Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

Chapter 706 Sea Monster

"Your Majesty, this is some important news from the Eastern Continent recently."

King's Landing, Red Keep, in the Royal Council Chamber.

Compared to the turbulent times in the endless ice plains, the human world is largely at peace, although some regions are embroiled in war.

Minister of Intelligence Varys submitted a report to the Council of Kings containing important intelligence about the Outer Lands that his little bird had recently gathered.

"The world of trading city-states is not peaceful."

"On the vast, trembling sea, the merchant ships of Loras and the fishing boats of the Ibans seem to have encountered an attack by a sea monster."

“Some of the wrecked ship debris and cargo recently drifted ashore on the coast of Braavos with the shocking signs of the ship being broken apart, and no survivors were found.”

The bald eunuch spoke eloquently in a soft, delicate voice, while Tyrion, the emperor's private advisor, stroked his beard and teased him.

“I’ve heard about this recently; it seems to have caused quite a stir among sailors.”

Braavos is the northernmost city on the western coast of the continent of Essos, and recently, many shipwrecks have drifted ashore on the waters off Braavos.

It is said that several fleets from Iban, Loras, and Braavos disappeared at sea, and people speculate that the wreckage of these ships was left behind by these fleets.

No one could guess what they had encountered, but the shipwreck was said to have horrific wounds, suggesting it had been torn apart by some kind of monster.

Therefore, sailors who have been traveling to and from the Narrow Sea recently have been spreading rumors that they have been attacked by sea monsters, and some have even become paranoid. However, Tyrion, who is not very steadfast in his belief in ghosts and gods, does not really believe the rumors that there are sea monsters in the sea.

"I don't think it's as mysterious as they say; it might just be the work of a storm."

The emperor's private advisor, sitting in his chair, shrugged slightly and began to speak.

"Perhaps, Lord Tyrion."

"However, this still cannot explain those horrific bite marks."

"But we have nothing to worry about. Even if there really is a sea monster, we still have His Majesty to rely on."

Meanwhile, the bald eunuch on the other side didn't argue with Tyrion. He crossed his arms inside his sleeves, then secretly glanced at Viserys, who was sitting at the head of the table. Seeing that the other man's face was expressionless, he continued speaking.

"A wildfire has recently broken out in Norfolk again, and despite great efforts, it has not been extinguished."

"The bearded monks believed that followers of the Red God Cult were secretly causing the wildfire by using witchcraft."

"Therefore, they are now expelling and massacring all Red God believers within the territory and declaring them unwelcome."

Wildfires are a common occurrence in the Norfolk Mountains, given the dry air and mountainous terrain, which makes them highly susceptible to fires. We hear about Norfolk wildfires almost every few years.

Sitting beside His Majesty the Emperor, the newly appointed Prime Minister and Governor of the West, Mith Toyn, turned his head slightly to glance at the Minister of Agriculture, Alister Floren, and the two exchanged a look.

Mistoin was a mercenary captain who was good at commanding battles, but not very politically astute. Therefore, he did his homework before accepting the appointment and setting off for King's Landing.

He believed that although he had risen to a position second only to the emperor, he had no 'friends' in the royal court and might not be able to fully display his talents.

At this time, Allister Florence, the leader of the lawful nobles, took the initiative to extend an olive branch to the new Prime Minister.

In fact, as a representative of all old noble families, the Florentine family still has considerable influence.

Behind him stood the Tyrell family, former lords of House Florence, and many vassals from the time of Robert Baratheon.

They were not the meritorious generals who followed Viserys to conquer the world, but survivors of the old era. Therefore, they banded together to survive, hoping to have a place in the political landscape of the new empire.

House Tyrell should have been their 'elder brother', since most of the other ducal families had already changed hands, and even though they had been stripped of Highgarden and sent to Starshort as earls, House Tyrell still had a deep foundation.

However, the Florentine family, who were historically not very convinced of the Highgarden steward's authority, took the initiative to step forward and take the lead at this time.

The cunning and shrewd Queen of Thorns naturally took a step back, relinquishing the position of 'big brother' to Allister Florent.

After all, the other party currently holds the position of Minister of Agriculture and is qualified to attend the Imperial Council, making him the most influential among these old nobles for the time being.

Therefore, when faced with the olive branch extended by Alister Floren, the ugly former mercenary leader hesitated for a moment before accepting it.

This way, at least he wouldn't be completely 'isolated and helpless' in King's Landing.

At this moment, his gaze turned to Allist, and the politically astute old man of the Florent family naturally understood, and then spoke up to remind him.

"Your Majesty and Your Excellencies, the Norfoss Fire occurs almost every year, sometimes large and sometimes small."

"Although this year's wildfire is quite large, it is far from threatening Norfolk."

"There must be a reason why the bearded monk turned against the Crimson God Cult at this time, right?"

After hearing the old man from the Florent family remind him, Misz Thoin suddenly realized what was going on.

Then, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he had thought of something, and he spoke solemnly.

"Perhaps the old monk on the staircase of sinners has prophesied something again."

"Almost everything he predicted has come true."

Then Misty Toyn turned to look at Intelligence Minister Varys.

"Lord Varys, this is something we should pay attention to."

Mistoin had once served as the leader of the Golden Company, mingling with the various city-states of Essos, and thus he was intimately familiar with the inner workings of each city-state.

The city of Norfolk has a huge stone staircase called the Staircase of Sinners, which leads from the city to a temple on a cliff, the religious center of all the monks of Norfolk.

Legend has it that an ancient monk named Norfolk, who has lived for countless years, resides in this temple. His spiritual attainment is extremely profound, allowing him to foresee certain events in the future and helping Norfolk escape disasters on numerous occasions.

