Redd looked at all this and knew very well - what he was rebuilding was not just a city, he was rebuilding the foundation of an empire.
Valyria City will become the core of his rule, Demon Dragon Legion will become the pillar of his rule, and Free Cities will become the bloodline of his rule.
The combination of the three is enough to support him in conquering any land he wants to conquer.
The nobles and kings of Westeros can continue to play their power games in King's Landing, and he does not need to rush to join.
He has plenty of time, plenty of strength, and plenty of patience.
When the time is right, he will carry all the power of the Demon Dragon Legion and Valyria City through the Narrow Sea. At that time, those who have tried to plot against him behind his back, and those who have become active again after he left, will know his true strength.
He stood on the terrace for a long time, watching the sunset slowly sinking through the cracks of Fourteen Flames.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, those craters showed a dark red silhouette with a gold edge, as if they were drawing an end to the day.
He turned around and walked back inside the castle, returned to the spacious study, sat down in front of the desk, spread out a new map, and began to plan his next move.
Redd stood alone on the highest terrace of the castle, overlooking the entire awakening Valyria City.
The setting sun slanted down through the gaps in Fourteen Flames, coating the newly built stone walls and wooden beams with a layer of warm golden light.
The streets were sparsely populated, craftsmen were finishing their work, slaves were driven back to their respective camps, and patrolling soldiers walked slowly along the city wall.
Everything is under his control, everything was built by his own hands.
He was brewing a plan in his mind - to announce the establishment of Valyrian Freehold and officially incorporate this land that had recovered from Doom into his ruling territory.
The details of the coronation ceremony, the founding ceremony, the imperial flag, and the newly minted coins had already formed a preliminary outline in his mind.
He only needs to confirm a few more candidates for key positions, and then he can announce the birth of this new empire to the entire known world.
A maid walked quickly from the terrace Entrance, holding a mailbox sealed with red paint in her hand.
Her breathing was a little rapid, and she had obviously run through the corridors and stairs to get here.
Redd took the mailbox, opened the seal, and unfolded the extremely tightly folded parchment inside.
The letter was from Mysaria. Her handwriting was still smooth and smooth, but the content of the letter was shorter and more direct than usual.
Laena is dead.
Redd showed no surprise when he saw this sentence.
He knew from the beginning that Laena was infected with Greyscale, and that the disease could not be cured under the current conditions, and could only be delayed at best.
Death is the inevitable outcome, it is just a matter of time. He continued to look down.
Because of Greyscale, Laena could not accept that he would soon become an irrational and ugly monster, so he chose to let his Demon Dragon burn himself to death with Dragonfire.
She rode Vhagar to an uninhabited sea area near Driftmark and ended her life on the beach.
Her dragon returned to Driftmark alone after completing her orders, with no rider on its back.
Redd did not react immediately after reading it.
He placed the letter on the stone railing of the terrace, pressed the edge of the paper with his fingers, and looked at the darkening outline of the volcanoes in the distance.
Laena's death method was almost the same as in his previous life memory - she did not want to be tortured by the pain in the hospital bed and become another monster, so she chose Dragonfire to end her life.
It was a strong choice and a decisive choice. He silently crossed out her name in his mind, like dealing with an expired document.
Before he had time to think about it clearly, another maid came from the terrace Entrance, holding a second mailbox in her hand.
The color of the seal on this mailbox is different from the first one. It is a gray-blue paint seal, and the pattern on it is somewhat blurry.
Redd took it and opened it. The letter paper inside was thicker and harder than that of Mysaria, and the handwriting was written by another person.
This is a letter from Rhaenys.
Redd When he saw the name at the signature, his brows moved slightly.
The person in power of Rhaenys·Targaryen, Uncrowned Queen, Driftmark, the actual controller of House Velaryon.
In her letter, she explained the cause of Laena's death in an objective and calm manner, as if someone who had experienced too many lives and deaths was describing an accepted fact.
The second half of the letter surprised him - Rhaenys invited him back to attend the funeral of Laena.
She wrote that Laena mentioned Redd at the last moment of her life, saying that she had been to Valyria City and saw how the city was being rebuilt, and how Demon Dragon was growing up in Fourteen Flames.
She hopes that after her death, someone can bring back to Westeros what she saw and heard, and Redd is the only person qualified to tell those things.
Redd read Rhaenys's letter twice and always found it very strange.
His relationship with Rhaenys is not a good one.
When Daemon was still alive, Rhaenys was one of the staunchest supporters of Daemon. After Daemon died, although Rhaenys did not publicly accuse Redd on the surface, the relationship between the two has always been in a cold and superficially maintained state based on interests.
Rhaenys has no reason to take the initiative to invite him to attend his daughter's funeral. This is unreasonable, unless she has some deeper purpose.
Before he could figure out the reason, the third letter arrived.
The messenger this time is a raven messenger from Dragonstone, and the mailbox is painted with the personal mark of Rhaenyra.
Redd Open the seal and unfold the letter paper that was folded in three.
The handwriting of Rhaenyra is more neat than that of Mysaria, and more rounded than that of Rhaenys, but the arrangement of those words on the paper reveals a subtle urgency.
The content of the letter is similar to what Rhaenys wrote.
The cause of death of Laena was explained earlier, and the description was more objective and detailed.
Laena experienced a painful course of illness for nearly a year after being infected with Greyscale. Her body, starting from her fingers and toes, was gradually covered with gray-white scales. The surface of her skin became increasingly dry and rough, and the color changed from normal skin color to gray-white, and then to dark gray.
The scales eventually spread to her arms, legs, back and neck, leaving only her face and hands with relatively intact skin.
Doctors tried various methods - ointments, hot compresses, diet, bloodletting - but none could reverse the course of the disease.
Laena made that decision after confirming that he could not be cured.
She rode Vhagar to an uninhabited sea area near Driftmark, and let Vhagar end her life with Dragonfire on the beach.