In 271 AC, the war in the Stepstones turned into a battle royale on the sea!
Rhaegar rode his dragon, frantically sweeping the area around the Stepstones. Below, Lucerys's fearsome Boar Fleet patrolled and struck, carrying ballistae, throwers, and longbowmen. Their focus was to push open water barriers, burn pirate ships, and inflict casualties, confining the pirates to barren islands.
The pirates who fled quickly rolled back to Myr and the Disputed Lands; those who were slow were served in turns by Dragonflame, longbows, and the Scorpion Crossbow.
The battle lines of the Iron Throne and the Redwyne Fleet continued to advance, first capturing small islands, then encircling Bloodstone and Grey Gallows.
Rhaegar's tactic of besieging a point to strike reinforcements was a great success. The manpower of the pirates and the fugitives from Lys was ultimately limited, and without the support of the Kingdom of the Daughters, they lacked naval superiority. In its day, the Kingdom of the Daughters could deploy 90 large warships at once, making them fearsome at sea. Furthermore, Rhaegar had the firepower of his demon dragon, coupled with Fire Sight, which was enough to control the air superiority over the Stepstones. The pirates' characteristic flexibility could not be utilized.
The spheres of influence of the pirates and the fugitives from Lys shrank day by day, and the blocked trade routes regained their vitality.
However, Rhaegar was as hated in Lys and Myr as he was welcomed in Westeros.
Rhaegar was the True Dragon of Westeros, but also the Butcher of the Narrow Sea in the mouths of the pirates of Myr and Lys. In the military ranks, he was the youngest, yet the damage he inflicted on the pirates was the greatest. People of the Free Cities would resent a young man in such a high position being so cruel.
Rhaegar rode the Silver Dragon as it circled over the sea, with Balerion and Balerion following closely behind. Besides the battlefield, the little dragons also liked to hunt in the wild, but the Stepstones and Dorne were truly barren, and the little dragons even occasionally went to catch fish in the sea.
As for the distant Summer Isles and Sothoryos, Rhaegar had no way to fly there yet.
Goldenheart longbows, equipment from the Summer Isles, were indeed overpowered, but the Summer Isles strictly prohibited their export. It was not easy to pick up another bargain.
"The current situation is murky. The people of Lys and Myr may intervene. They hate the pirates, but they hate the Iron Throne controlling the Stepstones even more."
"A group of merchants in Lys has already gathered to lobby the Archon to control the war, or at least maintain the previous neutral stance where the Stepstones were under no one's control." Letters from Marajo and Lysandro arrived from Volantis and Lys respectively, bringing the information Rhaegar wanted.
As the war in the Stepstones progressed, undercurrents began to surge in Lys and Myr.
"The situation is getting more and more chaotic!" The note was ignited by flames in Rhaegar's hand and turned into fly ash.
If the people of Lys intervened, the people of Tyrosh would also choose a side, and the entire Stepstones would become a mess. The Tyroshi and the people of Lys were already at odds like fire and water; seeing the people of Lys formally march, they would inevitably take action. Rhaegar had also secretly communicated with Princess Shireen and the Archon of Tyrosh in advance.
To put it bluntly, it was all business. The pirates had connections with merchants from Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. The pirates needed to fence stolen goods and hire thugs in the Disputed Lands, while the brothels and slave markets of Lys and Tyrosh needed fresh blood. The people of Lys and Myr were now afraid that the Iron Throne would completely control the Stepstones, extort high tariffs from them, and demand the offering of beautiful men and women.
"It's time to speed up the pace of the war!" Rhaegar thought. The fleets of Lys and Myr were very likely to intervene. The war needed to accelerate to grind down the pirates as quickly as possible.
"Let's go! Silver Emperor!" Rhaegar called out to the Silver Emperor, heading toward the besieged island.
Looking down from high above, Bloodstone and Grey Gallows had both turned into spectacles, as if two high towers had appeared in the middle of the sea.
Passing merchants saw it all: wooden fences were erected all over the islands, and not a single spot was lax. Outside the islands, the Royal Fleet kept the positions under constant surveillance.
The long fleet surrounded the islands. Relying on air superiority and manpower, Rhaegar had people slowly erect water barriers and shipwrecks, inch by inch, completely blocking the edges of Bloodstone. Huge warships looked down from above, scanning every corner. Once any pirate came out, they would have to face flames, spears, long spears, and arrows; this was the advancing battle line.
Looking down from high above, Bloodstone and Grey Gallows looked like two uneven circles. The first layer was wooden fences and shipwreck debris, forming a siege base. The second layer was the patrolling Westerosi fleet, with huge warships that were fearsome to behold.
The soldiers just erected fences, like high walls, slowly encircling them, while leaving a few exits. As long as the pirates wanted to come out to attack or escape, it would be a bloodbath. Unless they laid down their weapons and surrendered.
When the wooden fences were just being piled up, the pirates even tried to push them down, but they soon retreated under the rampage of the demon dragon and the warships.
Even if the pirates were stupid, they understood what the tactic was now: the royal army of the Iron Throne wanted to completely block them on the islands. Without food, water, and support, they were doomed to die! If this continued, they were destined to kill each other.
Rhaegar decided to wipe out Grey Gallows first. "Beat the war drums, prepare to advance!" he ordered, before anyone could fish in troubled waters.
Lucerys organized the fleet, Brynden was in charge of the longbowmen, and Bronze Yohn led the army as the main force to smash in.
The war drums sounded like thunder. The demon dragon circled over Grey Gallows at this moment.
Did the pirates hear this drumbeat and also hear the knell of their own fate? For whom does the bell toll?
The Iron Throne's royal escort soldiers raised their shields and spears, opened the water barriers, and jumped onto the beach.
The positions on the beach had already been baptized multiple times by the demon dragon, and added to the fact that the pirates were now so hungry they had little strength left, they were all holed up in the core of the island. The landing proceeded very quickly.
The demon dragons neighed happily, various fireballs lit up with a crackle, and flames jumped up, each fireball like thunder.
The demon dragons swept through first, suppressing those starving pirates who had little strength left.
Surrender flags began to appear one after another; the diehards might have all run to Bloodstone. Bloodstone was very close to this island, but they would not believe that those on Bloodstone could cross the battle lines to reinforce them; it was nothing more than each fleeing for their own lives.
Rhaegar looked at the pirates who had surrendered. Most of them were in rags, sallow and emaciated, without strength, their footsteps unsteady. If this torment continued, it would surely lead to the pirates killing each other, and perhaps even cannibalism.
The army pressed on in waves, and the King of the Narrow Sea on Bloodstone hid in his cave, watching the nearby islands fall one by one.
A commotion came from the fences of Bloodstone; the pirates could finally no longer stand this life and were about to launch a fierce, simultaneous assault.
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