Capítulo 41: 22
Chapter 22 Opening Shots
My return was not triumphant. Not only did we leave without conquering the area we suffered huge losses. Despite everything almost a third of my samurai had died. Died on a scouting mission with expected light resistance. What a joke.
That turned out to only be the beginning of my problems. Parts of my gate network were down and fires and explosives had been set off. Saboteurs and assassins had struck throughout much of my empire poisoning supplies and important nobles and officials.
The only good news was that despite their secrecy and surprise they weren't stealthy. At least not now that they had acted. The priests of R'hllor were particularly easy to spot. They raved madly as they struck and screamed in defiance to all around them. The Faceless and Sorrowful Men both were identified by their trademarks. Shapeshifting and their catchphrase.
It seemed to be the work of only those three groups primarily. Members of all three had been captured but were just being held, waiting for my orders. Despite my absence and the state of emergency not much else had been done. I should probably start distributing power soon. I can't have my empire paralyzed in situations like this.
I of course ordered the torture and interrogation of all of them. I didn't really wait though. I had my own ways of gathering information. I sent out for reports from my spies as well as started scrying.
The results were almost unbelievable. It was like the whole world had gone mad in the few weeks I had been absent. Even before if the sheer amount of preparations were any indication. I double checked but everything agreed. I was now at war with most of the known world.
Assassins had wiped out most of the Baratheon and Lannister lines. Aegon had been crowned almost without any opposition. With griffins and wildfire he had destroyed the Iron Born, devastating their fleet and even lands. He was already moving to consolidate his reign by marching north to battle the mountain clans and wildlings there.
He had a lot more support from Daenerys than I had even suspected. Tons of supplies were being shipped over to equip all the people he was sending north. He was even emptying out large portions of King's Landing. It was clear he intended to settle them in the north to tie them closer together.
It was brilliant and I'd admire it if he hadn't already made several proclamations. They included support for New Valyria. Condemnation of me and my empire. Demands to returns Dragonstone and Skagos. And of course intent to wage war against me.
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New Valyria was worse. I actually caught a glimpse of Daenerys, but only because he had left Volantis. Left, marching at the head of a massive army. She was giving a speech about purging the stain from her family tree.
The army itself was impressive. I know Volantis used a lot of elephants and now elephantmen. I hadn't realized just how many until now. There were thousands of them marching in formation. All of them wearing heavy armor that had a fold out platform in the back for archers. Massive maces and shields completed their gear. A few had very large version of the repeating crossing on their backs.
Tigermen held pride of place at the head of the infantry. No doubt eager to prove their faith. There were other types of beastmen present, but none of them seemed like soldiers. Instead they filled the normal support roles.
A second army had joined them, also made of beastmen. They flew the banner of Myr and I have no idea how I missed them when I scried the city before. They were all porcupinemen. Their hunched over forms clearly bristled with long thin quills.
They each seemed to pull a small cart with their supplies. It made sense since they couldn't wear a pack. They also were each armed with a chain crossbow. Some of them had a few quivers already filled with their quills hanging from the carts. It was another move that I'd applaud if I wasn't facing it.
None of the beastmen seemed very fast and none were mounted. The porcupinemen in particular were fairly slow. That sadly wasn't much of a weakness because what they did have was Dothraki.
The Dothraki easily out number both of the other armies combined. I'm betting most of the khals left have joined. I guess I know where they get their repeating crossbows from now.
The Dothraki rode a bit off to the side and seemed to follow the commands of the red priests who were riding with them. I couldn't figure out why until I noticed a bolt of fire leave one the wagons. A figure flies out before bursting into ash. But not before I recognize it.
That was a blaze!
They had access to the Nether! I quickly scan the rest of the army, but can't find any other examples of Nether materials. In fact the wagon I first noticed was the only one made from iron. On a hunch I scried Vaes Dothrak and found it filled with Dothraki. There was a large pit where I had buried the blaze spawner. I'd wonder how they found it, but I already know. I really hate magical spying.
Still this is bad enough. If they can control blazes they now have a source of an unlimited number of them. I almost freak out as visions of skies full of blazes wipe out everything.
Wait.
Why haven't they done something like that already?
