iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 429: Under the Rushing City 6
Ta-da-da, Green unfolded the map in his hand while sitting on the saddle. According to the time, Dick Crabbe and Sir Mason's "grain purchasing" team was not far from Acorn Hall (located in the southwest of the riverlands), and perhaps... they had already started negotiations.

Green's eyes slowly swept across the vast plain between the Divine Eye Lake and the Three Rivers Basin on the map, thinking about which places should first enfeoff more wealthy knights.

"Lord Green, they are here to greet you."

In the distance was a dilapidated village that was being renovated with new villagers from the gathered refugees. Seeing the new villagers gathering for the lord they were loyal to, there was a rare hint of excitement in Sir Brienne's voice.

Green looked from a distance, put away the map, and lightly kicked the horse's belly, saying, "Speed ​​up."

There were dense sounds of horse hooves, the swamp marigold flags fluttered in the dazzling sunlight, and hundreds of villagers knelt before their new protector.

In accordance with tradition, Green found a slightly wider and flatter area to listen to the villagers' petition.

To the displaced refugees, soldiers and bandits were violent villains, and the swamp marigold flag was unfamiliar.

In order to appease the uneasy people as quickly as possible, Lord Green had to do it himself.

Green patiently resolved or arranged the trivial contents of the petition one by one, and at the end he announced that he would give the village a strong ox to use for plowing.

Two "performances" followed.

One is that the executioner executes the bandit captives in front of the people to show the existence of the kingdom's laws and Kleber's justice.

The other was that Lord Green demonstrated his archery skills in front of them to show them that their new protector had great power to protect them.

Finally, Green randomly selected a few farmhouses, inspected the newly built crude fireplaces, and left with his guards, heading for the next village.

Towards evening, Lord Green arrived at a camp on the banks of the Red Fork River, which was gathering children from the riverlands who had lost their loved ones.

After lighting a bonfire, Green this time arranged a small-scale lance competition for the knights who followed him, and the children were spectators.

The lance competition was over. Under the children's sparkling admiring gazes, Green awarded land to the knights who won the top three places on the spot.

Starting tomorrow, the children will board the ship in batches and be sent to Crab Claw Peninsula to become members of the Crab Farm. According to Crab Law, the veterans of the farm will be responsible for taking care of them and cultivating their hunting skills, while the monks and nuns will teach them to read.

…………

At night, as soon as Green entered the tent, he saw his retainer knight, Per Pili, waiting for him.

"Lord Green."

Green patted Sir Pell on the shoulder and said, "I heard you caught a special gang of robbers? Sit down and talk."

Ser Pell shrugged and said, "There is a Dornish nobleman among the prisoners who claims to be your old acquaintance. He says he is Beric Dondarrion of Blackhaven."

Lord Beric? After Green sat down, he nodded slightly and said, "I met him at the tourney. When Lord Ned was the Prime Minister, he sent him to the Reach to investigate the looting incident of the Mountain's old men (Chapter 152)."

"My lord, I interrogated them on the way here. After King Joffrey labeled Duke Stark a traitor to the kingdom, Earl Dondarrion and a red-robed priest named Thoros formed the Brotherhood Without Banners. Under the name of Duke Eddard, they have been attacking Lannister's grain transport troops on the border between the Westerlands and the Riverlands."

Sir Pell hesitated for a moment, then added: "I also heard some nonsense from the Brotherhood Without Banners. They claimed that their leader could be resurrected from the dead. Lord Dondarrion also admitted this to me..."

Sir Pell couldn't help but touch the hilt of his sword. In fact, he was quite curious at the time.

He continued, "I felt that this matter was strange, so I personally brought them here."

Green couldn't help rubbing his head. He didn't like magic very much because...

"Well done, being cautious about the unknown is the thoughtful way to deal with it."

He reached for a wineskin, threw it to Sir Pell, and said, "I'll see them."

…………

Beric Dondarrion, with his reddish-gold hair, was still as tall and handsome as he had been in the tourney, but his armor was worn and tattered, making him look weathered.

Thoros, the red-robed priest from Myr, is bald, slightly fat, and wears faded robes and fragmentary armor.

