This historic meeting between the Prophets was full of twists and turns, not going as either side expected, but fortunately, things did not ultimately slide toward a bad ending. Aegor received news from Melisandre late at night. Although unwilling, the abundant results achieved by the Red Priestess's secret conversation with a Red Priest during the night made him, the Night's Watch Commander, face reality. Sometimes, no matter how much effort is spent on explaining the pros and cons, facts, and reasons, it cannot compare to a charlatan whispering in the ruler's ear.
Through the unofficial channel of the Red God priest, Aegor received the order to leave that he wanted. He and his entourage would leave Dragonstone at dawn, and the Queen's Fleet had been ordered to allow the Night's Watch's Blackbird free passage. As for his core request, spare the Long Night Industry Park, there was no clear answer yet, but Melisandre clearly hinted that Moqorro would try to persuade the Queen.
The bait thrown out had been swallowed, and the desired effect achieved. This made Aegor slightly relieved. As long as that Targaryen girl was still curious about the second half of the modified Prince, she likely would not tear off the mask and attack the Night's Watch Industry. If he could successfully lure her to the Gift, he could even use the opportunity to instill more ideas and concepts, achieving greater things.
After a short night's rest, leaving a letter for Missandei to deliver expressing thanks for the Queen's personal reception, explaining the location of the original Prince, and politely inviting her to visit the Gift, Aegor left Dragonstone Keep with Melisandre in the morning mist and reboarded the ship he came on before sunrise. Slowly sailing out of the harbor under the surrounding surveillance of the Queen's Fleet, with his back to the morning sun, he headed toward blockaded King's Landing.
…
On this trip south, besides the Red Priestess and trusted guards, Aegor also brought rowers and sailors from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Under the command of Cotter Pyke, the Night's Watch port had a tradition of trading with foreign ships for goods and information. The soldiers from there were definitely in the top tier of the Night's Watch in terms of language skills and social ability. Although the meeting in the castle was anticlimactic and not smooth or pleasant, the large number of Aegor's entourage left at the port, under his instruction, successfully mingled with the guards of the Dragonstone naval base and members of House Targaryen, gathering a lot of information. After reuniting with Aegor, they reported it all to him during the short final leg to King's Landing.
A mass of miscellaneous information, most of which was unimportant or meaningless. Of the useful handful remaining, much was already known to Aegor as a transmigrator. Only two pieces of information were particularly valuable.
One was, the kraken flag appearing in Dragonstone harbor did not belong to Euron Greyjoy, but was led by Victarion Greyjoy, whom he had sent to Slaver's Bay a long time ago. Because this famous commander of the Iron Fleet had perished under dragonflame, this small and original Iron Fleet was now forcibly requisitioned by the Dragon Queen, becoming a small part of the Targaryen navy.
The other was a significant plot change that caught Aegor's attention. In this world, the army Daenerys brought back to Westeros did not include a large number of Dothraki nomads, but instead, a Free Company exceeding ten thousand strong, well trained and fully armed.
These Free People were not the Free Folk. They had nothing to do with the Wildlings beyond the Wall. Their source was the former slaves liberated after Meereen was captured. Daenerys selected the strong and healthy from these Free People, trained them according to the Unsullied training schedule but skipped the physical and mental abuse parts, ultimately forging an elite infantry. They were significantly weaker than the original Unsullied, but more than sufficient compared to the rest.
Aegor also roughly understood the reason for this change through careful questioning. Petyr's political struggle skills and experience in playing power games were clearly superior to the Little Devil's. With Littlefinger assisting Daenerys, she maintained stable rule in Meereen. Major nobles were either exiled or cowed into submission through threats and intimidation. Although external enemies arrived one after another, the interior remained impregnable. Reactionary organizations like the Sons of the Harpy never emerged, and the story of the noble class using both soft and hard tactics to force Daenerys to marry and integrate locally simply did not happen.
Under the influence of a series of plot linkages, the plot where Daenerys was attacked in the arena and rescued by her dragon from Meereen disappeared. Naturally, there was no flying to the Great Grass Sea to conquer the Dothraki, or leading them across the black salt sea on wooden horses to Westeros. Instead, it was the Free Company trained and armed in the good and stable ruling environment of Meereen. Although the troop type was downgraded from cavalry to infantry, and the numbers were much smaller, their discipline and equipment level were greatly improved, and the pressure on logistics was also greatly reduced.
Three dragons, several thousand Unsullied, over ten thousand Free Company, plus several thousand scattered sailors and logistics personnel in the fleet, this was the full hand the Queen held now. By quickly landing and seizing the Crab Claw Peninsula and marching into Duskendale, gaining a stable supply source, the Queen's army had established a foothold along Blackwater Bay. This was more than enough to confront Stannis in King's Landing, but far from sufficient to unite the Seven Kingdoms like their ancestor Aegon the Conqueror. This was the main reason Daenerys was eager to gain recognition from a third-party force.
…
As the sun rose, casting energy everywhere, the wind soon changed to blow toward the shore. Dragonstone is only a stone's throw from King's Landing, and the speed advantage of the sail-and-oar ship was fully displayed in this downwind sprint. Before noon, the Blackbird crossed the boundary of the actual control waters between the Dragon and Stag fleets and encountered the warships loyal to King Stannis's Royal Fleet that intercepted and inspected it.
Good luck. The intercepting warship actually had a knight who had been persuaded by Melisandre to convert to the Red God and was personally knighted by King Stannis. Because the commander recognized the Red Priestess, the verification of identity, which should have been complicated and cautious, became easy and simple. They passed through the blockade and entered the Blackwater River.
To prevent Daenerys's army from using the trade area outside the Mud Gate as a springboard to attack the King's Landing walls after landing, all the docks and houses in this once prosperous riverside area suffered the fate of demolition for the second time since Aegor transmigrated. Looking at the former King's Landing commercial port, which should have been prosperous but was now bare and without a place to dock, Aegor suddenly remembered. Nina had mentioned to him during her last visit to Crown Town to report on work that the Long Night Industry Park already had its own dock on the Blackwater River bank.
He rejected the sailors' suggestion to lower a small boat for him to go ashore. "Continue upstream, stop at our own place."
So the rowers returned to their seats and continued to row the ship west, upstream on the Blackwater River, to the sound of chants. The Blackbird sailed lightly past the Mud Gate, the fish market, and the King's Gate far from the water. Soon, a large dark shape appeared in their view. Approaching a moment longer, Aegor rubbed his eyes, then pinched his thigh, and finally had to be sure he was not dreaming.
The Long Night Industry Park, built next to the river in a large field and enclosed by simple wooden fences, was no longer as empty and desolate as it once was. It was now covered with large and small factory buildings and sheds, with a density more than three times higher than when Aegor left. And in the very center, where the dormitories and office area should have been, a castle no smaller than Crown Town had risen at some unknown time. It had black walls, black tiles, and a black banner flying from the battlements. Of course, it could not compare to King's Landing, whose outline was vaguely visible a few miles away, but it was already more imposing and grand than most of the nineteen fortresses along the Wall, at least from a distance.
(To be continued.)
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