Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

There was no doubt—when six thousand Yunkai cavalry found themselves trapped within the ruins of the forward camp, every soldier present understood that the Dragon Queen had ambushed them, positioning cavalry at one end of the long encampment and infantry at the other.

Cavalry lay in wait behind the northeastern rear camp, while infantry were hidden to the west, within the ruins of the burned-down forward camp.

It was no surprise that the scouts failed to detect them. After all, scouts have a limited range, and as long as the ambushers remained beyond that range, they would remain undiscovered.

However, when over twenty thousand mixed forces from Ghis entered the camp, pressing forward toward the rear camp, the ambushers should have emerged from their hiding spots—otherwise, they would miss their chance to cut off the cavalry's escape.

Yet, nearly thirty thousand infantry had already taken control of the strategic terrain, perfectly blocking the six thousand cavalry. And still, Grazdan had received no word of it.

It was unthinkable. He had dispatched four to five hundred scouts across a twenty-kilometer radius. Grazdan wasn't an idiot—and even if he were, the seasoned commanders under the Ragged Prince would never allow such negligence.

Even though their main forces had entered the enemy's three major camps… Even though they were absolutely certain that the Mother of Dragons and at least forty-five thousand enemy troops were in Meereen… Even though so many factors worked in their favor… Grazdan and the other commanders remained cautious.

Under normal circumstances, four to five hundred scouts would have ensured that the Yunkai army wasn't caught off guard.

But Dany had the ability to wage a completely asymmetrical war—just as she had silently captured Meereen with only three thousand infantry and cavalry.

Yes, Grazdan, the Ragged Prince, and their peers had guessed correctly.

In this world, it was impossible for anyone to lead an army of fifty thousand on a six-hundred-kilometer forced march in twelve days, then immediately undertake a night of hard labor, and finally march another two hundred and fifty kilometers in just two days—all while remaining undetected by hundreds of thousands of people.

Dany wasn't a god. Her soldiers, though carrying the title of "Liberation Army," were nowhere near as disciplined or determined as a true standing army.

If she had actually attempted such a feat, she wouldn't have even made it to the Ghiscari castles—the army would have collapsed from exhaustion along the way.

Marching six hundred kilometers in twelve days was only possible because Slaver's Bay was rich in resources. The army didn't need to carry excessive rations—her three dragons ensured they had enough meat to eat: fish, wild boar, anything they could hunt.

Even with minimal supplies and at least two horses per person, by the time they reached Yunkai's walls, Dany's fifty-thousand-strong army was already at its limit.

Thus, to capture Meereen with a "lightning strike," her force had to be small—just three thousand elite warriors. Well… two thousand of them were Unsullied.

Each man had three horses. If a horse got tired, it was simply abandoned in the wilderness. True warhorses were rare, but many could still run two hundred kilometers before exhaustion.

The key was stealth.

Meereen's slave army had been wiped out at Poplar Slope by the so-called "God of War" Grazdan. Its gladiator slaves had been transferred to Yunkai, along with ten thousand Yellow Silk Cloaks—Meereen had mobilized its entire population for war. Even its three thousand standing troops had perished at Poplar Slope.

Even so, with a population of over six hundred thousand (including the outer estates), Meereen couldn't be taken by just three thousand men—unless they remained hidden and struck directly at the city's heart.

How could such a large force stay hidden?

Dragons.

Drogon constantly patrolled ten kilometers ahead from high above, keeping watch for any living beings. When he spotted someone, Dany led two hundred Dothraki riders in precise eliminations.

Not everyone was killed.

If they encountered common slaves, they were freed on the spot and recruited as militia. Others—Ghiscari nobles, foreign merchants, mercenaries, and high-status slaves (scribes, musicians, gardeners, and the like)—were bound and locked away in the nearest estate.

The three thousand cavalry didn't shy away from these estates.

From fifty kilometers outside Meereen, they began encountering noble estates. The Dothraki archers and Drogon ensured no messages left those estates—hunting down any ravens that tried to take flight.

Dany, along with Viserion, Rhaegal, and a few hundred knights, stormed each estate.

The surprise attacks overwhelmed the unprepared estate guards. Most were taken in a single swift strike.

They replenished their supplies, switched to fresh horses, gathered freed slaves, and locked up any Ghiscari they captured.

By the time Dany reached Meereen's gates, she commanded two thousand additional warriors.

As the sun set, the weary city guards trudged along their patrols, numbly thinking about how yet another uneventful day was coming to an end.

And then, suddenly—

Dany, astride Drogon, flanked by Viserion and Rhaegal, seemed to emerge straight from the red sun, descending upon the fortress gates from above.

Within moments, the ten or so guards stationed there were wiped out by one woman and three dragons.

Her cavalry stormed into the city. The enslaved soldiers took over the defenses. Dany claimed the Great Pyramid.

Before nightfall, she was the new ruler of Meereen.

That was how Dany used a "silent lightning strike" to capture the city.

After securing Meereen, she spent a night and a morning liberating all the city's slaves.

By then, Drogon had already flown back to Yunkai, keeping constant watch over the Yunkai army's movements.

That morning, in her bonded dragon-sight state, Dany had seen Grazdan rallying his troops in the city. So, she mounted Rhaegal, brought Viserion along, and returned to Yunkai herself.

From there, she imposed a total information lockdown.

At key locations, her forces systematically eliminated Yunkai's scouts—easier than using full-map vision in Dota to ambush a lone enemy hero.

What were the key locations?