Sitting on a folding chair, Green looked at the two people brought by Sir Per, and smiled at Dondarrion: "Long time no see, Earl Beric."

Earl Beric, who was in his early twenties, stroked his chest and said, "Greetings, Duke Green. Um... Please forgive me for being so presumptuous. Your knight misunderstood us. We are not bandits. I heard that you were destroying a bandit group in the riverlands. The Brotherhood Without Banners came to assist you."

Green smiled lightly and said, "This is the order I issued. The Crabbe Army will arrest all illegal sword bearers in the Riverlands. In addition, your actions in the name of Duke Eddard Stark are also against the laws of the kingdom."

Lord Beric could not help but retort: ​​"My Lord, Lord Eddard is a good friend of King Robert. He is an upright knight. The Lannisters must be deliberately slandering his honor."

Green nodded slightly: "Yes, no one will doubt the character of Duke Ned."

After that, he instructed Brienne, "Ser Brienne, do not let anyone interrupt our conversation."

The escorting blue robes retreated, leaving only Grimm, Per, Beric, Thoros, and Brienne guarding the door.

Green then invited Berry and Soros to sit around the brazier.

Sir Pell pulled out the cork and took a sip of wine, breaking the brief silence: "Lord Dondarrion, I arrested you not only because the Brotherhood Without Banners has an unknown origin. I am a hunter, and I can sense that you have hostility towards Crab, although not much."

Lord Beric glanced at Green and said, "That's because I can't judge. Lord Eddard treats you as his own family, and you have always served Lannister..."

Green interrupted Beric and corrected him, "No, it's not Lannister. I serve the former queen and the current queen mother. This is the tradition of Crab Claw Peninsula."

"Yes, we have investigated. You have settled the displaced people in the riverlands. You are not the same as the Lannisters who only plunder the weak. That is why we chose to help you eliminate the rebellious bandits."

Beric finished speaking, and Thoros nodded. He continued, "We originally planned to serve King Robb, but he broke his engagement, and then...he trampled on the rights of guests. The Brotherhood Without Banners can only be thankful that we gave up our original decision."

He nodded slightly to Green and continued, "Dear Duke, please believe in the sincerity of the Brotherhood Without Banners. We take protecting the weak as our honor."

"We'll talk about this later."

Green waved his hand and continued, "I want to hear about resurrection."

As soon as he finished speaking, Beric and Thoros looked at each other. After a pause, Thoros spoke first, "I'll be honest with you. Lord Beric was killed in the battle with the Lannisters. I held a funeral ceremony for him according to the beliefs of the Lord of Light, and then... Beric was unexpectedly resurrected. I think this was the guidance of the Lord of Light."

Berry continued, "Later, I died in battle twice, but was resurrected by Soros each time. However, after each resurrection... I would lose some of my previous memories."

Green listened quietly, frowned for a while, and said, "Sir Thoros, there is a red priestess beside Stannis named Melisandre. Do you know... whether she has this ability?"

"I should have heard of her name..."

Mumbling for a moment, Thoros replied: "My resurrection ceremony is just a traditional ceremony that every red priest knows. Perhaps... this is my own guess... Whether the resurrection can be successful depends on the favor of the King of Light. Not only the red priest who performs the ceremony, but also the person who is resurrected... or both of them have this favor."

Green tapped the arm of his chair and said, "Good guess."

He tapped his fingers for a while, and then continued, "I believe that most people would regard the rumors about your resurrection as ignorant rumors, but...if this is confirmed to be true, I can foresee how crazy some people will be."

Hearing this, Berry and Soros couldn't help but look at each other again.

Soros was still a little surprised: "Except for a few members of the Brotherhood Without Banners who saw the resurrection of Chief Berry, almost everyone regarded this as a joke."

Sir Pell curled his lips and said, "I still can't believe it."

Green smiled and said, "To be honest, I don't really believe it. In fact... I believe in the honor of Beric Dondarrion."

He shrugged. "Some time ago, I met with the Night's Watch in King's Landing. They told me that wights were found on the Wall. My reaction at that time was similar to what I have now... I chose to believe it because I believe in the honor of the Night's Watch for thousands of years."

