Barristan and Stannis attacked Old Wyk. Witte, along with several other ships carrying messages and important prisoners, set off to rendezvous with Robert. By the time they met, Robert had already taken Great Wyk and was preparing to attack Pyke.
Pyke Island had Pyke Castle and King's Port. King's Port was the residence of the Botley Family and the closest major port to Pyke Castle. Pyke Castle was the seat of the Greyjoy Family. Taking the rebel king's castle would mean the end of this rebellion. Even if Balon escaped, the army's morale would be shattered, making it impossible to regroup.
Witte's ship docked beside Robert's flagship. Upon boarding, he saw Robert conferring with everyone about the attack plan. Although King's Port sounded impressive, only a few buildings were made of stone, with most being made of wood. Even the Botley family's fortress was made of wood, so a large amount of incendiary materials were being prepared for this attack.
Seeing Witte arrive, Robert asked,
"We're using a fire attack this time. I heard you burned more than two hundred of Balon's warships at Maiden Isle. Have you recovered your magic yet?"
"Not yet. I can only defend myself," Witte replied, looking at the many nobles and generals present.
Even if he had recovered most of his magic, he wouldn't say it. With his current magic, he could burn most of King's Port with fire magic. But why did these people come here? They wanted to make a contribution. Wouldn't he make enemies if he took all the credit for himself? Robert was probably getting carried away again. He wanted to be invincible, not make enemies of the world. Big brother, don't you dare harm me.
Robert didn't think much of it and addressed the nobles and generals:
"We'll proceed with our original plan. The warships will attack the port directly to tie up the rebels. The landing troops will disembark outside the city and attack from land. Witte, you'll lead the landing troops."
Witte took the order, thinking to himself: I'll just go through the motions during this attack on King's Port. I'll save my strength for when we attack Pyke. Hopefully, I can take out a few members of the Greyjoy family and deny Robert the chance to hog the spotlight.
Robert wasn't skilled in naval battles and could only focus on the landing. Most of the northerners weren't good at naval combat either, and many couldn't even swim, so they were all heavily armored.
Witte had Renly stay close to protect Robert and went to the landing troop's ship. The battle quickly began. The naval battle held off the rebel forces guarding the port, and the landing was smooth. Witte ran around with his guards but didn't see anyone he knew. He could only follow the main force towards the port.
Because he wanted to slack off this time, he ran slower and slower, eventually ending up at the back of the troops. The soldiers saw a noble in a long robe, holding a sword, not even wearing armor, with guards following him. They all assumed Witte was a noble's son here to freeload, and they all gave him scornful looks.
Witte didn't bother with them, just lazily followed the main force. He only entered the city when the entire port was engulfed in flames.
His magic was powerful, but against a human wave tactic, the enemy could use the bodies of their own as shields to charge. Once they got close, he would be hacked to death.
The attack went smoothly, mainly because the enemy's defenses were too poor. Once the Iron Islands' fleet was destroyed, there was nothing but a few fortresses on land, and the rest were just wooden walls. They were good for fending off pirates, but against a regular army, they were basically flattened.
The battle ended quickly. The Botley Family of King's Port was captured, and the entire port was basically ruined. The soldiers started dismantling the wooden houses to build siege equipment.
The logistics troops also landed, sending out several teams of scouts to monitor Pyke, while the remaining soldiers began to set up camp and start fires to cook. They estimated that the siege equipment would be completed in two or three days.
Witte found Robert's tent. That guy was again drinking with Eddard Stark and the northern lords. Many of them were old friends who had fought alongside Robert years ago. Some hadn't seen each other in years, and they hadn't been able to gather on their respective ships before. Now, everyone was chatting happily.
Witte greeted those he knew, poured himself a drink, and found a place to sit. Robert began to introduce him to everyone:
"This is my fourth brother, Witte Baratheon. Some of you haven't met him, and some of you saw him as a child a few years ago. Now, he's grown up and can fight on the battlefield."