Any area separating the ambushers from their hiding spots.

Scouts were limited. No single scout could patrol every corner. Each sector had only a small team of cavalry. Once those teams were wiped out, Grazdan was left blind and deaf.

Of course, if the scouting commanders went too long without reports from certain areas, they would notice something was wrong.

But by the time they figured it out, Dany had already positioned her ambushers.

When the alarm was finally raised, she had already defeated the Ghiscari infantry and was now leading thousands of armored cavalry toward Grazdan's forces.

From 3:30 in the afternoon, when the first Yellow Silk Cloak arrived with a warning, to 6:00 in the evening, seventeen or eighteen scouts had trickled back to Yunkai's eastern gate—none of them from the key locations.

"Report—!"

Yet another Yellow Silk Cloak burst into the Great Pyramid's palace.

The Wise Master sat motionless in his high-backed chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, ignoring the frantic messenger.

At the long, oval-shaped council table, only four or five minor Wise Masters in silver-fringed Tokar robes remained.

They paced anxiously, hesitated, sat down, stood up again.

"The Wise Master—this is a disaster!" the Yellow Silk Cloak panted.

"Which esteemed master has fled with his entire household this time?" the Great Master asked hoarsely.

The first messenger brought a blizzard upon the entire city of Yunkai, sending chills deep into the bones of every Ghiscari. The first to leave the Great Master's palace was Yazan, who was also the first to lead his family and servants aboard a ship to escape Yunkai.

As the wealthiest man in Yunkai, Yazan's business empire spanned the world, with vast enterprises in New Ghis, Volantis, Qarth, and even Lys and the Jade Sea city-states.

Leaving Yunkai did not change the fact that he was still rich enough to rival a kingdom.

Seeing the situation crumble, this cunning Yunkish noble didn't even bother contemplating the reasons for their defeat—he simply fled with his entire household.

It was precisely because he was intelligent that he understood just how dire the circumstances were. If the Great Master hadn't slaughtered those fifty thousand slaves, Yazan might have stayed to negotiate peace. But now, there was nothing left to discuss.

House Targaryen's words: Fire and Blood.

MMP, fire and blood—that alone sounded terrifying!

With Yazan leading the way, one noble after another began rushing to the docks with their families and chests full of gold.

If they were late, there would be no ships left. Before the Mother of Dragons could turn her attention to them, they had to flee under the cover of night!

And if the nobles themselves were abandoning ship, why would the mercenaries—who fought only for gold—stick around?

Soon, even the wealthy merchants and ordinary Ghiscari citizens of the city began swarming toward the docks.

"Great Master, you must flee! The East Gate has fallen!" A Yellow Silk Cloak soldier wailed in despair.

"What?!" It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck him. The Great Master nearly slid off his chair, his bloodshot eyes widening in disbelief. He roared, "When did the enemy arrive? Why wasn't there even a proper siege?

We still have fifteen thousand guards and thousands of Scorpion Ballistae! And even now, you refuse to die for Yunkai?"

"Great Master, it's not that our troops aren't fighting hard—it's that the enemy is too cunning!" The aging guard, in his fifties, wept as he spoke.

Indeed, in his desperation to raise an army, the Great Master of Yunkai had conscripted even twelve-year-old boys and men in their fifties and sixties into the city's defense forces.

"That woman..." The Great Master's voice trembled, his face drained of all color. "What has she done this time?"

"Just moments ago..."

Half an Hour Earlier

Outside Yunkai's East Gate, the sun was setting, casting the sky into darkness.

On the gate tower, a sentinel suddenly shouted, "Be alert! A large enemy force is approaching!"

The guards immediately went on high alert. Before long, they saw a mass of dark figures rushing toward the gates. Before they could demand identification, frantic shouts came from the stampede below:

"Quick! Open the gates! The enemy is right behind us!"

Are they our own?

Torches were hurled from the walls, illuminating the scene below. The Yunkish guards sighed in relief—these were Ghiscari infantry, identifiable by their yellow silk cloaks.

Around two hundred battered survivors, covered in blood and wearing tattered armor, staggered toward the gates. Many of their yellow silk cloaks bore the scorch marks of fire.

However, the gate commander did not immediately open the gates. Instead, he shouted cautiously, "This is a time of war. To prevent infiltrators, you must step into the torchlight so we can see your faces and state your names and home addresses!"

The bloodied soldiers grumbled in dissatisfaction, but one officer—clearly of higher rank—stepped forward, berating them for their impatience. He spoke of "considering the bigger picture" and "the treachery of the Dragon Queen."

Then, the officer moved directly beneath the gate, raising his face to the firelight as he introduced himself:

"Is the gate commander above General Hael? I am Lingard Grazhar of House Grazhar from Meereen, nephew of the Great Master Solskjaer, commander of the infantry battalion."

"There is such a man. I recall that Great Master Solskjaer did indeed bring a nephew to Yunkai," a nearby guard whispered to the gate commander.

"I am Hael Karaz, personally appointed as gate commander by General Grazdan," Hael responded to Lingard below before turning to his subordinate and whispering, "Look closely. Is it really him?"

The guard leaned forward and examined the man. His helmet was missing, his once upright black-and-red hair now a tangled mess over his shoulders, his dark face smeared with grime.

"It... should be him," the guard said hesitantly.

"Commander, where is the Great Master?" Hael asked.

"Bring the Great Master forward," Lingard ordered, gesturing behind him.

(End of Chapter)

Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon

https://patreon.com/Glimmer09