[Chapter Size: 3400 Words.]

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Third Person POV

North, 281 AC.

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There had been a few more weeks as the Artican group continued wandering through the arid lands, while the group of thousands kept moving forward.

An eagle echoed through the air as Jon looked up, seeing the animals flying over the group while riding Ghost. There were at least 200 birds flying all around. Watching everything around the group with them, which resulted in any enemy attack failing when trying to catch them by surprise.

Jon couldn’t help but smile. In the past few weeks, no khalasar had attempted to face them, despite some being quite close to the region they were passing through. For the most part, they had some scouts that the Articans couldn’t take down due to the distance, but they also didn’t bother to hunt them. After all, according to Jon, it would be good for a reputation about them to start forming.

After all, they were a group wandering through the desert, coming from outside Essos. It would be interesting for the Dothraki to know they were dealing with someone coming to hunt them.

Jon turned his gaze back, while his group was a bit slow due to the march of the giants. Still, the number of horses they had managed to acquire was over 5,000, and his men now had 10,000 horses in the campaign.

They weren’t better than the Artican horses, but certainly, Jon could return with a large group of these animals to Artica—perhaps even arm Artica’s own army until the best horses were enough for everyone in the future.

Thus creating something they were still developing—the cavalry. In any case, Jon saw this military campaign with some benefits, and his objective, besides eliminating the threat posed by the Dothraki invading cities where they had trade, was that in Vaes Dothrak, there was something he needed.

“What are you thinking, Jon?”

The feminine voice of Seryna came from his side as she wore an outfit that covered her entire body, even her face, to protect herself from the sun. She certainly didn’t like that environment and had begun covering her face throughout the journey, like many Articans.

“Not much…” Jon commented as they continued riding at a steady pace, but his gaze fell on her before continuing again.

“You should go to the wagon, Seryna.” Jon said.

“I’m fine…” She spoke before smiling beneath her hood. “But you should cover your face too. Your skin is getting darker.” She laughed.

“I withstand the heat more than anyone else. Anyway, a few weeks in Artica will make me pale again.” Jon replied.

She nodded and remained silent for a while, also turning her attention to the eagles in the sky.

“I hope Loki is okay… It’s been almost two moons, and I miss him…” She murmured.

“He will be… He’s with the others.” Jon said.

“I’m afraid he’ll start taking his dragon and flying over Artica. That will influence the others too…” She murmured.

“I promised him his first flight would be with me. I believe he will wait.” Jon responded.

“I think you’re right… I’ve been a bit sentimental lately.” She murmured.

“It’s alright. You were like this when you had Loki in your belly.” Jon said, looking at that part covered by clothes. After all, she was pregnant.

As Seryna wished, so it was. When the pregnancy was discovered a week ago, it wouldn’t be a danger to Seryna during their time here, but she was certainly somewhat affected by it.

Seryna was about to respond to her husband when a man approached the king.

“My king…” He approached on an Artican horse as Jon nodded for him to come closer. After all, this was a scout.

“There is a group of 100 Dothraki approaching us. I believe they are the ones who saw us two days ago…” he said as Jon looked ahead, nodding.

“Only 100…? Alright… Let’s see what they want.” Jon said while no one was really concerned about it.

Jon waited as the men approached, while dust rose with the Dothraki horses appearing on the horizon. The commanders began ordering all 40,000 Articans to stop in place.

Jon waited with his royal guards as the Dothraki stopped at some distance, then resumed walking again upon seeing that they were not hostile. Through the animals, they could see the fear in those who were approaching.

Which was not a great surprise when they saw thousands of men, all wearing metal on their bodies, unlike them, instilling fear in any khalasar, forcing them to withdraw rather than face such an unknown force.

Rumors of the Articans had begun spreading, known as the metal men beyond the poison water, and the news that they had completely wiped out the khalasar of ______ had shocked many of them.

This group had been sent by their Khal after hearing about their arrival in his lands. Even some Khals had sought alliances to stop them, after all, foreigners were not welcome here.

But they still needed to see who they were and why they were here, which is why they had been summoned to make contact with the foreigners and understand their objectives—especially since they were approaching the city where their Khal, with a khalasar of 40,000 Dothraki, ruled his domain.

