The Five Fingers Peninsula, the Four Fingers Plain.
The terrain of the Vale slopes from west to east, primarily consisting of mountains and canyons. For ordinary invaders, such terrain would require a massive expenditure of lives. However, for Marco, who possessed a powerful air force, it presented no obstacle.
The climate of the Westeros continent began to stabilize after Marco established the Vitality Magic Spring. The long night that was prophesied to follow the ten-year long summer never arrived; instead, the climate began to normalize.
Marco and his people spent their first winter in the Vale. Unlike the North, many soldiers from Beyond the Wall said this winter was warm, and they liked it very much.
This year was the first winter after the long summer. Although not much snow had fallen, it still made many Vale people feel cold, and many believed that Marco and his people had brought the winter.
Due to the deep-rooted rule of the Church of the Seven here, the progress of the Hall of Gods was very slow. However, with the maintenance of the Inquisition, there were no major disturbances.
Marco's policy of religious freedom was barely recognized by the locals here. Because the Vale people's resources were relatively abundant, Marco's grain strategy was not very popular here.
However, with the influx of a large number of new crop seeds, the psychological defenses of the Vale's people were slowly being chipped away. Marco didn't lack food or money, so he didn't need to plunder farmers to obtain these things.
Moreover, although the Vale was rich in resources, it was only slightly better than the North, and that was thanks to the 10-year long summer. Otherwise, they would still be losing people.
Furthermore, the amount of land truly suitable for cultivation in the Vale was really small; the rest was mountainous. After this winter, they wouldn't be able to harvest several times a year like before.
There were only two plains in the Vale in the true sense. One was located behind the Middle Finger Peninsula and the Index Finger Peninsula of the Fingers, a plain that the locals called the "Four Fingers Plain."
The other one was the Eyrie Valley, located on the largest Index Finger Peninsula. The Eyrie Valley plain occupied nearly two-thirds of the flat land in the Vale, and was also the origin of the name "Vale."
Marco hadn't been idle during this not-so-cold winter. After successively occupying the Little Finger Peninsula and the Ring Finger Peninsula, Marco turned his attention to the Four Fingers Plain of the Vale.
During this winter, a large number of Northern goods poured into the occupied areas of the Vale. Marco had nothing else, but he had a lot of money and goods. The little tricks of winning people's hearts and supporting forces still worked here.
At the same time, he also paid great attention to public opinion. Under the supervision of the Hall of Gods, "propagandists" repeatedly advertised the greatness of the Valyrian Empire in the taverns of the occupied areas of the Vale, directly portraying Winterfell, Windhelm, and the griffins as a paradise on earth.
Furthermore, at Marco's direction, the "Wolf Spirit" spent resources to bribe some monks, nuns, and "reputable" knightly nobles. They were tasked with spreading propaganda about the Valyrian Empire. This tactic, which wouldn't even fool children on Earth, proved surprisingly effective in this world of extreme information scarcity.
This year is the spring of Bright Era Year 3. Since Marco declared the establishment of the Valyrian Empire, he designated the year he began his conquest as the first year of the Bright Era and ordered its use throughout the conquered territories.
Three days ago, one morning, Marco's army passed the New Castle Bridge and began its advance towards Serpentwood City in the Vale. The Hessy Family of New Castle had already surrendered to Marco, and this bridge was the only passage from the north.
The New Castle Bridge spanned a small river between the Index Finger Peninsula and the Middle Finger Peninsula. The river's flow was relatively gentle, not as turbulent as the Coldwater River.
The Hessy Family of New Castle had amassed their wealth by collecting tolls on this bridge, gradually reaching their current status. When faced with Marco's army, they surrendered without hesitation.
Meanwhile, the Tamperton Family of Nine Star City, the Lindley Family of Serpentwood City, the Cobry Family of Heartstar City, and the Donig Family of Donig Fort formed a coalition, preparing to make their stand against Marco at the Four Fingers Plain.
Marco had received intelligence that Littlefinger, Petyr Baelish, had abandoned the Eyrie and seemed to be preparing for a decisive battle against Marco in the Vale of Arryn.
However, Marco was no longer intimidated by these individuals. Though the Vale's population was larger than the North's, they couldn't effectively deploy their forces here. In the face of the dragons' fiery breath, they stood no chance.
Back when Aegon I Targaryen was king, his queen, Visenya Targaryen, relied on a surprise attack on the Eyrie with her dragon to force the entire Vale to surrender to the Targaryen family.
