-Chapter 207-

-Chapter 207-

-17th day of the 4th moon of the year 301 AC-

-POV Viserys Targaryen-

I frowned as I washed my face and thanked the servant, asking her to leave me alone.

I observed my reflection in the mirror of the Lord of Estermont’s island.

‘This is truly absurd,’ I thought as I admired my new silhouette.

After the magical ritual, I had collapsed in pain, and when I awoke, Aegon had been gone for several hours.

I had tried to catch up to him, departing immediately despite Dany’s protests, who seemed genuinely concerned about my loss of consciousness.

Aegon had simply asked Dany to tell me to rest for a day at Estermont before attacking Tyrosh and Myr.

‘His plan is brilliant,’ I thought, focusing on the mission that awaited me today.

‘Take Tyrosh,’ I thought with a slight smile, eager to accomplish the task he had entrusted to me.

‘And to test my new powers,’ I told myself.

The plan was extremely simple: as the Stepstones were under siege, Aurane Velaryon had been ordered to quickly withdraw the entire 1st Imperial fleet and evacuate the garrisons stationed on each island to defend the ports and forts we had built there.

In recent months, we had sown in the hearts of our enemies the belief that we were on the verge of breaking, unable to move the dragons due to the kingdom’s precarious state after the main legionnaires had left and been replaced by peasants.

This belief had led all the cities involved in these… or rather, those Essosi coalitions to think they could defeat us.

The Rhoynar had fought the dragonlords, so why couldn’t they?

‘Aegon often mocks them, saying they see themselves as the heroes of their own story,’ I thought as I began to dress.

The pace of this retreat could not be too fast, for if some sensed a trap, they might try to uncover what we were hiding.

But it couldn’t be too slow either, or we risked losing synchronization with the attack on Lys.

‘We need to crush them at the root,’ I thought.

The position of Myr and Tyrosh was a real obstacle for us, much like Pentos was a thorn in the side of Braavos and Volantis.

‘And they’ve made good use of it,’ I thought.

Soon enough, the various allied fleets of the Essosi coalition began encircling the Stepstones, with Myr and Tyrosh’s fleets to the north and those of Lys and Volantis to the south, trapping us and blocking any resupply from those two routes, leaving only Dorne as a supply route.

This solution worked for a time, but the Free Cities of Essos also called on pirates who once pillaged the Narrow Sea and had become idle since Aurane took the Stepstones.

They had therefore enlisted these “mercenaries” to cut off maritime supply routes while first taking the islands bordering Dorne to completely surround the 1st Imperial fleet commanded by Aurane.

‘They managed to trap us, with two fleets to the north, two to the south, and by taking the islands to the west, they created an iron grip on our fleet, leaving it no choice but to retreat due to the enormous difference in warships and men.’

The Triarchy had put nearly all their forces at the alliance’s disposal: over 1,000 warships plus Volantis’ fleet of 1,100 ships.

That made more than 2,000 enemy warships against only 300 in the Imperial fleet.

By constantly feeding their egos, making them believe we could only passively resist and that we were mere paper tigers due to the vast lands we had to protect, they now believed they had won and controlled the Narrow Sea.

‘But for how long?’ I thought as I fastened the last piece of my armor, eager to be on the battlefield.

While a garrison would remain on Bloodstone as a sacrifice to distract the enemy, the majority of our fleet would retreat eastward and head up to Tyrosh with the sole objective of quickly capturing the city and securing the southern part of the Narrow Sea.

‘They all think the nobility weakens us, parasites feeding on our blood, but they’re about to learn what House Targaryen truly is,’

‘The power it can wield, and the unity it inspires in its people,’ I thought, feeling fully prepared.

‘By now, he must have already started the carnage,’ I thought as I observed the sun beginning to rise.

---

-POV Salladhor Saan-

As I watched the prostitutes gathered around me bow to my every whim and whimsy, I couldn’t help but feel a twisted sense of satisfaction.

For months on end, I had been treated as a pariah in this city of pleasure I was born into, all for supporting the wrong king.

Everyone saw me as a kind of doomed rat, ready to die for daring to provoke the dragon’s wrath.

But now, years had passed since the war ended, and the dragon likely had no idea that the rat I am wasn’t dead.

For a long time, I felt lucky to have survived the dragon’s wrath, until they decided to control the Narrow Sea, which meant I could no longer practice my… art.

I long believed my life was over; much of my crew had deserted me to work as guards or sailors on merchant ships.

‘They were robbing those same ships just two moons ago,’ I thought wryly, reflecting on that time.

Everyone kept telling me I was finished, that I’d end up like the Ironborn. But I’m still here, and I’m no longer hungry; the same people who mocked me now beg me to take them to sea for a share of the loot.

‘Nineteen Westerosi warships equipped with scorpions and a hundred merchant ships,’ I thought, savoring my success as a Valyrian-featured prostitute massaged my head.

‘And to think, in Westeros, they are queens and empresses, while here, they only serve to empty my balls,’ I thought, grabbing her rear.

