"It's about time to make a move. We still need some time to reorganize and assimilate these two cities, so let's act sooner rather than later. You need to understand that as soon as we make a move against these two cities, the nine free city-states will absolutely not tolerate it any longer. Within a year, they will definitely send troops. So, be prepared."
“I once feared them. But now, I hope that day will come sooner. My dragons can now soar through the skies, and when they arrive, I will proclaim to the world that the Targaryen dynasty has returned.”
"It's good that you have confidence. The first batch of soldiers are almost fully trained. All they need is a real battle. Once they've seen blood, those who survive will be qualified soldiers."
"How many troops do we currently have that are directly capable of participating in combat?"
"We currently have 12,000 Unsullied, and 20,000 newly trained soldiers. However, we don't need too many to take those two cities. Give me 5,000 Unsullied, plus 10,000 new recruits, and that will be enough. In the last great war, three famous mercenary groups were completely wiped out. Now they are finding it very difficult to hire those top mercenary groups."
The garrisons of both cities were essentially defenseless. In the past six months, I've found at least three defensive weaknesses in each city. Their survival until now can only be attributed to the corrupt slave system of this continent.
Astapor's movements naturally caught the attention of the free city-states. The entire continent quickly erupted in excitement. Almost every free city-state was watching this war closely.
Given the failure of the previous joint attack by the two cities, most city-states did not believe that Yunkai and Meereen could hold out. The only question was how long they could hold out. As for supporting these two cities, that was naturally out of the question. Opinions were also divided among the nine city-states. Those with foresight understood that if Daenerys controlled all three cities in Slaver's Bay simultaneously, she would be able to completely control Slaver's Bay.
At that time, their naval advantage will be greatly weakened. Because with just one Astapo, they can easily blockade the city's port, cut off trade and commerce, and easily besiege Astapo.
However, if you wanted to blockade the entire Slave Bay, the cost would be enormous. It would require at least a thousand warships and a prolonged blockade. Such expenditure was completely unacceptable to a group of slave owners who loved money more than anything.
However, what embarrassed them most was that just as they began their meeting to discuss whether to rescue Yuankai, new news arrived: Yuankai had fallen!
How could it have fallen so quickly? Such a large city, with at least 15,000 defenders (Yuankai's standing army only has 5,000 men; the rest are mercenaries!). How could it have fallen in just one night? Were those useless fools too busy playing with their bed slaves to even lift a knife?
Specific news has not yet arrived, but there is no doubt that Yunkai is finished. Now only Meereen remains, praying silently in fear.
Yuankai City.
The entire city was shrouded in blood and death. The wise lord of Yuankai City had fought desperately. In response to their desperate struggle, Lu Xuan had no choice but to reluctantly take their lives.
When the city fell, the entire city was engulfed in riots. Countless slaves rose up in rebellion, frantically storming the castles of the sage lords (Astabo called them the Benevolent Lord, Yuankai the Wise Lord, and Meereen the Great Lord; all were slave owners). In fact, before Lu Xuan entered the city, most of the sage lords had already been killed by their subordinates. The mercenaries were even more unscrupulous. In reality, they were the ones who opened the city gates, hoping that Lu Xuan would show mercy.
Several leaders, leading tens of thousands of slaves, knelt on both sides of the street to welcome Daenerys's entry into the city.
Besides these slaves, a small number of wise lords within the city escaped the attack. They survived because they were spies who had made a prior agreement with Lu Xuan. Their involvement was instrumental in the slaves' rapid breach of numerous wise lord castles.
At this moment, each living wise ruler held a fresh human head in their hands. It was the head of another wise ruler, and also their pledge of allegiance.
The corpses of countless wise lords and their families were piled up in the city square. Daenerys walked through the crowd and stood on the high platform in the square. Countless slaves knelt before her.
She raised her hands slightly, gesturing for everyone to stand up.
“I am Daenerys Targaryen, the new mistress of this city. I am not a wise lord, and I have no need for slaves. What I need are free men who are loyal to me. From this day forward, there will be no more slaves in this city. You are... free.”
