Whether they were nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, followers of the Dragon God Church, or common folk,
all were thrilled by the good news brought back by their king.
When Dorne fell back then, many had tasted the sweetness of victory; now, an entire foreign continent—what a huge cake!
In this state of popular support, Jacaerys could now mobilize more than half the strength of Westeros with every gesture.
And that is exactly what he did, directly ordering all noble families who owned or could build ocean-going ships to set sail for Essos, carrying a large number of common laborers responsible for the hard work.
This second phase of the strategy was very successful; if this fleet of transport ships, like ants, successfully landed in Myr,
it was believed that all valuable things in the Disputed Lands would be transported back to the Seven Kingdoms in a very short period.
However, as a result, the military strength of the noble families throughout Westeros was less than one-third of their usual strength.
It could be said that this was the time when the defense capabilities of these nobles of the Seven Kingdoms were at their weakest in thousands of years.
But it didn't matter, because Jacaerys had promised these nobles of the Seven Kingdoms who were on the expedition to Essos:
Westeros now had no enemies, or uncontrolled enemy forces.
And even if there were enemies, taking a step back,
as long as they sent ravens to King's Landing for help, Queen Baela would ride Moondancer to rescue them.
Of course, although Moondancer, who was already relatively small, had grown to the point where she could carry Baela in flight without auxiliary magic,
her actual combat power was far less than Womax of the same size back then.
However, Jacaerys left Baela with enough Exploding Fruits.
When Baela went to support, she wouldn't even need to fight with dragons in a real battle; she could just drop Exploding Fruits from high altitude.
It was believed that no army in this world could withstand the bombardment of a 'high-altitude bomber'.
It took nearly a month and a half for Jacaerys to escort the transport fleet to Myr with Womax and three dragon servants.
He originally thought that as soon as he arrived in Myr, he could arrange for the common laborers on the transport fleet to start working.
But Lucerys told him that Duke Forrest and Edmund currently only occupied half of the territory in the Disputed Lands.
... Your Majesty, the enemy called Hand of Holy Fire is too cunning.
They only attack our towns garrisoned by fewer than three hundred men, and the logistics units transporting supplies.
Whenever Duke Forrest and Edmund gather a large army, they disappear without a trace.
Moreover, the enemy seems to know how to avoid dragons; I rode Arrax out to patrol many times.
As a result, I didn't see a single enemy shadow.
Most importantly, I heard that this Hand of Holy Fire is blessed by the grace of the Red God.
Their leader, the 'God-Favored', can be resurrected in public after being killed in battle, bathed in divine grace.
Brother, I'm not speaking for Duke Forrest.
It is said that hundreds of people have witnessed the resurrection process of the God-Favored.
"Well done, I believe you and Duke Forrest would not lie.
Now, leave it to me!"
Hearing this, Jacaerys patted Lucerys on the shoulder, praising and encouraging him.
When he heard Lucerys' last few sentences, he knew what kind of group this Hand of Holy Fire was.
It was nothing more than the Essos version of the Brotherhood Without Banners.
That so-called God-Favored was like the 'Lightning Lord' a hundred years later,
although resurrected by the grace of R'hllor, their actual combat power might not even be as good as those Faceless Ones.
Hmph, I will burn you to ashes with my dragon, let's see how you resurrect!
The next day, Jacaerys took Lucerys and five dragons and flew towards the Disputed Lands.
...
Seagard is located on the western coast of the Riverlands at the Eagle's Point, the ancestral castle of House Mallister.
Eagle's Point is a piece of land that juts southwest from the continent of Westeros into Ironmen Bay, pointing directly at the Iron Islands.
So, the location of Seagard is exactly where Ironmen Bay connects with the continent of Westeros, and it is also close to the source of the Blue Fork inland.
It can be said that if Seagard were occupied by the Ironborn,
then the Ironborn could invade the entire Trident River basin from the Sunset Sea at any time, and then plunder the entire Riverlands.
And the original purpose of building Seagard was to resist the plundering of the Ironborn.
In Seagard, there is a huge bronze bell tower, which is the famous Great Bell Tower in the Seven Kingdoms.
In the past, as long as the guards on the watchtower spotted Ironborn longships appearing on the surface of the Sunset Sea to the west,
they would urgently ring the alarm bell to inform the villagers and farmers in the fields, so that they could quickly enter the castle for refuge.
Today, the Great Bell Tower also rang, but the rhythm was very slow.
This was the bell to welcome distinguished guests!
The gates of Seagard were wide open, and the burly Earl of Seagard, Jorah Mallister, nearing forty years old,
was leading his family members and the soldiers of Seagard in a quiet line, waiting.
Clip-clop!
With a sound of horse hooves approaching from afar, a team of cavalry wearing black scale armor quickly arrived in front of Lord Jorah.
A young man with the classic red-brown short hair of House Tully and a delicate face jumped off his horse, stepped forward a few steps, and helped Lord Jorah up.
At the same time, he muttered, "Lord Jorah, why are you being so polite?
My grandfather was demoted to a Marquis by His Majesty, and House Tully is no longer the guardian family of the Trident River."
This young man was the grandson of the current Marquis of Riverrun, Aemon Tully.
"House Mallister adheres to the path of loyalty, and will always regard House Tully as our liege!"
Lord Jorah immediately replied upon hearing this.
Aemon smiled upon hearing this, then he turned his head and looked at the Seagard soldiers behind Lord Jorah,
and said in an appreciative tone, "My grandfather also highly praised the loyalty of House Mallister; I heard before that you were indifferent to His Majesty's call to arms.
Now it seems that is indeed the case."
"Duke... Marquis, you flatter me. We, House Mallister, are just doing our duty.
And besides this reason, there is also the fact that the Iron Fleet, which had been missing for half a year, has returned to the Iron Islands.
I was worried that those damned Ironmen would harass the coast of Seagard, so I didn't dare to divide my forces."
"Oh? Ironborn?"
Hearing this topic, Aemon immediately asked with interest,
"Lord Jorah, is it impossible for you and the Ironborn to live in peace?"
"Live in peace with Ironmen? Aemon Tully, you must be joking!
The entire Riverlands, and even the Seven Kingdoms, should know the hatred between us, Seagard, and the Ironmen; it is accumulated over hundreds of years from countless blood feuds.
We in Seagard can absolutely not live in peace with those beasts who burn, kill, and plunder!"
Upon hearing Aemon's words, Lord Jorah's face immediately showed disgust, and he said bitterly through gritted teeth.
"Haha, it seems Lord Jorah didn't like my joke.
By the way, I almost forgot the main business, I am here this time on behalf of my grandfather to congratulate Lord Jorah on marrying his nineteenth wife!
You are truly amazing.
I am impatient, so I came ahead with the cavalry; the gift transport team is behind and should arrive in a few hours."
Aemon Tully pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then said to Lord Jorah with a smiling face.
Lord Jorah also smiled upon hearing this, but he didn't feel any embarrassment.
Instead, he replied generously, "Hehe, I'm not that amazing; after all, that king married sixty-nine wives at once.
Thank you, Marquis and Aemon Tully. Then let's go into the city first!
There is fine wine and delicious food in the banquet hall; we won't go home until we're drunk today!"
Aemon Tully looked up at the sky upon hearing this, then replied, "Okay, it's getting late, let's go directly to the banquet hall!"
"Hmm, Aemon Tully, this way please!"
Under the guidance of Lord Jorah, Aemon Tully and his party entered Seagard.
And in the sky, a black raven was constantly circling forward, as if it had been following them all along.
Soon, the banquet hall in Seagard was filled with singing and dancing.
Lord Jorah indeed valued his former liege family, even though they had now lost power and declined.
He still arranged for his most beautiful daughter to accompany Aemon Tully.
While toasting and exchanging drinks, Lord Jorah greatly boasted about his ability to marry young women and constantly persuaded Aemon Tully to marry more wives and have more children.
The male members of House Mallister and the male officials in the banquet hall all started to jeer.
They wanted Aemon Tully to take the young lady of House Mallister beside him.
