The defenders of Pentos now consisted of several groups.
One part was the former Pentos garrison soldiers who had heard that all the magisters had been burned to death and had surrendered.
Another part was the mercenaries of the Windblown.
The Windblown mercenaries were decent fighters individually, but their discipline was poor. Even after Jon's training, there wasn't enough time to break their old habits.
The former garrison soldiers were in a similar situation. They were all seasoned soldiers, skilled in taking bribes and shirking duties, but they couldn't bring out strong combat power in a real battle.
Moreover, due to the impending war, Pentos had temporarily hired many mercenaries and wandering knights.
The combined combat power of these people could be described as 'elite', gathering talents from all sides.
If they really took these people out of the city to chase and kill the Dothraki... it would probably be like throwing meat buns at a dog, a one-way trip.
"Your Majesty, we only need to hold the city walls to stop the Dothraki."
"There's no need to take this risk."
Jon Connington quickly dissuaded, dispelling Viserys' bold idea.
Although the dragon's deterrent power was strong, the main body of the war was still the army and soldiers. The dragon was just a heavyweight factor affecting the outcome of the war.
Jon had advised Viserys on this point from the first time he saw him. As a king, he should prioritize his people and his soldiers.
Aegon's conquest of Westeros was not solely dependent on dragons. He feared that Viserys, having achieved fame at a young age, would become overconfident and overly reliant on dragons to solve problems.
He might ultimately become a person like his father, the Mad King, overly obsessed with power, trying to maintain his rule by creating fear.
Fortunately for Jon, Viserys did not seem to be such a tyrant at the moment.
If all the soldiers of Pentos died, Viserys and a dragon alone could not hold such a large city-state. In the end, he would just ride the dragon and abandon the city.
Viserys, stopped by Jon, smiled and shook his head slightly.
He also understood that the soldiers of Pentos were not Unsullied, nor were they the elite Andal warriors he had once led.
Such fragile soldiers could not fight the Dothraki in the field. Losing the protection of the city walls would be a disaster for these people.
"Mm, I understand."
Viserys nodded slightly.
He then looked at the Dothraki setting up camp in the distance. It seemed that the Dothraki did not plan to attack the city today.
He also lost interest in watching further.
Then the young king turned and walked down the city wall.
...
The eighty thousand Dothraki were divided on the great plains. The main force was three Khals leading fifty thousand roaring warriors to attack Pentos.
On the other side were over thirty thousand Dothraki led by Khal Jhaqo and Khal Moro.
They wanted to break through the Castle of the Warrior's Spirit, and then advance north to threaten Andalos.
These Dothraki attacking the Castle of the Warrior's Spirit encountered their enemies earlier than the main force.
The earliest clash was on the banks of the Rhoyne.
A scattered patrol of the First Legion cavalry and the Dothraki engaged in fierce combat. Both sides lost some soldiers and then retreated.
Upon receiving the news of the Dothraki's approach, the commander of the Legion, Bessie Joyce, also ordered a contraction of the defensive line. Ten thousand Andal warriors returned to their camp, climbed onto the city walls and fortifications, ready to defend against the Dothraki attack.
The Castle of the Warrior's Spirit is still a half-finished castle, with most of the soldiers stationed in semi-permanent camps.
Therefore, they were virtually field fighting with the Dothraki, under tremendous pressure. Bessie, being cautious, retreated first, showing weakness to the enemy.
Fortunately, the First Legion was composed of elite Andal warriors who had followed Viserys from the beginning. They had defeated Khal Drogo's forces before and were not afraid of the Dothraki.
Unlike the Pentos garrison, they were one of the few forces that could engage the Dothraki in the field.
However, this time the Dothraki army was much larger than theirs, forcing them to switch to defense.
A man in full armor wearing a metal mask climbed onto the city wall.
"Commander."
"Commander."
The Andal soldiers on the towering city wall saw their commander and quickly made way, greeting him.
Bessie, holding onto the railing, walked with a slightly awkward gait.
He wore bright armor and a white battle robe. The morning sun shone on him, as if blessed by the light of the Seven. The seven-pointed star symbol on his mask added a touch of sanctity.
