Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 208: Orders to Redwyne

Desmond Redwyne was on the front deck, watching the rough and turbulent sea.

The Ocean Star moved forward with the waves, and the fickle sea breeze made the half-raised sails rattle.

The two attack ships, the Gilbert and the Garce, were on either side, with the distance between them no more than twenty yards.

Desmond gave the order with a serious face: "Remove the sails, lower the masts. Rowers, take positions."

The rumbling of war drums crossed the sea, and the sound of horns was heard from ship to ship. The messenger ran down to the cabin. The crew members hurried to their posts and pushed aside the soldiers standing on the ship - at this moment, they always seemed to be in the way.

Desmond looked at the sky. It was covered with dark clouds and had strong winds, which made him feel uneasy.

Desmond was unsure if what he did was right. The Lord of the Arbor and his two sons were not there, and even Lady Mina Tyrell had gone to King's Landing with Paxter. Only Desmond, the acting lord, and Desmera Redwyne, the youngest daughter of Lord Redwyne, were in charge of the Arbor.

Desmond was already troubled by the first letter from King Targaryen asking the southern lords to swear an oath. The second letter, which was harshly worded and required the Redwyne fleet to go to support the Shield Islands, made the decision even more difficult for the acting lord of Redwyne.

And I don’t know when the letter to King’s Landing will come back.

After discussing with the maesters and other knights in the clan, Desmond decided to accept the order of King Targaryen and set off for the Shield Islands, as the rumors and power of the Targaryen dragons were greater than those of King's Landing.

Lord Paxter was Lord Sea Lord and Admiral of King's Landing, but now Desmond was serving under the orders of King Targaryen.

This knight knew that the most important thing to show in surrendering was sincerity, so he brought out most of the Redwyne fleet, and now only a small fleet was left to defend the Redwyne family on Qingting Island.

He looked at the dark clouded sky, knowing that the fleet was about to face a storm, and couldn't help but become more worried about the future.

The horn sounded again, coming from the rear of the fleet.

It's an early warning signal.

Desmond felt a surge of panic.

Now it was a marching formation. The fleet was organized into ten battle lines, each consisting of twenty warships.

Desmond was a cautious commander, and his knowledge of ships, sails, and coasts was outstanding in the Seven Kingdoms. He was unsure of the enemy's situation, so he arranged several fast ships to carefully observe and spy on the enemy ahead instead of rushing forward rashly; there was also a small warship at the end of the team responsible for mopping up and patrolling to guard the retreat.

The ramming ships were concentrated in the front and middle of the fleet, the ships following behind were loaded with a large number of archers and spearmen, and the supply ships were concentrated in the rear of the fleet. The fleet was not prepared to fight the enemy, and if the enemy came from behind, the consequences would be disastrous.

Desmond looked back. Far to the south, the most sturdy ramming ships in the fleet were moving slowly as usual. Although two hundred oars were rowing together, the heavy hulls still made them seem slow. He heard the soldiers shouting to each other across the sea. Since they set out from Qingting Island, the soldiers had been bored in the cabin, doing nothing. Desmond was not sure whether they were as confused and uneasy as he was, or whether they were already impatient and eager to fight.

Wuwuwu——

dong dong dong-

"Heaven!"

"dragon!"

"Dragon!"

Amid the sound of the wind and the chaotic beating of horns and drums, Desmond could hear the soldiers shouting.

Desmond looked up into the sky, only to see a gigantic beast looming in the thick dark clouds. Its huge body was like a mountain or a god.

Hiss - even though Desmond had been through hundreds of battles in his life, he couldn't help but gasp when he saw this.

Above the clouds, the huge beast had a terrifying figure, and its enormous wingspan occupied half the sky, which was shocking and inexplicable. The fleet was obviously in chaos for a while.

The giant beast did not flap its wings much, but glided like an eagle, gradually sliding forward from the rear of the fleet. Desmond could actually see a sense of leisure and elegance in such a huge body.

The giant beast slowly moved forward along the fleet's route in the clouds. Desmond watched without blinking as the beast gradually flew over the head of the Ocean Star from the rear of the fleet, and then continued to move forward and flew to the front of the fleet.

"Raise the flag!" At this point, Desmond finally reacted and shouted, "Raise the flag! Blow the ship's horn, no attack, no attack!"

The soldiers on the deck reacted, and Sir Desmond's servants and messengers quickly gave orders and blew the ship's horn at the same time.

The sound of the horn rang out, and was heard from ship to ship.

Soon, someone took out a huge black flag with a red dragon from the cabin, and Dess, masked, unfurled the flag on the deck.

