Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

By noon the next day, under the watchful eyes of soldiers armed with crossbows, a creaking basket slowly ascended the city wall from the corner.

The Ragged Prince took a few quick steps forward, stopping before the basket. Looking at the woman crouched inside, he asked, "Merys, why did they let you return?"

After the pursuit battle yesterday, the Yuankai forces were terrified. They had blocked the city gate with sandbags and stones.

Merys had ridden alone to the city gate, where she had no choice but to dismount and use the bamboo basket lift to ascend.

The 'beauty' of an interrogator scanned the disguised Wise Masters behind her commander. As she climbed out of the basket, she spoke flatly, "The Mother of Dragons sent me back to deliver a message. Once I'm done, I have to return as a prisoner."

"What message?" Grazdan asked urgently.

He and several Wise Masters had discarded their Toka robes in favor of ordinary Ghis soldier attire—yellow silk cloaks studded with gleaming bronze discs—to blend in as common guards. This was to avoid being targeted by the dragons circling overhead.

That morning, the black dragon had already demonstrated its power, dropping a thirty-pound barrel of fire oil onto the Great Wise Master's sons, killing three of them.

The Great Wise Master's pyramid was the largest, and at around five in the morning, just as the sun peeked over the horizon, the three princes had followed their usual routine of practicing martial arts in the rooftop garden, basking in the morning glow.

Then, out of nowhere, a 'firebomb' fell from the sky. In an instant, the three princes became human torches—a tragic sight.

Merys ignored Grazdan and addressed her commander instead. "The Mother of Dragons wants you to lead the Windblown and pledge allegiance to her. She will offer you double the usual pay, or any other terms you propose."

"What?!" The surrounding Ghis soldiers and Wise Masters gasped.

The Ragged Prince acted as if he hadn't noticed their wary gazes and said calmly, "Merys, you understand her true intent, don't you?"

"Yes," the interrogator nodded. "The Mother of Dragons is trying to drive a wedge between the Windblown and the Yuankai Wise Masters."

"Exactly! That cunning woman is trying to sow discord among us!" Grazdan gritted his teeth. As he spoke, his right hand subconsciously moved toward his hip.

The previous night, he had taken four arrows. He should have been resting at home, but the War God had suffered yet another crushing defeat. He felt guilty!

He couldn't bring himself to lie in bed while Yuankai's 'Anti-Dragon Queen' cause was in jeopardy. He was restless, unable to eat or sleep, overwhelmed by anxiety. He had to redeem himself, to atone for mistakes that were, of course, not his fault.

"If the Windblown refuses to switch sides, they must pay a ransom to the Mother of Dragons to reclaim their 124 captured members," Merys stated matter-of-factly.

"How much?" The Ragged Prince's eyes flashed. "Can we negotiate? Surely she won't just name an arbitrary price and expect us to accept it?"

"At least three times the usual amount," Merys replied. "However, the Mother of Dragons has made it clear that she will not break with tradition. The Windblown is allowed to send representatives to negotiate tonight."

"Tonight?" Grazdan's expression shifted. He stepped forward and asked, "Why not this afternoon? Do you know the situation inside her camp? Have those wretches gone to Emerald Lake for water? When are they planning to attack?"

Merys glanced at her commander.

"Tell him," the Ragged Prince nodded and said softly.

"The Mother of Dragons did not set up camp at Emerald Lake," Merys explained. "She found the smell too strong and likely guessed that the Wise Masters had already contaminated the water with filth.

Her forces are divided into three camps—front, middle, and rear—positioned five kilometers north of Yuankai and stretching more than ten miles eastward. Even the closest camp is still seven or eight miles from Emerald Lake.

I don't know the exact situation inside the camp. Before I left, I only saw a large number of soldiers digging wells, while the Mother of Dragons was outside the camp, overseeing militia as they built fortifications. She seemed very busy, which is probably why she scheduled negotiations for the evening."

"That doesn't seem right…" Grazdan rubbed his chin, puzzled. "Emerald Lake and the nearby forest were deliberately chosen as the 'perfect' campsite for those wretches.

Throwing filth into the lake was only meant to lower that woman's guard.

Water contaminated with excrement may cause illness if consumed directly, but it isn't lethal. In fact, filtering it through cloth and then boiling it makes it safe to drink.

If she assumes we've already sabotaged the water, she might ignore the real trap…"

"You poisoned it?" The Ragged Prince frowned.

"Do you take us for fools? If we had poisoned it, the fish would have died in droves," Grazdan sneered at the Windblown commander and said coldly, "We sank ten thousand slave corpses into the lake."

"Hiss—" The interrogator, usually stone-faced no matter the situation, turned pale alongside her commander. They both sucked in a sharp breath.

"If a massive plague breaks out, do you really think Yuankai will escape unscathed?" The Ragged Prince looked at him in disbelief.

"Slaves die in droves, but the immortal Wise Masters still stand tall atop their pyramids." Grazdan's expression carried seven parts pride and three parts ruthlessness. "We have the resolve to ensure Yuankai and the Mother of Dragons perish together."

"Hmph! If rumors of a blood plague spread, I bet you Wise Masters will immediately seal off your pyramids and cut off all contact with the outside world," the Ragged Prince said coldly.

"Ragged Prince, the Wise Masters are very generous. We will cover both the ransom for captured mercenaries and compensation for the fallen." Grazdan shot the Windblown commander a meaningful smile.

The gray-haired old commander instantly understood what he meant: We have money, and we're willing to spend it. And mercenaries? They fight for money.

