iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 443 Defender 3
On the fourth day of the Lannister army's attack on Riverrun, the scorching sun was like a blazing fireball, and the sunlight was so strong that people could not open their eyes.

Under the city of Riverrun, corpses piled up like mountains, some incomplete, some with hideous faces. Crows circled in the sky, making mournful cries, and the air was filled with the smell of death.

The Lannister soldiers were silently carrying corpses, sweat rolling down their foreheads and dripping onto the blood-stained ground, with only numbness and fatigue on their faces.

At Riverrun, the Tully army, in accordance with the tradition of honor, did not attack the Lannister soldiers who were carrying the bodies, but just watched it all quietly.

The Tully soldiers' eyes revealed a complex emotion, anger and pain. When Lannister was done with his work, it would be their turn to move the things.

Lannister camp.

Davon Lannister's face, blackened by the battle and covered with dried blood, gulped down a large glass of ale in one gulp.

He wiped the wine off his beard casually and said, "Marquis Aimon is willing to support 2,000 soldiers."

Jaime Lannister's handsome face was covered with rough stubble. He sat down tiredly and said, "Is this good news?"

"You figured it out too? But he has conditions." Sir Davon laughed, his laughter full of sarcasm.

After the servants filled the glasses with wine, Sir Davon waved his hand and asked everyone else in the tent to leave.

He picked up the wine glass and took a big sip of wine. He exhaled comfortably and then said, "Marquis Emmon has taken a fancy to Riverrun. He wants to leave the Twins to one of his sons and move here to become the Duke of Riverrun."

Ser Jaime sat motionless, as if he had not heard the "surprise" Ser Davon had spoken of.

Ser Davon continued to speak to himself, "Because of this matter, I went to see Lady Gina. She surprised me. I really didn't expect that she also supported the Marquis's proposal. She told me that her husband was a coward. Once he lost the support of the Lannisters, the surviving Frey family would soon drive him down, and he might not even be able to save his life."

Jaime's green eyes moved slightly. Ser Davon took a sip of wine and continued, "She felt that Brynden was the last Tully. After his death, Riverrun became much simpler than the Twins."

Ser Jaime's voice rang out, "There is also Catelyn Tully in the Trout family."

Ser Davon shrugged. "I mentioned Lady Stark, but my aunt didn't care about her at all. She said Winterfell was too far away to be in charge of the affairs of the South."

Ser Jaime stretched out his legs, leaned back in his chair, looked up at the Lion's Roaring Banner hanging on the top of the tent, and said, "You agree?"

"What can I promise? I have no say, but I do need Frey's troops..."

Ser Davon paused, grinned, and said, "I said I would convey their request to Cersei in the name of the Warden of the West."

James' voice was emotionless: "Is Lord Emmon satisfied with your response?"

Sir Davon spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "I don't know the details, but Madam Gina just sent someone to say that Marquis Emmon will personally lead his troops here tomorrow."

After a moment of silence, Ser Davon leaned toward Jaime and said, "Lady Genna asked me to tell you that if no one can protect the Lannisters on behalf of Lord Tywin, then... other Lannisters will be like her, and will have no choice but to save themselves, and the family will sooner or later become a pile of scattered sand."

Jaime turned his head to look over. Before he could speak, Ser Davan said, "She also said... Cersei is not Tywin's 'son', and told you not to use your sister as an excuse."

Ser Jaime closed his eyes for a moment, and said very tiredly: "Davon, I am a member of the Kingsguard, I swore an oath..."

Ser Davon pouted and interrupted, "Cousin, you swore to protect the Targaryen king, but you stabbed him to death anyway."

James: “…”

Ser Davon laughed. "Jaime, we all envy you. You made the song of 'The Rains of Castamere' resound throughout the Seven Kingdoms. This is my dream."

Looking at the speechless Jaime, he paused, then faded his smile and said seriously: "To be honest, I also hope that you can consider Aunt Gina's advice. You are the legal heir of Lord Tywin. As for Cersei..."

