Chereads / Don't personal / Chapter 45 - Chapter 32: Act III: Chapter 13

Chapter 45 - Chapter 32: Act III: Chapter 13

Hello everyone,

I'm excited for where the story is headed, and to be totally honest with everyone, it's been a long time since I have felt that. I expect the quality to improve for the next few chapters as well. It's a good feeling, I have to admit. Maybe I just like war and conflict in my stories.

Also, how tf did I forget to post this on the correct day. That's my bad

Follow me on instagram at wtmcdonaldauthor! If you are feeling generous, and wish to donate to my writing career, you can find me at (P) (A) (T) (R) (E) (O) (N) under the same name for early access to chapters of The Ladder!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Petyr Baelish

Title: Greenseer King - Increased reputation with those in the North and beyond the wall. Increased reputation with the Children of the Forest. When equipped, a 15% experience buff is applied to the skill: Greenseeing. Nature accepts you, and welcomes you into its arms, leading to bountiful harvests and increase in wildlife population. Healing increased by 50% while sleeping in the vicinity of a Weirwood. During your rule, Weirwood will grow naturally in the wild.

Infant mortality reduced by 25%. .01% chance that newborn children will inherit the ability of Warging. 1% chance that a warg will develop the ability of Greensight.

100% chance of children sired by you to become a warg. 50% chance of children sired by you to become a Greenseer.

Secondary Title: Breaker of Chains!

Breaker of Chains: All former slaves are 50% more likely to adore you as their king. Public speaking bonuses will increase by 100% to former slaves. Infant mortality will decrease by 45% for the offspring of all former slaves. Any former slaves that pick up arms for you as their king, will have 50% experience bonus to all martial skills for their first year of service.

Slaves that dream of freedom from accross the Free Cities will flock to your lands, in search of a better life!

All troop types Commander Skills (Legendary):

Unrelenting Charge! (Passive!)

Troops under your command charge headstrong into battle giving them 10% strength and 10% stamina! Infantry troops receive 20% strength, 20% Stamina!

This City is Mine! (Passive!)

While attacking a city, troops under your command will fight with unrivaled bravery. Troop attack increased by 20%! Defenders receive -20% morale. The city walls will be 20% weaker.

Skillful Maneuver! (Passive!)

Troops under your command receive a 30% increase in mobility.

Heavenly Thrust! (Active!)

Your troops release a volley of spears into the enemy dealing massive damage. Damage factor of 1500!

Expertise Skill unlocked!

Heavenly thrust damage is increased from 750 to 1500!

Strength: 34

Vitality: 41

Dexterity: 50

Intelligence: 45

Wisdom: 36

Basic Sword Fighting Lvl 100

Defense Lvl 100

Offense Lvl 100

Sword Fighting: Lvl 100

Defense Lvl 100

Offense Lvl 100

Horseback Lvl 100

Advanced Sword fighting: Lvl 94

Defense Lvl 96

Offense Lvl 93

Horseback Lvl 91

Archery Lvl 99!

The ability to shoot a bow and arrow.

Accuracy at 20 Yards or closer: 99%

Accuracy at 21-50 yards: 99%

Accuracy at 51-75 yards: 99%

Accuracy at 76-100 yards: 99%

Horseback: 99% (Max range of 75 Yards)

Dragonback: 99% (Max range of 90 yards)

Quickdraw Lvl 98: The ability to nock and loose an arrow quickly. Accuracy dependant on archery level.

It's been a long time since I've taken a good look at my character profile. I thought as I continued to skim down the very long list of skills I had accumulated since ruling Myr. Mentally, I berated myself for not continuing my martial skills.

I should have maxed out Advanced Sword Fighting, and moved on to other weapons. I had the ability to become a master at every single weapon and I was squandering it. Even as I berated myself, I wasn't sure how I would work that into my schedule. I was already swamped as it was.

Truthfully, I am lucky that my skills can't degrade under the gamer power. I would be in serious trouble then. I thought as I pondered my situation and recent actions. I can't believe that I thought this was a bad gamer power. Sure it's nerfed, but it can be overpowered. One just has to look at my public speaking level to confirm that.

"They are advancing even more rapidly than the Stormlanders did." Ben told me, breaking me out of my thoughts and causing me to focus on the goings on beneath us. We stood atop the walls of my newest fort, looking down to the courtyard below.

"What was the tally, last night?" I asked, curious to the exact number that had arrived so far.

"Seven thousand and just over eight hundred." Ben answered while staring at me, waiting for me to react.

"In just two days?" I asked. I was shocked, I really was. Having experienced war with Robert and the Stormlanders, I knew that was a ridiculously fast turn out. Westeros took months to go to war, and while all the Seven Kingdoms could call upon more men than I have at the moment, none of them could do it so quickly. And none of them could do it from a singular city.

