Chapter 179: House Martell

Apart from these business nobles, the most enthusiastic group to pledge allegiance to Daenerys were the mercenaries.

This was normal, after all, who wouldn't want the benefits of being associated with dragons?

Of course, the mercenaries' allegiance to Daenerys was partly due to superstition, but the other half was because of her strength.

Daenerys' personal charm, Pentos' rapid development and wealth in a short period of time, as well as the strength of the Dragon God Church, all told these mercenaries that Daenerys had great potential and, importantly, money to offer.

So why wait?

Groups like the Windblown, the Second Sons, the Stormcrows, and the Company of the Cat, who were purely mercenaries for hire, were the first to respond to Daenerys' call, followed closely by other smaller mercenary groups. 

Now, there were so many willing to join that Daenerys had to send people specifically to select them.

After all, they were mercenaries, not only were their qualities varied, but many small mercenary groups or individuals were simply unable to adapt to the strict discipline of the army under Daenerys and the high level of coordination required for battles by large mercenary groups.

However, Daenerys' army expanded significantly as a result of these mercenary groups.

Among these mercenary groups, the most difficult to subdue was undoubtedly the Golden Company.

Because, since its establishment, the Golden Company had always harbored significant animosity towards the Targaryen family.

How could such a mercenary group join Daenerys' side?

In the Free Cities, the Golden Company was regarded as the largest, most famous, and most expensive mercenary group. 

Although mercenaries had a notorious reputation for fickleness, the honor of the Golden Company lay in the fact that they never broke a contract. 

Their motto was "Our word is good as gold".

This mercenary group had over ten thousand well-trained warriors, although their numbers couldn't compare to the Dothraki warriors under Daenerys, they were still a force to be reckoned with in deciding a large-scale battle.

However, Daenerys was confident in subduing the Golden Company because she had received secret intelligence about them from Alaric, understanding the origins of the Golden Company's hatred towards the Targaryens.

The original founder of the Golden Company was Aegor Rivers, he was one of the Great Bastards and a son of King Aegon IV Targaryen by his fifth mistress, Lady Barba Bracken which meant he was also a Targaryen. 

In a war for the throne known as the Blackfyre Rebellion, Aegor Rivers ended up on the wrong side and had to flee to Essos with the Targaryen loyalists, where he established the Golden Company. 

For over a century, the Golden Company had been at odds with the Targaryens.

However, although the founder of the Golden Company, Aegor Rivers, was at odds with the ancestors of Daenerys (Daenerys was undoubtedly a descendant of the victor of the war for the throne).

What were these conflicts between them now that the Targaryens had been overthrown in the Seven Kingdoms?

After all, a dragon is still a dragon.

However, besides these factions, the most powerful force brought into the fold by the sword-pulling ceremony was the rulers of one of the Seven Kingdoms, House Martell of Dorne.

House Martell was essentially a gift of aid.

Because their hatred with the current ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, Robert, ran deep.

House Martell could be considered a noble house that valued family ties greatly. 

In Robert's Rebellion, the princess of House Martell, the wife of Prince Rhaegar, was completely slain, even her children were smashed to death on the ground.

However, the perpetrator of all this, the Lannister family, immediately received great favor from Robert after he became king. 

The Lannisters were already the powerful guardians of the Westerlands, and at the same time, Cersei Lannister of House Lannister became the queen, and her twin brother Jaime became the Kingsguard. 

In other words, unless they overthrew the current king, House Martell would have no chance for revenge.

Lord Doran Martell, the cunning head of the house, could only bear his sister's hatred and wait in hiding.

Now they had endured enough. 

Although Prince Rhaegar's infidelity to his first wife, which led to the rebellion, had made House Martell somewhat dissatisfied with the Targaryens, they still had a generational friendship with the Targaryens.

And now they had the ability and the willingness to overthrow the rule of King Robert, only Daenerys could fulfill this.

Joining Daenerys' side was also the best choice for House Martell to seek revenge.

In addition, Daenerys also needed the presence of House Martell.

After all, if she was planning to counter-attack Westeros and invade the Seven Kingdoms, she would have to cross a sea from the continent of Essos.

And the presence of House Martell could provide them with a suitable landing point for a large army.

Of course, when negotiating the secret treaty with Oberyn Martell, the request for his son, Quentyn Martell, to marry Daenerys was sternly rejected.

The one who spoke was the Pope of the Dragon God Church, Melisandre. 

She knew the relationship between Daenerys and their divine messenger, and Daenerys herself couldn't speak openly, but it was not convenient for Daenerys to speak herself.

As she refused to do so in person because having the woman personally reject them would be humiliating.

However, for an alliance like House Martell, which did not directly become a subordinate but relied on secret agreements, how could trust be maintained without hostages or secret agreements as bonds?

In the end, after meeting the divine messenger Alaric, it was Oberyn who came up with an idea.

He suggested that his niece, Arianne Martell, publicly declare her conversion to the Dragon God faith and then join the Dragon God Church as the holy maiden serving the messenger of Dragon God.

This way, the alliance could be considered solid. After all, a divine messenger of Dragon God would not deceive mortals, right?

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