Chapter 199 The Rise of the True Dragon
The war raged from sunrise until afternoon. The waters near the Stepstones had become a place of blood and fire.
Rhaegar Targaryen rode his dragon, dancing wildly across the skies of the Stepstones. The dragon roared and shrieked, and all he saw was a battlefield of water and fire. The death knell had sounded on the sea, tolling for the Triarchy.
Rhaegar Targaryen looked at the bodies and shipwrecks on the sea. The ships burned fiercely, like a hundred candles floating on the sea. Sometimes, for peace, humans had to choose war, truly like a dream. Triarchy soldiers were dying, warships were burning and exploding, black smoke surged toward the sky, and burning decks were everywhere. The clamor of the battlefield and the wails of the soldiers drowned out everything. These bodies might ultimately be left to the seagulls, sea fish, and the vast ocean. The brutality of this war was no less than the Battle of the Gullet back then, but while the Battle of the Gullet was a mutually destructive war, the Battle of Bloodstone was a one-sided victory for House Targaryen.
Rhaegar saw many of the Triarchy's warships already trying to escape in the blood and fire, their battle flags furled, slaughtering each other. After the slaves rebelled, they seized the ships and surrendered to the Narrow Sea Fleet. Rhaegar also had the intention of keeping these Triarchy warships and their high-quality seamen. Building is not as good as buying, and buying is not as good as seizing. The Triarchy fleet brought excellent ships and sailors, and now they were effectively obtained for free. Rhaegar could enjoy a "zero-cost purchase."
Rhaegar's carrot and stick approach was a great success. The "stick" was the dragon's wild sweep, with waves of fire continuously bombing the ships. Three dragons soared high and then dove. The Triarchy's circular encirclement, which had been desperately pushing towards Bloodstone, now became a death trap. The fleet formed a scattered, shapeless arc, and coupled with the unique terrain of the Stepstones, the fleet found it difficult to maneuver and was broken one by one. In fact, it was mainly due to Rhaegar's magic and strategic choices in war. Without magic, Rhaegar might have also fallen in battle. Rhaegar did not believe that a mere Targaryen Dragonrider had particularly superb defensive means; without core technologies like blood and fire magic, Dragonriders were actually quite limited in war. For example, the fall of Meraxes and Queen Rhaenys, or the fall of Vermax and Prince Jacaerys. As long as there is war, dragons and Dragonriders will face certain dangers, especially young dragons. But now, a True Dragon with magic is enough to change the tide of war. The "carrot" was to accept surrenders and defections. The slaves rose up, killing the officials and captains who controlled them. Rhaegar already knew the situation when he was on the Eastern Continent: these people from the Three Daughters loved to use slaves, especially the Lyseni. Lys is the City of Pleasure; how could Lyseni gentlemen do rough work? These slaves doing heavy and hard labor were very valuable. Rhaegar raised his arm, and in this chaotic moment of war, the Triarchy was already collapsing like a mountain, and the slaves naturally began to turn against them.
At the height of the war, the shadow of another massive fleet appeared on the distant sea: the Tyroshi fleet. They waited in ambush, blocking the Triarchy's attempt to escape back to Myr. The Tyroshi appeared as fresh forces and reinforcements for the Narrow Sea Fleet. The Tyroshi saw the bloody, one-sided battlefield, and the Westerosi victory was even easier than they had anticipated. Thus, the Tyroshi captains seemed to need to face the strength of the Narrow Sea Fleet and the Dragonrider head-on.
The Triarchy fleet's morale finally completely collapsed, and the fleet disintegrated. The slaves on board cheered, killing their overseers, killing the Lyseni and Myrish captains and generals, and then one after another, they maneuvered their ships to surrender. Mass surrender was unstoppable. This time, the Triarchy did not come to plunder; they became a complete "head-delivery" service. This was a deception that lasted for several months, and they were led by the nose. Originally, if the Triarchy had just held their ground and defended their city-state harbors, they could have lingered on and endured. But their adventurous attempt turned into a nightmare. This was also due to the Triarchy's economic structure, which relied on maritime trade and also loved to traffic people and plunder. In this naval battle, they suffered a bitter defeat. The Triarchy's fleet suffered heavy casualties, and the remaining warships began to surrender one after another.
The Triarchy suffered a disgraceful defeat. This sneak attack on Bloodstone became a laughingstock, and the Triarchy's most prized luxury warship squadron was trapped in the quagmire of the Bloodstone war; many ships and soldiers would never return.
Rhaegar, riding his dragon, landed on the deck of the Narrow Sea Fleet. This was the flagship of the Narrow Sea Fleet, named Glory of Bloodstone. This name was truly excellent; the glory of victory enveloped everyone.
What gift, what glory, could better proclaim the rise of a True Dragon than the victory of a great war? The rise of the Old Valyrian Freehold was also due to its abundant martial prowess; truth under the cannon is also a kind of truth. The Old Valyrian Freehold brutally defeated the Old Ghiscari Empire and destroyed the Rhoynar civilization. Although the Old Ghiscari might think that the Valyrians were still playing with sheep when Ghis was a world empire, the Valyrians had dragons, and these shepherds always won and had the last laugh.
The black dragon on a silver field banner flew high on the Glory of Bloodstone. Rhaegar stood in the center of the crowd, wearing beautiful black scale armor. He took off his black and red dragon helmet; the helmet was a roaring black dragon with dragon wings on both sides. When the helmet was removed, it revealed the handsome, spirited, and unparalleled face of a young man. In fact, Rhaegar didn't need to wear a helmet; he could rely entirely on the "Shield" rune, but fighting without a helmet was too risky, so it was better to wear one to fit in.
