That city has hundreds of years of history, strong walls, and a huge fleet.
It is said that even Valyria's Dragon King don't dare to look down upon this city.
Redd went to Volantis. Then Volantis was gone.
It's not conquered, it's not occupied, it's gone.
The entire city, along with everyone in it - nobles, merchants, commoners, slaves - disappeared.
No one knows where they went, no one knows what happened in that city.
There is only an empty coastline and the blackened stones that were once the base of the city wall.
Cruelty. Naked brutality without any modification.
That kind of cruelty has gone beyond the understanding of normal people, beyond the scope of political struggle, and beyond the concepts of war and conquest.
It is not a means, not a strategy, not a tool used to intimidate the enemy. It is the end itself.
What makes the black-robed leader even more desperate is that Redd doesn't care about all this at all.
He didn't try to defend himself, didn't try to explain, didn't even try to deny.
He left the city empty, let the mystery hang there, and let everyone know that he could do such a thing, and he didn't mind others knowing.
Such people are too dangerous.
And if such a person gets on Iron Throne, Seven Kingdoms - that ancient land with a population of 40 million and Seven Kingdoms - what will happen?
The ruins of Volantis are the answer.
The black-robed leader's fingers tightened on the lock of the iron box.
"What are you asking me to wait for?" His voice suddenly changed. It was no longer the hoarse, resigned calm, but had something sharp, like metal friction, "I'm waiting for you to come over."
Redd stopped for a moment, then continued walking forward.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
He was getting closer and closer to the stairs, getting closer and closer to the black-robed leader.
Dawg Lars was so anxious that his forehead was sweating. His hand on the hilt of the sword was loosened and tightened again. He wanted to rush forward and block Redd several times, but every time he was pinned to the spot by Redd's terrifyingly calm eyes.
"Your Highness--" He finally couldn't help but speak, with uncontrollable anxiety in his voice.
Redd ignored him.
He walked up the first step.
The black-robed leader let go of his hand from the iron box. It wasn't that he gave up, it was that he didn't need it anymore.
Because Redd had already walked into that distance, the distance where he could pull the trigger before Redd could make any reaction.
His fingers rested on the firecracker inside the box, and he could feel the cold metal touch on his fingertips.
The gun was more than half smaller than its normal size. The barrel was only as long as a palm, and the butt was cut into a shape most suitable for one-handed use.
The lead bullets it fills are only the size of soybeans, but they are deadly enough - not through kinetic energy, but through poison coated on the surface of the projectiles.
The poison was extracted from a deep-sea creature. A dose as large as a grain of sand could cause cardiac arrest in an adult whale within ten breaths.
"Aren't you afraid of death?" the black-robed leader asked. This was not a mockery or a threat, but a real and heartfelt question. He did not understand this person.
I don't understand this young man who clearly has the most powerful weapon in the world but wants to walk into the enemy's attack range.
I don't understand this Dragon King who can clearly hide on the back of a dragon but insists on standing on the ground face to face with the enemy.
Redd has reached another level.
"Afraid." He said, his tone as calm as saying, "I like to eat fish." "But you are not the person who can kill me."
The black-robed leader's finger was on the trigger.
His heartbeat suddenly calmed down at this moment.
Not the kind of Storm tranquility before the rain, but real, complete peace.
It's like I've finally reached the end of the road. It doesn't matter whether it's a cliff or a house in front of me. What's important is that the road is over.
He remembered when he was young and walked into the door of Citadel for the first time.
It was an autumn morning, the sun shone through the ancient sycamore trees on the stone road, and the air was filled with the smell of books and herbs.
He stood in the shadow of the white ivory tower, looking up at the names engraved on the stone walls - those bachelors who had made great contributions to Citadel, those who had carved their names into history.
He thought at that time that one day, he would become such a person.
He didn't become that person.
He became a person without even a name.
A man who wears black robes, forges weapons in the dark, and hatches conspiracies in the shadows.
A man who would sacrifice countless innocent people for the "greater good".
A person who works silently on the dark side of history and will never be recorded or remembered.
But he has no regrets.
He just thought of that autumn morning at the last moment of his life.
"For Seven Kingdoms." He whispered, and pulled the trigger.
The striking iron strikes the gunpowder pool, sparks ignite the gunpowder, the gas expands, and the lead is ejected from the chamber--
"Bang--"
The sound of gunfire exploded in the empty foyer, sharper and more piercing than the sound of artillery.
Dawg Las' body rushed forward at the moment of the gunshot, but he was too far away, so far that his sword could not even reach the hem of the black-robed leader's clothes.
The soldiers raised their shields and spears at the same time, and the crossbowmen's fingers trembled on the triggers, but no one dared to release arrows - because Redd was standing in front of that person, any arrow might accidentally hurt Dragon King.
Everyone thought Redd would fall.
But Redd does not.
The lead bullet was shot from the muzzle of the gun, passed through a distance of less than five feet, and went straight to Redd's chest.
At this distance, the kinetic energy of the lead bullet is enough to penetrate two layers of plate armor, not to mention the black coat on Redd that does not look much thicker than ordinary clothing.
But the buckshot missed him.
It's not because Redd escaped. He didn't hide.
He stood there motionless, not even blinking.
It's because King Ghidorah.
A head of the giant beast poked its head through the palace gate.
It was so big that the entire door frame couldn't accommodate its entire head.
But its mouth - a huge mouth full of sharp teeth that could spit out Gravity Beams - was pointed in the direction of the black-robed leader.
The moment the black-robed leader pulled the trigger, King Ghidorah's head suddenly thrust forward, and golden light flashed across his throat.
That ray of light did not hit the black-robed leader.
It fired at the lead bullet.
The lead bullet was hit by Gravity Beams less than a foot away from Redd's chest.
It did not disappear - King Ghidorah controlled the intensity of the light so that it was only enough to destroy the small lead bullet without hurting Redd who was close at hand.