He was a son of the Warrior, blessed with courage and strength by the gods, and given the sacred duty to defeat enemies.
"May... the Warrior protect us."
Due to his physical discomfort, Bessie stood on the city wall with a somewhat crooked posture, then spoke in a hoarse, calm voice.
His dark eyes were bright, his breathing steady. He looked at the endless Dothraki below the castle and the refugees they drove, showing no signs of nervousness.
"May the Warrior protect us!"
The soldiers following Bessie Joyce, with the Targaryen three-headed dragon emblem on their armor and a small seven-pointed star on their chests, also roared in unison.
It was clear that the Andal people on the Andalos plain had a fervent belief in the Seven.
This belief was also their motivation to resist the Dothraki attack.
"Rhaesh Andahli!"
This was the Dothraki term for Land of the Andals.
In the distance, riding on the tallest warhorse, Khal Jhaqo of the Dothraki drew his arakh, pointing it towards the distant Castle of the Warrior's Spirit and let out a roar.
"Kill them all!"
"Tear down their stone houses! Take their wealth! Rape their women!"
Behind the Castle of the Warrior's Spirit was the rich and peaceful Andalos plain.
The sacred Seven had once descended on this land, crowning the Andal king.
Immediately after, the endless Dothraki blew the horn of siege, driving the captured refugees towards the castle.
"Commander, what should we do?"
On the black castle wall, a soldier of the First Legion, seeing this scene, felt a bit of a chill, then turned his head to look at their commander.
These rushing refugees would impact their pre-arranged horse pits, trenches, and wooden caltrops.
Bessie's eyes under the mask narrowed slightly, and he took a deep breath.
"Tell them to stop advancing, hide under the city wall."
"What if they don't listen?"
The soldier asked.
Bessie looked at the soldier but didn't speak.
He then refused the guard's help and walked unsteadily towards the tower.
...
Time passed quickly.
Soon.
The first day of the siege ended.
The Dothraki left a field of bodies and slowly retreated like a receding tide.
Chapter 263: Negotiations
Under the remnants of the setting sun.
On the ramparts of the Castle of the Warrior's Spirit, soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield, throwing bodies off the walls, including those of their fallen comrades.
The space within the castle and the camp was limited, with no place to store or even burn the bodies.
After all, this was still a half-finished castle, coupled with a semi-permanent camp.
The ten thousand soldiers of the First Legion were stationed here, relying on the tall wooden walls of the castle and the camp, where supplies were stored.
Therefore, the besieged First Legion was in a far more dangerous situation than Pentos, as they had almost no geographical advantages to exploit.
The Dothraki focused their attacks on the camp area without wall protection, essentially engaging in a protracted battle of attack and defense on the plains with the Dothraki.
After a whole day of fighting, the camp of the Legion had been breached several times, but each time they had managed to hold off the attacks. Now they were cleaning up the battlefield and rushing to repair the damage.
Inside the command center of the Castle of the Warrior's Spirit.
The commanders of the First Legion of the Kingdom were gathered together. Bessie Joyce, the commander of the Legion who came from a common background, was still in full armor, wearing a metal mask, sitting in the central position.
On his chest was a golden sword and shield medal.
On either side of his seat were rows of knights in shining armor. They were all commanders in the Legion, wearing armor emblazoned with the Targaryen three-headed dragon emblem, and on their chests was the seven-pointed star symbol representing the Seven.
One of the commanders couldn't help but speak up.
"Holding out won't defeat the Dothraki, Commander."
"And His Majesty is now besieged in Pentos, we can't even send out ravens."
In the past few days, several ravens sent out from the Castle of the Warrior's Spirit had been shot down by the Dothraki. Only one particularly agile one had managed to fly high and escape, but no news had come back yet.
"That's right."
Others also chimed in.
"I have a suggestion, Commander."
Another commander stood up.
He suggested going out of the city to fight, emulating the fire oil tactics used by His Majesty to burn the Dothraki.
