Chapter 82: The Cornerstone of Tyrosh
Tyrosh, Dionysus Fountain Square, a Secret Stronghold of the Chainbreakers
Tyrosh is a massive and bustling port city. The island runs from southwest to northeast; the terrain is higher in the northeast and relatively lower in the southeast.
The city of Tyrosh occupies only a portion of the island. To the northeast are the Tyroshi fruit estates and gold and silver mines, while the southwest houses their plantations and craft workshops.
Tyrosh's handicrafts are no less impressive than those of Myr. Their dyed textiles, based on purple sea snails, are very famous among the Nine Free Cities.
The shape of the island where Tyrosh is located looks like a pair of high-heeled shoes from Earth, and Tyrosh itself is situated on a protruding section at the heel.
In Tyrosh, the ratio of slaves to free men is three to one. Because the Tyroshi are proud and arrogant, they are also very violent and aggressive in their treatment of slaves. Some daring slaving parties even dare to go to the lands beyond the Wall to capture wildlings.
Thanks to the slave-trading boom here, the Chainbreaker agents under Jon's command easily blended into the city.
To ensure the successful implementation of Jon's plan, Narsas disguised himself as a slave trader with a pirate identity. They claimed their group had come here after capturing a large number of wildling slaves beyond the Wall.
Among these city-states across the Narrow Sea, only Tyrosh has lower requirements for slaves. In places like Myr, they generally prefer slaves with a particular skill or those who are older.
Lys, on the other hand, prefers young and beautiful boys and girls. Other slaves do not fetch a good price in those two places. Only Tyrosh accepts all comers, buying as many as are available.
The Tyroshi are also very cruel in their treatment of slaves because these arrogant people believe that only rule through force can make slaves obedient.
The reason Jon chose Tyrosh as his first target was precisely because he saw this weakness in the Tyroshi.
After entering Tyrosh, Narsas rented a large inn near Dionysus Fountain Square as his temporary residence. They publicly claimed to be looking for a good slave buyer there.
In reality, they were using this opportunity to scout intelligence within Tyrosh. A group of over 200 slaves and 100 slave traders was not particularly conspicuous in Tyrosh.
Thus, after Narsas and his men stayed for more than ten days, no one came to cause them trouble.
Lately, most of the Tyroshi's attention had been drawn away by the Lysene fleet in the Stepstones. Furthermore, the standoff between the two sides in the Disputed Lands had reached a fever pitch, where the slightest mishap could spark a conflict.
At this moment, in the basement of an inn called The Sleeping Beauty, Narsas was discussing the upcoming action plan with several core members of the Chainbreakers.
"Slap..."
After slamming the letter onto the table in front of him, Narsas spoke with a hint of excitement in his voice:
"My dear brothers, Lord Jon's forces are ready, so the time to test our abilities has arrived!"
Upon hearing Narsas's words, the surrounding Chainbreaker warriors were also somewhat excited. After all, what they were about to do was attack a city of the Nine Free Cities.
In the past, this was something completely unimaginable for people of their low status. But now, because of Jon, they actually possessed the power to carry out such a feat.
"I can't wait to rescue those brothers who are suffering!"
"Those bastards actually kill people for sacrifices every few days. They are simply demons from hell!"
"The battle is finally about to begin..."
...Since this was the first time they were launching a proactive offensive, the eyes of these soldiers flickered with the light of excitement.
"Alright, my dear brothers, now is not the time for excitement. According to the action plan previously deployed by Lord Jon, I have decided to carefully arrange our personnel deployment."
At Narsas's signal, the Chainbreaker soldier behind him took a roll of maps from his waist. This was a map Jon had drawn after scouting the area while resupplying at Bloodstone.
"This is the urban layout of Tyrosh. After this period of reconnaissance, we now understand some of the troop deployments and resource stockpiles within the city."
Narsas's voice was low, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"To ensure the success of our Cornerstone Plan, we must take down Armory No. 3 in the city."