Finally, after a period of nervous waiting.

The body of the giant dragon completely emerged from the clouds, slowly lowered its body, and covered the top of the Ocean Star.

The huge dragon in the sky slowly descended, blocking the view. The sky seemed to turn dark all of a sudden. Desmond felt his legs go weak and he quickly leaned on the deck with his sword for support.

The dragon's figure gradually became parallel to the Ocean Star. A clear voice came from the direction of the dragon: "Which one is Sir Desmond Redwyne?"

Desmond swallowed and answered solemnly: "Desmond from the Redwyne family greets you, Your Majesty!"

"Yes, Sir Desmond, you did a good job." A voice came from the dragon, "Here is a new military order. Follow the order for the rest of the voyage."

As he spoke, a box fell from the sky and landed precisely in front of Sir Desmond on the deck.

Before Desmond had time to look, the dark shadows on the deck gradually dissipated. Seeing that the giant dragon was gradually rising into the sky, he hurriedly shouted: "I will live up to your majesty's trust!" By the time he finished shouting, the dragon had disappeared again in the thick dark clouds.

"call"

You can vaguely hear the people on the ship seem to exhale a long breath. What's more, several soldiers fainted on the deck, and some people peed their pants out of fear.
But the confusion in Desmond's heart had completely dissipated, replaced by a complex emotion of fear and confidence.

Sir Desmond patted his shaking hands, rubbed them again, and then opened the box. Inside was a scroll of paper with the seal of King Targaryen. After unsealing the letter, he saw the message on it. Desmond was shocked. The king's letter gave a precise area, warning the fleet that it would be attacked by the storm and the Iron Islands fleet there, and asked the fleet to be prepared, and not to worry about the storm. The king asked that when the two sides engaged in battle, the fleet should take advantage of the storm to stop and the east wind to pursue as many enemy ships as possible, in order to expand the results of the battle.

The order in the letter was not difficult to understand, but the most incredible thing was the east wind. Sir Desmond was puzzled. Would there be an east wind in autumn?
-

Viserys watched the Redwyne fleet go away and turned to look south. The Hightower fleet in Oldtown was slowly gathering and had not yet sailed out of Whispering Bay. Even if he sent out half of the fleet, Viserys would think he had tried his best.

But apparently, Hightower had other ideas. Although the reply to Viserys did not specify when the fleet would set out, compared to the efficiency of the Redwyne fleet, Hightower's fleet was clearly stalling for time.

For ordinary nobles, such behavior would be annoying at best. Just like how the "late Frey" was always the last to arrive when the Tully family of the Riverlands summoned him, this was a habitual way for nobles to protect themselves.

However, most of Viserys's purpose in this trip to the south was to go to Hightower, so these clever or ulterior motives were remembered by Viserys. Viserys didn't care, because he was worried about having no excuse to go to Oldtown to ask for punishment.

Viserys did not forget to take care of Redwyne who expressed his sincerity. The main force of Redwyne's fleet was out, and only a few small fleets were left to defend the Arbor. If the Iron Fleet's target was the Arbor, then they were obviously not enough to defend it.

So after a brief contact with the fleet, Viserys set off directly for the Arbor.

There was no sense of ritual magic being amplified near the Arbor, but Viserys was still worried that the Arbor would be robbed. After all, the tiger had been lured away from the mountain, and it would be abnormal if no one entered the mountain to rob.

The Arbor is one of the richest regions in Westeros, and is very attractive to the Ironborn who are used to "paying iron money". Even if it is not the main force of the Iron Fleet, if you think about it from another perspective, Euron is very likely to send a decoy to attract attention.

The port town of Qingting Island, Port of Lian, is located on the island, built on a naturally formed deep-water bay in the north of Qingting Island. Although this port is not as large as the port of the old town, it is also a large port ranked among the world's second-tier ports. Port of Lian and the small ports on several surrounding islands form a port circle.

The Arbor is famous for the best wine in Westeros, and it is also famous for its shipbuilding industry, with several shipyards built here.

According to records, before Aegon's conquest, Aegon Targaryen, Lord of Dragonstone, had been a guest and falconer on the Arbor, and Aegon I, who later became king, also visited the Arbor many times during royal tours.

The old king Jaehaerys I, who loved to travel, also visited the Arbor many times on his horse Vermithor to taste the wine on the island.

During the time when Aerea Targaryen and Balerion the Black Dread disappeared, Princess Rhaena rode her dragon Dreamfyre throughout the Seven Kingdoms in search of her daughter Aerea, including to the Arbor.

In a sense, this place is the end of the world in Westeros.

Viserys had always been spying from high above before, but today was the first time he showed up.