Others put forward a variety of ideas, extending the battle line, forming shield formations, cavalry flanking maneuvers, charging to cut the battlefield, and so on.
It was clear that the grassroots commanders of the First Legion were much stronger than the defenders of Pentos. At least they had undergone regular military training and had been baptized by blood and fire.
However, Bessie, who was sitting in the first place, remained silent.
Ever since he had rushed into the sea of fire and been severely burned, he had become much more reticent.
When all the commanders had expressed their opinions, Bessie finally raised his head slightly and spoke in a hoarse, low voice.
"Gentlemen."
"Behind us is the Andalos plain, the homeland of our ancestors."
His gaze swept over all the faces around him, his voice emanating from beneath the metal mask.
"The reinforcements from Prince Oberyn will arrive soon."
"We won't continue to hold out."
"We need to deal with the enemy in front of us as soon as possible, and then go to Pentos to relieve His Majesty."
The commander's voice echoed in the meeting room.
He had decided not to hold out in the Castle of the Warrior's Spirit.
He understood that the Dothraki surrounding the castle were not their main force. The main force of the enemy must be besieging Pentos.
Although Bessie was very clear that the Dothraki were planning to besiege and relieve, he had once sworn to protect the safety of the king and not to betray Viserys' trust in him.
Therefore, Bessie first contracted the defense line, showing weakness to the enemy, causing the Dothraki to relax their vigilance.
Next, he planned to seize the moment when the enemy was lax, and defeat the enemy in front of him in one fell swoop.
When all the grassroots commanders of the Legion heard this, they were all shocked, knowing that the commander had decided to go out of the city and fight the Dothraki, who were several times their number.
However, they didn't feel fear, but rather their blood was boiling.
Then they all stood up in unison, pounding their chests with one hand.
"For the King!"
...
The continent of Essos was in turmoil.
All the Free Cities were focusing on the war that was breaking out on the Great Plains.
The ancient Valyrian road was even cut off, seriously affecting the trade routes to Norvos and Qohor.
You should know that the ancient trade route from Pentos to Norvos to Qohor has been maintained for many years and has become the economic lifeline of several inland cities.
And in distant Westeros.
At the end of the world.
King Robert, leading an alliance of all the major nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, had arrived at Winterfell long ago after two months of long journey.
Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark, a pair of good brothers with no blood relation, finally met again.
Then they rushed to the Wall together.
Because there were accumulating more and more Free Folk there, and the conflict between the Free Folk and the Night's Watch was escalating.
The Night's Watch unexpectedly sent out a cavalry unit to wipe out a small tribe, killing all the people, regardless of men, women, old and young.
However, then a Northern army unit that was also out for cleanup was ambushed by the Free Folk.
The cruel Thenns even skinned and flayed these Northern army prisoners, put them on a barbecue rack, and ate them in a location visible from the Wall.
Both sides accumulated deep hatred through these exchanges.
However, in this tense situation.
The king of the Free Folk suddenly sent a messenger, they heard from the prisoners that the king of the south seemed to have come here, so they sent a messenger to negotiate with the king of the south.
The messenger identified himself and was admitted to Castle Black, where he met Robert Baratheon, the king of the south who had just arrived at the Wall.
The messenger didn't waste any words, he directly stated that the footsteps of the White Walkers were getting closer and closer behind them, the real winter had not yet come, but it was not far off.
The messenger from the Free Folk kingdom demanded that Robert must open the gates and let the Free Folk pass through the Wall, otherwise their people would die.
And Mance Rayder's messenger also said that they had found the legendary 'Horn of Winter' on the Fist of the First Men.
It is said that over a thousand years ago, the King Beyond the Wall, Joramun, blew the 'Horn of Winter' and woke the sleeping giants from the ground, and the 'Horn of Winter' would also cause the Wall to collapse if blown.
If the king of the Seven Kingdoms is not prepared to let hundreds of thousands of Free Folk pass through the Wall to the warm south for survival.
Then Mance Rayder is prepared to blow this artifact to make the Wall collapse, and let the Seven Kingdoms and hundreds of thousands of Free Folk perish together.