Siege of Astapor

Edmure POV

It is said that war never changes. I call it bullshit. War constantly changes, from the weapons to the people using them. I fought in many battles, yet this one was different. The lands, the people, and the goals were neither mine. I looked at the little girl as she looked down on the Yunkish army.

About seven to eight thousand men. Yunkish slave soldiers only accounted for a third of the host. The rest of the men were sellsword companies and Iron legions from New Ghis. We didn't even have a few months to prepare for this battle. I have mostly been healed from my injuries, but I was still not used to seeing through only one eye.

We had three hundred knights loyal to Shireen and two thousand barely trained soldiers from Astapor. It was good that the previous masters of the city were hoarders, so we still had enough supplies. The problem was that the men were too afraid. If we lose even some ground, the men will give up or run away.

"Can we win?" Shireen asked, looking at Davos and me.

"No, we have too few men, and what we have are not prepared for such a battle," I replied. "But it doesn't mean that we lose."

"What do you mean?" Shireen asked.

"It might seem that we are at a disadvantage, but they have more problems than we do," I said. "The sellswords, the legions of New Ghis, and the rest have different commanders. There isn't a person above them. Most importantly, all of them are squabbling, wealthy lordlings. They know nothing about warfare."

"But there are plenty of sellsword companies that have fought countless times," Davos responded.

"Do you think the Yunkai lordlings will let some sellsword captains order them around?" I asked. "They are arrogant and foolish. If we make our stand and don't do anything foolish, we will not lose."

"But we will not win?" Shireen asked.

"We won't. They will send more and more men. All we can do is hold them down," I explained. "Still, the sellsword companies only fight for gold. If they feel like they can lose their lives, some will leave, and we might be able to buy the others."

"They are coming," Davos said. "Do we need Shireen here?"

"Yes, it will be a big blow to their ego when they see a little girl not scared of them. The men behind us will feel ashamed if they harbor any fear," I replied. "Her presence is equal to a thousand men. So please stand firmly, queen Shireen. Don't let your voice or expression break. Your performance is key for us not to lose."

"I will do my best," The little girl answered firmly.

I have done everything I could to maximize our defenses. Even though we didn't have much time, I trained the men to use spears and bows daily. Blocked all entrances to the city and made signal fires along the walls to warn of the incoming enemy. I built scorpions to destroy their siege engines. I even made a few men infiltrate the enemy to spread rumors to weaken their morale.

The city was clean of criminals after I took control of some men. I ensured to eliminate those who could harbor ill intent toward us, showing no mercy. Most citizens were happy to live peacefully, even for a bit, so they respected us. The rest were afraid to go against us. I wouldn't say I liked being stuck in this place, but I had no choice. If I wanted to leave, I had to take care of those bastards first.

"Little Queen of Astapor, surrender now and throw away your false claim over the city. Otherwise, face our might. This is the last mercy we will give you."

I didn't know who he was, but his action was predictable. He didn't even care to give terms of surrender, as he thought this whole situation was a joke. The lack of siege engines meant they felt they could take the city by storming it. The Wise masters didn't care about how many men they lost as long as they took the city. To them, their men were only numbers.

"Why do you want to throw away the lives of these men of valor?" Shireen spoke in Valyrian, loudly for all to hear. "I heard the Masters of Yunkai are the wisest, so choose your champion as will I and settle this between them, or your army lacks courageous men to take arms against this little girl."

If they refuse, they will be looked down on as cowards. If they agree, I will kill their champion, showing the sellsword companies that they will pay the price if they fight us. Morale is the most crucial factor in prolonged sieges. The first force to grumble will be the one that will have low morale. So, I needed my force to see that the enemy could be defeated.

My force mainly consisted of green boys that only learned how to use a spear and a bow a month ago. They were former slaves, so their endurance could be considered excellent. They were tolerant of pain and fear. Yet, their lacked strength and skill, so the knights that belonged to Shireen would be crucial in this battle.

"We are not afraid of any man you have," After some time of considering, they agreed. "Send your best man to die, little girl."

I didn't like how arrogant they were, but I expected it. In the end, I needed to kill a man to maintain our morale. The more conceded the enemy was, the higher chances we had to win. I only hope that doesn't get their act up after their first loss. I suspected they would blame each other for every loss they experienced.

