Chapter 16 The Song Sung by the Drowned Man (10)

The chaos lasted all night.

At first the chaos was just ironborn killing and scrambling for loot.

But in the middle of the night, a hunting dog that was originally kept in a cage suddenly burst out and ran wildly throughout the castle, barking like crazy, making the situation here even more crazy.

However, the overall situation will not change.

So when the sun rose from the far end of the ocean the next day, the castle called Whip Castle had completely changed its owner.

The white nettle whip flag on the castle tower that marked the original owner's family was casually torn down and allowed to be trampled on. The armory in the city has also been emptied. The villagers who were once a group of mining slaves are now wearing armor and weapons that can only be used by soldiers and even noble lords, which makes them look like they really are. That's what happened.

However, the survivors of the tragedy in the castle can never forget what kind of people they are.

During the cleanup on the second day, dozens of dead bodies were carried out from all over the castle and thrown into the moat outside the city wall. They disappeared from people's sight with a popping sound, silently, as if they had never existed. .

The family members of the Tawny family, the original owners of the castle, were now being held tightly in a high tower, led by the cook Ryan - of course he should be called Captain Ryan now.

Another veteran who followed, the old drunkard Pais, also transformed and became one of the captains of the city wall. He was more easy-going than Ryan, and in a short period of time he had already formed a good relationship with his new partners. one slice.

Renly has been waiting for the Drowned Man to allocate ships and men to him to return to Old Wyk Island to ask for help.

During this period, he met the young woman he had helped in the castle, but she just hugged her child tightly and showed hatred towards the heavily armed young soldiers.

He also saw the younger mother he had let go while hunting at the entrance to the village. Unfortunately, he saw her from the tip of a gun on the city wall. She was no longer complete, and was miserably reduced to only a head.

"She was a traitor and wanted to tell the truth, so Gord had her killed. Her cub was lucky and didn't remember anything, otherwise he would have been killed too." The old drunkard explained when he stopped to observe.

"She is indeed stupid." Renly nodded in agreement, then turned and left.

Looking at his back, the old drunkard raised his hand and touched the stubble on his chin, his eyes full of suspicion.

After the battle, there were rumors in the castle that Hal had killed one of his own, and also pushed the victim's relatives who came to him to argue with him down the well.

So someone went to Pastor Drowned Man to complain, but the pastor secretly suppressed the matter.

…

The waiting time was not long. That afternoon, Pastor Drowned Man arranged for a small speedboat and six supporting sailors.

The food supplies have been prepared long ago, so there is nothing to hesitate. Renly immediately headed to the coastline not far from the castle.

"Don't be afraid of the wrath of the Storm God, the Drowned God will protect you." The Drowned Man who came to deliver it in person said: "You have to come back as soon as possible, we can't hold it here for long."

"I promise to do it as quickly as possible."

Renly nodded solemnly.

It's the ninth day since we arrived here.

And among those three things, he has already completed two.

The goal of reaching Oak Island was completed first. Thanks to a former miner who unexpectedly came out to attack him last night, the mission of killing seven ironmen also came to an end.

If someone looks at his left hand at this time, they will find that the originally empty middle finger is wearing a rusty bronze ring. The color of the ring is gloomy and black, and there is a faint protruding ghost eye——

[Gaze of the Dead: This is a ring formed by the thoughts of the dying person before death. Using it, you can evoke the deepest fear in the target's heart (6/7)]

Originally the ring could be used seven times, but Renly used it once while experimenting with it when he first obtained it. This was necessary, and he didn't feel bad about it. Instead, he had a new idea because of it.

…

The sea breeze was smooth today, and as the sails swelled, the boat began to sail toward the west of Oak Island. The young man stood on the bow of the boat, watching the coast and the Drowned Man's tall figure getting smaller and smaller, until finally he couldn't see it clearly at all, and then he looked back.

The ship was very small and only had one level. Everyone could see it at a glance.

The six sailors on the boat were talking animatedly, but when faced with the boy's gaze, they timidly lowered their voices.

The Iron Islands follow a slave labor system. The captives snatched by the Ironborn from outside constitute the slave labor class of the Iron Islands. Although slave labor is different from slaves who can be bought and sold, they are also inferior and have no freedom.

These are the slave working class before us.

However, the sea is vast and uniform. As the voyage continues, they gradually become familiar with Renly.

"Can King Rhodes really attract fish and sea monsters?" A young slave worker with short chestnut hair asked curiously.

"I heard that's the case." Renly replied absentmindedly, sitting on the bow of the ship and stroking the bronze ring on his left little finger: "I'm going to go and verify it."

