Battlefield at the Trident.
Looking at the heads before him, men, women, even teenagers, Rhaegar's face was calm.
"Two heads are missing: Balon's daughter, Asha, and Balon's brother, Euron," Cadmus said in a calm tone; he was sitting with his legs crossed, one over the other. "I saw a small boat heading toward the tornadoes in the Throat, so that must be Asha. As for Euron, I haven't the slightest idea."
Holding Balon's head, Rhaegar nodded and didn't care much. What could a girl and a man without a large fleet do? Besides, he has dragons; the dragons only need to grow, and House Targaryen will return to its peak in a few decades.
"Thank you for your hard work, Cadmus," Rhaegar spoke with sincerity. Balon was an enormous danger. It was easy for Cadmus to decimate a fleet of ships, but Rhaegar himself didn't have such power. And destroying an army is never easy.
"No need to thank me; I also gained from this battle," Cadmus said with a smile. He placed a vial containing a finger and a dagger made of gray bone on the table.
"The finger of a god and the dagger of the Grey King," Cadmus commented with a smile. "The finger needs no explanation; as for the dagger, it's made from a sea dragon bathed in the blood of the god himself."
"It seems the Grey King truly died in the halls of the Drowned God, but he really did kill the Drowned God before also perishing. As for how these items came to be in the hands of House Greyjoy, don't ask me; I'm not a seer," Cadmus said, looking at Rhaegar.
The king looked at the items with curiosity; he didn't care about the fantastic story of a mortal killing a god; he was more curious about the items before him.
"Well, it seems gods bleed," Rhaegar said with a touch of sarcasm. In the end, humans and gods were no different; both bled the same.
Cadmus laughed and guessed Rhaegar's thoughts but didn't try to convince him that it wasn't as easy to make a god bleed as it was humans. The Grey King probably killed the Drowned God while the deity was gravely wounded from some fight against another god.
In the end, even a gravely wounded god was still too much for an apostle like the Grey King.
"By the way, now that I've destroyed the entire Iron Island fleet, Lord Paxter no longer needs to drag Pyke and can occupy the region without much difficulty," Cadmus commented, remembering that the Commander of the Redwyne Fleet had set off toward Pyke.
"I've already thought of that; he will act as Temporary Lord of Pyke, a sword pointed at Lannisport," Rhaegar said with a smile. The Iron Islands were near the Westerlands. Without Tywin in command of the Rock, one could say the Westerlands were like a young maiden before a large, crude man.
"If Tywin dares to betray us, I will burn that entire city," Rhaegar said in a cold tone.
Cadmus nodded. As long as Pyke is under control, House Targaryen can attack Lannisport at any time. Although the Rock is an impenetrable fortress, House Lannister would be trapped inside it, unable to leave.
As long as Rhaegar waited for the Lannisters to starve, he would win.
"I wonder what Tywin will think when he hears the news," Rhaegar said with a smile. Although Tywin was his ally and even the future Good-Father of his daughter, in the end, Tywin was still a traitor.
"He'll probably snort coldly and think you're just like your father, arrogant," Cadmus said with a laugh.
Cadmus and Rhaegar looked at each other and saw the teasing look in each other's eyes.
"Raymun!" As soon as Rhaegar shouted, the Hand of the King emerged from the tent entrance. He wore blood-stained armor and an exhausted look on his face—an exhaustion Rhaegar also shared. It was the exhaustion of war.
Controlling such a large army was truly no easy task for anyone, and mind you, Rhaegar had dozens of commanders to help him with the task. As for controlling an army of a hundred thousand men alone, it was impossible, especially in this medieval era. That's why a chain of command was established, dividing the general's power among numerous commanders, then to squad captains, and so on.
Rhaegar pointed to the heads and spoke in a cold tone. "Put all the heads on a spear and let them burn in the sun in front of the battlefield."
Looking at the heads in the tent, Raymun's face showed a shocked expression. He recognized Balon, how could he not? In the last Greyjoy rebellion, it was he who brought the false king to Rhaegar, where Balon knelt again to House Targaryen.
Looking at Cadmus, Raymun knew this was Cadmus's work; there was no other person capable of doing this on this continent.
"Yes, Your Grace." Raymun called some soldiers and left with the heads.
After Raymun's departure, Rhaegar spoke in a calm tone. "Tywin, Robert, and Jon will attack today or tomorrow."
"Do you want to fight Robert on the battlefield again?" Cadmus asked with a smile. "I've already told you, you won't be able to kill him with the Shadow Children in his shadow."
"I don't want to kill him; I want to rip off his other arm," Rhaegar said in a cold tone. Just as Robert couldn't kill him because of Cadmus's magical protection artifacts, he also couldn't kill Robert because of the demonic abominations hidden in Robert's shadows. However, that didn't mean he couldn't rip off an arm or a leg.
"Go ahead; Melisandre won't dare touch the battlefield, or I'll kill her," Cadmus said with a solemn look. He was closely watching this Red Witch; the woman was truly dangerous. After all, any fanatic was dangerous, especially a fanatic with power.
"Thank you." Rhaegar smiled and thanked him. Honestly, without Cadmus's presence in this war, Rhaegar had no confidence he could win. Dragons helped him gain prestige and allies; Cadmus helped him save his family. Without Cadmus, he would have to deal with the Faith of the Seven, which had Saints, and with the Red Witch, a four-hundred-year-old apostle.
One could say his life truly would have been tragic without Cadmus. "You are my brother; if I don't help you, who will? Besides, I'm satisfied with my life; I have a beautiful wife and a fine castle." Cadmus showed an amused smile and spoke in a slightly boastful tone.
"My sister must want to drink my blood for keeping you away after the wedding," Rhaegar said with a laugh; he could imagine Daenerys furious with him. Any woman would be furious at being separated from her husband after the wedding.
"I visit her every night," Cadmus said, shrugging. With magic, he truly could travel long distances in seconds, so returning to Harrenhal wasn't really a problem.
"Magic is truly convenient," Rhaegar said with a touch of envy. He also wanted to be in the arms of his two wives at that moment. Unfortunately, as king, he couldn't simply abandon the battlefield and return to King's Landing every night. It would create too much chaos, and his enemies could truly use it against him.
Suddenly, as Rhaegar was about to continue, Raymun returned and spoke in a solemn tone.
"Your Grace, the enemy army is preparing to attack."
Rhaegar let out a tired sigh, put his helm on his head, took his shield and sword, and left the tent, leaving Cadmus alone in the tent.
"Being free is good," Cadmus said in a comfortable tone. Although being king seemed interesting, he truly didn't want the trouble of caring for millions of lives. He had different ambitions and didn't care for a throne or crown.
After all, his life was better than the king's.
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Note: "Jujutsu Kaisen - The King of Jujutsu" and "House of the Dragon - The Pale Prince" are already in their final phase. I will probably release them in the coming days. There will be 40 chapters, 20 from each fanfic.
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Read the advanced chapters on my Patreon!
/GOTSW
Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard