Chapter 442: The Goal is Sunspear

Time flies, and several days have passed.

Skyreach

Ten thousand allied troops from The Reach were arrayed on the slopes of Dorne, their eyes fixed greedily on the siege weapons. After many days of preparation, they were finally poised to attack this formidable city.

"Roar!"

Cannibal roared, its enormous body blocking out the sun and casting a shadow over the army as it rushed towards Skyreach.

Rhaegar's face was as cold as ice. As the dragon glided over the troops, he shouted, "The city is about to fall. Attack!"

"Charge!"

"Prepare the catapults to cover the army!"

Shield-bearers rushed forward, protecting the spearmen and archers behind them.

"Roar..."

Dreamfyre snorted loudly, spreading its massive wings like the blue sky, and approached Skyreach from another direction.

Boom!

Two dragons circled above the city, spewing Dragonfire at will. The defenders on the city walls suffered severe blows, their morale instantly shattered.

On the city walls, Lord Fowler personally commanded, shouting in anger, "Set up the scorpion crossbows and shoot the dragons down!"

Click, click...

Several heavy scorpion crossbows rotated, aiming at the dragons in the sky.

Whoosh!

The steel spear was launched, but it missed the dragon by a long shot.

"Cannibal, kill him!" Rhaegar sneered, riding his dragon down.

The Cannibal's green eyes glared, and a mouthful of Dragonfire engulfed dozens of soldiers manning the scorpion crossbow.

"Seven levels of hell!" Lord Fowler cursed, feeling dizzy as he faced the dragon, considering retreat.

He thought of how his ancestors had dealt with Targaryen invaders—abandon the city and retreat into the desert.

He probably shouldn't have defended the city. It was a huge mistake.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Boom!

The closed city gates opened quietly, welcoming the Reach forces climbing the hill.

Mors, pale and missing an arm, blood soaking his armor, stood near the gates. Dickon trembled beside him, clutching a sword, surrounded by seven or eight personal guards.

"Attack!" Rhaegar roared, riding Cannibal across the battlements, forcing the defending soldiers to retreat.

"Roar..." Dreamfyre snorted and quickly descended into the city gate, sweeping the supporting soldiers away with a single breath of Dragonfire.

"Stop them," Helaena crouched on the dragon's back and spoke in High Valyrian.

Dreamfyre was fearless. Its pale blue wings were like two giant scythes, and its long, thick tail cleared a path through the defenders. The dragon's well-proportioned body transformed into a ruthless war machine, spewing intense light blue Dragonfire wherever it encountered resistance.

The dragon and its rider moved in perfect harmony, giving the Reach's army time to break through the city gates.

"Long live the Princess!"

"For the Iron Throne..."

Seeing this, the soldiers' eyes lit up with determination, and they rushed into the city. Fighting for the Targaryens felt like a sure victory.

On the city walls

Seeing the city gates being breached, Lord Fowler was filled with anger and fear. He still had a lot to do; the 3,000 soldiers and 2,000 mercenaries in the city had not yet played their part.

"Who opened the gates?" Lord Fowler muttered, then suddenly realized. "Damn Manwoody, how dare he openly rebel!"

The tide had turned, and his heart was filled with grief. "Traitor! I curse you..."

"Roar!"

Halfway through his sentence, a green flame of Dragonfire fell from the sky and landed squarely on his head. A crackling sound followed, and smoke billowed from his burning brain.

Rhaegar glanced at him with contempt. "What a lot of nonsense."

With the Lord dead, morale plummeted. The two dragons suppressed the defenders' firepower, and 10,000 troops entered the city.

At this point, Skyreach officially fell.

...

After a period of chaos, the battle ended before the sun set.

Skyreach changed hands, and a new regime was implemented. Members of House Fowler were placed under house arrest, detained in the castle attic. Most of the 3,000 soldiers and 2,000 mercenaries who had defended the citysurrendered after the battle.

Approximately 1,600 Dornish soldiers were divided into small groups and imprisonedseparately. The mercenaries, however, were all beheaded, their heads impaled on spears and displayed on the castle walls.

Before nightfall, Rhaegar sat on the back of his dragon, the imposing figure of man and beast standing before Castle Black. Helaena followed suit, riding Dreamfyre to the castle gates. The two dragons faced each other across the air, with over a thousand Dornish civilians gathered in between. These were the subjects of House Fowler, who had retreated to the city at the start of the war.

Rhaegar surveyed the scene and made aperfunctory declaration, "House Martell started this war on his own, betraying the precious peace. But I know that you are just a group of poor, innocent people. The Targaryens will not harm you. I hope you will live well and not get caught up in the war's meat grinder."

Afterwards, he gave a signal to Donald, who stood beside him. Donald understood and brought forward several Dornish officers, ensuring that the prisoners would not be killed and would be imprisoned until the end of the war.

The sincerity of this assurance was questionable, but it reassured the civilians significantly. Many of these soldiers were the sons and daughters of commoners, who naturally did not want the Iron Throne to execute the prisoners. Upon receiving the assurance, they immediately put aside their rebellious thoughts.

This was exactly the effect Rhaegar wanted. He didn't need the civilians to pledge their loyalty, but at least he wanted them to avoid causing trouble in the short term. There would be plenty of time to address their allegiance later.

...

Inside the castle, in the hall of the cliffs.

After the victory, a meeting was held.

A sand table of Dorne was set up on the table, and Rhaegar pointed to Hellholt in the heart of Dorne.

