(Male protagonist's perspective)
After suppressing the House Myre, we turned our attention to the House Harlaw's Ten Towers territory. Having subdued three of the five families on the island, we no longer needed to fight the House Stonetree. Now, all we had to do was defeat the House Harlaw, which would mark the end of the island war, and then we could head to Pyke.
Lord Stark has once again erected a the Wall with two thousand men to defend against a possible invasion by House Stonetree. House Harlaw still has four thousand men in the Citadel, while we have seventeen thousand, but more than half of their forces are conscripts. The villages next to Ten Towers have been abandoned; they must have retreated into the Citadel. Ten Towers is a large Citadel, worthy of a family capable of rivaling House Greyjoy.
Like Casterly Rock, Ten Towers is a Citadel built on a high cliff, though not as tall or large as Casterly Rock, but still a magnificent Citadel. My only dislike is that each Citadel seems to have been built by a different person; each tower has a different design.
Some were short and stout, others tall and thin. One of the towers had a steep, conical top, like the tip of a spear. Even the towers were different colors. This Citadel was Citadel newest on the Iron Islands. Centuries ago, Theomore Harlaw's three sons died one after another, and he blamed it on the dampness of the Harlaw Hall, the Harlow House Harlaw's old castle. Among the staggered towers were many paths and bridges.
Based on my understanding of the area, the fattest tower should be the Tower of the "Rodrik Harlaw. Unlike many of his kind, he was educated, and the tower contains a huge library.
Lord Harlaw lost his two sons in the Battle of Fair Isle, so he declared his cousin Harras Harlaw (the "Knight") as his heir and bequeathed to him the Valyria sword " Nightfall," a family heirloom of the House Harlaw.
There are few knights among the followers of the Drowned God, as they are generally dishonorable and undignified raiders, but the House Harlaw is trying to distance themselves from the old ways of the Iron Islands, which is why they are working hard to train their sons to be knights.
While Harras isn't as skilled in combat as Victarion, he is indeed highly skilled, but I can't charge in while they have Valyrian steel sword. I can't let my familiars die under those cursed swords again. I must find a way to lure Harras out of the Citadel before the battle begins. After thinking for a moment, I remembered some medieval movies I'd seen on Earth. That might work, but even if it doesn't, I won't lose anything.
I arrived at Lord Stark's tent, and as usual, even though everything had been decided, he was still engrossed in drawing numerous maps, trying to devise a better plan. He had already told everyone what to do.
"My lord, I have something to tell you."
He looked up at me with tired eyes.
"My lord, please do not order the attack while I am destroying the city gates."
Why?
"I need to duel with Harras Harlaw."
He looked at me with a puzzled expression, indicating that he didn't understand what I meant.
"I must neutralize their Valyria sword."
I placed my hand on the sword and said.
"May I?"
Please allow me to draw my sword.
"I already know you can kill me without a sword, so why should I care if you draw it? I already know you won't kill me with a sword. You'll most likely use your snake, or make me fall from a height, just like you did to the House Drumm."
"Sir, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, please, I don't believe for a second that they died of natural causes."
"Even if you're right, they were slave traders and robbers. They deserved it. I'd love to teach them a lesson in person, but Lord Royce has forced me to. Anyway..."
I drew my sword and cast Oak Shield on my arm. A bark-like armor enveloped my arm, and then I brought the sword close to my body. As the sword touched the Bark Armor, the magical armor began to turn to dust.
" The Valyria sword is amazing, everyone knows that: a sword that can remain sharp forever and has almost no weight. But what people don't know is that it can break any spell below level 4 and grant the wielder immunity to spells of level 3 or lower. I don't want such a weapon to fall into the hands of the enemy."
Why are you telling me all this?
"I believe in you, and I have already mastered many level 4 spells."
Are you sure you can beat him?
"I'm sure I can defeat him and kill him in the duel. This will both boost morale and demoralize the enemy."
"Well, if you can kill one of their best warriors, it will affect the course of the battle."
Since the Battle of Bear Island, I have participated in many battles, and countless people have died at my hands. Some were killed by Druid, some by Ser Drasil, but magic has always been a part of it.
When I was Ser Drasil, I either burned them to death with raging flames or used more subtle methods, such as moving the dirt beneath their feet or creating small depressions where they were about to step. Subtle methods were more difficult than raging flames. I needed more control over my magic, and it was thanks to my X5 skill that I became so proficient. Although I don't feel my level increasing, I feel a significant increase in control.
This is probably why my mana reserves have increased, and I also gained some new spells after the battle with the Mirei. I now have 370 mana points. One of the reasons I'm so confident I can defeat him is my new spell. Rhovagon grēze ( Bark Armor ) is a more powerful version of the Oak Shield. I've tested it on some animals; Red Rain can't dispel the armor, but it can penetrate it. Therefore, it can penetrate someone with 13 strength in one hit.
I began to harness the power of the stars. Qēlostabula ( Star Map ) is essentially a biological GPS. As long as I can see the stars or the sky, it doesn't matter if it's cloudy or sunny. I can know which road other places are on, or how far apart we are, but it only applies to places that I and my familiars have been before.
Qēlos Perzys ( Starfire ) is an attack spell; I gather a beam of heavenly light, a white light that incinerates the target to ashes. jelmio egros ( Wind Blade ) is my most powerful single-target attack spell.
Abrarflamen ( Life Burst ) is a 30-meter radius area -Buff spell that unleashes a wave of divine light from me. This light can bless anyone I consider a friend, enhancing their energy and stamina, and then providing them with minor healing.
Kelio rugiet ( Lion's Roar ) is the spell I've always wanted. I wasted so much magic creating it, dying countless times in the Training Space. I can't even remember how many times my throat exploded while training there, trying to create it. It amplifies my voice more powerfully than a megaphone and infuses it with magic. It affects a cone-shaped area with a radius of 30 or 60 meters. It boosts morale and inflicts a slight fear debuff on enemies.