Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 124: Dorne's Red Viper
When he was young, Oberyn Martell traveled around the world, visited the nine free trade cities, and studied in the Citadel, so he had a wide range of knowledge.

When they arrived near Stonehenge, the fleet spotted a patrol longship observing from afar. When they saw the flag with a red dragon on a black background on the longship, everyone knew that Dragonstone now belonged to the Targaryens, but they still had to go to Dragonstone to confirm it with their own eyes to see if the rumored three-headed dragon was true.

However, the fleet encountered an obstacle as soon as it approached Dragonstone.

At first, Oberyn thought that Dragonstone was blockading the coastal waters, or that the Targaryen fleet was demanding bribes for passage at sea like the fleets of the Free Cities.

However, after being forced to stop, the Targaryen navy boarded the merchant ship and inquired about the purpose of the merchant ship and demanded guarantee certificates from local merchants. The merchant ships habitually wanted to bribe for passage, but they were advertised a so-called "port entry control" policy, which prohibited their ships without local guarantees from entering the port and drove them away.

Mig Silus, the green-bearded brother of the Lord of Tyrosh, had to reveal his identity and said frankly that he was an envoy sent by Tyrosh, who came to Dragonstone on a friendly visit and to convey friendship on behalf of Tyrosh.

This was obviously beyond the expectations of the navy. The two sides tangled at sea for a long time before a fleet commander finally made the decision to allow the ship to enter the port. However, due to the shortage of docks, only one ship could be allowed to enter at the moment. The remaining ships had to continue to dock at the Point or Tidehead Dock according to the control policy and wait until the dock was vacant before they could enter the Dragonstone Port.

The Tyroshis were accustomed to using money to bribe to open the way, but they were frustrated when they tried to bribe. The people who came to inspect on the patrol boat accepted the bribe but still insisted on following the rules.

“Rules are rules,” they said.

There was no choice but for Greenbeard's MiG to send the other four ships to other ports to wait.

Once he actually entered the port of Dragonstone, Oberyn quickly figured out the root cause of this control policy. Although the docks of the port were indeed fully loaded, it was ultimately because Dragonstone's fleet was seriously short of ships, and they could only control the ships that were docked at the docks according to the rules. If more ships entered the port, and they were docked everywhere in the deep waters, they would not be able to control them with just this few ships, and the town would become chaotic due to the influx of people.

He deduced from this that Dragonstone probably did not have too many troops on board now, and could not spare more men to be stationed in the town. Many merchant ships came to gather information, and there must be scouts and spies from hostile forces living in the cabins of the passing merchant ships.

When he thought about it this way, he came to a new conclusion: either the king of Dragonstone was a novice who didn't understand war, and his subordinates were useless people who didn't know how to give advice, or the king was very confident, and his subordinates were also very confident about the current situation of Dragonstone, and felt that no one would dare to attack after seeing the strength of Dragonstone.

What is their confidence?
Oberyn looked up at the huge black stone castle with gargoyles and dragon-shaped towers and narrowed his eyes slightly, but the dragons on those towers were statues.

Not only Oberon, but also the green-bearded Miguel on the deck was looking at the dragon on the castle.

"Oberyn, you know, I've been wondering these days, what would people see before they arrived at the port of Dragonstone more than 300 years ago? Would they only see this scary black castle and a smoking mountain like us? Or would they see several giant dragons bigger than the castle circling in the sky from a long distance, with their wings spread out and shadows covering the sky, and they would spit flames at sea to hunt and kill sea monsters?"

Oberon said, "Miguel, what you say sounds like lines from an opera."

Miguel stroked his green beard and smiled. "Oberon, I tell you the truth. If I hadn't been running around for my brother, I would be writing operas for a theater troupe and even performing on stage. People would call me playwright Miguel or green-bearded Miguel, not the brother of the Tyrosh Grand Lord or the Tyrosh ambassador."

They stood side by side on the deck, looking at the castle, and Oberyn said softly, "I look forward to seeing your play performed somewhere in the future."

Miguel sighed, "Maybe."

Oberyn understood the meaning of his words, so he asked, "I heard that you won the naval battle with Rees?"

