Early the next morning, Viserys arrived on time, riding Ghidorah in the sky outside the city.
Looking at the still-closed city gates, he couldn't help but sigh, thinking to himself that there are always people who refuse to shed tears until they see the coffin.
This time, Viserys didn't say anything more; he directly dived with Ghidorah, the right head spewing scorching Dragonfire, the left head exhaling Frost Breath, and the middle head emitting that terrifying Golden Ray.
The tower on the north side of the city wall was thus engulfed by Dragonfire, and the people inside screamed as they turned into balls of fire, fleeing in all directions, some panicking and falling directly from the city wall.
The dozen or so scorpion crossbows on the wall were frozen into ice blocks by the Frost Breath, along with the soldiers operating them behind them, creating a scene that looked eerily lifelike.
As for that Golden Ray, it pierced directly through the main tower of the castle; Earl Rifrey hadn't even had time to escape before he and the tower vanished into the golden light.
Watching this terrifying scene of one dragon unleashing three attacks, the final will to resist in Duskendale completely collapsed.
The city wall was in chaos; some soldiers ran down from the wall, some threw down their weapons and knelt on the ground screaming surrender, some stood blankly on the spot not knowing what to do, and others curled up, praying incessantly to the Seven.
After receiving permission from Viserys, Rhaenys dived down riding Meraxes; the deep red dragon was particularly striking in the sunlight.
Approaching the city wall, Meraxes opened her mouth, and a stream of scorching Dragonfire gushed out.
The flames swept across a section of the city wall, and dozens more soldiers screamed as they turned into balls of fire, eventually becoming piles of charred remains.
Balerion, Vhagar, Meraxes... the remaining dragons dived down one after another, their various types of Dragonfire intertwining to form a net of death that enveloped all of Duskendale.
With one breath of Dragonfire from Blackfyre, the bricks on the city wall were scorched bright red, and in some places, they even began to melt; the defenses of Duskendale were vulnerable before the dragons.
The soldiers still on the city wall panicked; seeing that kneeling and begging for surrender was useless, some simply gave up struggling and were swallowed by the Dragonfire.
However, some others became frantic, picking up bows and arrows from the ground and beginning to draw their bows, but those arrows hit the dragon scales and bounced off, leaving not even a mark.
After one attack, Rhaenys pulled up to avoid stray arrows, arcing through the air in preparation for another dive.
But just then, the city gate, which had not been attacked, was opened from the inside, and several banners featuring three red stripes in a chevron pattern poked out from the gateway.
Viserys had been monitoring Earl Rifrey and his associates' meeting yesterday, so he knew that the people of House Rosby wanted to surrender.
Moreover, they hadn't even climbed onto the city wall today, and even the banners that had originally been hanging there had been taken down.
An anxious voice shouted from there, "Stop fighting, we are willing to surrender."
Viserys looked down and saw a middle-aged man in exquisite armor standing there, waving his hands frantically.
Because Earl Rifrey hadn't given them a chance to open the gates and surrender yesterday, and was even planning to deal with them—these unstable factors—first, they had all gathered in a relatively large merchant's house, which Earl Rifrey couldn't break into.
If it hadn't been for that Golden Ray breath from Viserys hitting their hiding place, they might have stayed there until the battle ended before coming out to surrender.
That breath not only destroyed the tallest tower in the city, but the residual force pierced through the tower and also destroyed some houses next to it.
Where the Golden Ray had passed, a smooth, mirror-like black glass trench appeared; their location happened to be right next to that trench, and many people had died there too.
Rhaenys stopped attacking and looked at Viserys. Seeing Viserys nod, she rode Meraxes down with him to land in front of the city gate.
The middle-aged man walked over quickly with a few soldiers, and when he reached a short distance from the dragons, he suppressed the fear in his heart, knelt before Viserys, and bowed his head deeply.
"Commander of the Rosby garrison, Roland Rosby, is willing to surrender to His Majesty, the True Dragon."
Viserys looked at him, his purple eyes devoid of emotion as he asked, "Where is Earl Rifrey of Duskendale?"
The middle-aged man's expression changed, and he whispered, "Your Majesty, he... he was burned to death by Dragonfire right at the beginning."
Viserys nodded and then said, "Rise, Ser Roland. I know you intended to surrender; as long as you lay down your weapons, I can guarantee your safety."
Roland felt a wave of relief; only now did he realize that what he had thought about yesterday was completely meaningless in the face of dragons—only being alive was truly real.
He bowed deeply, then turned and led his men to begin helping Viserys clear out the remaining resistance in Duskendale.
Duke Connington had started his march when Viserys began his attack, and it had taken less than a quarter of an hour for them to reach the city gate.
But the enemy had already surrendered, and they had absolutely no chance to show their mettle.
When Viserys led them into the city, the soldiers in the castle who had surrendered threw down their weapons one after another, kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed, not daring to look at him.
After completely clearing Duskendale, Viserys did not intend to stay here long; he incorporated the surrendered soldiers of House Leke, replenished some provisions, and continued toward King's Landing.
Ser Roland requested to accompany the army, riding his horse behind the troops, guiding the army through the terrain and introducing the villages and towns along the way.
By the third day, the army arrived at Rosby Castle.
This was the castle of House Rosby; although its scale was not small, it was clearly not as sturdy as Duskendale, but it had never experienced the ravages of war and was very well preserved.
At this moment, the Three-headed dragon banner of Targaryen had already been raised on the walls of Rosby Castle; clearly, Roland had sent people to notify them in advance.
Moreover, there was an elderly-looking nobleman at the gate, leading a group of people waiting for Viserys and his party.
However, when he saw with his own eyes Viserys landing at the castle gate riding Ghidorah, the old man almost fainted from shock; he was the current lord of Rosby Castle, Earl Gyles.
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