The rumbling sound came from afar, and Maysin Visery secretly bent his fingers and began to count.
One, two, three...
Not a second off. He waited until the shell struck the fortifications, and the faint tremor traveled through the ground.
For everyone in this city, whether slave or free man, this would probably be the most memorable night of their lives.
Volantis, eldest daughter of Valyria, the oldest and most powerful of the Free Cities, had been attacked for the first time by enemies from across the Narrow Sea. Taking advantage of the main fleet's distant voyage to attack King's Landing, they had come knocking.
In truth, they had not been caught completely off guard. Volantis had received word from Lys the previous afternoon, warning that it was under attack by a fleet flying the red dragon banner. However, this news had not given the city much time to prepare. Only one night later, the enemy's sails appeared in the watchtower's sight in a mighty array.
The enemy attack followed so closely on the warning that it meant one of two possibilities: either Daenerys's Fleet had bypassed Lys and headed straight for Volantis, or Lys had failed to hold back Daenerys's Fleet for even half a day and had already fallen to the enemy in a single battle.
Given that it was a medium-sized city known for pleasure, art, luxuries, bed slaves, and their skills in the arts of passion, the latter possibility was highly likely.
...
As soon as Daenerys's Fleet approached Volantis, it unleashed its full firepower, using those terrifying weapons called cannons to sweep away the city's hastily assembled defense fleet like autumn wind scattering fallen leaves. Then, it arrogantly sailed into the world-famous natural deep-water harbor, vast enough to accommodate all of Braavos, calmly dropped anchor beyond the range of trebuchets and ballistae, and began a long bombardment that had already lasted a day and a half.
Although both the frequency and accuracy of the bombardment decreased significantly at night, that terrifying rumble, echoing every so often, could still regularly scatter the drowsiness that residents and defenders had painstakingly gathered, denying them even a moment of peace.
The coastal fortifications and weapons had been completely destroyed, and the defenders' morale and will to fight had fallen to rock bottom. The dignitaries of Volantis were already prepared to abandon the outer city, but although the enemy had slowed the bombardment, they had still not begun the landing operation everyone had expected.
After a brief meeting, the council of magistrates made the following analysis: either this distant raiding fleet had been hastily assembled and lacked strong landing forces capable of wiping out the city's defenders, or they were waiting for allies within the city to rise up, allowing them to attack from both inside and outside and take the city at the lowest possible cost.
Where there was suspicion, there were naturally suspects.
And when it came to suspects who might incite a rebellion in the city, the foremost among them was naturally Maysin Visery and the "Thunder God" mercenary group he had founded. Their current target of close guard and strict surveillance was Volantis's Great Red Temple.
The Great Red Temple truly deserved the word "great." This complex of buildings, located east of the Rhoyne River and right beside the Black Wall, was three times the size of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing. Composed of massive pillars, stairs, buttresses, stone arches, domes, and towers, it was a single, integrated structure, as if carved from one piece of rock, looking somewhat like Aegon's High Hill standing tall. Since the destruction of the Valyrian Freehold in the Doom, this place had become the new religious center of the Red God and the seat of the High Priest.
Of course, being "great" was not its crime. What truly made the rulers of Volantis wary was this: the official stance of the Red God's faith had always been to proclaim Daenerys Targaryen as the Prince That Was Promised, the savior of all mankind, and the noblest Queen. Even the Night's Watchman assisting her, in the public opinion fostered by R'hllor's followers, was depicted as R'hllor's representative on earth...
The Great Red Temple had once used every connection and power available to try to prevent the rise of the Tiger Party and the formation of the Anti-Dragon Mother Alliance. As fate would have it, it also possessed a religious armed force of one thousand, called the Fiery Hand. Its soldiers had been bought as slaves by the Red Temple from a young age, then indoctrinated and trained in the same manner as the Unsullied... With the added blessing of religious fanaticism, and backed by the Red God's strong financial resources, as well as excellent weapons and equipment, their combat strength absolutely could not be underestimated.
Motive and ability were both present. That was why, at this dangerous juncture when they could face an enemy landing attack at any moment, the council of magistrates still insisted on stationing a mercenary group outside the Great Red Temple to guard against a possible rebellion and uprising.
Although those slave masters had issued the mercenary group special arrows said to be able to suppress magic, Maysin Visery still felt a bitter taste in his mouth every time he thought of the legendary abilities of those mysterious Red Priests, and felt he would rather be sent to the harbor to endure the bombardment.
Fortunately, the slave masters were not foolish enough to think that a medium-sized mercenary group of fewer than a thousand men could suppress and eliminate the Red God's forces if they truly rebelled. Such a task could only possibly be accomplished by a first-rate mercenary company like the Golden Company. The reason Maysin and his "Thunder God" group had been sent here was mainly because the concentration of Red God believers among the city guards, the "Tiger Cloaks," was too high, making them unsuitable for monitoring and guarding R'hllor's temple. Their task was actually very simple: if the Great Red Temple started a rebellion, they were to offer some resistance and delay while sending word, giving the slave masters time to shorten their lines and withdraw their troops back into the inner city.
Although it was still dangerous, at least there was a possibility and hope of completing it.
Complaining inwardly, Maysin once again mustered his spirits and went to the barricade, the foremost line of the mercenary group's defense, for an inspection.
It was true that the "Thunder God" group was only a small mercenary company, but its loyalty, unity, and combat readiness were not bad, which was also why the slave masters of Volantis had taken a liking to them and hired them. Every mercenary who saw Maysin arrive for inspection immediately straightened his back and stood tall, greeting him respectfully and reporting the latest situation.
As of now, the Red Temple's doors were tightly shut, showing no unusual signs.
"Keep your eyes wide open!" After walking around and finding no one dozing off or slacking, Maysin felt slightly relieved, but still could not help repeatedly warning them, "Even if a mouse or half a patch of shadow sneaks out of the Great Red Temple, sound the alarm immediately!"
As if deliberately making trouble for him, before he had even finished speaking, the alarm suddenly blared. But the source of the alarm was not the Great Red Temple at the north end of the street. It came from the south, in the darkness opposite the Great Red Temple.
At the end of the street, which should have been empty due to the curfew, a great blaze of torchlight suddenly surged out. Before the mercenaries could clearly see the newcomers' identities and turn around to form their defensive formation, the majestic main gate of the Great Red Temple behind them also opened with a rumble. A large detachment of the Fiery Hand, wearing magnificent armor, orange cloaks draped over their shoulders, and flame-tipped spears in their hands, marched out in formation. They calmly lined up and deployed, joining forces with the troops hidden in the torchlight at the other end, whose faces could not yet be seen, trapping the several hundred mercenaries in the middle of the street like turtles in a jar.
(To be continued.)