Game of Thrones: The Red Dragon Lord.

Chapter 238 Premeditation and Borrowing Troops
As soon as Malachormegaya said this, the already solemn scene suddenly became quiet, as if the air had solidified, and everyone's eyes were focused on him.

After a while, Narcisovisama of the Elephant Party slowly spoke: "The problem now is not whether we surrender or not, the key is that we can't stop the enemy's attack at all. According to previous intelligence, Gawain's wife Daenerys has another dragon. Count the two he brought over Volantis today, that's three dragons. Even if we don't consider these three dragons, it will be difficult to defend Volantis with Gawain's army and fleet alone."

Dofaspanimion scratched his head and tried to smooth things over: "How about we try to negotiate with Gavin? Maybe we can find a compromise, which is better than going to war directly."

When Malachormegia heard this, his face turned red, and he slammed the table again, shouting, "Negotiation? What kind of negotiation? I will never surrender, and I will never hand over Volantis to that guy Gavin. Even if he can finally take over Volantis, I will make him pay a huge price!"

Dofaspanimion sighed helplessly, spread his hands, and said no more.

And so, this meeting concerning the fate of Volantis ended in a fierce dispute.

Nasisovisama of the Elephant Party left the meeting room with a heavy heart and helplessness, intending to return to his residence.

He sat on the elephant's back with a heavy heart and slowly walked towards the mansion. Along the way, his mind kept circling around the various situations in the meeting just now. He knew very well that the current situation in Volantis was simply untenable. Perhaps surrender was the only way to save the family.

He knew very well that Malajomegayana's tough resistance would only lead everyone to the abyss of death.

Malachor's impulsive behavior will inevitably bring down Gavin's wrath, and then the entire Volantis, including all the nobles, will be destroyed in this war, and his own family will naturally not be spared.

Unfortunately, under the current consul system, important decisions like surrender must be unanimously agreed upon by the three consuls to take effect. Moreover, Malachor still holds the command of the Tiger Cloak Army, so it is not easy to convince him.

While I was thinking in this confusion, the elephant had already stopped steadily outside the mansion.

Seeing this, the slaves who served him hurried over with a stool for him to get on and off the elephant. Several slaves came out of the mansion and considerately laid a carpet on the ground.

Narcisovisama was about to stand up, but he seemed to be pressed down by something and sat down slowly. He knew that he could not just watch his family go to ruin, and he had to find a feasible way out for his family.

After a long silence, Narcisovisama suddenly raised his head, his eyes showing a hint of determination, and loudly ordered: "Go to the Dofas Mansion."

Although the slaves were full of doubts and did not understand why their master wanted to go back to his house one moment and go to another house the next, they did not dare to ask too much. They just obediently put away the stools, led the elephant and slowly turned around, walking towards the direction of Dofas's mansion.

The distance between the two mansions was indeed not far, and the elephant carrying the Narcisovisama horse soon arrived at the door of Dofas' mansion.

Coincidentally, I ran into Dofas who had just returned.

When Dofas saw Narciso suddenly appear, he immediately realized that Narciso must have something to discuss with him.

After the two men got off the elephant, Dauphas made a warm gesture of invitation, inviting Narciso to go to the palace with him. Along the way, the two tacitly did not say much, but just walked slowly towards the house.

Soon, they arrived at a reception room.

This living room was decorated extremely luxuriously. The floor was paved with marble tiles of a warm color. It was so shiny that it reflected everything in the hall, like a mirror.

The hall is filled with sets of well-made carved tables and chairs. The delicate carving craftsmanship is amazing, as if every pattern contains the hard work and ingenuity of the craftsmen.

After a while, several beautiful female slaves came in with exquisite trays. After the female slaves respectfully placed the fruits and snacks neatly, Dauphas waved his hand gently, and the female slaves bowed slightly, then slowly retreated and gently closed the door.

As the slaves quietly left, Narciso and Dauphas were the only ones left in the huge house. For a moment, the quiet atmosphere seemed to have substance, weighing heavily on the two people's hearts.

Dofas was the first to break the silence. He frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt and worry in his eyes. He asked, "You didn't really want to surrender when you were in the meeting today?"

Narciso was silent for a moment after hearing this. His expression seemed a little solemn, as if covered by a lingering haze. He slowly raised his head and his eyes met with Dofas's. His eyes were filled with helplessness, and he slowly said, "Under the current situation, do you think we can win?"

After hearing this, Dophas's expression became complicated. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something in rebuttal, but swallowed it back. After waiting for a long time, he squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth, as if he had used up all his strength: "Once we surrender, we will really become lambs to be slaughtered. Think about the good lord of Astapor, the wise lords of Yunkai and Meereen, what kind of fate have they had now?" As he spoke, a trace of fear flashed in his eyes.

Narciso listened and just shook his head slowly, his expression still serious. His eyes were firm and steady. He said, "Those three city-states have all tried to resist. If we offer Volantis to Gavin as a condition to preserve our power, I think there is no problem. Gavin can take the city without losing a single soldier. This is a good deal for him, and it can also preserve the foundation of our family for us."

After hearing this, Dophas curled his lips slightly, revealing a look of disdain. He reached out and picked up the red wine glass on the table, shook it gently, and the red wine swirled in the glass. Then he took a sip, as if he wanted to use the spiciness of the wine to dispel the boredom in his heart. After putting down the glass, he said, "How can we surrender the city? Volantis has three archons, and the Tiger Cloak Army is not under our control. Can you convince Malachor?"

Narciso's expression instantly turned serious after hearing this. He stared at Dofas closely. "I can't convince him, but do you want to take your family and Malachor with you to be buried together?"

Dauphas was stunned by this sudden question. He looked at Narciso with a little surprise and confusion in his eyes. Then he calmed down and said, "Just tell me what you think."

