Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 218: Settling in the Old Town
Viserys rode in a procession that stretched for two miles, in a great wheelhouse provided by Highgarden.

In front of him, there were 300 knights in full armor riding tall horses clearing the way for him. Behind him, flags of various colors merged into a colorful river behind the black-bottomed red dragon flag of the Targaryen family, with hundreds of Dornish nobles led by Oberyn and the Reach nobles led by Willas following closely under the flags.

Behind them came the remaining seven hundred knights of the king's guard and two thousand Dornish cavalry.

This mighty procession was heading for the old town.

After Lord Leyton of House Hightower walked out of the tower, walked out of Oldtown alone and came to Viserys's tent and announced that House Hightower would pledge allegiance to King Viserys, Viserys left 7,000 soldiers and horses stationed in the upper reaches of the Mead River, and he took 3,000 soldiers and horses, along with most of the Dornish nobles and the nobles of the River Reach, to Oldtown.

As the majestic, miraculous, cloud-reaching Oldtown loomed on the horizon, its tower said to be eight hundred feet high, Viserys thought not of Aegon the Conqueror, but of the cruel King Maegor I.

Although Aegon the Conqueror gained the surrender of Oldtown Hightower during the War of Conquest, the power of the Hightower family is still immense. The combined efforts of the Seven Gods' sectarian forces, the Citadel, and the Hightower family have allowed the Hightower family to take root in the fertile cape of the southern border.

House Cotoin of Three Towers, House Bulwe of Blackcrown, House Mullendaur of Highland, House Bisbury of Beehive, and House Kui of Sunflower Hall are all sworn brothers to House Hightower.

After the death of Aegon the Conqueror, the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms were ready to rebel against the Dragon Dynasty.

The Order's armed forces took the lead in the rebellion, and they fought in the name of the Seven Gods, opposing the Targaryen family's marriage customs. The Warrior's Sons' armed forces once captured King's Landing, and then King Aenys died of illness on Dragonstone. Queen Visenia brought back Maegor, who was exiled to Essos, and returned to Westeros to ascend the throne. After that, Maegor and Visenia took Balerion and Vhagar to recapture King's Landing, which was controlled by the Order's armed forces.

The war between the church and the crown has been a major theme in Westeros since Aegon's death.

The High Septon who ordered the believers to take up arms, call on the poor to gather together with the Warrior's Sons and a large number of lords to openly oppose the Targaryens and form an alliance to march into King's Landing was the younger brother of Lord Martin Hightower of the Hightower family. The commander-in-chief of the Warrior's Sons, Morgan Hightower, was also Lord Hightower's brother.

After retaking King's Landing, Maegor I and Queen Mother Visenya waited in King's Landing for half a year, waiting for the rebellions in various places to ferment. They rectified the internal affairs and local affairs in King's Landing - mainly putting all the Targaryens of Aenys under house arrest, seizing power, integrating the troops, and preparing for war. Then, after everything was ready, they led the army with dragons, first suppressed the rebellion in the Riverlands and the Westerlands, burned down countless castles, and finally rushed thousands of miles to Oldtown to suppress the armed rebellion of the Order.

During the War of Conquest, when Aegon I's army arrived at Oldtown, the Hightower family chose to open the city and surrender, but now the rebellion of the armed forces of the Order has made it seem that a catastrophic disaster is about to befall Oldtown.

It is said that thousands fled Oldtown the night before the dragon came, and thousands more reveled in the streets. "It was a night of debauchery and revelry," they said to each other, "and tomorrow the saints will burn together with the villains."

Others gathered in the septs, temples, and ancient groves to pray for safety. In the Starry Sept, the High Septon thundered in anger, calling on the gods to bring down their wrath on the Targaryens. The doctors of the Citadel convened a meeting of the cardinals. The city garrison prepared countless sandbags and buckets of water to help put out the fire. Countless crossbows, scorpion crossbows, flamethrowers, and lances were arranged on the battlements along the city walls in the hope of sniping the dragon.

Sir Morgan Hightower, brother of the Lord of Oldtown, led two hundred fully armed warrior sons from their Oldtown branch to surround the Starry Sept to defend the High Septon. Lord Martin Hightower lit a pale green beacon on the towering tower and summoned his vassals. In this way, the whole of Oldtown held its breath waiting for the dawn and the arrival of the dragon.

At dawn, the dragons arrived as expected. But they found the gates of Oldtown wide open, the walls empty, and the banners of the Targaryens, Tyrells, and Hightowers flying side by side on the city walls. Queen Visenya was the first to learn the news: in the long, terrible night that had just passed, in the darkest hour before dawn, the High Septon had died.

The High Priest of the Starry Sept, High Priest of House Hightower, died on the eve of the dragon's arrival.

The cause of death will never be known... But the quick response of Lord Martin on the towering tower that night was amazing. He immediately sent knights to disarm the warrior sons and arrested them on the spot, including his own brother. All the gates were opened, and the Targaryen flag was quickly raised on the top of the city...

At that moment, at this moment.

Without obtaining a clear oath of allegiance from the Hightower family, Viserys advanced by land and sea, and had actually controlled the sea and land throats of Oldtown.

