Chapter 285: Building the Fleet

The Wall of Desperation has collapsed.

The tremors it caused for Westeros were no less impactful than the slaughter in Myr for Essos.

After all, the two continents are separated by a vast sea, and by the time Viserys received this news, it was already quite late. The nobles of the Seven Kingdoms had learned of it even earlier than Viserys.

It was only then that they realized... things had become complicated.

Due to the limitations of information transmission tools in this era, it takes time for important news to spread.

However, the reality is that important information often has a strong time sensitivity.

Viserys held the heavy intelligence report in his hand, his face solemn, showing no emotion.

To be honest, he didn't feel much schadenfreude, just a sense of trouble.

The Wall was the only barrier for humans to stop the White Walkers. The collapse of the Wall meant that it would be much more difficult for humans to stop the White Walkers.

Viserys hoped to see the Baratheon dynasty and the White Walkers fight each other to a standstill, so that he could reap the benefits. He did not want to see the White Walkers completely destroy the Seven Kingdoms.

If that happened, all of Westeros would probably become a ghost realm, with the dead walking the earth, creating an uncontrollable situation that could even threaten the safety of humans on this side of the Narrow Sea.

The problem that Viserys had been struggling with before now seemed to be no longer necessary to continue.

Reality had made the decision for him.

"How is the construction of the fleet going now?"

Viserys finished reading the intelligence in his hand, then looked up and asked.

The Dragonstone fleet, loyal to the Targaryen family, was ambushed years ago on Dragonstone by Stannis leading the royal fleet.

The key to this battle was that Stannis had bought off some of the soldiers and officers of the Dragonstone fleet.

And the 'distant relatives' of the Valyrian family, who had always been non-aligned and non-committal, suddenly sided with Baratheon and launched an attack on the Targaryen fleet stationed on Dragonstone.

This battle resulted in the defeat of the Dragonstone fleet, heavy losses, and they were forced to retreat to the coast of Braavos, giving up Dragonstone and also losing the ability to attack Westeros.

And the commander of the fleet, Count Jeffrey, was shot in the chest in the fight, seriously injured.

Although he was later rescued, he was left with a permanent ailment, and his old wounds would flare up from time to time.

The fleet suffered heavy losses, and the only naval general was seriously injured. Viserys' future attack on Westeros would first require the restoration of the Dragonstone fleet.

Therefore, over the past few years, the Targaryen family has allocated a lot of funds to restore the scale of the fleet, the total tonnage, the number of ships, and the number of ship soldiers.

But at that time, the Targaryen family only controlled the Andalos region, with only a narrow dock, and the shipbuilding industry was very backward, without the corresponding technology and ability to build large-tonnage ships.

Later, with Viserys' single-handed meeting, the two hundred people seized the city and took Pentos, all these problems were solved.

Pentos has a very prosperous port, with trade from the Seven Kingdoms and even the Jade Sea.

The shipbuilding industry is naturally very developed, with many skilled shipbuilders who can build the largest tonnage warships, so the plan to restore the Dragonstone fleet was

once again restarted.

The old flagship of the Dragonstone fleet, the Black Death, was too heavily damaged to be repaired and was honorably retired. It is now docked at the small seaport of the Sentinel's Tower.

The new Black Death is currently under construction, its tonnage far surpassing its predecessor, equipped with a large number of catapults and giant crossbows.

At the same time, two other main ships are being built at the Pentos shipyard, second only to the new Black Death. They are named after Rhaenys and Daenerys' dragons, Rhaegal and Viserion.

Upon hearing Viserys' question, Jon Connington, sitting in the second position on the left, perked up.

He then sorted out the useful parts from the thick pile of documents and handed them to Viserys.

"Your Majesty."

The three new ships being built in Pentos had always been under Jon Connington's supervision, so he was very familiar with their progress.

Sitting diagonally across from him, on Viserys' right hand, Oberyn was somewhat bored, playing with the ring in his hand, and glanced at Jon Connington.

Two months ago, he had just dismissed Jon Connington, but Jon seemed to bear no grudge against him, maintaining his usual demeanor, neither fawning nor distant, even somewhat aloof.

No one in the palace liked him, but no one dared not fear him.

Simply put, this man had no friends, his character was strict and meticulous, he didn't form cliques, and he always liked to present a professional demeanor.

Oberyn even suspected that the reason Jon didn't resent him was because he thought Oberyn's dismissal of him was in accordance with the rules, as Oberyn's position was higher and he had the power to do so.

On the other hand, Viserys looked at the information Jon handed him, his face not looking very good, his brows slightly furrowed.

Because the construction progress of the three warships was somewhat behind expectations.

Jon Connington might have noticed Viserys' displeasure, hesitated for a moment, and then explained.

"Your Majesty, the delay in shipbuilding is due to the siege some time ago, some key raw materials could not be transported in."

The slow construction of the three main ships had a reason. They had been besieged by the Dothraki some time ago, many raw materials for shipbuilding couldn't be transported in, naturally, they couldn't start work.

The three main ships were very demanding in terms of wood, it had to be hard enough, resistant to moisture and dampness, they couldn't cut corners, so it wasted a lot of time.

"Yes, I know."

"Jon, urge them again, let them speed up the progress."

Viserys naturally knew why the shipbuilding progress was delayed, then he frowned and said.

"If it's a little slower than usual during peacetime, that's fine."

"But now the situation in Westeros has dramatically changed, the Wall suddenly collapsed, the wildlings have flooded into the North, and the armies of the Seven Kingdoms have retreated to Winterfell to hunt down the wildlings."

"The situation is changing rapidly."

"We may need to prepare to invade Westeros at any time, whether to deal with the White Walkers or the usurpers. Even to take them both down at once, ships are indispensable."

Without a ship, Viserys could fly over, but his soldiers couldn't swim across the Narrow Sea.

Therefore, as long as the warships are not in place, even if Viserys wants to plot against Westeros, he can only stare helplessly.