Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Four: Congrats (Six Thousand Chapters)
'Blackfish' Brynden on the waterfront stairs looked at the surrender of Earl Leo, tilted his head at the soldiers behind him, and a group of soldiers holding ropes filed out to remove the Lannister family soldiers whose retreat was cut off.
All disarmed and tied up.
As a nobleman, Count Leo surrendered very wisely. Brynden gave him enough dignity and only disarmed him and took him away without binding him.
When all the enemies were escorted away, Brynden took a deep look at the water gate blocked by rubble, and felt admiration for the young King of the North in his heart.
Yes, the ambush at the Watergate exit was arranged in advance by Brynden based on Robb's advice.
Before the war between the Wolf Family and the Lion Family began, after making plans in advance and preparing to take the route from the Iron Islands to Lannisport, Robb knew that Riverrun would face unprecedented siege pressure this time.
In his opinion, Riverrun, which occupies a favorable location and has sufficient troops and food, is most likely to be the breakthrough point, which is the waterway that Brynden let Brienne escape in the original play.
Although the Lannister family in the previous life used Edmure, who was captured at the Red Wedding, to capture Riverrun.
But because of the influence of his butterfly, he could not rule out the possibility that Lannister could use Watergate, so he made it very clear in his letter.
This is why Brynden is worried about Edmure and insists on guarding the west wall personally.
Because only the west city wall can see the movement of Tengshi River, and if you want to reach Shuimen through the rapid Tengshi River, you can only start from the upper reaches.
Perhaps in Tywin's plan, the guards of Riverrun were concentrating on defending the city and would not be distracted from observing the Tumblestone River.
But on the contrary, Brynden kept his eyes on the Tengshi River. When he saw those small fishing boats, he immediately handed over the western city wall, which had basically stabilized the situation, to his deputy, and led his team to ambush.
In fact, Robb was not a prophet, and he could not have predicted that Lord Piper, who was defending the city, escaped before the battle, which almost caused the entire southern wall to collapse and Riverrun to fall.
When Brynden was escorting Count Leo and his party to the Riverrun dungeon, the south left city wall had been completely regained control by the Riverrun guards.
At this moment, small mountains of corpses were piled up on the city wall. The Western Army that continued to attack the city saw that all the soldiers who had ascended first were dead, and the momentum that was about to occupy the city wall was immediately suppressed.
Tywin stood in the Western Army's position, and when he heard a cavalryman bringing the news that the Watergate had collapsed and that Count Leo's life and death were unknown, his pale green eyes were filled with chills, and veins kept appearing on his forehead.
"Phew, order the troops to withdraw!"
After suppressing his anger and taking a long sip, Tywin gave Kevan his order.
"Withdraw the troops? Lord Tywin, although the raid plan failed, it seems that if we work harder, we can capture Riverrun!"
We have all lost so much..."
After hearing about the withdrawal of troops and clearly seeing his own side attacking the city wall several times, Kevan, who had the upper hand, asked with some confusion.
"The strength of Riverrun City is about 7,000, and there are only more than 5,000 soldiers guarding the city on the two walls. This means that they still have 2,000 reserves that have not been used.
Today's general attack was originally to cover Leo's troops' surprise attack. Since the surprise attack plan has failed, this siege battle has no meaning. If it continues, it will only lead to greater losses!"
There were scout cavalry constantly reporting on the situation on the battlefield, so Tywin, who had an overview of the overall situation, knew that the assault force failed, and they lost the siege today.
"This...yes, I will go and pass the order right away!"
Kevan heard Tywin's analysis and went to convey the order to withdraw the troops with a solemn expression.
Watching his leaving figure, Tywin felt as if a huge stone weighed heavily in his heart. Ever since the northern army suddenly disappeared in the Gulf of Cailin, he had been involved in the wolf cub's plot.
Not long ago, news of the fall of Casterly Rock came, but Tywin personally came out to refute the rumors in order to stabilize the morale of the Western Army.
But this is only treating the symptoms rather than the root cause, so Tywin plans to attack Riverrun with all his strength and take the entire Riverlands into his pocket. When the time comes, he will be in charge of Riverrun, and whether he is attacking the north or retreating to the west, the king will be able to advance and retreat freely.
.
Unexpectedly, Kevan's careful preparations for so long, coupled with the raid plan he arranged, were not able to capture Riverrun.
In this situation, Tywin pursed his lips slightly, thinking about how to make future plans.
Woo!~~
A melodious horn sound spread throughout the battlefield of Riverrun.
When all the soldiers of the Western Army heard the sound of the horn, they immediately put their shields on their heads and ran for their lives in the direction of their own formations. However, those Western Soldiers who happened to be on the siege tower or siege ladder were immediately in a dilemma.
However, after hesitating for a moment, knowing that they were retreating with their backs at this time and the chance of survival was relatively small, their instinct still drove them to turn around and run away.
The archers defending the city on the walls of Riverrun City would definitely not let go of such a good opportunity and directly beat up the drowned dogs, constantly harvesting the lives of the fleeing Western soldiers.
After a while, all the unlucky Western soldiers fell under the two city walls, and most of the other Western soldiers were out of the archer's attack range.
oh!
!
Seeing Edmure, who had successfully defended against the enemy's attack under his command, he immediately raised his sword high and shouted in victory.
Under his leadership, nearly two thousand soldiers on the south wall roared in victory, and then nearly two thousand soldiers on the west responded.
All kinds of miserable corpses and body parts were covered up and down the city wall, and all the siege towers and siege ladders were abandoned under the city wall.
The wildfire on the wheeled battering ram in front of the west city wall has been extinguished. The burned wheeled battering ram is only a pile of black ash, and black smoke is constantly rising.
At this time, the shouts of the victors on the city wall formed a strong contrast with the silence of countless corpses under the city wall.
When Brynden, who was in the dungeon, heard the cheers on the city wall, he knew that the army of the West had withdrawn. The guards of Riverrun defended the city fearlessly. They should enjoy this victory and this credit.
But Brynden knew that Riverrun could be defended thanks to the King of the North, who didn't know where he was now.
After questioning Count Leo who surrendered, he left Riverrun City, a dark dungeon with no windows and completely illuminated by a brazier.
Just as Brynden closed the heavy wooden door of the dungeon wrapped in iron sheets, he heard the noise in the center of Riverrun's school grounds.
"You cowardly escaping bastard almost killed us all!"
"Escape? Are you blind? Can't you see this arrow?
I was treated temporarily after being hit by an arrow. After being bandaged casually, I climbed onto the city wall again and continued fighting.
It just happened that the enemy retreated!"
In the center of the school grounds, Count Tytos, who was covered in blood, was having a fierce argument with his family's soldiers, and Count Piper, who was also accompanied by personal guards, his left arm was bandaged, and he still had a broken arrow.
The soldiers from the two families had evil looks in their eyes, and the atmosphere in the center of the school grounds was completely tense.
"Count Tytos, what do you want to do?"
Edmure, who had been enjoying the victor's feeling at the city wall for a while, had just stepped off the city wall and saw this eye-catching group of people. He directly questioned Count Tytos.
"Lord Edmure, Lord Piper abandoned the defense of the city wall and escaped for no reason, which almost led to the fall of Riverrun. He should be dealt with according to military law!"
Lord Tytos turned to look at Edmure and spoke his thoughts out loud.
"Lord Edmure, look at the arrow on my left arm. I am receiving temporary treatment because of the arrow. As soon as the treatment is completed, I will rush back to the city wall to fight."
When Earl Piper saw Edmure, he immediately showed his left arm that had been hit by an arrow, and spoke loudly with some grievance.
Edmure glanced at his bloody left arm, turned to Count Tytos and said: "Count Tytos, Count Piper was injured and treated, and then came back to join the battle. This cannot be considered an unreasonable escape.
By slandering his honor like this, you are damaging the dignity of our nobles of Riverrun!"
"I……"
"Count Piper, I would like to ask if the arrow in your left arm was shot from under the city wall, or from the siege tower?"
Count Tytos, who had no evidence, was about to speak. He listened silently for a while outside the crowd. After carefully observing Count Piper's wound, Brynden squeezed into the crowd and interrupted Count Tytos.
"Lord Brynden, where did it come from? Under the city wall... maybe!"
Seeing Brynden squeezing over, Earl Piper bowed perfunctorily, and then answered hesitantly.
Hearing this, Brynden tilted his head to look at his wounds, and said loudly in a surprised tone: "That's strange. The arrow shot under the city wall must have been thrown away, so it would pierce the body at an oblique angle.
The arrow on your left arm is so flat, it should have been shot straight from the siege tower."
"Yes, yes, it was a horizontal shot from the siege tower. Maybe I remembered it wrong!"
After hearing his analysis, Earl Piper nodded quickly, indicating that he had remembered it wrong.
"Hey, if the arrow fired from the siege tower missed, and it didn't penetrate your left arm directly at such a close distance, but only caused such a wound, I think the strength of this Western archer should not even be able to pull the bow.
Let’s drive!
Earl Piper, it seems to me that your arrow was inserted by someone's bare hands!"
Seeing Earl Piper's performance, Brynden sneered and spoke his final judgment out loud.
"The wound is shallow? That may be because there is something blocking it in front!
Inserted with bare hands? Lord Brynden, do you mean to suspect that I faked my injuries?"
How could Earl Piper not understand that he had been tricked by Brynden, and he shouted in anger and embarrassment?
"I'm not doubting it, but I'm sure!"
"Okay, okay! We have won today. Let's all go back and have a rest. There will be a celebration party in the evening. Let's all have a good drink!"
Edmure seemed to have understood something. He took the opportunity to speak and tried to change the subject.
"No, there will be no punishment for pretending to be hit by an arrow and escaping, and there will be no reward for taking back the city wall in blood. If we can convince everyone? How can we still drink happily?"
He could give Edmure face for other things, but not for this kind of thing. Since he wanted to make peace, Brynden simply broke up with him.
"Sir Marco Piper is still in the Riverlands, harassing the supply troops of the Western Army. If we punish his father without proof, I believe everyone will not be convinced, right?"
Sir Marko is Edmure's close friend and the eldest son and heir of Earl Piper. Edmure directly cited his achievements and tried to convince everyone.
"I...I saw Count Piper insert the arrow into his left arm. The arrow originally hit one of his bodyguards. The body of that bodyguard is still on the city wall. You can compare the traces of the arrow.
.”
As soon as Edmure finished speaking, a soldier responsible for guarding the southern city wall spoke with some hesitation.
Because the commander was worried about protecting his family's strength, in addition to the personal guards around the commander, the soldiers guarding the city of Riverrun were all broken up and reorganized from each family.
Judging from the family crest on his body, the soldier who spoke was a soldier of the Vance family from Traveling Rest City. As a neutral family, everyone found what he said to be credible.
"Earl Piper, is what he said true?"
Upon hearing this, Edmure turned to Earl Piper and asked.
"I……"
"Oh, you disappoint me so much!"
Seeing that he was speechless, Edmure shook his head and sighed, then said loudly,
"Count Piper of Pink City faked his injuries, ran away without any reason, and was taken to a dungeon to await trial.
Sir Marco was promoted to the acting lord of the Pink City. All Piper family soldiers were reorganized into the army and continued to fight for the honor of the Piper family.
Count Tytos of Crowtree City fought bravely and recaptured the city wall, and was rewarded with a hundred golden dragons.
All soldiers who participated in the battle today will be rewarded with silver deer, and their military merits will be counted in addition!"
"Lord Edmure, wise!"
"Long live the Tully family!"
Upon hearing Edmure's reward, all the soldiers present smiled and cheered.
Of course, Earl Piper's face was ashen, his eyes were wandering, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Afterwards, several soldiers came forward to escort him to the dungeon of Riverrun City.
When he was put into the noble cell of the dungeon, he happened to see Count Leo sitting quietly opposite the cell.
"From the family crest on your body... it should be the Lefford family of Golden Tooth City. If you are lucky enough to go out, can you help me bring a message to Lord Tywin?"
…
Green Fork River, the castle on the south bank of the Twins.
"Did you know? The King in the North recently captured Casterly Rock in the West, a stone castle that has never fallen for thousands of years."
"Of course I know that. I heard that those old northerners made a lot of money in the West. It is said that they even took back Tywin Lannistra's gold bucket."
"Hey, Lord Walder is originally a vassal of the Tully family, why does he want to help the Lannister family?
If we help the King of the North, we might also have a chance to plunder the gold of the Western Territory!"
"Who says it's not the case? Of the 4,000 people who went with them this time, only less than 1,500 people returned to Twin River City. Even the bodies of those dead soldiers could not be recovered.
Some time ago, Lord Walder once again gathered a thousand men to join the Western Army, and one of my relatives followed them to Riverrun. I wonder what the situation is now!"
Several Frey family soldiers wearing black hoods were standing guard under the afternoon sun.
Due to the special geographical location of Twin River City, it had never been attacked in so many years, so they were really bored and gathered together to chat.
"Eh? What is that?"
A Frey family soldier inadvertently raised his head and glanced ahead, suddenly pointed ahead and shouted in shock.
When the other Frey family soldiers heard his shout, they all raised their heads and looked in the direction he was pointing.
I saw a huge "H" shaped strange object moving in the direction of Twin River City.
The surface of this strange object seems to be inlaid with many metals. Under the sunlight, it looks dazzling and very beautiful.
As the strange object approached, the Frey family soldiers finally saw clearly that it was a huge wooden sculpture of twin towers, which should look like the Twins from its appearance.
What is inlaid on the twin tower sculptures is not metal at all, but a large amount of gold and various gemstones that are tempting to commit crimes.
This huge twin tower sculpture was tied with ropes and placed on a solid wooden platform. Directly in front of it, fifty or sixty soldiers were pulling the ropes very hard to move the twin tower sculpture forward.
Under its solid wood platform are more than ten round logs. Twenty or thirty soldiers are orderly placing the round logs directly in front of it.
In addition to these people, a knight in armor was leading about two hundred cavalry guards to protect the left and right sides of the Twin Towers statue.
"Hurry and report to Lord Walder that the troops from Seaside City have arrived outside our castle with a statue."
As two cities not far apart, the guard captain immediately recognized the ownership of the 'Silver Eagle with Spread Wings' flag. Then, he gave instructions to a guard beside him.
The guard followed the order and left. After a while, a short, fat but very strong man with a black beard followed him to the observation deck of the south bank castle.
This short, fat man's name is also Walder Frey. However, there are too many Walder Freys in the Frey family, so in order to distinguish them, others usually call him "Black Walder".
He is the second son of Man Frey, the grandson of Stevron Frey, and the great-grandson of Lord Walder Frey.
"Why did nearly three hundred Mallister family soldiers come to our Twin River City with a strange sculpture?
However, this person can't make any waves, so I pulled up the outermost oak door and asked them what their purpose was through the gate."
Black Wald observed carefully for a while, then slowly came to the team in front of the castle on the south bank of the Twins City, and gave orders to the guard captain behind him.
"yes!"
Kakaka!
The guard captain replied, then turned around and gave his order. The outermost oak door of the South Bank Castle was opened, and Black Walder came to the iron gate in the shape of a steel square, waiting for the other party's arrival.
The team from Seaside City gradually approached the Twins City, and the leading knight was Earl Jason. When he saw Black Walder behind the iron gate, he immediately stopped the team and rode towards Black Walder alone.
"Earl Jason! What is the important reason why you came to Twins City?"
Black Walder certainly knew the lord of Seaside City who was closest to them. A smile appeared on his face and he asked.
"Are you...Wade?"
"Of course, our younger generation are basically all Wade!"
Hearing Black Walder making fun of him, Earl Jason smiled slightly and directly explained his purpose: "I want to meet Marquis Walder when he married the eighth Mrs. Frey. I was dealing with those mermaids, so I didn't have time.
Came to attend his wedding.
The sculpture of the Twins behind this is my congratulatory gift to Marquis Walder. I hope he can forgive me for not attending his wedding."
"Is it because of this? Count Jason, you give such a big gift?"
Hearing Earl Jason's words, Black Wald raised his brows with a smile on his lips, not believing what he said at all.
After all, Marquis Walder had too many weddings. There were many nobles attending the weddings in the first few times, but as time went by, there were fewer and fewer nobles attending the weddings.
Even the Frey family themselves have become accustomed to it. For this reason, Earl Jason sent a congratulatory gift to apologize, which obviously revealed an abnormality.
"Hehe, of course, but I still have some things that I need to talk to Marquis Walder personally!"
Jason heard this, nodded with a smile, and then said that he only wanted to discuss the next matter with Marquis Walder in person.
"If you are alone, I can let you in now. Then, I will take you to see Marquis Walder."
As the fourth heir of Twins City, Black Wald's status is not equal to that of Earl Jason. After hearing his words, Black Wald answered directly.
"Just what I want, let me in!"
Earl Jason agreed without hesitation.
After he entered the Twins, he was disarmed and searched by the guards.
After all, at this moment, the Frey family has joined the Lannister family camp and is considered an enemy of Seaside City, which is loyal to the Tully family.
Under the personal leadership of Black Walder, Earl Jason met Marquis Walder sitting on the black oak chair in the reception hall of the North Castle of Twin River City.
"Lord Walder, your body is still strong. I believe it will still be so in ten years."
As soon as Earl Jason saw Marquis Walder, he saluted very politely and complimented him politely.
"Well, I don't know if my body will be so strong in ten years.
However, I can be sure that it won’t be long before my eighth wife will become pregnant again for me and give birth to a son.”
Marquis Walder looked at the very polite Earl Jason, but thought of the last rude messenger. He coughed lightly and talked about irrelevant topics.
"Lord Walder, I have sent you a belated gift, a huge sculpture of the Twin River City, inlaid with countless gold and gems. It is very suitable for a big man like you!"
Earl Jason didn't want to chat with him and got to the point directly.
"Oh? Then, why did Earl Jason send such an expensive gift?
Don't tell me any bullshit reasons for missing the wedding, tell me your true purpose."
Seeing that he took the initiative to get to the point, Marquis Walder asked in the same direct manner.
"I would like...please help me introduce Tywin Lannister. We in Seaside City want to join his command."
After hearing Marquis Walder's question, Count Jason pondered for a moment and revealed his true purpose.