

"Roar..." the giant dragon bellowed.

The little silver horse reared its forelegs and neighed; Dan Ni Li Si was almost thrown off her horse.

Lei Ge and Wei Sai Li Ang twisted in the sky, dove straight down, then followed momentum into the chaotic troops; the dragon fire burned in the direction they exhaled, leaving a scene of devastation and wailing wherever it passed.

Seeing this, the charging pursuers all stopped their pursuit and began to clear the enemy soldiers who had been split into fragments.

"Roar..." the sound seemed to ring in her ears; she wanted to look up, but saw a black shadow sweeping across the mottled earth, advancing invasively, passing the pursuing troops, passing its two brothers. It lowered its altitude, spewing fire as it flew, leaving a long fire trench on the distant ground; wherever it passed, enemy soldiers were set ablaze, and she seemed to hear howling voices. The surviving soldiers fled to both sides, letting the already chaotic army become even more chaotic.

"If they had riders, they wouldn't be so chaotic." the queen said.

"You have three dragons!"

"Yes." Dragons have three heads, and there are still dragons in this world unknown to her; to gain the initiative, one must ride dragons, and also must give dragons suitable riders, loyal riders, only then can one be a true conqueror.