"It's them!"
Hearing the sounds echoing through the forest from every direction, Kevan Lannister could no longer contain his excitement.
Since breaking through the encirclement, the Lannister army had been fleeing for its lives.
Although Robb Stark's forces had pursued them relentlessly, many soldiers had collapsed from exhaustion during the desperate retreat.
Kevan no longer knew how many men they had lost.
Nor did he know how many were still alive.
Their desperate escape had completely shattered the army's command structure.
What remained was little more than a routed mob.
But now...
A glimmer of hope had finally appeared.
---
The strange whistling sound overhead wasn't heard by the Lannisters alone.
Robb Stark and his commanders, who had been driving the fleeing Lannister soldiers like shepherds herding sheep to prevent them from scattering, also heard it.
"What's going on?"
Robb pulled hard on his reins, bringing his horse to an abrupt halt.
His eyes first swept across the sky before quickly searching the surrounding forest.
Through the dense trees, he caught sight of soldiers emerging from every direction.
They wore unfamiliar armor and shouted battle cries as they closed in.
It wasn't simply an enemy force.
They had ridden straight into an ambush.
Seeing the approaching army, Robb's expression changed instantly.
"An ambush?!"
He wasn't a fool.
He immediately understood the situation.
But how could such a large force have hidden within these forests without anyone noticing?
This was the North.
The remote northwestern wilderness.
Someone had secretly stationed an entire army here.
Alarm bells rang in Robb's mind.
At first, he couldn't identify which faction they belonged to.
Then...
As the soldiers emerged from the hillsides and woods, their banners became visible.
"Ironborn?!"
"The Iron Islands..."
"House Greyjoy!"
The golden kraken on a black banner fluttered proudly above the advancing army.
There could be no mistake.
These were the Ironborn.
---
"Retreat!"
"Forget the Lannisters!"
"Fall back!"
The moment he recognized the Greyjoy banners, Robb knew they were enemies.
At such a critical moment, the Ironborn had appeared in an ambush.
Now everything finally made sense.
Tywin Lannister hadn't abandoned the battle out of desperation.
He had broken through because reinforcements were waiting.
This had been his destination all along.
Without another thought, Robb abandoned any attempt to capture Tywin.
His priority became saving his own army.
But just as he shouted the order—
A cold steel blade suddenly thrust toward him from the side.
Thud!
Blood sprayed into the air.
His horse let out a terrified scream before collapsing to the ground.
Roose Bolton calmly withdrew his sword.
His expression never changed.
Without a word, he casually wiped the blood from his blade with the edge of his cloak before returning it to its scabbard.
It was as though he had expected this moment for a very long time.
At the same time...
More than two hundred Stark cavalrymen who had followed Robb were suddenly attacked from every direction by Bolton soldiers.
Confused and completely unprepared, they fell one after another into pools of blood.
Even the Ironborn paused in astonishment.
They had expected a battle.
Not to witness the Northerners slaughtering one another.
---
After calmly adjusting his clothing, the Lord of the Dreadfort rode forward.
Looking around, he announced in a composed voice,
"I am Roose Bolton..."
"Lord of the Dreadfort."
"I have heard that Lord Balon Greyjoy is present."
"I wish to speak with him."
Roose had not attempted to kill Robb.
Instead, he had struck down Robb's horse with a single precise blow.
Thrown violently to the ground without warning, Robb lost consciousness instantly.
Now...
Bound tightly with ropes...
He hung helplessly from the branch of a great oak tree.
---
Soon afterward, Roose Bolton met Balon Greyjoy, Lord Reaper of Pyke and ruler of the Iron Islands.
For several long moments...
Neither man spoke.
Silence settled over the clearing.
Nearby stood Asha Greyjoy, who ignored Roose completely.
Instead, she walked over to the unconscious Robb Stark and studied him curiously.
"So..."
"This is the man who chased Tywin Lannister like a frightened dog?"
She looked him up and down.
He wasn't especially tall.
Nor particularly muscular.
Lying unconscious, he looked almost delicate.
He seemed astonishingly young.
Yet this young man had nearly destroyed the legendary Tywin Lannister.
Before his recent defeats, Tywin had been one of the greatest nobles in the Seven Kingdoms.
Former Hand of the King.
A political genius.
A man whose accomplishments could fill an entire history book.
And yet...
Such a legendary figure had nearly been captured by this boy.
---
Hearing Asha speak, Roose stepped forward.
"Robb Stark is exceptionally intelligent."
"His military talent is extraordinary."
