Beneath the crimson sky, Modro's body had become translucent after death as he appeared before Benerro.
"Modro... my child."
Seeing the dejected expression on his face, Benerro revealed a rare look of compassion.
"Your Holiness... I failed."
To Modro's surprise, Benerro did not rebuke him.
"It doesn't matter. We can send others to gather intelligence on the dragons."
"May your soul return to the throne of the Lord of Light."
But Modro shook his head.
"No.
I saw Viserys's dragon.
It only came up to my chest. It wasn't even as large as a calf."
"I see." Benerro nodded thoughtfully.
If Viserys's dragons had not grown very large, then their influence on the coming war would be minimal.
The allied armies would have no reason to fear the three dragons.
A dragon that small could be killed by a single concentrated volley from a line of archers.
Benerro was certain Viserys would never risk sending them into battle.
Then another thought occurred to him.
If Modro had accomplished his objective... Why did he look so defeated?
After hearing the full explanation, Benerro finally understood.
Viserys is remarkably quick-witted.
Even Benerro admitted to himself that, placed in the same situation, he might not have handled it nearly as well.
Whether Viserys accepted or rejected Modro's proposal, Modro's objective would have been achieved.
Yet Viserys had somehow chosen a third answer.
Neither yes nor no.
Watching Modro's translucent form slowly drift upward before dissolving into the crimson heavens, Benerro realized that from now on...
He would meet the young man only in dreams.
Still, the mission had yielded valuable intelligence.
At least the alliance would not underestimate Viserys and suffer defeat because of it.
"Your Holiness," his deputy, Moqorro, said encouragingly, "House Targaryen may be able to field one hundred thousand troops, but they cannot stand against the entire world."
Benerro agreed.
"Indeed.
Robert alone can likely raise another hundred thousand.
As for the Reach and Dorne...
After witnessing the power of the Lord of Light, neither kingdom will dare move rashly.
The Free Cities together can assemble an army of at least three hundred thousand.
We also have the support of Slaver's Bay. The fleets of Braavos and Volantis will sail into the Rhoyne.
Viserys will have nothing left but his three defensive walls.
We will show the world that even the Dragon King must pay the price for blasphemy."
Most importantly...
Viserys could never imagine that, beyond his sight, the entire world had already formed an alliance against House Targaryen.
When Robert's armies landed west of Gohor through Pentos...
When Braavos attacked from the north toward the Velvet Hills...
When the fleets of Volantis and Braavos sailed up the Rhoyne from the south...
When the armies of Norvos and Qohor crossed the Upper Rhoyne from the east...
Unless Viserys's Balerion became the legendary dragon capable of burning an entire castle to ashes...
They could simply surround Gohor until House Targaryen starved to death.
.....
Inside the Dragon Palace, Viserys stood in the center of his study.
Spread across the floor beneath him was a great map of Westeros and the Free Cities.
Gerold, Clinton, and Davos stood beside him.
These three men were not only the people he trusted most...They were also the broadest strategic thinkers among all his advisers.
Viserys decided to reveal the intelligence he had obtained from Modro's memories.
"What do you think?"
"If the entire world came to attack us...Could we survive?"
The question completely baffled the three men.
Isn't our enemy only Robert? How did the whole world become our enemy?
Though puzzled, their king had asked a question.
They had to answer.
As Hand of the King, Clinton spoke first.
He stroked his beard while studying the map beneath his feet. In his mind, every city and castle seemed to come alive.
Columns of soldiers marched across the land. Countless warships sailed from every direction.
They converged upon Gohor.
A battle unlike anything the world had ever seen unfolded before his imagination.
"Your Majesty...
If the entire world truly attacked us, setting aside how such an alliance could even exist...
Even if it did, coordinating so many nations would be extraordinarily difficult.
We could defeat them one by one."
It was a practical answer.
A good one.
The problem was...The Lord of Light had apparently become determined to destroy him.
Practical considerations no longer applied.
After a moment's thought, Viserys asked another question. "What if they could coordinate perfectly?"
Clinton frowned.
To him, it sounded as though Viserys were deliberately making the question impossible.
Has His Majesty become dissatisfied with me?
After all, this was still an age of swords and spears. The question felt like asking how one should stop enemy tanks with infantry.
Gerold and Davos exchanged quiet glances.
They shared the same thought.
Yet when they looked at Viserys... His expression was completely sincere.
After a long pause, Clinton finally answered. "If that were truly the case...Then we'd be in serious trouble."
"Our forces would be hopelessly outnumbered. Our fleet dominates the Rhoyne only because Chroyane blocks Volantis.
If Volantis and Braavos combined their powerful navies...We would lose our naval advantage.
The combined assaults from Pentos, Braavos, Norvos, and the other Free Cities would steadily compress our strategic depth.
If we divided our army to defend every front... We would be defeated one army at a time.
If we remained behind our walls instead... I'm afraid our chances of victory would be slim."
He had put it as diplomatically as possible.
In truth...
If the fleets of Volantis and Braavos ever entered the Rhoyne together, they would have countless options.
They could even divert the river itself and flood Gohor.
No matter how much grain they had stored... Eventually it would all be consumed.
They could simply wait until starvation accomplished what armies could not.
Victory without losing a single soldier.
"Your Majesty," Davos said carefully, "I don't believe such a thing is likely."
He suspected the burden upon Viserys had simply become too heavy.
He knew his king well.
Viserys was not the sort of ruler who enjoyed tormenting his ministers with impossible questions.
"The Free Cities want us gone. Robert wants us to stay exactly where we are.
Why would they ever cooperate?
Pentos is practically your vassal. The Three Daughters are weak. They wouldn't dare provoke you."
Gerold nodded in agreement.
"Your Majesty.
We're about to attack Pentos.bOnce Pentos falls, Gohor will no longer be vulnerable to encirclement."
Clinton and Davos both agreed.
Viserys slowly drew his sword. Its tip came to rest directly upon Pentos.
"We're moving sooner.
We must seize Pentos immediately. Because the world has already united against us."
"What?"
The three men stared at Viserys.
His words sounded like pure fantasy. Nothing like the man they knew.
"There are already Red Priests on their way to Pentos. We have to capture the city before they persuade the ruling magisters.
Otherwise... Eventually we'll be trapped inside Gohor and slowly crushed."
___________
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