Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 405 The Battle of Tears Island - Beginning

As dawn approached, the defenses of Tears Island were complete.

Maurice sat at the heart of the castle, atop the highest point of the Weeping Fortress. The Blood Brotherhood's elite troops were scattered throughout the castle's firing ports and platforms, controlling several heavy ballistae that required multiple operators. These ballistae were not aimed at the beachhead, but rather pre-calculated at every turn of the Snake Path, ready to unleash a devastating crossfire as soon as the enemy entered the narrow passages.

Agalon and his Giant Axe Pirates were deployed at the beginning and the most treacherous part of the Serpent's Path. They set up multiple roadblocks with giant logs and boulders, and piled up plenty of rolling logs and stones behind them. Agalon's personal guard even carried specially made giant fishing nets with barbs, ready to bind the enemy's movements in the narrow terrain before slaughtering them with battle axes.

Olado's Serpent Fang, the most skilled rock climbers, did not fortify the path. Instead, like true serpents, they concealed themselves in the crevices and natural caves of the towering rock walls on either side of the Serpent Trail. Equipped with numerous javelins and blowguns, their mission was to mercilessly kill any enemy attempting to cross the trail from the sides and above, and at the opportune moment, to push down pre-prepared loose rocks to create an avalanche.

Vic's Crocodile Tail Pirates lurked at the entrance to the Tear Cave and the underground river region it connected to. They set up poisoned grappling hooks and water spikes in the dark waterways, creating a deadly labyrinth using the intricate terrain.

Their mission was to use the terrain to carry out relentless harassment and assassinations, and to silently drag any enemy attempting to infiltrate by waterway to the bottom of the water.

Bren's Anvil Pirates, as the strongest melee force, were positioned at the end of the Serpent's Path, behind the main gate of Weeping Keep. They were the last bastion and the hardest anvil. Once the Iron Islands had breached the first two lines of defense at great cost, Bren's heavily armored warriors would be ready to engage the exhausted enemy in the relatively open area of ​​the city gates in the most brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Tolkien's Black Sail unit was the most unique. His Black Sail troops were not stationed in one place, but served as a mobile reserve force across the entire battlefield. At the same time, they were responsible for shuttling between the warehouses and fortifications of the Crying Fortress, ensuring the delivery of supplies such as arrows, stones, and fuel, and being ready to fill any gaps in the defensive lines that might appear.

The Iron Islands fleet cast off in the morning mist, the golden sea monster flag fluttering atop the masts.

High in the sky, beyond the reach of the naked eye, several dark shadows were silently circling—the crows of the three sisters of Lonely Lamp Island had returned to the Zhiyuan from Tears Island.

These birds, favored by the shadows, acted as the most loyal sentinels, taking in every personnel movement on the island, every newly added barrier, even the fishing nets "Mountain Rift" Agalon set up on the Serpent's Path and the poisonous stingers "Crocodile Tail" Vic laid in the underground river. What they saw was not only an impregnable defense, but also a one-sided belief that placed all hope in a decisive battle on land.

During the previous attacks on Fly Island and Howling Mountain Island, Euron deliberately suppressed all news, especially regarding the existence of Wildfire. The defeat came too quickly; no survivors could relay the information about the all-consuming eerie green flames and the Thousand-Year Dragon's aerial attack tactics.

Therefore, at the war council in Weeping Castle, no one mentioned this destruction from the sky. The pirate leaders of Weeping Island were confidently preparing for what they envisioned as a fair land battle.

The atmosphere in the operations room aboard the Zhiyuan was lively.

Euron tapped his fingertips lightly on the rough sea chart, his tone carrying a clear calculation: "The materials for making wildfire are rare and expensive, and we don't have much in stock. It's a pipe dream to think we can burn down the entire Island of Tears with it."

Upon hearing Euron's discussion of the limitations of wildfire, the island lords, who had become somewhat reliant on this terrifying weapon due to their previous two glorious victories, burst into a rough and confident laugh.

"That's right!" King Baron's voice boomed, making the wine glasses on the table tremble slightly. "Do you think our Iron Islands axes couldn't cut down people before we got our hands on this green oil? What a joke!"

Lord Zhuogu waved his armor-clad arm, his tone carrying a warrior's slight disdain for a victory achieved through trickery: "The battle at Howling Mountain Island may have looked exciting, but we were like spectators standing in the stands, doing nothing but looking up at the sky! Is this what you call fighting? It's utterly frustrating!"

Lord Harlo of Ten Towers adjusted his monocle and added rationally, "We are not, after all, that mad king Iris, obsessed with fire, who fantasizes about ruling the world with a single weapon. War is about comprehensive strength."

"

Medred Merlin of Pebble Town saw further ahead. He calmly stated, "Beyond the Lizard Islands, vaster seas and countless islands await us. Conquest is followed by rule; can we expect to manage future territories with wildfire?"

Laffer Stonehouse of Old Wake Island drew his battle axe with a swift motion, the heavy blade gleaming coldly. He growled, "Perfect! Let those self-important bastards on Tears Island taste the power of our axes for themselves!"

Amidst a chorus of impassioned calls for battle, Euron slowly rose to his feet and chuckled, "It would be foolish not to use readily available weapons. Wildfire, we should use it when the time is right, and we will not hesitate."

He abruptly changed the subject, his voice becoming forceful and resolute: "But the true foundation of the Iron Islands will always be you, and the fearless Ironborn behind you! Prepare for land battle, brothers! Let Tears Island remember, let the known world remember—the wrath of the sea monsters comes not only from the ocean!"

The Iron Islands fleet, like a black tide, crashed fiercely onto the shores of Tears Isle. As soon as the iron-armored warships reached the shallows, heavy gangplanks were lowered with a roar, and the restless Ironborn, like beasts released from their cages, surged onto the beach. The swords and axes in their hands reflected a chilling gleam in the thin sunlight, like a moving thorny thicket of metal.

Euron Greyjoy stood at the very front of the group, his dark cloak billowing wildly in the sea breeze. He made no unnecessary movements, simply raising his hand and pointing forward, his voice low but carrying a chilling intensity like that of an icy sea, clearly echoing across the entire beach: "The usual."

He paused, then each word was like a nail driven into a coffin: "Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

Once the order was given, the killing began immediately.

The Ironborn, in longships, transformed into countless torrents of death, launching a ferocious charge towards the Tear Fortress built against the mountainside deep within the island. Their battle cries drowned out the waves, carrying a pure desire for destruction.

This attack was not just a display of brute force on the ground.

High in the sky, the massive wings of the thousand-year-old dragon Halsien cast an ominous shadow. The three sisters of Lonely Lamp Island stood silently on the dragon saddle, their gazes fixed on what lay below. With a silent command, one stone jar after another, filled with eerie green wildfire, was precisely dropped.

Instead of landing in open areas, they went straight for the core of the defenses—heavy ballistae set up in strategic locations, supply depots piled with rolling logs and stones, and the defensive nodes where the pirates were most concentrated and ready for battle.

"boom--!"

Green flowers of death bloomed one after another along the defensive line of Tear Castle. Violent explosions and towering eerie green flames instantly engulfed the pirates' fortifications and dense ranks. Screams were barely audible before they were drowned out by even more violent explosions.

Infernal fires descended from the sky, and a tidal wave of steel surged across the ground.

From the very first moment, the defenses of Tears Island were caught in a desperate pincer attack.