"In many ways..."
"He is a genuine genius."
"If not for your arrival..."
"There is little doubt that Tywin Lannister would have been defeated."
Roose grabbed Robb by the hair and lifted his unconscious head.
Blood mixed with mud covered half of Robb's face.
One side had swollen badly.
A deep wound above his eyebrow had split it open, exposing pale bone beneath.
The earlier fall had been severe enough to leave him completely unconscious.
Before Asha could respond...
Balon Greyjoy finally stopped eating.
He chewed the venison in his mouth for a few more moments before spitting it into the fire.
Then, with a sudden motion, he hurled the wooden plate into the flames.
His eyes turned cold.
"Then you should have killed him."
He glared at Roose.
Roose remained completely unfazed.
He calmly released Robb's hair and wiped his hands with a silk cloth.
"That..."
"Is not my place."
His voice remained perfectly emotionless.
---
Before Balon could reply...
Tywin Lannister and Kevan Lannister arrived, escorted by two Ironborn guards.
Tywin had cleaned himself up somewhat.
Although he no longer looked as disheveled as before, the former Golden Lion still possessed an unmistakable aura of authority.
He had already overheard the conversation.
"He shouldn't die."
"At least..."
"Not without serving a purpose."
"If you intend to use him as leverage."
Balon sneered, revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth.
"A corpse has value too."
"Especially one like this."
He slowly rose.
Drawing the dagger he had been using to carve meat, he walked toward Robb.
"Robert Baratheon."
"Eddard Stark."
"And you."
"You all took my sons from me."
"My true Ironborn sons."
"So now..."
"The son of Eddard Stark will pay the price."
"I'll let that dead wolf know exactly what it feels like to lose a child."
Still staring at Tywin, Balon pressed the dagger against Robb's throat.
Tywin's expression remained unchanged.
He said nothing.
Balon frowned in annoyance.
Then suddenly...
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"I should kill you too."
"But I've decided not to."
"Do you know why?"
The question puzzled everyone present.
Roose simply watched silently.
He didn't care who lived or died.
Tywin.
Robb.
Even Balon himself.
The fewer rivals remaining...
The better.
Quietly, Roose observed the gathering while considering his own plans.
Most of the Ironborn leadership had gathered here.
What happened next...
Would determine the fate of the North.
---
Tywin's eyes narrowed.
He had already guessed Balon's meaning.
Balon didn't wait for an answer.
He burst into laughter.
"Because your son is dead too!"
"That cursed Baratheon bastard killed him!"
"Hahaha!"
"What did you do?"
"Nothing!"
"So how are you any different from me?"
"No..."
"You're even worse."
"Tywin..."
"You're a greater coward than I ever was."
The chilling laughter echoed through the camp.
Kevan Lannister's face changed immediately.
No one understood Tywin better than he did.
Jaime's death had changed everything.
Everything that followed—
The rebellion.
The war.
The desperate gamble against House Baratheon—
Had all begun because Tywin sought revenge for Jaime.
Had anyone else died...
Even Tyrion...
Kevan believed events might have unfolded very differently.
Fortunately...
Tywin maintained his composure.
Although his fists clenched tightly...
He slowly relaxed.
Turning toward Balon, he answered calmly,
"A corpse can only buy another corpse."
"If you're satisfied with that."
Balon merely sneered.
He had already lost interest in provoking Tywin.
Instead, he turned toward Roose.
"And what about you?"
"What do you want?"
"Winterfell?"
Balon had already begun dividing the spoils of victory.
Capturing Robb Stark had fulfilled his objective.
The North's future no longer interested him.
Nor did Tywin possess enough influence to persuade him otherwise.
Everything now depended upon Roose Bolton's ambitions.
Roose remained silent for a long moment.
Then...
A faint smile appeared.
"I am your prisoner as well."
"What right do I have to demand anything?"
His answer caused both Tywin and Balon to frown.
"What do you mean?"
Balon asked directly.
Roose simply shook his head.
"House Bolton is no match for dragons."
"The armies of the Vale have already entered the North."
"So..."
"My role in this war ends here."
His words were deliberately vague.
He offered no further explanation.
"What I seek..."
"Is simply your goodwill."
"Though..."
"I'm not certain how much longer Lord Tywin will remain alive."
A quiet chuckle escaped his lips.
Then he turned and walked away.
No one noticed the fleeting killing intent hidden deep within his eyes.
His cryptic words left everyone standing in uneasy silence...
Each forced to confront the harsh reality that lay ahead.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)