Thinking about it, they must have trouble controlling them. Also I saw it turn to ash. It must be vulnerable to sunlight. Not really something I ever considered in the game. I guess they do kind of look like undead. Learn something new every day.
While I thought about the blaze I noticed something odd. They weren't moving straight north. Their path was odd, heading mostly East along the Demon Road.
Scrying down the road revealed why. The road was secured already. Dozens of small forts protected the road, all obviously new. Worse the road now ended at a city that was also new.
They were meeting up with yet another army. This one made up of a new type of beastmen. Snakemen. Worse they were dressed in the distinctive armor of Unsullied. Just how many places were using blood magic? And how many of them intended to attack me?
Thousands upon thousands of snakemen Unsullied marched in lockstep. More than made sense. Astrapor in the story had less than ten thousand Unsullied in their entire city. There were at least three times that many currently on the road.
Mantarys was also sending a large force of cavalry which was riding along side the beastmen. At least these troops were human.
Curious about the Unsullied I scried Astrapor. It was depressing. They were also sending troops. This time human Unsullied. Only around six thousand, but their numbers are supplemented by crossbowmen from Yunkai and swordsmen from Mereen.
At least they don't seem to be using beastmen.
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Of course that couldn't be the only good news. The presence of Sorrowful Men means that Qarth is somehow involved. I quickly scry on them and find their walls protect against scrying just like Volantis. It doesn't stop me from seeing the army marching away from it's walls.
The army itself is not surprisingly more beastmen. Really beginning to get tired of that. The beastmen are different again. The basiliskmen towered over everyone, easily the same size as the elephantmen New Valyria was fielding.
Not sure how they controlled them either. My own attempts had all ended in disasters. Basilisks were just vicious. New Valyria seemed to agree since they only used them for pit fighting. However they control them it works well since they have hundreds of basiliskmen marching in formation.
The other type of beastman took me a bit to figure out. It was obviously a reptile, but the organic armor threw me off. Eventually I figured it out and it was brilliant. They used a tortoise. The armor is part of them, a reshaped shell essentially.
I only figure it out because of the armor both types of beastmen are wearing. It's stone and oddly shaped with ripples and ridges randomly placed. It didn't take long to realize it was made from coral.
The time I spent staring at the beastmen also revealed something much worse. They didn't eat. They also didn't drink or sleep or even breath. They weren't alive. Somehow every single one of them were undead and marching during the day. They had figured out how to protect them from sunlight!
The army wasn't entirely undead. A large number of wagons were being pulled by giant undead goats of all things. The wagons were enormous and housed a number of people. Given most dressed as if from Asshai, I'm assuming they're magic practitioners of some sort. There is also a red priestess I recognize.
Hello Melisandre. So that's where you ran off too. I had wondered where you went since Stannis died. Next to her was a man I almost didn't recognize. Viserys.
Huh. He was alive this whole time. Time had not favored him. He was gaunt now and his lips were blue as were his eyes. It seems he's practicing magic now. I wonder how much he knows?
The cluster of children that swirl around them is a surprise. He's more than old enough to have started fathering bastards. I didn't think him the type to keep them around though. Especially since he seems to be just ignoring them.
The kids are looked after by the only living troops. He has a number of a smaller mercenary companies with him. They tend to camp a bit away from the undead. All except one.
I don't recognize them, but they don't seem to mind the undead. That might be because they seemed to serve as overseers rather than fighters. Thousands of brindled men were herded around by them.
It was easy to tell what they were for. Every time one dropped it was loaded onto the wagon in the back. Within an hour a fresh zombie would step out. It was actually a very clever way of working around how long it take to raise something.
The mercenary company also rides around on large carts pulled by more undead. Like the wagons they had wicker coverings more for shade than rain. They also glowed when night fell, somehow preserving that property from the ghost grass they're woven from.
Every cart holds a large repeating crossbow. They're identical to the ones the elephantmen are carrying. If nothing else that alone is proof Viserys is communicating with Daenerys somehow. I don't like the proliferation of large projectile weapons. It seems like Smaug won't be nearly as overwhelming as dragons were historically.