Upon hearing the words of the new King's Hand, the people in the Royal Council Hall began to whisper among themselves.

The bald eunuch remained calm. As the empire's intelligence minister, he naturally knew that Mistoin was right; there was indeed an old monk on Norfos's Stairway of Sinners who should have lived in legend.

“I understand, Lord Mistoin.”

"Next, I will send my little bird to keep a close eye on Norfos's movements."

Chapter 707 Failure of the Eastward Expedition

"The last two things."

Intelligence Minister Varys began.

"A civil war has broken out in the Kingdom of the Three Daughters, and the Dothraki's eastward advance appears to have failed."

The three kingdoms of Rhys, Myr, and Tyrosi seemed to have a long-standing feud. The Imperial fleet visited these three trading city-states one after another, which then ignited the flames of war between them.

Now, Tyroth has declared war on Lys and Myr, and the Tyroth High Lord is clamoring to destroy Myr once again, turning it to ashes, and to hang all the governors of Lys from the trees.

The two sides confronted each other in the waters near the Steppe Islands, which then broke out into several fierce battles. At sea, the Tyrosian fleet dealt a heavy blow to the Ries, while on land, the two sides fought simultaneously on the Steppe Islands and the disputed lands.

Lord Tyroth hired many elite mercenary groups and seized a lot of disputed lands, but in the end, the combined forces of Myr and Rhys managed to reclaim some of them.

The battle between the two sides became a stalemate, but overall the Tyrosians still had the advantage, while the noble and elegant, pleasure-loving Riesians were utterly defeated.

The Ries were not good at fighting, even worse than the weak Tyrosi of Fira, while the reinforcements from Myr became the real heroes.

Their arrival saved the day. The battle-hardened Narrow Sea pirates, fearless and ruthless, rammed Tyros's fleet, scattering it to pieces. They then engaged in a fierce boarding action, halting Tyros's fleet's advance from the sea.

Meanwhile, Salado Sun's two thousand Cat Band mercenaries arrived just in time on land, saving the day. Otherwise, the Reissians might have been wiped out by Tyros's mercenary group in one fell swoop.

Several fierce battles terrified the governors of Reese who were overseeing the battle at the front. They all fled back to their headquarters and refused to personally supervise the battle anymore.

At the same time, they also clung to the pirate governor, granting him and Humphrey Hightower high command authority in the combined forces of Myr and Rhys, ordering the two of them to jointly command the army to stop the Tyrothy's attack.

Meanwhile, Governor Trigger Omeren, the brother-in-law of the young Governor Humphrey Hightoar, hid in the rear headquarters with the other Governors of Reese, secretly monitoring them.

As for the other piece of news, it is said that the Dothraki people, who began to migrate eastward as a whole a few years ago, encountered some kind of battle, and now some of the khalasar are beginning to reappear near Vis Dothraki.

They seemed to have encountered an extremely powerful nation blocking their eastward advance. The Dothraki invaded this nation, and a fierce war broke out between the two sides.

Ultimately, the Dothraki suffered a crushing defeat, with heavy casualties, and were forced to retreat west of the Bone Mountains to lick their wounds and return to their homeland.

"The civil war in the Three Sisters Kingdom is good news for us."

“We can continue to expand our influence in the Eastern Continent, or even swallow up these three trading city-states and the disputed lands, or bring them under our control.”

Justice Minister Oberon sat in his chair with his fingers interlaced, and then began to speak.

The Dornish people made no secret of their ambition for land; in their view, the more land they conquered, the stronger their nation would become.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the finance minister on the other side, Illyrio Mopatis of Pentos, immediately voiced his opposition.

"Your Majesty the Emperor."

"And Lord Oberon."

"We are at a critical juncture in our economic reforms, and it is not appropriate for us to wage war against other countries, otherwise it could easily destroy our fragile economic system."

Illyrio's biggest concern right now is stabilizing prices in King's Landing and throughout the country. The Empire has expanded significantly, but due to the limited information technology of this era, many messages are transmitted very slowly, so it is even more important to focus on steady development.

Otherwise, if even the slightest problem occurs in the economic system, it will be a disaster for the entire market.

For example, before the Second Battle of the Green Fork, the final battle between humans and the White Walkers, prices in King's Landing had reached outrageous levels.

Because a large amount of resources and manpower were used to fill the front lines, there was a shortage of supplies and manpower in the rear, and the currency depreciated to the point that it was impossible to buy anything.

Six copper coins buy a pumpkin, a silver deer can be exchanged for a pile of corn, and a golden dragon is worth a cut of beef or six skinny piglets—these prices are outrageously high.

"I second that, Your Majesty."

"If we can subdue the Kingdom of the Three Daughters without losing a single soldier, that would be acceptable."

Tyrion Lannister, the Imp, leaned on the long table of the King's Council and then quipped, though it was just a joke, since it was impossible to believe.

The handsome, silver-haired youth sitting on the central throne nodded slightly and spoke noncommittally.

"We have an even more important enemy waiting for us right now."

He did not express any specific opinion on the civil war in the Three Sisters Kingdom, while the other ministers exchanged glances and then fell silent, ceasing their discussion of the topic.

"As for the Dothraki..."

The bald eunuch coughed lightly, changed the subject, and continued speaking.

"The fact that these barbarians have suffered a crushing defeat in the East and returned to the Great Grass Sea is probably not good news for any of us."

"They might vent all the frustrations they suffered in the East."

After all, the Dothraki are notorious 'destroyers of civilization,' whose greatest skill is slaughter and destruction, so it's rather schadenfreude that they managed to suffer a crushing defeat in the East.

However, even now, no one knows why the Dothraki, who never expanded eastward, suddenly became so determined to move eastward.

What were they risking so much to cross the Bone Mountain Range for?