Upon reaching Lannister's Port, Robert found Tywin looking grim. Their three fleets had been reduced to one before even leaving the harbor. Getting rich in war by plundering the defeated was commonplace in this world, but first, you had to get there.
Stannis's fleet was tasked with transporting Robert's army. The Reach's fleet, commanded by Paxter, Earl, would carry the Northern forces. Very few men from the Westerlands would be able to go, forced to stay and defend the coast alongside the Riverlands' troops.
Vitt was seeing Tywin for the second time. The first was at Robert's wedding, but he'd been preoccupied and hadn't paid much attention. Now, he saw that Tywin had shaved his head and was clad in Lannister armor, his gaudy gold-threaded cloak still on his back. His brother, Kevan, rode behind him.
Vitt had to admit that Tywin was incredibly capable. Diplomacy, economics, personnel management – he was excellent at it all. He was a skilled military commander, too. Now, Robert, short on funds, was even borrowing from his father-in-law. But if you were his enemy, he would crush you without mercy, stopping at nothing to achieve his goals. He had no moral boundaries; unlike other nobles who might ransom captives, he would kill your whole family. And then there was his brother, Kevan, often referred to as his shadow. You never faced just one Tywin; you faced two.
Vitt greeted Tywin, who returned the gesture. Tywin's face betrayed no emotion. Legend had it that he had only smiled a handful of times in his life. Vitt, finding the exchange dull, boarded his ship.
He was part of the vanguard alongside Stannis, with Robert's landing force coming behind. He and Jaime would have time to speak with Tywin later. The king always brought a Maester along to record every word. Robert and Tywin were engaging in what Vitt perceived as awkward small talk, but he suspected Robert would be privately discussing borrowing money later.
Originally, there were three navies, but now the Lannister ships were destroyed. Only the Royal Fleet and the Reach fleet remained. Paxter Redwyne commanded the Reach fleet, a nephew of the Queen of Thorns. Stannis commanded the Royal Fleet.
The harbor was packed with warships. Though Lannister Port was large, it couldn't hold them all. Some had to wait for their turn to dock and resupply after the first wave. The fleet had sailed in from the western and southern coasts of the continent, and after such a long voyage, they needed provisions. Food, arrows, and fire-oil pots were being loaded onto the ships by busy workers. Vitt even saw them carrying pickle jars.
Vitt had come up with the idea for pickles while he was at the Citadel. He simply wanted to eat pickles; it wasn't very complicated. Salt wasn't scarce in this world, and it allowed vegetables to be preserved for a long time. Previously, except in the North, most places couldn't preserve vegetables for long after the harvest, so people could only grow things like potatoes, which kept well.
Now, with the pickle-making process, and with affordable clay pickle jars, it quickly became popular everywhere. Vegetables also gained a unique flavor. Even the poor now liked to put a slice of pickle in their black bread, while the wealthy ate white bread with pickles and a slice of meat.
Vitt searched the harbor for a long time before finding Stannis's warship. He was wearing the armor of the Royal Army and was in the cabin with Paxter and several high-ranking officers, discussing their attack plan.
Everyone in the cabin greeted Vitt respectfully when they saw him.
"No need to be so formal. I'm just here to talk to Stannis about what I can do in this battle."
Paxter looked at Stannis, signaling that this was his brother, so he should handle it. Stannis immediately laid out the previous plan:
"I heard Robert mention your use of magic in the Red Keep. You've been assigned to the vanguard of the Left Army of the Royal Fleet."
"I'll be moving with the fleet on the ships?"
"Of course. The Left Army has a total of 200 warships."
Vitt figured Robert hadn't made it clear just how powerful his magic was now. Stannis still seemed to think it was like when they were children. He ignited a magical flame in his left hand and said, "Ships fear fire the most in naval battles. Although my flames can't immediately burn down a ship, if I only burn the sails, a small Fireball will be enough, unless it's raining. Burning dozens of ships shouldn't be a problem. Second Brother, see what you think we should do."
Stannis conferred with Paxter, and said, "Then I'll arrange a fast ship for you separately. Before the battle begins, burn the sails of the enemy's leading warships, causing chaos in their formation. Don't engage in Boarding. After that, go and burn the sails of the enemy ships that are trying to escape."
This world hadn't invented the compass or the sextant. As a mechanical engineering student, Vitt definitely knew how to make them; it was basic knowledge. But Vitt didn't want to bring those two things out yet. Now, ships could only sail along the coast. Warships all had sails and oars. The sails were for daily navigation, and rowing was for charging in battle. After all, human stamina was limited, and burning the sails essentially meant they couldn't escape.
Before his transmigration, Vitt couldn't even swim, and he knew nothing about ships. The sailors also didn't dare to let the Lord do any heavy work, so he could only eat and sleep on the ship.
The warship wasn't large, about 30 meters long. It had a single main sail and a triangular jib. The hold was only one level, used for supplies in peacetime. In battle, oarsmen would extend oars out of the hold, and the hundreds of oars would greatly increase its maneuverability. Shields were erected on both sides of the deck, and some sailors were present.