Compared to the dark clouds over the sea where the Redwyne fleet was located, the sky here on the Arbor was clear and sunny. The port was bustling with ships loading wine and raisins out of the Arbor, and bringing in specialties, spices, and gems from all over the world.

From high above, Viserys observed the defenses of the Arbor after the fleet left.

The dock where the fleet was previously located has become empty, with only a small fleet patrolling along the periphery of the bay, while the commercial port is still filled with hundreds of merchant ships coming and going.

Viserys noticed that the patrolling fleet's main defense was on the eastern side of the island. The fleet patrolled mainly the Stone Crab Reef, Pig Island, and Mermaid Palace in the eastern waters outside Qingting Island. These outer islands and reefs had beacon towers. Once an enemy attack was discovered, the beacon would be lit immediately to warn.

They obviously had not considered the possibility that the enemy attack would come from the west of Qingting Island. There were almost no patrol ships in that area and only one beacon fire.

Viserys' shadow appearing high in the sky was quickly discovered by the people on the island.

Soon, he saw a red dragon flag with a black background raised in the place where the purple grape flag with a blue background was originally hung on the castle. It seemed that they were also worried that the Targaryen dragon would launch an attack.

Viserys no longer concealed himself and descended directly.

As he gradually fell, the people in the town only felt the shadow above their heads getting bigger and bigger. Viserys had no intention of intimidating the residents of the town, so he flew directly over the castle of Rhian Harbor on the Arbor.

The one who came out to greet the dragon in the castle parade grounds was the youngest daughter of the Redwyne family. Accompanied by a maester, she waved the flag tremblingly at the dragon in the parade grounds: "Your Majesty, welcome to the Arbor. I greet you on behalf of the Redwyne family. Oh, I am Desmera of the Redwyne family. The fleet has already headed for the Shield Islands as per your order."

Viserys saw the panic in the castle, and he just replied calmly: "I have seen your sincerity. I came here to warn you that with the Redwyne fleet out, this place is likely to be attacked by the enemy. Since you are the representative of the Redwyne family, you should make arrangements as soon as possible to temporarily close the port and concentrate the fleet for defense inside the port. The current strength of the Qingting Island is not enough to prevent an enemy attack, and it is meaningless to continue patrolling like this."

"Ah, this"

"Make arrangements. A little loss of commerce is better than a town sacked," Viserys ordered. "Remember to prevent any ships that enter the harbor from leaving."

Viserys discovered that Euron seemed to know the movements of the Redwyne fleet, and it was very likely that Euron arranged for spies to establish contact in some way on the Arbor. Because less than two days after the Redwyne fleet set out, Viserys felt Euron's magic ritual at sea.

It was for this reason that Viserys did not show up for the past two days, but instead spied secretly.

But as of today, the Redwyne fleet is less than half a day's journey away from the designated battlefield. Even if Euron's spies use the fastest seabird communication, it is too late to notify the fleet ambushing at the designated battlefield.

And the Arbor might not be Viserys' bait.

The Sunset Sea is so vast that it takes a long time, a long distance, and a large area of ​​sea to find a fleet hiding its whereabouts. If it is cloudy or stormy at sea, the search will be endless.

Rather than searching aimlessly on the sea, it is better to wait for the Iron Men's ships to gather and approach.

Viserys would have liked more Ironborn ships to come to the Arbor to plunder, and preferably all of them to be stuffed into the harbor. As a wizard who attacked from the air, Viserys wished the enemy fleet to be as concentrated as possible.

Earlier today, as Viserys had watched the Redwyne Fleet, he had wondered how much effort it would take to attack the densely packed march of two hundred ships.

The hypothetical result is that a surprise attack with giant fireballs can only damage one to three areas at most. Once the fleet reacts and disperses, it may be necessary to switch to ordinary fireballs to target each ship one by one. Once the ships start running around, the attack efficiency of ordinary fireballs may not be as fast as expected. In the end, it is very likely that hundreds of fireballs will be consumed to wipe out a fleet of more than 200 ships at sea.

The consumption of hundreds of fireballs might drain all of Viserys' accumulated fire magic.

So if we think about it from another perspective, the ritual magic power of "Storm Song" can sometimes be very useful. This power can leverage the natural power of the world for one's own use.

Just a little magic power combined with a ritual can trigger a storm, forming artificial convection, and then guiding it, you can use magic to guide the power of thunder in the convection.

The only drawback is that large-scale magic that mobilizes the power of nature itself often cannot distinguish between friend and foe, so you still have to rely on specific magic to carry out precise strikes.

(End of this chapter)