Rhaegar leaned on the black sword Orphan-Maker, the Silver Dragon on his black scale armor shining brightly. He stood on the deck, and no one could compare to Rhaegar's radiance. Rhaegar looked around with divine presence, his eyes as bright as electricity; a True Dragon was hard to contend with. This exhilarating victory was also a sweet victory. In the past, he had to consider dancing on several eggs, but now he had completely crushed the Two Daughters' naval fleet, which was enough to shock the rest of his enemies. This punch he delivered was good, and it would reduce a lot of trouble. It was a pity that he only defeated the Two Daughters; the Old Kraken of the Iron Islands still did not send troops, indicating that he could still control the situation and had not been misled by his crazy sons.
"Congratulations, Prince Rhaegar, you have won an unprecedented glorious victory," Ser Barristan Selmy said.
Ser Steffon Baratheon, Ser Lucerys Velaryon, Prince Lewyn Martell, Ser Brynden Tully, Ser Gerold Hightower, and others cheered and led the applause. Applause and cheers followed, making one feel involuntarily light as a feather. An exhilarating victory, a beautiful song of triumph. Lords, knights, and sailors all cast enthusiastic and worshipful gazes. Victory can cast a huge shadow even from a small person. The victory in war was already very satisfying, especially when it was a brutal beating of the Triarchy, who had many grievances with the Westerosi.
"Gentlemen, since we have defeated the Triarchy, the Stepstones are undoubtedly our southern border! I need everyone's full support to achieve new honors together," Rhaegar said, and everyone's voices quieted down accordingly.
"I have avenged the warriors and dragons who died in the Battle of the Gullet!" Rhaegar said excitedly. This long-held grudge, though many years had passed, was finally repaid. House Targaryen never forgets.
"Long live King's Landing!" "Long live King's Landing!"
"Long live House Targaryen!" The cheers of the Lords, knights, and sailors shook the heavens. Together, they welcomed the great victory. The Battle of Bloodstone that occurred today had completely brought the Two Daughters to their knees, ensuring at least decades of peace. The warriors of Westeros felt the glory shining upon them, and each gained brilliant military achievements.
"Bring out all our battle flags!" Rhaegar commanded. Victory had arrived, and now was the best time to show off their might.
"Ser Brynden, you are responsible for tallying our casualties and those of the enemy, the captured supplies, and registering the slave crew ships that surrendered to us. Make sure to handle subsequent pensions and rewards and punishments!"
"Ser Lucerys, you continue to command the Narrow Sea Fleet and clear the battlefield. You must properly appease the slaves and boatmen who surrendered to us; the Narrow Sea Fleet has suddenly become very rich this time."
The black dragon on a silver field banner was distinct, and the situation in the sea area was clear at a glance. The Triarchy lost at least half of its warships, and most of the other warships were seized by the slaves.
The Triarchy's flagship also sailed over, a super ship with five hundred oars. On the large ship were the captured Triarchy Commander Salazar, and a group of bound adjutants and nobles. The slaves rose up in rebellion, bringing the flagship to surrender.
On the Glory of Bloodstone, dragons soared and circled in the sky. Rhaegar sat on an ordinary teak chair on the deck, with the red dragon on a black field banner and the black dragon on a silver field banner fluttering behind him. Everyone else stood. This chair, at the moment, represented the kingship over the Narrow Sea, symbolizing Rhaegar's authority. The two banners represented House Targaryen and Rhaegar's personal emblems. Closest to Rhaegar were his several attendants: the older Myles and Jon, and the young Jaime, all flushed with excitement. Some held Rhaegar's helmet, others held flags; this was a truly grand occasion, representing infinite authority and a great victory, making one feel as if they were flying. Behind Rhaegar and his attendants were the arrogant Westerosi nobles and knights. Barristan in his milk-white scale armor and cloak, Steffon in his beautiful stag armor, Brynden with his fiery red hair, and the excited, silver-haired, purple-eyed, handsome Lucerys, and Prince Lewyn with his olive-toned face and black eyes, Ser Gerold Hightower in his bronze rune armor, and so on.
Everyone looked forward arrogantly, basking in the great glory of receiving the surrender. This bloody battle had finally ended. They watched a group of slaves escort Salazar and his adjutants onto the ship. However, Salazar no longer had his spirited demeanor; his magnificent armor had been stripped, and the valuable gold and jewelry ornaments had long been taken by the slaves. Salazar's face still bore marks of struggle, bruised and swollen. After the slaves revolted, they had no good attitude towards these nobles. Those who were usually good-tempered might survive, while those with bad tempers were directly thrown into the sea by the slaves.
The leading black-faced slave from the Summer Isles knelt respectfully before Rhaegar. "Great Prince, Liberator, Silver Dragon rider, this is my gift to you."
"You are free! Warriors!" Rhaegar stepped down from his chair and helped the slaves up. "The Old Gods and the New Gods of Westeros both detest the enslavement of humans. You are free, warriors!"
"Thank you, Prince!" The slaves' eyes were teary; freedom, such a distant word.
"Salazar, Admiral of Lys, why did you get involved in this mess?" Rhaegar asked, looking at Salazar, surrounded by the Lords, nobles, and knights of Westeros.
"Fate did not favor me!" Salazar said, then fell silent. Only sorrow remained on Salazar's face. Salazar was no longer obsequious; Salazar only wanted a quick death.
The rise of the True Dragon will surely bring blood and fire.
The collapse of the Triarchy is the symbol of the True Dragon's rise.
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