They continued forward until they finally reached them, stopping only 20 meters away as everyone watched. Fear gripped the Dothraki slightly—no one had mentioned the enormous men among the group. There were small people; they did not know what they were, but they dressed like the others. Yet, what truly frightened them were the 4-meter-tall men, something they had never seen in their lives.

A giant wolf emerged, almost as tall as the 4-meter giants, and the person riding it matched the giants in height.

“What is that?!”

“What kind of animal can he ride?”

Their companions could not hide their astonishment at the giant wolf—if they could even call it that. After all, besides its immense size, it had colors no other desert wolf had. They had never seen an animal so purely white.

The person took a few steps forward from his army, analyzing them.

“What do you want?” he said in the Dothraki language with a strong voice.

The Dothraki were known for respecting strength and what one rode. If you couldn’t ride a horse, you weren’t even worthy of pity among men. Perhaps that was why there were looks of admiration toward the man who rode that creature and spoke with a tone as strong as any powerful Khal.

“Are you the Khal of this khalasar?” the leader of the group asked.

“We are not a khalasar, but I am their king.” the person said.

“You are a foreigner. We want to understand what brings you to the Dothraki desert… These are our lands!” he said, not wanting to sound too hostile when there were 40,000 men ready to kill him.

“I am here because Khal Drogo challenged me, and I am marching to Vaes Dothrak to kill him.” Jon replied, not hiding the truth. After all, there was no advantage for him in doing so, and clearly, news would spread before he even reached the sacred land of that people.

“Khal Drogo…?” They seemed surprised by this. They had heard of Khal Drogo wanting to kill some foreigners and preparing for a large military campaign through the desert to the west of the continent, seeking to destroy the coastal cities.

“Khal Drogo is recruiting many khalaazars around Vaes Dothrak. I heard that he is going to war with Khal Moro to expand his khalasar…” he said.

“I see. In any case, that is our answer. I wonder what you will do with it.” Jon said calmly.

“Our Khal is in the city of Vaes Torgo, which is on the way to Vaes Dothrak. Knowing our Khal, Khal Zorvo the Relentless, he will not let you pass. We have forty thousand men ready to fight, and we will face you, foreigners!” he declared, sweating a little but still trying to maintain his composure. His mission was to deliver his Khal’s message, even if it cost him his life by enraging the foreigners made of metal.

“I see. Tell your Khal he can wait for us. We will face him and break through your ranks by force.” Jon responded.

It would be a good opportunity to see his thousands of soldiers in action. As the Dothraki took one last look at him and began retreating, Jon noticed his wife approaching him.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

Jon gave a smile before answering.

“You heard them, men! Let’s move forward. After all, we have a Dothraki city to conquer before we get closer to Vaes Dothrak!”

The Artican army resumed its march, advancing toward their destination.

It took two days before they could finally see the city with their own eyes. It was a precarious city with little structure, protected only by a wooden wall.

However, the Dothraki did not seem willing to defend themselves behind that very wall. Jon could see their ranks preparing to charge at them as soon as they were spotted.

“Prepare for war!” Jon ordered as soon as he saw them.

He commanded his men to secure their resources and organize into battle lines. However, before they could complete the formation, they saw the Dothraki charging at full speed.

They were taking advantage of the moment when the Articans were still organizing after the long journey and had not yet rested. They sought to gain the upper hand by attacking before they were fully prepared.

“Those bastards… They have no sense of honor! What else could I expect?” Jon murmured angrily. And when he was angry, things never ended well for his enemies.

He had expected, this time, a fair battle against a khalasar. But that was not what happened.

“Alright then…” he said, giving a slight tap on Ghost’s side, making him advance swiftly.

“Form an archer line! And prepare another with the cavalry!” he ordered, as his men rushed to form a defensive line.

Fortunately, the Articans were already trained for situations like this. Even caught by surprise, they quickly organized themselves.

The giants, positioned at the rear, began preparing their bows as they moved to the front of the group. They formed a line just ahead, readying to fire.

“I’ll hold them off for a while.” Jon said, watching the thousands of horses charging toward them.

