The sunlight was golden.
Longships and warriors occupied all the coastal docks and warning strongholds, the port towns were in ruins, and the island guards and commoners fled back into the depths of the islands.
The fighting had calmed down slightly. The beacon fires still burned fiercely.
The "Silence" and two other galleys captured from Fair Isle were anchored at sea, observing the battle.
The bow was facing east.
"Crow's Eye" stood and looked into the distance, the vast horizon was still a flat line, and no ship silhouettes had appeared yet.
The Shield Fleet was a bit slow.
But that didn't matter. If it dragged on until night, fighting in the darkness would be even more advantageous.
The dark sea.
What could be more suitable for a Kraken's hunt?
Moreover.
Joffrey was buried at Storm's End, the lords of the Seven Kingdoms were slaughtering each other, blood flowing endlessly, and the weakened Westeros was a triumphant feast for the victors. The Kraken would be reborn.
The prophecy had made it very clear.
A prophecy from the gods, confirmed so many times, could never be wrong.
Joffrey was dead.
"Crow's Eye" Euron saw it with his own eyes in a dream: that fellow was betrayed, and the Priestess of the Red God gave him a fatal blow from behind, a hot, dark blow that caused his body to collapse and his soul to scatter.
That's right. He was dead.
Nightshade Water enhanced the effect of the prophetic dreams, allowing "Crow's Eye" to see the future more clearly.
The Red God wanted him dead, so he naturally couldn't escape.
There was no room for doubt.
Although "Crow's Eye" didn't believe in any gods, he believed in the power of the gods more than most people.
The will of the Red God was beyond the comprehension of mortals.
His priestess could naturally do anything, even if it was completely illogical, even if it yielded no visible benefit.
Joffrey was certainly dead, and had to be dead.
Only then would the chaos in the Seven Kingdoms intensify, and the Green Lands would not be a unified entity. The longships could then defeat them one by one, pick their prey at will, and conquer fertile lands piece by piece.
Only then could the Kraken from the deep sea become his invincible power, suppressing the entire Westeros Continent and deterring any foreign enemies.
Otherwise, why attack the Shield Islands with only a few hundred people?
A few longships, a few hundred Ironborn.
With such a small force, they couldn't even capture or defend the most ordinary stone castle!
In the end, it still had to rely on the Kraken.
A colossal, unparalleled Kraken, an intelligent Kraken, a cold Kraken, a tyrannical Kraken.
A god-made Kraken.
After witnessing it, who could still ignore the existence of the Iron Islands, who could still cling to their ethereal beliefs? Who could still resist kneeling?
Not just the Shield Islands.
Highgarden, Oldtown, The Arbor, the entire most fertile Reach would submit to the sea!
And then the Seven Kingdoms!
And then...
Euron looked ahead. There was still no movement on the sea.
It was really a bit slow.
This was nothing, he comforted himself. He had to believe in the prophecy.
During the voyage, Euron made another prophecy about the Shield Islands: everything would go smoothly, and all he saw was victory and submission, although the process was relatively vague.
The information was unclear.
Therefore, the longship fleet still treated the fully staffed Shield Islands fleet as the hypothetical enemy, made thorough plans and preparations, and approached the target with the utmost caution.
The result was unexpectedly good.
Not only was the defense of Greyshield Island not strengthened at all, it didn't even reach the usual level of guarding.
Only then did the Ironborn realize that the lords, knights, and fleet of the Shield Islands had all happened to gather at Oakenshield Island at the same time.
For what?
The captured individuals were all vague, the information they revealed was incomplete, unclear, or even contradictory, less credible than fabricated rumors.
After employing various torture games, the Ironborn finally confirmed that they truly didn't know.
It was also reasonable.
If it was truly a secret, these fellows who spent all day loitering around the port docks were clearly not qualified to know.
Perhaps the people in the castle knew more. However, for the Ironborn raiders wielding swords, solid stone buildings were tough nuts to crack. Unless the Kraken was deployed.
And Great King Euron hadn't revealed his trump card in advance. The Ironborn had no choice but to give up on pursuing the truth.
Speaking of which, if it weren't for Great King Euron's request, they wouldn't care about these troublesome matters. Wouldn't it be better to use this time to plunder more treasures and capture some thralls and salt wives?
The clues ended there.
Despite this, "Crow's Eye" still pieced together a rough picture.
Something big was happening in the Shield Islands.
This was nonsense, but also a confirmed premise and foundation.
What big event?
The few words sent back from Greyshield Island were quite chaotic. Some said Highgarden had sent people to summon the island fleet for battle, some said Oakenshield Island had invited various families for a gathering to strengthen marriage alliances, and others said it was to reintegrate the fleet and pledge loyalty to Highgarden and the King.
Highgarden's involvement should be a fact.
So, was the part about the King true or false? If true, which King?
Renly? Joffrey?
Given Renly's recent movements, unless he had persuaded the Redwyne family of The Arbor to change their stance, he probably wouldn't bother with the Shield Islands.
Even if he took the Shield Islands fleet, The Arbor to the south would still be an unavoidable obstacle.
Clearly, if Paxter Redwyne still cared about the lives of his two sons, he would never watch the Shield Islands fleet pass through.
Moreover, Renly had already taken other measures to compensate for the disadvantage at sea.
It wasn't just the Seven Kingdoms that had fleets.
The hired fleets of the Free Cities were not only closer but also less influenced by the loyalty and obedience of the Lords of the Seven Kingdoms. All that was needed was to pay according to the contract.
Renly, supported by Highgarden, clearly wouldn't be unable to afford the payment for a hired fleet.
Euron had already seen that Renly's emissary had signed a contract for a hired fleet of up to two hundred warships, which would depart from Tyrosh in the Free Cities soon.
With this fleet, Renly naturally wouldn't put much effort here.
Therefore.
There was no King, just Highgarden's own actions.
Euron had to make this judgment.
There were no other options. Joffrey was dead.
Of course, there was a small possibility: Joffrey died too late, and his remaining followers hadn't received the news, so they continued the actions here.
After all, there was that kind of power.
Euron couldn't help but recall the heat and swelling he felt from within the Kraken. The power of fire. Perhaps there was more.
How could the current world tolerate the existence of such a person?!
Joffrey, it's good that you're dead.
"Your Majesty! Look at the stern!" A familiar voice sounded in Crow's Eye's ear, the usually indifferent tone uncharacteristically fluctuating with surprise.
Crow's Eye turned around, and "Skinchanger" Yohn Farwynd pointed towards the setting sun in the west.
He squinted at the distant sea.
One, two, hundreds of slender masts formed a line, and the trapezoidal black shadows beneath the masts slowly grew larger and wider; that was the front of the hull.
They were heading this way!
Woo~~~
The Kraken beneath the surface spontaneously let out a cry, seeming somewhat excited, yet also as if from fear or resistance.
Joffrey?!
Crow's Eye strained his eyes to see into the distance.
The figure on the approaching fleet suddenly magnified, glancing over here, immediately causing the bloodshot eye beneath his eyepatch to throb with pain.
Crow's Eye lowered his head fiercely, staring at the blood-red deck.
Joffrey! He wasn't dead!!
How was that possible?!! That was a prophecy from the gods!
How could it be wrong?!
Crow's Eye's heart pounded wildly, his gaze frantic, years of firm belief gradually shattering and collapsing, making him begin to doubt everything.
To the west.
Joffrey smiled slightly: "The Hunt game begins."
-----------
Machine Translation by: beta.randomtranslator.com
Read 1400+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: www.randomtranslator.com