The Vale might have been a tough nut to crack in the eyes of the Andals, but for Marco, it presented no real difficulty. Moreover, the Church of the Seven's strong rule prevented certain mysterious forces from the Essos Continent from taking root here.
So, Marco only needed to worry about the Lord of Light, the god of the Children of the Forest, behind the Church of the Seven. Although the Seven had once manifested in King's Landing, this place was still controlled by the old gods, and the roots were always with Marco.
While Marco's policies frightened many great nobles, they also gave some small nobles hope. Losing military power and land could be the end for some, but for those noble lords with barren lands, this was undoubtedly good news.
The Hessy Family of New Castle had this in mind. They only had the New Castle Bridge, and without good luck, they might never have a chance to rise.
But with Marco's arrival, a large amount of goods and supplies flowed into New Castle, instantly making it lively, and also allowing Baelish Hessy, the head of the Hessy Family, to see new hope for the family's rise.
After crossing the New Castle Bridge was Serpent Mountain. On the road from Serpent Mountain to Serpentwood City was a place called "Fang Pass". This was originally a fortress of the Lindley Family of Serpentwood City.
But Marco's arrival caused them to abandon it directly. Along the way, Marco's army encountered sporadic ambushes, but with the Beast Troops' fierce fighting, the enemy's forces suffered heavy losses.
After Marco's troops passed through the pass, they were immediately confronted by the enemy's army. The combined forces of the four families directly sent their cavalry to charge at Marco's forces.
Fang Pass was flat, and to the south lay the vast Four-Fingered Plain. Facing the enemy's relentless charge, the soldiers of the Valyrian Empire showed no sign of panic.
Under Marco's morale-boosting magic, they wouldn't be afraid even if facing twice as many enemies, let alone the fact that they were only outnumbered by a small margin.
At that moment, Mu, already transformed into the Succubus Queen, slowly walked to the front of the formation. As she cast her spell, a terrifying magical power began to gather in the void.
In a short while, a certain area of the sky began to turn red. Then, as if a pane of glass had shattered, a huge meteor, followed by four slightly smaller ones, plummeted from the sky.
Lord Jon Lindley, commanding from the rear, watched this terrifying scene and felt as if he had descended into the seven layers of hell. Yet, facing this terrifying monster of the Valyrian Empire, he had no choice but to order his soldiers forward.
This was Lord Jon Lindley's last chance, for his ancestral fortress was behind him. If he didn't defeat the Valyrian Empire here, it would be his downfall.
Boom...
The horrifying explosion echoed across the battlefield. This devastating blow completely annihilated hundreds of fully armed knights and squires in their charge, with body parts and the carcasses of warhorses visible in the molten lava of the enormous crater.
The sickening smell of burning flesh permeated the battlefield, forcing the remaining charging knights to veer away from the area, momentarily halting their advance and causing a sudden drop in morale.
"Roar..."
Just when the knights thought it was all over, a dragon's roar pierced the sky. Soon, the charging knights of the Vale saw three colossal winged beasts descending from the summit of Serpentwood City.
These behemoths were just as terrifying and enormous as the bards sang in their songs, mounts that many knights dreamed of possessing. However, they had no time to marvel at the sheer size of the three monstrous creatures, for they were already upon them.
The valiant mounted archers unleashed a volley of arrows toward the dragons, but to no avail. The arrows lost all their power before even reaching the dragons, and even if they managed to hit, they couldn't even leave a scratch.
Then, the dragons roared as they dove down, and three different types of dragon breath erupted from their mouths. The terrifying power of the blasts sent shockwaves through the charging knights.
These three dreadful breaths plowed through the ranks like a scythe through a field, carving three paths of death. Everywhere the dragon breath touched was a scene of devastation—the charred, the frozen, and those whose corpses were encased in crystal, all left in its wake.
For a moment, the neighing of horses and shouts of men echoed through the cavalry ranks. Many warhorses, terrified by the dragons' pressure, scattered in all directions, ignoring their riders completely.
However, just as the knights thought they could break through the enemy lines, over a dozen bizarre creatures suddenly appeared directly in front of the enemy army. At the center of them stood an exceptionally tall giant.
This giant had silver-white hair that stood up on end, and his entire body was covered in blue skin, with what seemed like wisps of lightning crackling across it. He also seemed to be wearing a pair of strange golden bracelets on his wrists.
At that moment, a terrifying electrical discharge suddenly gathered in the giant's hands. Then, a formidable bolt of lightning shot forth from his grasp. This lightning, like a raging ancient beast, slammed directly into the charging knights.
