Tormo swung his sword wildly, red-eyed and mad, chasing Quairo as if possessed.
The clash between the two quickly alarmed Freygo.
Freygo had long since understood Viserys's scheme.
After running through the situation again and again, he realized that even if Tormo had chosen to press the assault, it would still have been difficult to achieve real results.
The Wall of Vhagar had indeed been close to collapse, but behind it still stood the Wall of Balerion.
Tormo had spent more than ten days without taking the Wall of Vhagar. The Wall of Balerion was shorter and even easier to defend. Naturally, it would have been even harder to breach.
And without water, Tormo would not have lasted ten days—three would have been enough to finish him.
Still, Freygo would have to continue cooperating with Tormo's family in the future. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and exile Quairo.
Before Quairo left, Freygo even told him not to blame himself too much.
Quairo ultimately departed in tears, bidding farewell to his liege.
Meanwhile, Koren had already left Pentos and was preparing to head for Gohor.
In addition to gold and grain, he also carried the "exclusive ransom" for Quairo and Tormo—two dragon eggs.
It had to be said that Freygo treated his chief sword well, willing to ransom him with dragon eggs.
Led by Arthur, Koren was brought before Viserys.
Valyrians all possessed an inhuman beauty. Koren was not unfamiliar with people of Valyrian blood.
But since Valyria was destroyed by the Doom, with dragons and dragonlords alike erased by time, those of Valyrian descent had become rootless drifters at the mercy of others.
Beauty was no longer proof of nobility. It had become a treasure to be plundered, a commodity to be traded.
Seeing Viserys looking at him with a faint, knowing smile, Koren quickly put away his earlier disdain and resentment.
"I am Koren, envoy of Braavos. I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
He had not expected that in just a single year, this young king would reach such a height.
Enough to make both Pentos and Braavos wary.
"Bring Lord Koren a chair," Viserys said with a smile.
Although he was the greatest victor of this war, Viserys had no intention of flaunting it.
Only what went into one's stomach truly counted.
In the future, he still intended to use printing presses to trade white paper for their goods and materials.
It was better to let them lower their guard.
Yet Viserys's attitude only made Koren more cautious.
"Your Majesty, I have come this time in accordance with our agreement, to take ten thousand soldiers home. Of course, this also includes Lord Tormo and Lord Quairo."
As he spoke, Koren produced a box containing two dragon eggs and placed it before Viserys.
Arthur's gaze flickered.
They had not captured Quairo or Tormo at all.
Viserys, however, did not care in the slightest. Since the dragon eggs were already in his hands, there was no reason to return them.
Besides, they were his family's property to begin with.
He opened the box.
One purple egg and one yellow egg lay inside.
"Your Majesty, look," Koren said eagerly. "This purple egg is as beautiful as your eyes. And this yellow one is as clear as amber."
Koren spared no effort praising them. Even Arthur beside Viserys found it hard to look away.
Although Viserys had previously shown him the three fossilized dragon eggs Illyrio had presented, who could ever grow tired of dragon eggs?
What was more, these were real dragon eggs—eggs that might hatch into dragons.
They were nothing like those three stones.
"Ha! They truly are dragon eggs of our house. Beautiful," Viserys said.
He casually pushed the box toward Arthur.
Arthur understood at once. He scooped it up and held it tight, clearly ready to cut down anyone who dared try to take it back.
Koren immediately sensed something was wrong.
He was here to ransom people, not to return property.
"Your Majesty, we agreed in the letter. I give you the dragon eggs, and you return Lord Tormo and Lord Quairo to us."
Viserys smiled.
"Yes. I've already returned them."
Faced with this brazen king lying through his teeth, Koren felt as though he had been struck dumb, staring at Viserys in disbelief.
"I already let them go. They probably haven't reached Braavos yet."
Koren finally understood.
Viserys had never captured Tormo and Quairo at all.
They must have escaped long ago.
Koren glanced at the box of dragon eggs in Arthur's arms, almost wanting to snatch it back.
But Arthur already had one hand on his sword hilt.
Koren had no doubt that if he took even a single step forward, he would be split in two on the spot.
Left with no choice, he swallowed this silent loss on Freygo's behalf.
All desire to converse with Viserys vanished from Koren's mind. He hastily went through the formalities and rushed to complete the exchange of supplies and prisoners.
He truly did not want to spend another moment in this cursed place called Gohor.
More than ten thousand Braavosi soldiers arrived at Gohor fully armed.
When they left, they carried nothing at all.
The Old Crab suggested to Viserys that even their winter clothes should be confiscated, letting them leave naked.
Viserys rejected the idea.
The printing-press plan had not yet been revealed to anyone. In the future, he still intended to profit from it.
It was better to leave some dignity intact, so there could be more gains later.
Standing atop the city wall, Viserys watched Koren lead ten thousand prisoners away from Gohor, deep in thought.
Taking advantage of the moment, Davos spoke.
"Your Majesty, I believe the matter of relocating the royal court can come to an end. What comes next is to build up our strength and prepare to reclaim the Iron Throne.
Please allow me to go to Dragonstone and bring the Queen Mother back."
"Yes, I should bring my mother here," Viserys replied.
"But let Clement go instead. We agreed on this. You've worked for the royal house for over a year now. It's time for you to rest."
Davos nodded, as if there were more he wanted to say.
Viserys knew exactly what he was thinking and spoke first.
"I have no objection to Dale's marriage. But tell Audro that his family must send a proper, virtuous maiden."
When Viserys agreed, Davos could barely suppress the joy on his face.
In a world where birth determined everything, only now did Davos truly feel that he had become a real noble.
In Viserys's eyes, Pentos was something he would inevitably take into his own hands.
He would use the Essos as his base, with Westeros as the shield against the Others and the Long Night.
Pentos, as the closest port to Westeros, naturally had to be brought under Targaryen rule.
As for Audro, his title of prince would be preserved, but a system of diminishing hereditary rank would be implemented.
Relying solely on the Kingsguard as an example might not be enough.
He would need several precedents before such a policy could truly take root.
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