The Red Comet, the White Raven, and the great upheaval foretold to descend upon the North all forced Kal to reveal one of his trump cards in advance to deal with this sudden turn of events.
Even if this was merely prudent preparation, it was something Kal had to do.
As for the situation in the North, Kal would not give those wretched things even the slightest opening.
The course of events had long since changed. He knew how the story would end, and all he could do was commit himself fully—using the Vale as a preemptive move to block the North's path, while Tywin Lannister's renewed rebellion and the threats beyond the Wall tied down the forces of both the North and the Vale.
Next, what would Kal use to deal with Renly Baratheon and Stannis Baratheon?
What to do?
Hard to do?
Then don't do it at all!
Kal now had ten thousand troops at his disposal, counting the two thousand men Jon had brought with him.
And these ten thousand were all battle-ready. After taking Crakehall and Old Oak, supplies of grain and materiel were in no short supply at all.
This was how quickly strength grew in war. In less than a single month, the thousand men he had when he first set out had grown into an army of ten thousand—with arms, provisions, and morale all abundantly sufficient.
It could only be said that he was practically cheating.
After all, if matters had truly followed Tyrion Lannister's idea of staying home to farm and develop in peace, when would he ever have built up manpower and resources to their present level?
As for vigilance toward the Iron Islands, Tywin Lannister's latest news had also provided a general direction.
Casterly Rock and Lannisport naturally no longer needed to remain in such constant alarm. The two thousand men left to Tyrion were more than enough for him to hold the home front.
Moreover, with Robert—who spent his days eating until he slept and sleeping until he ate—still around, this little fellow who had consumed so many resources and stuffed himself with so many potions that his head was practically sharp was hardly someone to be underestimated.
And since the time had come, there was now only one thing Kal needed to do—it was time to replace the one calling the shots in the Reach.
With that thought, Kal turned his head and glanced at Jon White Wolf, who had followed after him, as well as his direwolf, Ghost. A plan had already taken shape in his mind.
After dealing with matters in the North, he had Maester Omer Florent, who was serving Old Oak, bury himself at a nearby desk, carefully polishing his wording.
Kal, meanwhile, gathered his thoughts and looked at the others as he continued, "Next, I plan to continue advancing directly toward Highgarden. But I'm not very familiar with the situation and power structure in the Reach, so what suggestions or ideas do you all have?"
Old Oak was the ancestral seat of House Oakheart, located in the Reach. Its position lay in the western part of the Reach, close to the Sunset Sea, right at the midpoint of the coastal road.
So long as he passed through Old Oak and advanced straight along the coastal road, it would take only a few days to reach Highgarden directly.
It could be said that Kal was now able to pose a direct threat to this heart-castle of the Reach.
But that was only in theory.
The news of Old Oak's defeat had already spread, and House Tyrell could not possibly fail to make preparations. Thus, this road that appeared to be a clear and open path was certain to hold further twists ahead.
Moreover, Kal did not want to fight too quickly. Sometimes, fast was not necessarily good.
Instead, slowing down was the true form of speed.
This would allow him to cleanse more thoroughly the fertile and wealthy land of the Reach—territory he had already decided he would seize completely and bring under his absolute control.
Hearing these completely undisguised words, Maester Omer Florent, who had been treating himself like nothing more than a block of wood, could not help but stop the quill in his hand in shock.
But he quickly acted as though he had heard nothing, added more ink to the tip of his pen, and continued writing with his head lowered. For a time, the only sound left in the room was the soft scratching of his quill across parchment.
Compared to the startled reactions of the others, Jon seemed to have anticipated this long ago and remained calm and composed.
Arys Oakheart exchanged a glance with his mother, Lady Arwyn Oakheart, and the lady of Old Oak then hardened her gaze.
She immediately stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I believe I can serve as your vanguard and go ahead to persuade House Tyrell to surrender on your behalf."
Hearing his mother speak these words without any warning, Ser Arys Oakheart's eyes flew wide open. He had never imagined that such words could come from his own mother's mouth.
And she was even that proactive and fanatical about it.
