The man who had been inciting the Unsullied to rebel was none other than Daenerys's "old friend," Kraznys. He wasn't the First Slave Master of Astapor, so the Black Dragon hadn't targeted him first.
After descending from the pyramid, she had immediately taken the eight ancient "Harpy's Fingers" to the high tower above the city gate.
He hid behind a shield, holding a long dragonbone whip and shouting loudly.
Once, eight Good Masters had used their ancestral Harpy's Fingers to control the Unsullied for decades. Each whip represented the absolute authority of the Good Masters over their slaves.
Countless slaves had sworn bottomless loyalty under those whips.
But now...
*Clop, clop, clop.*
The only response to him, besides the snapping of military banners, was the crisp sound of horse hooves.
The Unsullied ranks silently parted down the center, forming a path. Daenerys, riding Little Silver, walked slowly to the front of the army.
About 30 meters from the city gate, Whitebeard and Missandei followed behind her, while the burly Bevos held a wooden shield—two meters high and 1.4 meters wide—to protect Little Silver.
Today, Daenerys still wore her Dothraki long braid, with three bells tied to it. Jhiqui and Irri both agreed that she had conquered 13,600 Unsullied yesterday afternoon.
Perhaps after today, another bell will be added?
She wasn't wearing her painted vest today. Instead, she was draped in a set of dazzling, ornate iron armor, a greatsword with a scabbard inlaid with seven-colored gemstones hanging at her waist.
The armor's intricate carvings were finished with a porcelain glaze, and a three-headed dragon was engraved on the chestplate. The white and green dragons flanked the black dragon's head in the center, all three sharing a single blood-red body.
A pure white cloak hung from her shoulders, resembling the banner of the Unsullied. A black dashed line outlined a dragon with its wings spread wide. The cloak trailed long behind her, covering the haunches of Little Silver.
The three-headed dragon armor and the gemstone-studded greatsword were gifts from the Quarth Blacksmith Guild.
Just as the weavers had sent her various silks and sewn her cheongsams when she opened her "Dragon Zoo," the guild had offered these tributes.
The armor looked magnificent, but it was hardly practical. It wasn't even a full set—lacking a visor, gorget, gauntlets, tassets, greaves, poleyns, and iron boots. In actual combat, it would be riddled with vulnerabilities.
Still, for an occasion like today, it was perfect for showing off. Its brilliance was tempered with a hint of martial prowess, giving her an exceptionally dashing and spirited aura.
"Kraznys, save your breath," Daenerys said with a smile to the slave master, who was still stubbornly waving his whip and shouting. With a *shring*, she drew the greatsword from her waist, pointed it at the city gate tower, and cried, "Soldiers, tell the slave master who you are!"
"Free warriors of the Plain White Banner!" five thousand men roared in unison, their voices booming like a tide sweeping through the ancient, decaying city.
"Freedom!" Daenerys raised her sword and shouted.
"Freedom! Freedom!"
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
"Freedom! Freedom!"
The Unsullied struck the ground with their spears in a rhythmic beat, shouting "Freedom" twice after every three strikes. Their cries echoed across more than half of Astapor.
Atop the wall, Kraznys's face turned ashen, his eyes filled with despair and disbelief. It was a known fact: the Unsullied could not be tempted by anything—gold, women, freedom, or any other earthly desire or spiritual longing.
*Could that bitch be possessed by the Seven Gods?*
The Good Masters had trained them for over ten years; the slaves' individual wills should have been long extinguished.
"Woman, what do you want?" Kraznys screamed from behind the wall.
"I want the slave masters punished, and I want Astapor to be free of every single slave."
"Impossible! This is Slaver's Bay, Slaver's Bay, Slaver's Bay! Slavery has existed since the Harpy created the Ghiscari. The Valyrian Dragonlords needed slaves, the Free Cities needed slaves, the Great Sea trade needed slaves. As long as humanity exists, slavery will be indispensable!"
The slave master proclaimed this as if it were a universal truth, his voice hoarse and self-righteous.
"Haha, you don't get to decide that," Daenerys sneered. "Freedom must be won with blood and fire. We are prepared for that. Are you?"
"Do you hear it?" she asked, pointing to where smoke rose within the city walls. "Your slave kingdom is wailing. It is dying, and my army hasn't even lifted a finger."
Daenerys's leaflets had sown terror in the hearts of the slave masters and hope and courage in the hearts of the slaves.
The Unsullied's cries of "Freedom!" had acted like torches lighting a fuse. Finally, someone had broken their inner chains and risen in rebellion.
With the black dragon acting as a reconnaissance plane in the sky, the situation in the city was as clear to Daenerys as the lines on her palm.
"You betrayed me!" Kraznys shouted, his voice cracking. He glanced fearfully at the slave soldier holding his shield, his fat face contorted with rage.
"How did I betray you?" Daenerys asked with a mocking laugh.
"We had an agreement!" Kraznys roared toward the city walls. "You were to raid the small cities and sell the slaves to us!" He spun around, retreating a few steps as he gestured to the nearby Gith guards. Pointing at his own slave, he snarled, "His eyes are wrong! Seize him!"
"I—" The slave soldier collapsed to his knees on the stone wall, his face flushing crimson. He opened his mouth several times to argue, but no words came out.
*Because just now, I had two thoughts I shouldn't have: Should I kick this fat bastard off the wall? Or, let the Mother of Dragons bring her dragons to kill these Ghiscari—I wouldn't stop them then.*
*It's over!* he thought in despair. *Just like countless times over countless years, my cunning master has seen through my mind.*
"Stand up, you who refuse to be slaves!" Daenerys shouted at the perfect moment.
If she could, she'd rather have five thousand Unsullied burst into a grand chorus of *La Marseillaise*—though the lyrics would need a quick edit: *no* rebellion against Her Majesty the Queen.
