Braavos was composed of hundreds of small islands. On its outskirts lay a series of ring-shaped islands resembling walls, tightly encircling and guarding the lagoon, with only a narrow strait at the location of the Titan of Braavos.
This ring of mountainous islands protected the Braavosi from storms and tsunamis coming from the Narrow Sea to the west and the Shivering Sea to the north.
Now, it also shielded the sea vessel carrying the Dragon Queen from the line of sight of the Braavos fleet.
Tonight, there was no moon. Beneath the dim night sky, a 30-meter-long flat-bottom cargo ship silently lay anchored to the northeast of the ring-shaped island range, separated from the Sea Lord's Palace by a jagged mountain ridge dozens of meters high and a lagoon stretching seven or eight kilometers wide.
This location wasn't particularly remote; ships heading eastward toward Ibben often took this route.
However, very few ships ever stopped here.
"They're here." Dany stood at the ship's bow, her gaze seemingly piercing through the mountains to glimpse the Sea Lord's Palace in the distance.
"At this hour, only a portion of the government officials remain in the Sea Lord's Palace. The families of the guards and doctors are scattered across Braavos and won't suffer too greatly," said Jello Daen.
Over the past three or four hours, his hair and undergarments had already dried out from the charcoal fire lit on the deck.
"I'm only instilling fear. No matter what, two dragons cannot destroy all of Braavos," Dany sighed.
"Will the Braavosi be afraid? Will they yield?"
"They'll definitely be afraid, but most likely won't truly submit. The Long Night is approaching—a temporary submission is enough."
Jello's violet pupils contracted. He hesitated, then said, "The Braavosi believe that the Others and the Long Night are not directly related."
"That's true. The Others have existed for who knows how many years. In fact, they've always been in the Land of Always Winter, never truly vanishing. But this time is different. I hatched the dragons, and the Others are advancing south of the Wall—these are omens. Omens of great change in the world.
And I've personally come into contact with the Others. They were assessing the strength of me and my dragons—just like gathering intel before a major war. Make no mistake, this winter won't end easily. This is the Long Night."
Jello's strong, square jaw gradually relaxed, as if he were helplessly accepting this cruel reality.
After a while, he asked in a dry voice, "What should I do next?"
"When I've beaten Braavos into submission, you'll lead the fleet to the eastern coast to receive the Free Folk. Do you see it?" Dany extended her right hand, pointing to a dim red spot in the pitch-black sky.
"A shooting star?"
"Ahhhh—!" the cat girl, now wide awake, tossed aside her blanket and started jumping excitedly at the front of the wooden boat, pointing to the sky and screaming, "A meteor! A meteor is falling toward the docks! Get out of the way!"
"What mete—" Brusco had been complaining to a nearby fisherman about when the treasurer would finally pay him the promised ten silvers so he could go home.
When he saw the cat girl stomping the small boat until it rocked wildly, he flew into a rage.
But the moment he looked up, he too saw the meteor growing ever brighter.
Fiery red, like a blazing red sword slashing across the sky, crashing down like thunder—like divine punishment from the heavens!
"RUMBLE—RUMBLE—" Gradually, even without the cat girl's screaming reminders, a thunderous roar erupted above the docks. Everyone looked up. Everyone turned pale with terror. Everyone ran for their lives in a frenzy.
"A meteorite! A meteorite is coming!" Tens of thousands shouted in fear, yet their cries were still drowned by the deafening roar of the falling meteorite, which sounded like a tornado howling right next to their ears.
"Ahhh! The meteor—it's crashing into the Sea Lord's Palace!" the cat girl cried out in terror, her face twisted in panic.
But in the end, she couldn't even hear her own screams anymore.
The sky blazed with a flash of crimson. Then, great sound vanished into great silence—the sky, the land, the sea, and the wooden boat all trembled violently, yet no sound could be heard anymore.
Or rather, their ears were completely filled with the explosion's deafening blast—no room remained for any other sound.
"BOOOOM!!"
The grand Sea Lord's Palace, made of marble, was like a fresh cow pat struck by a stone. When the blazing red meteorite fell, its sturdy stone walls offered no resistance. Huge chunks shattered and scattered in all directions.
Before their eyes, the towering stone palace that once overlooked the Purple Harbor exploded into rubble amid red light and smoke. The domed roof and walls disintegrated, the foundation shattered, and a hailstorm of broken stones pelted out in every direction.
Some of the rocks were as large as carriages, others as big as millstones, some the size of human heads—and even more were smaller than fists.
The edges of the plaza were affected too. Within thirty to fifty meters of the palace, barely anyone was left standing. Cries of agony filled the air, corpses lay everywhere.
A full minute passed before the cat girl's hearing returned. Staring at the nearly vanished Sea Lord's Palace, she stood frozen, her expression blank in disbelief.
The round domed building had been twenty meters tall, built atop a hill ten meters above the harbor, covering over 400 square meters, made of white marble, facing north toward the Purple Harbor docks.
This was the hall where the Sea Lord held court.
Now, the eastern section of the palace had completely vanished, leaving behind a steaming, seemingly bottomless crater. The western walls had collapsed outward in a radial pattern.
"Oh gods, is this divine punishment? The meteor struck the Sea Lord's Palace dead-on?" Brusco knelt at the bow of his boat, clutching his head and wailing.
"Punishment…" the cat girl mouthed the word repeatedly. Suddenly, her gray eyes bulged, her whole body shuddered, her long horse-like face turned ghostly pale as she cried out, "The Demon Dragon! It's the Demon Dragon's punishment! Deathwing plucked a star from the sky and hurled it down on the Sea Lord's Palace!"
"Demon Dragon?" Brusco froze and looked up at the sky, now empty. "There's no Demon Dragon."
Well... the demon dragon couldn't fly as fast as a meteorite.
At this very moment, Big Black was still on the way to his dramatic entrance.
On the day Daenerys seized Dragonstone, Jero Dayne happened to arrive in Braavos. He didn't immediately seek an audience with the Sea Lord but, as per Daenerys' instructions, carried out three tasks in advance.
First, he selected a safe negotiation site—an inn or hotel near a river or the sea. Second, he renovated the hotel to include a secret passageway that led quickly to the riverbed. Third, he hired a ship from Dorne and purchased a batch of supplies.
Several round-headed iron pillars, each weighing around 500 pounds, and barrels of wildfire, each weighing about 100 pounds, were transported by cargo ship to the open sea outside Braavos.
As the world's leading trade city-state, Braavos' commercial district had no trouble supplying these goods.
These arrangements were merely precautionary. If the Braavosi were willing to negotiate honestly, she certainly wouldn't have initiated conflict.
But facts proved that human nature cannot withstand temptation.
For the first time, Daenerys genuinely admired Xiang Yu.
How many warlords, tyrants, and political elites have ever honored rules or upheld their dignity when faced with a "Liu Bang" entering their domain?
As for Copernicus' so-called coup—sorry, she wasn't a fool, nor did she possess the "Holy Blood of Madness." Such tricks had no effect on her.
—Regardless of whether Copernicus' coup had the Iron Vault's or the ruling council's silent approval, the fact remained that Braavos had struck at her.
Still, Daenerys did feel genuine regret for Sea Lord Ferrego and First Sword Quhuro.
The two were undoubtedly innocent. They had upheld their oaths and fulfilled their duties as hosts.
Unfortunately, politics is inherently filthy. No matter how noble one's character or how great their honor, both are tarnished once politics enters the equation.
All she could do was ensure that the "Falling Meteor" would land as far away from the Sea Lord's palace as possible, sparing Ferrego's family.
After being blocked by fishing nets, Blackfyre and Whitefyre flew to the cargo ship anchored on the Shivering Sea. Whitefyre set Jero down on the deck, while Blackfyre, assisted by the Dornish sailors, gripped the chain attached to the iron pillar and began the second act of their improvised "Meteor Fall."
Uh, the first act had been presented to the people of New Ghis—and failed.
Blackfyre circled upward, climbing for over an hour, and finally hovered at an altitude of around 35 kilometers.
This time, Daenerys wasn't guiding him as a targeting coordinate. Instead, through their dual dragon soul connection, Blackfyre and Whitefyre sensed each other. Whitefyre locked onto the target and dove vertically, while at the same moment, Blackfyre accelerated downward carrying the round-headed iron pillar.
Blackfyre—Whitefyre—the Sea Lord's Menagerie—all aligned in a perfect line.
In theory, the iron pillar should have fallen inside the Menagerie, crushing the hundreds of rare and exotic animals collected by the Sea Lord from all corners of the world.
As it turned out, it was far better than the last attempt in New Ghis. The iron pillar didn't shatter and missed the target by less than a hundred meters, landing on the eastern side of the grand hall where the Sea Lord was holding court.
As soon as the iron pillar was dropped, Blackfyre began his descent, circling downward. After more than fifteen minutes of flight, he reappeared in the skies above Purple Harbor.
By then, some time had passed since the "Meteor Fall," and the Braavosi had already recovered from their initial shock. Some were busy rescuing the injured, others inspected the crater—more than ten meters deep—while still others stood in the square, wailing for lost family members.
But the majority, once regaining their senses, immediately boarded boats to flee this cursed land.
Then, a familiar, terrifying voice echoed in the sky.
"This is the Forbidden Curse of the Dragon God—Meteor Fall!"
"With my left hand I raise the stars, with my right I cast them down. When I bring my hands together, heaven and earth tremble in my palms!"
"I am the Bringer of Light, the Vanguard of Justice, the Prophet of Fate, and also the Deathwing. To bring death and fear is not my will—but if the world is to become purer and holier, then the filth and decay must be cleansed."
"Oathbreakers, this is only the beginning! Tremble, weep, wail—repent in agony!"
Blackfyre's voice amplifier activated, and through his massive voice, Daenerys broadcast her grandiose proclamations—er, she rained down endless fear and despair upon the people of Braavos.
Then he let out another roar—and flew off.
But this time, no one truly believed the demonic dragon had left.
"The demon dragon's gone to fetch another star from the sky!" People screamed in terror and fled Purple Harbor in every direction.
In the Sea Lord's palace, the buildings untouched by the meteor were also in chaos. Numerous handmaidens, guards, and officials crowded around the Sea Lord's family, escorting them to the canal to flee by boat from this dragon-cursed island.
They were mistaken.
The second meteor did indeed fall two hours later—but not on the now-empty Sea Lord's palace.
Daenerys' second target was the armory.
Located on a reef island at the mouth of the Great Lagoon, the island jutted out from the water like a clenched fist.
Though not large, it served as the station for Braavos' city fleet and was the center of the city's shipbuilding operations.
To be honest, the second "Meteor Fall" was far less spectacular than the first. It landed on a shipyard, blasting out a crater seven or eight meters deep.
A dozen or so night-shift shipwrights died. Two dry docks were destroyed, along with several ships under construction.
But the terror it instilled in the Braavosi was no less than the first.
Killing a hundred Sea Lords wouldn't shake Braavos' dominant position among the Free Cities. But if the armory was destroyed—Even if ships and shipwrights fled immediately, Braavos' shipbuilding industry would suffer irreversible damage.
(End of Chapter)
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