Chapter 148: The Dragon's Might
Overwhelms the Golden Company
"Raise the white flag!"
"Raise the white flag!"
"Put away the scorpions! Do not accidentally injure the dragon or the dragonrider!"
"Quickly retract the grappling hooks, are you all trying to get yourselves killed?"
The admiral leading the Myrish fleet issued a series of orders; his resolve was set.
Watching the flying dragon and the encircling warships, he was terrified to the point of losing his soul, tasting the bitterness of defeat.
Between dying a miserable death and dying a relatively decent one, he chose to kneel and submit, opting for the latter.
Let future generations judge me, but I cannot watch idly as I lead forty warships into a pit of fire.
"Do you choose war, or do you choose peace!" After seeing the white flag, the silver dragon circled directly above the admiral's flagship, but the admiral did not order the scorpions to fire. Rhaegar saw that the admiral's face was now filled with immense pain.
"We choose peace!" The admiral spat out these words in agony.
A hasty war was destined to result in a humiliating peace.
The admiral dared not land directly for peace talks, as he would be torn to shreds by the furious Tyroshi.
The location for the peace talks was chosen on the Myr flagship, which was the final comfort for the admiral.
Rhaegar and the Tyroshi admiral each led a group of delegation members to board the ship, but this warship had sailed into the encirclement of the Tyroshi and Westerosi Narrow Sea fleets, trapped within layers of siege.
The two fleets were like two pincers, tightly gripping the flagship; at such close range, they could board directly, not to mention the presence of the dragon.
Rhaegar, Corlys Velaryon, and Yohn Royce led a group of delegation members, while Shiera Darry and the Tyroshi admiral also led a group, boarding the Myr admiral's warship.
Beneath those spears adorned with golden skulls, Rhaegar and his party saw the high-ranking commanders of the Golden Company; they were evasive, unwilling and afraid to meet the Prince's gaze.
Most members of the Golden Company had ancestors from Westeros; this group were losers who had survived failed wars, failed causes, and failed rebellions.
This was a team of losers, its members all disgraced and adrift.
But the Golden Company was, after all, forged by Bittersteel, and was currently the strongest mercenary company in the Disputed Lands.
Rhaegar's intelligence indicated that this mercenary company currently had about eight or nine thousand men, along with elephants; the strength they had lost in the War of the Ninepenny Kings had slowly recovered.
The so-called peace talks became a one-sided intimidation and coercion.
Myr would pay some gold, plus three warships each to the Iron Throne and Tyrosh.
The members of the Golden Company tried their best to avoid Rhaegar and his party's field of vision, guarding their skull-adorned spears while also protecting the admiral's safety.
The dragon screeched in the sky, and the admiral had to sign his name while trembling.
Rhaegar sensed some danger just as he was about to sign.
A person who is smug and self-satisfied is often easily deceived.
Rhaegar looked up and saw a lieutenant not far behind the admiral pull out a miniature crossbow and fire at him.
At such a short distance, it seemed certain death.
"Die! You descendant of the evil dragon!" The tall, thin commander with light gray hair fired swiftly, and an arrow struck towards Rhaegar's throat.
"Commander Kraken, what are you doing! Quickly put down your weapon. Stop him for me immediately!" The admiral turned pale, his body shaking. What was this situation? A subordinate going rogue and attempting an assassination during peace talks?
He had tried his best to calm his men's emotions and was completely unaware of this beforehand.
The flagship was completely surrounded; if they shot and killed the Warden of the Narrow Sea, the legal heir to the Iron Throne, the dragonrider, all forty Myr warships would have to be buried with them, not to mention those ferocious dragons.
"With a beast-like mindset, I shoot into the heart of the evil dragon. For the sake of permanent peace! Fellow countrymen, take action." Kraken, a high-ranking commander of the Myr navy, raised his crossbow and said passionately.
"No!" Shiera watched the viper-like arrow and was so scared that tears fell.
Ser Thalassar hurriedly stood up, wanting to block the arrow for the Prince, while Ser Barristan Selmy, filled with regret, could not react in time.
Shock! Fear! Terror! Anger! A thousand faces had a thousand different emotions.
Everyone was startled by this scene—the Westerosi army, the Tyroshi army, even the Myr people and the Golden Company.
Kraken was trying to incite a world war, that's what this was.
The admiral's lieutenants also reacted and prepared to take down Kraken, but before they could reach him, Kraken had already fired two consecutive arrows.
At such a short distance, a crossbow makes no distinction between royalty and commoner; this young Prince was surely doomed.