Dafon hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Although I am grateful that she unexpectedly promoted me to the position of Guardian of the West, I have no expectations of her. She is not a smart woman, and I knew that a long time ago."

Ser Jaime sighed wearily: "I have broken my vows too many times..."

Hearing this, Davon Lannister grinned and said, "I would like to be like you, but I don't have the courage. I really have to admire your courage. I am telling the truth."

James: “…”

Sir Davon added, "Moreover, you are destined to have your life recorded in the True History. I really envy this kind of thing. Alas, I hope that the Citadel will think that an unqualified Westerland Guardian like me is worthy of having a few words recorded in that book."

family………

honor………

Jaime was upset inside, but said firmly on the surface: "I am a member of the Kingsguard."

After saying that, he stood up and left the tent.

Sir Davon sat quietly for a while, then stood up and left. He wanted to prepare for the next siege, which was the most important thing now.

After breaking through Trout's castle, Lannister had to make a choice. Aunt Gena had begun to save herself, and he...if Jaime still insisted, he had to make plans for the future.

…………

South bank of the Red Fork River

Green Crabbe stood on the shore and looked into the distance. In the distance, he could faintly hear the shouts of Lannister and Tully.

After a pause, Green's eyes suddenly moved slightly, his gaze slowly moved downwards, and he caught a glimpse of a graceful figure under the water.

She is the daughter of the sea monster. Through the clear river water, her graceful outline can be vaguely seen, and her body is swaying gently in the water.

Splash! Asha jumped out of the water like a fish and swam towards where Green was.

"I'm really curious about what you are thinking about?"

Swimming to the bottom of Green, Asha stood in the water, with water droplets quickly sliding down her tight wheat-colored skin.

She shook her hair slightly, and water droplets splashed out from her short brown-black hair. She raised her head and looked at Green with a pair of bright and sharp eyes.

"Nice figure, Miss Sea Monster." After saying that, Green calmly withdrew his gaze and continued to look into the distance.

Asha's loud laughter suddenly "burst" out from below. She waved her arms gently, swam a few times, and walked out of the river.

Drops of water slid down Asha's straight calves. When she swayed to Green's side and was about to speak, Brienne of Tarth put a blue robe on her.

"You're so thoughtful."

Asha winked at Brienne, who gave her a blank look and returned to her guard.

"You seem to only know how to compliment me on my 'good figure', my Lord Green. Actually, this hurts my heart." Green raised his eyebrows and said nothing. He just took off the wine bag from his waist and handed it over.

"Cleber is so thoughtful. After staying here for a few days, I feel that Greyjoy is indeed a pirate. Although everyone says so, this is the first time I have such a feeling."

Pulling out the cork, Asha raised her head and took a big gulp of wine. She wiped the corners of her mouth and continued, "For me, there are only two kinds of men in the Iron Islands. One is the man who loves me like my father, and the other is the man who wants to sleep with me."

Green smiled and said, "This shows how charming you are, Miss Asha."

After taking another sip of wine, Asha said angrily, "That damn charm is all fake. Once you leave the Iron Islands, all the men in the Green Land are..."

She gritted her teeth and said, "... For example, the knights under your command, they just peeked at me at most, but no one came to express their love to me, which made it impossible for me to even find a chance to play a few stupid men and deceive your mercy."

Green chuckled, "I like your honesty. In fact, this is not a matter of your charm, but the pleasure of the bed is forbidden in the Crab Barracks."

Asha couldn't help but open her eyes wide, and said in disbelief: "Men's things are hard to control. How do you make them so well behaved?"

"The Law and the Glory."

Seeing that Green wasn't joking with her, she still asked in disbelief, "Is that enough?"

Green shook his head slightly: "Strict laws need to be guaranteed by generous rewards. The rest... can be improved slowly."

After a moment of silence, Asha stared at Green and said, "I understand what you mean, but a generous reward cannot support too many subordinates."

"Yes."