Once again proves just how powerful the Gamer is, and more importantly the Breaker of Chains.

"Yes, and I've seen a couple hundred walk through those very gates already this morning. We may have to stop recruitment before the end of the week." Ben told me, once again surprising me with the amount of power we currently wielded.

We will win this war. I told myself again, as my expectations were broken.

"You mentioned their progression. Tell me about it." I told him as I continued to stare at the men below, learning how to march.

"We have noticed the freedman are… Sorry it's hard to find the words. They learn to march in rows faster, they need less water breaks, they take to the sword and shield faster, and there have been very little infighting amongst them. They are the perfect soldier, so far. Everyone else is advancing as expected, just not as fast as them." Ben answered as he leaned on the wall, looking down at the men below.

"Good. They'll be ready then?" I asked, already knowing the answer based on our conversation. Ben's answer was just as I expected.

"They'll be more than ready by the moon's turn."

Arton Foler POV:

I ran my hands through my head for what felt like the tenth time in the last minute. I knew it wouldn't be easy feeding all of those men, but I had no idea just how much it would cost. We simply didn't have the food stores to go to war.

The frustrating thing was not the fact that our men would starve. The most frustrating thing was Petyr and his condescending remarks to 'figure it out'. I had figured it out, it was impossible.

"I swear if I hear that one more time." I mumbled as I finished the calculations for a month's worth of just food for the fifth time. I was always told to triple check my figures. Well I had gone above and beyond.

"Oh don't get so angry Arton." Petyr commented from his high seat on the council floors.

"You have given me an impossible task, yet you claim it is easy. It is hard for me to contain my composure." I told him, growing bolder with my claim. I bit my tongue, for the rest of the sentence I wanted to utter was unacceptable. I had to remind myself that he was a King now, not some no name lord with grand ambitions. His ambitions had been realized. Or at least I thought so.

It was becoming more and more obvious that his ambition was not satisfied. I saw his face when he heard of the coming attack from Lys and Tyrosh. He was smiling when he delivered the news, as if he wanted it to happen. Now I knew he did.

His claiming of the disputed lands was a calculated move. Did he plan on the other two of the Three-Sisters to react in this way?

His speech to us, the council, about freeing the slaves stood out in my mind now. He spoke of the tax benefits of having the population becoming free. He was right of course, but did he also plan on them becoming his army?

The coincidences were too great. It would take a near perfect amount of events to successfully pull off what had happened in the past year. The Betrayal, which Petyr somehow used to unite the city under his rule. The Great Fire, while a tragedy, was now a rallying cry for our city and was no doubt the motivation behind the slaves flocking to enlist.

I admired the man, who had yet to see his 18th birthday. But I also feared him, more than any other human I had ever met. Petyr was the most dangerous of them all.

"We are only running numbers for 10,000 men." Petyr told me, breaking me of my thoughts. "If it is impossible, how has it been done for millennia?" He asked, once again in his condescending tone of voice.

"I talk with Lena frequently over our budget, My King." I practically spat, as my anger grew because of his doubt in me. "We do not have the funds available!"

Petyr's smile vanished from his face, and he stared at me seriously. I did my best to hold his gaze, but I knew that he picked up on my use of 'My King'. It was disrespectful, and had I used it against another king, my head might have rolled.

"I tasked you with setting up the supply lines, and ordering the necessary supplies. I did not task you with paying for them, do you understand? Find the supplies, get them, and I will supply the funds necessary!" Petyr told me, in a tone of voice that I knew not to respond to. "You are invaluable to me, Arton, but I will only tolerate a certain amount of disrespect."

I looked away, back down to my parchment knowing full well what his threat meant. My ears and face burned in embarrassment, for both my actions and Petyr's last statement. The anger inside of me withered away as I realized I had overstepped my place.

I had forgotten just who Petyr was to me.

Do not bite the hand that feeds you. My father's favorite line rang throughout my skull for the rest of that meeting.

Davos POV:

I waited for them to finish their bickering, looking down at my own parchment. Arton had a lot on his plate, and so I did not judge him for reacting the way that he did. Although he should have known better than to act in such a manner.

"Ser Davos, is your task completed?" Petyr asked, causing me to look up.

"No, your grace. I still lack five ships, who are set to return from Braavos and Sunspear within the week." I told him quickly.

I did not bother to tell him the names of the ships or the captains of those ships. I knew them all intimately. I was a sailor through and through and I took my task seriously. Although it was much easier for me to keep up with ships, than it was numbers like Arton. Ships were something I knew better than my own body, and before this year I would have said I knew them better than my own sons.