Normally, warships would have many fire pot archers firing, or shield soldiers engaging in boarding combat. But this ship only had sailors to handle the sails and rowers. The only combatant on the ship was Vitt himself, along with a few guards sent by Stannis. They were there to protect Vitt and also to record the battle, making it a lightly armed, fast ship.
A few days later, they were halfway through dinner when the alarm bells began to ring on all the ships in the fleet. Vitt walked out of the cabin. At this time, Stannis's main fleet had already merged with the Left Army. Thousands of warships had begun to spread out, preparing to form an attack formation.
The small reconnaissance ships had returned and were sailing alongside Stannis's flagship. In the distance, they could already see the sails of the Iron Islands fleet. Shortly after, a short blast from a horn sounded from the flagship. Vitt knew this was the agreed-upon signal.
"Captain, detach from the main fleet and advance independently!" Vitt couldn't operate the ship. He could only order the captain where to go and let him coordinate the sailors.
The warship slowly detached from the fleet and sailed ahead of it. More than 100 oars on the ship were already extended, ready to charge at any moment.
The two fleets slowly approached each other. The sun was setting, and the sky was filled with red clouds. The Iron Islands fleet began to charge towards them.
It was Vitt's first time participating in a naval battle. He couldn't see who was on the ships from the Iron Islands side. He could only distinguish which ships were large. There were a few large ships of the same style on the opposite side, so he could only guess if they were the enemy's flagship.
The soldiers of the Royal Fleet only saw a horn sound from our flagship. Then, a fast ship broke away from the fleet. It charged forward alone, under the backdrop of a large fleet of thousands of warships and a vast expanse of black sails. Naturally, the attention of both fleets was drawn to this single ship.
Vitt stood on the bow, with two guards on either side holding shields, ready to protect him at any time. Seeing that they were still a few hundred meters from the Iron Islands fleet, he gave the order again.
"Captain, steer left, full speed ahead." The ship immediately turned, sailing sideways between the two opposing fleets.
The weather was clear today, making it easy to burn the sails. There was no need to use both hands to cast spells, nor was there a need for a Fireball spell. An ordinary Fireball would suffice.
With that thought, he raised his hands, aiming at the forefront of the Iron Islands fleet. Two fireballs, each the size of a bucket, shot out from his hands. The golden-red fireballs flew across the sea at a moderate speed, heading towards the Iron Islands fleet.
One fireball flew too high and missed, continuing on into the distance.
The other fireball hit the ship charging ahead on the opposite side. The fireball dispersed, and the sails were made of hemp. The current craftsmanship could make them waterproof, but not fireproof. Soon, the fire grew from a hole that was burned, spreading to the entire sail. The fire also began to burn on the mast, with burning embers constantly falling.
The opposing fleet was lined up. They only needed to adjust their altitude. Now, it was time to begin the sweep!
Witnessed by countless soldiers from both sides, Vitt's hands began to launch Fireballs at a rate of two per second. Innumerable Fireballs erupted from a single ship, streaking across the sea and impacting the sails of the enemy fleet.
More and more ships in the vanguard of the Iron Islands fleet caught fire and began to slow. The ships behind had to maneuver to avoid the flames, causing the entire fleet's formation to crumble.
Seeing the enemy fleet ablaze, the soldiers of the Royal Fleet roared in triumph, their morale soaring. Stannis, seizing the moment, ordered a full charge.
All the ships began to row forward, Vitt continuing to unleash Fireballs. Several ships from the Iron Islands fleet attempted to pursue, but were struck on their sails by the Fireballs. Relying only on oars, they couldn't keep up, as the range of Fireball far exceeded that of arrows.
As the two fleets closed in, most of the Iron Islands fleet's warships were already aflame. The Royal Fleet's morale was high. Some ships fired flaming arrows, others prepared for Boarding. The Iron Islands' morale began to collapse, and the ships in the rear turned to flee.
But then, from the north, the Reach fleet of Paxter appeared, launching a pincer attack. Moreover, Vitt's fast ship continued to launch Fireballs, intercepting the fleeing warships. In the end, the Royal Fleet and the Reach fleet suffered only minor losses, while most of the Iron Islands fleet's ships were burned, with only a few captured.
After the battle, the two fleets compiled the news. Rodrik, Balon's eldest son, had been killed by Jason Mallister, Earl. During the naval battle near Fair Isle, Euron Greyjoy, the younger brother of the rebel Balon Greyjoy, was killed by a falling mast that was set on fire. Around 210 warships were burned, 65 were sunk, 210 were captured, and about 400 small boats were taken. Ships that escaped were not yet accounted for, and over 2,000 prisoners were taken.
Vitt had told Stannis that after using magic in battle, he would be left with little magic for a time. Stannis then ordered Vitt to join Robert's landing force in the rear. The other warships were to first attack the Iron Islands' other islands, and finally converge to attack Pyke, where Balon Greyjoy was located.
....
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