Chapter 665: The Emperor's Southern Tour

"It's time."

"Didn't expect to reel in so many people all at once."

In the sky above, a grey-backed falcon soared, its greyish-black eyes surveying the battlefield below before taking to the wind.

On the ground, within the walls of Skyreach City, the Old Falcon, Franklin Fowler, watched the royal army slowly retreat back to their encampment. He couldn't help but discard his blood-stained longsword and burst into laughter, gazing towards the heavens.

"Ha ha ha—"

"Our reinforcements have finally arrived."

The Count of Skyreach City's armor was battered and torn, his white beard stained with blood. The soldiers of House Fowler on the walls couldn't even muster a laugh; they all simply sat on the ground, heaving great breaths, their eyes filled with the relief of having narrowly escaped death.

Skyreach City was nearly breached just moments ago. Since the significant defeat at Prince's Pass, House Fowler had been desperately holding on with only a few hundred soldiers left.

If it weren't for the treacherous geographical conditions of Skyreach City, making it easy to defend but difficult to assault, it might have fallen, and Lord Fowler might have been taken to King's Landing for trial.

Fortunately, Franklin Fowler had a good reputation in Dorne and wide connections. More importantly, the policy throughout the Seven Kingdoms had sparked much dissatisfaction among the Dornish nobility. They wanted to express their discontent by seizing this opportunity. The royal army, having broken through Prince's Pass and invaded Dorne, touched a sensitive nerve among the Dornish nobility.

Of course, they didn't expect the Iron Throne to change its national policy to consider the feelings of the Dornish nobility.

Although the Dornish nobles were frenzied, they weren't mindless. They knew it was an impossible matter, tantamount to openly rebelling.

Waiting for them would be like the first and second Dornish Wars—armies from the Six Kingdoms attacking Dorne from multiple directions, creating a bloodbath and paying a horrendous price to win the war.

Thus, the Dornish nobles wanted to use Lord Franklin Fowler's situation to express their dissatisfaction to the Iron Throne. Their only demand was for the Riverlands to return those who had fled Dorne and hand them over to Dornish law for punishment.

Because they had violated the local laws set by the lord and nobility, leaving their homeland unbidden, they were criminals in Dorne and should be returned home for trial.

The demands of the Dornish nobles seemed reasonable to them.

After all, Dorne was promised to be a 'Special Zone' by Viserys himself.

While the Special Zone did not adhere to changes in other regions of the Seven Kingdoms and still practiced the high degree of autonomy from the old noble era (except in name, still being subservient to the Iron Throne), Dorne had the right to establish its own laws.

However, they clearly underestimated one thing.

That is, they weren't as important or powerful in the eyes of Viserys as they imagined.

Although Dorne had helped him seize the Iron Throne, Viserys, not being an ungrateful person, felt that the help and merit provided by Dorne were not enough to allow them such insolence.

Moreover, the confidence of the Dornish people had always stemmed from the first Dornish War, where they successfully resisted the dragon attack of House Targaryen and even shot down Queen Rhaenys and her dragon, Meraxes, at Hellholt.

This war, starting in the fourth year of Aegon's reign and lasting until the thirteenth, spanned nearly ten years before a truce was reached. The Targaryen army withdrew from Dornish territory, and, having paid a tremendous price, Dorne maintained its independence and freedom.

This war gave the Dornish ample confidence, lasting through three hundred years of history. The later Dornish people also believed they could resist dragon attacks like their ancestors.

However, history often tells people that even the most prosperous country will have a day of decline. The current Dornish army does not have the bravery of their ancestors when they resisted the invasion.

Their ancestors could fiercely resist the dragon attacks of House Targaryen, but that doesn't mean they can too.

...

Meanwhile, in distant King's Landing.

Viserys, just crowned as the first Emperor of Valyria, mounted his dragon, prepared for a solo tour to the south.

Viserys, in this respect, was somewhat like Aegon; once he unified the six kingdoms, he liked to ride his dragon and tour around when idle.

And Viserys' wife, Arianne, holding little Daenerys's hand, came to bid farewell to her husband.

"My love."

"No matter what, please forgive my father."

The Dornish queen, her beautiful eyes filled with tears, holding the hand of her toddling daughter, knew naturally as Viserys' confidante what her husband intended to do on this southern tour. In recent days, the war reports coming every few days have been discussing the situation in Dorne.

The Dornish war situation is not optimistic. The Count of Skyreach City, the Old Falcon, is not prepared to kneel and submit but is prepared to resist to the end, even assembling many nobles who are friendly with House Fowler.

And the strength of House Fowler itself is not weak. House Fowler is the "Guardian of the Prince's Pass". They are a large family with strength parallel to the "Guardian of the Stone Way" House Yronwood, under House Martell, with many vassals.

Even if House Martell intervened, it could not fully quell the rebellion of Skyreach City. After all, this is the disadvantage of traditional noble governance.

The king is a large noble, and the vassal king is just a slightly larger noble. Everyone still governs themselves; if it is in line with common interests, they will listen to you. If it is not in line with common interests, everyone will do their own thing.

Moreover, now the Iron Throne wants Lord Fowler's head; how could he easily plead guilty and submit?

"Of course, Arianne."

"This matter has nothing to do with Prince Doran."

And Viserys, hearing his wife's words, couldn't help but soften inside. He gently kissed her forehead, then once again mounted the back of Balerion.

The massive black dragon turned its head to look at the silver-haired little girl tottering on the ground.

It knew this was Viserys' daughter.

Then, it let out a low, rumbling roar, and with a powerful push from its hind legs and a flutter of its wings, it shot into the sky, flying toward the south of the empire.