Chapter 284: Bolton War Council - II
Dreadfort, Bolton Lands
POV of Domeric Bolton
"Let's move on to the other topic then." Domeric said, turning to Lyra, who had joined this war council meeting because of her intelligence network, "Tell me, Lyra, how much gold, manpower, and ships will Myr and Tyrosh be willing to give to see our destruction?"
"A lot." Lyra said without even needing to think, "By stealing the glass monopoly from Myr, you've taken away some of the best customers from them. They're not very happy about that and would go to great lengths to see to our destruction. But then again, they are traders and not lords, so they don't have an army of their own. The only thing they can do is pay for sellswords and sellsails. With that in mind, Myr might be able to send an army of 2,000-6,000 and a fleet of 40 to 100 ships. It might be a little more or a little less, but I don't think the difference will be too much."
"We'll go for the worst-case scenario then and prepare for an attack from 6,000 men in 100 ships from Myr, along with the 40 Lannister ships and their 3,000 men." He said, "What about Tyrosh? How many men will they send?"
"Liberating Varko and Raksa, along with the other slaves, burning their slaver pits and killing their people has not endeared you to the Tyroshi either." She said, "But you've not affected them as a whole. Only the ones you stole from. I think they'll contribute half of what Myr will do."
He nodded. "So, 3,000 men and 50 ships. What's the total?"
"Twelve thousand men. 190 ships," Tyrion said, "And we've not even counted the Ibbenese yet."
"They won't come." He said.
When Tyrion gave him an odd look, he continued, "The Ibbenese might not be our neighbors, but we do share the same water territory. I do not want to be in continuous war with them. Which means that if they attack my ships once more, then I'll destroy their ships and raze their port to the ground. I'll go there myself and tell their leader this. He'll not go against me."
"But what if their leader is an idiot and attacks us regardless?" Bronn asked.
"He has a point." Muron nodded.
"Add them as well then." He said and turned to Lyra, but it was Muron who replied this time.
"They don't have a lot of manpower. So, at best, 1,000-3,000 men. And their whaler ships are fucking huge. So about 10 ships at most."
"So our worst-case scenario is an attack from 15,000 men in 200 ships." He said, "Tell me about the defenses of Regalis Port City, Tyrion. Can it handle such a force?"
Tyrion took out a map of Regalis Port City from his bottomless pouch and unfurled it on top of the table.
"Regalis Port City has a garrison of 2,000 men." Tyrion said, "If I force conscripted the male citizens in the army, then I could double their number. And if I add the Police Force from the area, then that would be another 1000 men. If I conscript levies from the nearby villages, then that would be yet another 2000 men."
"With the tall walls, pump-action crossbows, and the newly built scorpions on the wall… I think it might be possible. It'll be hard, of course, and many men will die. But it is possible."
"And if I send some giants, 100 of my personal guards, and the 2nd legion. Then?"
Tyrion looked at him and smirked.
"The presence of the giants and 100 of your personal guards will be more than enough." He said, "If an army of wights did not manage to kill a single one of your personal guards, then I doubt mere mortals will do much against them. Of course…" he looked at Karsi, "…the help of your legion, five thousand more men on my side, will be more than welcome. I might not even need to conduct the force conscriptions."
"It's 6,000 men now." Karsi said, "200 horse riders, 500 infantry, 300 pump action crossbowmen, and one warg more. Lord Bolton is also creating yet another two Legions for the preparation of the Long Night."
Tyrion opened his mouth, closed it, and then smiled, "I almost pity my uncle at this point." Then Tyrion turned to him, "Speaking of my uncle. He had always treated me kindly. Would it be possible to spare his life?"
"I won't allow him to leave Tyrion." He said, "Not after a direct attack on my land. But you can keep him as a guest in your house if that's what you want. Though I doubt your wife will appreciate it."
"A mansion for my uncle, then. With a rotating guard, so he doesn't bribe them and try to escape. Got it." Tyrion nodded.
"Don't go celebrating too early." Bronn said, "Things change in war. War is not always predictable."
"True." Tyrion said, "But you have to admit that we have a huge advantage over our enemy forces."
Bronn simply grunted at that and went silent.
"Anything more we could do to sway things in our advantage?" he asked.
"You can start training a militia force." Karsi said, "The Free Folk are warriors at heart and have not gone soft. But I can't say the same for the people of this land."
"A good idea, General Karsi." Tyrion nodded, then turned to him, "What about your pet pyromancers. Would their wildfire be of any help?"
He nodded, "Wildfire alone is a hazardous substance, but look at this." He said and threw a mudball at Tyrion, who caught it with surprising ease.
"Is this the thing that you created to fight the White Walkers after your first expedition?" Tyrion asked, and he nodded.
"It has wildfire inside it. And a fuse that only ignites when the ball strikes the ground at a particularly fast speed. If you drop it, then the mudball won't break. But if you throw it at a wall, then it'll burst into fire." He said, "It's easy to make. And could be thrown at our enemies from a safe distance. We can even catapult them from the walls."
"And you named it mudball?" Ygritte asked from his right, giving him an unimpressed look.
He shrugged, "It was the first name that came to mind."
"Only you can give such a dangerous thing such an unimpressive name." She said.
"Do they really work as well as you're saying?" Bronn asked. "Not saying you don't know what you're talking about… but I've seen too many crazy old coots trying to sell pig shit to mercenary armies, claiming it to be a miracle."
"I can give you a proper demonstration after this meeting." He said and turned to Tyrion, "Think of what else you can do to protect the walls. You've got a few months to think of new ideas and implement them. Even a little bit could mean the difference between the deaths of a few hundred men."
Tyrion nodded, "I will, my lord."
"Good. If there's nothing else." Everyone in the table stayed quiet, so he nodded, "Then you're dismissed."
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.285: Performing the Dragonlord Ritual
Ch.286: Something Went Wrong with the Ritual
Ch.287: New Look - Dragonlord Appearance