It felt like a long time had passed, yet the dragonflame demon blade that had pierced up from beneath the sea never reappeared.The cat asked nervously, "Did the demon dragon leave?"
Yes, Arya was quite lucky—her boat hadn't been among the dozen or so fishing vessels consumed by the demonic flames.
That was mainly because there were simply too many boats on the sea—two or three thousand of them scattered like stars around Purple Harbor.
Even without fishing nets, their sheer number made it impossible for the black dragon to burn them all.
"He'll be back. Didn't you hear what he said? He's been enraged," Bruce swallowed hard, his voice filled with concern. "Who knows what other vicious means he has? In any case, Braavos is in serious trouble.
What were the Sea King and the others thinking?
Why violate the oath? Why go against the rights of guests?"
By the end, even this slightly cunning but pitiful fisherman couldn't help but grumble about the government.
Even the fishermen, whose jobs weren't particularly dangerous yet still earned them ten silver glimmer coins, resented the government's betrayal.
As for the wealthy merchants and lenders whose ships were docked at Purple Harbor—they were absolutely furious.
"What is the meaning of this? Why have we Braavosi violated sacred oaths and trampled on guest rights?" someone shouted toward the tightly shut Sea King Palace doors.
At that moment, the square between the Sea King Palace and Purple Harbor's docks was packed with panicked crowds.
There were lucky sea merchants whose ships were still surrounded by flames, anxiously urging their sailors to put out the fires.There were also the unlucky ones—over two hundred large vessels were burned by the demon dragon, and some had lost their entire livelihoods. These people now collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
From the docks, sailors and crew members of the Purple Sails Fleet fled ashore—some with soot-blackened faces, frantically searching for water; some drenched head to toe, lying on stone slabs gasping for air; some were burned, their charred and soaked wounds exposed as they wailed in agony, while their companions shouted for healers.Others carried buckets and stretchers, rushing to the docks to stop the fire from spreading and rescue those still trapped on burning or sunken ships.
"Bang, bang, bang!" Despite all the shouting and cursing, the Sea King Palace remained tightly sealed. No one responded. Enraged, a merchant repeatedly kicked the thick oak door.
"Sea King Ferrego! Come out! Come out and answer to the Dragon Queen! Come out and calm the demon dragon's fury—Ferrego!" the merchant roared.
Unfortunately, they didn't yet know that old Ferrego was long dead.
Inside the Sea King Palace, the officials were equally unaware of the scheming by the Watchers and the Scholars. They genuinely believed the Sea King had committed an unforgivable atrocity.
Hearing the public's outrage outside, not only did they not dare come out to appease the crowd, but they also grew increasingly guilty and terrified. They bolted the doors tightly, fearing the furious citizens and merchants might burst in and tear them apart.
Of course, Braavos' leadership wasn't limited to the dozen or so scholars and nine Watchers aboard the Purple Ship.
In fact, there were hundreds of Iron Bank keyholders and over a thousand shareholders—the nine Watchers were merely elected representatives.
Even if the black dragon's fire nearly wiped out the entire council, it couldn't fully cripple Braavos' administrative and military command systems.
However, electing a new Sea King, forming a new council, and reorganizing leadership would take time—and tonight was destined to be chaotic.
As for the "False Sea King" Coperny Yalason...
After his failed attempt to capture the Dragon Queen—and dragging the Sea King, scholars, and Watchers to their deaths in the process—he had completely lost control of the Purple Sails.(Though, truthfully, he never truly controlled them in the first place.)
His dream of ruling Braavos as Sea King had become an unattainable fantasy.
Forget the Sea King—right now, all he cared about was staying alive.
"We must not compromise. Why should we give her an answer? We haven't lost! Braavos has a fleet stronger than the Allied Forces, more wealth—we can attack Dragonstone, hire mercenaries to invade Slaver's Bay, ally with the Iron Throne... We have too many options to fight her. Why should we surrender? Why apologize?"
Upstream on the canal, on Springwater Island—eight kilometers southeast of Waterlogged Town—inside a nondescript gray stone house, Coperny waved his arms passionately, trying to rouse the fighting spirit of his new colleagues.
In just one or two hours, his makeshift regime had already come together.
And it wasn't entirely fake—these acting scholars and Watchers had the tacit approval of Iron Bank shareholders.
In terms of function, they weren't all that different from legitimate council members.
Still, they were temporary, tasked only with handling the crisis involving the Mother of Dragons. Once the situation was resolved, they were to disband immediately, as none of them actually qualified to become full scholars or Watchers.
To become a scholar, one needed not only sufficient knowledge and administrative wisdom, but more importantly, the right lineage—your family had to hold the hereditary title of "Scholar."
It was just like noble titles in Westeros. Take Lucian, who had been slain by Daenerys on Dragonstone—his father, Damian Lannister, was currently the acting Lord of Casterly Rock.
But Damian was from a cadet branch. Unless every member of Tywin's main line was wiped out, he could never become the Warden of the West or Duke of Casterly Rock.
Bessaro's pudgy face was full of helplessness. "Your Majesty Sea King, the damage at Purple Harbor is beyond what we can bear.
Worse yet, the demon dragon can talk. Before we even launched a public narrative, it shouted the entire story itself. With that booming voice, half the city's residents and merchants have already heard."
"Even the merchants at the Old Clothes Pier know, Your Majesty Coperny Sea King. You must deal with this quickly, or the Iron Bank's thousand-year reputation will be ruined," a square-faced acting scholar said solemnly.