"If I dedicate myself to the great Drowned God, can I really be free?" an old slave rower asked hopefully.

"As long as you survive the drowning ceremony, you can be freed from your status as a slave laborer and even become a drowned priest." The brown-haired boy said, "Your children will also become free people from now on."

Renly was not a native ironborn, but he gradually learned many of their customs while wandering at sea. He even learned that Lucas the Drowned was once a slave laborer.

"How many salt concubines did you steal at Whip Castle?" Another young paddler asked curiously: "Is there any long-legged Jenny? She is very beautiful. I hope you stole her. Shanna is also very beautiful... …Maybe you took her too?”

The Iron Islands have unique customs. Unlike Westeros, they do not practice monogamy. They can plunder women outside and then forcibly marry them as concubines.

This is the so-called rock wife and salt concubine.

In the archipelago, each iron type can snatch several or even a dozen salt concubines from outside, but they are only allowed to have one wife, and the wife must be a local of the archipelago.

"No, not one." Renly shrugged, "Because I'm not sure if, according to the rules, we can take one of our own Ironborn as a salt concubine."

This was Renly's excuse, but one that the oarsmen argued about.

"This does seem to be against the rules."

"The rules also say that ironborn cannot hit their own people, but no one cares about it now."

"Those are not our own people. Lord Lucas said they are a group of betrayers..."

…

Dell, who has red hair and is full of curiosity about everything, taciturn big and small Rob, yellow-teethed and skinny old Lum, and Wells, who is blind in one eye...

The sailors on the boat seemed to be very good people, just like the cooks, drunkards, and drowned men in the past.

They also paddled very hard. Under the watchful eye of the bald supervisor Enge, they rarely saw slacking off.

When getting along with them, Renly could not help but think of the boy from the same village who was with him when he first set sail, of the pebble he unfortunately lost in the sea, of the boy who talked about the king and the Drowned God. tone at the time.

What would he have done if he had reached Oak Island alive?

Renly was curious, but the question would never have an answer.

There were no big storms on the way back, and the wind direction was basically smooth. It took the group eight days to get here, but the return trip didn't take that long, or it was much faster.

As the sun rises and sets, the boat sometimes raises its sails and sometimes sounds the oars shouting.

Two days later, a hazy coastline was faintly visible, and the journey had finally reached its destination.

…

The beach on Old Wake Island is still densely populated with camps. Some figures in leather armor shuttle back and forth. There are many fishermen with their trousers rolled up to their knees in the shallows. However, the first ones to spot the boat were the scouts wandering on the sea. vessel.

The boat was intercepted by a scout ship. After Renly explained the situation, he said goodbye to the slave workers and was taken to the brig.

"His Majesty is presiding over the ceremony."

The bearded captain of the scout ship explained this with envy: "The boys who were flooded today are really lucky. I bet that they will all become famous iron men in the near future."

"There must be a lot of people watching, right?" Renly asked.

"Of course, His Majesty the King rarely does anything himself."

Renly groaned and looked at the beach coastline that was slowly receding as the ship moved forward.

This place seems to be almost the same as when he left. At a glance, there are endless coarse cloth tents located densely, the rising smoke of the bonfire dissipates in the wind, the vendors accompanying the army shouting and selling, the children running and playing, and a place growing in the distance. Under the towering hills of bones, there was a long line of people waiting to be flooded.

Everything looks full of life, harmony and tranquility.

He finally saw "his" king in the shallows under the hill.

It was a shirtless young man with strong features. He was standing in waist-deep water and was performing a drowning ceremony for a blond boy with his own hands.

It is a pity that despite his high-pitched prayers and the sacredness of his kisses, the drowned person who was constantly convulsing did not wake up in the end, but turned into a cold dead body.

"Father needs him, more than we need him." The Drowned King stood up and declared without any signs of expression, "He will become an excellent sailor in my father's palace of flowing water!"

A group of people watching the flood heard the words and cheered loudly, the sound was loud. It seemed like I had seen something happy.

"It is a supreme honor to be delivered by the sacred son of the Drowned God to the flowing water palace of the great god!" The bearded captain also lamented and sighed.

Renly narrowed his eyes when he heard this, stared at the young king who was starting to hold the ceremony again, and secretly confirmed his thoughts.

So when the Priest King finished drowning the fourth man and finally had time to meet with him, the messenger returning from Oak Island, Renly stepped forward and declared loudly.

"Your Majesty, I have brought a letter from Lord Lucas, as well as another very important news!"

"News about Aegon Targaryen!"