Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

However, Andalus possesses a large population of a single race, and its war potential has grown to a point that cannot be ignored, causing even its neighbor Pentos to become nervous, which led to Illyrio's mission this time.

This is a long time.

Pentos's strength had long since fallen to the bottom of the nine free trade city-states.

The reason is that Pentos and Braavos had fought a war over the issue of slavery. Braavos demanded that Pentos abolish slavery in the name of freedom, but Pentos refused to accept it.

Subsequently, the two sides fought six wars over a period of two hundred years, with Braavos winning four of them.

The last time occurred ninety-one years ago, when Pentos sacrificed four princes to the gods by slitting their throats within a year, but still could not change the rapidly deteriorating war situation.

Braavos's invincible Armada blockaded the port of Pentos, ultimately forcing the governors of Pentos to sign a humiliating treaty and sue for peace.

They publicly declared the abolition of slavery, banned the slave trade, and drastically reduced their warships, allowing only twenty to remain, while the rest of the Pentos warships were scuttled and sunk into the sea.

At the same time, Pentos is also prohibited from employing mercenaries, entering into contracts with free mercenary groups, or maintaining any army beyond the city guard.

Since the war ninety-one years ago, despite its massive walls, Pentos has been widely regarded as the most vulnerable of the free city-states.

It is for this reason that the governors of Pentos maintain a friendly attitude toward other free trading city-states, the Dothraki kings, and all other forces in the vicinity that may pose a threat to them.

For years, Pentos cultivated relationships with a string of powerful khao, sending them gifts and gold and silver to ensure that their khalasars would not invade Pentos and could operate east of the Lorne River, providing protection for Pentos in critical moments.

Illyrio's trip was driven by this mission, aiming to establish a friendly cooperative relationship with the newly built city of Andalus.

It's commonly known as making friends.

Pentos's way of making friends is also quite unique.

Illyrio clapped his hands, and gold, silver and jewels, various gifts and fine wines that filled ten carriages were displayed in the hall, including four slaves given in Illyrio's personal name.

Two powerful slaves who had fought to the death in the arena and won five consecutive victories, and two female slaves with good figures and looks.

Viserys, seated on his throne, paused slightly, looking at the hall filled with gold, jewels, various gifts, and four slaves. Although he already knew Pentos had a peculiar way of making friends, this method of showering people with money...

Isn't that looking down on people?

Viserys remained silent for a long time, looking at everything before him, before finally waving his hand.

"Take it."

The construction of Andalus consumed too many gold dragons in the early stages. Although the balance of income and expenditure has long been achieved, one cannot know the cost of living until one is in charge. Viserys was heartbroken to see that the wealth in the treasury had shrunk by more than half.

Based on the principle of saving every penny, we had no choice but to accept this wealth.

As for the four slaves, Viserys ordered the guards to tear up their contracts. If they wanted to stay, they could remain in Andalus; if not, they could leave.

Because of its proximity to Braavos, Viserys didn't want to cause trouble for himself. He had once considered sending Oberyn Martell, the "Red Viper," to Astapor to purchase Unsullied to expand his military strength and protect the city's defenses, but ultimately canceled the purchase order due to pressure from Braavos.

Braavos, a city-state built by slaves, opposed all forms of slavery in the world.

However, Viserys did not directly refuse Illyrio's request. Although Illyrio was very polite, he was still the governor of Pentos and held great power. Therefore, Viserys accepted the slaves and would deal with them later.

Illyrio saw Viserys accept the gifts and a smile appeared on his face. Accepting the gifts meant accepting Pentos's goodwill, and his mission was more than half completed.

Then the chubby, fat governor extended a new invitation.

"His Majesty."

"There's one more thing."

Illyrio stood in front of the chair, his large belly protruding, and gave a slight bow before speaking.

"The governors of Pentos have long admired your name and wish to invite you to visit Pentos. They have also prepared even more generous gifts for you."

"Going to Pentos as a guest?"

"An even more generous gift?"

Viserys frowned slightly as he sat on the throne, then glanced at the attendant beside him. Bessie also looked at the young king on the throne, not understanding what Governor Pentos intended.

If you're going to give a gift, why not just give it to them this time? Why do you have to go all the way to Pentos yourself?

Could it be...?

"Dragon egg."

Standing in the hall, Illyrio spoke directly.

"really."

