"All right, now isn't the time to talk about that."
Seeing that Cersei was about to explode, Jaime stepped forward to smooth things over.
"Father has already sent a letter. He wants us to settle Robert as soon as possible and take complete control of the situation in King's Landing."
"Ah. So this was the will of the Lord of the Westerlands.
"And here I thought you were willing to murder the king just to save me, your dear little brother."
Tyrion could not help but mock them.
"You think you're worthy of that?" Cersei made no attempt to hide the ridicule on her face.
Jaime's expression remained calm, though there was a sinister edge to it.
"From the day Robert appointed Lord Eddard as Hand of the King, all of this became inevitable. Lion and wolf were bound to fight. Tyrion, what happened to you merely accelerated the process."
The Imp, Tyrion, spread his hands helplessly.
"Fine. Then what do we do now?
"You've killed the king, but Eddard Stark and Renly Baratheon are still alive.
"And so are their supporters!"
Jaime nodded and began to explain the current situation.
"The Lannister forces in King's Landing, together with those who arrived from the Westerlands these past few days, number a full thousand. Add in some bannermen and nobles loyal to us, and the total comes close to eighteen hundred.
"As for our opponents, Renly has a guard of three hundred, Lord Eddard has fifty men, and his good son-in-law Domeric Bolton has three hundred guards.
"Eighteen hundred against six hundred and fifty.
"In terms of manpower, we unquestionably hold the advantage…"
"And Robert is about to die. Those nobles still watching from the sidelines will stand with us at the first opportunity. After all, little Joff is the future king. Once little Joff ascends the throne, it will be my turn to rule this country!
"I will prove to all of you that if I had not been born the wrong sex, I would have been the wisest, most brilliant king!
"Father will be proud of me! I am his most outstanding son!"
Cersei added this almost madly.
Tyrion said nothing.
This sister of his always thought she was Lord Tywin with breasts. In truth, compared with Tywin Lannister, who never let joy or anger show on his face, she was far, far inferior.
If nothing else, their father Tywin had always been as cold and merciless as a glacier, while Cersei, once her temper rose, burned like wildfire.
Now that she saw King Robert was about to die and the situation seemed overwhelmingly favorable, she was so happy she was practically bouncing like a little girl.
If something went wrong next, she would probably go mad again.
Cersei did not lack intelligence. What she lacked was judgment and patience.
"What about the City Watch?"
Tyrion could not help reminding them. Right now, he was a grasshopper tied to the same rope as Cersei and the others, so he had no choice but to think of his own way out.
"That mob of drunks and gutter thieves?"
Jaime smiled and shook his head.
"They have no real fighting strength. Like stray dogs, they'll break at the first touch."
"But they are numerous!
"I hear their commander, Janos Slynt, is an extremely greedy man. He may already have been bought by Lord Eddard's people."
Jaime thought it over and felt that the Imp made sense.
"In that case, I'll have Ser Jacelyn Bywater take over the City Watch's defenses.
"He is captain of the Mud Gate and commands half the City Watch. I'll also send Gregor Clegane, the Mountain, to assist him. I doubt anyone will dare resist them.
"As long as the City Watch doesn't cause trouble for us, that will be enough…"
The sound of hooves could be heard everywhere on the streets. Scarlet cloaks hung from their shoulders, and lion-shaped steel helms sat upon their heads.
They were Lannister cavalry!
A formation of more than thirty iron riders already seemed earthshaking. No one dared block their way.
Faced with a fully armed, aggressive, organized cavalry force, even the gold cloaks of the City Watch did not dare stop them.
Seeing the riders getting closer and closer in this direction, Arya realized something was wrong and quickly ran off.
By the time she returned to the Tower of the Hand, she heard her elder sister Sansa Stark scolding her.
"Arya, why did you run out again?"
Sansa had already taken off her noble dress and jewelry. She was wearing ill-fitting roughspun clothes, but they still could not hide her graceful figure.
Arya walked over with a grin, took her sister's hand, and pulled her to an empty corner. Then she whispered,
"From the look of things, the situation seems bad! There are Lannisters everywhere."
Sansa bit her red lip and said, "Then we have to be even more careful. You're not allowed to run around anymore!
"Ser Domeric told us to beware of the Lannisters."
Arya kicked at a pebble on the ground unwillingly.
"Then how long do we have to stay here? Ser Domeric is so annoying. Didn't he say we only had to wait for a while? It's already been two hours!"
"Be patient a little longer. Ser Domeric will come for us soon."
Sansa said it with absolute certainty.
The two sisters had just reached the rear courtyard when Septa Mordane came running over in a panic.
"My ladies, quickly, quickly, come with me."
As she spoke, she grabbed one girl with each hand and dragged them toward the building.
"What is it, Septa Mordane?" Sansa asked.
"Someone is outside, coming to seize you. You must run, quickly!"
No sooner had she spoken than dozens of Lannister riders filed in, blocking their path.
The leader among them was actually a white-cloaked Kingsguard.
"We have come by the queen's command to escort the two young ladies into the palace."
"We don't know the Lannisters. Get out of the way!" Arya shouted.
The Kingsguard leading them snorted coldly.
"You refuse the toast only to drink the punishment wine. Seize them."
At those words, Sansa's eyes widened at once. Her hands clutched her sister's sleeve tightly, like a frightened fawn.
At this critical moment—
A sudden burst of hoofbeats rang out.
Everyone turned and saw a black stallion galloping toward them from the distance.
The knight on horseback wore dark black armor and a helm. His left hand held the reins, while his right carried a massive black longsword as he charged straight toward them.
In the blink of an eye, he was already upon them.
The black-armored knight leapt from his horse, rising several men's height into the air. He gripped the sword with both hands, and the blade suddenly released an overwhelming force as it came chopping straight down at the white-cloaked Kingsguard.
With a thunderous boom—
The longsword fell.
A sheet of sword-light burst out.
With a single strike, he severed the Kingsguard's sword hand at the wrist, and the momentum did not fade. The blade split him from shoulder to breastbone, armor and all.
The Kingsguard died on the spot.
A single airborne strike had slain a highly skilled Kingsguard. His astonishing strength had been laid bare.
Behind the black-armored knight came more than a hundred soldiers, who surrounded the Lannister riders from every side.
Spears whipped through the air. Blades flashed bright in blood.
For a time, battle cries, roars, and screams wove together.
Those Lannister riders were slaughtered one by one.
When the black-armored knight removed his helm, his sharply defined face was calm and still. There was no smile, yet neither was he cold. In those deep, sea-like eyes, there was more composure than anything else.
Clad in black armor, holding a bloodstained greatsword almost half as tall as a man in his right hand, with a scene of corpses and blood behind him, he truly seemed like a god of war descended to earth, making all who saw him afraid to look directly at him.
Sansa stared, almost dazed.
Only after a long while did she come back to herself.
"Ser Domeric!"
Domeric wasted no words. He pulled the two Stark girls up and placed them on the horse, one in front and one behind.
"Sit tight!"
Domeric clamped his legs against the horse's belly. The stallion gave a low neigh and broke into a gallop.
Behind him, more than a hundred soldiers followed closely.
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🏰🩸 GAME OF THRONES: SECRETS BENEATH THE DREADFORT
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🚨 SOMETHING IS BURIED BENEATH THE DREADFORT...
And perhaps it was buried for a reason.
The North is a land of old blood, older grudges, and secrets hidden beneath snow and stone.
But few places inspire more fear than...
The Dreadfort.
30+ chapters ahead are already available.
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🩸 THE DREADFORT HIDES MORE THAN BONES
🏰 Dark northern secrets
⚔️ Political intrigue
🐺 Westerosi power struggles
🩸 Bloodlines & betrayal
❄️ The brutal North
👑 Ambition & survival
💀 Mysteries best left forgotten
The North remembers.
But the Dreadfort?
🩸 The Dreadfort hides.
🔥 30+ CHAPTERS AHEAD.
👉 Go beneath the Dreadfort before the public readers reach the door.
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⚠️ The more Power Stones this novel receives, the greater its release priority!
❄️ Winter may be coming. The secrets are already here.