Pentos has hundreds of thousands of people, a pearl in the bay, facing King's Landing across the sea.
However, because Pentos was built and developed earlier, it doesn't smell as bad as King's Landing; the scent is much better.
King's Landing has only three hundred years of history, making it a very young new city with negligible historical heritage.
The clamor and skirmish that occurred on the outskirts of Pentos last night left the people of Pentos with lingering fears. Andalos cavalry, like an iron fist, melted away the dothraki head-on, and Viserys even bloodily sent Khal Gilo flying.
This skirmish terrified the undefended city-state of Pentos, as if they were back in the era when Dothraki Screamers roared and surged into the city, or when the Braavos fleet sank the Pentos grand fleet in the bay, flaunting its power.
The Dragon King of Andalos, this newly risen King Viserys, is a powerful neighbor to the north of Pentos.
Viserys Targaryen doesn't even put a Dothraki Khal in his eyes; this is no ordinary display of power.
Moreover, Viserys might be a greater threat than the Khals, as Andalos is a feudal monarchy, while the dothraki are a nomadic tribal nation.
Although the Dothraki Khals are powerful, their succession order is very unstable.
The Andalos Kingdom, on the other hand, is like a great tree absorbing nutrients, solidifying its foundation.
A Khal is usually the strongest or fiercest warrior in a khalasar, with no fixed bloodline requirement.
The dothraki value strength above all else, only strong warriors.
dothraki will never follow an underage khalakka or the Khal's wife. When a Khal dies, the Khaleesi will be taken to Vaes Dothrak to join the Dosh Khaleen as advisors to all tribes.
Kou will fight each other for control of the tribe, and young khalakka will be killed to prevent them from becoming formidable rivals in the future.
Furthermore, the Dothraki do not wear armor and are prone to brawling.
The profession of Khal has too high a casualty rate; once a Khal is successfully challenged, or becomes injured and old and cannot ride a horse, he is automatically eliminated.
The Khals of the dothraki Sea also change constantly, with endless internal strife.
There are rarely Khals who unite the Grass Sea, and rarely stable hereditary Khal families. This 'raising vipers' jungle law has, paradoxically, reduced the pressure on Pentos.
Many Pentos Magisters harbor a dark thought: to let the powerful Dothraki Khals and Viserys of Andalos fight again, preferably to mutual destruction, which would solve their problems once and for all.
Viserys rode his black horse, reining it into Pentos, with a hundred iron cavalry behind him. After being tempered by slaughter, the cavalry exuded an even more fearless aura.
The dothraki horsemen were defeated, let alone Pentos's useless guards.
Viserys had previously discarded his blood-stained black and red dragon cloak; the blood on it had long congealed into brown.
It was not Viserys's blood, but the enemy's.
Pentos is a gentle city, and a bloody cloak would reek.
Viserys wasn't going to intimidate the Magisters; he wasn't a crude barbarian like the Dothraki, so he still had to maintain some decorum.
Viserys entered Pentos with great poise; today he was no longer the man he was yesterday.
King Viserys's unparalleled handsome appearance and magnificent silver armor had already caused a sensation in the city of Pentos, but yesterday everyone only thought he was a graceful and foolishly rich young king.
Unexpectedly, this descendant of the dragonlords also possessed unparalleled terrifying power, fighting like a demon of war, bloody and formidable.
Wherever Viserys and his black-armored knights passed, even the most unruly Pentos assassins and mercenaries averted their eyes and moved aside.
These swaggering assassins weren't fools; their flashy moves were no match for a Khal, let alone the Dragon King who had slain a Khal.
This is the terrifying aspect of vanguard tactics: Viserys's own stats are extremely high, coupled with the divine equipment of the rhoynar.
Viserys charging with elite troops was like cutting through melons and vegetables, slaughtering indiscriminately. Few enemies could withstand this move.
The Pentos market was still bustling, overflowing with goods, much livelier than the Andalos market.
