"Hiss—gaah!"
The black dragon, like a spirit in a storm, darted gracefully between thunder and lightning. Blue and white forked bolts crackled around him, adding an air of mystery and majesty to his already imposing presence.
"Hiss—gaah!"The black dragon burst through the dark clouds, soaring and circling a thousand meters above the Dragon Tower. He didn't dive down to breathe fire right away.
But Ser Peck and Lucion couldn't help but shout in alarm, "Attack!"
The soldiers in lion-helm armor pulled their triggers. More than thirty scorpion ballistae—each the size of a treadmill—launched a sparse volley of bolts. The giant quarrels, each as tall as a man, tore through the rain-soaked air, forming long air tunnels as they soared over 300 meters high before stalling mid-air and finally plunging into the sea.
"Hiss—gaah!"The black dragon let out another cry, dipped his head, and flapped his wings, gliding toward the Galleon flying the true dragon banner over the sea.
"The dragon ran! Even dragons fear the scorpion bolts! We drove it away!"
Ser Peck in black armor froze for a moment, his fear vanishing, replaced by elated cheering.
"The scorpion is incredible! Its range far surpasses dragonflame. From the top of Dragon Tower, the bolts can almost reach the entire Drum Tower."
Though they didn't land a hit, perhaps they'd scared the dragon off. Ser Lucion was also delighted.
"Long live King Tommen! Long live House Lannister!"Led by Ser Peck, over a hundred lion-helmed soldiers atop the tower roared in unison.
"Ser, you attacked a dragon," said Maester Pyllos, his lips swollen red but his expression still serious and dutiful as he reminded his current lord. "By attacking a dragon, you've rejected the Dragon Queen's offer of surrender."
Lucion raised an eyebrow dismissively. "You saw it. With scorpion bolts, the dragon doesn't dare approach the Drum Tower. She's got nothing but a thousand makeshift troops—there's no way they can break Dragonstone's castle defenses."
"Whooo—whooo—!"
At sea...
From the flagship Layla, positioned at the center of the fleet two kilometers off Dragonstone, a sharp horn blast sounded.
Before setting out, the Old Crab had wanted to rename the New Red Crab to Holy Daenerys, but the Dragon Queen had politely declined with a smile, suggesting Layla instead.
"Whooo—whooo—!"
On the other side of Dragonstone, a fishing village horn echoed in return. Four hundred armored soldiers bearing the three-headed dragon banner marched steadily along a rugged mountain path toward the castle gates.
"Hahaha! The bastard dragon's been enraged and is trying a full assault on the Drum Tower!"Ser Peck burst into laughter, holding onto the scorpion ballista's wooden frame as he pointed toward the dragon troops in the distant hills. "Lucion, look! Only four hundred armored soldiers dare to attack Dragonstone? That woman clearly knows nothing about her own home's defenses!"
"Ser Peck, leave this to me. Go down there and give those rebels a proper punishment. Let them understand the cost of betraying the Iron Throne," Lucion said coldly.
"I'll make sure they never return!" Ser Peck said with a cruel grin before departing.
Glancing at the young, soaked-haired but respectfully standing maester, Lucion frowned and said, "Maester Pyllos, send word to King's Landing immediately. Tell King Tommen there's no need to rush the reinforcements.
I swear by the name of Lannister, the Mother of Dragons won't take Dragonstone within a month."
Ten minutes later...
A raven flew from the rookery of Sea Dragon Tower, heading west toward the coastal city.
"Hiss—gaah..."The dragon's cry came faintly through the mist.
Lucion had been watching the massive Galleon through a monocular. Now, he vaguely saw two dragons—one black, one white—leap off the ship's stern. They glided away from the tower before gaining altitude and vanishing into the foggy haze.
"Where did those beasts go? What is Daenerys Targaryen planning?"
Frowning with suspicion, he turned his spyglass in all directions, scanning the sky in hopes of locating their point of attack.