Rhaegar smiled slightly, facing the black arrowhead directly before the arrow arrived.
He tilted his body, swinging Orphan-Maker, blocking the first arrow at an incredibly mysterious angle, followed by the second.
Even without using runes, his pure speed was already astonishing.
Kraken also began to feel afraid; how could there be such speed and alertness? At such a close distance, it should have been possible.
Within ten steps, the crossbow is king.
But before the second arrow hit the ground, the black gale of Orphan-Maker had already swept across the commander's body, splitting it in two.
Yohn Royce placed his blade against the admiral's neck, pointing fiercely at him.
"My sword can not only make orphans, it can also make widows!" Rhaegar said, looking at the two halves of Kraken in the pool of blood, then walked back to the negotiations.
"Put away your sword, Yohn. I hope this bit of bloodshed hasn't frightened you, admiral!"
The admiral was already ashen-faced, not knowing how to reply.
This was his lieutenant's riot, and he couldn't explain it himself.
"The Prince should cherish himself! Next time, such matters should be handled by me!" Ser Thalassar said.
"You scared me, Prince Rhaegar!" Shiera was still shaken.
"Don't be afraid, my Archon. Like you, I have a destiny; mere petty thieves cannot harm me." Rhaegar said with a smile.
The high-ranking commanders of the Golden Company also suddenly became vigilant. The knights of Westeros, such as Barristan, Thalassar, Bronze Yohn, and others, pulled out their sharp swords from their waists, and behind them, crossbows were already drawn, glaring fiercely at the Golden Company.
The five Blackfyre Rebellions had severely torn the entire country apart. The fierce opposition between the Royalists and the blackfyre faction had been the main theme for many years.
Right now, it was indeed a good opportunity to wipe them all out.
"This is on a Myr warship; Prince, do you want to keep us here? The Golden Company has no blackfyre now, only a group of exiles." The commander of the Golden Company stopped his men from drawing their weapons.
"Someone stole a sword from my home; I hope the commander thinks clearly about where the sword is!" Rhaegar drew orphan maker, pressing it against the deck, and looked at the Golden Company.
The commander of the Golden Company gritted his teeth. "We have never seen that sword. If we had, Bittersteel would have wielded it into battle long ago. In fact, there isn't one; no one has seen that sword since he died. The Golden Company has nine thousand men; Prince, you can't kill them all at once; at best, you will earn nine thousand times the hatred."
You are right, but I have a dragon! If I find that you have blackfyre, or have hidden blackfyre, you should know my temper. I will create a pile of orphans for the Golden Company." Rhaegar said.
The Demon Dragon landed on the warship and began to screech, letting out roars; the sound was so terrifying.
The elephants of the Golden Company were nothing but toys in front of the Demon Dragon, the members of the Golden Company thought.
"Then I will thank the Prince in advance for his mercy. I did not deceive you; our family is already out of luck, and I do not want to be even more destitute, but the Golden Company truly does not have the blackfyre sword, nor does it have any of blackfyre's children."
"But you are really like your ancestor, The Conqueror, the Arbiter." The commander of the Golden Company mused.
The main line of the red dragon had a dragon and a new hero, which meant that the fortune of the blackfyre faction would only get worse and worse. The great cause of restoring the country was completely doomed.
Rhaegar let everyone put down their weapons, easing the atmosphere.
Now was not a good opportunity to attack the Golden Company; only a part of the Golden Company should have come.
But he would not recruit them for the time being; this was a traitorous army.
However, the Golden Company could not make any big waves; the remnants of blackfyre did not know where they were hiding, and there was no news. The Golden Company had currently lost its morale.
The Golden Company would not return so easily unless there was another civil war, clearing out another wave of ownerless lands and castles. Now, the lands and castles of the Golden Company exiles had long been divided up; if the Golden Company wanted to return home, that would be a danger to the entire Westeros.
"We will meet again. Prince Rhaegar, please remember the name of Lyman Peake. Many thanks to the gifts of the past monarchs of the iron throne, House Peake is already shattered. Prince, this sword of yours originally belonged to us." The commander of the Golden Company said to Rhaegar before leaving.
"If you appear in Westeros, what I will see will be your head, Commander Peake." Rhaegar rode the Demon Dragon away, soaring straight into the clouds.
The Myr people, with their battered fleet, fled Tyrosh; the returning ships were exceptionally crowded.
Slaughtering a million Myr soldiers, the sword at the waist still reeks of blood.
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