Grey Gallows, the fires of war consumed everyone.
Upon the ocean, Grey Gallows would be completely razed.
This island was smaller than Bloodstone, and taking it would be easier.
On the sea, the Iron Throne fleet and the Redwyne Fleet crisscrossed the waters; having lost their own fleet, the pirates were merely turtles in a jar.
"Raze the island completely, kill those who do not surrender! Additionally, register the number of pirates and their spoils, as well as the rewards and punishments for the soldiers. Send anything with historical value or strange runic markings to me first. Afterwards, you are to rendezvous with me at Bloodstone." Rhaegar instructed Ser Brynden and Bronze Yohn to push the front line to the end, then rode his demon dragon toward Bloodstone.
The Silver Dragon, Purple Dragon, and black dragon screeched happily high in the sky. They galloped across the sky, ocean, and battlefield; this was far more expansive than the Dragonpit Camp, and the demon dragons did not care for the smelly and chaotic King's Landing.
The Silver Emperor had a wingspan of about thirty-six feet, and it was very optimistic that it would exceed forty feet this year.
The other two small dragons were only a foot or two smaller.
Actually, Rhaegar also wanted to visit the Summer Isles and Sothoryos, but the demon dragons needed to be honed further before they could go to those dangerous places.
Bloodstone could be reached by demon dragon flight. Rhaegar rode his demon dragon and looked down at the battlefield from above. Bloodstone had become a city of palisades, with rows of wooden fences stuck along the edge of the island, and occasionally one could see ugly, dark shipwreck debris randomly hammered into the ground.
The palisades the pirates had used to block the waterways now only served to block themselves in.
Rhaegar saw that some of the palisades on the island's beach had been pushed forward by a dozen meters, and some by forty or fifty meters; the palisades were built with no rhyme or reason, crisscrossing, as long as they blocked the path.
But these unbalanced and ugly palisades, when linked together, completely surrounded Bloodstone, turning it into a nightmare for the pirates. The pirates watched as the palisades advanced inch by inch, trapping them completely on the island.
A roar like a mountain landslide erupted from Bloodstone. The figures of the pirates rushed out like clouds, storming through various passages—it was the pirates' desperate last stand.
Earlier, the demon dragons had burned the pirates' ships to ashes, but many pirates had fled into Bloodstone, which only exacerbated the food crisis on the island. If the pirates kept holding out, they would likely resort to cannibalism soon.
The pirates and Lysene fugitives on Bloodstone could no longer endure this suffering and were determined to make one final attempt!
The Iron Throne army was already experienced in dealing with pirate charges. Under the barrage of shield walls, spears, and longbowmen, it was inevitable that the pirates would leave behind many corpses.
However, the pirates had mobilized quite a few, and the Iron Throne soldiers had mobilized even more.
According to Rhaegar's orders, the Targaryen Family's black-helmeted soldiers, Kevan Lannister's red-robed lion-helmeted soldiers, Steffon Baratheon's stag-horned soldiers, and Mace Tyrell's green-robed soldiers each blocked a section, while Prince Lewyn led the Dornish yellow-robed light-armored spearmen to provide flexible support.
At sea, there were also warships that could dispatch reinforcements.
Some shrewd veterans even dug earth to form mounds on the beach, piling up earthen hills on their side near the coast to attack from a high vantage point.
Arrows, Scorpion Crossbows, and throwers were ready; the bloodshed would make the soldiers even more cold-blooded and cunning.
The ragged, sallow-faced pirates and Lysene exiles rushed toward the wooden palisades in groups.
Calling them beggars would not be wrong at all.
Staying in stone caves and fortresses was safer, but that meant starving to death.
Rushing out was just the final agony and hope.
The pirates pushed forward in desperate madness, but they could not break through the wall of wooden palisades, only leaving behind a pile of corpses in vain.
They were in a dilemma, trapped between a rock and a hard place.
The sound of war drums and bugles rang out.
"Dragons, it's the demon dragons!" The pirates let out terrified screams.
"Dragonflame!" Rhaegar commanded the Silver Emperor, Balerion, and Balerion to fly over the wooden palisades, and raging fireballs began to spew from their ferocious dragon maws.
Silver, purple, and black fireballs exploded among the crowd, leaving only rolling, wailing pirates.
Under the azure sky, the pirates' remaining Scorpion Crossbows and crossbows could not hit the agile demon dragons, especially since they were all sallow and bloated from starvation.
Rhaegar led the three demon dragons to circle and dance across the battlefield. The demon dragons rose and swooped down like circling hawks, leaving the pirates a baptism of fire; unfortunately, they were not dragonlords and could not withstand the heat at all.
Under the demon dragon assault and the efforts of the soldiers everywhere, pirate corpses were visible everywhere near the wooden palisades, either scorched by flames or killed by arrows and thrown spears; they never even got the chance for hand-to-hand combat.