"Shrieeee—"
"Shrieeee—"
Suddenly, sharp whistling sounds came from overhead. Lucion and the lion-helmed guards looked up—and their pupils shrank in horror.
Two black "stones," each as large as a bathtub, plummeted straight from the sky.
The dragons had once again vanished into the mist, but those massive jars had already fallen a thousand meters. Only five hundred meters remained between them and the tower.
"Seven hells—dragons can throw stones now?!" Lucion's face twisted in shock. He gauged where the "stones" would land, bolted out of the danger zone, and shouted, "Quick! Scatter! The platform's huge—don't crowd!"
Indeed, the Dragon Tower was massive, large enough to host a dragon like Balerion. Its area was bigger than a basketball court. Two falling jars could definitely be avoided.
But—"Those are jars?!"
"Boom! Boom!"
The earthen jars exploded into shards that tore through armor and flesh, unleashing screams of agony among the soldiers.
The liquid inside burst out at high speed, turning into an oil mist that ignited mid-air.
"BOOOM!!!!"
A ten-meter-high mushroom cloud rose from the top of Dragon Tower, a mix of red fire and black smoke.
Mangled limbs, burning corpses still mid-air, intact bodies—all were flung outward along with shattered ballistae and twisted bolts.
Some fell into the sea off the cliff, others landed on rooftops and courtyards of the Drum Tower behind.
The entire castle quaked faintly from the impact.
Six hundred pounds of fire oil turned Dragon Tower into a blazing torch that could be seen for kilometers. Sixty scorpion handlers, fifty archers, and their commander Ser Lucion—all obliterated in one blow.
"So terrifying!" Crab Second stared wide-eyed, a mix of horror and excitement on his face.
"I never imagined dragons could be used this way..."Old Aemon, wrapped in a sealskin cloak, gazed toward the burning tower and murmured dreamily, "If used wisely, the scorpion bolts seem ineffective against dragons."
"Incredible... If those jars had been filled not with fire oil, but with wildfire... and if it hadn't fallen on Dragon Tower, but on—"
The Old Crab turned pale and uttered two words: "King's Landing. Red Keep!"
"Bring Layla close to the cliff behind the castle. We'll land from there."With her hands clasped behind her back, Daenerys stood as the sea breeze laced with fine rain tousled her hair, adding a chill and ethereal beauty to her moonlit face.
"Hiss—gaah!"
"Hiss—gaah!"
Dahei and Xiaobai landed on the deck, causing the massive galleon to sway violently a few times.
Ten minutes later, they returned carrying large water jars sealed with wooden lids, flying above the castle.
Amid the terrified shouts of the guards, they set fire to two watchtowers equipped with standard ballistae, burning dozens of lion-helmed guards alive.
*"Rumble—"*
By the time Leila slowly approached within 300 meters of the cliff behind the castle, over a dozen pillars of flame had already erupted around the Stone Drum Tower.
Thick smoke billowed, a burnt stench filled the air, and even the people aboard the ship could smell the aroma of roasting flesh.
*"Screech—"*
*"Screech—"*
This time, Dahei and Xiaobai didn't carry water jars. Instead, they dropped a long rope ladder with three or four knights standing on it.
They were the first to seize control of the Dragon Tower where the flames had begun to die down. With steel shields in hand, they formed a defensive formation at the stairwell.
After the dragons made a dozen or so rapid trips, nearly a hundred knights in full armor had gathered at the tower. Only then did the Dragon Queen descend riding her black dragon.
The knights did not break formation.
According to the battle plan, Bronn had already led four hundred armored troops to seal off all exits — the lions had nowhere to run.
Indeed, the four hundred Dragon soldiers arriving from the fishing village never attacked the castle gates directly. Instead, they formed a tight formation and blocked the narrow stone path outside the main entrance.
*"Screech—"* Dahei lifted his head, condensing a blazing red fireball the size of a washbasin in his mouth, and dropped it into Dany's hand to the astonishment of all around.
"A true dragon needs the flesh and blood of lions to fill its belly. Follow me and sweep Dragonstone clean!"