I can see what's going on now. Aegon, Daenerys and Viserys. Together the three headed dragon. They each conquers a different portion of the world and then united them into a single empire. I'm almost hurt they didn't try and include me in their plans. Then again, I'm not really good with sharing.
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I'm glad dealing the my internal threats didn't take too long. Since it seemed like all the priests of R'hllor were against me, my solution was simple. I destroyed them. I burned the churches, hunted down every priest and even the more prominent followers if they didn't declare support for me fast enough.
The assassins were even easier. After torturing a few I found the local branches that had been established. I then led my samurai into the buildings and killed everyone inside.
That all took time though. Even as fast as I moved it was enough for the situation to change. To progress.
I knew Aegon had widespread popular support. I had figured it'd make politics easier and didn't really think about it much. I really shouldn't have underestimated it. Most of my success was due to popular support. Sure my powers helped, but only the willing cooperation of my citizens was what had let me create an empire.
The problem was he didn't have popular support, he had near universal support. His support actually rivaled mine. With so many people able and willing to work with him he consolidated his rule in record time. His lack of powers were easily offset by the sheer size of Westeros and the resources that came with it. Worse, he wasn't the idiot King Robert was.
I received the reports from Skagos much soon than I planned. I thought it'd take him at least a year before he was ready to move on me! I really underestimated him.
The report was short, but scrying filled in the details easily. He wasn't directly attacking. No, he had a massive fleet set up to protect a series of giant barges. The barges were practically rafts they were so crude. However, they were more than enough to carry trebuchets.
Rather than lose anyone to a direct assault he was just bombarding them into submission. It was very clever. It was also effective. As long as nothing changed he would win. Worse, Skagos wasn't the only place he was attacking. The Wall were also under attack.
Worse Dragonstone had already fallen. I could see teams working to restore it, but the scorch marks were everywhere. Even now pockets of green fire still burned. It was clear he had practically bathed the island in wildfire.
Between this and the Iron Born I doubt he has any wildfire left. Still with the rising power of magic it was only a matter of time before he has enough to repeat the tactic. It's clear Westeros is turning into a real problem. The real issue is the fact that I'm too spread out right now.
I think I'm going to have to pull out of Westeros. At least until I can afford to concentrate my efforts there.
Actually I have quite a few fire ships stockpiled. I can use them to buy me some time. I order them all to attack. There isn't any real point in holding any back. I want every ship and port in Westeros destroyed. Hopefully that will buy me enough time to deal with Daenerys.
At least I don't really have to worry too much about Viserys. At least not any time soon. What I had taken for an inordinate amount of camp followers turns out to be settlers. He was busy marching back and forth, rebuilding several abandoned cities. I suppose it's safe enough to do so now that the Dothraki are under Daenerys's control.
The only problem seems to be the fact that he's found allies. The three cities called the Patrimony of Hyrkoon had all declared themselves for him. All he had to do was have his glowing red sword around. That and somehow cause the ground to sprout a host of plants.
Fucking Melisandre and her blood magic.
The cities hadn't sent any troops yet, but he doesn't really need them right now either. What they are doing is stocking up on supplies and getting troops ready. They are also sending crews out to repair the roads leading north. It's clear they intend to join him when he marches north.
I had just started getting Ib to recolonize several of their ruins. There was no way I was going to let them be destroyed so soon.
What I needed was something to distract them. Maybe bog them down or at least slow their progress. Like in Westeros, something to buy me more time.
Thinking about it I have the perfect idea. I look over the armies just to make sure. Yep, no siege engines at all. Even their bows were all short ranged. This should work perfectly.
I send out my zepplin. It really wasn't too useful due to how fragile it was. Against a slow, land bound army without adequate ranged attacks? It would be devastating.
No doubt they'd adapt. But the loss of their current army should buy me more than enough time to deal with Daeny. Besides, maybe I'll get lucky and kill Viserys.
In the meantime I mobilize my samurai. I also decide to tap into my stockpiled resources. A large portion of my time is spent building the mountains of redstone I'm goinng to need. I plan to bury my enemies under an ocean of golems. Then I fully intend to crush New Valyria.
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I take time from my preparations to watch the newly dubbed Razorwind fight since it was for the first time. Since I was sending it into battle I had finally given my zepplin a name. I was actually pretty excited to see it.