Here were long-haired Ibbenese, milky-skinned Qartheen, feather-cloaked and charcoal-skinned Summer Islanders, and even masked Shadowbinders from Asshai by the Shadow.
More often, merchants from Oldtown and King's Landing gathered here with their counterparts from Braavos, Pentos, Myr, and Lys.
Westerosi merchants could only glimpse Viserys from afar, as he was escorted by cavalry and Illyrio's Unsullied.
"That's our former prince, of the true dragon's blood," a merchant from Oldtown whispered.
"Shut up!" a merchant from King's Landing immediately covered his mouth. Viserys's resurgence was no secret, but spreading this news was strictly forbidden throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
If the Spider's spies found out, it would be treason.
The Pentos market offered fruits like apples, melons, peaches, white cherries, and fire plums; meats included beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and various seafood; there were also all kinds of vegetables.
The Pentos Magisters purchased large quantities of fine fruits, exquisite silks, velvet robes for Viserys. These were gifts, lest they offend the ominous star.
Anyway, no Khals should be coming for a while. Drogo was busy with 'Ride and Slash' on the Great Grass Sea, and all the money was being spent on Viserys.
As for Viserys's own mission, it was to seek out those treasures, items with water and fire elemental fluctuations.
"Many of these fruits come from the Reach. And, of course, from our Pentos plains, where there are many farmers and laborers, bound to the land," Magister Illyrio introduced. "Many of the orchards, farms, and mines are under my name, but I rarely manage them myself. What pleasure is there in that, compared to the rich and prosperous Pentos?"
Listening to Illyrio's boasting, Viserys felt this man was also very capable.
A hired assassin, who climbed to the position of Magister in a few decades, and a senior Magister of Pentos at that, not a newcomer, but one with significant experience and influence, responsible for diplomacy.
"Pentos is indeed rich and prosperous, and protected by strong walls."
"There is no other way; without high walls, Pentos would merely be a beauty with bared body. Just like the plains, where the towns have long become ruins. No matter which tribe wants to see the sea, the plains are the only way. Even Westerosi knights should know that Khals have no fondness for towns; they believe the earth is their mother, and everything should return to its original state."
The dothraki horsemen believe in primitive environmentalism; they believe the earth is their mother, and that cutting the earth with axes,
shovels, and plows is a sin.
Therefore, whenever the dothraki conquer a place, they burn fields, farms, and cities, restoring the grasslands to their original wild state.
"Concentrate your forces and annihilate one tribe, and you will find that the dothraki will be less daring to cross the Rhoyne River," Viserys suggested.
However, he felt it was useless to say, as the people of Pentos were already path-dependent.
Braavos crippled Pentos, and Pentos also self-castrated.
No Magister has the courage to lead troops, and the soldiers are all rabble, relying on bribery.
"Isn't it more cost-effective to buy off enemies with food and gifts?" Illyrio explained.
"Perhaps I can do it for you. I killed one Khal; it seems there will be another."
"You can't joke about that. Gilo only had a few thousand warriors, while other Khals have tens of thousands," Illyrio said with some trepidation; this plan was too arrogant.
Once Viserys defeats the Dothraki, Pentos would only need to pay him.
One 'big daddy' would turn into two 'daddies'.
"What has Khal Drogo been busy with lately?" Viserys asked Illyrio.
Andalos merchant caravans did not go to Vaes Dothrak, but free cities like Pentos had merchants who risked doing business there, so there would be some news.
Moreover, the place the dothraki loved to extort the most was Pentos; their relationship had always been good.
"After his father died, Khal Drogo has mainly been hunting down his father's Kou, while busy annexing other tribes. He is invincible, and his Dothraki Screamers all obey Drogo," Magister Illyrio explained in detail, swallowing white cherries. His information was quite well-informed.
The invincible Khal Drogo was also a formidable individual, tall, agile, and swift.
As a'Scroll King' who emerged from tens of thousands of Dothraki Screamers, his caliber is unquestionable.
However, being strong is useless; how can someone fight without armor? He can't escape his fated demise.