Just as food and wine were being consumed in the banquet hall, a transport team carrying the trout banner of House Tully arrived at the gates of Seagard.
The officer in charge of guarding the city gate chatted with the leader of the transport team for a few words, and after checking their documents with the trout wax seal, he ordered his subordinates to open the city gate.
Seeing this, the leader of the Tully family immediately ordered the transport team to enter Seagard, but they were stopped by the gate guards of Seagard.
"Sir, what do you mean? Haven't you already checked my documents?
These are all gifts from the Marquis to Earl Mallister; do you want to unpack and check everything?"
The leader looked up at the city defense officer who was still standing on the city wall and shouted with a frown.
"I don't have the guts to check. But the Earl has given an order that the Ironmen on the Iron Islands are acting strangely, and no team of more than a hundred people can enter the city.
Sorry, we will send the things in, but you will have to camp outside the city.
Someone will bring you wine and food later."
"Alright, we'll leave the things at the city gate, and then it will be up to you to pull them in, sir."
The leader stopped arguing upon hearing this and nodded, replying to the city defense officer above.
Before long, piles of Seagard guards came out of the city gate and pulled cart after cart filled with barrels and boxes into Seagard.
Creak! Bang!
Looking at the gate that closed again after the transport team was pulled into the city, the leader's mouth curved into a smile,
and he muttered to himself, "What a cautious family! No wonder we haven't been able to take them down in hundreds of years.
However, many strong cities in history are dismantled from within!"
Night gradually fell, and not only the Tully family soldiers responsible for transportation outside the city, but even the Seagard guards received a lot of food and wine sent from the banquet hall.
Humans are prone to drowsiness after eating and drinking their fill, and most of the Seagard guards fell into a state of drowsiness.
Ha...choo!
A Seagard guard responsible for guarding the transport team was awakened by a gust of night wind. He let out a big sneeze and then shivered.
However, this cold wind also sobered him up a bit, enough to hear some sounds he shouldn't have heard.
Click, click, click!
A subtle sound came from his ear. The Seagard guard wiped his nose with the back of his hand, then turned his head to look at the source of the sound.
He saw that on the transport cart beside him, the lid of a wooden barrel that should have been sealed was slowly opening a crack.
The Seagard guard, who was dizzy from drinking, subconsciously walked forward, widening his eyes and leaning his head closer to examine the barrel carefully.
Pfft!
A sharp longsword thrust out from the crack in the barrel, piercing directly into the eye of the Seagard guard.
Drip, drip, drip!
A stream of fresh blood gushed from the eye of the Seagard guard, but he couldn't cry out due to the fatal injury and could only tremble constantly.
Click, click, click!
At the end of his life, the Seagard guard saw figures, some wearing Tully family armor and some wearing Ironborn leather armor, quietly crawling out of the barrels and boxes.
These figures, like predators walking in the dark night, began to kill the other drowsy Seagard guards.
However, the first Seagard guard was not the only one who was sober. When the killing spread to the city gate of Seagard,
several Seagard guards who didn't like drinking and were chatting together discovered the predators killing in the dark night.
Without any hesitation, they directly rang the alarm bell on the city gate.
Clang, clang, clang!
"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"
This alarm bell immediately caused a chain reaction. The sentry on the Great Bell Tower was startled awake and quickly began to ring the huge bronze bell.
The urgent and loud bell rang out, instantly spreading throughout Seagard.
Not only that, but even outside Seagard, the huge bell could be heard.
Outside Seagard, the leader who had been there before heard the bell and immediately cursed, "They messed up such a simple thing, they're a bunch of useless people.
Hmm, it must not be us Ironborn, but those trout who messed it up!
Send the signal, and attack from both sides at the same time!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
As soon as the leader finished speaking, three flaming arrows shot into the sky and then exploded at their highest point.
Splash!
As soon as the signal was sent, the guards on the seaside of Seagard immediately saw torches burning like a long dragon on the Sunset Sea.
And there was only one kind of people who could come from this direction, the Ironmen of the Iron Islands.
The Seven Kingdoms, which had been peaceful for half a year because of Jacaerys and his dragons, began to undergo drastic changes again from this night on!