As for Clinton's progress, it was even smoother than Viserys had previously imagined..
When Volantis sent troops to the Sothoryos, its ally, Myr, also assembled an army of nearly ten thousand men, consisting of Mercenaries and Free Folk, to assist in the war.
However, what they didn't know was that the lethal "Gold" had already infiltrated their city walls long ago.
Clinton arranged for a portion of the Golden Company's elite to disguise themselves as merchants, sailors, and even wandering minstrels to infiltrate Myr in advance. Their mission was to take the city gates before the Golden Company launched its attack.
The operation began at midnight.
The eastern gate was the first to suffer. Several Mercenaries disguised as drunks "just happened" to get into a dispute with the gate guards. Amidst the noise, more dark shadows emerged from nearby houses, their daggers and longswords slitting the guards' throats before they could react.
There were no alarm bells, nor any battle cries; the heavy gates were opened amidst a pool of blood. Outside the city, a sea of torches lit up the darkness as the main force of the Golden Company, fifteen thousand strong, seemed to rise from the ground and charged directly into the city.
Once the main force of the Golden Company entered the city, the battle cries finally shattered the tranquility of Myr. The defenders of Myr were startled from their sleep and rushed to meet the attack, only to find enemies coming from all directions, never knowing when they might be stabbed in the back.
Fires broke out in several places within the city simultaneously, creating chaos and panic. Gradually, the resistance within the city crumbled.
When dawn rose again, the flags hanging over Myr had already been replaced by the black-field, three-headed red dragon banner of the Targaryen Family.
Meanwhile, on the gravel road outside Myr leading to the Sothoryos, a massacre with no suspense had also concluded.
The ten-thousand-man infantry unit sent by Myr was marching with visions of the future when they crashed headlong into a grassland storm.
The three Dothraki Khalasars led by Moro consisted of nearly twenty thousand Dothraki screamers; they were like a sea of people suddenly rising from the horizon. There were no formations, no negotiations, and no challenges from knights—only the deafening sound of hooves and a rain of arrows that blotted out the sun.
Ten thousand infantrymen, in the completely defenseless open field, facing twenty thousand Dothraki cavalry attacking from all directions—the outcome was predestined.
This was not a "battle," but more like a "hunt."
Before the Myrish spear formations could even be fully raised, their flanks had already been torn open by the Dothraki light cavalry. Then came the clash of spears and Dothraki arakhs.
The battle ended within a few hours, leaving only corpses, broken banners, and weapons and armor collected by the dothraki on the battlefield.
These were all spoils of war, which could be taken back and exchanged for goods. After brief contact with the Golden Company, they were already starting to get used to the life of "Lamb Men."
Having resolved their worries, the three Khalasars split into three groups and headed toward their respective targets according to the plan previously set by Clinton.
The first Khalasar, numbering about three thousand, rode north and eventually stationed themselves in the vast border region south of the three Free Cities: Pentos, Norvos, and Qohor.
They did not besiege cities, nor did they even raid the villages along the way. They simply set up camp there and let their vast herds of horses graze across the hills, as if they were preparing to spend the new year there. But any scouts attempting to head south from the northern cities would always vanish silently on the grasslands.
This was a silent declaration, telling them that this road was closed and not to think about interfering in the affairs of the south.
The effect was also immediate. Within the three city-states, those who originally had some intentions of making small moves behind the scenes abandoned their plans and behaved like good children.
The second Khalasar was the largest, with twelve thousand men. Led personally by Moro, they turned south and charged straight toward the battlefield of the Sothoryos. Their goal was to link up with Duke Arthur's legion, which was currently facing off against the main Volantene army, and complete a pincer attack on the Volantene main force.
As for the third Khalasar, the remaining three thousand men, they went to Myr to rendezvous with Clinton's Golden Company and head toward Tyrosh.
Outside the gates of Tyrosh, Clinton did not order a direct assault. Having been in the Golden Company for so many years, he knew this old rival all too well.
In the past, they were often hired by Myr and then fought fiercely with Tyrosh in the Disputed Lands. Moreover, the walls of Tyrosh were high and grand; he knew well how great the cost of a direct assault would be.
Clinton's choice was a siege.
On land, Clinton's Golden Company and the Dothraki cavalry that had come to join them surrounded Tyrosh so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through. On the sea, Tyrosh's port still harbored its powerful fleet, but the shipping lanes out of the port had been blocked by ships flying the three-headed fire dragon banner.
The Archon of Tyrosh looked at all this from the city walls with a face of ashen iron.
The fleet he had originally prepared to send south to participate in the carving up could now only lie quietly in the harbor. Furthermore, the number and composition of the enemy troops outside the city terrified him; not only was there his old rival, the Golden Company, but also those wolf-like dothraki.
The threat of being attacked from both front and back, combined with the panic of having his retreat cut off, forced him to make a difficult decision. He canceled all expedition plans and withdrew all forces back into the city to first deal with the imminent siege crisis before his eyes.
Now, the only ones truly capable of launching an offensive against the Valyrian Empire were Volantis and New Ghis.
When the news of Myr and Tyrosh reached Volantis, the Magistrates had to gather once again.
Right at the start, Nahalo, the representative of the Elephant Party, spoke urgently: "Clinton and his Golden Company have already taken Myr. Our Dothraki 'allies' not only failed to pin them down but are now aiding the tyrant. Furthermore, there are over ten thousand Dothraki cavalry marching toward the battlefield of the Sothoryos."
"And Tyrosh," he added again, "is surrounded so tightly by the Golden Company that not even a drop of water can get through. They can't send a single person to participate in the war."
Valharis slammed his fist on the table. "So what? On land, we can launch a joint offensive with New Ghis. At sea, our combined fleet is enough to crush that newly formed Targaryen navy. As long as we win one decisive victory, everything will change."
"Are you sure we can win?" Nahalo's tone carried a hint of cynicism. "The power of dragons is far beyond our imagination."
These words stung Valharis, and he stood up abruptly. "Then what do you suggest? Kneel down and beg for mercy from that silver-haired bastard? Hand over thousands of years of Volantene glory with both hands?"
"No." Nahalo shook his head slowly. "The war must be fought, but not the way you're fighting it. Don't we still have a secret weapon? If used well, it's very likely we can kill Viserys directly. Once he is dead, we won't need to worry about anything else."
"Are you sure it's real? If so, why didn't Qarth use it themselves?" At this moment, another Magistrate, Marajo, spoke up.
"According to my observations, there's no problem with the item. Qarth didn't use it because they didn't have any more. They also didn't expect they would be the first to be struck."
"Fine, then let us first discuss how we can lure Viserys into the trap."
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