GOT: Molten Crown Chapter 63: The Road to Gohor

On the yellow-green plains, a grey-black road stretched like a spear, piercing the horizon where the sky t the earth.

This road, known as the Valyrian Road, was constructed by the Valyrians. It rose slightly above the ground, enough to allow three carriages to pass side by side.

At one end of the road lay the port built by the Valyrians, now controlled by the Braavosi. At the other end, the road connected to the Upper Rhoyne River, a tributary of the Rhoyne River, where there was another port.

Viserys was here waiting for his army to arrive. They would travel along this road, reach the Upper Rhoyne River, and then navigate upstream to Gohor.

"The Valyrian Road is incredibly sturdy; you should try it yourself," suggested Fregyo, who was accompanying Viserys.

A few Braavosi nobles were also with them.

Viserys turned to look at Arthur and saw him eager to give it a go. He motioned for Arthur to take a long-handled pickaxe and try it.

Arthur removed his helt, revealing his brown hair and pale purple eyes. Imdiately, several noblewon were taken by his charm.

The tall, strong, and handso Arthur Dayne had beco the dream lover of many noblewon in Braavos during his short stay.

In less than two months, he had received so many love letters and handkerchiefs that they could barely fit into a basket.

Arthur had thought that by spreading rumors about his oath to remain unmarried and childless as a mber of the Kingsguard, the noblewon would leave him alone.

But instead, their advances had only intensified.

Every morning, fresh flowers and fruit baskets were placed outside their residence.

So of the more bold courtesans even made public declarations that they would offer their entire fortune just to spend one night with the "Sword of Morning."

In other words, so were willing to pay for Arthur's company.

This caused Viserys to feel a little jealous, though he also thought that the oath of celibacy imposed on the Kingsguard was perhaps a bit inhumane.

Maybe one day, he could relax this restriction for them.

Pushing those scattered thoughts aside, Arthur raised the pickaxe high and struck the road with a mighty blow. There was a resounding *Clang*, and the sound seed to echo in the hearts of the noblewon watching.

Viserys approached to inspect. He saw only a shallow white mark on the road's surface.

The Valyrians' construction techniques were truly terrifying. This was only their road-paving technology. Who knew what other wonders lay hidden in the ruins of Valyria?

"Your Majesty! Our fleet has arrived!" A servant handed Viserys a telescope, through which he could see a fleet of black-sailed ships approaching quickly.

With his keen eyesight, Viserys counted. Exactly fifty ships.

Around two to three quarters of an hour later, the fleet docked, and soldiers began disembarking. They looked weary, so of them glancing around lazily.

But no one dared to underestimate Viserys's army, for the condition of the soldiers was no different from that of any other fleet.

While the soldiers were still gathering, Oberyn, Ock, and Davos arrived in front of Viserys.

"Prince Oberyn, what brings you here?" Viserys asked, genuinely surprised by his arrival.

"You're the dreamwalker, aren't you? Couldn't you have dread this?" Oberyn said with a mocking smile.

"Would you want to dream of everything you do?" Viserys shot back.

Oberyn pictured the scene and then shuddered, explaining, "I wouldn't have co if it weren't for Elia."

Viserys smiled but said nothing. Since Oberyn had co, he would likely be of so use.

Viserys led Oberyn and the others to say goodbye to Fregyo.

"We've prepared five thousand sets of armor, twenty thousand spears, five hundred bows, and fifty thousand arrows.

There are also one thousand warhorses, one hundred fifty thousand bushels of grain, eight hundred pounds of herbs, and seventeen hundred tents ready for you.

Once the Targaryens are established in Gohor, we will also send two thousand oxen."

In addition, various consumables, such as kitchenware, were all included. Fregyo had offered everything at rock-bottom prices.

Though the armor and weapons were sowhat outdated, and the grain was old, the price was incredibly low. Viserys had acquired everything for less than thirty thousand gold dragons.

And most importantly, Viserys hadn't even paid any money—he had used the Iron Treasury's interest-free loan!

In other words, Viserys had acquired everything simply by signing an IOU. The mont he resold these items, he would make a profit of three to five tis his investnt!

This demonstrated just how much Braavos wanted the Targaryens to fall into the trap of Gohor.

However, the items worth over a hundred thousand gold dragons were just a drop in the bucket for Braavos.

Viserys felt that he should try to squeeze out a bit more.

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty the Sea King. The Targaryens will forever rember your friendship," Viserys said, now fully aware that Braavos's intention was to get him caught in the pitfall of Gohor.

He had no moral qualms about exploiting Fregyo in return.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a bit longer before Viserys's servant ca over to report that the supplies had been verified and there were no issues.

Viserys turned to Fregyo and said, "Your Majesty, my ships are currently empty. Why don't you take two of them back with you? That way, we can settle the loan with the Iron Treasury."

Viserys gave a mischievous smile, and Fregyo didn't call him out on it.

"Hmm, that works," Fregyo said, casually pointing at two ships. "Take those two."

When Viserys saw which ships Fregyo had pointed to, he couldn't help but grin. Those two warships were worth only a little over one thousand gold dragons, but now their value had skyrocketed several tis over!

"May I ask, when does His Majesty plan to depart?" Fregyo asked, now seeking confirmation on the departure ti.

"The soldiers have been at sea for almost half a month, so I plan to give them a few days of rest. We'll head out looking our best when we reach Gohor," Viserys replied, sidestepping a direct answer.

Viserys now had a nagging feeling that the constant strife in Gohor, preventing its developnt, might be the work of Braavos.

"Yes, you're right. It's best to move quickly. If you let those river bandits get too much ti to react, it will only harm your army," Fregyo advised.

"You're right, let's make it five days then. We'll depart in five days!" Viserys agreed, knowing it wasn't a binding commitnt.

Seeing Fregyo so eager, Viserys beca even more certain that Braavos and Pentos were secretly trying to influence Gohor.

Since Fregyo was so eager to get him moving, Viserys decided he would look for an opportunity to extract a bit more profit from him.

Fregyo, seeing Viserys agree so easily, smiled and said, "I wish you long-lasting peace and stability in Gohor, Your Majesty. I look forward to that day."

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