Game of Thrones: King of Harrenhal, starting with a blue hand stat panel

Chapter 96 The Iron Fleet is Destroyed, Preparations for Landing on the Island

The pocket formation in the Fairy Island Strait is ready.

The Redwyn Fleet, the Oldtown Fleet, and the Royal Fleet surrounded the Iron Fleet from the south and north, respectively.

The rumbling war horns traversed the sea, their hoarse and deep cries like the call of demons, passed from ship to ship.

The Iron Fleet, surrounded in the Fairy Island Strait, had nowhere to escape, neither in the sky nor on the ground.

The Iron Fleet's ships were three times the size of ordinary longships, while the Royal Fleet and Redwyn Fleet's ships were even larger.

If they do not fall into a trap, they can rely on the mobility advantage of the Iron Fleet.

These ships had a deep draft and were equipped with powerful rams, making them capable of competing with the royal fleet.

But now there are too many ships loyal to the Iron Throne, and the terrain is too favorable, so the Iron Fleet is simply powerless to fight back.

"I... I made the wrong choice." Commander Victarion Greyjoy of the Iron Fleet felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his whole body turning cold.

He longed to be a hero to the Iron People, but made a rash choice that led to the Iron Fleet's utter defeat.

"Long live King Robert!"

"Long live King Robert!"

Stannis and Pikester, however, would not give Iron any more time to react.

If this were an endless ocean, Iron Seed might have been able to run away, but now it's trapped in the Fairy Island Strait and can only take a beating.

The fleet, decorated with grape and stag patterns and tower patterns, began to spin at high speed like a millstone, pulverizing the iron-type fleet into dust.

The most dazzling of the Royal Fleet's ships is the HMS Fury, Stannis's flagship.

Her sails gleamed with gold, and the canvas was adorned with the crowned stag of House Baratheon.

It had three hundred oars, and the deck was lined with crossbows on both sides. There was a catapult at the bow and stern to launch burning pitch barrels.

She was not only awe-inspiring, but also incredibly agile and swift.

To fully utilize the warship's maneuverability, there were few armored knights and infantry on the deck, only some crossbowmen.

After all, the fleet is mainly responsible for naval warfare, and even if it is to conquer a single island, these sailors are enough.

"I will utterly crush this pack of bastards' fleet!" Stannis said coldly.

He was a competent fleet commander, having spent a long time at sea.

In the past, they had only carried out small-scale raids to catch pirates or smugglers, but this time Stannis had planned a much larger-scale naval battle.

The destruction of the Iron Fleet ironically brought fame to Stannis and Pikester.

"Waaaaaah!"

With the war horns blaring, the fleet loyal to the Iron Throne began to fully utilize its advantage of being second-mover.

The burning pitch barrels hurled by the warships were more effective than the ballistae and flamethrowers of the Iron Fleet.

And then there were the relentless crashes, with the Iron Throne fleet's massive ships ramming into them like wild boars.

Boarding maneuvers are the Iron Fleet's favorite fighting style, and also the Iron-type fleet's favorite.

But the Iron Throne Fleet will not give them such an opportunity.

The Iron Throne fleet continued to leverage its tonnage and numerical advantages, with some flagship ships directly tearing apart smaller, longer ships of its opponents.

Only a small number of Ironborn boarded the Iron Throne warships and began fighting with the sailors.

The Ironborn were fearless, wielding axes or longswords, and they killed some of the royal fleet's sailors, but unfortunately, they could not reverse the defeat.

The ships were entangled together, the knights wielded longswords, and the Ironborn brandished battle axes or longswords.

Even if the Ironborn gain a certain advantage, they will be wiped out by the royal sailors who come to their aid.

"Kill the Ironbloods! Kill the Ironbloods!"

Earl Pexster's flagship, the Queen of the Green Pavilion, cleaved an ironclad ship in two, and many other longships began to burn.

"Well done! Well done!" Parker cheered with satisfaction.

Earl Parker had droopy shoulders, a thin build, and a few clumps of orange-yellow hair on his bald head.

Previously, Pexter had spent a year outside Storm's End watching the great castle without getting anything, but now he finally got his revenge.

The Redwin family harbors deep hatred for the Ironborn, and their numerous merchant ships are frequently harassed by them.

"Sir Desmond," Earl Parker called to his cousin.

He was a knight from House Redwyn and married Layton's daughter, Denise Hightower.

"I am here, sir," Desmond said.

"Tell our ships to capsize longships or destroy the enemy with pitch barrels and crossbows whenever possible, and avoid direct confrontation. It's not worth killing my sailors for these wretches."

"Yes, sir!" Sir Desmond nodded, instructing the signalman to issue the signal.

"We and Lord Stannis really did a great job at sea this time," Ser Desmond said excitedly.

"On land, however, it's not the same. The landing operation hasn't even started yet. The one who has recently risen to prominence is the Dark Knight, Arthur Hoan," Earl Parker reminded him.

"The Dark Knight, his name will be known throughout the Seven Kingdoms," said Ser Desmond.

