Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos-Chapter 151 - Battle of the Crossing (IV)

"Fear is a good weapon in many situations." Visenya II Targaryen looked at the Twins gates being opened, finally understanding the fear that dragons could cause.

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"Anyone who dares speak again about opening the gates will end up like this." When Hosteen said this, he raised his hand and showed a decapitated head.

Hosteen hadn't expected that, just as his father had said, there really were people who already wanted to open the gates to allow the enemy army in. This was completely unacceptable to him and to the whole of House Frey.

The soldiers, seeing their dead comrade with only his head left, felt only fear. The stress of consecutive attacks was even worse for them, who were not between the walls of the castle, protected by its thick walls, which at least blocked out some of the thunder of the strange weapons on the other side.

If Hosteen couldn't sleep even between the thick castle walls, the situation was even worse for these soldiers. Not only did they have to stand exposed on the wall, but they also ran the risk of dying at any moment.

They had personally seen a comrade-in-arms blown into a thousand pieces when he was hit by a metal ball from the sky. They would never forget the terrifying scene: one moment they were chatting normally and the next, their friend had died right in front of them.

Now, at the sight of another dead companion, their stress reached alarming levels. So high that, for a moment, they wanted to shout at Hosteen, the son of their feudal lord. But the last remnant of rationality kept them silent. They just watched, full of rage, as their companion's head was thrown to the ground like something disposable.

Hosteen and Walder didn't know it, but when it came to psychological warfare, a concept that didn't exist in a medieval world like theirs, Aenar was the absolute master. He knew very well that, in the face of pressure, anger could often lead to extremely violent mutiny.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Hosteen showed a satisfied expression and left without looking back. He didn't care what those soldiers thought, nor did he want to waste energy thinking about it.

However, he could never have imagined that, after his actions, the last vestige of loyalty that those soldiers still had for House Frey had completely disappeared.

If it had been Walder in Hosteen's place, the lord of House Frey would have killed some random soldier and then promised generous rewards, just as a lord should do at times like this, to reinforce his soldiers' loyalty.

But Walder could never have foreseen that Hosteen, extremely exhausted and sleepy, was simply too lazy to say anything else to those risking their lives to protect the castle.

Had he known, he might have done something himself. But there were no "ifs" in a world like that. Walder would regret it later, but it would be too late to do anything else.

Outside the castle, Aenar, who was inside the tent drinking soup, raised his head and smiled coldly. His purple eyes glowed slightly before returning to their normal brightness.

"Rhaenys and Visenya." He called out, looking at both women, who waited for his next words.

"Take your dragons and land on the ramparts. Warn all the soldiers that if they surrender and open the castle gates to my army, they will be pardoned of all crimes." Aenar spoke with a slight smile, causing everyone in the main tent to look at him in surprise.

"Will they accept, Your Grace?" Tyrion expressed his doubts. These were no ordinary soldiers, but warriors trained by House Frey. How could they protect the castle if they weren't loyal?

No one was stupid enough to leave the defense of the castle in the hands of soldiers they didn't trust. This would prevent exactly what Aenar was trying to do at that moment.

"Yes, they'll take it." Aenar drank some water and continued. "The soldiers are exhausted after so many days without sleep. With the bad treatment they're getting, no matter how loyal they are, that loyalty has a limit."

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"Is Walder Frey stupid enough not to guarantee the loyalty of his own soldiers in a siege?" Oberyn commented in disbelief. Any minimally intelligent lord knew that, during a siege, it was essential to reinforce the loyalty of the soldiers.

This was knowledge acquired over millennia of the fall of entire castles and kingdoms. After all, a castle's greatest defense was its wall. A fortress with a wall and moat could basically stop an army of tens of thousands from advancing. But once the wall was compromised, the castle was nothing more than a slightly larger house.

"It's not just the soldiers who are stressed by the war, but also the members of House Frey themselves are exhausted. Perhaps Walder himself has forgotten that not everyone possesses unshakeable determination, especially in the face of death." Aenar responded to Oberyn's comment with a satisfied smile. The cannons were proving more effective than he had expected.

Originally, he had calculated that the soldiers would hold out for at least a week before giving in. But he had overestimated their determination and that of the members of House Frey.

Rhaenys and Visenya didn't give the matter much thought. They got up and left the tent with excited expressions. They were finally going to do something in this war, something they had wanted to do for a long time.

They both approached the dragons, who were resting side by side. Rhaenys looked at Moonfyre, and Visenya at Syrax. Without hesitation, both women mounted their respective dragons.

Letting out low, graceful roars, both female dragons rose from the ground. Caraxes, whose eyes had been closed until that moment, briefly opened his eyes to observe the scene before him, but then closed them again indifferently.

Rhaenys and Visenya ordered them to fly, and both dragons obeyed. They took a few steps forward before taking flight, soaring into the sky with loud wingbeats.

The soldiers protecting the wall soon noticed the dragons approaching and turned pale with fear and horror.

"Dragons are coming!!!" One of the soldiers shouted, wasting no time before running for his life. He wasn't the only one, other soldiers didn't even try to shoot arrows at the dragons. They simply dropped their weapons and ran with all their might.

The arrival of the winged beasts was the trigger for the exhausted soldiers' horror. No one wanted to die. Nobody wanted to serve such cruel masters who didn't care about their lives. Nobody wanted to die for Walder Frey.

When Hosteen and Walder's other sons arrived, the courtyard was already in complete chaos. Some soldiers had given up fighting and were cowering in the corners, mumbling disconnected babbles.

"Stop talking and get ready to fight or I'll kill you all!!!" Hosteen shouted, drawing his sword. But his words had the opposite effect to what he expected.

The soldiers' anger was not directed at House Targaryen, but at House Frey, at those closest to them.

"If we hand them over, we might survive..." One of the soldiers spoke in a calm tone. As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes turned to Hosteen and Walder's other sons, who were surrounded by the most loyal soldiers.

Feeling the gazes upon him, Hosteen's face showed no fear. Instead, he shouted even more furiously: "You damn arrogant peasants! I am Hosteen Frey, son of Walder Frey, and I order you to pick up your weapons and fight me!!!"

The soldiers didn't move immediately, but picked up their weapons as Hosteen had ordered. However, instead of climbing the walls, they surrounded Hosteen and his entourage.

The most loyal soldiers tried to protect him, but in the face of the much larger number of rebels, the resistance didn't last long. Those who remained loyal to House Frey were massacred, and Hosteen Frey did not escape the fate of becoming a prisoner.

When Moonfyre and Syrax landed on the wall, Rhaenys and Visenya were surprised to see the scene in the courtyard. There were corpses scattered around, but what caught their attention most were the four men tied up in the center of the courtyard. From the expensive armor and the coats of arms emblazoned on them, both women knew that they were members of House Frey.

One of the braver soldiers looked at the two dragons on the walls and stepped forward, shouting, "The castle is yours!!!"

Rhaenys and Visenya looked at each other, seeing the surprise reflected in each other's eyes. They had just arrived and thought they would have to make a long speech to convince the soldiers to surrender.

However, they had underestimated the terror that a ten-meter-long beast could cause, especially in ordinary people.

"Open the gates and let the army of House Targaryen in!" Visenya, Aenar's wife, ordered in response. "You will be forgiven for all your crimes!!!"

Under the surprised eyes of both women, the gates were opened without any hesitation.

The situation left Rhaenys and Visenya shocked at the ease, but neither woman complained about such a nice gift.

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