"I'll fight you to the death!" The slave soldier snapped out of his stupor as if blessed with a War God's buff from the Mother of Dragons. He raised his bronze shield and charged headlong at the slave master, ignoring everything else.
Kraznys scrambled backward, screaming in terror, "The slave soldiers are rebelling! Kill them all!"
Daenerys pressed a hand to her forehead, exasperated by his sheer stupidity.
While the Gith guards were busy arresting that one rebellious slave, the rest of the slaves had already retreated to a safe distance. But the moment they heard the slave master's scream, their expressions shifted wildly. They exchanged glances, and then, without knowing who had started it, someone roared, "Long live the Mother of Dragons!"
Almost all the slave soldiers rose in rebellion.
The slogan "Long live the Mother of Dragons" merged with battle cries and wails, echoing across the city walls.
"Your Highness, we can attack now," Whitebeard said.
"To be honest, I had originally planned to besiege the city for two days," Daenerys said with a wry smile to the old man.
At least they would have had time to fell trees and build a batch of siege engines.
*Attack!* she commanded the black dragon in her mind. Big Black dove straight down, tracing a graceful arc through the sky above the city gatehouse.
*Boom!*
Several Ghiscari, engulfed in roaring flames, shrieked as they leaped from the ten-meter-high tower. Billowing black smoke rose from the wooden structure.
"A dragon! A real dragon! Long live the Mother of Dragons!"
The slaves cheered and danced with joy. The already low morale of the Gith guards collapsed completely. Some soldiers even dropped their weapons and fled toward the pyramid.
Seeing that the Ghiscari arrows had become as sparse as hair on a bald man's head, and their bowstrings as limp as soaked noodles, Daenerys had Big Black land directly in front of the city gates. Bevos and Quilo, along with several other Dragon Guards, held their shields over her head.
*Boom—*
The dragonfire, faintly smoking, heated the iron plates embedded in the gate's edges to a bright red glow. Thick black smoke billowed from the wooden planks, and cries of alarm erupted from the Ghiscari within the gateway.
Big Black's mouth acted like a welding torch, his searing pillar of fire burning through the thick wooden gates in a mere dozen seconds.
*Crack!* The massive hardwood bolt behind the gate burned through, and the doors creaked open.
"The gates are open! Charge!" Grey Worm raised his spear high, the first to rush forward. The Unsullied flooded into the ancient city of Astapor like a tidal wave.
*Screech!* Big Black leaped into the air, taking flight once more.
"Long live the Mother of Dragons! Kill!"
Through the black dragon's eyes, Daenerys saw the Unsullied and the rebelling slaves like a grey tide, gradually submerging the ancient Red City.
On the walls, in the streets, and in the very plazas where the Unsullied had once been trained, men and women clad in tokar robes were being slaughtered. Once again, blood soaked the earth that had devoured countless souls.
*Blood for blood.* The blood of the slave traders and their families washed away the resentment of the spirits who had refused to leave the Slave City-State. In the wails of their enemies, the dead finally found peace.
Yet, this cycle of blood for blood did not end today. The ghosts of the Astapori now took the place of the former slave spirits, wandering the streets, the plazas, and the pyramids, refusing to depart. Only the blood of that woman and her dragon could cleanse the resentment clinging to these new restless souls.
But Daenerys had already accepted her fate. Today was merely her first step; the song of blood and fire had only just begun its prelude.
"Your Highness, I never expected you to be so bold," Whitebeard remarked, his voice heavy with emotion. "We have destroyed the cradle of the Unsullied. You are the first to dare say 'no' to slavery with such ruthless methods. But what of Westeros?"
"You swore you would only use the Unsullied's power to do what is right, and it's clear you have no intention of relying on them to seize the Iron Throne—though I believe your return to it would be the most righteous act of all."
"I can't go back to Westeros."
Daenerys sighed as the thick scent of blood and smoke wafted from the city. "This is just the beginning. Once it starts, there's no stopping it. Astapor, Meereen, and New Ghis will be the first wave. Valantis and Qarth will be the second. The rest of the slave city-states, whose very existence depends on the slave trade, will be the third. They will swarm here, one after another, or even form an alliance."
"Astapor, I don't want to destroy the city or kill the Good Masters. My ultimate goal is to end slavery once and for all! I can grant freedom to everyone in the city today, but tomorrow, as soon as I leave, a new batch of Good Masters will spring up from the ground faster than bamboo shoots after a spring rain."
"Then what about Westeros?"
The old man knew her words were true, but Westeros was his homeland. He missed it, and he could not bear to see the country he loved trampled by a few petty tyrants.
"You say this is a Ghost Summer?" Daenerys asked.
"Yes," the old man replied. "I received the warning from the Maesters of the Citadel: *Winter is Coming*."
"Eleven years of summer have passed," Daenerys said. "This year is a Ghost Summer. Next year will be autumn, and the year after, a winter that will last at least four years. Do you understand now? If I truly brought thirteen thousand Unsullied back to Westeros, I would not be bringing peace and prosperity to the people of the Seven Kingdoms. I would be bringing a winter as harsh as the Long Night."
Seeing the shock on the old man's face, she continued slowly, "Man-made disasters are worse than natural ones, and war is the greatest disaster of all!"
"Your Majesty," the old man exclaimed, his eyes shining with reverence, "you possess the wisdom and courage of a ruler, and the mercy of a true king. You are the Prince That Was Promised, the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, a born Queen!"
In his eyes, Daenerys was now a figure of radiant glory. He had met so many kings in his lifetime, yet only today had he finally found a true and worthy ruler.
Daenerys's lips twitched. Under his intense gaze, she forced a smile. "The city has fallen. Let's go inside."
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(End of Chapter)