James, whose ugly face showed a sad look, heard the words behind him, controlled his expression, turned around and called his brother.
"James, what's wrong with your face?"
Looking at James who turned around, the bright smile on Tyrion's face suddenly disappeared, and he immediately asked with concern.
"It's nothing. The people who caused these scars are all dead. Well, they don't seem to be completely dead either!"
When James heard this, he immediately leaned over to pick up the red mask from the ground and put it on again, and then answered in a relaxed tone.
"Hey, James, you don't have a pretty face like me now. But it's okay, the girls will only see our last name and the golden dragon!"
Knowing that his brother didn't want him to worry, Tyrion forced a smile on his stiff face and answered.
Hearing Tyrion's words, James strode forward, opened his hands and gave Tyrion a hug, murmuring in a low voice: "Brother, welcome back safely!"
"Thanks!"
Looking at her two biological brothers in front of her, Cersei curled her lips and turned around and walked behind her.
Listening to the footsteps leaving behind him, Jaime's eyes showed a hint of darkness. He let go of Tyrion, who he thought was in his arms, and said, "Let's go! I'll take you to see your father. I just want to hear your story in the valley.
!”
"Okay, when you are free, I also want to hear your story!"
Tyrion turned his head and glanced at Cersei who had walked far away, then nodded and answered.
So, the two brothers chatted about the recent trivial matters and headed towards the Prime Minister's Tower where Tywin was.
Arriving at the meeting hall of the Prime Minister's Tower, Tywin was handling political affairs very diligently. However, when he saw Jaime and Tyrion coming hand in hand, he put down the quill in his hand.
"Father!"
The two of them first saluted and greeted Tywin, and then Jaime tilted his head to indicate that Tyrion took a step forward.
He continued: "This time I brought back a thousand cavalry from the Frey family, three thousand brave warriors from the Alpine clan, and thousands of prisoners including Yorn Royce and Rodrik Kelso.
"
"Why do you want to come back? I remember that the task given to you was to win over Mrs. Lasha and control the valley, right?"
After hearing Tyrion's report, Tywin did not take up the topic from him, but instead asked him.
"Father, in the civil strife in the valley, apart from the Bronze King, the King of Seagull Town and the King of the Five-Finger Peninsula are all Littlefinger's pawns.
At first, he persuaded Lady Lysa to let me lead troops to Iron Oak City. On the way, I realized that something was wrong. I led the troops in advance and set up an ambush to defeat the King of Seagull Town.
Unexpectedly, the ambitious King of the Five Finger Peninsula began to break away from his control and annihilated the fleeing King of Seagull Town. In the end, he was annihilated by Stannis's army.
I discovered these later through various intelligence collected, so I told Mrs. Lisa privately.
As a result, Mrs. Lysa died in her room that night, with the lion's head button on my clothes still beside her.
so……"
Seeing that Tywin didn't even care about him and started questioning him, Tyrion's expression froze slightly, but he still answered his question honestly.
"The information you mentioned was most likely given to you by Littlefinger on purpose. Otherwise, how could he have prepared your buttons in advance to frame him.
Humph, I wanted you to control the valley, but you have always been played with by your little fingers!"
After listening to Tyrion's report, Tywin snorted coldly and said to Tyrion in a very disappointed tone.
"Father, Tyrion did not gain nothing in the valley. At least he brought back 4,000 soldiers and more important prisoners for you!"
As soon as Tywin finished speaking, James on the side immediately stepped forward to stand with Tyrion and changed the subject.
"Well, we do need all available troops now. But what happened to those prisoners?"
After hearing what James said, Tywin nodded and agreed with him. Then he continued to ask Tyrion.
"I robbed Yonn and Rodrik before leaving the Eagle's Nest City. According to my understanding, the current Bronze King has a very deep relationship with his father, 'Bronze Yohn'.
Before Lady Laisha died, he took the initiative to write a letter to the Eagle's Nest City saying that as long as his father could be released, he was willing to abandon all occupied castles and return to Runestone City.
It's a pity that Mrs. Lysha flatly refused at that time on the grounds that the rebels must die.
Therefore, I feel that if we control him, it will at least be an important bargaining chip in negotiating with the Bronze King.
Sir Rodrik has taught Robb Stark since he was a child, which is of great value to the affectionate King of the North.
As for the other prisoners, they were some deserters I captured on my way south who were massacring and looting everywhere. They called themselves the Rebels Without Flags.
Father, the number of these flagless rebels is astonishing. They can be seen everywhere in the valleys, riverlands, and royal territories. They have killed many innocent civilians, and many villages and towns have been reduced to ruins. I think we should pay more attention to them!"
Tyrion glanced at Jaime beside him and said to Tywin in a calm tone.
