Chapter 120: The Battle of Tumbleton
(Third Person POV)
Vermithor let out a roar and swooped down with tremendous speed, nearing closer to the ground, aiming for the outside of the town.
Aerion hunched forward, holding the handles of the saddles, "Dracarys."
The Bronze Fury opened his maw and unleashed a massive stream of dragonfire at the edge of the camp that was outside of the town. The flames caused massive explosions of flames that spread out across the ground, setting tents ablaze as Vermithor quickly swooped back up into the sky. Despite creating a massive explosion that scattered horses and soldiers, not a lot of men were harmed by the attack.
This was a warning sweep. A chance to for the Stormlanders to recover and compose themselves for the real fight.
Back inside the town, Borros was shouting orders, "Archers!!!" He bellowed, "Take the roofs!! Unleash a fury of arrows up at that wretched beast!!"
"But My Lord!" a knight exclaimed, "Arrows will not reach so high!"
"I don't give a damn!!" Borros shouted, "Do something to stall!! Set up the fucking Scorpion, what the hells are you doing?!"
"Yes!!!" they all shouted in unison as Borros went and grabbed his hammer from his horse
"Where is my fucking Squire?! Get me my fucking armor now!!!" He bellowed as veins popped on his forehead, "I will not let a twerp burn my army down!!"
Back to the outside of the town, above in the sky, Vermithor circled round, letting out a roar as a massive wall of flames raged at the edge of the massive camp. Aerion saw many men scattering about, gathering their wits.
"Hm." He said, "Come now, I intend to give you a fighting chance. Not like it'll do you any good."
Aerion steered Vermithor downwards, only around 40 meters from the ground, and began to fly back towards the camp, this time he intended to actually do some damage to the forces.
As Vermithor flew closer, Aerion noticed a couple of volleys of arrows that flew towards them.
"Ah." Aerion said as he steered Vermithor a bit higher, "That's more like it."
"Dracarys, Vermithos"
As Vermithor ascended higher, he unleashed another stream of flames. This time, the dragonfire hit the camp, causing an explosion of flames that bathed dozens of men, melting their armor to their bones, and being reduced to ash. The screams that followed the sounds of raging flames were disturbing, something out of a nightmare. The smell of burning flesh immediately filled the air, mixed with the stench of melting armor and burnt fabric.
But none of this fazed Aerion Targaryen.
The Stormlanders have made their choice and this was the consequence of not bending the knee. Even someone as honorable as Aerion knew that when it came to War, mercy was not something that was on the table.
Vermithor swooped back up into the sky, flapping his massive wings that cracked in the air, a terrifying sight to the surrounding forces that had just processed the attack. The Bronze Dragonlord looked down at the sight he created, flames raging as it burned everything. A massive portion of the southern side of the town's camp was set ablaze. All around the Town, there was nothing but tents and guard towers, set up by the Baratheon forces. He was well aware that there was a lot of work to be done.
"Hm." Aerion said as he looked down and heard the screams
"Aghh!!" a soldier yelled as his arm was set ablaze, stumbling into the ground as he rolled in agony
There were horses scattering, some were caught ablaze as well, something that Aerion did not intend for but could not do much about. He saw that some men were running, trying to escape the flames. Most of them, however, were composing themselves and sounding alarms with their horns as some drew their weapons, rallying up for a counter-attack.
But what good will a counter-attack do against a Dragon if they did not have a dragon of their own? All they could do is attempt to stall the Bronze Fury as they set up their only hope of a fighting chance; The Scorpion.
However, Aerion Targaryen had faced Scorpions before and Vermithor was no stranger to them. But they shall see how they fared.
"Another one." Aerion commanded in High-Valyrian, "Not over yet."
Vermithor was circling around the town, seeing nothing but futile attempts at arrow volleys being fired at them. He then let out a deafening roar as Aerion steered him to swoop back down, aiming back at the southern camp.
In a matter of seconds, Vermithor unleashed another stream of flames in his third sweep, this one was much longer and set ablaze a massive portion of the camp. The explosions that followed were enough to force the men to run away, trying to avoid the heat of the flames. There was nothing but smoke and flames that replaced that side of the camp, screams filling the air along with said smoke and flames.
