The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 42 The Narrow Sea Under the Seven Stars

The life of crossing the sea is boring and boring. In the first few days after entering the sea, people would still stop because of the sea surface, but now no one goes back to take a look.

The deeper it goes into the deep sea, the more problems the expeditionary fleet encounters: unexpected food consumption, acclimatization of the members of the expeditionary force, and the loss of ships during the voyage.

However, these are all just trivial matters compared to the Purple Sail Fleet, the Sword of Damocles suspended above the head of the army.

The fear of the appearance of the Purple Sail Fleet has always been hanging over the heads of the leadership of the expeditionary force. They did not dare to say whether the previous bullying of the enemy had misled the Purple Sail Fleet, let alone leaked the news that the Purple Sail Fleet might appear at any time.

On this day, Hugo was bored and leaning on the deck of the Saint, looking at the endless sea and what seemed to him to be an endless group of ships.

Due to the trouble of delivering news, each ship is managed by its captain and the highest-ranking nobles and managers. Except for some matters of greater impact, no news will be delivered to Hugo.

So after Hu Ge couldn't deal with many affairs every day, he would do nothing, leaning on the side of the ship, looking at the sea, and smelling the fishy smell of sea in the air to pass the time.

When can we see the eastern coast? The ship seemed to stink every day. Several sailors carried rigging and ropes and ran past Hugo. When they saw Hugo, these men who ran the sea respectfully saluted Hugo, their eyes full of awe. .

Hugo, who was really idle, looked at the sea for a while and counted the number of ships on the sea. When he couldn't remember where he counted, he began to sort out the information about Pantos and Andas in his mind. .

Pentos, it was originally founded as a Valyrian trading outpost, and like other Valyrian outposts, it quickly annexed the surrounding lands, from the Velvet Hills and the Little Rhoyne to the sea, encompassing almost all of The ancient kingdom of Andas.

The original Pentos were merchants, traders, sailors, and farmers, rarely of higher birth. Perhaps for this reason, they cared little for their Valyrian ancestry and were willing to intermarry with the natives of the areas they ruled. The result of this is that many Pentos have Andal ancestry, and they may be the closest cousins ​​of the Westerosi people.

It is precisely because of this that Pentos is the Free Trade City-state with the closest trade ties with Westeros. They have occupied most of the Westeros market for a long time. Even if the war with Braavos failed, they have relied on their long-term Despite time-managed business wars and personal connections, the Pantos people's trading position in the West is still difficult to shake.

But after the events in King's Landing, this situation began to change as the Iron Throne issued an expulsion order against the merchants of Pentos.

The Braavos people quickly occupied the market left after the Pentos people were expelled. Combined with the assassination of the Faceless Men that he encountered, Hugo had a strong feeling that he was the leader of the rebellion in King's Landing. The man is from Braavos.

After all, the Faceless Men could have conveyed wrong orders to the Pentos people in King's Landing, and there is a saying that when things are unclear, just see who benefits the most. This is not necessarily correct, but it also makes sense, and this Afterwards, it was indeed the people of Braavos who benefited the most.

But that's not what he was thinking about now. Hugo looked at a fast ship passing by, shook his head quickly, and turned his thoughts back to Pantos.

After being defeated by the Braavos, Pentos was forced to abolish slavery. However, although Pentos did not allow slavery, this did not prevent some wealthy citizens from keeping slaves, and there were tens of thousands of "free men" in the city. "Slave" is no different from a slave except that it is not called a slave. These men and women were legally free men and had the right to refuse service - provided they were not indebted to their master. However, their labor income is often lower than what they need for food and clothing, they are also charged for living under the owner's roof, and their debts increase day after day, with no chance of recovery.

Pentos is a slave city without slavery. Hugo also took note of this fact when he set the goal of his expedition here.

Not to mention, Pentos is in the homeland of Andas, and there are Andals who did not cross the Narrow Sea. These relatives can also be mobilized, and saving the Eastern relatives is an important part of the expedition concept.

However, whether the Eastern Andals will stand up and respond will depend on the specific operations. There is still too little information about the Andas Valley. That area is relatively closed and little information leaks out.

From the merchants, Hugo only knew that the Pentos people ruled there. They seemed to have set up many tax farming companies in the river valley to manage it. There seemed to be many Andal lords in the river valley, but Hugo still didn't know what the society was like here. clear.

However, regardless of these, one thing in Hugo's plan remains unchanged, that is, the Pentos army must be defeated quickly after landing. The Braavos people already know about the Eastern Expedition, so now as Braavos The Pentos people in the circle of influence must be prepared.

