Storm's End, the Lord's Hall.
The illiterate Bollos Duke was sitting on the ancient Storm Throne, listening intently as his Scholar read King Jaehaerys's letter.
"Jacaerys Valyrian wants to marry my daughter?"
Heh heh, these two factions finally know the importance of our House Baratheon now!"
"Duke, you have already married Miss Floris to Yi Mengde Wangzi."
The Scholar of Storm's End reminded his Lord at the appropriate time.
"So what? Don't I still have three daughters?
Don't mention Jacaerys, even if all three brothers came together, it would be enough!"
Bollos Duke waved his hand dismissively upon hearing this, then analyzed seriously,
"In the battle of Shipbreaker Bay, although Jacaerys won, his supply fleet was burned by Vhagar."
Heh heh, now he can only continue sailing by trying his best to win my support.
Actually, no matter who ascends the Iron Throne, it's the same for our House Baratheon.
Moreover, both sides have Dragons, so our best choice is to offend neither, and just try to get as many benefits from them as possible!
Go tell the messenger that I agree to the marriage alliance.
Have Jacaerys Valyrian come here to discuss with me what benefits he can give me, and issues like the wedding date.
Hmm, he cannot bring a Dragon!"
"Yes, Duke!"
After the Scholar left with the order, he conveyed Bollos Duke's exact words to the messenger.
At noon that day, Bollos Duke received a report from his Scholar.
"Duke, Jacaerys Valyrian is waiting outside the city gate with thirty Essos slaves."
"Brought thirty slaves? Do they have weapons?"
Bollos Duke frowned upon hearing this, sensing something was off.
"They have no weapons whatsoever; these slaves are naked except for short breeches, carrying many boxes and barrels."
"Did you check what they are?"
This Scholar had also followed Bollos Duke for a long time and already knew his Lord's character.
He immediately nodded and replied: "I led the soldiers out of the city to thoroughly inspect them; those boxes contained varying amounts of Golden Dragons and silver stags."
The barrels contained wine; I even tasted it specifically, and while the taste was a bit peculiar, it was indeed wine.
According to Jacaerys, those seem to be famous wines from Tyrosh."
"Then did he bring a Dragon?"
"No, but we saw two Dragons, one large and one small, circling high above Storm's End."
After listening to his Scholar's report, Bollos Duke's previous hint of suspicion immediately vanished.
He scoffed with a touch of disdain: "Heh heh, Jacaerys letting the Dragons fly in the sky must be because he's worried I'll violate guest right."
Stupid fellow!
How could ancient Lords of noble blood like us do something so abhorrent to both men and gods?"
"You are right, Duke, shall we invite them in now?"
"Hmm, and while you're at it, call my three... no, four daughters over."
"As you command!"
When Jacaerys, surrounded front and back by a group of Baratheon guards, stepped into the Lord's Hall, Bollos Duke and his four daughters were already waiting for him.
"Duke, I greet you on behalf of my mother!"
"Young man, I don't have that much time to reminisce with you; just say what you need to say!"
Bollos Duke addressed Jacaerys condescendingly, acting impatient.
This was his negotiation tactic, showing he wasn't really interested in the marriage alliance to gain greater benefits.
Jacaerys naturally understood; otherwise, this fence-sitting Duke wouldn't have called all his daughters.
"The Duke's character is truly straightforward, just like mine."
My intention has already been stated in the previous letter; coming here this time is just to show my sincerity."
Clap clap!
As Jacaerys's clapping sounded, six Unsullied, naked except for their short breeches, carried three large boxes forward.
As the box lids were opened, the gold and silver coins packed full were displayed before everyone's eyes.
"Here are coins worth five thousand Golden Dragons, considered a small gift from me to the Duke."
If our two families are united in marriage, after I cut off the heads of Alicent, Aegon, Aemond, and others,
I will also give the Dornish Marches to the Duke!"
If these gold and silver only made Bollos Duke one-tenth tempted, then the Dornish Marches directly filled the remaining nine-tenths.
The Dornish Marches have been repeatedly contested by the Stormlands, The Reach, and Dorne forces for nearly a thousand years.
If Jacaerys could truly fulfill his promise, the strategic depth of the Stormlands could at least double.
"Are you speaking for yourself, or for your mother?"
"I represent both! Duke, although I am a 'young man', I am also the King of the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones.
I have made a promise, and I will definitely fulfill it.
Of course, the prerequisite is that I accomplish the things I just mentioned!"
"Very well, I agree.
Jacaerys, these are my four daughters; you can choose freely.
Floris is my most beautiful daughter; do you like her?"
After hearing Jacaerys's words, Bollos Duke's attitude, and even his form of address, changed instantly.
"Father, Floris is already engaged to Yi Mengde Wangzi.
King Jaehaerys, I am Marris Baratheon.
I can do my best to help you achieve the things you just mentioned."
As soon as Bollos Duke finished speaking, the most ordinary-looking of the four girls immediately spoke up to recommend herself.
Her words made Bollos Duke's face instantly turn ugly, but the girl didn't care, just stared intently at Jacaerys with bright eyes.
"Duke, then I will choose Miss Marris."
"Good, then that's settled. Hmm, it should be close to lunchtime.
Someone, go invite Lady Ellyn and all the Lords and Ladies to the banquet hall.
We'll hold the engagement feast for Jacaerys and Marris today!"
"Yes, Duke!"
...
The Baratheon are a very proud House; the floor of the banquet hall at Storm's End was covered with thick carpets embroidered with the crowned stag.
All around, black crowned stag ribbons on gold backgrounds were hung everywhere.
Bollos Duke sat in the center of the high table; his wife, Lady Ellyn, and his four daughters, along with Jacaerys, sat to his left and right respectively.
