Currently, Viserys understood the fusion ratio of his golden finger power as follows:
Five Veteran Essences could be fused into one Elite Essence. Five Elite Essences could then be fused into one Warrior Essence.
However, Willem had admitted that he might not even be able to take down thirty veterans, which meant absorbing all the essences himself was far from cost-effective.
There was a limit to personal combat power. Viserys knew that to make full use of the essences, he had to transfer them to a trustworthy army.
"If it's elites, I can only take on five at a time," Willem replied. Then, with a longing expression, he added, "But if it were Arthur and the others, they could probably handle twenty at once!"
Viserys nodded. He decided that absorbing two Warrior Essences for himself would suffice for now.
The most efficient plan would be to form a strong elite personal guard.
As the two chatted, they soon arrived at the rookery. When Maester Faelor of Dragonstone saw them, he greeted them somewhat awkwardly.
If he were being honest, he'd say, "Pycelle has utterly disgraced the Citadel."
Pycelle's treason had harmed not only himself, but the Citadel's interests at large.
Serving as maesters to noble lords was essentially the career path for many apprentices of the Citadel. Pycelle had ruined that with his actions—a single rat spoiling the whole pot.
This incident would lead to mistrust from the lords towards the maesters.
He had already requested permission from Viserys to send a letter to the Citadel, demanding that Pycelle be stripped of all his titles.
Being a maester and not allowed to manage the ravens made him feel as though his dignity had been stripped away.
Viserys and Willem entered the rookery. Compared to the Red Keep, Dragonstone's rookery was much smaller. Lands and castles under the rank of count didn't even have ravens to communicate with.
But that wasn't a concern for now.
None of the families below the rank of count had sided with the Targaryens anyway. Even Dorne, which hadn't explicitly taken a stance, was likely of the same mind.
Viserys made these visits in hopes that the stableboy in the Red Keep might send him some valuable information.
After all, if the boy could help Elia escape through the secret passages, he might also find a way to send a raven with a message. Anyone clever enough to be one of Varys's "little birds" had to be sharp.
As soon as they stepped inside, they saw two ravens.
Judging by the copper rings on their legs, both were from King's Landing.
Willem opened one of the letters on Viserys's behalf. As he read the contents, his expression darkened.
"What is it?" Viserys asked.
"It's… a letter from Robert, trying to persuade you to surrender."
Viserys took the letter and saw that it was addressed to Rhaella.
In it, Robert demanded she hand over Viserys and little Aegon. He promised that if she did, the Targaryens would be granted a small piece of land.
But Viserys knew that once a noble house lost all its male heirs, it might as well be extinct.
Moreover, he suspected that the land Robert offered would be in the Stormlands, under the watchful eye of a loyal bannerman.
With time, that land would surely be nibbled away.
In other words, Robert never intended to let the Targaryens survive. Yet Viserys didn't feel particularly angry about the letter.
"Let's not show this to Mother," he said.
As the days passed, Rhaella's pregnancy had become more and more evident. Even without the "magical influence" Lyanna once had, being an older woman giving birth was dangerous enough.
Viserys didn't want her to suffer any emotional turmoil.
They opened the second letter. As soon as Viserys saw the black bow drawn at the top of the page, he knew it was from the stableboy.
The letter said that in ten days, the Redwyne fleet would attack Dragonstone.
Robert planned to load 2,000 men onto the ships.
"That's my informant in King's Landing," Viserys explained when he noticed Willem's surprised expression.
"The same boy who helped Princess Elia escape?"
"Yes. He used to be one of Varys's little birds…"
There were more pressing matters now, so Viserys didn't elaborate. He simply confirmed the letter's authenticity.
"Your Grace, it looks like Robert's troops will lead the charge. We must inform Queen Rhaella and Ser Gerold at once," Willem said.
"You're right."
[Objective: Repel the Redwyne Fleet]
[Participation: 10%]
Before Viserys could finish speaking, he felt the feedback from his golden finger.
In a sea battle of this scale, with thousands involved, there would be heavy casualties. He was bound to gain a large number of essences from this.
But 10% participation was too low. He needed to find a way to increase it.
And the only way to do that was to be on the battlefield in person.
This battle was a guaranteed victory. If he didn't extract as much essence as possible, he'd feel like he'd lost something.
Judging by Robert's provoking tone, it seemed he had no idea that Gerold and the others had already arrived on Dragonstone.
Not only could they repel the Redwyne fleet, they might even deal a crushing blow and rout them entirely.
As soon as Ser Gerold heard of the incoming Redwyne fleet, he called an emergency meeting that very night to discuss battle plans.
"If we can wipe out the forces sent by the Usurper, the Redwyne ships will flee on their own!" As the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Gerold immediately identified the key to victory.
"Leave those troops to me. They're likely stationed on either the left or right flank. Give me the fastest ship, and I'll drive them back!"
Arthur stepped forward, full of confidence.
Wielding the legendary Dawn, his very presence would exert enormous pressure on the enemy forces. His words gave Rhaella a great sense of reassurance.
Aside from Lamy, both Oswell and Willem remained calm and composed.
"So you're confident we can defeat them?" Viserys asked.
"Yes, Your Grace. Our warships are actually better than the Redwynes', and we don't lack in numbers either. Many of their vessels are cargo ships.
And we know the Usurper's troop movements, so I'm confident we'll win!"
Gerold believed Viserys was worried about the outcome, so he offered strong reassurance to put both the prince and queen at ease.
But he had misunderstood Viserys's true intent.
"In that case," Viserys said, "take me with you to the battlefield. Didn't you once say there's no better way to grow than fighting on the front lines?"
Gerold looked helplessly at Rhaella, as Viserys's violet eyes gleamed with earnest determination.
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