Euron Returns to the Islands

Pyke is the most important part of Pyke, but due to the erosion of seawater and sea winds over the years, the castle is somewhat dilapidated.

The main castle, Kingsmoot Hall, kitchen, study, and other buildings in Pyke are connected by passageways if they are close together, and by iron chain bridges if they are a little further apart.

At this moment, the iron chains outside the Kingsmoot Hall swayed constantly under the force of the sea breeze, and the iron chain bridge made a clattering sound, as if the whole world was caught in a storm.

"Not a single ship has returned? How is that possible!" Rodrik, the patriarch of the House Harlaw, said in an incredulous tone, as if he had heard something absurd.

The House Harlaw rules Harlaw Island, the largest island in the Harlaw Island Iron Islands, which is their fiefdom. This operation also involves many vassals of the Harlow family, and given its proximity to the North, they have deployed the largest number of people and ships.

Fifteen sailing warships and one hundred and eighty longships! Such a blow has crippled the House Harlaw.

On the surface, he was questioning Euron, but in reality, he wanted an explanation from Balon.

However, Balon, who was sitting high up, just had a gloomy face and no expression.

"Where are they? Did you come back alone? Where are the others?!" The nobleman who spoke had a meticulously groomed half-foot-long beard; he was Gode, the patriarch of the House Goodbrother.

He thought the attack was a sure thing, so he sent his triplets to join Euron in attacking Winterfell.

He had even prepared for the worst in his mind: one of his three sons might be unlucky enough to die on the battlefield. But considering that their goal was Winterfell, it wasn't so hard to accept. But no matter how unfortunate they were, they couldn't be that unlucky!

All three sons were gone! He couldn't accept it from the bottom of his heart.

"More than eight thousand Ironborn, all gone?!" The person who said this had a heart emblem on his chest and was a member of the House Hoare.

His ancestor was the Harren the Black, who built Harrenhal.

"I really don't know how you have the nerve to come back."

In the Kingsmoot Hall in Pyke, Euron stood in the center, enduring questions, accusations, and even humiliation from all sides.

Even worse insults poured into Euron's ears, which was unbearable for this proud man who considered himself godlike.

Bowing his head would be a loss of pride, while raising it would mean facing their insults. In order for the lords of the Iron Islands to continue fighting, he could not say that Jon's magic was superior to his own, or that they had been defeated by magic.

He felt incredibly uncomfortable, as if he were trapped between two walls. Euron only managed to remember those who had criticized and insulted him at that moment by sound and out of the corner of his eye, determined to make them pay the price later!

Now he could only endure it, after all, the Iron Islands had suffered their first crushing defeat in over a decade, the devastation of which was beyond description.

Of the more than 8,000 elite Ironborn, not a single one returned; of the more than 30 sailboats and more than 300 longships, not even a single oar was seen in the end.

Asha looked at this uncle who still maintained a strong sense of distance, and felt quite unhappy.

Victarion was the kindest of all her uncles, yet she tragically died in this battle. Victarion, on the other hand, survived after her father, Balon, failed to claim the throne.

Aeron was equally shocked; all eight thousand men had been wiped out. If the number of men had been smaller, say two or three thousand, it would have been more reasonable for not a single ship or person to have returned.

That's eight thousand people! Even eight thousand pigs wouldn't be so easy to catch.

But Euron was the person he feared most, and Aeron didn't dare question him. Instead, she secretly looked at Balon, Balon king of the Iron Islands who held the Seastone Chair. He had to give an explanation to the Ironborn.

For example, how should Euron be dealt with?

After all, it was he who persuaded Balon to attack Winterfell.

The hall was filled with noise, partly due to their anxieties about the future and partly due to their heartache over the loss of ships and personnel.

Finally, King Balon cleared his throat, suppressing all his voice. He surveyed the hall and then spoke, "Euron has returned to the Iron Islands to fight for the Ironborn to become masters of their own destiny—"

Upon hearing Balon's words, some of the other feudal lords were displeased, as it seemed Balon was trying to plead for his brother.

However, Balon continued, "But such a crushing defeat, although Commander-in-Chief Victarion died in battle, Euron, as his second-in-command, should also bear responsibility. But now, with a formidable enemy at hand, Euron, if you are still a sea monster, then you should fight bravely, and if you die, you should die on the battlefield where longships gallop!"

"Your Majesty! I will fight to the death!" Euron said, without any emotion, as if Balon's words were exactly what he expected.

"Not only that!" Balon exclaimed. "Even if we ultimately win, and you're lucky enough to survive, you won't escape the punishment you deserve."