Depending on fast it finished I might send it to Westeros. Sure the griffins will probably bring it down eventually, but it would take time. Just another delaying tactic.
It was obvious the army had seen the airship approaching. They were even prepared. The living troops were all far in the back and the undead had raised shields to form a tortoise. The wagons hadn't been moved at all. Did the maegi think they could protect them?
It didn't matter. The Razorwind lived up to its name, sending out eight streams of arrows. From above it actually looked like streams of arrows flowing out. It looked amazing. The only thing that would have made it better was if they were on fire.
The undead, while immune to sunlight, were obviously not wights. Despite the overlapping shields a few still slipped through. The undead still stood there, ignoring the arrows clearly piercing them.
Honestly they were resisting way too well. I suppose I was just impatient since I couldn't affect anything. Still watching it lash out and failing to kill any of them was disappointing. It looks like I was right that it was more of a terror weapon than anything else.
I really wish I could order it to ignore the undead until later. Still it was only a matter of time before they all died. It would just take forever. If nothing else the army couldn't move while they were under attack.
I was just about to stop and just check back later when I caught movement at the edges of my vision. Before I could shift the spell to look they arrived. Birds. Brightly colored and over sized, they swarmed the zepplin.
The Razorwind fought valiantly, but furtively. It never had a chance. Any bird struck was knocked out of the sky but they rarely died. A few moment later they'd be back up, just with an arrow or two sticking out of them.
They're also hard to hit. They're small and dodge even as they close. And once they were close enough they were impossible to hit. I watched in dismay as the flock of undead parrots slowly tear apart the balloons.
It didn't even have to decency to land on top of the infantry and explode. Instead it crashed well clear of them. If I was lucky the fires will destroy the turrets, but it's not likely. I used way too much dragon bone and skin in the construction.
I then watched as they packed the birds back into a handful of wagons I had assumed were for supplies. Looking closer there are a lot of wagons that are vaguely cage shaped. I guess the maegi really can defend themselves.
The cages were in the back which I hadn't really paid attention to before. Was that on purpose? Did they anticipate needing the birds? Just how prepared was everyone to face me?
I really hate divination.
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Besides gathering supplies I take time to hold a feast for my samurai. I then proceed to enhance them repeatedly. They're going to need it for the upcoming battles.
Despite the urgency of the situation I start sending off the rest of my samurai on incursions to the Thousand Islands. I want to enhance them all, but I need them to earn it first. Otherwise I'm undermining the whole concept of the samurai. I'm not willing to sabotage my own program for short term gains.
I warn them, but I don't expect all of them to survive. Without my golems to act as meat shields I expect the battle to be more desperate. To offset this I am sending the bulk of the samurai at once. They can protect each other and afford to take breaks. They also have several arrow storm turrets installed on each ship. I just hope the losses aren't too horrendous.
Deciding now is not the time to hold back I also hold a tourney in the Sarnor province. Charioteers would compete in enormous races that were a combination of obstacle courses and shooting ranges. I plan to make the races grueling. Long dangerous routes with plenty of enemies. The night version will be worse since I can use spawners then.
Finally they would be pitted against a golem equipped with armor and a shield and timed in how long it takes them to bring it down. I want teams that will be deadly accurate, not just that can spray bolts. Every team that pass will be given a new chariot. The chariot is made from shulker shells and lightly enchanted. More importantly, instead of a chain crossbow it has a mini arrow storm turret installed.
I'm just hoping I made enough. Building the chariots just takes so much time. If it goes well I'll probably start holding the tourney every year. Although I'll probably restrict it to just the top three winners. After all they're supposed to be special.
I throw another feast for the most celebrated of my ship captains. The ones who ran daring missions and repeatedly raided beyond the protection of my waters. I then announce the formation of the imperial navy.
I was building new dragon ships, an entire fleet of them. Each of the captains who joined will be given command of one if they wished.
My last preparation was to open up the use of potions. My advanced golems can use brewing stands so I set up a very few potion shops. Mostly I intend to use them with my military but getting everyone else used to them can't hurt. And it'll make my soldiers feel valued if they see incredibly valuable potions being used so freely on them.
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