Back in the actual town, Archers were set up on the roof and were firing arrows at Vermithor, who was easily avoiding the volleys by flying above them.
Borros was running towards his horse as he was putting his helmet on, he had barely donned his armor, "Fuck's sake..." He said, "Set that Scorpion up!"
"If Vermithor sweeps through the town, we're done for!" a Knight exclaimed
"Aerion Targaryen won't destroy the town, he's aiming for our men outside. Have our forces fill the streets and unleash every fucking arrow we have until that Scorpion is ready!!" Borros exclaimed, "Take me to the highest roof, I'll take him out if necessary!"
"M-My Lord?" the knight said
"Hurry the fuck up!!!" Borros exclaimed
As they began to take their horses a bit further inside the town, Vermithor swept around Tumbleton's perimeter, setting ablaze the edges of the men's camp. This was a strange tactic, creating a barrier of flames that would force the men to retreat inward to the town.
Now, if it were any other dragonrider that cared not for the potential deaths of innocents, it was a wise tactic. Forcing them inside in a tight space in order to unleash dragonfire and destroy everything was a brilliant strategy. But Borros was correct, Aerion didn't plan on sacking the town, as the possibility of innocents being in there was high. This was the case, after the Baratheon forces took the town, most of the smallfolk evacuated but some were forced to stay and attend to the soldiers.
Aerion looked down and saw the walls of flames he quickly created, "They're all scattering....many of them are retreating away from the town..." He said, "Good....but most of them are swarming the streets of the town.....even better...."
Within the next two minutes, Vermithor quickly swept down, unleashing flames all around Tumbleton's camp, the flames spreading out and forcing a good majority of the Baratheon forces inside the town. Considering that Lord Borros was right, the soldiers felt more at ease since Vermithor did not once fly over the town itself, only around it outside.
Vermithor then stopped breathing fire and everyone saw that he began to fly away into the distance, seemingly retreating.
"I-Is it over?" a knight said, "So quick.....everything burned in a matter of minutes...the gods are cruel, causing this....."
Borros, who was atop a roof, scowled, "That fucking boy..." He said, "What is he planning?"
Vermithor let out a roar and immediately circled back, flying right back to the town with tremendous speed.
"Is the Scorpion set up?!" Borros said, "You fuckers had days to do so!!!!"
"Yes, My Lord!!!" a soldier called out
"Aim and fire at the fucking thing!! NOW!!!" Borros bellowed
At the highest point of the tallest building, a single Scorpion ballista was set up, loaded with the massive bolt as it aimed at Vermithor who let out a roar.
They then fired the Scorpion, releasing the bolt with blinding speed. But as if Aerion had foreseen this, he had Vermithor evade it with ease, the massive bolt zipping past the massive dragon.
"WHAT?!" Borros exclaimed
"Angos"
Vermithor swooped down to the roof of the Scorpion ballista and swiped his talons at it, grabbing it like a falcon grabs a rabbit. In that immediate moment, Vermithor ripped the Scorpion out of the roof and crushed it with ease.
He then flew towards the most open part of the town and landed hard, breaking off some pieces of the town's buildings as he bit at some soldiers, ripping them apart with his massive teeth. He crawled forward, crushing anyone caught in his way with his massive wings as he flung the pieces of soldiers he ripped apart, letting out a vicious roar into the air.
Aerion then dismounted Vermithor, jumping from his saddle and landed on the ground, right under his neck as Vermithor leaned forward growling viciously.
The soldiers in front of him were shocked "I-It's Aerion!!!" one shouted
Aerion Targaryen, clad in his full Valyrian-Steel armor with his cloak flowing in the wind, stood there in front of Vermithor, staring down the army of men that stood in front of him.
He grabbed the handle of Lamentation and Lady Rhea, "How many...? A hundred in this street? Maybe more?" He said seriously as he took a step forward, "The Gods have given you a fighting chance. It is only me."
He drew his swords as Vermithor let out a roar, "You know what to do, Old Grouch." He said,
"Time to get to work."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone