iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 243 Battle of Seagull Town

Near the Bay of Carlin, Eddard Stark jumped on a black horse after executing the criminals, and the northern vassals surrounding him also mounted their horses.

The ground under the horses' hooves was so soft that it slowly sank under the tread, and everyone moved slowly towards the Cailin Bay Tower.

Howland Reed, who was riding side by side with Duke Eddard, said: "Lord Ned, these damn pirates have caused a lot of blood in the North... Your execution was wise."

Duke Ed's frown relaxed slightly and said, "Holland, I'm worried about Kate and Robb."

Holland's strong shoulders shrugged. He really couldn't say anything about this kind of thing. After a pause, he still asked: "Lord Ned, will you go south?"

Duke Ed's brows tightened again, he pondered for a moment, and said, "I plan to take my family home."

Tat-tat-tat-tat... Their horses slowly walked across the wooden plank bridge paved on the black and green mud.

"Lord Ned, I always suspect that Luce is an ice sculpture." Holland pointed at the Earl of the Dreadfort in the distance.

The corners of Duke Eddard's lips curled up imperceptibly. Over there were the Stark vassals who had just arrived at Moat Cailin.

As Duke Eddard approached, they all knelt down on the dirt towards him.

"Get up."

Jumping off the horse, Duke Eddard's tall and sturdy figure walked slowly among the crowd, looking at each of his vassals.

"Lord Ed!"

"Lord Ned, it is such a relief to see you."

"Lord Ed, I will always be your vanguard!"

"Very good, how wonderful to see you well, my lord."

"We must teach the cunning southerners a lesson! Blood debt must be paid in blood!"

"Lord Ned, I am always at your disposal."

"Always at your disposal!"

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Duke Ed stopped in front of a boy who looked to be eleven or twelve years old. He rubbed the little boy's head with his big hand and said, "My child, your father is a brave warrior, and the North will never forget it."

Many of the Stark vassals that Robb left to Roose Bolton died in battle. He had experienced many battles and was used to life and death, but... although Duke Eddard did not show his face, he was because of those vassals. Although he was saddened by the death of his father, he always considered them as Stark family.

The corners of the little boy's eyes were red, and he loudly said in a clear voice: "Sir, I will continue to fight for you in place of my father!"

"I believe in you, my child."

Duke Eddard patted the little boy's shoulder and said: "My children are in Winterfell. They are still young, but their parents are not around. They need the protection of good soldiers. Can you help me?"

The little boy nodded excitedly. He straightened up his body and said loudly: "Sir, I will never leave my sword. I will guard you day and night. I will definitely do it well. I swear to the old and new gods!"

"Okay, I'm busy now."

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In the camp, Duke Ed first asked his vassals to prepare for a banquet, and then only Earl Luce remained.

Count Luce's usually cold voice was filled with a hint of respect: "Duke Ned, the Dreadfort is at your disposal."

"Sit down and talk."

After Earl Luce sat down, Duke Ed pondered: "Luce, I need to use your wisdom."

Count Luce's light eyes moved slightly, and he caressed his chest and said: "Serving you is the honor of the Dreadfort, my lord."

Duke Ed tapped his chin and said: "The current chaotic situation in the Seven Kingdoms reminds me of the war more than ten years ago, and the North can be said to have been deeply involved in it. We must consider the next step."

Earl Luce's small voice sounded: "Lord Ned, will you wear the crown? This is very important for our next step."

The Earl of the Dreadfort's words fell, and the atmosphere suddenly became solemn. After a moment of silence, Duke Eddard said slowly: "Luce, Robert is my eternal king, and the North will not be an enemy of his Iron Throne. "

Lord Roose put his hand on his chest and said: "Lord Ned, it is my honor to listen to your heartfelt words. If I am not wrong, you will support Stannis to sit on the Iron Throne, and you will even stand for him. Raise an army, right?”

After hesitating for a moment, Duke Eddard nodded slowly and said, "According to legal principles, Stannis is the legal heir of Robert I."

Count Luce's bloodless pale fingers touched the armrest of the chair and said, "Lord Ned, can the heir who assassinated his own brother still be the legal heir?"

Duke Ed stared at the candlestick on the table for a while and said, "Luce, do you think... I doubt whether this is the truth."

The corner of Earl Roose's mouth raised in a rare way: "The North can only worry about one thing. If this is true, what should we who support Stannis do... What if we don't find out until you help him sit on the Iron Throne? The truth of the matter is how the North will choose when the time comes."

Rubbing his index finger with his thumb, he added: "To be honest, if I hadn't read your handwritten letter, I would never have believed that the daughter of the Tully family would poison her husband, Lord Arryn, with her own hands."

After a pause, Count Luce's small voice sounded again: "Lord Ned, maybe you need to worry about Lady Caitlin's safety in the Eagle's Nest City. A woman who can do such a thing would not care about blood ties."

Duke Running Wolf's eyes suddenly became sharp. After a pause, he said, "Thank you for your advice, Luce."

His gray eyes looked at Roose Bolton and continued: "I want to hear your advice."

Earl Luce raised his eyes, and his eyes touched Duke Ed's.

He nodded slightly and said: "Lord Ned, we don't have to join the fight for the Iron Throne, but I think the North must stand with the winner, whether he is Baratheon or Lannister."

"Have you heard about the royal bloodline... Luce?" A trace of bitterness flashed across Duke Ed's face.

Earl Roose nodded slightly and said: "Yes, Lord Ned. Before the war, almost all the lords of the Seven Kingdoms received letters from Stannis."

After a while of silence, Duke Eddard sighed and said: "Roose, Stannis did not make it up. The three children Cersei gave birth to were not Robert's children. This is why Lannister wants to kill me." .”

After listening to the royal secrets told by Lord Eddard himself, Roose Bolton sat motionless for a long time, not even moving his eyelids.

Earl Luce slowly closed his eyelids, then opened them, his small voice slightly raised, and said: "Lord Ned, I sincerely advise you."

He stood up from the chair, leaned down, and continued: "Now Stannis has the advantage, and the Kingslayer is in our hands... If you leave the matter to me, I am confident that they will let Myrcella worship. Lathion to marry your eldest son.”

He took half a step forward: "This is a rare opportunity in thousands of years. Later... as long as we seize the opportunity, it is entirely possible for you to sit on the Iron Throne. The North..."

"Roose Bolton."

Before he finished speaking, Duke Ed coldly interrupted Earl Luce's words. "Robb has made an agreement with the Freys, and it would be against the Stark's honor to break the engagement."

Count Luce's eyes flashed and he advised: "Lord Ned, the engagement may not count. I heard that Marquis Frey had forced him. After all, Robb is only a teenager..."

"enough!"

Duke Eddard stood up slowly and said: "As my heir, Robb is responsible for his own honor. His honor is the honor of Stark and the honor of the North."

"Lord Ned, we are at this time..."

Duke Ed said coldly: "That's it for today."

He waved his hand: "Step back, Earl Bolton."

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After a short period of rest, the Stark-Tully coalition led by Robb Stark captured the West and the Brand City of House Malbrand (located northwest of the Golden Tooth City).

Later, Robb detached a part of his army, led by Galbert Glover of Deepwood Castle, Rickard Karstark of Cahor City, and Maege Mormont of Bear Island, to plunder the coast of the Westerland. .

Robb occupied five Lannister gold mines and headed directly towards Lannisport.

After news of the King in the North and the King of the Trident sweeping across the West reached Riverrun, the morale of the vassals in the Riverlands soared.

At about the same time, Edmure Tully, the heir to Riverrun who was eager to restore his honor, received information that the Lannister army was returning to the west to aid.

Family...responsibility...honor... Edmure Tully immediately summoned his vassals and troops. This time he not only fought to restore his honor, but also to fight for his nephew.

Edmure Tully deployed more than 10000 riverland troops at the fords along the Red Fork River, vowing to block the Lannister army from crossing the river to return reinforcements.

Seeing that the Riverlands were well prepared at the places they must pass through, Tywin Lannister continued to send small groups of troops to launch tentative attacks to find weak points in the Riverlands army to cross the river, but was restricted by the Red Cross Due to the natural dangers of the river and the strict defense of the Hejian army, they have not been able to succeed.

In the end, Duke Tywin, who was eager to return reinforcements, had to launch a large army and launch a general attack at more than a dozen crossings of the Red Fork River at the same time.

After a fierce battle (it is said that Edmure Tully shouted hoarse in order to motivate the soldiers), the Riverlands army finally defeated the Lannister army and successfully prevented Lord Tywin from returning to the Westerlands.

Unable to fight anymore, the Lannister army had to withdraw. Duke Tywin led the remaining troops to retreat to Harrenhal, waiting for reinforcements from the Golden Rose family.

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On the eve of the battle between Crab Claw Peninsula and Valley, the heavy rain that had lasted for two days finally stopped. In the night sky, the dark clouds gradually dispersed, revealing bright stars.

Green Kleb raised his eyes to look at the twinkling starry sky and murmured: "Gods bless you..."

The night wind after the rain was chilly, Brienne walked over and picked up the cloak and put it on Green.

"Good work, Brienne."

Brienne glanced at Green with dull blue eyes, then silently fastened the accessories on her cloak.

After a pause, she suddenly said: "Master Green, tomorrow... please allow me to guard you."

Green's brown eyes moved slightly, looking at the "beauty", and said: "Brenne, according to my mother's last wish, unless it is related to the life and death of the Kleb family, I will not fight in person. Tomorrow, for you It’s a good opportunity and I’m looking forward to your performance.”

Brienne knelt down on one knee. She showed a firm expression and said, "My lord, please allow me to protect you."

Green originally planned to arrange Brienne to join the decisive battle team led by Per Pili to "earn" some military glory, but Renly's incident still seemed to make her worried.

Lord Green always respects the reasonable requests of warriors: "I agree. Rise up, my loyal warrior."

Brienne suddenly smiled happily. She stood up and said, "Thank you, Lord Green."

Green showed a smile and said: "Keep the 'Ice' for me tomorrow."

Brienne smiled even more happily: "As you command, my lord."

Not long after, Sir Pell and Sir Amparo entered the camp where Green was located.

Green walked toward the long table covered with maps. As he walked, he asked, "How is the situation over there?"

Sir Pell said: "Tonight, the camp of the Alliance of Justice is still full of laughter. They like the free drinks provided by Seagull Town."

Green was in a good mood and quipped: "Didn't you ask them for a glass of wine, Per?"

Sir Pell raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said: "My lord, I just want to sit on their heads and have a drink."

Amparo hesitated for a moment and reminded in a low voice: "Sir Pell, you can't drink during the battle. This is Kleb's military regulations."

After Amparo finished speaking, Green couldn't help but laugh, and Sir Pell twitched his eyes.

Standing in front of the map and staring at it for a while, Green said: "Amparo, look here..."

He pointed to a place on the map and continued: "I took you to this place... This place is enough to accommodate 5000 Kreb long archers, and it is surrounded by woods on the left and right, and horses in the valley. Children can't gallop inside, it's a natural barrier."

Amparo glanced at the location pointed by Green on the map. She nodded and said, "Lord Green, the terrain there is favorable to us. Do the people in the valley have any objections?"

Green lightly knocked Zhuo Yan and said: "With the honor of the Valley Knights, they will not have any objection. For them, this battle is a battle to the death between the weak and the strong, and the Crab Claw Peninsula is what they see. Weak."

His eyes narrowed slightly: "For Gudi, who is proud and considers himself powerful, tomorrow is just a grand martial arts competition and a hunting ground for honor."

After a pause, his eyes slowly glanced at Per and Amparo, and he said in a deep voice: "The time has come to pay for the blood debt. How are you... prepared?"

Sir Pell and Sir Amparo clapped their breastplates with their fists together and shouted: "Long live Kleb!"

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After Pell and Amparo left, Green's young butler Leighton brought the latest news about the "True Alliance of the Righteous".

Green raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "How many mercenaries do they have?"

Layton rubbed his hands and said respectfully: "My master, it is said that there are more than 6000 mercenaries in total, and they have hired three mercenary groups."

(End of this chapter)