Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

"withdraw!"

"retreat!"

Stannis ordered a retreat, and the sound of retreat echoed across the battlefield. The Stormlands army began to retreat slowly like the receding tide, leaving behind a trail of corpses.

Although this battle was an ambush set up in advance by the Stormlands army, it did not seem to have gained much of an advantage.

The Targaryen soldiers were clearly more courageous in battle, because merit meant a bright future for them, and the promise of great rewards always attracted brave men.

Both sides suffered over a thousand casualties in total, and then retreated to prepare to set up camp.

The River Wendell was not actually very wide and could not serve as a natural barrier against the Targaryen army. Therefore, about 30,000 troops from Stormlands were stationed on the hills south of Bronze Gate, where they set up camp.

They made thorough preparations for this war, with men, women, the elderly, and children all joining the fray, and they built a large number of giant crossbows.

Unlike Braavos, which possessed a large number of giant crossbows but neglected defense, the Stormlands army kept a close watch on the sky day and night.

They swore that if Viserys dared to come alone on his dragon, they would riddle him and his dragon with arrows.

...

However, not long after, night fell and heavy rain arrived.

The Targaryen army halted its advance after crossing the Wend River, as Viserys's main force finally arrived. However, torrential rain continued to pour down, hindering the army's progress.

Tap tap...

Viserys rode a white horse, its hooves pounding the muddy road, a bolt of lightning flashing overhead, illuminating the handsome profile of the silver-haired youth.

His hair clung to his armor, and rain streamed down the gleaming Valyrian steel armor.

Viserys looked up at the Stormlands army's camp not far away, his eyes shining brightly, and then finally raised his hand.

"stop!"

"Everyone, halt!"

The officer shouted the order, and the entire army began to set up camp here.

"I'm going out for a bit, don't look for me."

Then Viserys spoke up.

"His Majesty?"

Before his guards could react, the silver-haired youth spurred his horse and galloped into the vast rain, disappearing without a trace.

Chapter 520 Dark Sisters

Viserys rode away from the camp and disappeared into the rain, leaving others to handle the remaining military affairs for him.

Mistoin, the commander of the Golden Company, became the acting commander, and Bellerion did not go out with Viserys. It quietly chose a relatively flat place to lie down and sleep soundly, waiting for tomorrow's battle.

slam-la-

With the rain still pouring down overhead, Viserys rode his warhorse away from the camp, but did not go far. He came to the upper reaches of the Wend River, deep in the dense forest.

Tap tap...

The horse's hooves pounded the muddy ground, making Viserys's beautiful white warhorse dirty, but the silver-haired knight paid no attention and continued deeper into the Royal Forest.

"Here is the place."

He finally stopped at one place, Viserys gripped the saddle ring, then dismounted and stepped onto the muddy ground.

"It should be here."

Viserys scanned his surroundings with his pale purple eyes and then determined his location.

According to the memories he absorbed from the Three-Eyed Raven, his sword, Dark Sister, was ultimately lost here.

Decades ago, Brynden Rivers was imprisoned by Aegon V and eventually exiled to the Wall. At that time, he carried this Valyrian steel sword, a family heirloom of the Targaryen family, to the North.

The sword then disappeared along with Brynden Rivers, becoming a mystery.

However, according to the Three-Eyed Raven's memories, after becoming the Green Prophet, he commissioned someone to send the Dark Sisters back to the South.

But for some reason, he didn't choose to send the sword to King's Landing, but instead buried it in the remote Kingswood.

Viserys only absorbed a portion of the Three-Eyed Raven's memories; it was incomplete, with some being damaged during the absorption process, leaving it fragmented.

Viserys only knew what he had done, but he didn't know exactly what he was thinking when he did it.

The Royal Forest is lush with trees and has always been the royal family's exclusive garden. Hunting ceremonies are held here every year, while the Dark Sisters hide in a cave near the source of the Wende River.

Viserys rode his warhorse, following the memories of the Three-Eyed Raven, to this place, then dismounted and entered the cave.

Although it was pouring rain outside, not much rainwater got into the cave.

Viserys picked up a few relatively dry branches from the ground, then struck them with a flint to create sparks, lit the leaves, and raised the torch.

The torchlight dispelled the darkness and illuminated everything in the cave. It looked no different from an ordinary cave, with tangled branches and wild grass growing rampantly.

"Sigh~"

A patterned venomous snake, hidden in the grass, suddenly poked its head out, seemingly trying to bite him unexpectedly.

But the silver-haired youth easily grabbed his head, preventing it from spraying out its venom.

click -

Without uttering a sound, Viserys crushed the snake's head and tossed its carcass aside.

Why did Brynden Rivers choose to place the Dark Sisters here?

"Could it be that the Imperial Guard has some connection with the Old Gods?"

The trees in the Imperial Forest are of mixed species, including a considerable number of weirwood trees, but it would be hard to believe that he would leave the sword there for that reason alone.

"There must be other reasons."

The silver-haired youth's eyes reflected the torchlight as he frowned slightly, pondering the Three-Eyed Raven's reasons for doing so.

rustle...

He continued forward with his footsteps, making sounds, as he entered the depths of the cave.

The cave was very deep, and Viserys walked in for about ten minutes, holding a torch high in his hand. During this time, he was attacked by some upside-down bats.

However, just as he was about to reach the end of the cave, he made a slightly different discovery.

"This is..."

click -

Viserys crushed an ancient, weathered skull beneath his feet, then paused slightly, his eyes fixed intently on the firelight illuminating the distance.

There appeared to be a small mound, and on top of the mound was a long, gleaming sword.

It was stuck upside down on the small mound of earth, and even though decades had passed and it was covered in dust, it still reflected a faint light under the torch.

"This sword is the Dark Sister."

Viserys understood, and a look of joy appeared in his eyes, but not much surprise. After all, he could easily give away a Valyrian steel sword, and he only retrieved this sword to complete a mission.

With the help of the Old Gods, he had already guessed the whereabouts of the Blackfire, but the sword was currently on the continent of Essos, and he didn't have time to retrieve it.

However, what truly made him stop was not the Dark Sisters, but the 'little mound' stuck upside down beneath the legendary Valyrian steel sword.

The torchlight wasn't very bright, barely dispelling the darkness deep inside the cave, but if you looked closely, you could see that this 'small mound' was actually composed of heads no bigger than eggs.

The pile of heads formed a mountain, and beneath this mountain, these egg-sized heads had even turned to dust, indicating that countless years had passed—far longer than the time the Dark Sisters had planted them there.

"What are these heads? How can there be so many?"

Viserys looked at the mountain of heads, and being all alone in the gloomy cave, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Put yourself in their shoes; anyone who comes to a cave alone in the middle of the night and sees such a pile of heads would feel their scalp tingle.

Just then, Viserys suddenly heard some noises behind him.

fluttering—

The silver-haired youth, holding a torch, turned around and saw that it was actually a flock of crows. They seemed to have flown in to escape the heavy rain outside the cave.

However, the flock of crows let out a mournful cry, ignoring Viserys who was right in front of them, and then pounced on the Dark Sisters like madmen, each of them ramming their heads against the sharp blades.

Puff puff--

It was an incredibly bloody scene: crows went mad and crashed into the Valyrian steel sword, only to have their heads severed by the blade.

bang bang bang-

The headless corpse, driven by instinct, flew a few more meters and crashed into the stone wall at the end of the cave not far away, before falling into the pool of water below.

The crow's head rolled off and remained forever on the mound of heads.

Chapter 521 Rainy Night

Viserys is retrieving his sword in a cave, while in the Stormlands' military camp.

boom--

A sudden clap of thunder boomed in the sky, and a dense barrage of lightning illuminated the heavens, startling Stannis, who was deep in thought, causing him to drop his pen onto the table.

At this moment, in the central command tent of the Stormlands military camp, a heavy rain is falling outside the tent.

This is actually a unique landscape in the storm zone, where torrential rains and thunderstorms are common.

Especially after the harsh winter, spring lasts for about a year. Now, spring is gradually leaving, and the rainy summer is just around the corner.

"Tell me about it."

"How should we defend against the army of 'Tyrant' Viserys?"

The tent was brightly lit.

Stannis was startled by the thunder outside, but after calming himself down a bit, he took a deep breath, then leaned on the table and looked around before asking a question.

At this moment, the long conference table was surrounded by Stormlands generals in full armor.

Most of them were Stormlands nobles loyal to House Baratheon. After Renly's death, some nobles turned away because they were ashamed of his behavior, while others joined Stannis's service.

After all, compared to Stannis the 'Parricide', Viserys the 'Tyrant' was obviously more infamous. They feared that Viserys would strip them of their power and lands after conquering the Stormlands, so they united under Stannis's banner to resist their common enemy.