Chapter 140: Sudden Assault
"N-no… you don't need to give that much. O-one coin is enough." Kiko swallowed hard as he looked at the gold coins Aka was offering.
In his mind, one gold coin had already been a high price. He hadn't expected the Dragon God to ask for five. He wanted them—but he also feared being called greedy by his khalasar, or even being driven out by his khal.
"The Dragon God doesn't take back his words. Take it," Aka said, already familiar with Drogon's temperament, and pushed the coins forward without asking again.
Kiko hesitated, glanced at Drogon and Daenerys, then finally accepted the gold.
Seeing a small shell sell for five gold coins, the surrounding crowd was stunned—even Daenerys found it hard to believe.
It wasn't that she minded the money, but the price was far beyond what she thought it was worth.
And from the way Aka had taken out his pouch and asked Drogon, it was clear this wasn't the first time he had paid on Drogon's behalf.
Only now did she realize—Drogon hadn't just been collecting shiny coins for fun.
Every time he hunted on the grasslands, he had been paying.
Nearby merchants who had previously tried bargaining with Kiko felt deep regret. They had also sensed the shell wasn't ordinary—but one gold coin had seemed too expensive.
They had even tested it and found it no different from a normal shell.
Just a moment of hesitation—
And they had missed both profit and the chance to gain favor with Daenerys.
After getting the shell, Drogon examined it for a while but still found nothing special. For now, he set it aside.
Following Daenerys along the Godsway, he didn't sense any other unusual items. Though slightly disappointed, he didn't dwell on it.
Transforming back into his full form, he carried Daenerys away from Vaes Dothrak under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Back in Meereen, Daenerys immediately summoned Daario and Yara, ordering them to accelerate shipbuilding—or acquire more ships by any means possible.
Both were puzzled.
With their current fleet, they already had enough ships to transport their army across the Narrow Sea. There was no need to build more.
They even wondered if Daenerys had miscalculated.
"Your Grace, we already have enough ships to carry the army across the sea. There's no need to build more," Daario said.
"Not enough," Daenerys replied. "Because more people will be joining us."
"More?" Daario and Yara asked almost in unison.
"You'll see soon enough. For now, start building—two hundred ships."
Daenerys herself wasn't certain how many Dothraki would come. She estimated perhaps ten to twenty thousand.
Two hundred ships would be enough for around twenty thousand soldiers.
Neither Daario nor Yara could imagine where she planned to find so many people.
---
Two days later, the city guards rushed in with urgent news—
Nearly ten thousand cavalry were approaching the walls.
Tyrion and the others, already informed that reinforcements would arrive, remained calm.
From the direction Drogon had flown earlier, they had already guessed where these new forces would come from.
Once it was confirmed to be Dothraki, Daenerys ordered the gates opened and personally went out to receive them.
Leading the group was Khal Jhaqo, accompanied by two mid-sized khalasars.
According to him, more were on the way.
Aside from those left behind to protect the old and the young, nearly all warriors were coming—at least thirty thousand in total.
Daenerys hadn't expected so many.
She immediately ordered Missandei to arrange accommodations for the incoming Dothraki, while urging Daario and Yara to speed up ship construction.
---
The next day, more khalasars arrived.
Together with Jhaqo's forces, the number of Dothraki had already reached forty-five thousand.
Then, two days later—
Just as Daario and the others were worrying about how slow shipbuilding was, Daenerys suddenly received a delivery.
From the former slave masters of Slaver's Bay, along with the nobles of Ghis—
Three hundred ships.
Daenerys hadn't expected such generosity. She even wondered if they simply wanted her gone from Slaver's Bay as soon as possible—that would explain why they handed over so many ships. With these added, the fleet was finally enough for the campaign.
Once the ships were secured, Tyrion Lannister began arranging matters for after her departure.
The original plan remained unchanged. Daario would oversee affairs in Slaver's Bay, stationed in Meereen. Yunkai and Astapor would each be left with five hundred Unsullied and a thousand new recruits. Meereen itself would be guarded by two thousand troops—again, five hundred Unsullied, with the rest being new soldiers.
The Unsullied known as Little Sparrow was left behind in Meereen to assist Daario in maintaining order across the three cities.
With Ghis subdued and the Sons of the Harpy severely weakened, as long as Daenerys remained stable in Westeros, Slaver's Bay was unlikely to face major trouble.
Three days later, everything was ready.
Nearly one hundred thousand troops, aboard a thousand ships, set sail from Meereen in orderly formation.
Knowing their queen was leaving for Westeros, the people of Meereen gathered along the city walls to see her off.
Daenerys had not only freed the slaves of Slaver's Bay—she had also given them a way to live.
Now, as she departed, they could only hope she would successfully claim the Iron Throne.
Because if she failed…
They might one day be forced back into chains.
---
At The Wall, staring at the vast army of wildlings stretching as far as the eye could see, Jon Snow knew one thing—
If they launched another assault, the Night's Watch, already weakened from the previous battle, would not be able to hold.
Just as he was considering whether to go out and negotiate, a report suddenly arrived.
The wildlings… were under attack.
For a moment, Jon thought the White Walkers had reached the Wall.
But when he went out to look, he realized—
It wasn't them.
It was a force of several thousand human cavalry launching a sudden assault on Mance's army.
Watching from a distance, Jon saw the banner they carried—a blazing heart.
Yet strangely, he couldn't recognize which house it belonged to.
The banner didn't matter.
What mattered was the battle.
Though the cavalry numbered no more than five thousand, every one of them was fierce and battle-hardened.
They tore through the unprepared wildlings like a blade through water, charging back and forth several times, completely scattering their ranks.
Then, coordinating with infantry, they began systematically surrounding and eliminating the broken forces.
Jon knew that although the wildlings claimed to number a hundred thousand, most were old men, women, and children.
True warriors numbered barely twenty thousand.
And even those had only ever fought beasts beyond the Wall—or skirmished with small Night's Watch patrols.
Compared to a trained army—
They were no match at all.