Of course, Jacaerys sat together with Marris, who was about to be engaged.
Below the high platform, guests were gathered; most of these people were collateral Lords of the Baratheon, and a small portion were important officials of Storm's End.
Musicians in the corner of the banquet hall played cheerful music, and everyone was clinking glasses, looking extremely lively.
Marris put a grape into her mouth and inadvertently glanced at the completely untouched food on Jacaerys's plate beside her.
She leaned closer and whispered: "What? Worried about poison in the food and wine?
You are cautious, but you can rest assured.
Your acceptance of food upon arriving at our Storm's End means that guest right is in effect; my father would never violate this sacred law!"
"No, I'm just not hungry!"
Marris was very satisfied with Jacaerys, who was about to be engaged to her; she deliberately started a topic, saying: "Jie, what is that eagle whip at your waist for?"
"Heh heh, this is war booty I captured in Essos. Now it's also considered my weapon!"
After Jacaerys answered casually, he suddenly stood up and said to Bollos Duke in the middle of the table,
"Duke, I specifically brought the most famous pear brandy from Tyrosh.
Tyrosh has now disappeared into history, so this should be considered the last of the famous Tyroshi wines.
Since it's such a happy day, let everyone taste it!"
Bollos Duke, who was already a little tipsy, immediately laughed heartily upon hearing this and replied: "Good! I want to taste whether this Tyroshi wine is better.
Or the golden wine from Arbor is better."
After getting permission, Jacaerys directly summoned his thirty Unsullied who had been brought in as slaves.
Each of them carried a wooden barrel resembling a beer keg, dividing into three columns evenly distributed throughout the banquet hall.
Creak!
Jacaerys, standing at the only exit of the entire banquet hall, closed the iron-plated oak door of the hall under the pretext of presenting a mysterious gift.
Thump thump thump!
He struck the door with the Unsullied command whip in his hand, silencing the banquet hall.
Jacaerys scanned the room, smiled, and said in the Common Tongue: "I believe everyone present is closely connected to House Baratheon and is proud of it."
Therefore, the gift I give you is just like the words of House Baratheon: 'Ours is the Fury'!"
Just as everyone was puzzled by this inexplicable statement, Jacaerys raised the command whip in his hand high and ordered in high valyrian,
"Unsullied, overturn your barrels!"
Crash!
The thirty Unsullied distributed throughout the banquet hall obeyed the command without any hesitation and directly overturned the barrels in their hands.
The fine brandy instantly poured all over the guests, and a considerable amount was absorbed by the thick carpets on the floor.
"Hey, how are you pouring the wine?"
"These clothes of mine are black velvet, damn Essos slaves."
"Slurp, this wine tastes a bit strange!"
Marris, sitting at the high table, saw the Unsullied's strange behavior, and the words she had said to Jacaerys earlier suddenly came to her mind.
The condition for guest right to take effect is that the guest accepts the host's food or fine wine.
And Jacaerys hadn't eaten a single bite or drunk a single drop of wine since he arrived...
Bang!
As soon as he finished speaking, Jacaerys slapped a wall lamp beside him to the ground.
Whoosh!
The flame from the wall lamp instantly ignited the pear brandy on the floor.
Although the alcohol content of this Tyroshi distilled spirit couldn't compare to the baijiu of his previous life, Jacaerys had added something to it beforehand.
The unique blue flames rapidly spread across the floor, and those thick carpets embroidered with the crowned stag were excellent fuel.
Ah!!!
Raging flames covered the entire floor of the banquet hall in a very short time, and the collateral Baratheon and officials turned into screaming human torches.
Bollos Duke yelled in panic for his personal guards to take him towards the entrance of the banquet hall.
But Jacaerys had already summoned the thirty Unsullied to the door, blocking this only way out firmly.
These thirty Unsullied were covered in flames, but they didn't feel it at all, remaining steadfastly at their posts until they were completely charred.
The flames were merciless; Bollos Duke, his wife, and daughters cursed and swore at Jacaerys incessantly before being burned to death.
But he turned a deaf ear, after all, he had heard too much of this already.
Compared to the Tyroshi and Myrish people before, the people of Westeros seemed particularly civilized.
Thump thump thump!
Outside the banquet hall door, Baratheon guards heard the commotion and tried to break down the door.
But as the temperature got higher and higher, the iron-plated oak door became scorching hot.
Not to mention continuing to ram it with their bodies, eventually, they couldn't even get close to the banquet hall door.
Before long, there was no sound inside the hall.
Creak!
Suddenly, the iron-plated oak door, burned red by the flames, opened from the inside.
Jacaerys, his clothes completely burned off, walked out of the raging flames. (Cannot include picture of Daenerys, can search online)
Whoosh!
Clang!
A Baratheon guard holding a bow and arrow was too nervous and subconsciously released the bowstring.
The sharp arrow struck Jacaerys's forehead but was bounced away forcefully.
This scene made the Baratheon guards outside the banquet hall widen their eyes, completely unsure whether Jacaerys was a man or a ghost.
The atmosphere had been built up to this extent; how could Jacaerys not know how to use it?
He spread his hands, and with a solemn expression, shouted loudly:
"I am the King of the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones, the Burner of Seas, the Destroyer of Tyrosh, the Conqueror of Myr, the Master of the Emerald Dragon, the true dragon, Jacaerys Valyrian the First!
Now, lay down your weapons and kneel in fealty to me.
Otherwise, you too shall suffer the wrath from the true dragon!"
Clang clang clang!
Looking at Jacaerys, standing in the sea of fire, taking an arrow to the head without any injury,
This group of Baratheon soldiers exchanged glances, dropped the weapons in their hands one after another, and knelt down in devout worship.