Game of Thrones: The Red Dragon Lord - Chapter 188

c188 Astapor

The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the port of Astapor, and the “Sunset Beauty” slowly approached the shore like a tired traveler.

The sailors skillfully threw down the ropes and fixed the ship tightly.

With a dull sound, the pedal was steadily lowered.

An Astapor tax collector strode onto the ship.

He was wearing a dark red tokar robe, with a black leather belt around his waist, and a bronze plate symbolizing power hung on it.

Kairos immediately greeted him with a stack of documents and certificates.

After a while, after paying the tax and sending the tax officer off the ship, Kairos came to Gavin’s room and said respectfully: “Your Majesty, we can go into the city now. We have booked a hotel with a good environment for you a long time ago. You can go there to rest first.”

Gavin nodded slightly and said: “Give those crew members more money and let them stay on the ship. Don’t get off the ship. Leave your people to watch them. Bring some blood dragon guards into the city first, and bring the others in batches. Don’t attract attention.”

After hearing this, Kairos bowed and said: “Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I have made arrangements.”

Then Gavin stood up and walked towards the deck.

In the encounter with the Serenity not long ago, Gavin was forced to use magic. Those crew members who saw the fire snake had already guessed his identity. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Gavin decided to put them under house arrest here.

The huge wooden pier of the port extends to the sea. After years of baptism and erosion by the sea breeze, the wooden planks are a little mottled, but still solid and reliable. Gavin stood on the wooden dock and looked at the surrounding environment.

The entire dock was extremely busy, with countless ships docked at the port and various flags waving in the wind.

Not far away, the wooden city wall was also dilapidated and low, but on the wall, every ten meters there was an Unsullied standing, holding a spear, with a calm look under the tall spiked helmet.

Under the scorching sun, they were like silent guards, motionless, as if they had merged with the city wall.

Among the three cities in Slaver’s Bay, Meereen and Yunkai relied on long-term mercenary groups as military forces. In order to protect their own safety, the good lords built tall city walls and perfect city defense measures in both cities.

In contrast, Astapor was surrounded by dilapidated and low wooden walls, and some of the walls even had broken gaps, and the entire city defense was useless.

But among the three cities, Astapor had the strongest defense, because it had the most disciplined legion – the Unsullied.

In addition to being the strongest defense force in Astapor, the Unsullied are also the best-selling products here. The Unsullied are trained by the good masters in imitation of the Ghis Legion in the ancient Ghis period, but the members have changed from former Ghis people to slaves. The Unsullied are known for their discipline. After cruel training, they are deprived of emotions and self, and become machines that only obey orders and fight.

In a battle, the Unsullied Legion formed a defense force of 3,000 people and successfully resisted the attack of 50,000 Dothraki cavalry.

For this reason, many rulers of city-states will buy Unsullied to guard the city-state or as their own guards. The training and sale of Unsullied has also become the main source of income for Astapor.

Gavin slowly retracted his gaze and stepped into the ancient city of Astapor under the guidance of Kairos.

Behind him, several mercenaries and ten blood dragon guards carried heavy boxes full of golden dragons and followed closely. Their footsteps echoed in the narrow and crowded streets.

The streets of Astapor were narrow and crowded, and the air was filled with the smell of dust and sweat.

The noisy voices on the streets rose and fell, and on the ground on both sides of the streets, countless slaves waiting to be sold were piled up like goods.

In their eyes, fear, despair and numbness intertwined, as if they were souls abandoned by fate. Most of the slaves were ragged and skinny, as if they would fall down at the slightest breeze; some of the strong ones were bound by heavy shackles, and the weight of the shackles was like a boulder of fate, making it impossible for them to break free.

The slave traders shouted loudly on the side, showing off their “goods”. Seeing Gavin coming, the merchants took the initiative to introduce their slaves like sharks smelling blood, but Gavin seemed to have heard nothing, just walking slowly and looking around quietly.

The architectural style here is unique, mostly low stone houses and wooden houses, and the colors on the walls are mottled, witnessing the erosion of time.

Soon, they came to a stone courtyard. The waiter at the door saw Kairos and Gavin from afar and hurriedly ran to greet them.

He said respectfully in Valyrian: “Good day, Captain Kairos. I thought you would be a few days late. This should be the lord who escorted you on this trip. Welcome to Astapor. I hope you can buy satisfactory goods here.”

Gavin narrowed his eyes slightly, pretending that he didn’t speak the language, and didn’t speak.

Kairos on the side waved his hand casually and responded in Valyrian: “The wind direction has been very good all the way, and there have been no blind pirates, so the speed is much faster than expected.”

After hearing this, the waiter showed a happy smile on his face and said: “That’s great, I hope your return journey will be so smooth. The room is ready, Captain Kairos, this distinguished lord, please follow me.” As he said, the waiter led everyone into the hotel.

After entering the lobby, Kairos said to the waiter: “No need to follow me, I know the way. Go prepare some food and send it to the room.” As he said that, he took out a few copper coins and gave them to the waiter.

The waiter skillfully put the money into his arms, smiled, and saluted to express his gratitude: “Thank you for your generosity, please wait in the room, it will be delivered to you soon.”

The night fell quietly, and the inky night slowly enveloped Astapor.

The outline of this ancient city was looming under the hazy moonlight. The lights on the street were dotted, like the stars twinkling in the night sky.

In the quiet atmosphere, Gavin’s door was gently knocked.

Kairos walked in with a young man dressed in Gis civilian clothes.

The young man was calm and his eyes were slightly excited. When he saw Gavin, he bowed respectfully and said, “Good day, Your Majesty. I am the person in charge of the Maester Qyburn here. My name is Jalal McGee, and I am here to serve you.”

Gavin nodded slightly, his face calm, and said, “Tell me about the situation of the Lords of Astapor and the number of Unsullied you have investigated.”

Jalal straightened up slightly and replied calmly, “There are more than ten Lords of Astapor. They and their families jointly control the economic and political power of the city and take turns to serve as the ruling family. Each Lord family has its own trained Unsullied, but the number of Unsullied trained by each family is different. The Aiel family has the most, with 2,500, and the Daznaan family has the least, with only 300 Unsullied. The total number of Unsullied for sale in Astapor is about 10,000.”