"Yes, we defeated Lys' fleet at the Stepstones." Mig didn't seem optimistic about the victory, "but the approach of the Myr fleet made that victory meaningless. Myr and Lys formed an alliance. They had previously argued on the disputed land and fought several battles, so they wouldn't have formed an alliance so quickly. Unexpectedly, the Dothraki showed up and brought them together."

However, the Dothraki who made Lys and Myr reach an alliance were actually sent by Tyrosh with the original plan to put pressure on Myr on land. But these Dothraki were more cunning than they imagined, and to some extent they shot themselves in the foot.

Oberyn narrowed his eyes and looked at Mig: "Dothraki, why did they come to the disputed land?"

"Who knows? The Dothraki are cruel people who live by raiding. They always wander around the Free Cities, asking for money." Mig said, "'Give them gifts and they will leave' is the attitude of the Free Cities towards the horselords.

But this time was different. The Dothraki tribe that entered the disputed lands had 40,000 roaring warriors. They demanded money from Myr and Lys, and sent troops to wander around the disputed lands and tasted the sweetness. Perhaps in order to take the opportunity to extort more money, they settled down on the Rhoyne River, looting and slaughtering towns along the Rhoyne River, and replenishing supplies on the spot. Sometimes they would cross the Rhoyne River to annex other Dothraki tribes that passed by the Dothraki Sea.

They have been stationed in the Golden Fields for a very long time. By annexing the Dothraki tribes that traveled to the Free Cities, they expanded to more than 60,000 Howling Warriors, and the Khalasar tribe that accompanied them has become the most powerful tribe in the Dothraki grasslands. But they still stayed.

Oberyn, perhaps in the near future, you will see a new kingdom of three daughters consisting of Lys, Myr, and Volantis in Essos, as well as the most powerful Dothraki tribe since the century of bloodshed."

In nearly a year, this huge Khalasar tribe, which had gradually expanded to more than 60,000 warriors, even began to make Volantis in the lower reaches of the Rhoyne River uneasy. The Dothraki had no warships, but the towns along the Rhoyne River trade route were severely damaged, and the trade route was likely to be blocked.

There are now signs that Volantis is about to form an alliance with Lys and Myr to deal with the brutal Dothraki who are gradually becoming a threat on land.

And if the other three city-states in the disputed lands united because of the threat of the Dothraki, that would definitely not be what Tyrosh wanted to see.

"Will the Dothraki also become a threat to the Free Cities?" Oberyn asked curiously, "I thought you had always been able to deal with it."

"This time is different, Oberyn. This tribe may be planning to unify the Dothraki. That khal, people privately spread that he is Aegon the Conqueror of the Grasslands. The Dothraki are no longer as easy to deal with as before. In the past, they were just a group of barbarians who were easy to deal with. They would leave if they were paid a little money. They migrated everywhere, plundered everywhere, slaughtered everywhere, fought each other endlessly, and the tribes attacked each other. But now, they have an invincible khal, and there is no other Khalasar tribe on the Grasslands that can match them."

Oberyn paused, smiled gently, and asked, "Miguel, are you talking to your friend Oberyn, or are you discussing the political situation in your Tyrosh with the Prince of Dorne?"

Miguel said vaguely, "What's the difference, Oberon?"

"If you want advice from a friend, I can tell you in private." The prince of Dorne smiled cunningly. "If you talk to the prince of Dorne, I can only spread my hands and say that I can't help you. The Seven Kingdoms are in such a mess now, and the Dothraki can't threaten Dorne or Westeros."

Miguel stroked his green beard and grinned, "Please give my friend's advice, Oberon."

Prince Oberyn laughed. "You are very cunning, Miguel. I should have insisted on having you as my second-in-command when I formed the mercenary group."

"I'm honored that you think highly of me, but I must admit that my swordsmanship is mediocre and I'm not cut out to be a mercenary."

