Chapter 55:
The sunset dyed the newly conquered city in a golden-red hue.
In the distance, the fighting pit that had once held slaves had been converted into a temporary train station. Pompey Legion engineers were laying tracks there, while the former Wise Masters, now dressed in prisoner uniforms, sweated profusely as they worked.
Victor swirled a glass of red wine from the Summer Isles in his hand, gazing at this vibrant "infrastructure scene."
Tyrion Lannister sat beside him, flipping through a thick stack of account books.
"Incredible," Tyrion marveled. "Although we forgave all the slaves' debts, by confiscating the Wise Masters' properties and adding the trade taxes from these past few days… our expeditionary force expenses have already broken even. We even have a surplus."
"This is the charm of industrialization, Tyrion."
Victor smiled. "Creating wealth is always faster than plundering it."
At that moment, a guard announced:
"My lord, Lord Farego Antaryon, the chief major shareholder of the Iron Bank of Braavos, requests an audience."
Victor and Tyrion exchanged a glance.
"The old fox finally can't sit still," Victor put down his wine glass. "Let him in."
…
Farego Antaryon was a tall, thin old man dressed in Braavos's signature purple robes. Even in this hot desert city, he wrapped himself tightly. Behind him followed two attendants carrying heavy black iron boxes.
He stepped onto the terrace, glanced at the young conqueror sitting on the ivory throne, and then at the giant dragon Drogon lounging and dozing nearby.
Without any small talk, this old man who controlled the world's gold reserves elegantly bent at the waist and performed a standard kneeling bow.
"Lord Regent Pompey. Perhaps I should now address you as… the new master of the East."
"Lord Antaryon."
Victor did not stand up. He merely nodded faintly.
"I thought the Iron Bank only did business with kings, and never knelt."
"The Iron Bank only does business with winners."
Antaryon straightened up, his tone calm, as if the man who had just knelt was not him.
"The fall of Yunkai proves one thing: the old order has collapsed. That so-called 'Holy Alliance' was as fragile as a sandcastle in the face of your steel torrent."
He waved his hand.
An attendant opened the first box.
Inside were not gold coins, but stacks of contract documents sealed with fire lacquer.
"These are the debt certificates owed to the Iron Bank by House Lannister, House Baratheon, and all the great lords of the Seven Kingdoms."
Antaryon picked up the stack of priceless parchment.
"Totaling twelve million gold dragons."
"The Iron Bank is willing… to write them off in one stroke."
Tyrion's eyes widened. Twelve million gold dragons? That was enough to buy half of Westeros! Had the old man gone mad?
"And the conditions?" Victor remained unmoved.
"The conditions are very simple."
Antaryon opened the second box.
Inside was a large, exquisitely carved printing plate.
"The Iron Bank wishes to become the exclusive agent of the Westeros Federal Central Bank in the continent of Essos."
"We will assist you in promoting the 'Pompey Note' and suppressing the currencies of other city-states. Braavos will become your financial center in the East."
"As long as… you recognize Braavos's autonomy and guarantee that the Pompey legions will not enter Braavos's territorial waters."
This was an extremely tempting proposal.
Using debt to exchange for peace, and cooperation to exchange for survival. The Iron Bank not only did not want war, but also wanted to ride Victor's coattails and continue making money in the new era.
Tyrion was somewhat tempted. He lightly kicked Victor's shoe under the table.
But Victor only smiled.
He stood up, walked to the edge of the terrace, and turned his back to Antaryon.
"Twelve million gold dragons… is indeed a huge sum."
"But you have misunderstood one thing, Antaryon."
Victor turned around, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"Those debts were already bad debts, because the debtors (Cersei and the old lords) are nearly all dead. You want to exchange a pile of worthless paper you can never collect for my exclusive agency rights?"
"This…" Antaryon's expression changed slightly.
"What I want is not just agency rights."
Victor stepped closer to the banker.
"I have heard that Braavos possesses one of the wonders of the world — the Titan of Braavos."
"A two-hundred-foot-tall bronze giant that spans the entrance to the strait."
Antaryon's pupils suddenly contracted. "That is the symbol of Braavos, its guardian deity."
"Stop pretending."
Victor gave a cold laugh.
