Chapter 97: Burning

"Is it already completed?"

Upon hearing the old knight's words, Viserys's expression became slightly serious, but he didn't seem too shocked.

After all, the Iron Throne had been collecting information on Andalos, and at the same time, Andalos had its fair share of 'insiders' in Westeros.

Viserys had established a foothold on the continent of Essos, and by now, more than a dozen nobles had contacted him, expressing their 'wishes for the king's good health and the swift return of the royal army.'

These nobles were all families that had been unfairly treated or even suffered losses after Baratheon took the Iron Throne.

After all, when Robert sat on the Iron Throne, he had to reward the majority of the benefits to the families that had joined him in rebellion, and these benefits were originally the interests of the families that later surrendered.

This resulted in cheers from the beneficiaries and resentment from the other parties.

This was the unavoidable pain in the transfer of power, which required time to adapt and get used to the new era of Targaryen-free distribution of benefits.

Unfortunately, the remnants of the Targaryens were not entirely extinguished. First, they staged a desperate counterattack on Dragonstone, inflicting a heavy blow on the Baratheons. Then, they regained their footing on the continent of Essos, poised to make a comeback.

Because of Viserys's existence, Robert, or rather his foster father and Hand of the King Jon Arryn, saw the time required to reconcile domestic inequality of interests greatly extended.

Now they needed even more time to completely erase the memory of the Targaryens from the various factions within the realm and adapt to the new era's distribution of benefits.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why the Hand of the King finally agreed to the new fleet plan and Robert was determined to exterminate the remnants of the Targaryens.

A few months before Viserys was preparing to embark for Pentos, he had already received news that Baratheon's new royal fleet had been completed.

However, he didn't expect it to be delayed for several more months, as it seemed that Stannis had made thorough preparations and was extremely cautious this time.

He even released a lot of false information to confuse the enemy across the Narrow Sea, but the Targaryens didn't fall for it this time.

After all, the previous surprise attack had many factors, such as timing, location, and allies, and ultimately achieved such a brilliant victory that it was almost impossible to replicate.

Attempting another surprise attack on the royal fleet led by Stannis might fall into the enemy's trap, resulting in the loss of troops and ships.

The old knight, who had commanded the Dragonstone fleet for many years, was naturally well-versed in naval warfare and was more prudent in using troops.

And now, he had hurried over from Dragonstone to discuss countermeasures for this matter with Viserys.

"Should we fight, or should we retreat?"

The silver-haired young man, dressed in a simple coarse cloth shirt and trousers, sat in the central position of the Andalos castle's great hall. One hand supported his cheek, and his gaze seemed to be lost on a pen on the table.

In the early stages of Viserys's plan, there was already an arrangement for Dragonstone.

That was to retreat to the Andalos Plain first, then build a castle here to stabilize their footing. If the day came when the Baratheons attacked Dragonstone again, they would avoid battle and hand over Dragonstone to them.

This would maximize the withdrawal of their battle lines, condense their strength, and form the hardest fist.

Even after all these years had passed, he had already ransacked Dragonstone, bringing everything that could be moved from the island.

This even included some dragon bones, dragonglass or obsidian, and some stones that resembled dragon eggs. However, when they were carefully extracted, it turned out that they were just ordinary stones.

"Are we really going to abandon Dragonstone?" Viserys asked, with a hint of reluctance and indecision.

Prince Oberyn, seated at the first position to the right of Viserys, was idly playing with his fingers, his legs crossed. Hearing Viserys' question, he raised his head, and his dark eyes gazed at the young king.

"If you are unwilling to give up a small advantage, it could easily disrupt the bigger picture," Prince Oberyn said wisely. Despite his swarthy skin, unkempt hair, and scruffy beard, Oberyn was not someone to be underestimated. He was, in fact, the most learned person in the room, a true prodigy.

In his youth, Oberyn had studied in the Citadel and had forged six maester's chains, symbolizing his mastery in six different fields.

Even the grey-robed maester, Guncer, who was present at the meeting, had to address Oberyn as 'senior', as he only had three chains to his name.

"The usurper's naval forces are not as elite as ours, but their ships are sturdier and larger," Maester Guncer chimed in.

As the maester of Dragonstone, he had been assisting the old knight in managing the island's affairs and had also helped Viserys in Andalos. Guncer was even busier than the rest of them, frequently traveling between the two locations. Fortunately, he had trained apprentices to help maintain the regular sending and receiving of ravens.

"I understand," Viserys said, nodding. The entire Small Council agreed not to disrupt the original plan, but to continue building up their strength and waiting for the right opportunity to join forces with Dorne and return to Westeros.

"In that case, when Stannis' fleet arrives, we'll voluntarily withdraw from Dragonstone," Viserys decided, opting to continue focusing on quietly building up their strength.

The old knight nodded in agreement, and the matter was settled.

However, at that moment, Maester Guncer, dressed in his grey robe, organized the intelligence he had in his hands and looked up once more.

"Your Grace, there's one more matter," he said.

Viserys' gaze fell upon the maester. "What is it?"

Guncer handed a piece of intelligence to Viserys. "This happened not long ago on the Iron Islands..."

"A sept dedicated to the Faith of the Seven was accidentally set ablaze and burned down. However, many believe that it may not have been an accident."