After stating their target, Narsas specifically pointed to a location on the map.
"According to the intelligence sent back by the Big and Little Sam brothers, the Tyroshi have recently been repairing this collapsed armory."
Narsas spoke with a trace of excitement and joy. Then he turned his gaze toward the young man with acne on his face across from him.
"Strawberry, has your side finished assembling the weapons? They must be finished tonight so we can use them tomorrow morning!"
"We've already assembled them. It definitely won't affect the progress."
When entering Tyrosh, their weapons for this operation were hidden in Narsas's supply wagons and inside the logs used to bind the slaves.
These things were arranged in advance. For the sake of concealment, Jon had even referenced many smuggling methods from his previous world, combined with Narsas's bribery.
This allowed all their weapons to be brought in safely. Strawberry and his team were the ones specifically responsible for assembling the weapons this time.
The short swords and hilts were separated to save a large amount of space during transport. Although assembling these weapons was time-consuming, Strawberry and his team had been working day and night to finish the task early.
"Good! Well done. Then you don't need to participate in tomorrow morning's action. Stay here and get some rest. That's an order!"
Narsas was surprised by the efficiency of Strawberry and his team, but after seeing their heavy eye bags, he seemed to have found the answer. That was why he strictly ordered them to rest.
"Alright, next is you, Lemon. How is the communication with the slaves going?"
Many commoner families in Westeros do not give their children formal names, so there are many people with plant-based nicknames.
Lemon and his team were the thieves responsible for contacting the slaves to organize the uprising. Although these thieves modified by the system were not particularly strong in combat, their abilities in stealth and lockpicking were extremely practical.
Since they had already sent some Chainbreaker soldiers disguised as slaves to act as insiders, Narsas and his men had gained a certain understanding of the slaves' situation.
The slaves of Tyrosh mostly lived in the massive sewers beneath the city. Each area had only one fixed entrance and exit. Although the sewers led to the sea outside, the sludge and wastewater inside were enough to deter many.
Furthermore, these Tyroshi slaves were different from those in Slaver's Bay; they did not have collars around their necks. To prevent slave revolts, the Tyroshi put iron shackles on their hands instead.
This effectively prevented escape and resistance. Although it consumed a lot of iron, the Tyroshi had gradually come to favor this method after facing one slave uprising after another.
"We have already contacted many mine slaves. Because of the potential outbreak of war, the price of Tyroshi iron ore has generally risen. Many slaves are being exploited to the point of misery, and this latest group consists of slaves who have just arrived."
As Lemon spoke, a flash of distress crossed his eyes. He had seen those mine slaves. To save water, the slave owners basically made them wash themselves in the sewers. Because the water below was so filthy, many of them looked even more terrifying than people from the Summer Isles.
Not to mention those slaves who were injured or disabled. Once these people died, no one cared at all; they might even be cannibalized by slaves who were starving to death.
The brown soup the slaves ate almost always contained the flesh and blood of their own kind, just as the slaves always said.
"We only eat the flesh and blood of our own kind, while those people above eat our souls and freedom."
Without experiencing these things personally, they could not truly comprehend the suffering of the slaves. If Jon had not led them to rise up and resist bravely, they would likely be as miserable as these slaves.
"Lord Narsas, these damnable Tyroshi are simply demons. No—all slavers are demons. Those brothers who are suffering can no longer endure it, and neither can we."
Most of those contacted by Lemon and his team were mine slaves. These slaves were of the lowest class and suffered the most.
To divide the slaves, the Tyroshi categorized them into different ranks, giving them something to hope for so they would not constantly think about rebelling.
To address this issue, Narsas and his men specifically sought out lower-class mine slaves who had only recently been enslaved.
Most of these slaves had not yet resigned themselves to their fate, and their desire for freedom was very strong. As long as this group rose up in resistance and showed the other slaves the hope of a successful revolt, more people would join the movement.
"Good! Brothers, everything will proceed according to plan. We will act together tomorrow morning when the slaves begin their work!"
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