Eagle of the Valley of Ice and Fire.

Chapter 294 Tower Fire
"Splash!" The calm surface of the Mead River suddenly heard the sound of water breaking, and ripples appeared, as if the mist that filled the water surface was also causing waves.

Pate's vision blurred and water filled his eyes.

Even so, he tried to open his eyes, looking past the cobblestone pavement that was ubiquitous in the old town, and staring at the blurry black figure standing on the shore.

The alchemist stood there.

He became a thief and stole the key that could open every door in the Citadel from Dr. Wargrave's silver stag purse and gave it to the alchemist.

And the alchemist is a murderer
He is going to kill himself, Pate thought desperately, his eyes wide open. The dark shadow on the shore was covered by the waves of the river and gradually went away.

He opened his mouth and choked on the water, but he couldn't cough it out.

Pate had no idea how he was tricked. He only knew that he imitated the nobles in testing their currency and bit the gold coin handed to him by the alchemist.

"I don't know you, that's great." These were the words the alchemist left for him.

"I don't know you either," Pate told him proudly, overjoyed.

Then he fell down, into the water.

The alchemist stood on the shore with his hands folded in prayer.

"Nobody, fear death." He went into the water and fished out the body.

The alchemist placed his palm on the corpse's face, shaking it slightly at a certain frequency.

He lifted his hood, revealing his face.

It's Pat's face.
"Pate" brushed the dust off his sleeves and strode towards the direction of the Citadel.

The surface of the Mead River extends along the cobblestone streets that can be seen everywhere in the old town, towards Whispering Bay, becoming increasingly wider.

Baelor Hightower stared at the orange-red flames on the towering tower, his brows furrowed.

"I have already sent orders to all the major chambers of commerce," Gunthor said dejectedly, "The Green Hand Chamber of Commerce promised to give us fifty ships, but the people from Mead River were only willing to give us twenty, and the rest were one or two. The total is less than a hundred ships. We need..." He counted on his fingers, "70,000 gold royals, or even more."

"Golden dragons are not a problem," Garth Hightower said confidently.

"Not for you, Gars," Gunthor could not help but complain, "The price of mercenaries is even higher than this. The money spent by the Armory these days is equivalent to three or five King Roberts! You should just be happy!"

Garce frowned. He never had a say in financial matters, so he turned his gaze to his brother.

Baelor Hightower was still staring at the orange fire on the towering tower that echoed the moon in the distance, blinking his eyes, his thoughts obviously not on what his two younger brothers were talking about.

"Beile! Even if you dig out your eyeballs and put them on the windowsill for a few days, my father will not come down from the towering tower, and the fire will not turn green!" Gars said fiercely, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, and his heavy chin padded out with several layers of flesh.

Gunthor suddenly felt a sense of fear all over his body, causing him to shudder. The flames of the towering tower turned green, which was a signal that the Hightower family had declared war or issued a warning of war. The last time the flames burned green was when the Hightower family took up the banner of the Green Party and led the army to fight against the blood dragons of Dragonstone.

A chilling signal, Gunthor thought. "I can't stand the iron race hanging around Whispering Bay all day, Gunthor! I need a fleet to take the initiative and attack Pike City directly, turning the sea battle into a land battle. Or lure Greyjoy ashore and fight to the death on land! This is our advantage!" Even on ordinary days, Garth sounded a bit like a roar when he spoke, but now it was more like he was arguing with himself.

Gunthor scratched his head. "You're really giving me a headache." His long face drooped like melted wax.

"It is not a good idea to take the initiative and not leave any backup plan. It is too imprudent." Baelor Hightower finally turned his eyes away and looked at his two brothers. "Gunthor, learn how Tyrion dealt with Stannis in King's Landing. Use iron chains."

"Iron chains?" Gunthor and Gars asked in unison.

"Send out some sailing ships. We don't need a fleet in Oldtown. Our strength at sea mainly depends on the Redwyne family, and Earl Paxter's fleet is almost here," Baelor looked at Gunthor, "You can abandon all the ships you bought and rented from the Chamber of Commerce and use them as baits and sunken ships to the greedy Ironborn. Lure them step by step to Whispering Bay. Then use iron chains to block their retreat. It would be best if we cut the Ironborn in half. When the Redwyne army arrives, he will be outside and we will be inside, attacking from both sides."

"They can land from the north and south banks without entering Whispering Bay." Gars pointed at the map and questioned.

Baelor nodded. "That would be best. The tens of thousands of Hightower troops are not a group of ants that can be slaughtered at will! If Euron Greyjoy wants to land at Blackcrown or Three Towers, it would be equivalent to exposing his weakness to us. He will be dead."

He looked at Gars, "You can't have the army you worked so hard to train being defeated by a bunch of pirates wearing shabby equipment."

Garce sneered, "Let them never return!"

Gunthor looked at his brother with admiration. He knew that this was an ability and temperament that he could not match. Beile was a natural leader. He knew the personalities and characteristics of his subordinates and used them one by one to bring out their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

"By then, the sturdy castle of Oldtown and the long-arm catapults and powerful crossbows on all sides will be able to eliminate half of the Iron Men who want to land, and the fleet of the Arbor Island outside Whispering Bay will be able to eliminate half of the Iron Men's longships. Victory will be with us." Baelor clenched his fists and took a deep breath. It was the first time he faced such a situation, and even though he usually loved to laugh, he had to be serious.

Garth's strong arm reached out and held his hand, "Don't be nervous, brother, the Seven Gods will bless us."

Baelor looked up, Gunthor smiled at him, Garth's eyes were full of fiery victory, and his brothers were full of confidence.

This was not a lie. In fact, even the civilians of Oldtown did not take the Ironmen, who had hundreds of longships, seriously. The bards called them greedy pirates, and most people thought that the turmoil would be over if they robbed a few more merchant ships. Secondly, although the Hightower family's record in foreign wars was not impressive, Oldtown had indeed been well protected for thousands of years, and it had been spared from war a few times through Hightower's diplomatic mediation.

This time, facing the backward and barbaric Iron Men, the civilians still believed that the holy place of the Citadel and the city of the Seven Gods would continue to be blessed by God. What they prayed for when they returned home was not tomorrow's safety, but the accumulation of wealth and the future and health of their loved ones.

Gunthor walked out of the room and stood on the pavilion to look out at the sea. The mist from the Mead River held the sparkling river in the air, and the moonlight was everywhere. There were two moons hidden in the wide Whispering Bay, one was the bright moon in the sky, and the other was the orange fire that was always on in the towering tower.

Orange Fire was eager to try, as if wanting to jump out of the water.

Gunthor was watching it with great interest. He had loved listening to the songs of bards since he was a child, and he was even familiar with the songs from as far away as Dorne. Unconsciously, the corners of his mouth rose slightly and he hummed a little tune.

The water sparkled, and the ripples stirred the reflection of the orange fire, which gradually swayed, and the surging flames were clearly visible.

It looked like there was going to be a fire, and Gunthor couldn't help but worry, but then he widened his eyes and the ripples in the water suddenly appeared in his sight.

But what was different from before was that the fire reflected in his eyes was green, not orange!

"Big brother Beile!" Gunthor almost lost his balance and fell, and it was Gars behind him who held him up and helped him to steady his steps.

Baelor Hightower stared at the green fire quietly. "Prepare the boat. I want to go to the Tower of Heaven."

(End of this chapter)