But Lady Arwyn Oakheart paid no mind to her son's shock. She looked very seriously at Kal before her—the king to whom she had just sworn fealty.
Hearing this out of the blue, Kal also wore an expression that was equal parts amused and helpless.
"You mean you want to persuade your liege lord to surrender on my behalf?"
It had to be said that Lady Arwyn Oakheart's suggestion really did have some sense to it.
After all, if it truly worked out, then from Lady Arwyn Oakheart's perspective, it could be considered the best of both worlds.
First, she would not fail the king to whom she had surrendered; second, she would also not fail her former liege lord.
And most importantly, Lady Arwyn Oakheart actually knew what House Tyrell thought of Kal—otherwise, how could she have cooperated with peace of mind?
Although the matter looked somewhat dishonorable, and if she did this she would inevitably take on some unsavory reputation.
Still, if Kal truly decided to end the war through persuasion to surrender, then perhaps this really could work.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In response to Kal's question, Lady Arwyn Oakheart did not explain anything, only affirmed it again.
Kal could tell that this lady of the castle seemed to have truly decided to stake herself on his side and express her loyalty to him.
But Kal shook his head and rejected her suggestion without a moment's thought.
He then rose to his feet, strode to the window, reached out and pushed it open, and lifted his head to look up at the red comet in the night sky overhead.
"I remember that direction is the Shield Islands, isn't it?"
The evening breeze brushed across Kal's face, his black hair stirring slightly, and he suddenly raised a hand and pointed in a certain direction as he spoke.
This sudden shift in topic left everyone in the room unable to follow his train of thought for a moment.
And seeing that Kal did not seem to want to delve further into the matter, Lady Arwyn Oakheart's eyes flickered, and she said no more.
Then she also stepped forward to the window and looked out.
The red comet shone upon the sea not far away, which glimmered with a blood-red light.
Looking at that bloodlike color, Lady Arwyn Oakheart seemed to taste a hint of Kal's thoughts.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Green Shield Island ruled by House Chester, Grey Shield Island ruled by House Grimm, Oak Shield Island ruled by House Hewett, and South Shield Island ruled by House Serry are all in that direction."
"They are the shield that prevents the Iron Islands from raiding the Mander River basin, which is why they are called the Shield Islands."
Feeling that she had already grasped some of the underlying threads, Lady Arwyn Oakheart seemed worried that Kal might not be very familiar with the situation in the Reach, and so she explained it in considerable detail.
Outside the window, the night was thick and heavy. Apart from the conspicuous red-glowing comet, looking out there was only the Sunset Sea—dark as ink, yet tinged with a blood-red hue.
"Then I suppose they will soon come to stop us as well."
In response to Lady Arwyn Oakheart's explanation, Kal suddenly said, "I already declared war on House Tyrell back at Crakehall. Having suffered such an insult, they will certainly become cautious, no matter how you look at it."
"So, Lady Arwyn Oakheart, who do you think will be able to hinder us before we reach Highgarden, or put it another way, which houses might be able to reinforce Highgarden?"
At Kal's question, Lady Arwyn Oakheart's eyes showed deep thought.
After thinking carefully for a moment, she continued, "Among the major houses that are closer, aside from the four houses of the Shield Islands, the rest would be House Rowan of Goldengrove, House Tarly of Horn Hill, and House Florent of Brightwater Keep."
"And further down along the Mander, there are also House Fossoway of Cider Hall, House Merryweather of Longtable, and others."
Lady Arwyn Oakheart did her best to recall those houses located near Highgarden that could send support and that also directly owed allegiance to House Tyrell.
After finishing this introduction, she then shifted her tone, her voice becoming somewhat hesitant as she continued, "And farther south, among them, House Beesbury of Honeyholt is uncertain, because they have sworn fealty to House Hightower of the Hightower."
"Because during this time when House Tyrell swore fealty to Renly, House Hightower remained silent."
Hearing this, Kal's brows knit together, and he could not help interrupting, "Wait—House Hightower did not swear fealty to Renly Baratheon?"
"Yes. They have remained silent throughout this entire affair."
