Chapter 455: Oldtown, Here I Come!

Narrow Sea, Lower Half

The blue sea was calm.

"Roar!"

The black dragon let out a low growl, its body gliding close to the surface of the sea, claws dipping into the water and splitting the waves.

The Stepstones, Outside Grey Gallows

Two small cargo ships drifted, their decks conspicuously covered with black cloth.

Boom!

The black dragon soared into the sky, spewing Dragonfire onto the cargo ships. The black cloth ignited immediately, revealing two heavy scorpion crossbows.

Rhaegar, seated on the dragon's back, was unsurprised and commanded coldly, "Dracarys!"

Cannibal complied, circling the ships and unleashing dark green Dragonfire, evenly spreading the flames. Soon, a commotion erupted from the cabins as hundreds of pirates in ragged clothes and armor crawled out, wailing and cursing before being consumed by the fire along with the ships.

"Cannibal, let's go!"

Watching the ships' planks float away, Rhaegar remained unmoved, steering the dragon back toward Sunspear.

"Roar!"

The Cannibal growled softly, its huge body turning nimbly as it soared towards The Broken Arm. Rhaegar's expression relaxed, and he leaned back in the saddle, lazily looking up at the sky.

A month had passed since the start of the second round of Dragon's Wrath. Dorne had been bathed in Dragonfire several times, and its already sparse castles and villages had been thoroughly destroyed. With the war in Dorne, forces outside the Narrow Sea couldn't resist stirring up trouble. Pirates frequently harassed the shipping lanes of the Stepstones and secretly entered the Sea of Dorne to transport goods, leading to countless incidents of theft and robbery.

Feeling the sea breeze on his face, Rhaegar closed his eyes and thought quietly: "The rebellion in Dorne is not over. Nobles everywhere are calling on the common people to organize small-scale uprisings."

These small-scale rebellions were not taken seriously. Rhaenys guarded Sunspear, overseeing Qyle Martell and a portion of the Dorne nobles who had surrendered. The Sea Snake moved to Planky Town, restoring the Greenblood River shipping route to the Stepstones and connecting the entire Disputed Lands, effectively blocking the shipping lanes in the lower half of the Narrow Sea.

The only drawback was the insufficient naval forces. Although the patrol fleet could spot enemy ships, pirates occasionally managed to sneak in.

"The Prince's Pass is sealed, and the Boneway is being rebuilt into a fortress." With the sea defenses in place, Rhaegar thought about garrisoning the Red Mountains.

The blockade of The Prince's Pass was completed. Nightsong was in the interior, and Kingsgrave was in the middle. House Fowler in Skyreach had surrendered after several months of imprisonment.

Lord Fowler had three sons. The eldest, a radical who hated the Iron Throne, was poisoned by his second brother, who coveted the house head position.

When the eldest died, the third brother led Ormund into Skyreach to capture the second brother, who was caught red-handed. With only one brother left, the third inherited Skyreach. Ormund took control of the military forces and allocated territory to accept Dorne civilians who had fled there. Meanwhile, the blockade of Boneway was extended to the far reaches.

Helaena rushed to the Prince's palace to oversee the transportation of supplies from all over the place, using Dragonstone to complete the palace ahead of schedule. Blackhaven, severely depleted, could only defend Boneway and cooperate with Daemon to search for rebel forces hiding in the mountains. A new town for refugees was built at the eastern end of the Dragonlord's Altar, at the exit of the Boneway. Donald Tarly led 10,000 men from The Reach to oversee the town's construction and take in the refugees, providing shelter and dry food while drafting young men as laborers.

The blockade plan of three parallel lines—thePrince's Pass, Boneway, and Greenblood River—was successfully implemented. Resistance forces, active in the hinterland of Dorne and the desert, were unable to leave the Red Mountains. Without a port or access to the Narrow Sea, they were essentially imprisoned.

Rhaegar thought to himself, "Dorne has no farmland or wells. The remnants of the resistance will surely be desperate, and then the third round of Dragon's Wrath will be unleashed."

In less than half a year, civilians would abandon the rebellion due to hunger. Nobles, losing the support of the common people, would be reduced to insignificant threats, mere grains of sand in the vast desert.

"Roar..."

Suddenly, Cannibal let out a low growl, its head turning to stare in one direction. Rhaegar detected a note of curiosity in the dragon's voice and braced himself with his elbows.

Cannibal was incredibly fast, and in no time it had flown beyond the range of the Stepstones, now approaching the west coast of The Broken Arm. Following the dragon's line of sight, Rhaegar realized it was focused on the island of Estermont.

The island lay across the sea from the Stormlands, adjacent to Mistwood City in the south of Rainwood. It was the fief of House Estermont of Greenstone. The blue sky was dotted with drifting clouds, and the weather was clear and sultry.

"Roar..."

A piercing roar of grief echoed through the air.

Whoosh!

A pale silver dragon leapt out of the island and disappeared into the clouds. Rhaegar recognized it instantly and frowned. "Seasmoke?"

Seasmoke flew away like a fugitive, its mournful cries lingering in the air. Rhaegar remembered hearing from the Sea Snake that fishermen near Sunspear had spotted a dragon wandering between The Broken Arm and The Summer Sea. It seemed Seasmoke had not given up its search.

"Alas, cousin Laenor has truly failed as a friend," Rhaegar sighed, deciding to pay no further attention.

