Chapter 132 Dragon King vs. Horse King
Khal Lamiqiao's feigned surrender scheme failed, and he even lost his bloodrider Zheke for nothing. Khal Lamiqiao watched Zheke's corpse hanging from the city walls of Myr, with crows standing on his shoulders, tearing at his face.
Khal Lamiqiao was seething with rage. In his enraged state, Khal Lamiqiao immediately ordered the Dothraki army to launch a full-scale, fierce assault on Myr.
Tens of thousands of Dothraki approached Myr.
Initially, the Dothraki slowly pushed their trebuchets and ballistas towards Myr outside the city walls. However, all these Dothraki siege engines were assembled from parts sent by Volantis, and they were much smaller than the trebuchets on Myr's city walls. Myr was a city famous for its artisans, so its trebuchets naturally had a longer range and greater power.
As soon as the Dothraki's ballistas and trebuchets entered the range of Myr's defensive trebuchets on the city walls, Myr's acting Lord Constantine and Tomb Wolf immediately ordered the defenders to operate the trebuchets, launching massive stones.
Due to Daemon's defenders having the high ground and superior trebuchets, the Dothraki besieging below could not hit the city walls with their trebuchets, while the defenders' trebuchets accurately struck the enemies on the ground. One Dothraki was hit by a massive stone, his head splattering with blood and brains. Another Dothraki's knee was shattered by a massive stone, the flesh and skin gone, leaving only bloody bone. Several other Dothraki had their trebuchets struck by massive stones and collapse, directly crushing them.
Fortunately, the trebuchets on Myr's city walls had a limited range. Some Dothraki, pushing their siege engines, bypassed the trebuchets' range. They adjusted their equipment, aiming at the trebuchets and watchtowers on the city walls.
Suddenly, a dragon's roar echoed from the sky. The Dragonriders of House Targaryen launched their attack. Daemon's Caraxes, Gael's Dreamfyre, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen's Meleys, and Laenor Velaryon's Seasmoke attacked simultaneously from different directions of the battlefield. The dragons opened their gaping maws, spewing flames. Dothraki and their siege engines alike burst into flames. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Screams, wails, and curses reverberated across the battlefield.
Some Dothraki, seeing the dragons, gradually lost their courage and began to retreat.
Khal Lamiqiao, on the high hill behind the battlefield, saw his army retreating and angrily fumed, "Prepare the cavalry for supervision! Kill those retreating cowards!"
Dothraki cavalry quickly charged, raising a cloud of dust behind the battlefield. The thunder of Dothraki hooves filled the air as they drew their bows and shot down some fleeing Dothraki. Some scattered Dothraki soldiers were also cut down by the supervising cavalry wielding arakhs.
Khal Lamiqiao's supervising cavalry killed over a hundred deserters, which finally halted the rout. The Dothraki siege army could only continue their assault.
Despite heavy casualties, the Dothraki chose to press on with the attack. They trampled over their comrades' corpses, braving the arrows, rolling stones, falling timber, and dragonfire from above, charging madly. Some Dothraki soldiers finally carried scaling ladders to the city walls. People roared as they set up the ladders and began to climb.
Tomb Wolf on the city wall waved his hand and said, "Prepare the boiling oil!"
Soldiers, wearing special gloves, lifted large vats, and boiling oil poured out of Myr's drainage spouts on the city walls. The boiling oil, like a waterfall, instantly scalded the attacking soldiers below, causing their skin to burst and their flesh to tear. They screamed and rolled on the ground, writhing in the dust.
However, being scalded to death by boiling oil was far from the worst way to die. Daemon, riding Caraxes, descended from the sky, trampling and breathing fire. The Dothraki before him were either burned to death by dragonfire or crushed into meat paste by the dragon's massive feet.
As night fell, Dothraki corpses lay strewn everywhere beneath Myr's city walls. Gael, riding the dragon Dreamfyre, flew to the rear of the battlefield, attacking the enemy's supervising cavalry. Some cavalrymen were burned to death.
The cavalry had been continuously cutting down soldiers fleeing from the battlefield, but when facing the dragons, these supervising cavalry also became deserters, scattering in all directions.
Without the supervising cavalry, the Dothraki soldiers, seeing no hope in the siege, turned and fled. Some Dothraki soldiers who were still charging had their formations broken by their own fleeing comrades.
Blood Wyrm Caraxes flapped his wings again, soaring into the sky. Daemon, on the dragon's back, observed that the Dothraki's defeat was inevitable. He blew two short and one long horn blasts—a call to charge. The city guards slowly opened Myr's gates. The Stormlands Knights, Dornish Knights, Westerlands Knights, Reach Knights, and Winter Wolves cavalry, who had been waiting in formation inside the gate, surged out like a sweeping storm.
The Dothraki deserters, facing the pursuing armored and steel-fisted knights, were naturally helpless. They were either shot down by horse archers, or speared to death by lancers, or died beneath the hooves of heavy cavalry.
Khal Lamiqiao's siege army bled like a river. The wise course of action would have been to retreat immediately, gather the defeated army, and fight another day. However, Khal Lamiqiao was consumed by rage. From his position on the high hill, he loudly commanded the reserve cavalry to charge immediately.
Unlike the heavily armored cavalry of Westeros, Dothraki cavalry wore only leather armor. Their defensive capabilities were lower, but they had an advantage in mobility and bow range.
Thousands of Dothraki cavalry charged together, unleashing volleys of deadly arrows. Before the arrows, the chainmail and plate armor of some Westerosi knights were instantly pierced. The Dothraki cavalry finally gained some ground. Some Dothraki cavalry let out excited shouts, and even Khal Lamiqiao, supervising from the high hill, showed a long-lost smile.
However, the victory was only temporary. Princess Rhaenys's Meleys and Laenor Velaryon's Seasmoke, like two phantoms, streaked across the sky, spewing flames at the Dothraki cavalry. Although many Dothraki cavalry escaped the direct blast of dragonfire, the bowstrings in their hands suffered heavy damage from the high temperature. Some bowstrings melted, and even those bows that could barely be used had their attack effectiveness sharply reduced.
Khal Lamiqiao was frustrated. He was about to order another reserve unit to charge when a bloodrider beside him suddenly shouted, "Khal, the dragon is attacking!"
Daemon, riding Caraxes, charged towards Khal Lamiqiao like a red phantom in the darkness.
To boost morale, Khal Lamiqiao ordered his bloodriders to raise a golden banner on the high hill. Dothraki on the battlefield, seeing the Khal's banner, would still hold onto hope.
However, this also provided convenience for Daemon's decapitation strike. Daemon, riding Blood Wyrm Caraxes, charged directly towards the high hill.
Caraxes breathed a stream of dragonfire. The Khal's golden banner instantly burst into flames. Khal Lamiqiao spurred his horse away, retreating to the side.
Khal Lamiqiao, on horseback, glared at Daemon on Caraxes's back. Caraxes's belly and throat churned with fire, like a glowing hot blacksmith's forge, radiating a terrifying crimson color. Waves of heat washed over him, and Khal Lamiqiao instantly broke into a sweat.
Daemon lazily waved his hand and said in High Valyrian, "Dragonfire!"
Dragonfire erupted from Blood Wyrm Caraxes's mouth. A storm of flames blasted towards Khal Lamiqiao. Khal Lamiqiao leaped from his saddle, rolled away, extinguishing the flames on his battle robes.
The warhorse screamed and fell to the ground in the flames. Thick smoke billowed across the battlefield, and Daemon and Caraxes both lost sight of Khal Lamiqiao.
Suddenly, Khal Lamiqiao grabbed the reins beside Blood Wyrm Caraxes's saddle and leaped onto the dragon. He wielded his arakh, striking at Daemon. Daemon had no time to draw his sword and could only move from the saddle to dodge. The arakh cut through the saddle's ropes and bit into the dragon's back. A dragon scale burst open, and dragon blood splattered out. The dragon blood ignited in the air. Caraxes let out a roar, flapping his wings and flying away from the ground.
The moment the saddle fell, Daemon grabbed a nearby rope, pulled hard, and leaped onto the dragon's back. He drew his Valyrian steel sword, Dark Sister.
Khal Lamiqiao, wielding his arakh, and Daemon, wielding Dark Sister, fought on the dragon's back as it flew higher and higher. The bloodriders, Dothraki cavalry, Westerosi knights, Tomb Wolf on the city wall, Lord Corlys Velaryon, Maester Michiel, Princess Rhaenys on Meleys's back, and Gael on Dreamfyre's back, all watched in shock as Daemon and Khal Lamiqiao engaged in this one-on-one battle on Dragon Caraxes's back.
Daemon had won many Westerosi tourneys, but fighting on a dragon's back was a first. The arakh and Dark Sister clashed, steel sang, sparks flew, and the beautiful music of clashing metal, combined with the dragon's roars, the moans of the dying, and the wails of the wounded, formed a magnificent symphony of battle.
Khal Lamiqiao was very strong, and the arakh in his hand was full of power. However, Daemon was faster. Daemon's Dark Sister bit through Khal Lamiqiao's battle robes. Blood stained crimson, gradually seeping out and flowing onto the dragon's back beneath their feet. Khal's blood and dragon's blood mingled, turning into a steaming blood mist.
Khal Lamiqiao's stamina gradually declined after being wounded. He roared, delivering a fatal blow. The arakh traced a deadly arc. Daemon quickly dodged, but was still grazed by the arakh on his armor. The three-headed dragon emblem, adorned with jewels on his breastplate, shattered and scattered across the ground.
"Stinking eunuch in iron! Coward, craven!"
Khal Lamiqiao cursed incessantly. Daemon sneered, "You're a man without armor, but unfortunately, you're dead!"
Dark Sister struck Khal Lamiqiao with fierce force, splitting him in half, head and shoulder.
The conqueror of the Great Grass Sea, Khal Lamiqiao, was thus brutally slain by Daemon on the low-flying Blood Wyrm Caraxes's back, under the gaze of tens of thousands of Dothraki warriors.
Daemon seized Khal Lamiqiao's arakh. He hadn't seen it clearly in the moonlight before, but now he discovered that this arakh was actually forged from Valyrian steel. Valyrian steel swords were rare, but there were still over a hundred in Westeros. A Valyrian steel arakh, however, was extremely rare.
In addition, Daemon also obtained Khal Lamiqiao's dragonbone longbow and silver-hilted long whip.
Daemon, holding Khal Lamiqiao's head with his shoulder still attached, stood proudly on the dragon's back. The Westerosi knights, Winter Wolves, and Dornish warriors cheered for Daemon, "True Dragon King, True Dragon King!"
Witnessing this shocking scene, many Dothraki cavalrymen dropped their weapons, dismounted their horses, and knelt on the ground, prostrating themselves before Daemon. Dothraki always followed the strong, and Daemon, having personally slain Khal Lamiqiao, became a conqueror in their eyes.
An elderly Dothraki cavalryman shouted in Dothraki, "Khal Daemon!" "Rider of the World!"
Other Dothraki echoed, and the roars of "Khal Daemon" reverberated across the land.
Dreamfyre, Caraxes, Seasmoke, and Meleys successively landed on Myr's city walls. Daemon, Princess Rhaenys, Laenor Velaryon, and Gael, along with other Dragonriders, stood on the city walls.
Tens of thousands of Dothraki surged forward like a tide.
The Dothraki pulled out their daggers, cut off their braids, and threw them down below Myr's city. Whenever Dothraki were defeated, they would cut off their braids as a sign of shame. This time, Daemon defeated the Dothraki army, and the Dothraki were thoroughly convinced.
The Dothraki who had cut off their braids all requested to join Daemon's Three Daughters. Theokos said in Dothraki, "Khal Daemon, you are not Dothraki, yet the miracles you have shown are more powerful than any brave horseman. You are a Khal who rides a dragon. Please take us in, let us be your subordinates. We are willing to nomad for you, fight for you, and die for you!"
Ser Ronald Florent, standing nearby, sneered, "These uncivilized barbarians, they still dream of becoming His Majesty's subjects. It's simply a pipe dream!" He spoke in the Common Tongue, so no Dothraki could understand him.
Daemon said sternly, "Ser Florent, mind your words. I will accept them." Daemon aimed to conquer the world, and recruiting defectors was naturally essential.
Gael was a little confused. "Daemon, I support you taking in the Dothraki, but will there be assassins among them? Will anyone want to avenge Khal Lamiqiao?"
Qumao, a Dothraki nearby, explained, "Queen, you will be a Khaleesi from now on. Khal Lamiqiao annexed many tribes to form a large tribe. Dothraki only follow the strong. Accepting Dothraki naturally carries the risk of assassination and betrayal, but the risk always exists. By taking them in, we gain a cavalry ace. At least Volantis and Pentos will not dare to engage us on land."
Daemon leaped onto Caraxes. The dragon soared into the sky. The Dothraki trembled in the dragon's shadow. Daemon shouted, "From now on, you are my tribal people, and I am your Khal Daemon!"
The Dothraki cheered excitedly. Daemon understood that Khal Lamiqiao's tribe and horses were now his. Daemon possessed a formidable cavalry army.
When Daemon's dragon landed on the ground, young Godin and Garret requested to serve as Daemon's bloodriders. Daemon refused. After all, they had just surrendered. Daemon hadn't even formed his own Kingsguard, so he had no intention of forming bloodriders.
There were over twenty thousand Dothraki in total, about a quarter of whom were mounted warriors, while the rest were elderly, weak, women, and children. The tribe had shamans, herb-women, and eunuchs. Daemon settled all these people in the Disputed Lands, allowing them to graze cattle and sheep in the wilderness, but their warhorses were managed by the Kingsguard, and the Dothraki cavalry became part of the Kingsguard.
However, not all Dothraki submitted. A Dothraki warrior named Remi declared himself Khal Remi. He had over three thousand followers and retreated towards the Rhoyne River.
Another Dothraki warrior named Baro, who was formerly a ko under Khal Lamiqiao, now declared himself Khal Baro. He led a group of over two thousand people and fled towards Volantis.
The anti-Daemon alliance initiated by Braavos, Volantis, and Pentos suffered another heavy blow. Daemon's rule became even more stable.
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