"It doesn't matter how good you are at fighting, as long as you can kill, Mig," Oberyn said. "I thought you all knew that the Dothraki consider armor a cowardly act, and usually wear only painted leather vests into battle. Their khals are the bravest warriors of the tribe, and they always charge into battle. When a khal dies, a new khal takes power, or the tribe disperses and reorganizes into new khalasars. Do you all think that if your conqueror of the steppes dies, new khals will be able to take over such a large tribe? Isn't there a city-state in Lys, Myr, or Volantis where an unarmored tribesman can be 'injured'? If not, then they must unite."

"." Mig narrowed his eyes, "Ah, Oberyn. My old friend. If I fail to persuade King Targaryen, the other four ships will be yours."

"I have no place to put so many gifts here." Oberon seemed to be certain that these gifts would be his.

Mig responded, "Tyroshis send gifts to their friends at home." Then he asked, "Will you come with me, or go to the king of Dragonstone alone?"

"Would you mind quietly introducing your entourage to the king, Miguel?"

-

When Tyrosh's ship anchored, he could easily see from the deck that every dock in Dragonstone Harbor was full of merchant ships. This small town, which was smaller than Sunspear, was now bustling with people. From the port, he could see that there were many people in the town, and the streets near the sea were crowded with vendors. Because their ship had only one empty port near the fish market, the fish market in Dragonstone Town that Oberyn saw after getting off the ship was already crowded with people selling sea fish, oysters and clams, as well as housekeepers, cooks, housewives of ordinary people, sailors and fishermen, who were inspecting the seafood in the market and bargaining loudly.

The patrol fleet that blocked the road earlier sent a small boat into the harbor, and a group of people came down from the boat, led by a man with a knight's emblem. Oberyn saw clearly that the emblem on his body was a ship in the wind and rain, and a red fireball hanging in the sky. He had no impression of this emblem. Only the Targaryen red dragon mark on the chest of his coat indicated that he was a knight under King Targaryen.

The knight led a team of silent guards and approached directly, and said to the gorgeously dressed green-bearded Mig: "Hello, are you the envoy of Tyrosh?"

Mig smiled amiably: "Yes, I am Mig Sirus, the messenger of Lord Tyroshi." He took out a prepared visiting card from his sleeve and handed it over.

The knight took it, looked at it, but did not accept it: "Grolle Kingsbert. I haven't heard any news about the envoy before, so you have to follow the visitor procedure. Please let me lead the way." Kingsbert was the surname that Grole gave himself after becoming a knight. He traced his ancestors back several generations before he found a relative who was related to a decadent nobleman in Pentos who disappeared in history.

"Sir Kingsbert."

He was not used to people calling him by his last name, and it felt strange: "You can call me Sir Grolai."

Miguel asked, "Sir Grolai, what is this visitor process all about?"

"Your Majesty is at the visitor reception office in the town. You are the envoy of the Lord of Tyrosh. You are equal to the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms and can go through the visitor passage of the nobles to see His Majesty." Grolai said, "I let your merchant ship enter Dragonstone. I am your guarantor. Please follow me."

"Oh," Miguel didn't really understand, "Please lead the way, sir."

"You didn't notify us in advance, so the people on board need to wait for confirmation. How many followers do you have? Do all these people have to go with you? And these boxes?"

"Yes, sir, these boxes are full of gifts. Do you have any questions? Do you need to check them first?"

Grolai responded calmly, "It's like this. The castle has been heavily guarded lately. An assassin once broke in. To prevent such incidents from happening again, all visitors entering the castle need to register, including your followers. As for the gift box, we'll talk about it when we get there. Someone at the reception desk will take care of it."

Miguel asked, "Assassin?"

"Yes, an assassin who could change his face. He was publicly beheaded a few days ago. You can see his trial in the public notice office."

Miguel's eyelids jumped, and he asked in surprise: "An assassin who can change his face?"

"Humph, after being put on trial, the assassin still wanted to challenge the authority of the law by changing his face and escape responsibility. But the dignity of the country's laws cannot be challenged. The assassin has already been executed."

"." This was not what Miguel wanted to ask, but he continued, "Such a mad assassin deserves to die."

When they left the fish market, everyone smelled of seawater and fish. They walked into the town's particularly busy commercial street and could see a large group of people in an open space looking up at the castle from a distance.

Miguel couldn't help but ask: "What are those people doing?"

