Chapter 77: Wolf Pack Tactics
The Stepstones — Bloodstone
On the ancient sea route leading from Westeros to the Stepstones, a sailing ship flying a banner bearing a purple sea snail slowly approached Bloodstone.
This great sailing ship resembled a giant seagull spreading its wings across the azure sky, gliding with the waves and whispering with the wind.
At this moment, Jon, who had already departed from King's Landing, and his newly appointed Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Barristan Selmy, were chatting casually about various interesting stories from the past.
Although Barristan was known as an upright and loyal knight, in private he could be quite fond of gossip.
He knew many secrets involving the Great Houses of Westeros, including the long-whispered story of Eddard Stark and Lady Ashara Dayne.
"I knew Lady Ashara Dayne could not possibly have been in love with Lord Eddard. That rumor must have been spread deliberately to mislead me, so that it could conceal your true identity!"
When men reach a certain age, they cannot help but reminisce.
They either talk endlessly about their former achievements or about the complicated affairs of families and courts.
Although Ser Barristan occasionally indulged in gossip, the knowledge and experience he had accumulated over decades were extremely valuable to Jon.
"The Stepstones… The last time I came here was during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. I killed Maelys Blackfyre, called Maelys the Monstrous, the last of the Blackfyres, here. That man truly looked like a monster. He had a second head growing from his right shoulder!"
"Oh? Ser, then is House Blackfyre truly extinct? And why was the sword Blackfyre never recovered?"
Blackfyre was one of the ancestral swords of House Targaryen, and its reputation was even greater than Jon's blade Dark Sister.
Unfortunately, because King Aegon IV Targaryen, called Aegon the Unworthy, suspected that his legitimate son was not truly his, he granted the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre to his bastard son Daemon Blackfyre.
It could be said that the existence of that sword directly contributed to the great dynastic civil wars of the Targaryens.
The Dance of the Dragons and the Blackfyre Rebellions were two defining disasters in the decline of House Targaryen.
If those catastrophes had never occurred, perhaps even the Night King—or whatever force commanded the Others—would have reason to weep.
"The sword Blackfyre was never recovered. According to testimony from captured soldiers, Maelys Blackfyre murdered his own cousin, Daemon Blackfyre IV, simply to obtain information about where the sword had gone."
The king sitting the Iron Throne at that time was Jon's great-grandfather, King Jaehaerys II Targaryen.
Although the royal forces won the war, the whereabouts of the sword Blackfyre were completely lost.
"But according to certain prisoners from the Golden Company, the sword Blackfyre disappeared during the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion. At the time we believed the Blackfyre line had ended entirely. Yet unexpectedly, Maelys Blackfyre appeared at the very end!"
After finishing his story, Barristan gazed toward the horizon as if recalling memories from long ago.
Under the sunlight, the distant outline of the island appeared strikingly clear.
Waves gently struck the hull, producing a soothing rhythm.
Seagulls circled the bow of the ship, chirping cheerfully, as if welcoming travelers from afar.
"Woo… woo… woo…"
At that moment, the sound of war horns suddenly echoed across the sea.
Soon afterward, the Mermaid, the ship carrying Jon and Barristan, spotted a naval battle unfolding behind a reef.
Since Jon had not yet established an official banner for the Chainbreakers, most ships under his command sailed with black sails and red banners.
The fleet of the Chainbreakers consisted primarily of longships and galleys.
Their opponents, however, were enormous swan ships—large vessels typical of Lys.
Among them were even several massive siege vessels equipped with catapults.
"Those must be ships of the Lyseni fleet operating in the Stepstones. Only the Lyseni dare decorate their ships with the figure of a naked woman. It seems your men may be in some trouble."
After lowering the Myrish lens in his hand, Barristan spoke calmly to Jon.
Although Barristan had spent many years living inside the Red Keep, he had always paid close attention to the movements of the powers surrounding the Seven Kingdoms.
Among the Nine Free Cities, with the exception of Braavos, most had been founded by wealthy merchants and powerful slave traders.
"One should not harbor the intent to harm others, but one must always guard against them."
Barristan understood very well that if the Seven Kingdoms ever appeared weak, these so-called neighbors would immediately seize the opportunity to take advantage.
"The Lyseni fleet is very well equipped. Their Stepstones fleet and their fleets operating near the Summer Sea are extremely strong. They frequently disguise themselves as pirates to raid merchant vessels. Two years ago, a merchant fleet from Tarth was captured by them."
