On the Rhoyne river, the Three Cities fleet was slowly sailing through the narrow passage getting ever so close to New Rhoyne.
The fleet's progress was slow and cautious as they navigated the winding river. General Kaelan stood at the bow of the lead ship, his eyes scanning the shoreline for any signs of enemy troops. So far, they had encountered nothing but the occasional horse or other animals roaming around.
"This is too easy," he muttered to himself. "Where are their defenses?"
Beside him, Shipmaster Khaleen Tidebreaker nodded in agreement. "I don't like it either. This Maximus has managed to conquer the Dothraki and beat all the other Khals. He won't just allow us to sail through the Rhoyne uncontested."
As if on cue, a loud crack echoed across the water, followed by a plume of smoke rising from the shore. The first cannonball shot out, splashing down just shy of the lead ship, sending waves crashing against its hull. Startled, Kaelan and Khaleen exchanged alarmed glances.
"Ambush!" Kaelan shouted, rallying his men. "Prepare for battle!"
As the fleet scrambled to respond, the shoreline erupted with cannon fire. The Urak-Hai Legion, which was now combined into one massive Legion of 10,000 Uruk-Hai had been lying in wait for the Three Cities fleet for the past few hours alongside 2 Dothraki Legions. Once they saw the fleet, they waited a little drawing the fleet in before they opened fire.
The riverbank on both sides had erupted with cannon fire, giving the enemy fleet no time to react. "Reload! Aim for the masts!" commanded the Uruk-Hai commander, "We must ground them before they can escape!"
The cannons were quickly reloaded, and another volley was released which tore through the lead ships, splintering wood and sending men screaming into the water.
The chaos on the river intensified as the cannon fire continued to rain down. Ships that had once appeared formidable were quickly reduced to floating wrecks, their masts falling like dominoes under the relentless barrage.
"Get those sails up! We need to maneuver!" Khaleen yelled, but the confusion among his men was palpable. Many were still trying to comprehend the sheer scale of the ambush.
General Kaelan, trying to maintain order, barked commands to his crew, but the horror of the scene around him drowned out any sense of strategy. The fleet had moved to shorelines to disembark all the men they were carrying, while a few ships used their own catapults to return fire.
As the fleet was getting decimated, those who managed to jump in the river before their ship was destroyed, had managed to swim towards the shore for what they thought would be safety, but instead they were met with Dothraki soldiers who dragged them from the shore and killed them without mercy.
Shipmaster Khaleen was trying to order a retreat, but turning hundreds of ships around would take time, since first, word needed to be passed throughout the fleet that to turn around, then they would need to actually turn around within the narrow river, all while avoiding cannon fire, which was impossible.
"Roderick!" Kaelan shouted, trying to locate the general from Yunkai amidst the turmoil. "We need to regroup! Get everyone on the same page! We can't afford to scatter!"
General Roderick appeared at the helm of another ship, his face pale as he surveyed the destruction. "We're losing too many!" he yelled back. "We need to abandon ship and make for the shore while we can! This isn't a battle we can win on the sea!"
"Then we fight!" Kaelan insisted, his voice filled with frustration. "We can't show weakness now!"
As the cannons continued to fire, a massive splintering sound erupted from one of the ships. A cannonball struck near the hull, tearing through wood and sending splinters flying. The ship began to sink, water flooding in as screams filled the air.
"Everyone off! NOW!" Khaleen shouted. His voice cut through the panic, and some men began to leap into the water, desperately swimming toward what they hoped would be safety.
From the sky, Maximus who was riding atop Nyxara had swooped down and unleashed a devastating attack across the remaining ships of the Three Cities fleet.
The fire spread rapidly across the wooden vessels, turning them into floating infernos. Men screamed in agony as they were engulfed in flames, their bodies plummeting into the river in desperate attempts to extinguish the fire.
"By the gods," General Tamsin of Meereen gasped, watching the dragon's destructive power from his position on one of the few remaining intact ships. "Is that a dragon?" questioned Tamsin. It may not be believable, but the evidence was right there in his face.
"We never stood a chance" was the final thing he said before another wave of dragon fire had engulfed General Tamsin's ship, his final words lost in the roar of the flames. The once-mighty fleet of the Three Cities was now a burning, sinking wreck strewn across the Rhoyne.
Screams of the dying mixed with the crackling of flames and the hiss of steam as burning timbers fell into the river.
From his vantage point atop Nyxara, Maximus surveyed the carnage below. The ambush had been a resounding success, but he knew the war was far from over. Landing within the Imperial camp, Maximus was met with a wave of cheers as they had just defeated the enemy which dared to invade their lands.
"This victory," he proclaimed, "is but the first step in our war against slavery. The Three Cities thought to enslave us, to crush our spirit. Instead, they have tasted the fire of our resolve!"
A roar of approval met his words. Maximus turned to the Uruk-Hai commander, who stood nearby. "What are our losses?"
"Minimal, your excellency," the commander reported. "The cannons proved quite effective. We caught them completely off guard."
"And the prisoners?" Maximus asked as he was sure a few thousand of them had managed to make it to the shore.
"We've captured several hundred as of now, including some of their leadership. General Kaelan of Astapor is among them. But we expect maybe a few thousand more once we get the reports from the other commanders"
"Good," Maximus said. "Once you get the full count, escort them to the prison and let the men celebrate once your back in Heaven's Reach."
The Uruk-Hai commander nodded before marching off to gather the final reports. Maximus turned his attention to the smoldering remains of the enemy fleet, still visible from the riverbank. The water was littered with debris and bodies which they would need to clear if they wanted their own ships to sail through the river.
Already, Alexander was marching with 60k men from Heaven's Reach and would arrive in a few days. Once they get here, then they will march on Selhorys a Volantene town which is under the influence by Volantis. After Selhorys then they will march on Valysar and Volon Therys, then onto Volantis to fully take control of the region and give them a direct path to Slaver's Bay.