Chapter 86: The Siege of Tyrosh Begins!
Off the coast of Tyrosh, southern waters
The southern fleet of the Allied Forces was currently advancing toward the port in the southern part of Tyrosh, looking like a group of knights charging toward the enemy.
The Allied Fleet was composed of various types of ships, and among them, the most eye-catching warships were the catapult ships and the scorpion ships.
These ships came from Slaver's Bay and were specifically designed and modified for sieges and territorial conquest. Their appearance always heralded the start of a soul-stirring battle.
Among this fleet, the massive catapult ships had the most unique design. They were enormous in size, with hulls built from hard timber capable of withstanding the immense potential energy of the siege engines.
The catapults equipped on these ships were a very special type of torsion-powered siege weapon, possessing some characteristics similar to trebuchets. Normally, they were used to launch barrels of oil.
The maesters and alchemists of this world possessed certain strange formulas. Besides wildfire, formulas for various fire oils had always circulated in this world, which was one of the main reasons why some cities were so difficult to conquer.
The presence of these catapult ships would give the Allied Fleet a greater advantage in the siege.
Furthermore, to counter attacks from the Tyroshi fleet, the Allied Forces had specifically spent a large sum of money to purchase a batch of scorpion ships. These incredibly powerful warships were another fearsome and terrifying weapon.
These ships were equipped with giant scorpions on both the bow and stern, capable of firing massive bolts several meters long.
These bolts were immensely powerful, enough to pierce through the hulls of warships and cause severe damage to enemy vessels.
The presence of these scorpion ships gave the fleet an unparalleled advantage in long-range fire suppression.
Although these two types of warships were powerful, they sacrificed flexibility and maneuverability. Therefore, they had to be coordinated with other ships to exert their maximum advantage.
In addition to these two specialized ships, the Allied Fleet also included transport ships specifically for moving troops and supplies, as well as standard configurations like longships and galleys.
The commander of the southern fleet was Ser Barristan Selmy. This battle-hardened old knight had a powerful grasp of the battlefield situation, and Jon also intended to use his reputation and influence to build momentum for himself.
Jon was very comfortable entrusting his well-trained army to Ser Barristan's command. The soldiers of the "Chainbreakers" were in high spirits, ready for close-quarters combat once they landed.
Their morale was extremely high, and they were full of confidence for the coming battle. The pirates and mercenaries who had been swept along were also very excited, shouting loudly with their faces painted in red and blue.
"May the gods protect us! Sound the alarm quickly! The enemy is attacking..."
"Grab your weapons..."
"Block the estuary, raise the chains..."
...The soldiers on the walls were nearly scared witless after noticing the situation. Normally, Tyrosh had patrol ships cruising its outer waters.
However, because the Tyroshi fleet had set sail in full force toward the Stepstones, there were only a few requisitioned merchant ships patrolling the waters of Tyrosh.
These heavy and massive merchant ships had no combat capability whatsoever. Upon discovering the situation, they had no time to escape and could only become sitting ducks and captives for the Allied Fleet.
The southern gate of Tyrosh was the estuary for the southern port. When the Valyrians originally built the city, they specifically extended the black stone walls into the sea. Later, two massive watchtowers were built at the southern port estuary.
Upon receiving the order, the soldiers on the watchtowers activated the massive ship-blocking chains. With the assistance of numerous pulleys, these chains completely blocked off the estuary.
"Wuuuuu..."
Seeing the enemy's actions, a series of long horn blasts sounded from the Sea Fox, Jon's flagship. These chains could only block large warships; they were useless against small boats.
Moreover, the southern port had wide passages leading to the eastern and western gates, which could allow large forces to pass. However, Jon did not intend to advance from these two sides, as they were defensive mechanisms specifically designed by the Tyroshi; passing through these channels would subject them to attacks from soldiers on the walls.
To deal with this situation, Jon specifically brought out a siege ship, a specialized warship designed to handle such unique maritime watchtowers.
Since this type of ship could not use sails, it had to rely on oars or be towed by larger ships to move.
At first glance, this siege ship somewhat resembled a siege tower mounted upon a vessel, but the base was composed of two hulls. This design allowed the siege ship to be more stable.
