Things of the Past

On the vast ocean, amidst rolling waves, a flock of Raven and a flock of crows met almost unexpectedly.

There were about a dozen of them on each side. They seemed to have spotted each other from a great distance, and collided in the blink of an eye.

Raven and crows were tearing at each other, their black feathers carried far away by the sea breeze.

During the struggle, neither could maintain its flight posture and wobbled as it fell into the sea. Its feathers were soaked by the seawater, and it could never return to the sky.

As the battle continued, more and more Raven and crows joined the fight, and soon the crows could no longer maintain a numerical balance and were suppressed.

Before long, the crows tried to escape, but under the relentless pursuit of the Raven, not even ten of them managed to get away.

Euron, standing in Lordsport, Euron a grave expression. He hadn't expected that Jon hadn't gone all out on his Silence.

Standing before Balon were a few of the Iron Islands ' few lords, the most prominent of whom was none other than Gode Gubole. He had already mobilized all the soldiers and warships from Great Wyk to Pyke, since if Pyke fell, Great Wyk would also be lost.

"Why? We've already decided to surrender, why won't Jon let the Iron Islands go? Isn't he Stannis's most loyal subject?!" Gode said, his face filled with grief and indignation.

"What's there to be afraid of!" a deep-set voice boomed. It was Donald Drow. "We have Prince Euron! His Majesty said he possesses the magic to create storms! Storms can tear all enemies to shreds!"

Hearing this, everyone placed all their hopes on Euron. Euron expressionlessly surveyed the crowd before speaking, "Don't worry, everyone. That bastard dared to attack our island only because he still has ships. As long as we destroy their ships, we can take back everything we've lost!"

Euron tried to inspire people, but received little response.

The series of failures had caused others to lose faith in him.

Just then, the people standing on the high ground saw a huge black shadow gradually approaching.

"By the Drowned God, what is that thing?!"

"It's a boat! They actually chained the boats together!"

The Warship Island that had set sail from the port of Ten Towers on Harlaw Island slowly approached. The Iron Islands lords, who had built their fortunes on ships, would never have imagined that ships could be used in this way!

This is normal, since their ships are used for plundering and speed is crucial. Jon's Warship Island, on the other hand, is very slow, and each ship has to maintain a constant speed to avoid the chains between them breaking.

Jon knew that when dealing with the storm, the pulling between the ships might break the chains, and the hulls might even tear apart due to the strain.

But it doesn't matter, Asha has already defected, Euron only has Balon left by his side.

Once we weather the initial storm, the Iron Islands will be ours for the taking, even if it means losing half our ships.

"Prepare the boat!"

Balon suddenly spoke without warning, which attracted the attention of the others.

"Your Majesty?" The others still addressed him as "Your Majesty," but they didn't know what Balon wanted to do.

They knew Balon; he certainly wouldn't want to run away at this time.

"I will go with Euron to meet our enemy. If he refuses to retreat, then we shall face the wrath of the Drowned God." With that, Balon left the castle, accompanied by Euron.

These words, of course, did not come from Balon's will.

Euron originally intended to sacrifice Asha, but Asha defected, so he could only take Balon with him.

Taking Balon away would be too conspicuous, so a more respectable excuse is needed.

Everyone watched the Sea Bitch depart with a sense of unease, unsure whether Euron's magic had truly worked.

"It should work, otherwise why would Asha run away?"

"You've forgotten that when we were on Harlaw Island, we escaped, but Aeron died, or perhaps—"

The crowd might have some confidence in Euron's magic, but they still couldn't quite figure out Jon, and they felt a sense of fear towards this rapidly rising young man.

They didn't know how long Jon would fight. Was it really as he said, that he absolutely had to eradicate the Drowned God faith and cause a major overhaul of the Iron Islands?

Jon made it clear in his letter to the Iron Islands that House Goodbrother, House Merlyn, and House Farwynd must leave the Iron Islands and move to the Westerlands.

The lords' power comes from their land and people; once they leave their land, they are no different from stray dogs on the roadside.

Therefore, they would never want to leave their hometown unless absolutely necessary.

The lords looked grim as they watched Balon's Sea Bitch, escorted by several sailing ships, leave the harbor and head towards the terrifyingly large Warship Island.

"Can your storm really stop his fleet?" Balon asked, his face filled with sorrow. This man, who valued brotherhood, never imagined that he would die at the hands of his own comrades.

"How will you know if you don't try?" Euron said coldly.

At this moment, the deck was filled with his mute servants.

This was Euron's final accumulation.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Euron asked, as a servant placed a noose around Balon's neck.

"That's all. You can do it now." Balon closed his eyes, no longer looking at his half-brother.

Euron turned around, and the mute servant pulled Balon to the mast, attached the rope to the mast, and pulled hard.

Euron chanted a spell, and Balon's feet were already dangling in the air.

His weight was almost entirely pressed on his fragile trachea, ultimately supported by his spine.

But Balon didn't struggle much. Instead, he gritted his teeth. He didn't want to show his vulnerable side to his younger brother, even if he was about to die.

But suddenly, as if he remembered something, he opened his mouth and made a "uh uh uh" sound.

Euron turned and glanced at him before saying, "I killed Theon."

After saying that, Balon stopped struggling.

Suddenly the sea breeze picked up, the sails on the masts were pulled and fluttered loudly, and Euron and the mute servants around him had their clothes wrapped tightly around their bodies by the sea breeze.

The surging waves suddenly became violent, crashing into the rocks and shattering them, while also pounding the hull of the ship, causing it to rock violently.

At this moment, the distant Warship Island also felt the sudden increase in wind force.

They were less than half an hour's journey from Pyke, and Jon was still using the Raven to monitor all parts of the Warship Island.

Pigast, who was in command, promptly issued the order for the soldiers to lower all the sailboats.

The sails of all colors were furled up, leaving only the bare shafts of spears exposed.

As the wind gradually increased, the entire Warship Island came to a stop moving forward.

"Set anchor!"

"Anchor"

"Anchor"

As the sailors shouted from afar, one after another, huge anchors were thrown into the sea with loud splashes.

Every sailor looked extremely tense. From the first day they climbed onto the deck, their captain had told them that storms were the most terrible enemy, and that they should avoid them if possible.

But today, they made a decision that went against all their past experience, and against the decisions of their ancestors—to confront the terrible storm head-on.

The wind and waves grew stronger, Jon felt that the Raven he was controlling could no longer stay in the air, so he made an emergency landing on a mast.

At this moment, none of the crew members on the ship communicated with each other.

The captains on each ship held their rifles and directed the sailors to keep the ships stable.

However, their voices were difficult to hear clearly because the sea wind was so strong that the captains' voices were blown away by the wind before the sailors could hear them clearly.

Fortunately, the ship remained stable at this time, thanks to the large amount of ballast at the bottom and the anchor that had been lowered in advance.

However, the wind continued to pick up, and the sailors had to hold on tightly to the railings to keep their balance.

After an unknown amount of time, the ship began to rock, and the chains connecting the ship rattled loudly.

The sound was so clear and distinct that it seemed as if the entire world consisted of only this one sound.

Besides the ship rocking more and more violently, the sailors and soldiers also noticed that the sky above them was unusually dark and gloomy, as if it might fall and hit them at any moment.

The ship continued to rock more violently, to the point that even Jon's Raven could not stand steadily, not to mention the soldiers and sailors on board, some of whom were seasick and vomiting incessantly.

"Cut down the mast!"

"Cut off the mast"

"Cut off the mast"

Realizing that the mast was also affected by the wind, Paxter gave the order, and the sailors did not hesitate, chopping at the mast with axe after axe.

The real storm was coming; the waves grew increasingly rough, and the sailors on board could even see the entire Warship Island constantly rising and falling, as if it were writhing.

They thought they could defeat the storm, but unexpectedly, after exhausting their strength, they gained a more profound understanding of its power.

The soldiers and sailors felt as if they were being tossed up and caught by the waves, and everyone felt as if the world was turning upside down. The seawater, driven by the wind, kept trying to climb onto the deck, which was already soaked despite the fact that it wasn't raining.

However, this also shows that they have persevered through the storm for a long time, because the sun is slowly rising and Dawn is approaching.

The Iron Islands soldiers on Pyke also kept a close watch on the sea, hoping that the waves would engulf this terrible monster.

Suddenly, a terrifying crack appeared on the Warship Island.

The ship that was subjected to the greatest force had almost half of its hull torn off. Splinters of the broken keel wood flew everywhere.

The soldiers on the ship fell directly into the sea, and in the huge and violent waves, not even their screams could be heard.

This sight greatly boosted the morale of the Iron Islands; everyone stared wide-eyed and gripped their weapons tightly.

Long live the Drowned God!

They hoped, hoped, and longed for the storm to tear that terrible sea monster to shreds.

However, that was the end of it. The power of the storm was not inexhaustible, and the terrifying rift on the Warship Island ultimately did not widen further.

Euron's magic ended, and the Warship Island retracted the chains that connected and bound them together, baring their fangs at the island.