Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

The Dornish nobles and Dothraki chieftains who had been standing on either side of the hall then returned to their original seats.

"Your Majesty, thank you for the timely arrival of your troops to our aid."

After everyone was seated, Lord Anders Erenwood, commander of the Dornish army, sitting to Viserys' right, expressed his gratitude with a slightly embarrassed expression.

He was certainly grateful to Viserys for sending troops to his aid; if the Dothraki hadn't arrived on the battlefield in time and routed the Reach army, the Dornish would probably have been completely wiped out.

Their original core objective was to help the Iron Throne seize the Reach, but they didn't expect that Highgarden would not only fail to conquer it, but also suffer a defeat.

"Your people don't seem to be very good at fighting."

Meanwhile, a Casker sitting opposite him, with his feet on the stool legs, slightly raised his chin, his expression arrogant, and spoke contemptuously in Dothraki.

He didn't know what the people on the other side were saying, but fortunately, the Dornish couldn't understand what the Dothraki were saying either. However, the faint laughter from the other side made the Dornish man feel a little embarrassed.

However, he had indeed suffered a defeat, and the other party was also his savior. Even though the savior was embarrassed, he dared not retaliate.

Because the Dothraki were even more savage than them, when local thugs encountered someone who didn't value their lives, they could only awkwardly laugh it off.

Viserys, of course, understood Dothraki. He glanced at the other side from his seat, and the laughter of the Dothraki, who had no sense of court etiquette, suddenly stopped, like a rooster being choked.

Viserys then withdrew his gaze and looked at Earl Anders Erenwood, speaking to him.

"The Targaryen family has always had a close relationship with Dorne. My queen is from Dorne, and my daughter Diana has half Dornish blood in her veins."

"We've always been friends."

Viserys raised the wine glass beside him and gestured to the guard, who hesitated for a moment before quickly filling their Khals' cups with wine.

The Dornish were his allies, while the Dothraki were his personal guard; Viserys certainly understood this distinction.

He arrived at Starstalker City without any other army by his side, and the Dothraki served as his guards. However, these guards were somewhat incompetent, with almost zero emotional intelligence, and needed Viserys to give them hints before they could understand.

Viserys then raised his glass.

"Respect for Dorne and the Targaryen family's friendship."

The Dornish nobles and Dothraki chieftains below also raised their glasses, and the Dornish nobles spoke in unison.

"Your Majesty, may your reign last long."

The Dothraki were in a state of confusion, with all sorts of opinions. Some revered the great Khal, some praised him for riding the world's finest steeds, and others argued that Khal didn't actually need the iron chair; he only needed dragons.

It started neatly and ended haphazardly.

After three celebratory drinks, it was time to get down to business.

Chapter 539 Kneeling

In this battle, the Dornish army suffered heavy losses and nearly annihilated due to the rebellion of Titus Baeck, Earl of Starshort, which opened the city gates.

Naturally, someone has to take the blame and bear the wrath of the Dornish army.

But now that Titus Bac has been pushed off the city wall and died in the battle to rescue his wife, it is naturally impossible to hold him accountable.

As representatives of the Targaryen army, the three brothers of the Golden Company—Leswell Baeck, Taumman Baeck, and Parkwood Baeck—became targets of hostility from the Dornish army.

Using the pretext that Viserys hated the Lannisters, they tricked Margot Lannister, the wife of the Earl of Starshort, into giving her a nightly orgies. This angered her husband, Titus Baeck, and ultimately led to the Earl of Starshort's rebellion.

Therefore, the Dornish army naturally vented their anger on Leswell, Baek, and his two companions.

However, these three individuals have extremely special identities; they belong to the Golden Company and are representatives of the Targaryen army.

The Dornish naturally did not dare to kill the three without the Targaryen family's permission.

Therefore, Viserys happened to arrive in Starstalker, and the Dornish army came to the king to lodge a complaint, hoping that His Majesty would uphold justice and punish the criminals who caused the major war.

Are the Dornish coming to the Iron Throne to lodge a complaint?

Viserys had never heard of this before. They usually punished criminals on their own initiative, and when had they ever paid any attention to the Iron Throne?

It seems that the Dothraki, who are even more savage than them, frightened them.

However, after learning the whole story, Viserys did not show any leniency towards his officers.

After all, there are all sorts of birds in a big forest, and Viserys certainly couldn't guarantee that his army was full of problem-free people.

What's more, they even used their own name to forcibly abduct a noblewoman. How can we tolerate that?

Once a problem is identified, it should be addressed. Viserys interrogated Leswell, Barker, and two others, who confessed to raping Lady Margot Lannister.

However, they loudly protested their innocence, refusing to believe that their actions led to Titus Bac's rebellion.

But after witnesses, including Lady Margot Lannister and servants of Starshort, Viserys sentenced the three to death and had them hanged.