Narciso looked at him coldly, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly: "Kill Malachor and control the Tiger Robe Army."

Dophas' eyes widened immediately, his face full of shock. He looked straight at Narciso and said with a trembling voice: "Killing the consul? This is an act of rebellion. Absolutely not!"

Narciso just smiled indifferently, and that smile revealed a ruthlessness after being forced into a desperate situation. He responded in a cold tone: "If he doesn't die, you and my family will die. Volantis is almost lost, how can we still rebel?" Hearing this, Dophas's breathing became heavier in an instant. He fell into deep inner entanglement. After a moment, he spoke with difficulty: "No, the 2,000 tiger robe soldiers in the inner city are all under the control of Malachor. Unless we send more troops into the city, Malachor will definitely be alert. I am afraid that by then, if he is not dead, our two families will be the first to suffer."

Narciso listened, a smile appeared on his face, and he said, "It's not like there are only Tiger Robe soldiers in the inner city, Dofas."

Dofus asked in confusion, "What else? It's just you and my Unsullied Guards. There are only a few hundred eunuchs left. Are you planning to use them to kill Malachor and rebel to seize power?"

Seeing Dofas's surprised expression, Narciso continued, "I'm not talking about them. Don't forget that the Red Temple is also in the inner city."

Hearing this, Dofas frowned. He stood up straight, stared at Narciso, and asked, "Are you talking about the 'Hand of Holy Fire' of the Red Temple?"

Narciso nodded, his eyes showing a hint of determination, and said, "Yes, there are a thousand monks in the temple. Moreover, the Red Temple is closer to Malachor's mansion, so we can surround his mansion by surprise. By then, the Tiger Robe Army in the inner city will not have time to react."

When Dofas heard this, he stood up suddenly and asked with a worried look on his face: "Will Kinvara agree? What if she is unwilling to lend the troops?"

Narciso waved his hand and said calmly, "Leave this matter to me. I will go and convince the high priest."

Dofas frowned, still worriedly saying, "There are still nearly 20,000 Tiger Cloaks in the outer city, and many Tigers serve as officers among them. If they knew that Malachor was killed by us, they would probably riot at any time. Especially the members of the Megia family, they are a considerable force in the military."

Narciso narrowed his eyes slightly and snorted coldly, "As long as we act quickly and control the situation before they can react, I don't believe those people will dare to rebel easily. Malachor is dead, and you and I are the only remaining archons. When the time comes, issue an order in the name of the archons to arrest all members of the Megia family. Don't forget that the army is not entirely made up of Tigers. We have a lot of Elephants as well."

After hearing this, Dofas was still a little hesitant. He paced back and forth in the room, frowning and lost in thought. After a moment, he finally said, "I need to think about it."

Seeing his hesitation, Narciso stopped talking and stood up, saying firmly, "If you don't want to get involved in this, I will do it myself. But after Malachor dies, you need to help me control the Tiger and Leopard Army."

After saying this, he no longer paid attention to Dofas. He pushed open the door of the conference room and walked straight outside. He still had to go to the Red Temple to find Jinwala to discuss borrowing troops.

The Red Temple of Volantis is located within the Black Wall and is the largest Red Temple in the world.

The followers of R'hllor, the Lord of Light, built this religious building with red stone and perfectly connected its beams, steps, walls, vaults, towers and air corridors between towers, as if the entire building was hollowed out of a huge stone.

The servants of the temple are all slaves. They were bought when they were young and became priests, prostitutes or warriors after strict training. These servants have flame tattoos on their faces to represent their loyalty to the Lord of Light, R'hllor.

The warriors are called the Hands of the Holy Fire. They guard the temple and their number is always kept at one thousand, no more and no less.

When Narciso rode his elephant slowly to the gate of the Red Temple, he was shocked by the scene in front of him. He saw that the Red God priests had lined up neatly at the gate of the temple as if they had predicted the future, and seemed to have been waiting for him for a long time.

When the priests saw Narciso, they immediately bowed respectfully and shouted in unison: "Welcome, Archon Narciso." One of the priests, whose face showed a bit of vicissitudes and who was obviously more experienced, took a step forward steadily, and said in a tone full of respect: "Mr. Archon, the high priest has been waiting for you for a long time, please follow me."

Narciso was full of doubts, secretly wondering how the Red Temple knew his whereabouts, but he tried his best to remain calm. He did not say a word, just nodded slightly, and followed the priest into the Red Temple.

As they walked into the temple, they saw the tall and mysterious statue of R'hllor, the Lord of Light, in front of them. The high priest Kinvara was kneeling devoutly before the statue. As Narciso entered, Kinvara slowly stood up and turned around to bow slightly to Narciso in respect.

"All men are mortal."

"Everyone needs to be served."

After greeting each other, Jinwala said with a smile on his face: "I have been waiting for you for a long time, Governor Narciso." After that, the other priests and servants in the hall seemed to have received silent instructions, and they all consciously retreated quietly.

At this point, Narciso could no longer suppress his doubts and asked, "You seemed to know I was coming."

Jinwala's smile did not fade. He walked slowly towards him with a smile and said, "Not only do I know you are coming, I also know the purpose of your coming."

When Narciso heard this, he couldn't help but look incredulous and said, "How is that possible?"

The high priest calmly made a gesture for silence, interrupted him, then reached out and gently pulled him up, leading him to the brazier in the center of the temple.

The blazing flames danced in the brazier, as if hiding endless mysteries. The blazing firelight reflected on their faces, making the whole atmosphere seem particularly solemn.

Jinwala said slowly: "The flames told me your purpose."

Narciso stared at the brazier quietly, listening to what the high priest had just said, and a feeling of awe welled up in his heart. He asked nervously, "Do you agree to borrow the troops?"

(End of this chapter)