"Nowadays, many people come to Dragonstone to see the dragons. These people are driven away from one place and gather in another place. Your Majesty does not want to disturb the lives of the residents, so he specially asked the town guards to arrange an unused open space for these idlers and travelers to gather. They are waiting for the dragon to appear."

"Giant dragon." Miguel asked excitedly, "Can we really see it here?"

"You didn't know?" Grolai looked calm, as if he was recounting an ordinary event. "I saw it often a while ago, but now I can hardly see it. Your Majesty's dragon has built a nest deep in Dragon Mountain. It rarely appears without your summons. There is a little dragon that has not grown up. It can occasionally be seen in the castle. Recently, I sometimes see it going back and forth to Dragon Mountain."

"." Miguel took a deep breath and glanced at Oberon who was following closely behind him. He saw that his expression was also quite uneasy. He wondered if his heart was filled with the same huge waves as his.

Judging from the town's current appearance, the locals seem to have become accustomed to the presence of dragons on Dragonstone.
The giant dragon actually reappeared in this world after more than a hundred years!
Grolai led them to the Administrative Street next to the town's guard post. From the initial chaos, the place had gradually become clean, tidy, well-organized, and each office had its own distinct functions.

【The face of this town.】

Grolai clearly remembered how His Majesty the King described the place he had personally planned.

This area is still under renovation. The most obvious difference from other places is that the road surface of this street is wide, and the dirt ground is covered with a layer of gravel. In one place, a layer of black substance is visible to the naked eye, making the road surface appear flat and straight.

Mig once thought that Dragonstone was using the lost Valyrian technology to build roads. You know, the roads built by the Valyrians are still important transportation routes on the continent of Essos.

But when walking over it, MiG clearly realized that the road was just paved with a layer of asphalt, which glued the gravel together to form a shape, making the road look smooth and high-end.

It's just an asphalt gravel road built with natural asphalt.

Miguel asked, "Using asphalt to build roads, what a fantastic idea."

In fact, there are people in this world who use asphalt as an adhesive to repair houses, but it is more often used in battlefield combat. Heated asphalt barrels are often used when defending a city and can be thrown through a catapult. The boiling asphalt will cause large-scale casualties to the enemy and interfere with the enemy's route. It can also be used in conjunction with tung oil to cause chaos on the battlefield.

Walking along a road that looked smooth and high-end, they came to the so-called Government Street.

The first building you see is the so-called reception area. A warehouse has been added here and converted into an office. The previous scene of people queuing in the mud outside the warehouse has been changed. Even when there are the most people, the queues are divided into different places. Merchants are received at one entrance, free knights at another entrance, town residents' affairs and disputes are at another entrance, and military intelligence is at another entrance.
This place is completely different from when the Onion Knight Davos first arrived. It seems to be in great order.

Miguel and his entourage were led to the reception desk specially for receiving nobles. A middle-aged woman with graceful manners and capable manners was responsible for receiving them. She was a noble lady named Setiga.

Under the polite reception of the lady, Miguel formally handed in his visiting card, and then, under the coordination of a very polite-looking butler, his entourage made the so-called registration records one by one.

While his entourage was checking in, he was taken to a waiting room. The decoration of this lounge could not be called gorgeous, but it was elegant. There were comfortable chairs and square tables that looked quite high-end. The tables and chairs were covered with Myrish blankets, and some elegant glass picture frames were hung on the four walls.

Servants and maids brought Miguel tea, desserts, salt and bread, and told him to wait for the castle's call.

Miguel believed that he had been to many places. He had visited the nine free trade cities, the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, and even the pyramids in Meereen, but at this moment, Dragonstone Island was undoubtedly the place with the most new things in his experience.

When his entourage came in, Miguel realized that there was one person missing from his entourage. He hurriedly called his real entourage over and asked quietly, "Where's he?"

The attendant responded in a low voice: "Sir, he went to the street. After completing the registration, he said he was going to the outside of the reception desk. He just passed by a place called the 'Public Notice Office'. He wanted to go there to take a look."

Face-saving projects in urban departments are not encouraged and are not acceptable, but sometimes they are necessary.

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(End of this chapter)