Viserys rode Balerion through the thick fog above Braavos.
It felt as though he were flying through the clouds, with Vhagar and Meraxes following closely behind.
The only structure that could rise above the fog was the Titan in the northwest.
The last time Viserys had seen the Titan, he had been forced to suffer the humiliation of passing between its legs.
This time, however, he could ride his dragon through the sky and look down upon the giant from above.
The Titan's head emerged from the fog, one hand raised high with a broken sword in its grip, like a drowning soldier desperately struggling to stay afloat.
The air around them was cold and damp, but the dragon beneath Viserys radiated constant heat.
Its rough scales were like black stones heated by the sun. Even through the saddle, their warmth seeped into Viserys and kept him comfortably warm.
Several large crates filled with pamphlets were secured around the saddle.
Viserys intended to use them to drive a wedge between Freygo and the common people of Braavos.
At the very least, he wanted to shatter some of Freygo's lies, such as the claim that Viserys intended to conquer Braavos and drag its people away into slavery.
Using the Titan as a reference point, Viserys estimated his approximate position, then opened one of the crates beside him.
The moment the lid came off, the airflow caught the white pamphlets and sent them fluttering away.
Tens of thousands of sheets streamed through the air behind him.
The white pages reflected the sunlight, gleaming like countless swords piercing the fog.
Viserys then opened the crates carried by the other two dragons, sending tens of thousands more pamphlets drifting down into Braavos.
Before long, ordinary Braavosi began finding pamphlets delivered by dragons.
This was another advantage of dragons, or rather, another way to make use of air superiority.
By dropping leaflets from the sky, Viserys could speak directly to the common people of Braavos.
The pamphlets were written almost entirely in Valyrian.
The Braavosi could all read it.
"Things are getting harder and harder."
"It's all that bastard king's fault. He cut off the Sweetwater Canal!"
A group of water carriers had gathered together, complaining to one another about how difficult life had become.
The Sweetwater Canal, which ran across Braavos, had greatly improved the living standards of the city's people.
It had also created a considerable number of jobs.
These water carriers depended on hauling water from the canal to earn enough to survive.
But Viserys had seized control of the canal's source and diverted the water to supply his army.
Without the Sweetwater Canal, the water carriers had lost their livelihood.
Freygo had quickly seized upon this issue and used it to stir hatred of the Targaryens among the common people.
As the men continued talking, a white pamphlet drifted down from above.
It landed squarely on one man's face.
Soon, the others noticed more pamphlets scattered around them.
There was not only writing on them, but illustrations as well.
The men hurriedly picked them up and looked them over, quickly recognizing the three-headed dragon emblem.
"The Targaryens dropped these!"
It did not take long for someone to realize that Viserys had most likely sent them down from the backs of his dragons.
In the illustrations, Freygo was depicted shouting that he would rather turn the city to ash than surrender it to Targaryen rule.
Viserys, meanwhile, explained that his current invasion was merely intended to obtain compensation from Freygo.
After all, Freygo had attacked Gohor and caused him considerable losses.
As long as Freygo paid compensation, Viserys was willing to negotiate peace.
At the same time, Viserys expressed his regret over the impact this war had caused.
He stated that he would take half of the compensation paid by Freygo and distribute it among the people of Braavos as compensation for their suffering.
"Wait! What does this say?"
The literacy rate among these water carriers was not particularly high.
Of more than a dozen men, only two or three could fully understand what the pamphlet said.
"Viserys says... he says he's going to give us money?"
The worker who could read scratched his head, almost as though he doubted his own ability to read.
"How could that be? Would a king or noble really hand out money to people like us?"
The man asking the question went over to another literate worker, only to receive the same answer.
"That bastard, that Targaryen king really intends to give us money?"
"Of course, he could be lying to us. But who knows?"
The tens of thousands of pamphlets caused Viserys's reputation among the people of Braavos to improve almost overnight.
Whether Viserys would actually give them money or not, the idea had already taken root in their minds.
More importantly, the pamphlets awakened their resentment toward Freygo.
If Freygo had not attacked Gohor in the first place, their lives would never have become like this.
The pamphlets soon found their way into the hands of Freygo, Robert, and the others.
When Freygo saw one, he was momentarily stunned.
Could it be that Viserys really only wanted money?
Only then did he remember that the two sides had never formally met to negotiate.
Both sides had subconsciously treated this war as a continuation of the allied invasion of Gohor.
But Freygo had been Sealord for more than a decade and had ruled Braavos for just as long. He was hardly naive.
He quickly saw through Viserys's intentions.
The problem was that he had no equivalent means of striking back.
When it came to Viserys's "war of public opinion," all Freygo could do was pretend not to hear it.
But Viserys had never expected the campaign to work after a single attempt.
For the next half month, enormous quantities of pamphlets rained down over Braavos every day.
The resentment of the common people toward Freygo grew steadily stronger.
"Your Grace, a large crowd of commoners has gathered outside the Sealord's Palace. They are demanding that you negotiate peace with the Targaryens."
Freygo knew perfectly well who was behind this.
It had to be those "surrenderists" stirring things up.
Sure enough, less than a day later, Urom arrived with a large group of nobles who wanted peace talks.
Although Freygo understood exactly what they wanted, there was nothing he could do.
The ordinary people of Braavos were no longer willing to listen to him.
To silence the crowds, or rather, to calm public resentment, Freygo announced that he would send envoys to negotiate with Viserys.
The news quickly reached Viserys in his camp. It would be his second meeting with Freygo.
The last time, Viserys had been a fugitive with nowhere to go.
This time, his opponent was at the end of his road.
"Uncle, if Freygo really agrees to pay the compensation we demand, are we actually going to withdraw?"
Aegon asked reluctantly.
Viserys smiled.
"Of course not. Once he pays the compensation, I'll demand that he hand over Robert!"
Aegon and Aemon finally began to understand what Viserys meant by "cutting slices from a sausage."
"What if he hands Robert over?"
Aegon asked.
He knew that Viserys would probably make an even more outrageous demand afterward, but he simply did not have enough experience to think of one himself.
Viserys answered calmly.
"If he hands over Robert, we'll demand that Freygo step down and that someone sympathetic to us become the next Sealord."
"Then we'll demand the right to station our troops in Braavos."
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