The Wolf Pack, the Long Lances, and the knights of the Free Company pressed their pursuit of the Dothraki riders. With the Red Viper and the Second Sons launching two successive ambush charges, the entire khalasar of Khal Zekko fell into collapse.
The standard-bearers ran at the very front, hoisting the gray-white wolf banners high, pride written plainly across their faces.
Gendry galloped across the boundless grasslands. The once-arrogant Dothraki were now fleeing in panic. Warhammer in hand, and with Khal Zekko slain, he faced almost no enemies willing to meet him head-on. Any unfortunate soul who crossed his path was crushed beneath his hammer.
His swings grew smoother with every strike. The weight of the weapon no longer felt cumbersome; it flowed with him. With enough speed and strength, a blunt weapon could deliver devastating force under equal conditions.
"Khal is dead!"
"Khal is dead!"
The cries swept across the battlefield. The Dothraki had completely lost their nerve.
On the walls of Myr, those brave enough to witness Khal Zekko's death erupted into cheers. The jubilation spread like wildfire, until the entire city of Myr rang with noise and celebration.
Though no longer young, Khal Zekko had been the finest warrior in his khalasar. His death on the field was a heavy blow to the Dothraki.
By Dothraki custom, a khal's Bloodriders must die with him. Khal Zekko's two Bloodriders had indeed fallen in battle. But the Ko under his command bore no such burden. Once Khal Zekko died, his Ko had already fled with their Khas.
As the smoke of battle slowly thinned, the outcome was clear. With Khal Zekko and his son dead, and some of the khalasar escaping under the leadership of his Ko, the victory was still a rich one. Brown Ben was the first to return, leading the riders of the Second Sons back in, gathering them up like a closing hand.
The captured Dothraki screamers came before Gendry one by one, each cutting off his black braid. The severed braids piled into a dark mound, a visible token of the victor's honor.
Gendry rode past them, lifting his warhammer high. The screamers lowered their heads in unison.
The cavalry surrounding them—whether from the Wolf Pack, the Free Company, the Long Lances, or the Second Sons—burst into cheers. The Unsullied pounded their shields, while others sounded horns and waved their weapons overhead.
Nothing tasted sweeter than victory. For those living near the Disputed Lands, resentment toward the Dothraki ran especially deep.
Gendry looked over the warriors who had once been so untamed—tall men with bronzed skin, hazel eyes, and black hair. Now their faces were clouded with defeat.
Brown Ben translated for him. With Dothraki blood in his veins, he spoke their tongue fluently.
"Lord Commander Gendry is the Protector of Myr! Your Ko has already taken his Khas and fled! Your Khal is dead! Submit to Lord Commander Gendry, or return to the Dothraki Sea!" Brown Ben shouted.
"Khal!"
"Khal!"
"Khal who wields the warhammer!" the screamers roared.
Faced with the choice between submission and returning to the Dothraki Sea, nearly all chose to yield.
The Dothraki revered strength and lived by the khalasar. If they returned to the Dothraki Sea now, other khalasar might fall upon them and enslave them. Better to follow a new Khal than risk that fate.
Gendry watched the Dothraki screamers warriors before him. The horsemen were riddled with bad habits and ill-suited to clash head-on with heavy cavalry, but used properly, they could still make a formidable army.
Their roaring shook the air, as if heralding the birth of a new king. Farther off, the Red Viper saw the scene and quickly turned his horse back.
"I've brought you a gift!" said Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper.
He dragged back the corpse of a Dothraki warrior, the man's chest pierced clean through by a longspear. It was a brutal death.
"This is the son of Khal Zekko. After his father died, he became the new Khal. He came back seeking revenge, but I killed him."
"Poor man," Gendry said, studying the body the Red Viper had thrown down.
The young Dothraki's face was still somewhat boyish. But the Dothraki lived by blood and violence. Khals killed one another as a matter of course.
Years ago, beneath the walls of Qohor, Khal Temmo had died. Temmo had clashed with Khal Dhako, known as the "Dragon of the North," though Dhako was already old by then. Temmo's khalasar shattered Dhako's forces, captured him, cut off his limbs and manhood, roasted them before his eyes, burned his wife and children alive, and finally burned him to death as well.
I'll use the heads of two Khals to send the Tyroshi a message, Gendry thought as he looked at the corpse of Khal Zekko's son.
The Khal's body would intimidate not only the Myrmen, but also the Archon of Tyrosh hiding behind the Black Wall of Tyrosh.
"There were some unexpected gains as well," the Red Viper added.
He had brought back a Company of Dothraki Unsullied, roughly two hundred strong. They bore the typical Dothraki bronze skin and black almond-shaped eyes, yet their faces were clean-shaven. Each wore the Unsullied's bronze helm, crowned with a single spike.
After the Dornishmen stepped aside, the Dothraki Unsullied knelt before Gendry. With the Red Viper and Brown Ben at his side, Gendry understood their meaning.
These men had been captives in the wars between Khals and were sold into Slaver's Bay. The Qohorik, seeking to curry favor with Khal Zekko, had gifted him this batch of Unsullied.
The Dothraki screamers warriors despised eunuchs and the maimed. Even when they possessed these Unsullied, they used them only as khalasar guards and never truly put them to use. When the khalasar collapsed, these directionless Unsullied ended up falling into Gendry's hands.
Gendry helped their leader to his feet. Greywolf, Gendry's Unsullied commander, stepped forward and embraced the wretched Dothraki Unsullied. After a few words of reassurance, these men, once unfree, would become his warriors as well.
"My thanks for your help, Prince."
"A small thing. What mattered was that your knights defeated the Khal's host," the Red Viper replied modestly. He needed Gendry's support, and he genuinely admired such courage.
"Count the Dothraki we captured. Besides the screamers warriors, there should be women, children, and the elderly."
"Keep a close watch on them. I won't have the Dothraki slaughtering at will or harassing women," Gendry ordered Brown Ben. The horsemen truly had too many vile habits.
"Yes," Brown Ben answered.
With most of the spoils already secured, Gendry, Brown Ben, and the Red Viper led their men to quicken the clearing of the battlefield.