Chapter 38 A Fire in the Storm

And not far away.

On the sea of ​​Broken Ship Bay, the Dragonstone Island fleet came by the storm.

Bad weather hindered their progress, but also blocked their whereabouts.

wow-

The warship broke through the wind and waves and hid in the storm, but the heavy rain was still pouring down, and the pea-sized raindrops smashed on the deck.

The sky was gloomy and terrifying, and countless warships on the sea were lined up and walked out of the fog.

The ghost appeared, as if it had emerged from under the sea, looming and looming, as if it appeared out of thin air in the sight of the Storm's End Sentinel.

The soldiers of the Baratheon family stood on the watchtower and rubbed their eyes fiercely, watching the huge fleet hidden in the storm approaching fast.

"This…"

"This is…"

He even couldn't believe his eyes, and after reacting, he hurriedly rang the alarm bell.

But it was too late.

The fleet has already taken the wind and waves to the port of Storm's End.

Storm's End is one of the toughest castles in the Seven Kingdoms, surrounded by thick outer walls.

The thickest part is about a hundred feet high and forty feet thick, and the sea-facing side is about eighty feet thick.

The walls are smooth and curved, and the stones are so compact that not even a shred of wind can get out.

There is even a legend that Storm's End was built by the ancient Storm King using magic to resist the harsh climate of Shipbreaker Bay.

However, Storm's End does not actually have a port itself. The sea is a cliff, and there is only one waterway leading to the interior of Storm's End, but it is blocked by a fence gate.

The harbor of Storm's End was established for Stannis to train the Royal Navy.

Because of its superior geographical location and deep offshore waters, it is not difficult to build a port in Storm's End Fort. The place not far from the castle is the place where the Royal Navy is now hoarding.

And now.

These Wang Family Navy warships, which had just been launched, were all huddled in the harbor, with their ropes fixed and covered with drapes, fully prepared to withstand the storm.

Stannis has lived in Storm's End since he was a child, and naturally knows the bad weather in Shipbreaker Cove very well.

Coupled with the warning received from the Academy not long ago, the east coast of Westeros is about to usher in an unprecedented huge storm recently.

Although Shipbreaker Bay was not the center of this storm, it was not affected much, perhaps just a heavy rain.

But the cautious man is still well-prepared.

So long ago, Stannis ordered all warships to be prohibited from leaving the port, the Navy's training plan was temporarily put on hold, and all soldiers stayed in the barracks and were not allowed to board the ship.

Therefore, before this storm came, even half a sampan could not be found in the sea area near Storm's End, and naturally the Targaryen fleet that was quietly attacking could not be found.

Now the Targaryen fleet hid in the storm that had just begun, riding the wind and waves straight to the harbor of Storm's End.

Although the fleet suffered some losses during the storm, these losses were still acceptable.

After all, the straight-line distance from the center of the storm in Heishuiwan is more than 600 nautical miles, and this is just the edge of the storm.

It was only because the storm was constantly moving that Storm's End was also affected by disaster.

The Targaryen fleet came so suddenly, like a goddess, and caught the soldiers of the Baratheon family by surprise.

No one would have thought in advance that the Targaryen fleet would come by storm, and the Royal Navy of Storm's End did not even go to sea with a single sampan, and was completely in a state of unpreparedness.

Then this fleet, which had just begun to take shape and had not even fought in the first battle, suffered a devastating blow.

boom boom-

The trebuchet on the fleet's flagship Black Death roared angrily, and the stone bullets broke through the air and made a dull sound, directly slamming into the Baratheon fleet, which was densely packed and huddled in the harbor in the distance.

There were even quite a few stone bullets that were covered with kerosene cloth and then ignited. The kerosene would not be doused by the violent rain, and the flying kerosene bullets hit the warships of the Baratheon fleet.

If the battle was lined up on the sea, perhaps these large-scale siege weapons would not be so high-caliber, but now Baratheon's fleet is all densely packed in the harbor.

They were even anchored to the shore with rope anchors, and the ships were tightly packed together, and the ropes also held the warships together, preventing them from being smashed into each other in the storm and suffering serious damage.

Originally, Stannis's order was not wrong, because it was the best way to withstand the storm.

There is no way for the battleship to be pushed ashore or carried into the castle. It can only use its hard body to withstand the wind and waves. Fixing the ships together can effectively increase the damage against the storm.

But now that it has been attacked, the linked warship has become a living target of the Targaryen fleet.

Soldiers in charge of trebuchets and ballistas don't even need to aim at all, just pull the rope and throw the bullets to hit the target.

boom boom-

The newly built Royal Fleet of the Baratheon family wailed in the storm. Stone bullets smashed through the deck and the kerosene with black smoke ignited the covering cloth, which in turn ignited the warships in the storm.

huh~

The flames that were blown by the wind flowed out in the cabin below the deck, the flames gradually rose, and the fire snakes flew, igniting the food and grass hoarded in the cabin.

The pillars supporting the deck were engulfed in the fire, and then collapsed with a rumble. The entire warship was wrapped in red firelight, and finally separated from the sea and gradually sank.

However, many more warships were hit by tinder shells, and even later Targaryen's fleet directly fired tinder barrels through trebuchets, further fueling the fire.

In an instant.

A port not far from Storm's End.

A fire raged in the torrential rain, and the Baratheon family's fleet was completely engulfed by the flames, and thick billowing black smoke shot up into the sky.

And on the second deck of the Black Death in the distance.

Viserys was standing in the storm and wind, not indented in the cabin, because he wanted to feel the real look of the war more intuitively.

Therefore, the boy was drenched in soup, and his long silver-gold hair stuck to his fair little face, and water droplets kept falling down his cheeks.

However, Viserys' lavender eyes were exceptionally bright, reflecting the sea of ​​fire in the distance.

"This fire burned the Usurper's ambition to invade Dragonstone for the next five years."