Watching the battle intensify, Barristan shared everything he knew.
"Prince Aegon, should you summon the dragon to assist them?"
"A dragon is not a warhorse. If I could summon one whenever I wished, I would have conquered the Free Cities long ago."
Jon shook his head.
"Besides, I have a great deal of confidence in these men. You can take this opportunity to see how these soldiers perform after receiving the blessing of divine power. Then you may decide whether you wish to accept such power yourself."
Jon trusted the Chainbreakers greatly.
Bloodstone had originally been controlled by Salladhor Saan before Jon seized it.
Afterward, Jon had sent Garo to command the fleet stationed there.
Using the Myrish lens, Jon had already spotted the commander directing the operation.
The Sea Fox.
The naval battle had now reached its most intense phase.
Although the Lyseni swan ships were enormous, their great size made them slow and difficult to maneuver in rough seas.
They resembled clumsy giants struggling to change direction.
In contrast, the longships of the Chainbreakers were sleek and swift.
Their narrow hulls allowed them to move quickly and turn sharply.
These longships were one of the few truly effective naval innovations of the Ironborn.
Using the powerful rams mounted at their prows, the Chainbreakers' longships behaved like a pack of hungry wolves pursuing wounded prey.
They relentlessly harassed the rear of the swan ship formation.
The advantage of longships lay in their ability to close the distance rapidly, entangle enemy vessels, and then deliver the decisive blow.
The reason the Ironborn had once dominated the Sunset Sea was precisely because of this wolf pack tactic.
On the open sea, or in situations where enemy fleets could not deploy properly, this tactic was extremely difficult to counter.
During the Battle of Fair Isle, it had been the arrogance and carelessness of Victarion Greyjoy, commander of the Iron Fleet, that led to disaster.
The Iron Fleet was trapped in the narrow waters near Fair Isle by the combined fleets of the Royal Fleet and the Reach, eventually leading to its complete destruction.
Although Garo himself was not Ironborn, Kapo was a veteran Ironborn pirate.
As a result, the fleet of the Chainbreakers had been trained according to the naval combat traditions of the Iron Islands.
Once a longship successfully closed with a swan ship, the soldiers of the Chainbreakers would immediately prepare for boarding combat.
The grappling hooks in their hands were designed specifically for boarding enemy vessels.
Under Garo's supervision, these warriors practiced climbing ships and cliffs for nearly an hour every day.
The hooks shot forward like the tentacles of a sea monster, firmly gripping the hulls of the swan ships.
Then the Chainbreakers began climbing.
Archers and crossbowmen aboard the longships provided covering fire.
During the assault, some soldiers were struck by enemy attacks and fell from the gunwales into the sea below.
But the sheer number of longships overwhelmed the defenders.
Before long, the Chainbreakers had successfully boarded several of the swan ships.
Once on deck, the boarding warriors immediately launched brutal close combat against the Lyseni sailors and marines.
Armed with swords and hand axes, they fought desperately in the chaos of battle.
Among them, the most terrifying fighters were those pirates who had already completed their class transformation.
In this naval battle, those transformed pirates displayed astonishing ferocity.
Wielding a pair of axes, they fought like warriors descended from legend.
The Lyseni fleet had originally sailed to Bloodstone merely to resupply.
However, once their commander discovered that the island had already changed hands, he decided to attack and seize it.
At the beginning of the battle, Garo did not even attempt to defend Bloodstone itself.
Instead, he deployed all available longships and ordered them to regroup near Grey Gallows.
The battle now unfolding had begun after the fleets assembled there.
"Prince Aegon's soldiers are remarkably well trained. Especially those warriors wielding twin axes. I have never seen such a unit before."
Barristan watched as the Chainbreakers gradually gained the advantage.
A look of genuine surprise appeared in his eyes.
"Are these the soldiers blessed by divine power that you mentioned?"
Although Barristan had always held the standing armies of the Free Cities in low regard, his earlier campaigns in the Stepstones had given him some familiarity with their capabilities.
The Lyseni sailors were comparable in some ways to the Gold Cloaks of King's Landing, and their performance in battle could still be considered respectable.
Yet now it appeared that Jon's soldiers were even stronger.
Especially the special troop types Jon had previously mentioned
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