However, that was no longer the case. Being promoted to Petyr's council was a blessing in disguise for me. I loved the sea. I loved my crew. But it took me away from my family more than I liked.

I didn't know just how much I disliked it, until I began to spend everyday with my family. My boys were growing, and they needed me there to guide them. My wife was a good woman, and used to me being gone. But she wasn't a man, and didn't know how to raise a man.

"Good. I need you at the fort when they arrive and you have them situated." Petyr told me.

It took me a moment to realize what he had just asked of me. When it did, I didn't miss the opportunity to ask about it. "Of course, but may I ask why?" I asked, a little more callously than I wanted.

"It will be a Naval battle before it is a siege. They need naval training." Petyr explained, which made sense to me.

But no man could learn naval battle in under a month, let alone an army.

"I'm afraid it will do little good, Your grace." I told him truthfully.

"I know, but it's best to have some training, as opposed to none." Petyr retorted, showing that he had at least put a little bit of thought into the idea.

I nodded, and went back to the parchment below me. I began writing down notes for what I knew would be close to a pointless exercise for the men. It would have been better to drill them more.

Petyr POV:

"Councilwoman Lena, Your Grace."

I looked up from my table to see the woman in question walking towards me. It was a surprise visit, that I knew for sure.

"How can I help you, Lena?" I asked as she sat down in front of me. I was trying to think of just why she was here. Normally our correspondences were done in the council chambers. I liked to keep it that way. Then everyone on the council was in the know when it came to matters of the kingdom.

"Well I thought it best to bring this up outside of the council." She responded. She did not have a book in her hands, nor did she have parchment or paper.

"I was wondering when you were going to give me access to your mysterious funds that I, for the life of me, cannot find inside one of the vaults in the bank." Lena said, getting straight to the point of our meeting.

Ah, so she's finally catching on. I thought as I realized just what she was talking about. I smiled at her, slightly proud of the fact that she was approaching me about it.

"I am mainly thinking about the kingdom when I ask of this My King." She explained. "You are going off to war, and should you…"

"Die." I provided for her, once she paused for a moment.

"...yes that. It would be nice, as the equivalent to the Master of Coin on our council, to know where the funds were, in the event that it would be needed." Lena continued, braving through the conversation.

"And I believe it's been proven that it has been needed since we arrived in Myr." I added on to it, pondering the idea of Lena knowing about my stash of gold.

637,938

Wow it's taken a hit, hasn't it.

"By my calculations from the financials you have given me access to, it's been in excess of 350,000 Gold dragons…" Lena said, once again proving that she was on top of the finances of my kingdom.

I was extremely proud of just how proficient she was becoming with the books. It wouldn't be hard for someone of my world to find out the same information, given the same records that Lena had. But she was not from my original world. She was from Westeros, and numbers weren't something that a, once, small-folk would have taken a liking to. Most of the time, they just liked eating at regular intervals.

"At least tell me that the Queen is aware, and has access to these funds. That would give me a piece of mind for the coming war." Lena said, after I didn't respond to her for a moment.

Well that is a good point, isn't it? My kingdom would immediately lose that many dragons in the event of my death.

A memory played in the front of my mind. A memory of Robert, before the rebellion, sparring with me. I could still feel the blow from his warhammer on my ribs, and how they caved under his strength. I would have died that night, if it hadn't been for the game and Robert being about to carry me to a weirwood in time.

The very thing that caused him to turn against me, in the end.

"She does not." I answered her truthfully. "And I realize the stupidity of such a thing, now that it is brought to my attention." I added on the end a bit sheepishly.

Her eyebrows rose in shock, and I raised a hand to stop her from berating me or commenting. "Open a vault for me and the funds will be delivered to your safekeeping. I'll be the one to make Ashara aware of it." I told her.

She smiled, and nodded before getting up and turning around.

"You already know this, but I only spend that reserve when I need to. The Taxes won't be enough to cover the war, but the treasure we take from Lys and Tyrosh will be used to pay any debts we incur from this war. Are we in agreement?" I asked, explaining my thought process in case I did, in fact, perish during the war.

"Of course, My King." Lena answered, before leaving me alone to my thoughts.

Tyrosh was a bustling city, that much was easy to see.

It sat on the northernmost and easternmost island of the Stepstones. I knew of the city's founding, for I had seen the dragonlords that initially landed here shake hands on their initial agreement. I saw how they used their dragons to fuse the stone that still acts as the city's foundation today. It was a fantastic building material, as is made obvious by what I was seeing, but it was only possible with dragons.

If another catastrophic event led to the dragons going extinct again, the technology would be lost once more. That is why I preferred to use concrete for my roads. It might be slightly inferior to the fused stone of Valyria, but my people would be making it for generations to come, with or without help from dragons.

The walls of Tyrosh were tall, just as tall as Myr's walls and deep. But the walls did not encompass all of the city, just the initial acreage decided upon by the Dragonlords. The city had grown outwards, past the walls in the direction of the sea. An understandable development, considering how prosperous cities grew.

The port was… impressive. It was at least three times the size of Myr's port. I knew it was because of its location. It didn't have much to boast in terms of land, so it made up for it with a port, and trade. Where Myr seemed to be the hub of trade for everyone in the Disputed Lands. Tyrosh was the hub of trade from the Narrow Sea. It dominated it, I had to admit.

Its location was perfect. Being in between Westeros and Essos. It got the best, and worst, of both continents.

It's downfall, would be my boon however.

As I floated above the city, observing the army on the outside of it's walls, I counted a slave ship for every 4 other ships. It's city was a massive slave hub, and I felt no remorse for my plans to completely destroy the industry. Soon, all that would be left of slave trade, would be in eastern Essos. I expected Pentos to follow suit, after I had cleaned the Disputed Lands, and the three sisters, of slavery.

Braavos would strongarm it into position after my successes.

Along the walls, I could see scorpions being constructed. They knew of my dragons, and were not going to make the same mistake as my other opponents as of late. I was a bit disappointed in them, thinking I would give them the opportunity to use the scorpions.

I would protect my dragons at any cost, they were my key to this world.

I flew around the city, taking notes. It seemed like my opponents knew this would be where we struck first. Already I could see flags of Lys all across the campgrounds of Tyrosh. From what I knew of Lys, it made sense. Tyrosh was much closer, geographically, to launch an invasion on Myr. It was also a bigger island, with a bigger port to stage the attack.

Already, a plan to take the city began to form in my mind.

Lys seemed to be Tyrosh's polar opposite.

It had a glistening white marble that made up almost all of the city's buildings. It looked to be smaller than both Myr and Tyrosh, but I knew that it was an illusion. The cities population was close to Tyrosh, due to it's even higher yield of slaves. Where Myr used to boast 2 slaves to every 1 free man, Lys boasted a 3 to 1 ratio.

Its port was closer to the size of Myr's, but the city itself was around the same size as Tyrosh. Its walls weren't nearly as tall as Myr or Tyrosh's, giving it a smaller feeling than the other cities. But its beauty eclipsed the other sister cities.

It was a beautiful place, meant to attract the rich from all across Westeros and Essos. Instantly I knew why dragonlords of old used to visit it as a tropical getaway. Palm trees populated the island, along with a natural beach that went nearly all the way around. The white marble that made up the city gleamed against the sun.

Its architecture was something to be proud of, resembling something you would see in older Italy and Rome, with rounded buildings and quite a few domes. The city was extremely symmetrical from the sky, which was also quite pleasing to see from the sky. It was obvious that the Valyrians had designed the city specifically to be pleasing to look at.

However, this meant little when it came to Military application. This city would fall to a full frontal attack. In fact, I was convinced that if I parked my fleet in front of it, they would surrender immediately.

I turned away from the city, knowing that my biggest, and possibly the only, battle would partake in Tyrosh.

For the final key to my dominion of the Disputed Lands.

Weirña roared as we flew over the legions marching beneath us.

It was hard to imagine that it had already been a full month since my announcement that Lys and Tyrosh were planning on attacking us. By now, they knew that we were prepared, and from my spying, they knew that we would not allow them any more time to prepare. They were still gathering men from the cities, while we were marching with a trained army to board our fleet to set sail on them.

War was coming for those that would move against me. Unlike in Westeros, where I was taken by surprise by my enemies, I rode dragonback directly to my problems.

God help them.

POV Belar Bahin

"People of Myr,

Tomorrow I, along with your husbands, brothers, uncles, and fathers, will set sail for Tyrosh. They have amassed all of their forces outside of the city. Their fleet controls the Stepstones, and have been sinking ships from our allies. This includes Braavos, Dorne, and many other cities to the East.

I am not afraid, and you should not be either. For we fight with purpose and motivation.

Our enemies fight to enslave us, and they will never win for they cannot understand us. They will never understand what it is like to be full of so much conviction to be willing to die for their ideals. We will show them our power, our strength, our will to fight, and they will run.

When they run, we will pursue and at the end of the battle the flag of Myr, the flag of freedom, will fly over Tyrosh and Lys.

We do not fear because we have the spirit of Myr with us.

From your King and the brave men marching with him: We will be home soon!"

A/N: Boom!

Preparations are done. After all, a month is not a long time when it comes to wars. In fact, it is ridiculously fast in this world,

Petyr is off to war, and he has his army.

Anyone have any predictions on his battle plan?

I'd like to hear the ideas in the reviews.