"My intelligence network tells me that it is not merely a statue. Its interior contains gears, pipes, and an energy core left by the ancient Valyrian Empire before Valyria."
"It is an ancient mecha, or rather, a giant defensive cannon tower."
Victor extended his hand.
"I want its design blueprints and control core."
"Hand it over, and Braavos may retain its autonomy. Otherwise…"
Victor pointed at Drogon behind him.
"I will personally dismantle it and see what is really inside."
The hall fell into dead silence.
Drogon seemed to understand his master's words. He cooperatively exhaled a breath of black smoke that smelled of sulfur.
Antaryon looked at the madman who even wanted to dismantle the Titan of Braavos.
He knew that the Iron Bank's final trump card had been seen through. In the face of absolute military power, guarding secrets was meaningless.
After a long time.
The old man let out a dejected sigh, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
"You have won, Regent."
With trembling hands, he pulled out a multi-faceted crystal of ancient design that emitted a faint blue light.
And a scroll made of unknown metal foil.
"This is the Heart of the Titan."
"It is the key to activating the 'Thunder System' inside the giant. This technology comes from the ancient empire before Valyria. We have studied it for centuries but have never fully understood it…"
Victor took the crystal.
[System Notification: High-energy magitech relic detected.]
[Analyzing…]
[Acquired Technologies: Large Magitech Power Furnace (incomplete), Sonic Oscillation Weapon Principles.]
Victor put away the crystal with satisfaction.
With this, his "giant mecha plan" or "super battleship power source" now had a foundation.
"Pleasant cooperation, President Antaryon."
Victor patted the old man on the shoulder.
"You will find that working with Pompey earns far more than your old usury business."
…
Late at night, the port of Yunkai.
After seeing off the Iron Bank delegation, Victor was in an excellent mood.
The East was secured, the money bag was stable, and black technology was now in hand.
Everything seemed to be developing in a wonderful direction.
However.
In the dark corners of this world, crisis would never be absent.
East of Blackwater Bay, in the depths of the Narrow Sea.
A ten-thousand-ton armed freighter flying the Pompey banner — the "Endeavour" — was sailing on the calm sea.
It was fully loaded with spices and gold being transported from the East to King's Landing.
The captain was smoking a pipe, gazing at the bright moonlight.
"Tonight is calm and clear — perfect weather."
Suddenly.
Thud!
A dull, heavy impact came from the bottom of the ship. The entire ten-thousand-ton vessel shuddered violently, as if it had struck a reef.
"What happened? Did we hit a reef?" the captain shouted.
"Impossible! The water here is two thousand meters deep!" the first mate looked at the simple sonar instrument (provided by Victor) in horror. "Captain! The sonar shows… there is a massive object beneath the ship! Extremely large!"
Splash————!!!
The sea surface exploded.
It was not blown apart by a bomb, but torn open by several despairingly thick tentacles!
Each tentacle was dozens of meters long, covered with suction cups the size of cartwheels and lined with barbs.
They wrapped around the hull of the "Endeavour" like pythons constricting their prey.
The steel hull emitted a sickening creaking sound under the enormous pressure.
Crack!
The sturdy keel was forcibly snapped!
"Help! Sea monster! It's a sea monster!"
The sailors fired desperately at the sea surface, but the bullets had no effect on the slippery tentacles.
Beside the breaking hull, a ghostly warship surfaced.
It was the "Silence."
It was more dilapidated than before, yet also more eerie.
Euron Greyjoy stood at the bow. Where his severed arm had been, a semi-transparent tentacle now grew. His single eye glowed with a faint blue light under the moonlight.
In his hand, he held the Dragon Horn that had been lost and recovered, now repaired and strengthened.
"Scream… mortals."
Euron looked at the giant ship being dragged into the abyss by the sea monster (kraken), his face twisted with sick joy.
"Victor Pompey thought he had conquered the land."
"But he forgot…"
"Seventy percent of this world is water."
Euron raised his tentacle-like arm and pointed west — toward King's Landing.
"The Drowned God has awakened."
"We will sink the steel… into the sea."
Early access to upcoming chapters is available on Patreon.
Support the translator and binge ahead! patreon.com/arthursink Means a lot – thank you! ✍️