Everyone could see when the first line of Dothraki began to fall in disarray at 300 meters away—cries of surprise and pain mixing with the sound of hooves.

Dust rose as the giants were already prepared. Their massive arrows were being set into their bows.

Seryna approached Jon, holding her hammer. The royal guards accompanied her, ready to protect her. One of them was tasked with leading the archers, who were already beginning to fire.

The first giant arrows were launched. The projectiles flew toward the enemies, who were still trying to recover from the initial chaos. Many lost their horses before even getting close to the Artican army.

The rain of arrows continued, looking more like harpoons than common arrows. They pierced through the Dothraki amidst the confusion, leaving them at the mercy of terror upon seeing arrows of such size.

Three waves of arrows were fired. From such a distance, the giants could hit even the middle of the enemy army, at a range of up to eight hundred meters to a kilometer. So the three hundred meters where many had already fallen made it easy for them to aim and control their targets.

The monstrous strength of the giants made the arrows pass through multiple bodies before embedding into the ground, just as they had when first launched.

The Dothraki began to panic. Thousands of their warriors were killed before they could even engage in direct combat.

“That’s enough.” Jon said. “I want all mounted men to follow me!” He spoke as he put on a helmet.

At his command, ten thousand Artican cavalrymen gathered, separating from the giants and forming a line beside him.

Jon looked at Ghost, who was already prepared for battle.

The horses began advancing behind him, while they reinforced their protections.

Seryna, as always, stubborn enough to enter the fight, was also ready to charge at his side, with the royal guards almost entirely surrounding her to protect her.

His ten thousand men from Artica also advanced right behind. The dwarves looked frustrated since, once again, they were left behind due to not having horses. But this time, the enemy was more numerous and closer. They followed, running across the desert with their hammers and shields, chasing after the cavalry alongside the rest of the men who did not possess horses.

Khal Zorvo was still alive despite the losses, trying to lead his men while his blood guards struggled to protect him against the disorganized riders who were fleeing.

The Khal had even tried to reach his stallion, but it was already too far from him. Now, all he could do was watch the fallen men and those impaled by arrows.

He had thought he could make the foreigners suffer losses by launching an attack like that, but he had not imagined it would turn out like this. As the sound of galloping horses echoed behind him, he turned to see ten thousand men charging toward his completely disorganized khalasar.

The giant wolf led the charge, ridden by that feared warrior. As his men had reported, it was truly a beast unlike anything they had ever witnessed. And all he could see was the creature coming straight for him, powerless to do anything.

Before he could react, the wolf’s claws reached him, trampling him to the ground. His head was instantly crushed beneath the beast’s paws, as Ghost continued advancing through the chaos. The royal guards mercilessly massacred the Khal’s blood guards.

The Dothraki had never been a highly organized army, but they certainly knew how to handle chaos. Quickly, they attempted to fight back, launching arrows at the enemies. However, the Artican soldiers raised their shields, protecting themselves from the attacks.

The Dothraki formation broke as the Articans stormed their ranks, with the giant wolf leading the charge.

Jon wielded a spear. Since Ghost was so large, he could attack from a superior height, massacring enemies with quick and precise cuts. His speed and strength made his strikes even deadlier, piercing enemies’ heads with rapid thrusts.

Seryna was also crushing any enemy that managed to slip past the royal guards, who formed a line to protect her.

The Artican soldiers did not fall behind. As soon as they engaged in the fight, they quickly gained the upper hand, despite still being outnumbered.

Jon used his warg abilities to create confusion among the nearby horses, causing several riders to fall and putting the Dothraki at a massive disadvantage. After all, their strength relied on their mounts, and without them, they were not only weakened but also became a source of shame for all the others. With the enemy’s morale crumbling as they failed to understand what was happening or why their horses were reacting that way…

The flanks had not yet been attacked by the Artican cavalry. So, the giants, positioned at the rear, aimed at these sides and began launching projectiles at the enemy.

The 20,000 men were advancing, reaching the front of the enemy formation as they began invading like cavalry, slaughtering the Dothraki who had lost their horses, while the strength of their weapons was far superior to the enemy’s arakhs.