Illyrio was somewhat curious why Viserys cared so much about Drogo, but Drogo was the Khal with the fastest rising momentum, young and ambitious, and such Khals were the most likely to start wars.
The establishment of the Andalos' White City would be considered an insult by the Dothraki Khals, and Viserys had already killed many stray dothraki soldiers, and now he had slaughtered another Khal.
Even if Khal Drogo looked down on Khal Jilokao, he would still raise an army for the sake of the dothraki's honor; young men are simply ambitious.
It seemed inevitable that there would be a battle between Viserys and Khal Drogo, the two most fiercely rising twin stars of the Eastern Continent.
Previously, Viserys had refused the request to marry off his niece or sister to Drogo, which Illyrio deeply regretted. Now it seemed highly likely that a bloody, fierce war was about to break out between the two sides.
"Khal Balbo's Ko? How many are there?" Viserys asked curiously.
"There are three in total. The old Khal had three Ko. The elder Khal Balbo commanded ten thousand Dothraki Screamers and the main tribe, while each of his Ko commanded five thousand warriors and minor tribes."
"Twenty-five thousand Dothraki Screamers, that is already a lot."
"It is a lot. Khal Balbo was considered the strongest Khal in recent years. However, the relationship between a Ko and the Khal's son is rarely good. If the Khal dies, the Ko will be the first to kill the former Khal's underage son. Drogo is considered a very fierce warrior; his father managed to wait until his son inherited the Khal position."
"How long will this pursuit last?" Viserys asked.
"It's hard to say how long, but Khal Drogo has already caused a bloody storm on the Great Grass Sea, and Pentos has quieted down considerably. When Khal Balbo died, Khal Drogo immediately killed one Ko that same day and absorbed his tribe. The remaining two Ko fled and have now declared themselves Khals and united against Drogo. However, they are no match for Drogo. If Drogo kills these two and continues to expand, his strength will swell to thirty thousand men..."
"An opportunity, an opportunity for sea exploration," Viserys mused inwardly.
If he were to go exploring now, the opportunity would be excellent.
After acquiring the Fire Sorcerer talent, Viserys had actually been considering traveling far to the Smoking Sea Ruins.
Viserys thought about it; there were at least a few favorable conditions now.
First, it is currently the height of summer, and sea storms are infrequent.
The most frightening season is the transitional season of autumn. Autumn is the season of frequent rainfall, river surges, and even flooding disasters.
The heavy rains in autumn are extremely frequent, greatly increasing the difficulty and danger of navigation.
Second, Viserys's potential enemies are all preoccupied and have not yet freed up their hands.
The Ironborn suffered heavy losses during the Balon Rebellion, and the number of pirates on the sea has decreased significantly; they are playing dead to recover their strength.
Khal Drogo is busy playing a cat-and-mouse game on the Great Grass Sea, recovering his tribal power. He must at least kill those two Ko and reclaim his father's territory.
As for the iron throne, even if it were to mobilize, it would take a long time, as the matter is immense.
Therefore, whether to wait for the fossilized dragon egg to meet the requirements of the magic contract, or to go exploring the Smoking Sea, is a question that needs answering.
Viserys decided to first purchase dragon bones and expensive ingredients. With the elemental affinity for fire and water, he also gained the ability to screen them.
"This one, this one, and the other one, I'll take them all." Viserys pointed at the black dragon bones on the stall.
The peddler used bird bones dyed black to pass them off as dragon bones, so the ability to discern was crucial.
After a long time, the peddler himself didn't know where the true dragon bones were.
"As you command, gracious Majesty." The dragon bone vendor was overjoyed, and then Magister Illyrio's Unsullied Squire paid the money.
Viserys took all the true dragon bones and also requested half of the fake bones to mix in, to cover his tracks, otherwise the success rate would be too suspicious.
Viserys toyed with a true dragon bone; the dragon bone had a faint fluctuation of fire element.
Due to its high iron content, the dragon bone was pitch black. It was as tough as steel, yet lighter and more elastic.