She let out a feigned cry of surprise, playing the bashful virgin, though we both knew I had paid, as many men before me had, to bed her.

'And like many others after me,’ I thought.

As I was about to start undressing her for a treatment fit for an emperor, I heard bells ringing in the distance.

‘Damn it…’ I thought, hastily grabbing my clothes scattered across the room.

I tossed my entire purse, and holding my sword belt and pants to keep them from falling, I ran outside.

Once outside, I saw everyone at their windows, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening at the port.

What I saw froze my blood, for even from afar, I could make out the red three-headed dragons on a black field.

‘Damn it, the Summer Isles fleet has returned. We need to prepare our defenses quickly, or they’ll take the city and my damned ships,’ I thought, throwing a man off his horse and kicking the horse to gallop quickly toward the port, where I could get my fleet out before being trapped on land.

---

-POV Aegor Velaryon-

“ROW!” I shouted as I watched the ships trying to leave the port.

For months, I hadn’t slept, desperately searching for a way to regain the Emperor’s favor because I knew my position as Grand Admiral of the 3rd Imperial Fleet was far from secure, especially with what Prince Viserys likely told his nephew about me.

‘And here it is, my chance to redeem myself and prove to the Emperor that I’m as valuable as Aurane and can do a better job than that bastard,’ I thought, my heart racing with anticipation as I watched one of the three Valyrian Bastards.

“BEAT THE DRUMS!” I shouted to the soldiers tasked with beating the drums so we could sing the song that every sailor in the Empire had learned without exception.

‘We will split the fleet in two: a small part of the ships will focus on completely encircling the port to prevent anyone from escaping Lys, while the rest will focus solely on taking the port,’ I thought, starting to sing the Imperial Navy’s anthem, “Sailing to Victory.”

---

To Lys we sail, to Lys we fight,
Hurrah! Hurrah! We strike with might!
With fire and steel on raging seas,
We are the storm, no force can seize.

See the dragon, roaring high,
Its wings spread wide, against the sky.
On our prow, our banners gleam,
No foe escapes the dragon’s scream.

To Lys we sail, to Lys we fight,
Hurrah! Hurrah! We strike with might!
With fire and steel on raging seas,
We are the storm, no force can seize.

Hear us, Lys! Your harbor’s doomed,
For the Iron Throne, we bring your tomb.
With flaming arrows and sharpened blades,
Our victory written in burning shades.

To Lys we sail, to Lys we fight,
Hurrah! Hurrah! We strike with might!
With fire and steel on raging seas,
We are the storm, no force can seize.

Our hulls cut deep through waves and spray,
To claim the port and win the day.
None shall return without the prize,
The Targaryen banner in burning skies.

To Lys we sail, to Lys we fight,
Hurrah! Hurrah! We strike with might!
With fire and steel on raging seas,
We are the storm, no force can seize.

---

As I finished the song, I could feel all my soldiers were invigorated, ready to fight and storm the port.

With Prince Viserys’s legions by our side, we would have no trouble taking the city and holding it.

Once we reached the port, I noticed many ships trying to maneuver around us in an attempt to flee, and the gates separating the city from the port were beginning to close.

‘Dawn—the perfect time for a surprise attack,’ I thought as I watched the first rays of sunlight appear on the horizon.

ROAR OF SYRAX

ROAR OF RHAEGAL

I turned my gaze to the sky and, upon seeing the dragons, felt an immense wave of relief. The slight anxiety that had crept in vanished instantly, and I watched in awe as the two dragons plunged at dizzying speed.

They descended swiftly in opposite directions, and within the blink of an eye, they were nearly at the walls separating the port from the city. With a powerful beat of their wings, they pulled up just before reaching the stone.

Both dragons opened their enormous jaws, capable of…

‘I can’t even fathom what they could devour, but certainly more than a single man,’ I thought, a deep-seated fear of dragons stirring within me.

Then they unleashed torrents of flame onto the walls.

The green fire of Rhaegal and the bronze-like brown blaze of Syrax combined, shattering a large portion of the barrier.

‘To think, at one time, my ancestors tamed such creatures,’ I thought, momentarily distracted.

But what truly captured my attention wasn’t the two dragons, who continued to soar over the walls, torching the tired, disoriented guards who had worked the night shift and were caught off guard by our surprise attack. No, it was the dark figure that had detached itself from Rhaegal’s back and now floated in the air.

The sight of this lone figure, hovering mid-air, immediately told me who it was.

‘This is my moment—the chance to make myself known.’

I shouted, “THE EMPEROR WATCHES US AND HAS CHOSEN TO FIGHT BESIDE US!”

A wave of triumphant cries and shouts from the gathered mariners and legionnaires washed over me, shaking my entire being as though I’d been struck by lightning, filling me with energy and strength I hadn’t known I possessed.

I tightened my grip on my axe and raised it high, bellowing:

“DO NOT BRING SHAME TO THE EMPEROR!”

‘Let’s go take this bitch’ I thought, as I stepped onto the quay of one of the three Valyrian Bastards.