When Hugo was getting more and more immersed in conceiving various strategies after landing, suddenly someone stood beside him. Hugo looked over and found that it was Count Jero. Hugo wanted to say hello, but the count's face was very serious.

Count Gerald showed such an expression, which meant that something serious must have happened, and the count's guards also drove away the sailors around him, "What happened?" "We are very likely to have to face it next. A storm." When mentioning the storm, there was an imperceptible tremor in the earl's tone, "The scale of this storm is very large, and we can't even hide in time. The most correct way at the moment is to move forward against the storm."

"What? Isn't the Northern Narrow Sea a relatively calm section of the Narrow Sea?" Hu Ge immediately became uneasy because it was such an important matter from the beginning. He suspected that Count Jero was joking, but the count's serious expression told him that None of this is a joke.

"The Northern Narrow Sea is calmer than the Southern Narrow Sea. Compared with the stormy land, there are not so many storms in the Northern Narrow Sea, but that doesn't mean there aren't any." Earl Jero also stood in front of the ship. He looked towards In the sky ahead, there were only some dark clouds in the distance, and Hu Ge could not imagine that these dark clouds would develop into a storm.

"However, you don't need to be too afraid. We all have sufficient experience in facing storms, but..." Count Jero looked at the fleet of the expeditionary force, "I can't guarantee the other ships. This line will definitely eliminate many weak ones. , and dark clouds will cover the sky, and many ships will be lost even if they do not sink."

Hu Ge opened his mouth. He wanted to ask the earl if he could avoid the loss, but the earl had already seen the problem in his eyes and just shook his head slightly, indicating that it was impossible.

"I understand, so be it. No matter what, we have to keep moving forward, but let's spread the news first. I need everyone to know." Hu Ge's tone was very firm. The storm cannot be diverted by manpower. Since If you can't even hide, you have to face it.

"Okay, Lord Hugo." Seeing Hugo's calmness, Count Jero felt relieved. He was a little afraid that Hugo would irrationally ask him to save the entire fleet, but he really couldn't do it, even though he He is the head of the navy, but Hu Ge is the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force. Most people listen to him. If he wants to cause trouble or even blame himself, he really has no choice.

The news about the storm swept through the entire fleet like an unpredictable wind. People's attitudes towards the storm were also different. Some people thought it was a test of the Seven Gods and decided to face the storm bravely. Some people thought that the fleet was bound to be doomed. Some people began to cry in mourning, and some people were very calm. These people basically have no idea about storms.

There are even ships that want to escape, but the large fleet is basically unable to move in its current chaotic state. In addition, Hugo has arranged the most determined and fanatical captains on the outermost periphery. They will never give way, so don't even think about it. run.

But in general, most people believe in Hu Ge and think that Hu Ge will successfully bring everyone to the East. But what they don't know is that Hu Ge is powerless to do this.

Not long after, the black clouds came in as if they were crushing the ship. At this time, even the bravest people would feel fear when facing the billowing black clouds. But those old sailors did not. They just prepared nervously to welcome them. They were preparing for the storm. As for the others, most of them were praying to the Seven Gods.

"Hurry up! Move faster, the storm is coming." On the deck of the Saint, everyone became busier and busier under the shouts of the boatswain. The wind was blowing, and the storm was coming soon.

Although the sailors were also afraid of storms, they still moved in an orderly manner. This was not the first time he faced a storm. The more this happened, the more he understood that discipline was the key to saving them.

But just when the sailors completed their preparations and prepared to face the storm, they found that the sea was only a little windier and the waves were a little bigger. The expected rough waves did not appear at all.

Not only the sailors, but everyone including Hu Ge was very puzzled. What was going on? Likewise, not just the Saint but all the ships that had braced themselves for the storm did not understand what was happening.

Black clouds did press on the fleet's head, but the storm did not sweep over, and the crazy waves did not hit the expeditionary force. More importantly, across the dark clouds, seven stars emitted light that penetrated the dark clouds, pointing the way forward for the expeditionary force.

When they realized what was in front of them, cheers resounded throughout the fleet, and everyone was thanking the Seven Gods and his favored one, Hugo.

"Thank you to the seven gods." Looking at the seven stars in the sky, Hu Ge said from the bottom of his heart.

Hugo was surrounded by sailors and soldiers who looked at him in awe. Many people here had not seen Hugo's miracle in Seagull Town, but now they had seen another kind of miracle with their own eyes.

"Keep going, we have to cross the Narrow Sea as soon as possible." Hu Ge just said this when he met everyone's eyes, and his order was like the order of the gods to these people, making them move immediately.

(End of this chapter)