Balon's words slightly reassured the other lords, and then, without waiting for anyone else to say anything, he dismissed Euron.

Balon's reaction surprised Aeron and Asha. What was wrong with the strongest sea monster in the House Greyjoy today? It wasn't that there was anything wrong with how he treated Euron, but his reaction was just too bland.

This was completely unlike him, and the two of them could even sense Euron Balon!

However, although this defeat was devastating, it did not yet push the Iron Islands to the brink of destruction. Furthermore, with Victarion also killed in battle, the other lords, despite their displeasure, could not say anything further.

Therefore, the focus of this meeting shifted to preparations for the upcoming war.

"Our immediate priority is to replenish our lost forces. We need to manufacture more weapons and ships, and replenish our soldiers!" The speaker was Rodrik Harlaw, Harlaw Island had the largest population. Hundreds of large and small plantations and tens of thousands of serfs were their family's greatest wealth.

"The House Goodbrother will provide more iron ore." Although Gode Gubole was still saddened, he had to make a statement now.

"More than 300,000 people in the Iron Islands, more than half of whom are slaves, we must also be wary of these lowly bastards!" The speaker was a burly man, whose insignia suggested he belonged to the House Drumm.

More than half of the people on the Iron Islands have no human rights. Although Westeros does not allow the keeping and sale of people, it is only morally prohibited. The mighty still rule lawlessly. For example, there are indeed a large number of slaves on the Iron Islands.

Some of them were sailors on passing merchant ships, some were civilians secretly captured by the Ironborn from the Seven Kingdoms, and others were Wildlings captured from Beyond the Wall.

Women would be captured and forced to become Salt Wife to bear children. Men with some skills would work as blacksmiths or shipbuilders, while those without any skills would die in the dark, sunless mines.

Of course, women who are unattractive or have lost their fertility suffer the same fate.

When the Harren the Black ruled the three rivers, it could be said that the entire population of the Riverlands was their slave. Without bloody exploitation, a behemoth like Harrenhal would not have risen from the ground.

If the situation were relatively stable, the Iron Islands could still exploit the captured slaves on the islands at will. But now that external pressure has increased sharply and they need more weapons and supplies, they have no choice but to exploit these people even more ruthlessly.

This naturally leads to an increase in rebellions, something everyone is well aware of.

Thus, the meeting concluded that weapons and armaments should be increased, troops and ships should be replenished, and the slaves should be prevented from rebelling. The entire Iron Islands should be placed under strict defense while awaiting an opportunity.

After the meeting, Aeron planned to go to the place where the Drowned God was worshipped to pray for blessings and protection for the Iron Islands, but his niece Asha stopped him.

"What's wrong Asha?"

"Uncle, I feel like Father has been acting very strangely lately."

"What's wrong? Do you think His Majesty is not feeling well?"

"No." Asha looked around but didn't see anyone, so she leaned closer to Aeron and whispered, "I think he's... strange."

Asha said that when she chatted with Balon recently, Balon seemed a bit slow. At first, she thought it might be because Balon was getting old, but today he was speaking clearly and thinking sharply, which was somewhat unusual.

Moreover, he wasn't that saddened after learning of Victarion's death, even though Balon valued brotherhood very much.

One of the most important reasons for driving Euron away was to prevent fratricide.

In short, as a daughter, Asha keenly sensed her father's unusual behavior.

"Asha, this doesn't mean anything. His Majesty now holds the Seastone Chair and wouldn't easily reveal his emotions," Aeron tried to explain, but Asha didn't accept it.

"Uncle, I remember now, when Uncle Euron first returned to the Iron Islands, he gave Father a lamp. Father seemed to like that lamp very much, and he would keep it lit even during the day. Could it be—"

"What could be wrong with a lamp?" Aeron said somewhat guiltily. His intuition told him that Balon seemed different than before, but when it came to Euron, he became timid and hesitant.

"Uncle, we should talk to Uncle Euron together. Also, the details of this battle are too vague, yet Father didn't ask any questions. That's really unusual. A full eight thousand elite Ironborn! Father didn't react much at all. Don't you think that's strange?"

"Asha, our enemy now is the Iron Throne; we shouldn't be suspicious of our own people—"

Asha was very disappointed by Aeron's reaction. She couldn't understand what a drowning priest who had been flooded four times and was protected by the Drowned God was afraid of.

However, while Aeron was afraid, Asha was not. She decided to take advantage of this time to investigate Euron.

Neither of them noticed that a red-eyed crow had somehow taken up residence on a pillar above them during their conversation. The crow calmly gazed at the distant sea, having overheard their entire exchange.

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