380 Chapter 380: Changing the Hand of the King

The bells of Pentos echoed melodiously.

Rumble——

The thundering of hooves, the shouts of men, an endless sea of horses swept across the land.

Twenty thousand Dothraki screamers, loyal to the Dragon Khal, arrived at the foot of Pentos. The city's guards were on high alert, the city gates were closed, and the citizens of Pentos were plunged into a state of high panic.

However, the roar of dragons in the sky followed, and the Dothraki, astride their horses, waved their arakhs, fanatically shouting the name of the Dragon Khal. The sound was earth-shattering.

"Khal Dragon!!"

"Ohhhh!!!"

The most powerful Khal rode the strongest horse, and their Khal had tamed a dragon. What did this mean? It was simply the strongest on the surface of the earth!

They had been recuperating on the Great Grass Sea for so long that they felt their arakhs had become dull. Now, they finally received the order to cross the Poison Water and attack the Seven Kingdoms.

"We will ride the wooden horses! Cross the Poison Water!"

"Cut off the heads of those cowards hiding under iron! Tear down their stone houses! Defile their women! Kill their children, all those taller than a wheel must die!"

The Dothraki were full of momentum.

The Dragon Khal, wielding a Valyrian steel arakh, rode at the forefront of the formation. His muscular upper body was bare, and he roared loudly in the Dothraki language, his beard trembling slightly.

"For the Dragon Khal to reclaim the Iron Throne!!"

"Ohhh!!!"

Khal Drogo's roar incited a fanatical cheer from the Dothraki, who joined in the clamor, making all sorts of eerie noises.

Since the Century of Blood, the Dothraki, as destroyers of civilization, had trampled countless city-states across the continent of Essos. The Seven Kingdoms had narrowly escaped their wrath due to the Narrow Sea.

But now, under the leadership of the great Dragon Khal, the children of the Horse God were about to cross the Narrow Sea and conquer new lands.

Khal Drogo, the deputy leader of the Windblown, was in charge of these twenty thousand Dothraki screamers in place of Viserys.

This brave and skilled Dothraki mercenary seemed to be descended from a renowned Khal. He wielded one of the rare arakhs forged from dragon steel.

Khal Drogo had been injured in the operation to capture the Faceless Man, but the Faceless Man had not fared much better against him, also being severely injured and ultimately dying at the hands of Viserys.

Khal Drogo's injuries had naturally healed, and to facilitate the management of the khalasar, this Dothraki had now become a bloodrider of the Dragon Khal.

"Qoy qoyi!"

Khal Drogo saw Viserys dismount from the dragon and immediately dismounted, placing his arakh in front of him and kneeling on one knee, shouting "Blood of my blood" in Dothraki.

Viserys helped him up.

Then the massive horde of Dothraki entered Pentos.

Although the Dothraki were savage, they did not wreak havoc when they entered the city-states. They wore fine clothes, sprayed perfume, and tried to appear civilized.

But in their own tribes, they bared their chests, wore painted leather vests, tied horsehair leggings, and wore bronze belts.

The Dothraki's entry into Pentos symbolized that the vanguard of the first batch to enter Westeros in the war plan was ready.

...

At the tense pre-war meeting.

Oberyn Martell was the first to resign as acting Hand of the King.

He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time. He wanted to personally lead the troops to invade Westeros and kill all those who had conspired to murder his sister.

Therefore, he could not stay behind to oversee the overall situation.

At the same time, Oberyn nominated a candidate that surprised everyone.

It has been a tradition for the outgoing Hand of the King in the Targaryen dynasty to recommend a successor to the king.

Before Jeffrey Bracken resigned as Hand of the King to serve exclusively as Master of Ships, he had recommended Oberyn to Viserys as the next Hand.

However, Oberyn's term was somewhat short, just over half a year, after which he voluntarily resigned and recommended Jon Connington, with whom he had a somewhat strained relationship, as Master of Laws.

Oberyn's recommendation for the former Hand of the Targaryen dynasty to return to office was indeed unexpected.

Did Jon Connington have the ability?

That was beyond doubt.

Jon Connington had been the Hand of King Aerys II, had personally commanded all the troops loyal to the royal family to fight against the four major families of the usurper's alliance, and had managed the distribution of resources across the country in an orderly manner. He was highly capable.

Unfortunately, Jon Connington was ultimately defeated and failed to save the crumbling Targaryen dynasty.

But there were many factors in the defeat, and it was not necessarily all his fault.

Jon Connington's ability and experience as Hand of the King were unquestionable and perfectly suited to the current situation.

However... the problem was that Oberyn's relationship with him was not very harmonious, and there were even some conflicts.

But even so, Oberyn was willing to recommend him, which indeed surprised and impressed everyone present.

Jon Connington was also quite in line with Viserys's expectations for the next Hand of the King.

Although the new dynasty was full of talent, only Jon had relevant work experience, so he was naturally the best choice for the next Hand.

The first Hand of the King in the new dynasty, Jeffrey Bracken, earned the position through his outstanding contributions, while the second Hand, Oberyn, was chosen for his high education, with six maester's chains unmatched by anyone.

Viserys was satisfied with Oberyn's recommendation and then sought Jon Connington's opinion.

Jon was indeed a bit surprised, but he didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.

Oberyn handed the Hand's badge to Jon Connington, and their positions were officially swapped.

Oberyn became the Master of Laws, and Jon took up the position of Hand of the King, wearing the badge on his chest.

As the Hand of the King appointed during wartime, Jon Connington's mission was undoubtedly revenge, whether it was personal revenge or revenge for the Targaryen family.

Winning the upcoming war and reclaiming the Iron Throne was the ultimate goal of the entire army.

But there was a bigger obstacle in front of this goal: repelling the attack of the White Walkers.

This was an enemy that all of humanity had to face together.

Viserys had wanted to wait a bit longer, but the news of the White Walkers attacking the Iron Islands by boat was the last straw that broke his patience.