Facing the dual pressure from Daenerys and the dragon Dreamfire, even the most eloquent merchants were now as silent as cicadas in winter.
Those quick-witted ones even rushed to Rogge, forming a line obediently, acting as if they were impatiently waiting to sign the IOU.
It must be said that these individuals, capable of conducting oceanic trade between the East Continent and the West Continent, possessed extremely refined acting skills and adaptable faces.
Looking at their sincere and proactive attitude now, who would recall their indignant and determined arguments from just moments ago?
At this moment, Daenerys also realized more clearly that as long as you are strong enough, whatever you say might become an eternal truth!
Of course, the prerequisite is not to leave any room for criticism; it's best to always find an excuse and prepare a cover-up for any decision made at any time.
This game of power is indeed a bit dirty!
A lavishly dressed young Fat Man stepped out from among the merchants, feigning tears of gratitude as he threw himself before Rogge, speaking with theatrical flair,
"Praise the gods, praise Princess Daenerys!"
"Thank you, Princess Daenerys, for rescuing our ships from the Hightower Family's control.
I am Nagar, the eldest son of the Leratis Family from Pentos, and I am willing to sign this IOU on behalf of the Leratis Family."
"Of course, once I safely return to Pentos, I will personally bring gifts to express my heartfelt gratitude to Her Royal Highness!"
"It was the beautiful, noble, kind, and brave Princess Daenerys who shattered the Hightower Family's conspiracy and dispelled the gloom over Oldtown.
Her kindness to us is deeper than the Summer Sea."
"From now on, the wandering bards of the East Continent and West Continent will surely sing of Princess Daenerys's great deeds..."
Mongo, standing beside Daenerys, looked at Nagar's exaggerated and affected manner, and couldn't help but coldly retort,
"He doesn't look like he's from Pentos; he looks more like a jester who walked out of the Qarth royal palace!"
Mongo's words almost made Daenerys lose her composure and burst out laughing.
She hadn't expected the usually cold and serious Mongo to have such a humorous side.
Qarth is a crucial city in the eastern Essos, connecting the East and West.
Qartheen pride themselves on their cunning way of speaking and strong emotional fluctuations, viewing them as a sign of civilization.
Mongo, having gone from a Dothraki tribe to a gladiator in Meereen (one of the three cities in Slaver's Bay) and then step by step, relying on his own abilities, leaving Slaver's Bay to become a guard for Volantis merchants, had naturally been to Qarth.
The hypocritical and affected way the Qartheen spoke left an indelible impression on Mongo, which is why he couldn't help but complain today.
Daenerys suppressed her laughter and whispered,
"I think what you said is extremely apt!"
With Daenerys and Dreamfire presiding, those cunning merchants quickly signed all the IOUs.
Rogge held the IOUs, totaling over ten million gold dragons in value, and although his stomach was rumbling with hunger, he remained overjoyed.
The merchants who had signed the IOUs returned to Daenerys's presence, expressed their profuse thanks, and then, without looking back, steered their ships away from Old Town Wharf.
Seeing their hurried departure, it was clear that they would likely not return to Oldtown for some time.
Looking at the large box of IOUs held by Rogge, Daenerys cast a meaningful gaze towards the departing ships.
"Hmph!
What I made you leave behind was not merely simple IOUs.
When my dragon grow, these will be the legitimate proofs for me to make trouble for you!
Just wait, that day won't be too far off!"
After dealing with the merchants from the East Continent stranded in Oldtown, Oldtown had recovered and become much quieter.
At the same time, because the Oldtown riot had spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms, there were few ships coming to the once bustling Old Town Wharf during this period.
This allowed Rogge's Oldtown Garrison to have ample manpower to dedicate to riot relief efforts and the land defense of Oldtown.
And three hundred new young men from the God-given families were supplemented into the Oldtown Garrison.
Although he did not possess much combat power, he was young and eager to learn, and held a deep sense of gratitude towards Daenerys.
On May 11, 101 AC,
Thanks to the efforts of the Oldtown Garrison, the entire Oldtown finally regained its former vibrancy.
People gradually emerged from the shadow of the riot.
The prosperous Oldtown finally began to recover a bit of its vitality.
Daenerys, escorted by Earl Hightower and her personal guards, arrived at the Citadel, which had remained largely silent throughout the Oldtown riot.
The Citadel is located on a cluster of small islands by the Honeywine River, covering an extremely vast area.
Dozens of islands are all connected by various stone arch bridges, making the Citadel's footprint actually comparable to that of a small city.
The towers and domes of the Citadel are all connected by stone arch bridges, and residences and halls are built on the bridges.
On either side of the Citadel's main entrance stand two tall green Sphinx statues.
They are monsters with the body of a lion, the face of a human, the wings of an eagle, and the tail of a snake.
One has a male face, and the other a female.
These statues are very different from the Sphinx statues Daenerys saw in her dragon dream of Ancient Valyria, where those Sphinx statues all had Dragon Wings.
Looking at the Sphinx statues before her, Daenerys felt her consciousness waver.
And Miraxis, who had been circling above Daenerys, seemed to sense something and immediately swooped down quickly in front of Daenerys.
At this moment, Daenerys, in a daze, had placed her hands on the Sphinx statues, vaguely.
Daenerys seemed to be experiencing firsthand an unprecedented, utterly tragic personal tragedy:
In the dream, wheat withered in the fields, cattle and sheep died of plague in the pastures, women miscarried, and cries of sorrow filled the land; the plague god with fire descended upon every corner of the human world.
And various churches received divine oracles indicating that the way to avert disaster was to apprehend and punish the murderer of the former King Laios—thus, everyone's attention was drawn to the question of who the murderer was.
It turned out that the childless King Laios of Thebes had once abducted Chrysippus, the young son of King Pelops of Pisa, leading to his suicide.
Pelops prayed to Zeus to bring misfortune upon Laios.
So, when Laios prayed for divine grace to grant him a son, the god granted his request but also prophesied that his son would kill his father and marry his mother.
To escape the fulfillment of the oracle, Laios and his wife, as soon as their son was born, pierced his feet (Oedipus means'swollen feet') and sent a servant to throw him into a valley.
But the kind-hearted servant gave Oedipus to a shepherd from Corinth, which led to Oedipus being adopted by the childless King Polybus of Corinth.
As Oedipus gradually grew up, he accidentally learned at a banquet that he was not the biological son of the King of Corinth, so he went to seek a divine oracle, learning that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother.
To avoid misfortune, he left Corinth and came to the border of Thebes.
At a crossroads, he got into an argument with an old man over the right of way and, in a fit of rage, struck the old man dead with his staff.
Oedipus did not know that this old man was his father, who was on his way to the Delphic Oracle to seek a solution to the Sphinx's calamity.
Because at this time, the city of Thebes was suffering from the calamity of the Sphinx—a monster with the body of a lion, the face of a human, and the wings of a bird.
Oedipus came before the Sphinx and unhesitatingly and brilliantly answered the "Riddle of the Sphinx" (The Sphinx's riddle was: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?" If answered correctly, the Sphinx would destroy herself).
Thus, the Sphinx plunged into the sea.
Oedipus was hailed by the people of Thebes as their new king and married the queen.
At this point, the oracle of "killing father and marrying mother" was completely fulfilled.
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