Dragonstone is an island located at the exit of Blackwater Bay. Dragonstone Castle is entirely made of black stone, and the castle towers are carved to look like dragons.
Stannis, who was defeated and retreated from King's Landing, returned to their base camp with 3,000 direct troops and more than 1,000 Davos troops.
Dragonstone is a very important strategic location. It can be said to be a dagger hanging on the throat of King's Landing. After the destruction of the King's Landing fleet, they have no ability to threaten Dragonstone.
Since returning to Dragonstone, Stannis ordered Davos to lead the remaining warships to block the throat of Blackwater Bay, cut off King's Landing's foreign trade, and constantly harass the royal coast.
Stannis, who retreated to Dragonstone, was only worried about the Redwyne fleet on the Arbor. However, the Reach had become an independent country, and the Iron Throne had no authority to order the Redwyne fleet to come for support.
Just in case, Stannis ordered the small number of troops he left behind at Storm's End to monitor the nearby waters at all times. Whenever he saw a large fleet heading north, he would report it immediately.
The Stone Drum Tower is the main castle of Dragonstone. Whenever a storm comes, the inside of its ancient walls will rumble and echo, hence its name.
The Picture Table Hall is located at the top of the Stone Drum Tower. It is a huge circular room with four tall narrow windows facing east, west, north and south. There is a huge map table in the middle of the Picture Table Hall. On the map table, there are detailed carvings depicting the West
Luo map.
The map table is over fifty feet long, with its widest point about half the length and its narrowest point less than four feet. The location corresponding to Dragonstone has been carefully designed to correspond to a seat on a high platform, allowing the tabletop to be
Everything is in sight.
Stannis, with a gloomy expression, sat in the main seat and glanced at the two remaining subordinates, Davos and Roland, as well as Melisandre, who had been sent back to Dragonstone by him at Bitterbridge.
He said in a dark tone: "We have lost 40,000 troops. What is our next plan? Do you have any opinions?"
"Your Majesty, I have received revelation from my Lord during this period that the real battlefield is in the north!"
As soon as Stannis finished speaking, Melisandre smiled seductively and replied with a unique accent.
"North? North?"
After hearing her words, Stannis not only frowned and said to himself.
"Your Majesty, I learned from some well-informed friends that the entire North is run like an iron barrel by Robb Stark, and not even Tywin Lannister can get involved.
I'm afraid, the current North is not a good choice. Of course, if the Stark family can submit to the Baratheon family again, then the North is the best choice."
Ever since he saw Melisandre using evil magic, Davos had always had a deep prejudice against her. Therefore, he immediately spoke to Stannis.
"When I was in Bitterbridge, I sent more than a dozen raven letters to the North, asking Robb Stark to pledge his allegiance to me, but the answers I received were all very direct no.
Humph, now Robb Stark is also a usurper in my eyes. Eddard Stark did not teach his son well!"
Stannis shook his head in denial when he heard this, directly classifying Robb as a traitor.
"Your Majesty, given the current situation, please allow me to make a suggestion to you, which is to go to Seagull Town in the valley!"
Upon hearing Stannis's answer, Davos immediately gave his advice after careful consideration.
"Seagull Town in the Vale? Davos, please explain in detail why you made this suggestion."
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
When Davos heard Stannis's question, he immediately stood up and saluted, pointed to the map table and continued,
"Some time ago, the self-proclaimed 'King of Seagull Town', Gerald Grafson, wanted to take advantage of the 'Bronze King' Anda Royce's battle with the Eagle's Nest City to enter the Arryn Valley from the south for a surprise attack.
But who knew that they would be attacked by a mixed cavalry force of Lannister and Eyrie led by Tyrion Lannister, and suffer heavy losses.
On their way to Seagull Town, the 'King of the Five-Finger Peninsula' who had already ambushed the north of Crab Bay came to Onno Corbray to catch them all.
Now, the Grafson family has been slaughtered by Leonno, and Seagull Town has fallen into the hands of the Corbray family."
"Humph, there are so many false kings in a small valley. These days, there are kings everywhere in Westeros!
Sorry, please continue."
Davos, who stopped when he heard Stannis complain, heard this and continued his previous topic: "Seagull Town is one of the five major ports. It has a large population and is especially home to many wealthy merchants. In terms of economy, it can
Provide us with great help.
Then, the strategic location of Seagull Town is also very important. It can attack White Harbor from the north and threaten King's Landing from the south.
Finally, the people of Seagull Town were very dissatisfied with the cruel Lionno. Moreover, the Knights of the Vale had a strong tradition and always adhered to the righteousness. Joffrey was known to everyone as an incestuous bastard.
Therefore, His Majesty’s right of succession is undoubtedly the most orthodox and legal. As long as the Seagull Town is taken down by then, and you issue a call, they will definitely respond.”
"Your Majesty, compared to the North, Seagull Town is indeed the best choice."
Roland, who had been silent, opened his mouth to agree after Davos finished speaking in detail.
"Well, the next step is decided. Head to Seagull Town and capture the entire valley."
Stannis agreed very much with Davos' statement and made a decision directly.
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Melisandre smiled and did not continue to defend. At least compared to Dragonstone, Seagull Town is closer to the north.
"You two go down first! I still have something to discuss with Ms. Melisandre."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Snap!
Davos and the two walked out of the Picture Table Hall. After he closed the door, he said to Roland: "Sir Roland, thank you for supporting my suggestion just now."
"Ser Davos, there is no need to thank me for this. I just agree with the right advice. Marching to the cold north is the most ridiculous and stupid advice I have ever heard."
When Roland heard this, he raised his right hand and waved it, indicating that Davos did not need to thank him.
"Well, Seagull Town must be captured. This is our only chance! Then I will make pre-war preparations first."
Davos nodded and said goodbye to Roland. Roland nodded, turned and left without saying a word.
Davos, who had been extremely distressed by the death of his son during this period, now had a new goal. He had been making preparations for the war all day long, and he had inspected the remaining thirty-six warships one by one.
Until nightfall, a servant of Stannis came to call him and went to Yin Geng Garden in the main castle.
Yin Geng Garden is located near the Dragon Tail Gate of the main castle. It is filled with the pleasant fragrance of pine, and tall black trees rise from all sides. There are also wild roses and towering thorn bushes here, and there are some creepers in the mud.
Orange.
When Davos arrived, a bonfire was built in the center of the garden. Standing beside the bonfire were Stannis, Melisandre, a witch named Maywee and Robert's illegitimate daughter, Barra.
The servants brought Davos and left quickly, leaving the five of them alone in the garden with a crackling bonfire.
Seeing this posture, Davos's heart skipped a beat, and he asked hesitantly: "Your Majesty, you..."
Before he could speak, Stannis stretched out his hand to silence him, and then used his eyes to signal him to watch quietly.
Melisandre smiled coquettishly at Davos, then took out a wooden box and came to Mei Yan, whose eyes were filled with fear.
Looking at Mei Yan who suddenly turned her back to her while holding her child, Melisandre chuckled and said: "Don't worry, just letting the leech suck some of her blood won't cause any harm.
If you don’t cooperate, then I’ll have to come by force.”
Hearing Melisandre's words, Mei Yan's eyes suddenly shone with tears. She knew that she had no other choice, so she turned around and showed the very cute Bara in her arms, who was sleeping soundly, in front of her.
Seeing that she was very cooperative, Melisandre opened the wooden box, used a clip to take out a writhing leech that was as thin as a little finger, and placed it on Bara's cute little face.
Maybe it was because the leeches were relatively cold, so Bara frowned in her sleep, as if she was having a nightmare.
Next, Melisandre placed the other two leeches in front of Bara's arms and chest. The leeches were visibly swollen with blood and became as thick as a thumb in a few minutes.
When leeches suck blood, they secrete an analgesic neurotoxin, so Bara, who felt no pain, slept soundly throughout the whole process and did not wake up.
Seeing that the amount of blood absorbed by the leeches was almost the same, Melisandre used clips to retrieve the three leeches into the wooden box. Mei Xi, who looked distressed, saw that she had finished, and immediately held Barra tightly in her arms, turning her back to
Three of them.
Melisandre held the wooden box and turned to Stannis and nodded, and the two walked to the campfire. Davos watched silently from behind, with a trace of sullenness in his eyes.
"The night is dark and dangerous everywhere! My Lord, 'King of Light', you are the light, you are the justice, you are everything!
Your faithful servant prays..."
Standing by the campfire, Melisandre held the wooden box in her hand toward Stannis and began to pray in a chant.
Stannis reached out and took out a fat leech from the wooden box, looked at the burning bonfire, and murmured: "The Usurper Joffrey Baratheon!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Stannis raised his hand and threw the leech into the bonfire.
He threw the fat leech into the blazing bonfire. Although it stopped twisting immediately, it was not burned by the bonfire, as if something was brewing.
"Robb Stark the Usurper!"
Taking out a leech again, Stannis read Robb's name, and then threw the leech in again.
"Robin the Traitor..."
"Your Majesty, most of the valley is controlled by Lysa Arryn, Littlefinger, and Tyrion Lannister. If we want to gain the valley, we only need to deal with them.
Robin Arryn is just a sickly child. Just like...Princess Shireen."
Davos, who had been silent all this time, saw that Stannis wanted to say Robin Arryn's name, and he finally couldn't help but speak out.
Hearing Davos's words, Stannis saw his kind and lovely daughter in front of his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, and then said: "The traitor comes to Sha Arryn!"
The third fat leech was also thrown into the bonfire by Stannis. At this time, Melisandre also ended her prayer.
Crack!
Three fat leeches in the campfire suddenly made a crisp sound, and a large amount of blood splashed out from their bodies.
With bright red blood splattering out, the three leeches that were very resistant to high temperatures were instantly scorched by the flames and turned into three piles of ashes.