And Lord Leyton Hightower, like his predecessors before Aegon and Maegor, offered his loyalty when Viserys approached Oldtown.

Aegon gained Oldtown but never truly conquered it. Maegor, with his cruelty - or perhaps it could be said that it was Queen Visenya's merit - eradicated the sectarian forces of House Hightower, but still left House Hightower and the Citadel, leaving the root of the trouble for the Dance of the Dragons.

Viserys looked at the towering tower that became clearer and clearer, and saw the city walls gradually rising on the horizon, and realized that Oldtown, one of the five largest cities in Westeros, was already in sight.

Viserys couldn't help but feel odd.

Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel both came to Oldtown under the banner of war, and finally left with Hightower's loyalty and peace.

But Viserys is different. He came under the banner of peace and protection of Oldtown, but he probably won't leave with the loyalty and peace of the Hightower family. Although it is still unknown why the Hightower family has deep malice towards dragons, now that he knows this, it is difficult for Viserys to tolerate such a family that has been secretly plotting to exterminate dragons to continue hiding behind the scenes.

As this team of more than 3,000 people gradually approached the old town, five miles outside the city, the official welcoming team of the Hightower family appeared. The Rose Avenue was also crowded with people lining the avenue to welcome them. Countless people threw flowers along the avenue to clear the way for the king's team.

There are even many apprentices from the Academy among the people.

The magic potion that Viserys sent to the Citadel had apparently taken effect. He had already received a reply from the Cardinal of the Citadel, and it was said that the Cardinal of the Citadel was selecting a Grand Maester to serve King Viserys.

Before he took control of the Citadel, Viserys of course accepted everything the Citadel sent him, whether it was something sent to him or the Grand Maester.

Viserys's visit to Oldtown gave the Citadel great importance, but this importance was slightly different from what the Citadel's doctors thought.

The momentum created in Oldtown had obviously achieved excellent results. Viserys could see that many people were very enthusiastic about the arrival of the royal army. When the king's carriage passed by, people cheered in unison, "Long live King Viserys."

Of course, there was also some whispering among the crowd.

"Why can't we see the dragon?" The royal army looked neat and majestic, but many people wanted to see the king riding a dragon. However, the king was sitting in the carriage and there was no sign of the dragon.

Viserys only brought Nightfyre and Shininggold with him on this trip, and the three-headed dragon Gullyok was nominally free to roam outside. The explanation given was that Gullyok liked quietness, and that this trip into the city was to help defend Oldtown and visit the Citadel, and Gullyok didn't like crowds, so he was allowed to roam outside.

The actual purpose is of course to prevent Hightower and the doctors of the Citadel from being frightened and therefore not acting rashly.

Viserys was eager for them to cause trouble.

Oldtown is a big city. If Viserys brought all 10,000 men, they could have been accommodated in the city. The reason why he only brought 3,000 men was to avoid alerting the enemy.

Lord Hightower originally wanted to place Viserys's troops in a garrison near the Hightower family castle, but Viserys, for other considerations, arranged the garrison in a camp near the Citadel.

Viserys has publicly announced that he will visit the Citadel himself and preside over the various experiments he plans to conduct in collaboration with the Citadel.

"Alas, this expedition is really just about riding around." At the back of the team, Earl Uller of Dorne couldn't help but say, "Highgarden surrendered, Oldtown surrendered, and we couldn't even get involved in the naval battle. I didn't expect that at the end of the expedition we would have a banquet in Oldtown, and that my majesty and I would come to the Citadel to conduct experiments with a bunch of old scholars. I say, it would be great if the Ironborn really had 500 ships, and if the fake King Euron's sea monsters could come in a couple more, we Dorne warriors could have a fight with them!"

Someone said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Don't we still have the Lannisters? When Your Majesty is done with Oldtown, he will definitely attack the Lannisters. Tywin will definitely not surrender."

"I think it's a good time to go now. There's news from the north that Lord Tywin and Lord Mace have had a conflict in the north of Tengshi Town. We can reach the battlefield in less than half a month by going up the Mander River! If we're late, we might miss the chance to fight."

Prime Minister Oberyn interrupted the conversation and said, "Don't worry, everyone. His Majesty has his own ideas. You know, our enemies are not only the Lannisters, but also the aliens and winter. It is definitely a good thing that we are safe and sound now. His Majesty tried his best to avoid the loss of our soldiers and advocated storing food for war. This means that His Majesty has more far-reaching considerations."

"Prince, I say, we have missed the mermaids and sea monsters, so we must not miss the Lannisters and the White Walkers again. We cannot just do nothing when we send troops and wait for His Majesty's reward. I will not be happy to receive this reward!"

Oberyn smiled and looked at Lord Leighton Hightower, who was riding his horse behind Willas without saying a word. He said calmly, "Your Majesty took us to war. There will always be a time when you can use us."

Lord Leighton is of Barristan's generation. He is nearly sixty years old now, with a circle of white hair on his bald head. He looks quite calm and composed. Since he joined the team, he has been basically silent, making it impossible to tell what he is thinking.

As Prime Minister, Oberyn was exposed to a lot of military intelligence during this trip, and he was very interested in Lord Hightower's reaction to King Viserys's march south.

He had a vague feeling that something very interesting might happen in the old town.

(End of this chapter)