Regarding House Hightower, Lady Arwyn Oakheart stopped at that point.
But as she said this, she immediately thought of something else and hastened to add, "If you are willing, we can send a letter to Oldtown, or I can go there in person, to help you secure the support of House Hightower."
At Lady Arwyn Oakheart's suggestion, Kal fell silent for a moment and did not answer immediately.
House Hightower's stance in this alignment seemed to carry a different intent.
Yet there had been no word of whom they intended to support, nor any news of them approaching anyone.
This forced Kal to maintain a measure of caution.
After all, House Tyrell had only just caused him to suffer a setback.
Moreover, he had originally assumed that House Hightower had also sworn fealty to Renly, since this family had indeed been far too quiet this time—but who would have thought that they had in fact remained silent all along.
Unable to make sense of it, Kal could not help but frown slightly.
After all, one conspiracy theory in his previous life regarding the disappearance of dragons was inseparable from them.
What was more, he himself was the one who had brought dragons back into the world once again.
So no matter how one looked at it, a family whose influence and power were so crucial to the Seven Kingdoms should not have been this eerily quiet.
Kal looked at Lady Arwyn Oakheart. "Then do you know anything about House Hightower's situation, and whether House Tyrell and Renly Baratheon have had any discussions about House Hightower's conduct like this?"
"After all, House Tyrell is their liege lord."
Speaking of House Hightower, one inevitably had to mention the intricate and tangled situation of the Reach.
Although in the main canon of A Song of Ice and Fire, both Oldtown and House Hightower of the Hightower appeared almost like transparent figures, with scarcely any sense of presence at all, part of that was because they had been bound too closely to House Targaryen, and had even chosen to support the Targaryens during the War of the Usurper.
Even in decline, their strength still outweighed that of others. No matter how low-key they were, they still could not erase their presence.
Thus, to ignore this family because of that would be a grave mistake.
On the contrary, even though this family had suffered so many blows over the past one or two hundred years, even now, as far as the entire Reach was concerned, House Hightower might well be the true uncrowned king.
Regardless of their true foundations, power, or influence, they were an extremely formidable family that could not be ignored.
And that was without even mentioning matters related to the Citadel of Oldtown.
They were one of the most deeply rooted families in the Reach, bound by marriage ties with houses such as Florent, Tyrell, Rowan, and Redwyne, and even having intermarried with House Targaryen more than a hundred years ago.
They ruled Oldtown and the surrounding regions, and the Hightower in the oldest city of Westeros was their seat.
To this day, they remained the wealthiest and most powerful vassals under House Tyrell—without exception—and before that, under House Gardener.
They also possessed a Valyrian steel longsword named Vigilance as a family heirloom.
All of this was enough to show the depth of House Hightower's foundations.
And in reality, the relationship between House Hightower and their liege lords, House Tyrell, was also one of obeying summons but not proclamations—each going their own way, with mutual noninterference.
But then again—
One had to know that the current Lord of Highgarden, Mace Tyrell, had a wife born of House Hightower—Alerie Hightower—and she had borne House Tyrell four children: Willas, Garlan, Loras, and Margaery.
So by any reckoning, the interests of these two houses should largely align. They should not be so distant at a time like this.
And since House Tyrell had already chosen to side with him, why was House Hightower still showing no movement at all?
Layer upon layer of doubts immediately rose in Kal's mind.
But in truth, it was not that he harbored suspicions toward House Hightower as such.
Rather, it was the Citadel as an organization that made him uneasy.
Yet in response to his questions, all Lady Arwyn Oakheart could offer him was a shake of her head.
No one knew what House Hightower was thinking; they had been low-key for a very, very long time.
"All right, I'll keep this matter in mind."
"As for your suggestion about writing a letter or going in person to seek their support—let's set that aside for now. I need to think it over some more."
With insufficient information, Kal could not make a firm judgment.
He could only decide to put the matter on hold for the time being.
He then let out a long breath, gathered his thoughts, and guided the conversation back to the previous topic.
"In that case, let's return to what we were discussing just now."
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