Chapter 745: The Seventh Year of the New Calendar 

Year 299 of the Aegon Calendar, the seventh year of the New Calendar.

Time flies like a white steed flashing past a crack in the wall. Four years have passed in the blink of an eye. King's Landing, the grand city that has stood for nearly three centuries, is as bustling as ever, even more so than four years ago, and has undergone many changes.

A two-masted warship, flying the banners of the three-headed dragon and the golden kraken of House Greyjoy, slowly sails into Blackwater Bay.

Thanks to the rising political and economic status of King's Landing, the imperial power center has been established here. With a highly centralized government, the city's development has been fast-tracked. Consequently, the port of Blackwater Bay, the largest in King's Landing, has revealed its limitations in handling capacity. After several large-scale expansions in recent years, it has become the most important trade and military port in all of Westeros.

The port is bustling, teeming with ships flying various flags from around the world. A long queue forms far out in the bay, waiting for customs inspection and clearance. Meanwhile, the capital's defense fleet patrols the waters, maintaining order among the incoming ships.

This has led to the disappearance of most of the once-rampant smuggling and criminal gangs in King's Landing. The remaining few are either idle or desperate petty thieves. The Customs Director, a formidable man rumored to be a former smuggler, is well-versed in the loopholes and tactics of smugglers in King's Landing. His swift and ruthless actions have made him a nightmare for all smugglers.

This Customs Director even survived an assassination attempt by these criminal forces, which enraged the imperial high command and led to a bloody conflict. Two years ago, the Imperial Council issued a death order to the Commander of the Capital Defense Force, who launched a sweeping operation that eradicated all major criminal forces in King's Landing, earning applause from the public and significantly improving the city's security.

...

"Once, I thought we were destined to die in a foreign land."

"I never thought we'd actually make it back home."

On that two-masted warship flying the imperial and Greyjoy banners, two men stand side by side. They stand at the bow of the ship, feet on a wooden barrel, gazing at the bustling metropolis bathed in the afternoon sun and the imperial palace towering atop Aegon's High Hill.

For that is where they are headed next, to meet the Emperor in the Throne Room.

Chapter 745: The Seventh Year of the New Calendar (2/3)

The two men at the bow of the ship exchanged glances, both seeing the tension and excitement in each other's eyes. This was their most significant and shining moment in life.

"King's Landing, here we come..."

One of the men, with golden hair and a scar on his cheek, took a deep breath.

Standing beside him was a companion with dark hair and a pitch-black eyepatch, looking every bit the pirate.

"Huh?"

"I remember that even from a great distance, you could smell that nauseating stench from King's Landing."

The golden-haired man with the scar on his cheek inhaled deeply and spoke, slightly puzzled.

"Jack, have you been to King's Landing before?"

His one-eyed companion, wearing an eyepatch, turned his head and asked.

"Yes, I came here as a child with my father."

"We were here on business."

The man referred to as Jack by his companion didn't hide anything and nodded.

"How fortunate."

"I've never been to King's Landing."

The companion with the eyepatch, whose face looked somewhat fierce, shook his head, his voice tinged with envy.

He was a bastard from the Iron Islands, where bastards are looked down upon, as they are everywhere. Although he had a noble father, having such a father was no different from not having one at all. He had lived an orphan-like life, dependent on his mother until she died of illness, leaving him utterly alone.

The only good thing his father ever did that could be considered fatherly was to give him a ship before the fall of the Iron Islands, allowing his own flesh and blood to escape by sea.

The two men conversing on the ship were among the many pirates who had encountered the imperial fleet's attack at the port of Naath Island years ago.

That naval battle was a one-sided massacre, a bloodbath where most pirates met their end in the depths of the ocean or fled to islands only to succumb to the Butterfly Fever. However, some were captured alive and taken as prisoners.

Among them were 'One-Eyed' Romy Pyke and Jack, who were once squad leaders in the Brotherhood of Bones. Faced with the overwhelming might of the imperial fleet, they surrendered without resistance.

Both men hailed from Westeros, and given that 'One-Eyed' Romy Pyke was a bastard from the Iron Islands, it was a tearful reunion of sorts. They knelt and swore fealty, earning the trust of Asha Greyjoy. They were cleansed of their pirate status and became part of the imperial fleet.

The two played crucial roles in the subsequent battles between the imperial fleet and the pirates of the Basilisk Isles.

Now, 'One-Eyed' Romy Pyke and 'Golden-Haired' Jack had been dispatched to King's Landing by Asha Greyjoy to meet the Emperor. They carried a special mission from Asha and, more importantly, were personally escorting something even more mysterious.

This mission allowed them to fulfill a long-held dream: to return to their homeland.

Their battered, scar-ridden brigantine quickly caught the attention of the patrolling City Watch of King's Landing. The ship flew both the imperial banner and the golden kraken flag of House Greyjoy.

The news quickly traveled from the patrolling soldiers to their captain, then to the Harbor Master of Blackwater Bay, and finally reached Davos Seaworth, the Master of Imperial Customs.

"What?"

Upon hearing the news, the Onion Knight's brow furrowed.

According to the regulations of King's Landing's port, any warship flying the imperial and noble banners could bypass the queue and enter the harbor via a special channel. All merchant ships had to yield space to imperial warships.

This rule had been in place for years; it was inconceivable that any ship coming to port would be unaware of it.

Davos instinctively felt that something was amiss and stood up.

"Take me to see it."