Dany had become the Pirate King.
By the standards of One Piece, she was at least one of the Four Emperors.
The Little Overlord of the Narrow Sea.
However, she didn't expand her influence recklessly. She simply coordinated with King Vyswater to eliminate the pirates attempting to raid Hightower's grain ships. In the process, she absorbed thirty to forty ragged ships, around a dozen small islands, and six to seven thousand pirates.
There should have been even more pirates, but the Dragon Queen had no real intention of becoming a pirate lord.
What she needed were "law-abiding citizens"!Accomplices could be spared—grudgingly—but the pirate leaders had to die.
Half a day's voyage ahead of the Hightower fleet, the open sea lanes were gradually filled with over a dozen pirate fleets slicing across the blue waters, approaching King Vyswater's fleet.
According to the plan, they would all attack at once when the Hightower fleet arrived.
Most pirates came in rowing longships, with hulls and sails in all colors and flags of various designs. The larger fleets had ten or so ships; the smaller ones had four or five. All were infamous pirate crews from the Stepstones.
Ordinary pirates had just a single ship.
Once most of them had assembled, a horn sounded from the Duke Tywin. Big Black burst out from the clouds, dove from the sky, and without a word, unleashed a torrent of dragonfire—slaughtering indiscriminately.
The azure sea was like a flat woven carpet, with pirate ships dotting it like decorative patterns. Dragonfire, like a red-hot sword wielded by the gods, slashed back and forth across the blue fabric. The ornate "patterns" were cut in two by the divine blade, stained with thick smoke, blazing fire, bright red blood, and the screams of souls and flesh.
In Big Black's surprise attack, all pirate leaders and their flagships were turned into flaming torches adrift on the sea.
—When the pirate fleets arrived, they had exchanged flag signals with King Vyswater. Naturally, the pirate lords were all on the flagships issuing signals, and Big Black, hidden in the clouds, saw everything clearly.
"I am Deathwing, the Ender of Evil. I am the Great Divine Heavenly Dragon," came a long string of titles, with no concern for whether anyone could remember them.
"You are pirates, steeped in sin. Yet the Dragonmother, in her mercy, offers you a chance to lay down your blades and embrace the Holy Dragon. Kneel on your decks immediately and wait for General Vyswater to reorganize your fleets."
"Long live the Mother of Dragons! Long live the Holy Light! Long live the Great Divine Heavenly Dragon!"
On the decks of King Vyswater's fleet, right in the middle of the battlefield yet completely unscathed, voices erupted in thunderous cheer and celebration.
But some pirates refused to submit. Despite their ships barely having even two working ballistae and posing almost no threat to the Holy Dragon, they turned and fled, shouting:
"Prepare ballistae and bows! The demon dragon only succeeded with a sneak attack. Don't be afraid!"
They didn't just shout; they raised flags to signal others, urging a collective rebellion against the fearsome dragon and a joint escape.
Then Big Black dove again, skimming just above the water, approaching the pirate ships from the blind spots of their ballistae. Dragonfire sliced through the hulls like a hot knife through butter.
Boom—once again, a plume of fire, smoke, and blood erupted from the sea.
"WHO—ELSE—DARES!" Big Black emerged from the thick smoke of the burning wrecks, his demonic form sweeping over the decks of terrified, screaming survivors, his thunderous roar echoing across the sky.
"We surrender!"By swiftly destroying the boldest rebel, the remaining arrogant vultures immediately turned into meek quail.
Then, the white dragon that had been circling in the sky finally descended.
Yes, Little White had been providing Big Black with full battlefield vision the whole time.
Dragons were usually shot down for two reasons:First, ballista bolts came from blind spots—they couldn't dodge what they couldn't see.Second, the bolts were too numerous—sometimes they simply couldn't evade them all.
The twin dragon bond helped resolve much of this. Not perfectly, but at least 70–80% of the problem.
Little White had complete vision of the battlefield around Big Black, locking onto nearly every ballista. From a dynamic perspective, it could even see some bolts flying toward Big Black. The twin dragon link allowed Little White's vision to be transmitted directly to Big Black. This way, Big Black became like Neo from The Matrix, flying leisurely, weaving up, down, and sideways to dodge all the ballista bolts—and most of the arrows too.
Well, with so many archers, he couldn't dodge every arrow.
But as long as his eyes weren't hit, at worst he'd lose some scales and shed a few drops of scalding dragon blood.—Which made his attempt to mimic Smaug's evil tone rather pathetic in comparison, given how much weaker his defense was.
Moreover, Big Black knew where the firepower was concentrated.
He knew exactly where the arrows were dense and where they were sparse.
Simply put, Big Black wasn't fighting alone—Dany and Little White were with him: one providing full vision of the battlefield, the other assisting with real-time tactics.
The black dragon moved as though no one could touch him.
Of course, if this were a regular navy, Dany would never be so reckless.
First of all, pirates mostly relied on boarding battles—how else would they plunder? They didn't have, nor did they need, advanced anti-dragon ballistae. Most only had two ballistae fixed on the bow or stern.
Second, the pirate fleets didn't form any battle formations—mostly just long lines, or no formation at all. So, during Big Black's assault, they couldn't support one another.
Once all the pirates had surrendered, Little White landed and delivered Ser Barristan the White Knight to the deck of King Vyswater's flagship.
The White Knight, representing the Dragon Queen, would conduct an honorable reorganization of this dishonorable fleet.
After all, Dany wasn't truly a Pirate King—what would she even want pirate underlings for?
Under the True Dragon's Banner, only Just Armies Serve
Under the True Dragon's banner, only righteous armies may serve.