The steady Thoros suddenly opened his eyes wide: "Wight? That thing is a servant of the White Walkers!"

Green's brown eyes moved towards him, and he nodded, saying, "The Night's Watch told me that they had investigated a white figure in the snowstorm in Eastwatch, and they suspected that it was a White Walker."

Thoros murmured absentmindedly: "The appearance of the White Walkers heralds the decisive battle between the living and the dead..."

"According to the legends handed down by our ancestors, this is indeed a war between the living and the dead. As a descendant of our ancestors, I cannot ignore or laugh at the intelligence from the Night's Watch like other nobles. Just in case, I have already started to form the Burning Legion to deal with the White Walker crisis."

After a pause, Green turned his gaze to Dondarrion: "I will enforce justice in the Riverlands. Lord Ryan, are you willing to join the Burning Legion and fight for all living people?"

Before Bailey could speak, Thoros stood up first. He bowed deeply and said, "You are a great lord... Lord Green, I beg you to let me join your Burning Legion."

Bailey also stood up. He put his right hand on his chest and said, "Thank you for your trust. I am honored, sir."

Green left his chair, stared at the two men with determined eyes for a while, and said, "If the intelligence of the Night's Watch is wrong, I promise not to blame anyone. I will only be grateful for the blessings of the new and old gods, and honor you for your fearlessness and justice at this moment."

He exhaled, and then said, "But this matter is of great importance. I must ask you to swear allegiance to me. Only in this way... can I dare to entrust the future of the living to you and fight alongside you."

Lord Berry knelt on one knee before Green without any hesitation, and so did Thoros.

"I, Beric Dondarrion, swear..."

"By the witness of the Lord of Light, I, Thoros, swear..."

…………

The next morning, on the south bank of the Red Fork River below Riverrun, Crabbe's soldiers were operating ten catapults and starting a new day of training.

At about the same time, the Lannister army west of Riverrun and the Frey army on the north bank of the Transtone River launched a fierce siege together.

In the afternoon, the Lannister-Frey coalition, which had fought fiercely for almost the entire day, retreated after suffering heavy casualties, and the river under Riverrun was dyed bright red.

…………

…………

The Wall, Castle Black.

"I see them!" the night watchman on the tower shouted down.

Tyrion followed the Lord Commander to greet him outside the gate. When he heard the voice coming from above, he couldn't help but shudder.

Seeing this, Ser Bronn, who was standing next to Tyrion, grinned and said, "Master Tyrion, you seem to be afraid of the cold today. Do you need me to get you another fur cloak?"

Tyrion smiled back. "You are very considerate, sellsword."

Ser Bronn chuckled. "At your service, my lord."

Tyrion grinned. "Are you not afraid of being implicated because of me? Stannis is a ruthless man known to all the Seven Kingdoms?"

Ser Bronn pulled his cloak closer, his smile becoming more obscene. "I am employed by the Duke of Green."

Tyrion raised his head and sighed... Yes, he couldn't reveal that he was now a Green man.

The old man of the Seven is always so harsh on the poor dwarf.

At this time, the old bear glanced at Tyrion who was talking in a low voice nearby and said, "I see the flag."

Tyrion stood on tiptoe and looked into the distance. He vaguely saw the very familiar flag of Stannis - the flaming red heart.

Maester Aemon walked over to Tyrion and said, "Wearing black means you have said goodbye to everything in the past. King Stannis is a fair man. He will not make things difficult for you. You don't have to worry."

"Thank you for your comfort, Maester Aemon."

Tyrion shrugged and added, "The Wall is lonely. I will then offer myself to King Stannis as his temporary jester in the northern court, responsible for making him laugh every day."

Old Bear couldn't help but laugh. "Tyrion, you have brought joy to the Wall. I welcome you to join the Night's Watch again."

Tyrion chuckled. "Actually, I'm better at dancing... especially dancing with friends. Many people have sprained their backs because of me. Lord Commander, would you like me to invite King Stannis to dance with me during the dinner?"

(End of this chapter)