The order to execute Ogo was personally given by Connington.
He had already learned of Viserys' death.
When he first received the news, he stood frozen for a very long time.
His face turned deathly pale.
Not only was he shaken, but even the people around him were too frightened to speak.
After recovering, his first order was not to place the army on alert.
Instead, he ordered Ogo killed and his army brought under control.
Although Ogo had behaved well ever since surrendering, neither Viserys nor Connington had ever truly trusted him.
The fact that Ogo had hidden himself inside his own camp immediately after the battle ended was already an obvious warning sign.
After giving the order to kill Ogo, Connington immediately sent word to Davos and Oswell in Gohor, ordering them to seize control of Ogo's khalasar.
At the same time, he also sent news of Viserys's death.
There was no way Rhaella would be able to accept it.
But as the king's mother, whether she could endure it or not no longer mattered.
After handling those major matters, Connington finally began preparing the army for full alert and sent envoys to the armies of Braavos and Volantis.
For intimidation, Connington copied the method Viserys had used at Goose Mountains.
He ordered every slain Dothraki head severed and mounted on arrows along the southern shore of the Womb Lake.
He made sure the Volantenes would see them the moment they arrived.
As for Norvos, Connington decided to personally reassure them. The news of Viserys's death absolutely could not spread yet.
"His Majesty Viserys personally slew Drogo. Lord Tormo, please look. This is his head."
Mathos brought Drogo's severed head into the Braavosi camp.
At present, the news of Viserys's death was restricted to an extremely small circle.
Only the royal guards, Arthur, Gerold, Connington, and a handful of others knew.
Even Mathos, whom Connington had sent to negotiate with Braavos, remained unaware.
The information he had received was simply that Viserys suffered a light injury during his battle with Drogo and would resume the march after resting for a few days.
This time, the Braavosi expedition was not led solely by Tormo.
With Viserys's support, House Zalyne had also begun to rise in power.
Urom Zalyne—the same man who once presented Viserys with dragon eggs—had accompanied Tormo as something akin to an adviser.
Looking at Drogo's head, Tormo's thoughts became extremely complicated.
There was no doubt it was real.
He had personally seen Drogo at Goose Mountains.
That enormous body was unforgettable. And a giant body naturally came with a giant head.
There was no way Viserys could have fabricated something like this.
A few years ago, Tormo had stood in the Braavosi council hall and proudly declared he would conquer Gohor with fifty thousand men.
Yet not only had he failed to capture Gohor, the city had instead grown stronger and stronger under Targaryen rule.
Now it had become so powerful he barely dared look directly at it.
In only half a year, Viserys had solved a problem that had plagued the Free Cities for centuries.
The Targaryens would now control the Dothraki by controlling the grass sea itself.
With the land routes opened, Gohor would inevitably seize profits from Braavos's maritime trade.
The only thing left to hope for was that Viserys would somehow stumble during his future war against House Baratheon.
Only then might Braavos still have a chance.
Otherwise, the great plains they had painstakingly taken from Pentos would eventually be reclaimed by Viserys.
Braavosi influence might once again be pushed north of the so-called Braavos Mountains.
And if Viserys ever broke through those mountain defenses, he could directly threaten the city of Braavos itself.
Last time, the Braavosi had still possessed an undiscovered refuge at the edge of the world.
This time, there would be nowhere left to run.
Compared to Tormo's concerns, Urom was far more relaxed.
House Zalyne had been suppressed for far too long. He naturally wanted the powerful figure backing them to become even stronger.
"As expected of the Dragon King. Even without dragons, mere Dothraki were no match for him."
Urom praised openly.
Then he noticed the injury on Mathos's arm and asked about it.
"Just one of Drogo's little tricks."
Mathos casually explained the entire assassination attempt without hiding anything.
There was no need to conceal it anyway.
"Lord Tormo," Urom said, turning toward him, "in that case, there's no need to bring the entire army forward. The two of us visiting Viserys should be enough."
Tormo's mouth twitched slightly.
Under his old habits, anyone daring to interfere in military command would have received severe punishment.
But things were different now.
He understood how dependent House Zalyne had become on the Targaryens.
Even beating a dog required consideration for its owner. And right now, Viserys had completely defeated the Dothraki.
His fame now echoed across all Nine Free Cities.
It would even spread into the Seven Kingdoms and probably wake a certain king from his sleep.
From a practical standpoint, Urom's suggestion also made perfect sense.
"Very well. We'll bring only a thousand guards and move ahead quickly to offer congratulations to His Majesty Viserys."
Using Drogo's head, Mathos successfully convinced the Braavosi army to turn back.
Of course, from his perspective, even if the entire Braavosi army came forward, it would not matter.
As soon as Viserys showed himself, they would probably piss themselves in fear.
Meanwhile, Malaqo truly did arrive at Vaes Dothrak with the Volantene army.
But the first thing they saw was a vast expanse of severed heads. Not fewer than those at Goose Mountains.
The arrows were too short to create a "forest of heads," but the visual impact was no weaker.
To prevent decay, every head had been heavily coated in lime. Stretching across the grass sea, they resembled a giant white scar.
Drogo actually lost? A monster like him actually lost?
Malaqo simply could not understand it.
Someone like Drogo should have been unstoppable.
Then he noticed Gerold Hightower approaching to greet him.
After exchanging a few polite words, Malaqo finally asked the question that troubled him most.
"Ser Gerold... who exactly defeated Drogo?"
He did not realize that merely asking this question revealed he had personally witnessed Drogo's monstrous strength.
In Gerold's eyes, Malaqo was practically one of the chief culprits behind Viserys's death.
If the Volantenes had shared their intelligence earlier, Viserys might have been more cautious.
Perhaps he would not have died.
But Gerold showed no anger.
Instead, he calmly replied, "Of course it was His Majesty Viserys who killed him personally."
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