"He's very strong, and I'm quite interested in him. I wonder if Samwell would be that kind of warrior." Earl Parker chuckled.

Paxter has a daughter, and in order to improve his relationship with Randall, both sides had intended to pair Samwell and Paxter's daughter together.

But before taking the crucial steps, Pexter needs to assess Sam.

The burning asphalt barrels and the crossbowmen continued to exert their power.

Most of the Iron Fleet's fleets didn't even get into the comfort zone of boarding action before they faced certain death.

Black plumes of smoke rose from the sea, ships were breaking apart, and sailors screamed in disarray on the high seas.

"Run it over!" Stannis commanded.

Since he couldn't find any trace of the Victalion Invincible Iron Seed, he decided to eliminate the little beet in front of him first.

"Watch out! Watch out!"

Ellen Greyjoy, aboard the "Yellow Rainstorm," screamed in terror, but could not avert the ship's capsizing.

The Fury rammed violently into the side of the Yellow Rainstorm, the force so great that half of the crew preparing for boarding action fell over.

The warship was fierce and fast, and it rammed the Huang Yubao, almost splitting it in two.

The Fury was too powerful, not even giving the Ironhide decks a chance to fight.

"Reverse the oars!" Stannis commanded again.

His sailors rowed backwards, and the "Huang Yubao" broke completely in two.

Seawater flooded into the ship's hold, and the longship was submerged by the sea, with the Ironborn falling into the ocean as well.

The crossbowmen on deck wielded their weapons, filling the sea with the stench of death, and bloody holes appeared in human bodies.

Captain Iren also fell into the sea, and the salty seawater completely submerged him.

As he fell into the sea, Iren saw Lord Harlow's flagship being overturned.

The ram of the royal warship smashed a large hole in the ship, and then the crossbowmen unleashed a barrage of fire at the ironclad.

Lord Harlow's sons fell into the sea, their bodies covered in arrows like hedgehogs.

"Am I going to die?" Ellen thought to himself as he floated and struggled in the sea.

Ellen was the smallest and least noticeable of the four sea monsters, while Baron was the largest and most ferocious, a fierce and fearless man.

"Baron, your plan to restore the ancient road is going to fail." Iren felt dizzy and like he was about to drown.

Baron is the most fearless raider.

At the age of ten, he climbed the Flint Cliff and entered the haunted tower of the blind lord.

By the age of thirteen, his skills in maneuvering longboats and performing finger dances were already on par with the island's top performers.

At the age of fifteen, he accompanied Dagmo the Riftjaw to the Steppes to participate in the summer raids. There, he committed his first murder and brought back his first two salt concubines.

At the age of seventeen, Baron owned his own longship.

Even such a sea monster was no match for the Iron Throne.

At that moment, a huge wave surged in, pushing Iren even further away.

No one cared whether the captain lived or died; the bloodier battle continued.

Black smoke rose, and the sea was littered with shipwrecks, floating debris, and the carcasses of pigs and people.

"Run, Commander," Newt the Barber said to Victarion. "The sea is in chaos, there are plumes of smoke. Redwyn's fleet still has gaps to the north; don't let them fall into Stannis's hands."

Viktorion looked out at the sea. His flagship had capsized a royal warship, but the situation was worse than he had imagined.

The Yellow Rainstorm was sunk, Lord Harlo's warship "Scythe" was sunk, and the Iron Fleet was shattered.

"Run?" Victalion said angrily. "A warrior's destiny is to fight."

"I think King Baron wants you alive, not dead," said the Iron Fleet Commander's assistant.

Viktorion felt a chill run through him. Yes, what good could blind death do?

He waved his hand, and he too became a coward, a commander-in-chief who abandoned the fleet.

Under the cover of several longships, Victalion, aboard the Invincible Iron Seed, found a gap and slipped out.

The Invincible Iron Seed escapes the Fairy Island Strait, fleeing its fallen comrades.

From that moment on, Victalion, like the griffin, suffered from the aftereffects of war.

One person developed strait phobia, and another developed bell phobia.

The Royal Fleet, Redwin Fleet, and Oldtown Fleet began to merge into one and systematically clean up the battlefield.

"Vektalion's Invincible Ironborn has escaped! And Raveneye's flagship too—Raveneye is Vektalion's brother," Stannis said through gritted teeth. He hadn't expected the flagship to escape. "Those two are really slippery."

But Stannis could understand that if Victorion were to make a drastic decision and shamelessly run away during the gaps in the fleet's encirclement and under the cover of smoke, he might indeed have a chance.

The captured Ironborn were tied to the figurehead and told everything they knew.

"Croweye works alone and doesn't accept orders?" Stannis frowned. It seemed that this cunning strategist was indeed shrewd.

"What kind of commander is he without a fleet? His own brother's warships, Lord Harlow's and Lord Harlow's brother-in-law's flagships, have all been destroyed. This is an unprecedented victory, Lord Stannis," Earl Pexter boasted.

Stannis nodded, a relaxed expression on his face. "Release the ravens; we can then take the King's army to the Iron Islands."