This was also why the magic dragons were relatively light. Their bones were light, and their bodies spread out like large birds, meaning they didn't actually have much flesh.
"dragon eggs, do you want any more?" the peddler asked gleefully. "Real Valyria dragon eggs."
Bullshit dragon eggs—they were actually just painted red stones, though they looked remarkably lifelike.
"Are you taking us for fools? His Majesty buying these bones from you is already a courtesy." Magister Illyrio scolded, and the peddler immediately fell silent.
"Your Majesty, I have the best fish bones here; I brought all my stock." A fish bone vendor also quickly greeted Viserys. Viserys had purchased a large quantity yesterday, and the vendor was hoping for this great patron to return today.
Viserys was equally impolite, making a grand gesture and continuing to buy in bulk.
These deep-sea and great-river fish bones were useless to others, but for Viserys, even a small amount of water element could enhance the power of a Water Sorcerer.
"Your Majesty, this is a Golden-Lipped Fish from the bay, and its taste is incredibly delicious." The fish vendor also noticed Viserys.
Viserys looked at the large golden fish, confirmed it was fresh, and simply raised a finger to take it.
Magister Illyrio thought Viserys was quite easy to satisfy; he only wanted dragon bones, fish bones, expensive ingredients, and some artifacts, showing no interest in silks or embroideries.
Finally, Viserys discovered the most valuable prey in the marketplace.
At a small stall displaying ancient sculptures, there were statues of the Seven Gods, the three-headed god, the Pale Lady, and others.
Viserys found an ancient Tyroshi sculpture of the three-headed god. The craftsmanship was exquisite, but what was more valuable was the heart-shaped ruby in the center of the sculpture.
The first head of the three-headed god devoured the dead, and the third head spat out new life, but Viserys did not know what the middle head represented—perhaps the present.
Viserys felt it—the faint aura of fire element fluctuation within the ruby.
Gems are extremely important in magic, serving as unparalleled conduits capable of absorbing and storing elemental power.
Viserys knew that Melisandre wore a gold necklace set with a ruby around her neck, and the ruby would glow with magic when she manipulated it.
"I'll take this sculpture!" Viserys pointed at the three-headed god sculpture.
The peddler happily lifted the sculpture. "Great King Viserys, may your fortune last long."
Since Viserys bought a lot and paid fair prices, he was already the most popular great patron in the Pentos marketplace.
However, an interlude occurred today: a fat Red Robe Priest squeezed through the crowd.
"Noble man, would you be willing to part with the blood ruby for me? I will use it to pray to the True Lord," the Red Robe Priest pleaded.
"This is not the time, Master." Viserys looked at the Red Robe Priest. "I have already taken possession of it; I quite like this little trinket."
Blood ruby—could it be a classification of rubies?
The Red Robe Priest came closer to them and saw Viserys's face.
Silver-white hair, pale purple eyes, handsome beyond mortal men.
The Red Robe Priest stared blankly at Viserys with his reddish-brown eyes: "I see you, Dragon King. King of Blood and Fire, King of Water and Fire, King of Sky and Sea, King of Steel and Law, King of Old Cities and New Cities. The land, the mountains, the plains, the hills, the rivers, and the seas all kneel at your feet. The Great King of Light, and also the King of Slaughter. I thought the aura of death came from the Unsullied————"
The Red Robe Priest began to weep, his fat body trembling continuously. "So cruel, so cruel. So much light, yet so cruel."
The Red Robe Priest turned and left, not even wanting the gem, leaving both Viserys and Illyrio utterly bewildered.
"Was he making a prophecy just now??" Viserys asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Illyrio glanced at Viserys. Could this truly be the Destined One? "He said you are the King of Blood and Fire, King of Water and Fire, King of Sky and Sea, King of Steel and Law, King of Old Cities and New Cities."
"Was he promising me the crown of the world?" Viserys held up the three-headed god statue and laughed heartily.
"Better safe than sorry," Illyrio said, lowering his head.