In total, eight dragons had appeared on the battlefield in Dorne. Six of them unleashed Dragon's Wrath and participated in the conquest of Dorne. Vermithor had returned to Dragonstone, but Seasmoke was still mourning its master.

...

Sunspear

A man and a dragon returned, landing in the courtyard of the old palace.

"Moo, moo~~"

The Sheepstealer crouched in the corner of the courtyard, savoring the goat being fed by an attendant and listening to the prey's moans.

Cannibal lowered his dragon's head, giving a quick, disdainful glance with his green pupils.

"Roar..."

The Sheepstealer let out a scream, swallowed the goat whole, and moved to a more secluded corner, unwilling to provoke further conflict.

Rhaegar climbed down from the dragon's back and entered the old palace. He glanced up just in time to see the golden Sunfyre perched at the tip of the Sun Tower, its pale pink membranous wings spread wide.

Rhaegar shook his head, thinking, "A dragon is only as good as its master."

Fortunately, Sunspear was still secure. With the two dragons kept in the open air, there was no need to worry about anyone with evil intentions.

The Old Palace, The Prince's Study

Rhaegar was alone, removing his loose black robe and sitting at the desk. He took out a knife with engraved inscriptions on the surface. The war was winding down, leaving only the work of polishing.

Taking a break from his busy schedule, he decided to cultivate his skills.

Swish, swish, swish...

With small, precise movements, the knife gradually transformed a grapefruit-sized stone into the shape of a fiery peak. The solid wood table was covered with many stone carvings, mostly of dragons and various buildings.

Rhaegar took a few looks at the fire peak and continued polishing it until he was satisfied. The carving knife required exquisite skills to simulate the engraving.

For now, he specialized in stone carving, imitating his father to create a complete Freehold Empire.

Knock, knock...

The door was knocked open, almost kicked off its hinges.

Rhaegar's hand trembled, carving a gap in the base of the fire peak. His face darkened, and he looked up stiffly.

Aegon stood there, his face as sour as if he owed everyone a bag of gold dragons.

Bang!

Rhaegar slammed his hand on the table, nearly sending the carving knife flying like a concealed weapon. He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "Aegon, you better have a good reason for kicking in my door. Otherwise, something will definitely happen to you."

Aegon froze for a moment, noticing the fire peak stone carving his brother had marred. He immediately calmed down.

Rhaegar's tone was stern. "Hurry up and say it. Don't make me slap you when I'm in a good mood."

He thought it had been a while since he had beaten his younger brother. Glancing at the carving knife, he shook his head.

If he cut him down, not only would he lose his brother, but he would also have to explain it to his father.

"Grrrr..."

Aegon shivered and swallowed. "Well, Otto wrote to me, urging me to go to Oldtown to prepare for an attack by the Dornish."

He hurriedly added, "You know me, brother. I hate Oldtown and Hightower, but my mother is also urging me, and it's really annoying."

"So what?" Rhaegar's eyes narrowed.

Is this boy trying to show his loyalty to me?

Aegon glanced at him and asked tentatively, "Why don't you go to Oldtown and take care of it for me?"

"Me?" Rhaegar's eyes flashed with incredulity.

Do you even hear what you're saying?

Guess why Otto and the others are insisting that you go, repeatedly bypassing the overall commander.

Aegon, pretending to be wise, raised his chin. "It's better if you go. I'll continue to attack Dorne with Aemond, and we won't get in each other's way."

He had heard about the situation in King's Landing. His father was bedridden. His mother and Otto were urging him to go to Oldtown, while they wereurging Aemond to return to King's Landing. It was obvious that they were up to something.

He's just a fool, not a complete idiot.

He thought for a moment and decided to continue acting like an idiot.

Rhaegar laughed and, instead of making a decision, asked, "Do you know what's going on in Oldtown?"

"Dayne and House Blackmont have gathered a thousand men and are approaching Oldtown via the mountain pass," Aegon replied without hesitation. "House Hightower has half his troops stationed on the Stepstones and 30% at The Prince's Pass, leaving only a few hundred to defend the city. The Castellan ordered Oldtown to be sealed off, and the Dornish are looting the crops in the fiefdom."

He knew very well.

Rhaegar hinted, "Ormund is making a big deal out of nothing, and Otto is meddling."

"That's right," Aegon agreed wholeheartedly. "Ormund has been urging me to go back to Oldtown. He said that if I don't go back, he'll return himself."

Rhaegar said calmly, "He's already gone back. He might be in the Hightower or the Citadel right now."

"Ah?" Aegon was confused.

Rhaegar smiled, not revealing the full truth. The reason the Dornish could enter The Reach and precisely target Oldtown was that someone had opened the back door. Hightower had committed many sins, and whether Aegon went to help or not, Ormund, as the lord, would not feel at ease. He was even more afraid that the heir prince would destroy Oldtown with his men.

The Shadow Messenger of Nightsong had sent word that Ormund had slipped away two weeks ago. The Prince's Pass was now under the control of the Nightsong Castellan.

Aegon was puzzled, the gradually growing fullness of his pale face frozen in confusion, his eyes revealing a clear stupidity.

Rhaegar put away his carving knife, got up from his chair, and walked out. When he reached Aegon, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Call Aemond and go to Oldtown tomorrow. The three of us will go together."

Then he walked past him.

"???

Aegon was almost shocked off his feet, pointing at his own face and stammering, "Am I still going?"

(Word count: 1,969)