Loga's plan was clear: first approach Sea Snake Corlys Velaryon, then use him as a stepping stone to join the Black Party and pledge loyalty to Queen Rhaenyra.
He pledged his loyalty to Rhaenyra, but naturally, he wasn't bringing these few men to be cannon fodder—the Black Party wouldn't even care for such small numbers. His true goal was the dragons in the Black Party's hands!
Dragons, true dragons—real dragons that could fly and breathe fire!
Dragons were the core of the Targaryen Family's rule over the continent of Westeros, and even more so, they were the ultimate weapons on the battlefields of this era.
Possessing a true dragon and becoming a Dragonrider soaring through the blue sky was the ultimate dream of every warrior in this world.
With a true dragon, one could stand against a hundred, but only those bearing the blood of the Targaryen Family could master the dragonseeds;
Or strictly speaking, in the world of Ice and Fire, only the blood of the Valyrian Dragonlord families could give rise to a Dragonrider!
Loga himself was a Bastard bearing Targaryen blood. As for which member of the Targaryen Family was his biological father, his prostitute mother had never said; she had only given him a heavily worn yellow ribbon before she died, which he had unfortunately lost somewhere long ago.
Loga had never told anyone this secret. His silvery-white long hair and violet eyes—these signature Targaryen traits—were not rare on the continent of Essos; after any, there were many people with Valyria blood.
Furthermore, Bastards held a low status and were not accepted by the systems of the era, so naturally, no one would associate him with the Targaryen Family of Westeros.
Loga knew that before long, the Black Party and the Greens would go to full-scale war. At that time, the Black Party would fall into a disadvantage and call upon Dragonseed Bastards from all over to go to Dragonstone to engage in Dragon taming to replenish their military strength.
This was the opportunity Loga was eyeing!
He wasn't certain if he could successfully tame a dragon based on his bloodline. In the original story, thousands had tried, and in the end, only a handful succeeded; the rest either ended up in a dragon's maw or were burned to cinders by dragonflame.
But never trying was not in Loga's character. Moreover, the temptation of becoming a Dragonrider was simply too great—money, status, even lands... how could he not take the gamble?!
However, Loga did not reveal this thought to his subordinates.
He only told everyone that switching from pirates to mercenaries would allow them to avoid the Dornishmen's revenge while earning steady money, and it wouldn't even stop them from returning to The Stepstones later to collect tolls—it was like killing three birds with one stone.
Fermon and the others didn't resist after hearing this. They didn't have that many schemes; as long as there was money to be made, what did it matter where they hung around?
Furthermore, the transition between pirate and mercenary was very common in this world; it was quite widespread for many pirates who robbed and pillaged to transform into mercenaries under some lord's command.
The key now was how to get Earl Corlys the Sea Snake to accept them as mercenaries. Loga had long since calculated this; sending several subordinates along with the Shipwright to Driftmark was precisely to implement this plan.
A night passed, and the sea breeze blew out the campfires in the camp. The Shipwright and the few subordinates Loga had arranged had already set sail for Driftmark.
Loga watched them leave, then arranged for his subordinates to rotate the guard and sent people to Gray Gallows Island to scout for news.
Before long, the scouts returned to report that Gray Gallows Island had become a wasteland. The heads of the pirates who hadn't evacuated in time were piled on the forebeach, and ships from the Triarchy were cruising the nearby Waters.
"The Triarchy indeed discovered the changes on Gray Gallows Island. I just don't know if they'll set their sights on us..."
Loga narrowed his eyes. The Triarchy, also known as the Alliance of Three Cities, was composed of three daughter colonies of the Valyrian Freehold—Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh.
After the doom of the Valyrian Freehold, these three city-states all claimed to have inherited the will of Valyria and had always wanted to take the entire Stepstones for themselves.
Among the pirates under Loga, many came from these three city-states. And if he remembered correctly, during the Dance of the Dragons, the Triarchy would side with the Greens and launch a surprise attack on the Black Party's fleet...
"Right now they are powerful and we are weak; we can only temporarily avoid their edge..."
Loga did not indulge in the joy of victory; instead, he was exceptionally rational. He knew he was still very weak and could only cling to the 'thigh' of the Black Party, slowly accumulating strength amidst the chaos to eventually grow strong.
After all, for him, chaos was a ladder!
Before that, he didn't want to provoke another powerful enemy besides Dorne, so he increased the sentries while having his subordinates pack their belongings, ready to evacuate by ship at any time.
But several days passed, and the people from the Triarchy didn't come to cause trouble for this broken island, nor was there any movement from Dorne. Loga couldn't help but wonder if they hadn't received the news that the stronghold had been taken yet?
On the contrary, during these few days, some scattered pirates in the vicinity heard of Loga's achievements and, feeling admiration, came from all over The Stepstones to join him.
The addition of these people added several points to Loga's power, with his numbers growing from one hundred and fifty to a full three hundred plus!
Over three hundred people were just enough to fill the five ships under Loga's command. He was about to cross the Narrow Sea to Driftmark to contact Earl Corlys, and these hands were just right to bolster his prestige.
Time passed quietly as Loga drilled his troops. To let his subordinates vent their emotions, Loga made an exception and allowed two Tyroshi merchant ships carrying camp followers to dock at the island.
The purple-haired Tyroshi merchants tremblingly sold supplies and goods to the pirates, not daring to meet Loga's eyes the whole time, only hoping to finish serving these 'plague gods' and leave as soon as possible.
Since Loga had already made an exception, he didn't make things difficult for the Tyroshi merchant ships and let them depart.
Just as he estimated the time was about right, a subordinate brought a letter from Shipwright Kendal Waters. The letter not only recorded the recent movements of Driftmark but also marked the routes and times of the Driftmark merchant ships crossing the Narrow Sea.
"Good fellow, he really didn't let down my expectations."
Seeing that the Shipwright hadn't run away after escaping his control and had instead diligently completed the assigned task, Loga felt a slight surge of joy. 'Waters' was the surname for Bastards in the King's Landing area, indicating that this Shipwright came from a humble background just like him; for now, it seemed this person was usable.
He no longer hesitated, gathered his men, and prepared to head to a location the Driftmark merchant ships had to pass to make some arrangements.
The sails were raised, and the five ships sailed out of the bay one after another. The pirates on board were all incredibly excited; they had been eating and drinking well with Loga during this time but hadn't been out to sea for activities for too long, and they had long been feeling stifled and uncomfortable.
Now that they finally had a chance to go to sea, they all hoped to plunder even richer spoils than last time.
But just as Loga's fleet sailed out of the home bay, several large ships suddenly appeared on the horizon not far away, with the flag of the Triarchy clearly hanging from their sails...
"It's Sharako Lohar! The fleet of the Triarchy's Admiral!"
A sharp-eyed pirate, upon seeing the flags hanging clearly on the sails, couldn't help but cry out.
Sharako Lohar, hailing from Lys, was elected as the Admiral of the Triarchy because of his years of dominance in The Stepstones. It was said he commanded over thirty warships and had eliminated countless pirates.
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