Seeing the gazes of everyone, those familiar, like Eddard Stark, looked at him like an old friend. Others probably heard the rumors that Witte, a half-grown child, was wandering around behind the battlefield today, and their eyes were filled with disdain. The northerners didn't like to put on airs, and if Robert hadn't been there, someone probably would have started cursing.
Witte had anticipated this long ago, and he explained...
"I've been storing magical power for a while now, and it's for the attack on Pyke. I'll use magic to destroy the walls. Brother Robert, you can order a halt to the siege equipment construction. We can set off to attack as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow!"
"I saw your magic back at the Red Keep. Fire, frost, lightning… I believe no one can withstand those when they hit a person. But they didn't seem to do much against the Red Keep's walls, did they?"
Robert was a little skeptical. He voiced his understanding of Witte's magic, also wanting Witte to explain to everyone. After all, this was a military matter. Although he trusted his brother, abandoning the construction of siege equipment and gathering the army to attack was risky. If something went wrong and morale was shaken, it would be troublesome.
"Brother, you've forgotten. I can do more than just fire, frost, and lightning."
After saying that, Witte used the Magic Light Technique. A ball of light flew from his hand and spun around his body.
Except for Robert, everyone present was seeing real magic for the first time. Robert had been fighting at Maiden Isle before, and Renly hadn't had a chance to use it either. They all came over to observe.
"Alright, pass down the order to stop building siege equipment. Gather the entire army to attack Pyke tomorrow at dawn."
With the king's official order issued, everyone didn't stay to drink any longer. They went to prepare their troops. In a moment, only the Baratheon brothers remained.
Actually, Robert himself was also curious.
"Fourth, you've been researching magic all these years, and all sorts of new spells keep emerging, but what magic are you planning to use to destroy the city walls tomorrow?"
"It should be one of the most difficult types of magic, High Valyrian magic."
"High Valyrian?" Robert perked up at the mention of Valyrian.
Witte knew what he was worried about. "High Valyrian is completely different from ordinary Valyrian, and using it for magic is an even higher stage. I believe the Targaryen family had already lost the magic when they were in the eastern continent, and could only use it as a language. By the time of Prince Rhaegar, even the High language was lost, and they only knew ordinary Valyrian, which is a language used by many people in the eastern continent."
Robert finally relaxed.
"I did have a dream about the Targaryen descendants coming back to King's Port."
"I'm the most qualified person to speak about magic in this world. I taught the whole set of High Valyrian and magic spells to Renly, and even he couldn't use them, so you don't have to worry, brother."
Robert turned to Renly, who added,
"It's incredibly complex. I've been studying it for half a year without making any progress. It feels like a completely different magic system."
Witte thought to himself: Of course it is. High Valyrian magic, it's essentially the Dragon Roar. Without a dragon soul within, you can't use it no matter what.
"Also, brother, you can have your Master of Whisperers keep an eye on any magical events on the continent, involving both people and objects. If they can't figure it out, just let me handle it."
Robert took a sip of his drink, his eyes narrowing at Witte. "You want...?"
"There are too few mages," Witte sighed. The resurgence of magic in this world is irreversible. Those with magical abilities will inevitably increase in number. The continent's Greenseers and Wargs, the Faceless Men and the Lord of Light from the Eastern continent. And other hidden factions will eventually make their move, each trying to pull promising talents into their own circles.
"Magic is a treasure trove. With only Renly and I, even if we devoted our entire lives, we wouldn't see the end of it. Therefore, if I find suitable candidates, I'll take them as disciples and teach them magic. Renly can now handle teaching healing magic as well, and in a few years he'll be able to take on disciples too."
Witte looked at Robert earnestly.
"Of course, I need to check someone's background before taking them as a disciple. I don't care about their origins; commoners, nobles, even slaves are welcome. But if they're enemies, it's better for you to deal with them ahead of time, brother."
"We Baratheons don't have dragons, but we have mages," Robert understood. Eliminating the enemy's future mages in advance, and teaching other mages who could be trained by the Baratheons would be extremely important for the kingdom's legacy.
....
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