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HOGWARTS: REGULUS LORD OF THE STARS
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American Horror: Grind Edition
"Look! A ship is on fire!" A navigator pointed out to his companion.
Whether they were ships preparing to dock at the port or those just leaving, anyone passing the mouth of the Mander could see billowing smoke rising into the sky.
In an era powered by sails and oars, it was rare for a ship to catch fire like this without cause.
Curious sailors and captains raised their spyglasses, discovering that the vessel spewing thick black smoke was a black-hulled sailing ship.
Several other ships surrounded it, as if executing a criminal.
Flames wrapped around and devoured the hull, turning the black ship into a massive burning brazier.
Many surrounding ships noticed the situation, and quite a few people expressed confusion and regret.
In any case, the Silence looked like a pretty good ship. Even selling it at half price would fetch a lot of money; burning it for no reason was truly baffling.
But only the people on the warships surrounding the burning Silence knew why it had to be burned. As the ship burned, human wails could actually be heard from within the flames!
"Is there really no one left on the ship? Why are there crying sounds?" An officer-looking man questioned his soldiers.
"Ser, Duke Stark personally said there was no one left inside."
"Duke Stark?" The officer knew that while his soldiers were moving things off the Silence, Jon had been watching the whole time.
Since Jon said there was no one inside, then there was no one. The things on the ship had, of course, been moved off, including those poor people imprisoned by Euron and the scheming warlocks.
The officer turned to look at the large Tyrell ship not far away, where Jon and Willas were talking.
Jon didn't let anyone see the bizarre weirwood tree; instead, he insisted on burning the ship.
Willas accompanied Jon to burn the ship, which was also Jon's request. As the Silence crackled under the gnawing flames, Willas moved closer to Jon.
The reason for seeking out Willas was that he indeed held a considerable part of Highgarden's power, and his mind was clear and flexible. It was much easier to entrust certain matters directly to him.
"Willas, regarding seeking justice for Lady Alerie, I want to talk to you. I think we can declare war on the Iron Islands now, but the actual actions must be slowed down."
"Are you worried about—the Iron Throne?" Willas probed.
"Yes, I am worried about Stannis." With no one else around on the deck, Jon couldn't be bothered to disguise anything.
Willas's rhetorical question also proved that Jon's judgment was correct; this was a smart man worth trusting back-to-back.
And Jon's straightforward answer also surprised Willas a little. Although he vaguely felt it was unlikely, he had always thought Jon belonged to the loyal type.
"Stannis facilitated the marriage between Margaery and me to punish the Tyrells, and at the same time to consume the Tyrells by pacifying the West. But the war ended too quickly; he obviously miscalculated. But next comes the Iron Islands; he will definitely make an issue of them. Once we show eagerness to attack the Iron Islands, we will be calculated against. We must fight the Iron Islands, but how to fight and when to fight must be decided by us." Jon looked at Willas and said, the orange flames illuminating his face.
Willas had fully accepted the fact that Jon would be a reliable ally, so he asked with interest: "Then how do you plan to fight?"
"First of all, the Iron Islands fleet is one of the three major fleets. Of course, now it is one of only two fleets in Westeros. Their biggest advantage lies in their mobility; they have the initiative to attack and retreat. The west coast of the North has absolutely no demand for maritime trade. I plan to increase taxes at the ports of the West and abolish transit taxes. This can significantly reduce the activities of merchant ships at sea, forcing these pirates to attack us. On land, our army has much more advantage!"
Listening to Jon, Willas nodded. Although Jon's approach would damage maritime trade in the Sunset Sea, merchants had always been existences that could be fleeced by lords at will, so no one cared.
"This is one way, but our coastline is so long, how do we know where the Iron Islands pirates will attack?" Willas asked.
"If Euron can take the Seastone Chair, I think it will be the Shield Islands!"
Jon knew that if following the original timeline, Euron would kill Balon before returning to the Iron Islands, and then appear the next day to vie for the "Seastone Chair."
After Euron became King of the Iron Islands, he successively attacked the Redwyne family's Arbor and the Shield Islands.
Because the Redwyne fleet was sent to the Dragonstone area to clear out Stannis's remaining forces, he led the Ironborn pirates to attack the Arbor and plunder wantonly.
If the timeline didn't change, Jon would set an ambush at the Arbor and inflict heavy damage on the Iron Islands army.
