Chapter 424: Tywin's Strategy

Tywin's words were not without reason, and Eddard had now completely calmed down. However, the biggest problem at hand was not about making the logic clear, but what to do about the dragon overhead?

Boom——

Another loud noise followed, accompanied by the earth-shaking roar of the dragon in the sky.

The dragon was venting its anger freely, its roar making Riverrun tremble. Apart from the strategic supplies hidden in the cellar, all the giant crossbows placed on the city wall had been burned by dragon fire.

The soldiers of the allied forces also suffered heavy casualties. Some were burned to death directly, or jumped off the city wall and into the river in an attempt to survive.

After losing the only weapon that could threaten the dragon, the counterattack organized by the allied soldiers seemed somewhat weak and powerless against this mythical beast.

Screams rang out as fire continued to pour down.

"Archers!"

"Archers!"

Count Lambert Tallhart of Torrhen's Square was lying in a disheveled state on the battlements, his face blackened by thick smoke.

He looked at the figure of the dragon flying overhead, then waved his hand and shouted loudly.

"Archers, all come here!"

The allied archers around him heard the count's command and all gathered.

Many of the soldiers in the alliance were strong men temporarily recruited, mainly refugees from the North and the Riverlands.

But after the battle with the White Walkers, they had all become veterans.

"Raise your bows!"

Following the count's command, all the allied archers drew their bows and arrows, aiming at the dragon that was constantly circling and spewing fire in the sky.

Balerion happened to dive in this direction again, carrying an unstoppable momentum, the dragon's roar vibrating the eardrums.

"Shit!"

Count Lambert Tallhart's facial muscles twisted in fear, he swallowed a bit of saliva, and then still roared out.

"Kill this beast!"

"Fire!"

Bang, bang, bang——

In an instant, the dense sound of bowstrings was heard, and countless arrows flew towards the diving dragon.

Balerion, facing the dark rain of arrows, roared again without fear.

Ding, ding, ding...

Countless arrows fell on Balerion's hard scales, making a sound of metal collision, but they didn't break the defense at all. Instead, they were directly bounced off and fell to the ground.

Then the dragon slightly opened its huge mouth, and a dazzling red light appeared deep in its throat.

Count Lambert Tallhart and many allied archers below showed desperate expressions.

The next second.

Boom, boom, boom——

A sky-covering dragon fire poured down.

"Ah, ah, ah..."

Count Lambert Tallhart and many allied soldiers let out a terrible scream, their bodies twisted under the surging dragon fire, and in an instant, they turned into charred corpses.

Whoosh~

Then Balerion's figure rose again, sweeping over the city wall, carrying a gale and flying towards the sky.

Now the soldiers of the alliance finally experienced the ordeal of the White Walkers and the Dothraki when facing the dragon.

The other party kept spewing fire in the sky, and the people below were anxious but helpless. Moreover, ordinary arrows and crossbow bolts had no effect on the dragon's thick scales.

This is still when Balerion is not very old, at most considered a 'juvenile dragon', but its size is much larger than its age.

A dragon's life has no growth limit, it will grow with its age, its scales will become thicker and rougher, surpassing steel, and even the crossbow bolts fired by the giant crossbow cannot harm it.

By that time, the dragon will truly become the sky overlord that no one can threaten.

The city wall was like a purgatory on earth, with surging dragon fire and rolling smoke everywhere.

And below the castle.

Splash——

The debris and dust from the ceiling above fell down, and the people under the castle were covered in dust.

"So... what now?"

The straightforward Northerner had somewhat accepted Tywin's point of view, but did not approve of Tywin's way of doing things.

If they really wanted to defeat Viserys, now would be the best opportunity. Otherwise, once his three dragons and sixty thousand troops crossed the Narrow Sea, nothing could stop him.

Tywin, somewhat disheveled, dusted off his body, listened to the dragon's roar overhead, looked up at the castle's ceiling, his eyes serious, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

"Braavos."

"Believe me, Lord Eddard, among the forces in the world that least want to see the resurgence of the Targaryen family, there is Braavos."

"When the Targaryen family was most down and out, it was Braavos who extended a helping hand to them. However, now the Targaryen family has a massive army, dragons, and the support of the people of Pentos, and may even challenge Braavos's position in the trade city-states."

There is probably a proverb in the Free Trade City-States that describes this situation, no one wants to see someone who was weaker than themselves climb on top of their head.

For the people of Braavos, this is a real threat right in front of them, and they have no choice but to pay attention to the Targaryens.

"Braavos?"

Eddard Stark heard Tywin's words, his eyebrows deeply furrowed.

"Lord Tywin, how did you get in touch with Braavos?"

In fact, as one of the oldest and most ancient nobles in Westeros, the Stark family is very traditional.

This is reflected in Eddard, who has a stubborn adherence to honor and a just and strict way of doing things, and rarely actively contacts external forces.

"Do you remember the envoy from the Iron Bank?"

Tywin shook his head and spoke.

Eddard suddenly realized that there had always been an envoy from the Iron Bank following the army in this war, named Tycho Nestoris.

He was also Robert's financial god, the Iron Bank provided a lot of low-interest or even interest-free loans to help the alliance stop the White Walkers.

It seems that Tywin had contacted Braavos through him at some point.

"But Braavos is still too far away."

Eddard, after realizing this, still spoke.

Braavos is thousands of miles away from Riverrun, even if Tywin has already contacted them and Braavos is willing to ally with the Iron Throne.

But the news passed to Sea Lord's Palace and then back, the invincible fleet of Braavos set off, I guess everyone's bodies would have cooled down.

"I have also sent people to contact the Golden Company in advance."

Tywin seemed to still have a plan, it seemed that he had been planning for a long time, and it was definitely not a decision made today.

"This group of mercenaries only recognizes gold, they have no honor or responsibility, as long as we promise them high profits, they will be tempted."

"By then, we will directly capture Rhaegar's daughter and threaten Viserys to retreat."

...

And on Dragonstone, the smoke from the volcano rose, and the figure of the dragon moved through the smoke.

The Targaryen army was stationed on Dragonstone and Tidehead Island, and the banners fluttered in the wind.

At this time, the Unsullied soldiers, on high alert, opened the castle gate.

The commander of the Golden Company, Myles Toyne, was escorting a person and hurriedly entered the castle.

"Princess, we have caught a spy."