After this battle, Bloodstone did not have much fighting force left.
The Battle of the Palisade was inevitable, but it ended very suddenly.
Only a pile of corpses and shadows remained near the palisades, with black smoke rising.
"Ser, I leave this to you for now!" Rhaegar said to Barristan, then called the demon dragons and charged deep into Bloodstone.
The wooden fortress of Bloodstone had been razed, and now the remaining pirates and Lysene fugitives were cowering in stone caves, no longer showing their faces.
"Klar Rien of Lys, coward, beggar, come out and fight me to the death!"
"Klar Rien of Lys, coward, beggar, come out and fight me to the death!"
"Klar, aren't you the King of the Narrow Sea! Come out, Klar! You skeleton inside the stone cave."
Rhaegar rode the Silver Dragon, his silver hair flowing, his purple eyes burning like fire.
Rhaegar shouted high above Bloodstone, his voice like steel, as loud as steel.
The demon dragons followed Rhaegar's voice with thunderous screeches, man and the Dragon group showing off their might above Bloodstone.
The core stone mountain of Bloodstone, the pirates' lair, fell into a deathly silence; no one dared to come out to defy the demon dragons and the fire.
The truth forged by fire and violence is also a kind of truth.
Those who dared to come out and resist had already been burned to death near the palisades.
What a coward, Rhaegar thought disdainfully. Even at his peak, occupying the entire Stepstones, he accomplished nothing. Klar Rien was truly a dead man walking now.
Bloodstone had become a land of deathly silence, a dead city locked by palisades.
After clearing the remaining fires of the Battle of the Palisade, Rhaegar rode the demon dragon to land on the huge flagship. Beside the folding wooden table on the deck were the most powerful people in this war.
Crown Prince Aerys representing the Iron Throne, Lord Tywin of the West, Ser Steffon of the Stormlands, the fat flower Ser Mace Tyrell, and Prince Lewyn of Dorne.
If one added Ser Oliver Harren of the Riverlands, Ser Brynden Tully, and Bronze Yohn of the Vale, excluding the North and the Iron Islands, this war had mobilized seven major forces; it could be said that it was a massive mobilization.
However, the war ended quickly and well. The Prince was always victorious, and the Prince had brought news of victory in the Battle of the Palisade; everyone expressed satisfaction.
The smiles on their faces could not be fake.
Rhaegar felt that judging by the time and attrition of the war, the victory was also glorious; otherwise, if it had continued for several years, a quagmire war would have consumed a huge amount of financial resources.
"Prince Rhaegar's courage, wisdom, and chivalry are famous far and wide; I might be able to catch up a little."
"But the Prince's True Dragon-like beauty and handsomeness, that was given by his parents and ancestors, and that I cannot catch up with."
Ser Mace spoke with great exaggeration, and the others were amused by him.
The Stepstones war was a rare highlight in Ser Mace Tyrell's military career, and Ser Mace had already begun to boast that he was also a savior of the Stepstones under the victorious command of Prince Rhaegar.
Rhaegar looked at Mace's smiling face and burly figure; Ser Mace should form a praise group with Lucerys, as both loved to brag.
However, at least Lucerys could lead a fleet, while Mace was truly mediocre in talent.
"My lords, the Lysene and pirates have suffered heavy casualties beneath the palisades. We need to end this war as soon as possible to avoid complications! Grey Gallows has been razed, and now it is Bloodstone!" Rhaegar took off his helmet and reported the situation at the front.
"Does the Prince mean Lys and Myr?" Lord Tywin said.
The Lysene and Myrish were always unruly and would not sit idly by while the Stepstones were razed.
The Tyroshi had fallen out with the Lysene, otherwise they would have intervened as well.
It was just that with the appearance of the demon dragons, the war ended too quickly for the two city-states to react.
"What? With my son and three demon dragons, the Lysene and Myrish still dare to send a fleet to provoke us?"
"This war was started by Lysene exiles and pirates together, costing us a million gold dragons."
"We have three demon dragons, and I want those lowly pirates and bed slaves of Lys and Myr to kneel." Aerys was furious, filled with rage.
The glory of war was so sweet that he would never allow the Lysene and Myrish to come and take a share.
Rhaegar felt that Aerys was the first generation of blowfish; his proposals to expand the Wall in the North and build a great fleet to make the titan of braavos kneel were whimsical for a child, but for a Crown Prince, they seemed somewhat brain-dead.
"I will ride the demon dragons to raze Bloodstone. As long as our actions are fast enough, the Lysene won't have time to react, and we can completely wait at our ease."
Rhaegar concluded the discussion. The victor had the greatest say. Rhaegar's siege and reinforcement tactics, and building cities on the sea, had all achieved miraculous effects, not to mention he still had three powerful demon dragons.
Rhaegar had the strongest authority in the operation, and everyone agreed.
more chapter available in p@tréøñ(Atoki_29)
30% offer on annual membership also