But now the situation had obviously changed. The Redwyne fleet wouldn't be sent to Dragonstone, and the Arbor protected by a fleet wouldn't be Euron's first target. The Shield Islands would very likely be his first target.
The North was poor, the West had just been robbed, and the only place left with value for plundering was the Reach.
"You mean we actively expose our weakness to the Iron Islands to lure them to attack?"
"Exactly, yes!" Jon said with a smile. Talking to smart people was really easy and pleasant.
However, Willas quickly realized that Jon's analysis was based on a premise, that is, Euron becoming the leader of the Iron Islands. But Balon's health should be good now, and he had a son. How could it be Euron's turn?
To this, Jon explained again: "You should have seen those warlocks with severed hands and feet, right? These guys told me they taught Euron black magic."
"Black magic!?"
"Yes, I estimate that Euron, who fled back to the Iron Islands, might use black magic to seize power. Of course, whether he can succeed is another matter. If Balon is in power, our plan will have to be adjusted accordingly. This is why we must lead the war and not let the Iron Throne interfere."
Boom— The iron maiden figurehead acting as a ram fell dejectedly after losing its fixation, smashing the sea surface and creating waves of white foam.
"Okay, leave this to me. We will control everything regarding the action against the Iron Islands," Willas promised Jon.
"Good. I have one more thing I need your help with, Brother."
"Jon, don't be so polite. Just ask." Hearing Jon address him like this, Willas was also very happy.
"I hope you write a letter to the Citadel. Send all the acolytes still in training to the West for me. I will give them the treatment of quasi-Maesters. If any formal Maesters are willing to come, I will give them double."
"There are at least a thousand acolytes in training at the Citadel. Jon, what do you need so many Maesters for?" Willas asked in surprise.
"The Tyrell family took three hundred years and couldn't make the Reach submit completely. I haven't been in the West for even three months. I need to master the West as soon as possible and eliminate the influence left by the Lannisters." Jon explained, looking at the Silence, whose hull was even burning.
Jon planned to use bureaucrats to govern the West, which was the best way to gather and concentrate power.
After listening to Jon's plan, Willas naturally supported it very much. After all, as an ally, he was happy to see Jon become strong quickly.
Now the restriction of the Iron Throne on Jon was a question of "legitimacy." And Willas was a smart person; he knew that the so-called question of legal or illegal ultimately came down to whether one was strong enough or not.
If Jon could maintain an army of about fifty thousand in the West, with his wife's family the Tyrells in the south, his brother Robb in the north, and the quasi-ally Riverrun in the east, his geographical location and diplomatic environment were incredibly good.
Even if Tywin came back to life, his position as Duke of Casterly Rock would never be threatened again.
Soon, the Silence was gradually burned through by the fire and even began to sink slowly. The wailing sounds from the fire also gradually disappeared. Jon also mentioned another matter—White Walkers!
"I saw this legendary monster with my own eyes at the Wall. No matter how terrible the wounds caused on their bodies, they won't bleed. Even if swords are thrust into their hearts, they won't die. Unless their heads are cut off or weapons made of dragonglass pierce their bodies, these monsters will truly die. This is also why I asked Stannis to mine dragonglass in large quantities on Dragonstone. Before I left the Wall, my uncle Benjen—"
Jon told the story he told Robb in Riverrun to Willas again. He believed Willas would definitely take it seriously.
To sum it up in one sentence, it was: don't take the coming winter lightly, because it's not just winter, but also the terrifying Long Night and White Walkers.
They must hoard as much food and dragonglass as possible.
Finally, Jon briefly mentioned the matter of asking Willas to sell the distributed treasures as soon as possible. After all, this was a considerable amount of wealth. Converting it into usable resources in time was the wisest approach.
Having chatted enough, Jon and Willas prepared to return.
Before they returned to Highgarden, Alekyne sent his cousin Merrell to find Jon. And Merrell still didn't come in person, but sent his youngest son Merrell
"Lord Duke, Ser Willas, Her Grace the Queen summons you."
"I wonder what Her Grace the Queen wants?" Willas asked very gently.
"It's about the Iron Islands. I don't know any more."
As soon as Merrell finished speaking, Willas looked at Jon.
Both of them knew clearly in their hearts that Stannis certainly didn't know what happened at Highgarden. This must be the Florent family fawning over Stannis.