Game of Thrones: Oath of Iron and Fire-Chapter 54: Bloodbeard’s Downfall

"Bloodbeard's Dead, Cat's Guild Crushed!"

"Second Sons Surrender, Long Spears Surrender!"

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The downfall of the Cat's Guild seemed to toll the death knell for Myr, a mournful peal for the Myrish governors and slavemasters. The slaves in Tyrosh and Lys were also inspired by the collapse of the Myrish army, and the situation in the cities became restless and noisy.

In this war, the Wolfpack and the Free Army emerged victorious.

The Cat's Guild, with their captain Bloodbeard killed in battle, was utterly defeated.

The Second Sons, with their captain "Titan's Bastard" Mero killed in battle, surrendered to the Wolfpack under their new captain, Brown Ben Plumm, who later claimed he couldn't stand the Wolfpack's oppression and "defected" back to Myr.

The Long Spears switched sides during the war and joined the Wolfpack.

The three Myrish governors leading two thousand sellswords and many slave soldiers in the rear, one died in a slave uprising, one was captured by the Wolfpack, and the other fled back to Myr to send a message.

The Myrish warships, which had assisted the army in the attack, quickly fled back to Myr's harbor upon hearing of the army's collapse.

Setting aside the ambiguous rumors of the Golden Company helping the Wolfpack during the war, there were no more large armed forces in the Disputed Lands capable of contending with the Wolfpack and the Free Army.

"Long live freedom!" In the Disputed Lands, slave uprisings in the Three Daughters' manors grew stronger. Many manors saw the slavemasters flee back to the cities before the Free Army even arrived. Except for the most chaotic free sellsword center, "Crown Town," and some of the Three Daughters' suburban vassal towns and manors, the Disputed Lands were now occupied by the Wolfpack and the Free Army. Moreover, the Wolfpack had begun to expand beyond the Disputed Lands, launching offensives into Myr's vassal territories.

The Wolfpack's tide swept across the entire Disputed Lands, comparable to the wars of the Penny Prince era, but the Wolfpack's model was different from that time. The Penny Prince had relied on the Golden Company, pirates, and sellswords to forcibly control the Disputed Lands, with limited control. The Free Army, on the other hand, seized manors and converted slaves, effectively creating a never-ending supply of soldiers.

The three giant catapults of the Myrish had been dragged to the outskirts of Myr by Gendry's men. Myr was now left with a lonely city and harbor, surrounded on land by Gendry. The three massive catapults were intimidating. The Free Army set up to attack Myr but did not launch an assault.

The three catapults had been renamed "Wolfpack," "Liberator," and "Freedom"! The shadow of the giant catapults seemed to loom over the hearts of the Myrish governors, making them uneasy day and night.

"Commander, you can take Myr, so why not attack?" said a middle-aged, burly man standing beside Gendry.

Jorah Mormont, an exiled knight of the North. He was a middle-aged, burly man with dark skin and thick hair. Though a bit balding, he was still strong and sturdy. As an exiled knight from the North, Jorah was a rare talent who understood the situation in Westeros and had joined the Wolfpack's ranks.

"No rush, Jorah! War is not a game, and I don't want to see lovely Myr, the city of craftsmen, destroyed!" Gendry looked at the nearby city of Myr. He needed to restrain his desire to better take Myr. In Gendry's mind, Myr was more important than Lys and Tyrosh. Myr was a paradise for craftsmen, which could be turned into a recurring source of wealth.

Poor Jorah had thrown himself at Gendry's mercy, eager to demonstrate his abilities in front of the Wolf King. Even if the North no longer welcomed him, obtaining a position in the Disputed Lands was a new path.

Gendry continued to bleed Myr dry. Due to the war's failure, the Myrish governors compensated him with a large sum of gold. And from the captured Myrish governor, Gendry also acquired some warships from the governor's family.

"Our next focus is not here," Gendry said to his friends around him, Handsome Harry, Longspear, Steel Fist, and Jorah the Bear.

"So, where is your next move?" asked the Bear.

Gendry smiled but didn't speak. Making an aggressive stance towards Myr, his next target was the islands of the Stepstones, a diversionary tactic. Taking down Myr alone wasn't enough; he also had to consider Tyrosh.

Once Gendry's fleet seized the Stepstones, they would surround Tyrosh and Myr from both land and sea. He still had to settle the score with Tyrosh for allowing Myrish fleets to pass last time.

"I have spies from the Second Sons planted in Myr. Outside the city of Myr, I've taken over their manors, granaries, and set up the three catapults. Once my final move is made, I'll see how long Myr can hold out," Gendry said.

Politics and military strategy go hand in hand; military victories are the foundation for sustained success.

"Against the Three Daughters, a head-on clash of the main forces isn't a good tactic. After all, the Three Daughters are a world of cheese and butter merchants," Gendry noted. Taking down the Three Daughters with a head-on clash was rare. The Free Cities were different from Westeros; fleets were more important.

"Given our significant moves in the Disputed Lands, will King Robert take notice?" Handsome Harry asked. If anyone had close contact with King Robert, it was Ser Jorah. The changing situation across the Narrow Sea might also draw attention from Westeros.

"Robert is not the king he used to be. Most of the time, the realm is left to Jon Arryn's discretion!" the Bear said. "I only met the king during the Ironborn rebellion. He knighted me back then. He was a handsome and fearless knight. Now I hear he's become a complete debauchee and a fatso."

"Besides whoring, drinking, and hunting, the king is probably only interested in hunting down the last of the Targaryens, because he despises Prince Rhaegar's kin. He won't be so eager about the new situation in the Free Cities!" Jorah believed the Iron Throne wouldn't interfere with the Wolfpack's actions. "Even if King Robert is a fatso, he still has people like Eddard Stark, the Kingslayer, Stannis, and Loras," Longspear said. "We need to carefully assess the forces around us."

"Let's not worry about the Iron Throne's stance. They have little interest in getting involved across the Narrow Sea. Robert's kingdom is a disorganized mess. The more pressing danger is the Myrish envoys visiting multiple city-states, like Tyrosh, Lys, and Volantis. They even went to the Slavers' Bay, but that's too far away!"

"Volantis! Volantis used to invade Myr!"

"Times have changed. Slavery is the root of Volantis. Even though the Elephant Party still governs Volantis, they won't sit idly by while the Disputed Lands fall and the abolitionist movement rises." The Elephant Party, mostly merchants and moneylenders, advocated for trade to conquer the world. In the early days, some women in the Elephant Party played a big role in toppling the Tiger Party's rule. For three hundred years after the end of the Bleeding Years, the Elephant Party had controlled Volantis' government, holding at least two seats of the Triarchy.

"Don't worry, the Elephant Party is too cautious about war! Even if they send troops, it will have to wait until the next round of the Triarchy elections, when the Tiger Party gets back in power!" Gendry calmly analyzed. He had multiple sources of intelligence, including Maester Cale's team and some shared by the Golden Company.

"Besides Volantis, the Commander also needs to consider the threat of the Ironborn," the Bear suddenly added.

"The Ironborn have probably recovered from the last war. They're a bunch of greedy, raid-loving bastards. The Ironborn often raid the Disputed Lands and the Stepstones and might join the attack on us!"