Boom…
A terrifying explosion and smoke erupted in front of the charging cavalry. The explosion instantly turned over twenty soldiers into piles of ash, and a large number of the following charging knights also fell.
But it seemed that this was not the end. Lightning and earth spikes appeared in front of the Valyrian Empire army's defense line, followed by a dense rain of arrows.
This terrifying attack left the Vale soldiers with no way to defend themselves. For a time, the charging troops suffered heavy casualties, and these soldiers had no courage to attack the enemy.
Lord Jon Lindley watched the scene before him, his heart aching. His initial plan had been to utilize the cavalry's superior mobility to engage the enemy quickly.
As soon as he learned of the Valyrian Empire's army's advance, Lord Jon Lindley had formulated his strategy. He began by having small groups of soldiers harass the enemy, and then he abandoned Fang Pass, intending to trap the enemy troops and crush them, ultimately defeating them.
Lord Jon Lindley had also hoped to minimize the damage inflicted by the dragons. However, he hadn't anticipated the enemy's terrifying strength. He felt his forces were on a completely different level than the Valyrian Empire's army, and now, he could only watch helplessly as his soldiers died.
"Roar... Kill..."
Gao Tai, the Blood-Eyed Cyclops, flung two Goblins to his left and right. The Goblins roared as they slammed into the charging knights. The disgusting animal flesh of the Goblins exploded instantly, bringing down the charging troops.
Then, Gao Tai let out a terrifying roar, and waves of blood-red energy reverberated across the battlefield, triggering fear in some soldiers.
"Bang... Boom..."
Gao Tai swung its massive arm, sweeping aside three fully armored knights. Immediately afterward, a terrifying energy ray burst forth from its dreadful eye.
A massive beam, over five meters long, swept out a 45-degree angle directly in front of Gao Tai, turning the charging knights into a pile of ashes.
The Abyss Hydra, the Flame Lord Vahl, the Rakshasa King Xun, and the Ancient Treant Oakwood, watching Gao Tai's rampage, couldn't help but charge forward, firmly halting the enemy's advance.
For a time, the area was filled with the screams of humans and the neighing of warhorses. Donald Tamperton was a knight from the nine-star city's Tamperton Family. He was battle-hardened, with superb horsemanship, and one of the few experts in the Tamperton Family.
After seeing the giant monster on the battlefield, a sense of helplessness welled up in his heart. Watching his comrades suffer heavy casualties, Donald Tamperton felt as if his heart was bleeding.
"Green Hand Knights, charge! Kill..."
A somewhat immature roar echoed in Donald Tamperton's ears. He turned his head and saw more than twenty young knights charging towards the giant cyclops.
Many of them seemed to have been hit by arrows, yet they still charged towards the cyclops. Seeing their crests, Donald Tamperton recognized them. They seemed to be knights from the Donig Family, and the young man appeared to be the Donig Family's lord, Jon Donig.
"Come back! You can't..."
Watching the knights face certain defeat, Donnel Tamperton immediately shouted. But then he saw a truly horrifying scene.
The terrifying cyclops leaped, slamming into the charging cavalry like a monstrous stone projectile. The three knights at the forefront collided with it.
In an instant, the three knights were turned into meat paste. Their lances didn't even touch the cyclops. The monster then knocked down two more knights before finally stopping.
Lord John Donig, the leader, was instantly crushed in that initial impact. Yet, the remaining knights refused to yield, desperately fighting the cyclops, seemingly determined to avenge their liege.
For a brief moment, Donnel Tamperton felt himself transported back to his youth. Back then, he feared nothing, fighting solely for his beliefs, for the glory of knighthood.
"Charge! The stars are with me..."
Seeing the "Green Hand Knights" slaughtered, Donnel Tamperton raised his own lance, shouting his family's motto as he charged towards the cyclops.
"Boom... Bang..."
It was unfortunate that Sir Donald Tamperton, while charging, was struck directly by a terrifying bolt of lightning. The three squires and five cavalrymen with him were instantly reduced to ashes.
"Caw..."
Just then, another cry of a bird echoed from the sky. A fire phoenix, engulfed in flames, suddenly appeared from Marco's rear and charged directly towards the valley knights.
The fire phoenix quickly flew over the head of Gao Tai, the Blood-Eyed Cyclops, who was in the midst of the battle. It launched an attack on the subsequent cavalry units without regard for losses. Terrifying flames ravaged the soldiers, completely disrupting this cavalry force.
Afterwards, the defenders and the…
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