Jon took advantage of the moment as more than twenty-five thousand horses ran wildly across the battlefield. He commanded many of them to move away while more and more Articans mounted and advanced into direct combat.

The Dothraki weapons seemed useless against the soldiers of Artica. Their blades shattered or were deflected by the eldenmetal armor. The Articans continued massacring everyone in their path.

The only thing the Dothraki could do was attempt to knock the soldiers off their horses by attacking the animals. However, few succeeded before being slaughtered.

“Kill all the enemies!” Jon demanded in the midst of battle.

Then the chaos continued for another half hour of fighting. The Dothraki began to fail miserably. Finally, they gave in and started to flee. More than 25,000 of their men had been killed. The enemy force did not seem to diminish in the slightest, as more and more Articans closed in, and the giants no longer even needed to fire arrows as they began storming the battlefield after marching 300 meters. Despite being slow, the battle had dragged on.

Terror consumed the surviving Dothraki as they saw the giants easily massacring men, while their arrows and weapons failed to penetrate any of their armor.

Jon observed the entire battlefield through his eagles, watching from the sky, maintaining full control over the state of the battle. He was able to issue quick and effective commands while having a panoramic aerial view, reinforcing weak positions and even exploiting enemy vulnerabilities.

Either way, he saw that the enemy was only fleeing this time and raised his hand.

“Let’s stop for now.” He ordered, and his men halted their advance, allowing the Dothraki to escape.

“My king, are you alright?” one of the royal guards asked, approaching.

“I am.” Jon replied calmly, only covered in blood as he removed his helmet. He noticed that Ghost had two arrows lodged in his skin, having pierced through his armor, but the wolf did not seem bothered by it. Still, Jon wanted to treat it immediately.

But first, Jon looked at Seryna as she approached him, slightly bloodied.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m fine, Jon.” she replied. “I just need to change this cloak.” she said, removing her helmet, while wearing a cloak over her Valyrian steel armor.

Jon turned his attention back to the Dothraki running toward the nearest city. He began organizing his troops over the next hour as the rest of the army approached.

The Dothraki locked themselves inside the city, terrified. They had seen the true size of the enemy army, which had not diminished even after suffering losses, and realized that their Khal’s strategy had backfired.

“I want this area cleared, and I want the tents set up in the cleared space. While part of the troops burn the fallen bodies, I also want all the wargs with me.”

 Jon ordered, as his army set up camp to organize everything before taking the next step.

During the battle, they had managed to capture more than twenty-five thousand horses scattered across the area.

Now, only five thousand Articans remained without a mount. Although the Dothraki horses were somewhat large for the Artican dwarves, they could still be useful. This meant that, finally, everyone could participate in the battles instead of just staying in the rear—a frustrating situation for many dwarves.

A few days had passed since then, while a Khal stood in the middle of his enormous khalasar of 70,000 men, with Dothraki warriors before him.

“You are saying that the city of Vaes Torgo, under the command of Khal Zorvo, was conquered and destroyed by people coming from the poison water?!” Khal Moro said angrily.

“Yes… they massacred everyone there… They are after Khal Drogo and are destroying every khalaazar in their path, massacring them… Khal Mudak’s khalasar was also destroyed.” the men said.

“So the one who leads them rides a giant wolf?” Khal Moro asked.

“Yes… and no horse can stand before him. He brings down any animal…” the men said.

“Then he is a sorcerer?” the khaleesi of the Khal said.

“We don’t know… but they are very powerful and brought down the city with the giants. We have never seen anything like it…” the man said.

“So be it… Let’s see this group for ourselves. They have weapons, armor, and wealth. Perhaps we can grow rich from them before I kill Khal Drogo.” Khal Moro said, as they were the largest khalasar standing between Jon and Vaes Dothrak.

He did not believe they would be easily defeated and saw an opportunity to gain great fame by defeating the foreigners. Even if he lost many men, he could still gain more if everyone believed that he was the Stallion Who Mounts the World.

————-Nexts Chapters —————-

Chapter 243 – Artican Army vs Khal Drogo’s Khalasar 02.

Chapter 248 – First contact.

Chapter 258 – Uncle Benjen.

Chapter 267 – Dealing with Enemies.

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