"Can you win?" Shireen asked.

"It is not a question of whether I can or not. I must win," I replied. "I fought many times against many types of people. The fact that I am alive means that I never lost. I do not wish to die, so I will win no matter what."

I didn't underestimate my enemy. But I didn't believe many men were as strong as the Mountain or the Kingslayer. Still, my vision was a problem. I could see fine, but I had a blind spot that an enemy could exploit. But we needed this victory. I needed it to prove that I could still fight. If I can't kill this man, how could I possibly kill that bastard?

When I left the city gates, a big man awaited me. He was a head taller than me and had broad shoulders. From the scars on his face and hands, I deduced he was from fighter pits. He wielded a giant axe. I drew my longsword but didn't take my shield. I could tell the man would break my arm with one axe swing.

There was no ceremony or introduction. The man didn't care for such a thing, nor did I. It was good that I fought against someone who used his brawn rather than his head before. Still, I didn't underestimate him, as looks can be deceiving. There wasn't anyone to start the duel. Once we got close to each other, the man with the ax charged at me.

The man's swing was powerful, and his reach was long. I didn't dare to receive a hit, so I moved carefully, not to lose sight of him. As he swung, I would jump to his side and cut him. The cuts mainly landed on his arms, which were too shallow to damage him. His swings were still powerful, but their only got wider with each swing.

Even though I got plenty of opportunities, it was still hard to land a got hit. After a few bouts between us, I knew I needed to finish him in one blow, or he would not go down. His neck was a bit high to cut it. I needed to get close to stab his heart, but that would be too dangerous. I didn't want to prolong the fight, fearing the man would notice that I had a blind spot.

After a few more bouts, I found the man's tight exposed, so I cut it. It was deep enough to hit an artery spilling blood. The man fell to his knees, and I cut his head off with one swift swing of my sword. I heard cheers from within the walls of the city. I picked up the head by its hair and threw it in the direction of the enemy army.

"The next to come against me will await the same fate," I yelled in Valyrian before walking back to the city.

It was a complete victory for us. Not only did the man didn't scratch me, but I also killed him brutally and challenged the rest of the enemy. I could see the men looking at me with more respect and trust. As long as I stood with them, they wouldn't feel threatened by the enemy. For now, our morale was at its highest point.

"They are not leaving," Shireen said.

"Of course not," I replied. "They do not have honor nor shame. They will attack us in the morning if not tonight."

We prepared for the night attack, building fires along the walls. We were organizing archers and patrols to watch over the enemy host. But as night fell, nothing happened. It seemed that the wise masters did have some common sense. As morning rose, I saw that the enemy prepared their camp and started to build battering rams and ladders.

I guessed that only a few men among them knew about sieging cities. I don't think there were many times in Essos when a city was besieged. It isn't easy to build siege engines without experienced artisans. At most, I suspected they would try to force their way with a battering ram and try climbing walls with ladders.

…

Days passed since the Yunkai forces surrounded us. I never stopped archery training. The former slaves didn't complain when I pushed them to exhaustion. It was better for them to work rather than think about the enemy. With time I believed they would be skilled enough to be guard forces, but now they were a little better than levies.

It was good that the city's population was lessened after Daenerys Targaryen took thousands of people with her. Many former slaves left the city on their own, and with the chaos that butcher kings had started, only more than two-thirds of the original population were left. For now, we had enough food to feed the hungry.

Maybe knowing that we were still fine, the Yunkai forces started attacking us with only ladders and battering ram. So far, they have done everything I expected. With the few scorpions I built, it wasn't hard to destroy the battering rams, and the archers held down the men rushing with ladders, even if we wasted many arrows.

Still, I could see that some Sellsword companies were smarter than Yunkai's wise masters. I only hoped that Daenerys Targaryen would respond to our plea for help. I have written a lengthy letter that would make her the wrong person to rule over Mereen if she didn't send a relief force. I made sure to include a few things that would help to turn her advisors in my favor.

I used the three ships Shireen had to deliver the news to Mereen and send some men to spread rumors about how the rest of the cities would return slavery to the Slavers Bay, starting from Astapor. If Daenerys does nothing, she will start losing her supporters. I wanted to accomplish one of two things. Gain Daenerys trust by defending Astapor or weaken her to accept my offer to return to Westeros as a princess later on.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to five advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852