Viserys narrowed his handsome eyes, understanding dawning on him. He knew that Illyrio possessed a dragon egg, and only a gift of this caliber could lure him away from Andalus to Pentos.

Viserys had actually wanted to acquire dragon eggs over the years, but dragon eggs are hard as a rock before they hatch, making it difficult for ordinary people to tell the difference between real and fake.

“I once acquired three dragon eggs in the Shadowlands east of Asshal, although they have turned into fossils over the long years.”

Illyrio remained standing and spoke respectfully.

“I’m not sure if it can hatch, but I believe His Majesty might be interested in it.”

"Indeed, you are right, Your Excellency."

"I am indeed very interested in dragon eggs."

Viserys rose from his throne, descended the steps, and stood before Illyrio, looking calmly into the eyes of the wealthy merchant governor.

Thanks to his dedication to training, the young king has grown taller again, now only about a head shorter than Illyrio.

As Illyrio looked at the little king who had walked up to him, especially under the gaze of those pale purple eyes, he felt inexplicably nervous.

"I agree."

However, Viserys' calm voice was heard shortly afterward.

"His Majesty?"

Bessie, standing behind the throne, was startled when she heard Viserys's words.

Chapter 86 Royal Guard

Although Bessie knew that the dragon egg was extremely important to Viserys, they still didn't understand Pentos's true purpose.

How could the young king have such courage to agree to go to the meeting alone?

"Your Majesty, shouldn't we reconsider...?"

However, Viserys waved his hand, interrupting Bessie's attempt to speak.

"It's alright."

"What is there to consider about attending a banquet? I trust the Governor's reputation."

Viserys spoke calmly.

"I only need to bring a few personal guards for protection."

Then the young king turned to look at Illyrio and spoke.

"How is it, Your Excellency?"

Illyrio stood there, blinking slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

He hadn't expected Viserys to accept the invitation to go to Pentos without a single stammer, even though he had thought he might need to do some persuasion.

Is this young king really that bold?

Illyrio suddenly realized that Viserys' ability to lead his family out of their past predicament and into their current situation might not be solely due to luck.

Although he had no ill intentions toward Viserys, inviting the young king to Pentos was the common wish of the other governors, who all wanted to meet the Targaryen heir.

Ever since Andalus began to rise to power, the governors of Pentos had set their sights on this newly built town, observing it closely. They watched as it gradually grew stronger, becoming a powerful force that could not be ignored in the vicinity of Pentos.

Even in Andalus's rise to power, there were some overt and covert assistance from Pentos, helping the city develop rapidly.

The reason why Pentos made these underhanded moves is something that perhaps no one but these governors could know.

"of course can!"

The governor of Pentos immediately nodded; with Viserys's agreement, everything would be easy.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that Pentos also highly respects the rights of his guests."

“To murder a guest at a banquet is a heinous crime in Pentos, one that even the gods would not forgive.”

Illyrio thumped his chest loudly as he assured Viserys.

However, he then thought of something and asked.

"Oh, right... Your Majesty."

"How many personal guards did you just mention bringing?"

Viserys had just said he would bring a 'small number' of personal guards for protection, but Illyrio thought it would be only six or seven people, at most a dozen or so.

He traveled this far by carriage this time, but he only brought fifty soldiers with him.

"Correct."

However, Viserys calmly nodded upon hearing Illyrio's words and then spoke.

"My personal guards number about four thousand."

"How many?!"

The governor of Pentos nearly jumped up when he heard Viserys's words. Were the little king's four thousand men here to keep an appointment or to attack the city?

Although it would be impossible for more than 4,000 men to take down Pentos, a massive city-state like Pentos would require at least tens of thousands of elite troops equipped with siege weapons to conquer it.

However, Viserys's personal arrival with such a large army would undoubtedly cause panic among the citizens of Pentos.

Seeing the expression on Illyrio's face, Viserys shrugged slightly.

"The Governor-General doesn't believe it?"

The boy then turned to Bessie and asked her a question.

"Bessie, do I have four thousand guards?"

The young knight standing beside the throne, gripping his sword hilt with one hand, breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing Viserys's next words; it seemed the young king hadn't lost his composure.

Now Bessie knows that Viserys is very brave, daring to go to Braavos alone when he was young.

But what he didn't know was that Viserys at that time was like a frightened rabbit, easily frightened and turning pale at the slightest disturbance.

Then Bessie nodded, gripping the hilt of her sword, and spoke.