All pirates who surrendered from the Stepstones, including the 6,000 former Westerosi sailors under Lord Velaryon's command, were to be reorganized.
Under the leadership of Ser Barristan, "the only true knight of the Seven Kingdoms," they were to be transformed into a royal navy infused with the great spirit of knighthood.
Indeed, though Lord Velaryon's fleet comprised only ten large sailing ships, they carried a total of 6,000 sailors—More than the number of seamen in the fleets of Hightower or Gerold Dayne.
Because they were not merely oarsmen and helmsmen, but royal navy soldiers sworn to the Iron Throne. Among them were skilled archers, deck swordsmen with shields, and armored shock troops.
They came from the Crownlands and Stormlands—disgraced knights, impoverished farmers, poachers, and thieves. Many of them should've been sent to the Wall to serve in the Night's Watch, but were intercepted by Lord Velaryon and turned into sailors.
Daenerys had to admit—the Bastard of Driftmark was indeed capable.
In less than half a year, not only had he built ten massive ships from scratch, he had even absorbed Cersei's entire royal fleet.
[Latest novel update first published on 69 Books Forum!]
All ten ships defected with him, abandoning Cersei and betraying the Iron Throne. From once-honored royal soldiers, they had become pirates of the Stepstones.
His charisma and personal abilities surpassed even Song Jiang of Chinese folklore.
Song Jiang often recruited followers only after their families were destroyed and they had no path but rebellion. Meanwhile, Lord Velaryon managed to seduce Queen Cersei, supervise shipbuilding, rebuild the royal navy, and outmaneuver Grand Maester Pycelle in a power struggle (Pycelle had tried to stop him from taking control of the navy). At the same time, he won over the hearts of all his subordinates.
Unfortunately, Aurane Velaryon's character was questionable—he couldn't be fully trusted. It seemed Daenerys had truly become Zhuge Liang, and she viewed Velaryon as her own Wei Yan.
Well, in fact, the Dragon Queen might be slightly better than Zhuge Liang—at least she wouldn't, like Kongming, go around warning everyone: "Velaryon bears rebellion in his bones! One day he will betray us! Beware!"
She wouldn't even say that to Wei Yan's face.
Quite the opposite. That very night, during a gathering of all the captains, she projected a lifelike spiritual image of herself and, with heartfelt sincerity, pointed to the Bastard of Driftmark and said to all:
"This man shares the same Valyrian bloodline as my ancestors.The Velaryons have been loyal vassals of House Targaryen for generations.Ser Aurane, the current lord of Driftmark, is naturally the subject I trust most."
Velaryon was so moved, he shed tears on the spot.
"House Targaryen of Dragonstone, House Velaryon of Driftmark, House Celtigar of Claw Isle, and you noble knights from the Crownlands and Stormlands—this scene feels like history repeating itself, mirroring the early days of Aegon's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms.
We shall follow in our forebears' glorious footsteps—no, our ambition is greater! Westeros is not our limit.
Therefore, we must no longer be pirates. Pirates are destroyers, not rulers. They can never conquer the world. Our forces must be reformed!
Ser Barristan, the noblest of White Knights, the last in all of Westeros to embody true chivalry in these chaotic times, shall lead you all to glory and forge our honor anew."
"How do you feel about it?" the Dragon Queen asked, her gaze full of trust as she looked toward Velaryon.
"Your Grace speaks well—very well! We cannot be pirates. We are the royal navy under Her Majesty's command!" Aurane nodded fervently.
Thus, the honorable and upright Barristan Selmy became... well, a pirate leader, by unanimous approval.
And so, the task of raiding House Hightower's fleet was handed to the White Knight.
Before the old knight could even complain about the contradiction, Daenerys assigned him another, even less honorable task:
"I don't fully trust Aurane. Do not touch the ten captains from Cersei's fleet.From among the pirates, pick the most honest and honorable men you can find. Train them well.
Then, when the time is right, assign them as captains, first mates, second mates, or navigators aboard the captured ships. Slowly dilute Aurane's influence in the 'royal navy.'"
With that, she gave Ser Barristan no time to respond—Drogon took off, and she disappeared. The pirates assumed she'd flown away on dragonback.
"I can't do this..." muttered the White Knight, standing there in shock, utterly lost.
But Drogon didn't fly back to Slaver's Bay.
Now that the Stepstones had their own royal navy, Viserion had even more on his plate, flying every other day between Dragonstone and the Torture Abyss.
As for watching Queen Cersei's movements, that duty now fell to Drogon.
Five days ago, the Great Sept of Baelor.
Stone Cell.
Uncle and niece sat facing each other.
"I truly don't know what you were thinking," said Ser Kevan, staring at his niece—dressed in coarse linen, haggard and worn. The sharpness in his blue eyes had given way to helplessness and exhaustion. "Didn't your maesters ever teach you history?
Even without a maester, you should know about the Faith Militant uprising during the reign of Maegor the First.
He had dragons. He had an army of a hundred thousand. And still, he was nearly undone by the Church's armed forces. Where does your confidence come from? Do you think yourself stronger than Maegor?"
"To strike at the Faith Militant, he burned the Great Sept on dragonback. He offered a bounty for the heads of Warrior's Sons—one gold dragon for every scalp.
In cruelty, strength, and cunning, how do you compare to him?
It took the Targaryens great effort to suppress the Faith's influence. Eventually, the High Septon lost all power over royal governance. And yet, you—"
He slapped his forehead and groaned, "Seven save us, I never imagined foolishness could go so low."
"I saved the Iron Throne a million gold dragons!" Cersei retorted.
(End of Chapter)
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