"If word spreads, the Iron Bank's global credibility will suffer. That's something the shareholders will absolutely not tolerate," the acting Watchers added in unison.
Coperny's eyes gleamed. Clenching his teeth, he declared, "Gentlemen, Braavos is the strongest nation in the world, the leader among the Nine Free Cities. If we surrender now, what will the world think?
Will the Iron Bank ever again dare to say, 'The Iron Bank does not forgive debt' with confidence?"
The square-faced acting scholar ground his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, we don't have to surrender to that woman. If there's any hope of victory—no, even if we can simply avoid greater losses—then going to war with her is an option."
A swarthy, yellow-brown-skinned old man from the Jogos Nhai tribe nodded and said, "Yes, Ziggurport was burned to the ground. Thousands of Purple Cloaks, local merchants, and sailors were burned alive. Such a deep-seated hatred... If only we could kill Deathwing."
At that, the short and stout old man shuddered and added, "Deathwing is too terrifying. Killing him should be a higher priority than the Dragon Queen.
Otherwise, even if we manage to kill the Dragon Queen, Deathwing will haunt Braavos like a nightmare.
Everyone heard it—he called himself the 'eldest son of the Dragon Mother.' What son wouldn't avenge his mother?"
Though he had Jogos Nhai blood, the old man was a true Braavosi. His ancestors were among the original Moon Singers who founded Braavos.
"Yes, Deathwing is a far more terrifying enemy than the Dragon Queen. Who would've thought a demonic dragon could be so intelligent? It speaks, it dives underwater, it understands strategic retreat, and it avoids ballistae and fishing nets. It's smarter than a human." Everyone nodded in somber agreement.
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"Your Majesty, during the Valyrian era, the Arathon family was nobler than the Targaryens. Do you know the true nature of Deathwing?" the fat man, Besalo, asked gravely.
"My family is just a side branch," Copernicus said with a conflicted expression. "In Valyria's six-thousand-year history, over ten thousand dragons existed. I can't say for sure if any of them ever spoke.
You should ask the Matalis. They secretly joined the coalition and clearly have designs on Daenerys.
In fact, the secret that Daenerys inherited the Grand Sorcerer's legacy was leaked by them.
Maybe the Matalis are direct descendants of the Thirteen Fire Peaks. They probably know more hidden truths."
"We can investigate Deathwing's secrets later. I just want to confirm one thing: can Braavos's defense forces stop the demonic dragon from wreaking havoc again?" asked the square-faced acting magistrate.
Copernicus nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, of course. Dragon ballistae are part of Braavos's standing defenses. Over hundreds of years, we've accumulated more than a thousand of them. We are well-prepared against threats from the skies.
And we've received word from Ziggurport that fishing nets can indeed entangle the sea-dwelling demon dragon. And we have no shortage of nets.
Killing Deathwing is impossible, but once we neutralize his attacks from the sky and sea, he won't be able to do much more damage."
"But before Deathwing left, he said he was enraged. It seems he's going to go berserk," the short, fat Jogos Nhai man said worriedly.
"Let him rage! I don't believe he's that formidable! He's just a dragon not even three years old. So what if he can talk? Big deal!" Copernicus shouted, tugging at his collar.
Of course, it was a big deal. The first time we heard his declaration as Deathwing, we were all scared out of our wits.
Everyone nodded silently. "Let's hope that's true."
The demonic dragon had been gone for quite a while. From the time he left after making his threat to the moment the fire at Ziggurport was fully brought under control, more than two hours had passed.
Just as the crowd, full of unease, began debating whether the dragon had run out of tricks or had simply chosen to abandon punishing Braavos, Cantona returned with a large detachment of Purple Cloaks from the flooded town.
While helping to restore order at the port, Captain Cantona stood in the center of the crowd, eyes filled with a readiness for death, and solemnly confirmed the coup.
"For the peace and stability of the Nine Free Trade Cities, I, along with Cantona, supported Lord Copernicus in launching a coup, taking control of the council, and overthrowing Ferrego. As of now, Lord Copernicus is the new Sea Lord of Braavos."
The citizens of Ziggurport were shocked and furious upon hearing this. They erupted in rage, cursing at Cantona and the Purple Cloaks, loudly protesting the coup.
Before long, officials within the Sea Lord's palace received news of the coup. The heavy doors creaked open, and the old Sea Lord's palace steward walked out alone. Facing the people in the square, his eyes brimming with tears, voice choked with grief, he said word by word, as if bleeding from his heart:
"Braavos has not forsaken its honor, nor has it broken the sacred laws of hospitality.
Sea Lord Ferrego and First Sword Quello gave their lives to protect Queen Daenerys.
They fulfilled their duties as hosts, doing everything they could to protect their guest.
His Majesty the Sea Lord upheld his sworn vow and defended the honor of Braavos!"
The citizens around the square were filled with righteous indignation and cried out passionately, "Long live Sea Lord Ferrego! Down with the coup! Disarm the Purple Cloaks!"
"What use are these words now? Do you think the Dragon Queen cares whether we had a coup or not? The demonic dragon's revenge won't be delayed just because of a regime change," sighed the scruffy fisherman, Ross.
Nearby, on a fishing boat, Arya—wrapped in a wool blanket and dozing off—rubbed her eyes at those words, groggily looked up at the sky, and said, "The demon dragon's gone, right? We've got ballistae and fishing nets. What more can Deathwing really—Ah! The sky! Look! A meteor! A meteor is crashing down on Ziggurport!"
(End of Chapter)
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