At the Tower of Westeros, the observer spotted 3 assault vessels and a troop ship that had done an end run on the fleet. They were coming in from the far north fast. The telepath relayed the message, and the fortress guns were ready to open up on the enemy ships.
But suddenly, three ships with snow bear flags attacked and boarded them. Wildlings swarmed over the enemy ships, slaying with abandon. The observer called off the guns because, within about 20 minutes, the Zonian ships were captured. The captives were loaded onto the Zonian troop ship, and a wildling skeleton crew sailed over 70 prisoners and intel booty to Brandon's Rest. The wildlings claimed all 4 Zonian ships, along with the captured gears and goods. The 20 captive tree-kin wind users were also freed and carried to port. Among the prisoners were 3 Zonian captains.
Tyrion, Ming, Tse, and Belaletrix all saw to it that the prisoners were transferred to the jails in the intel building. Ming stated, "We are going to need a bigger jail soon." The others laughed and nodded. While still reviewing the naval battle reports, they began interviewing the new prisoners. They even drafted Jiemba to help with translations.
Out on the line, Arya watched as the sun started sinking in the west. From the south to the north, enemy ships had made their way unknowingly into the wildfire zone, and the Westeros fleets were holding their fire until the last second for fear of setting off the trap too soon. As the enemy sling weapons started hitting within 20 yards of the ships, Arya shouted, "Fire guns, fire arrows, and scorpions at will!" The Sunset Sea lit up in green fire as sparks hit the water. Explosions hurled more fire everywhere as the kegs in the water blew. All along the 2000 miles of coast in the naval battle front, enemy ships burst into flames. Zonian troops dove into the fire to escape fire and perished. As the sun set, it was estimated that 500 Zonian ships and crews were destroyed that evening.
An hour later, the sun set fully, and the silence of the darkness was only broken by an occasional cry of pain and a flicker of green fire from the wildfire zone. No further attacks were forthcoming that night.
The Zonian naval general was aghast at the reports on the wildfire devastation. Fully half his fleet was gone, and they had only recorded six Westeros ships lost. His tactics had to change; he had to get troops onto the mainland to start taking cities. By morning, his advisors had come up with a plan he liked, and he set it in motion.
Before sunrise, Syrio was on the deck of the Portsmith. He had an uneasy feeling all night. Smoke hung thick in a haze from the still-burning ship wrecks in front of them. The Sovereign was very near him, and he could see Arya stalking its deck. He called out softly, "Something's not right." She nodded in agreement and had her telepath send out a message to everyone. "Change of plans. The smoke is too thick for us to lead groups of enemy ships around, letting shore batteries thin them. If you come under attack, break for home ports and set up defenses there. Watch the shorelines for enemy troop ships and try to damage them as much as possible." The message went out to all telepaths who repeated it to all captains and shore troops.
Along the shores, every troop was activated and watching closely for enemy ships or activity. The Westeros navy ships were about a half a mile offshore now, and they could see the fires come to life along the shore. All across Westeros, troops were being loaded into vehicles and sent to the front lines. A full vehicle of Winterfell soldiers augmented by some tree-kin was just arriving at Brandon's Rest. The stone-kin marched towards the town as well.
As the Brandon's Rest fleet began to turn towards home and run, huge shapes appeared through the smoke. They were giant Zonian troop ships, at ramming speed, headed straight for the coast. Port side guns of the whole group opened up, and many enemy ships were heavily damaged. "All hands on deck!" came the cry from every captain. Despite the damage, the forward momentum of the Zonian ships carried them right into the midst of the Brandon's Rest group. A mage on the deck of one troop ship began casting ice spells, and the deck of the Black Hand was splotched with ice. One of Dirk's green daggers sprang from the mage's chest. Another clipped a sailor on the enemy deck. "To arms," Dirk shouted. The troop ships were so large and so close that the angle for scorpion shots wasn't good. 'BOOM,' the troop ship rammed into the Black Hand, kicking her sideways. But her metal skin served her well, and her hull was still intact. The guns fired point-blank into the enemy ship's sides and bow as enemy sailors began tossing boarding hooks and coming aboard. Melee fighting broke out on deck, and other enemy vessels were smashing through their lines towards shore. This was the brunt of an all-out assault to get Zonian troops onshore.