"Don't worry about the Rebels Without Banners for the time being. They still have value. Let's wait until Robb Stark is dealt with.
As long as we can kill all the wolves that invade our territory, our sheep will reproduce on their own!"
After hearing this, Tywin waved his hand directly and said that they should not pay attention to the affairs of the Bannerless Rebel Army.
Tyrion frowned upon hearing this and was about to continue persuading his father.
But James, who had been observing everything next to him, spoke first and said: "By the way, father. I was chatting with Tyrion just now, and I heard from him that he discovered that there might be a spellcaster beside the Bronze King."
"Spellcaster? Tyrion, please tell me in detail!"
"Yes, in previous battles with the Bronze King's army, commanders of the Valley Cavalry Army often died of inexplicable suffocation.
It was not until later that soldiers discovered that every time a commander died, the Bronze King was accompanied by a mysterious figure wearing a white mask and black robes.
Therefore, Littlefinger would still be commanding from the front line at first, but later he was so scared that he didn’t even dare to go out of the Eagle’s Nest City!”
Seeing Tywin asking himself after hearing Jaime's words, Tyrion could only change the subject and answered.
"Bronze King, Spellcaster, Bronze Yohn?..."
After listening to Tyrion's story, Tywin whispered to himself, thinking about something.
"Father, if there's nothing else, we'll leave first!"
Seeing his father lost in thought, Jaime said to him and prepared to take Tyrion away.
"James, you are no longer a Kingsguard. I will arrange a marriage for you later.
Before that, I don’t care how you want to indulge. You can learn from Tyrion in this regard."
Just as the two brothers were about to turn around and leave, Tywin suddenly said this.
"Father, I don't..."
"Father, let's leave first!"
Hearing what Tywin said, James subconsciously wanted to refuse. But Tyrion stopped him first and pulled him out of the meeting hall.
Bang!
"Tyrion why don't you let me finish?"
As soon as the door of the meeting hall closed, Jaime couldn't help but said to Tyrion.
"There's no point if you continue talking, because this thing is very wrong!
Father has always believed that my indulgent behavior has tarnished the honor of the Lannister family. Now I want you to learn from me..."
Tyrion shook his head when he heard this, and then opened his mouth and replied.
"Something is indeed wrong, so what did you think of?"
"I don't know anything about what happened in King's Landing recently. What can I think of? Let's go! Accompany me to a place where I can collect intelligence."
"where?"
"Hehe, of course it's the Silk Street where it's easiest to collect information! I haven't been back to King's Landing for so long. I wonder if there is a new girl in Shataya's place."
…
The Reach, Highgarden.
Twenty-one days have passed since Robb and Bloodwind were wrapped in giant ice withers!
The gray plague epidemic in Highgarden has been completely controlled due to the strict implementation of the epidemic prevention measures set by Robb. No new infected persons were found for almost three days.
In the end, according to Clay's preliminary calculations, the gray plague epidemic killed nearly 20,000 refugees in total.
To be honest, this data is much better than the epidemic that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in Old Town decades ago.
And that giant ice wither, which is ten meters high and does not melt under the sun, has basically been seen by all the refugees.
Most of the refugees gradually believed the public opinion created by Clay's intelligence officers, and believed that Robb was the birth of the god in charge of ice.
As time went by, a small number of refugees began to worship this giant ice sculpture every day, which seemed to never melt.
The nobles of Highgarden are different from them. In the first few days, many Highgarden nobles came to the giant ice sculpture every day and waited patiently. But the further back they went, the fewer nobles came.
At this time, only Margaery and Clay were sitting there quietly in front of the giant ice wither, silently waiting for something.
Clay didn't know if Margaery had really fallen in love with His Majesty Robb. Anyway, in the past twenty-one days, except for going back to the north wall to rest at night, she spent all the rest of her time here.
As for the northern nobles, only Clay is left because Theon and Earl Rickard have already started making preparations to evacuate Highgarden.
Twenty-one days without eating or drinking in a giant ice tomb. Unless Robb is really born as a god, otherwise...
Ta-ta-ta!
When it was close to noon that day, the Duke of Metz led a large group of nobles from the River Bend towards the giant ice wither.
"Lord Mace!"
"Father!"
As soon as the Duke of Metz walked in front of him, Margaery and Clay immediately stood up and saluted him.
"Well, Margery, how long has it been since you last seen your grandma? She misses you. Go back and see her early today!"
The Duke of Metz, with a serious expression on his face, nodded in agreement and immediately began to speak to Margaery.
"I'll go back to see grandma! Well, after Robb comes out!"
Margery stared at the Duke of Metz with dark-rimmed eyes, and answered firmly.
"You still want to wait? It's been more than twenty days!"
When the Duke of Metz heard Margery's words, he immediately frowned and replied to her. Then he turned to Clay and asked,
"Lord Clay, why don't you let me try to destroy this ice wither and rescue His Majesty Robb?"
"It's useless, father. Master Clay has tried all methods in the past few days.
This ice cannot be melted by fire, hammered, or chipped!"
Margery shook her head when she heard this, and directly asked the Duke of Metz not to waste his efforts.
"Lord Mace, may I ask, are you here today just to try and destroy this ice wither?"
Clay, who had been silent until now, interrupted very politely.
"Ahem, that's it, Lord Clay. It has been more than twenty days since His Majesty Robb was trapped in the ice withers. During the previous meeting, all the nobles said they would donate food to the refugees.
But until now, not a single bushel of grain has been delivered to Highgarden.
The tens of thousands of troops stationed in Highgarden and the nearly 300,000 refugees have been relying on the food of our Tyrell family these days.
Moreover, His Majesty personally made the decision to lead an army to attack the rebel castles in the Reach, but until now, they have still not made any move.
You said, this person can't just eat and not work, right?"
Upon hearing Clay's inquiry, Count Metz first cleared his throat, and then stated the purpose of his visit today in one breath.
"Lord Mace is right! Just wasting it like this is not the answer. We have recently started to prepare for the war!"
Clay did not retort when he heard this, but answered with a very upright attitude.
"Hey, you are quite sensible, this is the best! When the time comes, I will personally lead the army to fight. You just need to follow my command!"
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Metz looked sideways at Clay, who was very sensible, and said in a tone that left no room for doubt.
"Of course. Hey, I don't seem to see Prince Oberyn and Earl Randyll. Do these two adults know about this troop dispatch?"
Clay nodded in agreement, then turned his head to look at the nobles following the Duke of Metz, and casually asked.
"Well, I have discussed it with them before. Don't worry, I will inform them soon..."
Katcha!
While the Duke of Metz was speaking, a clear sound of ice crystals breaking suddenly sounded. Clay and Margaery immediately turned their heads to look at the giant ice wither with surprise on their faces.
I saw a huge crack spreading rapidly downward from the top of the ice wither to the bottom of the ice wither.
Katcha, Katcha!
Accompanied by the continuous cracking sounds, this giant ice wither was filled with countless large and small cracks in an instant.
Poof!
With a crashing sound from the inside out, the giant ice withered suddenly turned into countless small ice crystals floating in the air. Under the dazzling sunlight at noon, these countless small ice crystals suddenly turned into a brilliant and colorful halo.
Ta, ta!
In this extremely beautiful halo, one person and one wolf seemed to be emitting brilliant light, slowly walking towards them.
"I seem to...hear you guys talking about sending troops?"
The Duke of Metz was so dazzled by the brilliant halo that he had to cover his eyes with the back of his right hand. After hearing this familiar voice, his solemn and majestic expression immediately began to change.
With that familiar flattering smile on his face, he replied to the figure in the brilliant halo: "Oh, great, Your Majesty, you have finally come out of this ice wither!
!
Yes, yes! I was just talking to Master Clay about sending troops.
Although all of us are very worried about you, I don’t think we can just waste it like this, so I am going to lead the soldiers of the Tyrell family to attack King’s Landing and seize the Iron Throne from you!”
The surrounding tiny ice crystals finally dissipated in the air, and the brilliant light source disappeared immediately. The Duke of Mace put down his covering right hand and finally saw the appearance of Robb and Bloodwind.
The first thing that caught Earl Mace's eyes was Robb's head of reddish-brown and white hair. Then came his sharp, cold, bright yellow eyes that seemed to be filled with animalistic nature.
Yes, the ice crystal eyes created by Robb's previous "bond" with Bloodwind have now become the same yellow beast eyes as Bloodwind.
The body shape of Bloodwind beside Robb has not changed at all, but the color of its fur has also changed to a new look of gray and white.
The Duke of Metz accidentally looked at Xue Feng and saw a very human and playful look in its eyes.
A hand reached out to the Duke of Metz's shoulder from the side, making him tremble in fright.
At the same time, Robb's voice sounded faintly in his ears: "Lord Mace, you really have my best interests at heart. Since you want to capture King's Landing for me, you must be the commander of the vanguard force this time!"
"Gulu, yes, okay, Your Majesty!"
Feeling a strong sense of oppression, the Duke of Metz swallowed nervously, and then immediately nodded his head in agreement like a chicken pecking at rice.
In fact, it was not just the Duke of Mace who felt this sense of oppression. When Robb was talking to him, everyone present did not dare to speak or move at all, and even breathed softly.
"Very good, then it's decided!"
Upon hearing this, Robb took back his hand on Duke Mace's shoulder, then turned to Clay and asked,
"Clay, how is the gray plague situation today?"
"Your Majesty, twenty-one days have passed since the day you were wrapped in ice. The gray plague epidemic has been completely controlled, and no infected person has been found for almost three days!"
Hearing Robb's question, Clay's face, which still had an expression of joy, showed a smile and answered.
"Has it been so long? I feel like I just took a nap. Hehe!"
As a smile appeared on Robb's face, the strong sense of oppression at the scene suddenly disappeared. Everyone suddenly felt relieved.
"Your Majesty, Miss Margery will be here every day for the past twenty-one days."
After hearing Clay's words, Robb walked up to Margaery, reached out and held her face and said,
"Margery, I feel your feelings!"
"Um!"
Hearing what Robb said, Margaery nodded shyly in agreement.
The Duke of Metz on the side saw this scene and immediately felt grateful to his daughter for her persistence during this period.
Cuckoo!
While Robb and Margaery were working together, his stomach growled loudly.
"Okay, Margery, prepare some food for me first. I'm hungry!"
Robb immediately let go of his hands and spoke to Margaery.
"Well! I will go and do it for you myself now."
Margaery agreed and walked briskly toward the north wall.
Robb took a deep breath, then turned his head and looked around, and whispered:
"Phew, wait until I'm full first, and then I'll get familiar with this different world!"
As Robb emerged from the giant ice blight safe and sound, the tense atmosphere that had permeated the various forces in Highgarden suddenly disappeared.
Everyone, including Robb, behaved as if nothing had happened, returning to the sweet period of harmonious coexistence between all forces.
The gray blight epidemic in Highgarden has ended, and under Robb's strong arrangements, the work of transferring refugees to reclaim terraces has officially begun.
Afterwards, Robb used the Duke of Metz's serious protest as an excuse to ask the nobles who had previously promised to donate food but had yet to do so to voluntarily double their food donations.
After collecting this food, the nearly 300,000 refugees can basically survive the early cultivation and planting period smoothly. As for the future, Robb feels that there should be no big problems.
Due to being stuck in the giant ice wither for too long, Robb felt that the progress of the current attack had been seriously delayed.
Therefore, he told Vilas the details of how to cultivate the terraces and asked him to take charge of this work. And he was ready to start taking action according to the previously determined tactical plan.
In the following days, the refugees in High Court began to move toward Golden Tree City.
The Duke of Mace, who led the Tyrell family soldiers as the vanguard, obtained Robb's consent and used money and food to recruit nearly 30,000 young men from the remaining refugees as new recruits.
His idea was simple and straightforward. If Robb asked him to be cannon fodder, he would let these 30,000 recruits be cannon fodder.
In this way, the 100,000 troops stationed in Highgarden were officially prepared, and the final war to determine the ownership of the Seven Kingdoms was about to begin.
…
On the rough waters of the Narrow Sea, the Fury, flying the flag of the flaming stag, was riding the wind and waves with dozens of warships.
On the deck of the Fury, Stannis, Melisandre, Davos, Roland and others were all present.
"I have already decided on the next tactical plan, but now I have received this letter. Do you think I should go?"
Looking at the north of the Narrow Sea, Stannis clutched the letter in his hand tightly and asked the three Davos behind him with some uncertainty.
"Your Majesty, the Iron Bank will never do business at a loss. Our borrowing process this time was too easy. Now, when I suddenly received this letter, I feel that there is a very big problem in it.
I think we should proceed according to the original tactical plan!"
Upon hearing this, Davos was the first to take a step forward and express his opinion.
"Your Majesty, I think the content of the letter is of great importance. There is a huge difference in strength between the two sides. If they really fall, even if we proceed according to the original tactical plan, the final result will not be changed.
So, I think we should go!"
After Davos spoke, Roland immediately stepped forward to express his opinion. But this time his opinion was completely different from Davos.
"Melisandre, what about you? Do you think I should go?"
Stannis turned to stare at Melisandre, who had been silent, and took the initiative to ask.
Melisandre heard this, her charming face showed a smile, and then she replied softly: "Your Majesty, haven't you already made a decision in your heart?
I have already seen your figure in this war in the flames, and I believe you can also feel the guidance of the Lord of Light!"
After Melisandre finished speaking, she guided Stannis to a brazier in the Howl of Fury, and then asked him to stare closely at the brazier.
As the flames in the brazier danced irregularly, Stannis seemed to see something in his eyes. After coming to his senses, Stannis said directly: "Change the sailing direction!"
After giving the order, he looked past Melisandre, Davos, and Roland and looked behind them.
I saw countless soldiers and war horses lined up neatly on the rear deck of the Fury and the decks of dozens of other warships.