Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 424 The Daughter of the Shan King—Jenna Maxwell

War elephants are indeed a headache on the battlefield.

Their massive bodies, rough and thick hides like heavy armor, and overwhelming, unparalleled strength constitute a mobile fortress.

Even with Euron's Conqueror's Haki's invisible suppression and Hiei's dragon might derived from the ancient winged dragon's horn, causing most war elephants to hesitate due to instinctive fear and dare not charge recklessly, these hesitant behemoths remained an insurmountable wall of death for ordinary Iron Warriors on the battlefield, a terrifying existence that could not be defeated head-on.

Euron's calm voice pierced through the battlefield's clamor: "Prioritize dealing with the knights on the war elephants!"

Once the order was given, the Iron People's attack instantly shifted.

The whistling axes and dense arrows suddenly changed course, like a guided swarm of bees, all pouring towards the elephant saddle high above.

Moonwalk!

The wind element "Belloi"!

Euron's figure moved like a ghost, leaping and bounding between the broad backs of elephants. With each flash of his twin blades, an elephant knight fell to the ground.

These knights were the minds and controllers of the war elephants. As the knights fell one after another, the war elephants, now without command, became bewildered, their massive bodies standing motionless like boulders that had suddenly lost their souls, their threat greatly diminished.

With the strongest war elephant on Fuxiang Island ceasing to move, the tide of battle turned.

The blood of the resisters soaked the streets of Zabada, and the head of the city's commander, Anselm Rodriguez, was hanging from a broken flagpole.

Euron led the Ironborn, fighting his way to the heart of the city—the strange palace constructed from countless enormous tusks.

Inside the palace, the Shan King—the supreme ruler of Elephant Island—sat silently on his ivory throne.

The Shan king wore an exquisitely carved ivory crown and appeared unusually calm.

The moment the city gates fell, King Shan calmly drank a bottle of poison that had been prepared beforehand. When Euren entered the hall in his blood-stained boots, King Shan raised his eyes and smiled faintly at the conqueror.

There was no fear, no pleading in that smile, only the silence of everything having come to an end.

Then, the King of Shan tilted his head slightly, leaned back in his luxurious chair, and fell silent.

The silent end of King Shan made Euron nod slightly.

"Not bad for a king to die." Euron waved his hand calmly, stopping the island lord of Zhuogu Island from chopping off his head. "Give him a proper burial."

The battle was over, but the stench of blood had not yet dissipated.

Baron stepped forward, wiped the blood from the axe blade, and asked in a gruff voice, "There are still a lot of islanders scattered around this island. What should we do with them? Are we going to kill them all?"

Euron's gaze swept across the ravaged streets outside the window, his voice devoid of any emotion: "Since they have chosen not to submit, we have no other choice." He paused, then added with unwavering resolve: "The Iron Islands will not engage in the slave trade."

Euron turned his head and heard footsteps coming from the passage behind the throne.

From the shadows deep within the palace, the figure of a girl dressed in a plain white robe slowly emerged.

She looked very young, with delicate features, long black hair, and fair, radiant skin. Most striking were her emerald green eyes, like the purest jade, set between her small nose and red lips and white teeth. At this moment, those eyes were filled with sorrow, yet her gaze held a hint of desperate courage.

She went straight to Euron, knelt down, and said in a trembling but clear voice, "Your Majesty, Lord of the Sea Beasts, I beg you to forgive the civilians on the island. They were neither the instigators nor participants in this war, and they never intended to be your enemy."

Euron looked down at her and asked calmly, "Who are you?"

The girl in the white robe took a deep breath, looked up, and replied, "I am Jenna Maxwell, the daughter of the late Shan King."

Euron stared at the kneeling princess and said calmly, "Just because they don't have swords in their hands now doesn't mean they don't have hatred in their hearts."

Hatred is often the most troublesome kind of trouble. I've always hated trouble.

Jenna Maxwell raised her head, her emerald eyes unwavering: "I assure you, in the name of our Maxwell family and the supreme elephant god, that they will be your most obedient subjects—the most diligent farmers, the bravest fishermen, and the most meticulous elephant keepers. They seek only survival."

"A guarantee?" Euron shrugged and chuckled. "What do you intend to use as a guarantee? I don't believe in empty promises!"

The princess took a deep breath, her voice clear and firm, echoing in the silent hall: "With myself. I am willing to become your woman, as a token, so that your banner may not only be planted on this palace, but also, through me, be firmly planted in the hearts of all the islanders."

Euron was silent for a moment, then his gaze swept over the island lords beside him before he gave the order: "Pass down the order: all unarmed and unresisting civilians of Elephant Island shall be dealt with temporarily."

He then turned to Jenna and said coldly, "Princess Jenna Maxwell, go and gather your people now. Since you claim to have such influence, have everyone kneel and submit before sunset today. If you can do this, I may consider sparing their lives."

Upon hearing this, Jenna Maxwell's eyes flashed with a sense of relief. She nodded deeply, then lifted her white robe, turned around, and ran out quickly like a startled bird, disappearing into the shadows of the corridor outside the palace.

Euron didn't turn around, but simply instructed the three Lonely Lantern Island sisters who were standing quietly to the side: "You follow her and make sure she's safe. Don't let our newly acquired 'collaborator' be accidentally harmed by our own people."

Rachel, Nydil, and Zoia offered no further response, but simply turned around simultaneously in perfect unison, like three silent phantoms, quietly following the direction the princess had gone.

When Jenna Maxwell ran out of the palace and into the still-smoky streets, she saw faces filled with terror and despair. The Ironborn's blades were still dripping blood, and her people huddled among the ruins like lambs to the slaughter.

Her snow-white robe swept past the broken walls and ruins as she walked through the terrified crowd, her voice unusually firm: "People of Elephant Island! I am Jenna Maxwell, daughter of the Shan King!"

"Lord Euron, Lord of the Sea Beasts, has given us a chance to live—all who kneel and submit in the Central Elephant Field before sunset today will be forgiven!"

"Lay down hatred, lay down weapons! Let us exchange loyalty for survival, and labor for peace!"

At the dock, she stood on a broken plank, calling out to the fishermen. An old fisherman with a missing finger asked in a trembling voice, "Princess, will they really keep their word?" Jenna's green eyes shone in the twilight: "I'll vouch for it with my life." At the elephant pen, she pressed her forehead against the agitated war elephants to calm them. Seeing the elephants gradually calm down, the mahouts emerged from behind piles of hay. In the civilian quarter, she pushed open wooden doors to gather the survivors. A woman holding a baby suddenly knelt down and tugged at Jenna's robe: "Princess, they killed my husband—" Jenna bent down to help her up, her sleeve stained with blood: "That's why we must let our child live."

Wherever they went, the desperate crowds began to move, flowing like streams towards the elephant field.

..

As the sun sets, a hundred war elephants stand solemnly like a forest, bathed in golden light.

Jenna walked to the sacrificial stone in the center of the elephant enclosure, suddenly drew a dagger, and cut off her own black hair. As her long hair fell like raven feathers, she proclaimed loudly, "From this day forward, there is no longer a Princess Maxwell, only Jenna, serving the Lord of the Sea Beasts!" She turned to face the crowd, spreading her arms wide: "Kneel—"

'

The crowd knelt down like waves of wheat blown down by the wind, while the war elephants bent their front knees one after another, producing a dull thud.

As the last rays of the setting sun were swallowed by the sea, the only sounds in the entire elephant field were the crackling of wildfires and suppressed sobs.

Flying Shadow landed beside Jenna, and Euron looked down at the dark mass of subjugated people, his eyes reflecting the twilight where heaven and hell intertwined.