The design of the assault ramps was similar to large siege ladders. This massive siege ship had five levels in total, with crossbowmen and siege scorpions placed on each level specifically for fire suppression.
"Wuuuuu..."
"Bang bang bang... Boom boom..."
With the sounding of the horns, the wooden barrels of fire oil from the catapult ships shot toward the docks and buildings of the southern port like meteors, while several scorpion ships aimed at the city walls.
In an instant, the entire city wall of Tyrosh and the buildings behind it fell under attack simultaneously. The city guard soldiers and defenders in Tyrosh, caught unprepared, immediately fell into a passive state.
In a normal course of war, Tyrosh should have received an early warning to prepare heavy siege engines for a counterattack, and the fleet stationed on the periphery would have engaged the enemy at the same time.
But today, all of this happened too suddenly—so suddenly that the Tyroshi had no time to prepare before encountering an overwhelming assault.
"Ser Barristan, I'll leave the rest to you. Tyrosh's fleet will definitely return to the rescue!"
Seeing that the signal had been given from that enormous siege ship, Jon prepared to lead the "Chainbreakers" in the assault according to plan.
"Prince… are you truly certain you will be safe?"
Although Barristan knew Jon possessed those miraculous abilities, on the battlefield, the enemy does not care who you are. Many men in history were killed because they failed to remember this truth.
During the First Blackfyre Rebellion, Daemon Blackfyre died miserably at the hands of Brynden Rivers, pierced by arrows from the Raven's Teeth after missing a crucial moment.
Even though Daemon Blackfyre was arguably the greatest knight in the Seven Kingdoms at that time, the final result was that the man hailed as having the strongest Targaryen blood died having accomplished nothing.
"Only a boy tempered through blood and fire can become a true dragon. Only if I take action will the soldiers charge forward without hesitation!"
"As you command… Your Grace."
After seeing the determination in Jon's eyes, Ser Barristan seemed to understand something. He now realized that lineage alone meant nothing; only genuine strength could command true loyalty.
The reason King Robert Baratheon was able to claim the Iron Throne was due to his strength and his army—not merely the blood in his veins.
After leaving the Sea Fox, Jon soon took a longship to the vicinity of the siege ship. During this process, Jon also encountered many soldiers of the "Chainbreakers" arriving by boat.
Due to the design of the siege ship, its deck could not accommodate large numbers of men. Only after the vessel had made full contact with the enemy walls could the soldiers properly board and deploy.
"Boom... Bang bang... Crack... Sizzle..."
Accompanied by a series of massive collision sounds, the giant siege ship slammed hard into the right end of the southern port's city wall. Although the ship had decelerated in advance and had buffers installed on the bow,
the massive impact still caused terrifying crashes and grinding noises. Fortunately, the weather was calm today; otherwise, Jon's plan could not have been executed.
While the longship was advancing, Jon also inspected the situation on the siege ship through a Myrish lens. Since there weren't many people aboard yet, the soldiers on the siege tower remained relatively steady.
Only a few scorpions had been knocked loose from their restraints, but the soldiers quickly secured them once they recovered.
"Bang... Clack clack clack..."
With the sound of impact and grinding, Jon understood that their longship was now flush against the siege ship.
With the help of the soldiers, Jon quickly climbed aboard. By this time, the cabin doors had already been opened, and some rowing soldiers had begun organizing support tasks.
As more and more longships pulled alongside, the soldiers of the "Chainbreakers" climbed onto this massive siege ship and began ascending to the higher levels.
In addition to the support frames, the siege tower on this ship was secured by many ropes and iron chains at the front and back. Otherwise, the tall structure would have collapsed from the earlier impact.
"Onward! My brothers, our brothers and sisters still suffering in Tyrosh are waiting for us to rescue them!"
"Long live!"
...Looking at Jon, clad in black armor and holding his weapon, the soldiers of the "Chainbreakers" felt as if they were seeing a living legend. They gazed at him with reverence, listening to every word he spoke.
Upon receiving Jon's command, the soldiers roared in unison, prepared to fight to the death against the Tyroshi!
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