With the Dornish protest to the king over, the next step was the verdict against House Tyrell.

Upon arriving at Starstalker, Viserys learned that Velas had been captured alive, that Duke Mace Tyrell and his young son Loras had been executed, and that Garland, the second son of the Tyrell family, had died in battle.

He didn't have a deep impression of this Duke Mace Tyrell, and he didn't have many scenes. He knew that he had a beautiful little daughter. To Viserys, he was just a duke who wasn't very capable and was even somewhat mediocre.

The passing of that future Knight of Flowers caused Viserys to feel a slight pang of sadness.

Fate is unpredictable.

He seems to have never met Renly, and doesn't know what he likes or dislikes. He hopes that the two of them can meet again in the underworld.

Then, accompanied by the heavy clanking of chains, the only captured member of the Tyrell family, Velas Tyrell, was brought up.

He was left with a permanent disability in one of his feet during a duel with Oberyn, and from then on became known as "Crippled" Velas.

House Tyrell and House Martell were also enemies, and Oberyn in his youth was indeed a complete troublemaker.

But Velas never seemed to blame Oberyn, after all, it was his own lack of skill that caused him to fall off his horse and break his leg, and the two still correspond with each other to this day.

"His Majesty."

Velas was bound hand and foot with shackles, his hair was disheveled and he looked somewhat disheveled, but his eyes were still bright and he was in much better spirits than yesterday.

Vilas witnessed the murder of his father and two brothers yesterday and was on the verge of a breakdown, even contemplating suicide. However, he ultimately pulled himself together, all for the sake of the Tyrell family's continuation...

Viserys frowned slightly as he looked at the disheveled, lame, and shackled Highgarden heir before him.

"Take off his shackles."

"He's already in this state, are you still afraid he'll run away?"

Viserys felt it was indeed going too far to add heavy shackles to a cripple who was disabled in the leg and could not walk without crutches.

click -

Then two Dorn soldiers escorting Velas unlocked his heavy chains.

They pushed a chair over for him to sit down, and Velas immediately breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

These shackles certainly caused him, a person with a physical disability, a lot of suffering.

Then the disheveled High Court heir looked intently at Viserys and spoke.

“Actually… Oberyn had been trying to persuade me through letters long ago to lead the Tyrell family to submit to the Iron Throne.”

"His Majesty possesses the rightful right to the Iron Throne, is supported by the nobility, and is loved by the people."

"And it has the support of dragons, the Golden Company, and the Dothraki."

"No one can withstand the Targaryen army's offensive, no one."

Velas didn't even blink when he mentioned the nobles' support.

Viserys received almost no support from any nobles except Dorne; he earned his position through sheer hard work and battles.

When he mentioned the murderers of his father and two brothers, Velas remained unmoved.

"Oh?"

"Then why didn't you lead House Tyrell to submit to the rightful rule of the Iron Throne?"

Viserys sat on the main seat in Starstalker City, looking down at the Highgarden heir, now a prisoner, seated in a chair.

The fact that the other person had just witnessed the murder of his father and brother, yet was able to pull himself together and speak eloquently today, truly impressed him.

Mace Tyrell did have a fine son.

"For profit, Your Majesty."

Velas answered Viserys' question without hesitation.

“Oberyn discussed with me in our correspondence what His Majesty wanted to do in the future.”

"I personally wholeheartedly support Your Majesty's actions. National unity and the concentration of power in the hands of the King can minimize the risk of civil war."

“But I am the eldest son of Mace Tyrell, the eldest grandson of Olenna Redwyn, the Queen of Thorns… I cannot represent only myself.”

"What Your Majesty has done has harmed the interests of all the nobles."

In fact, Oberyn and Velas's friendship dates back to their time at the Citadel, where the two boys studied together and were considered classmates.

Oberyn won six maester chains, while Velas, as the eldest son, although equally excellent in his studies, was unable to obtain a maester chain.

Because becoming a mathematician requires giving up one's surname, the Tyrell family would not allow their eldest son to become a mathematician, so Velas once hated his identity.

However, as Velas grew older, he became less attached to these feelings and understood what he should do.

"And now?"

What would you choose?

Viserys watched the heir to Highgarden with great interest.

“I am willing to persuade my grandmother to kneel and surrender, handing over Highgarden and the wealth of House Tyrell in their entirety, in exchange for the continuation of the family.”

Velas spoke seriously.

Chapter 540 Occupation of High Court

Velas Tyrell knelt before Viserys, swearing eternal allegiance to House Targaryen, and offering Highgarden and all the wealth of House Tyrell in exchange for the family's survival.

Viserys accepted Velas Tyrell's allegiance and spared their lives, giving them a chance to survive.

The next day.

The Dornish army suffered heavy losses and temporarily halted at Starstalker to rest, while the Dothraki army rested for two days before continuing its march, its advance heading straight for Highgarden.