"Merys, you have another task now—help us gather intelligence on the slave camps," Grazdan ordered the interrogator directly.

As he was leaving, he turned back and added, "Oh, and during tonight's negotiations, ask that woman if our Ghis warriors can be ransomed as well. The price—well, we can discuss it."

The Ragged Prince watched the Wise Masters' departing figures, his gaze dark and brooding.

"Merys, come with me."

That afternoon, Merys and two other members of the company were lowered outside Yuankai's walls using a hanging basket. Along with them, two sturdy horses were also sent down.

Besides Merys, the group included a tall young man from Braavos and an elderly, weathered-looking man with a white beard.

Strangely, the old man carried a greatsword on his left hip, a flute on his right, and a wooden guitar slung over his slightly hunched back.

The mounted scouts who had been patrolling 500 meters outside the city gate immediately became alert. However, after Merys stepped forward alone to explain their purpose, the scout captain, Qiq, reluctantly waved his hand, signaling his cavalry to clear the way.

"You're too early," he muttered.

"Perhaps," the Braavosi man beside Merys replied with a grin. "But everyone else may wait for the Queen—no one keeps the Queen waiting. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Hmph, you'll be waiting for a long time. The Queen is out hunting in the eastern woods. She won't be back until dusk," Qiq scoffed.

The Braavosi's eyes flickered. His lips parted as if to ask, "How many went with her?" But after catching the cold gaze of the scarred woman beside him, he quickly changed his words. "Waiting for the Queen is an honor—we shall relish the privilege."

A group of ten mounted horsemen escorted the three mercenaries towards the encampment, five kilometers away.

Along the way, the Braavosi scanned his surroundings, carefully observing every militiaman within his line of sight.

Three kilometers from Yuankai, a cacophony of noise filled the air. The scene before them was packed with people and timber—tens of thousands of soldiers in short sleeves working under the Unsullied's command, all engaged in carpentry.

"They're building siege engines and trebuchets!"

Upon reaching the camp's entrance, the Braavosi was once again taken aback. "Such a formidable fortification!"

Thick wooden palisades, as sturdy as a man's thigh, stood five meters high in two layers. Between them, a two-meter-wide trench had been reinforced with packed earth. Outside the outermost palisade, bare-chested laborers were busy constructing stone walls.

The noble estates outside Yuankai had been burned to the ground. Slave dwellings, made of wood, had turned to ash, but the lavish brick-and-tile villas of the slavers remained, albeit in ruins.

Now, teams of workers were dismantling the charred brick walls, hauling yellow bricks in peculiar one-wheeled carts to the encampment, where masons began laying them against the wooden fortifications.

Seeing such a sturdy encampment, the Braavosi youth mused, The Dragon Queen isn't foolish. She's prepared for a prolonged siege against Yuankai.

"Stay here and wait. You are not allowed to go anywhere else in the camp."

A squad captain led the three mercenaries to the stables inside the camp gates, assigning two Unsullied patrolmen to guard them before departing with the horsemen scouts.

"Building such a solid fortress must require a tremendous amount of work. I doubt they'll be able to launch an attack on Yuankai anytime soon," the Braavosi murmured to his companions.

"Zidane, keep your mouth shut!" the old man snapped, his gaze sharp as a blade. "If you want to spy for the Ghis, that's your business with your so-called 'New Second Sons,' but don't drag me and my hundred brothers into trouble."

"Relax," Zidane said with a sly smile. "I'm just a bodyguard. I won't even meet the little Queen. Heh heh, I do my job for money—my only concern is assessing the strength of the Dragon Queen's forces. Even if your Windblown are negotiating to secretly join her, I won't interfere."

"You—!" The old man seethed with anger.

Merys held him back and said coolly, "Danzor, why waste your breath on a man like him?"

"Hmph, you're right!" Danzor snorted, then sneered, "For fame, he even went as far as renaming his company. Aren't you afraid of inheriting the Second Sons' ill fate?"

"It's 'New Second Sons,' not 'Second Sons,'" Zidane corrected. Then, with a smirk, he added, "Bad luck? More like power and fortune. Since changing our name, our ragtag band of twenty men, unqualified to join the Ghis army, has suddenly swelled to five hundred!

Those wandering sellswords all flocked to me after hearing I'm the 'Titan's Bastard's Bastard.'

Even the Wise Masters know my name now. Heh heh, twenty thousand gold honors—how does that compare to your Windblown?"

"You'd better pray the Dragon Queen never finds out about your connection to Mero. That big Braavosi brute met a gruesome end—burned to a crisp by dragonfire, then torn apart by two dragons fighting over his corpse."

Danzor deliberately gave Zidane a once-over, clicking his tongue. "You're quite tall yourself. Roasted, you'd probably have a nice chew to you. The dragons would love it."

"You know as well as I do, I only borrowed Mero's name. I'm already twenty-nine—how could he possibly have a son my age?" Zidane forced a laugh.

"The Dragon Queen has returned!" Merys suddenly announced.

The sky had turned dusky. From their vantage point atop a hill, they could see the surrounding landscape. To the east, a massive cloud of dust billowed into the sky.

The ground rumbled with the thunder of hooves. Thousands of cavalry formed a winding serpent across the golden earth, led by a rider draped in a red cloak.

Behind the red-cloaked rider, two standard-bearers held aloft banners—one bearing the Winged Freedom sigil, the other a black dragon on a red field.

"It's the Queen's Guard and the Dragon Queen's personal escort. That red cloak—it's her!" Zidane's eyes gleamed with excitement.

(End of Chapter)

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