"Dragon Queen, Dragon Queen..."
Someone shouted "Dragon Queen!" After a brief silence, everyone in the square began to shout. Not only that, the shouts echoed to every corner of the city. That fervor quickly infected everyone. Barristan, standing beside Daenerys, watched this scene, his eyes even welling up with tears.
He hadn't seen a monarch so beloved by his people in countless years. Looking at King's Landing, and then at this place, he felt that pledging allegiance to Daenerys had truly been the best decision of his life.
Daenerys held her breath, a burning sensation surging wildly in the air.
Flames erupted, engulfing the thousands of corpses in the square. They proclaimed that the city's past had been utterly reduced to ashes.
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Chapter 276 A Brand New Weapon (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)
Lu Xuan did not participate in Daenerys's public display of power. After entering the city, he quickly went to a manor within the city. This manor had originally been the home of a wise lord in the city, but now it was being used as a temporary warehouse.
Upon entering the manor, one of Lu Xuan's deputies approached.
"So, how many?" Lu Xuan asked.
"Twelve Valyrian steel swords. There is also a Dothraki scimitar and twenty-one other items made of Valyrian steel. This is what we have found so far, and we should be able to find more later."
“Very good, gather them up and send them to me.” Lu Xuan rarely asked Daenerys for anything, except Valyrian steel. Daenerys knew she loved these things, so she usually left them to him. Lu Xuan didn’t stand on ceremony; once he got them, he transported them all to his laboratory.
Daenerys was engrossed in her reign as queen. Lu Xuan, on the other hand, focused his energy on forging Valyrian steel. Over the past few years, he had combined the techniques of artisans from Korhor with his own understanding, assembling a team specifically to serve him.
These people were specifically responsible for smelting the Valyrian steel used to make weapons and ornaments. Then, under Lu Xuan's command, they were recast.
Lu Xuan already possessed a longsword, but this was merely the beginning. He planned to forge himself a complete set of armored weapons. First and foremost was the armor, which was of paramount importance.
Because Lu Xuan knew he would inevitably face the Night King in the future. He would never entrust his fate to Arya's sneak attack. The brain-dead plot of the scriptwriters was too unreliable. If nothing unexpected happened, he would eventually personally take to the battlefield to fight the Night King. Therefore, a full set of Valyrian steel armor was extremely important.
Lu Xuan planned to prepare two sets of armor alone. One was a close-fitting light armor, and the other was a full-body heavy armor for charging into battle. After all, facing the undead legion, comprehensive protection was necessary.
However, in practice, the light armor that Lu Xuan requested proved to be even more difficult to manufacture than the heavy armor. This was because Lu Xuan's requirements were simply too high.
What he wanted was a light armor, like the kind of close-fitting soft armor seen in ancient martial arts novels, impervious to swords and spears. It needed to provide sufficient protection without compromising his agility. Large, solid plate armor, of course, wouldn't meet his requirements.
To do this, Lu Xuan's team first needed to forge Valyrian steel into scales no bigger than a fingernail. Then, they had to assemble and fuse these scales together. At some joints, even finer chainmail was needed for connection. This workload was so immense that it could forge roughly a thousand Valyrian steel swords.
Fortunately, as the craftsmen became more proficient in the subsequent processes, their speed gradually increased. Even so, it still took nearly half a year to complete the main body of the armor through purely hand-forging.
The entire suit of armor had a dark silver hue. Valyrian steel sometimes changes color after being reforged, and Lu Xuan's armor was no exception. The silver metallic surface subtly revealed a dark undertone. At first glance, it gave off a sense of oppression.
The armor was devoid of any decorations or patterns. Its design emphasized simplicity and practicality. As for weapons, Lu Xuan had always been a minimalist; simplicity and practicality were his priorities.
The armor was custom-made to fit Lu Xuan's physique. It fit him perfectly. However, only the main body was completed. The wrist guards and calf sections were not yet finished.
Lu Xuan tried on the armor and found it fit perfectly. He then took out a bag of gold coins and tossed it to the craftsmen.
"Well done, here's a reward for you."