"Hellholt is the seat of House Uller, located along the Brimstone River, surrounded by a barren desert with no natural defenses," he began. "To take Hellholt, you just have to break through its sturdy walls."

Helaena listened carefully and spoke carefully, "The walls of Hellholt are very strong, and there is Sandstone and Vaith on both sides. If a long war breaks out, our army will not be able to move an inch."

Hellholt may not appear to have any natural defenses, but the surrounding desert serves as a formidable barrier. Any army attempting to breach the city would face a difficult march across the vast desert, not to mention the long supply line from The Reach to Hellholt. An enemy army hidden in the desert could intercept supplies and deal a devastating blow.

Rhaegar nodded, looked at everyone present, and changed the subject: "I received news from Lord Corlys yesterday. He has already taken Planky Town and is waiting for the main army to join him."

Dong! Dong!

He tapped his fingers on the sand table and solemnly declared, "Skyreach and Hellholt are a reasonable distance apart. I have decided to take all the cavalry and bring enough food for ten days. We will head south immediately to attack the city!"

"Ten days!?" Ormund was stunned and said in surprise, "Even the fastest cavalry would take seven days to travel between the two castles, and that's if they don't get lost or caught in a sandstorm. After all the calculations, there are less than three days left for the siege. Which castle can be taken in three days?"

"Lord Ormund, three days is enough," Rhaegar interrupted, displeased. "Don't forget how the people of Dorne resisted the Targaryen attack during the First War of Dorne."

They abandoned their cities and fled into the desert, waging guerrilla warfare and assassinating nobles. They employed all kinds of nasty tactics. The fact that Kingsgrave and Skyreach did not abandon their cities can only mean that Qoren Martell gave them a direct order to resist, hoping to gain additional support from beyond the Narrow Sea.

"The Ullers of Hellholt have always been known as madmen, and their strength is no less than that of the Fowlers of Skyreach. They will not fight the Targaryen dragons head on. Most likely they will imitate their ancestors and leave the old, weak, sick, and disabled in the city to surrender while the soldiers hide in the desert to attack bysurprise."

Rhaegar's plan was to take the castle quickly and use a dragon to control the area from the Prince's Pass to Hellholt.

Ormund frowned and said, "Since it's an empty castle, it's useless for us to take it. An empty town is not easy to defend. The people in the city could be spies, and there could be rat holes in every corner. If we're not careful, the supply line will be cut off and the army in the city will starve."

Rhaegar nodded slightly and said thoughtfully, "Hellholt is the main city in western Dorne. Controlling it will maximize the effect of containing Dorne's forces."

The Sea Snake had captured the GreenbloodRiver, cutting off the connection between the east and west of Dorne. He sent an army to draw fire and hold back resistance in the west.

"What do you mean?" Ormund asked, his expression puzzled but thoughtful.

Rhaegar's finger traced the Boneway and then Sunspear on the map. He said directly, "We will open up The Prince's Pass and the Boneway, occupy Skyreach and Yronwood as bases, and march directly to Sunspear."

If the Dornish can abandon their castles, the Targaryens can abandon their hunt for the Dornishmen. They would control the Red Mountains, attack Sunspear, and strike at the heart of House Martell. Even if Qoren fled, he would be no more than a rat scurrying across the yellow sand. Let him eat sand with his disloyal bannermen.

The Iron Throne, on the other hand, would block the Prince's Pass and the Boneway. The Reach could support supply lines on both sides. Regular clearing of the Dornish lurking in the RedMountains would keep those routes safe. It would take some effort, but within a few years the Red Mountains would be fully under the jurisdiction of the Iron Throne.

"Sunspear and Planky Town are equally important," Rhaegar continued. "Both are coastal towns, eliminating the dangerous land supply lines and allowing us to transport food by sea. Once Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh are under control, the combined dominance of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea will be secured."

At that point, Dorne would be cut off from the Red Mountains by land and from the Summer Sea by sea. Add to this the Iron Throne's army and dragons burning and harassing, destroying wells and farmland. Within two years, the people of Dorne would be starving.

Without much effort, Dorne will collapse.

...

The next day.

Boneway, Wyl

"Roar!" Vermithor soared above the city, spewing dragonfire at the towers.

But the castle lay silent and deserted. The empty streets echoed with the absence of life.

Viserys frowned as he looked down at the empty city. The Dornish had abandoned their castle once again, avoiding a direct confrontation with the dragon.

"Wyl, what a disgusting name," Viserys muttered, unable to suppress his disgust.

Tunnels had been dug under Wyl, connecting caves to strengthen defenses. 

House Wyl had used this trick during the First War of Dorne to evade the conquerors and Balerion. In 12AC, Lord Wyl of Wyl, head of the house, had arrived uninvited at the wedding of Alys Oakheart, daughter of Lord Oakheart. He had killed Lord Oakheart and most of the guests, forcing the bride Alys to watch as her husband was castrated. Alys and her maid were then raped and sold to the slave traders of Myr.

"The shameless Wyls!" Viserys spat, rubbing the bronze scales under his saddle. He gave the order, "Vermithor, let's go."

Wyl was already deserted, and Yronwood at the Boneway exit was likely the same. Viserys had received a letter from Corlys, the Sea Snake, emphasizing the importance of attacking Sunspear. Since Wyl and Yronwood were not resisting, the Blackhaven army could pass through Boneway without trouble.

He needed to write to his eldest son and lay out a general plan.

"Roar!" Vermithor flapped his wings and flew away from the intricate terrain of Wyl, heading toward their next objective.

(Word count: 2,044)