Ten fully armored knights with curved shields led the charge, followed by archers, spearmen, and sword-wielding knights.
Everyone was clad in iron armor and iron helmets.
Dany walked at the rear, protected by Barristan.
Dahei and Xiaobai continued their work as aerial transports. As the Dragon Queen led a hundred armored warriors across the castle defenses—attacking from above and behind with overwhelming force in each small battle zone—the two dragons kept bringing more soldiers from the ship.
Dragonstone Castle was built into the mountains, its terrain treacherous. Each murder hole, parapet, and watchtower formed a formidable barrier, each capable of inflicting heavy casualties on attackers.
For example, Ser Loras the Knight of Flowers charged too quickly and was doused with boiling oil from a murder hole, turning him into a scorched, upgraded version of the Hound.
But all the defenses were designed to repel attacks from below and from the front—not from above or behind—and were utterly ineffective against the Dragon Queen's elite strike team.
Moreover, Lannister forces were spread thin. With over a dozen checkpoints, each guarded by only a dozen or so men, how could they hope to resist the Dragon Queen's hundred-strong armored unit?
The Dragon Queen fought as if cheating—wielding a massive fireball and launching smaller ones with a rapid "whoosh-whoosh."
As the Dragon Queen advanced steadily, the number of Dragon troops within the castle gradually surpassed the lions. More and more soldiers bore breastplates painted with the sigil of the three-headed dragon. Lion-helmed soldiers began to scatter and flee.
*"Woooo—"*
As the lion-helmed goldcloaks fled in panic and opened the castle gates to escape, Bronn outside the castle blew the horn to signal the attack.
After Duke Tywin's death, Cersei became the Queen Regent.
A leader's business acumen and ability to command their subordinates determine the upper limits of their team's competence.
An incompetent ruler tends to attract equally mediocre ministers.
Cersei's ambition soared to the heavens, but her intelligence, skill, and judgment rivaled that of her eldest son, Joffrey.
After she became regent, the royal court in King's Landing became a feast for crows.
Truly capable and outspoken ministers, such as Kevan Lannister, left the center of power. Nobodies who excelled at flattery and pleasing the Queen Regent took their places in the halls of governance.
When the Queen Regent was trapped in the Great Sept by the High Sparrow and subjected to various humiliations, her Hand of the King, Orton Merryweather, fled.
Her Admiral, Aurane Waters, escaped King's Landing with "Cersei's Grand Fleet."
Her Master of Coin, Harys Swyft, and Grand Maester Pycelle not only made no effort to rescue her but instead took the opportunity to seize control of the court in her absence.
Heaven help her—once the most revered Queen Regent of the Seven Kingdoms—was now left with only the obedient "Poison Maester" Qyburn by her side.
Just over a week ago, when the Citadel informed King's Landing that the Dragon Queen had violated guest rights and burned down the Citadel, the Small Council—under Grand Maester Pycelle's control—barely reacted.
The Citadel was far from King's Landing. So were Myr and Tyrosh. And news of the Dragon Queen had been coming across the Narrow Sea for a long time.
At first, Pycelle was deeply concerned about the return of House Targaryen. He even conspired with Tywin to poison the Dragon Queen.
But after a year or two of continuous reports, people grew numb.
Let her come, they thought. After all, it was the Citadel that got burned. Besides, she violated guest rights — Seven above, that's actually good news!
The Dragon Queen turned out to be even crazier than her father.
No noble in the Seven Kingdoms would ever support a second Mad King.
It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop—Pycelle felt both relieved and reassured.
He began cooperating with the Citadel, amplifying the narrative that the Dragon Queen was even madder than the last Targaryen king.
Until he received raven after raven: the Dragon Queen had arrived at Tidehead Isle. The Dragon Queen had launched an assault on Dragonstone.
"Perhaps... it's time to encourage the High Sparrow to get rid of that idiot Cersei," Grand Maester Pycelle thought sorrowfully.
(End of Chapter)
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