After a pause, Green raised the corner of his mouth, revealed a hint of a smile, and jokingly said: "If the gold dragons are not enough, there is still - force is better than hard work."

She was stunned for a moment, then Asha held her stomach and giggled.

After a long while, she finally stopped laughing and said, panting, "Since your tongue is so flexible, why do you only praise my figure? My face..."

As she spoke, she pinched her chin and said, "I want to find a chance to take a good look at the beauties in the Green Land."

"There will be a chance."

After saying that, Green pointed to a chair not far away and started walking.

As he walked, he said, "I know you are not tempting me all of a sudden. Please speak, I will listen to your voice."

"I sincerely suggest that you go to the Citadel, the extremely wise Duke Green."

Green sat down, glanced at Asha who was standing there with her arms folded, and said with a smile: "Thank you for your advice, I will consider it, please sit down."

Asha's voice was filled with anger. She waved her hand and said, "I'll finish quickly. My uncle asked me to go back to Shita City as soon as possible. He must have something important to discuss."

Green was not surprised that Asha received news from her uncle. Ange had already reported to him that the sea monster's daughter had seen a "fisherman" at the ferry this morning.

"Give my regards to Chief Rodrik Harharlo."

Asha's bright black eyes turned slightly. She walked slowly, came close to Green, bent down, looked directly at him, and said, "My uncle will definitely be happy for me. I am touched by your concern."

Green lowered his eyes, looked at her, and said, "We have joined forces. In the meantime, you are under my protection, Lady Asha Greyjoy."

He then asked, “When are you leaving?”

Asha's face was a little stiff: "I'll leave right away."

Green nodded his chin lightly: "After a while, you will hear from your brother."

Asha pulled the corner of her mouth reluctantly: "I will return to you as soon as possible, Your Excellency the Duke."

…………

In the afternoon, the Lannister army, under the command of Ser Davon, rushed towards Riverrun again. However, the exhausted Trout soldiers still stubbornly repelled their waves of attacks, and the city was filled with corpses.

Just when the morale of the Lannister army was low, Crabbe's catapult shot large "fruits" at Riverrun. The green flames filled the sky over the southern part of Riverrun with thick black smoke, as if a dark cloud was descending.

Although the distance was far, it caused chaos among the Tully soldiers guarding the west wall, while the morale of the Lannister army attacking the city suddenly soared.

…………

Fierce fighting broke out between the two sides, and with every breath, a living life was lost forever.

On the tower, Duke Brynden's weathered face was tense as he stared at the brutal battle below, with his captain of the guard and old maester Wayman beside him.

"Many Lannister soldiers have already climbed up."

After a pause, the captain of the guard said anxiously, "Your Excellency the Duke, I have arranged for people at the sluice gate to be ready to take your orders at any time."

The young people who had laughed with him in the morning were now throwing themselves into the Stranger's arms one by one... Brynden Tully's fists were clenched tightly, the veins on them were throbbing, as if they would burst at any time.

He narrowed his deep blue eyes and said, "A lion cannot stay on the walls of Trout for long, my captain of the guard."

After a pause, he looked in the direction of the Tengshi River and said in a steady and hoarse voice: "The sluice is a gift I left for Lannister and Frey to share. They will be here soon."

Maester Wayman said, "Once the river water fills the trench, the brave warriors of Riverrun's 'island' can rest for a while."

Lord Brynden nodded: "Soon."

Maester Weiman held onto the battlement, looked down for a while, sighed, and said, "But I'm worried that Duke Kleber won't let us rest. His wildfire is getting more and more accurate. Lord Blackfish, he will burn the green flame into the castle sooner or later. We need to prepare a response as soon as possible."

The captain of Trout's guards looked to the south where the smoke was billowing and said, "I feel that the famous general is forcing the Lannisters to attack Riverrun. Is he hiding some other conspiracy?"

Brynden's eyes were deep: "It's clear that he wants to see the lion and the trout bleed together."

The captain of the guard shrugged. "It is also obvious, my lord, that the Lannisters are not as powerful as everyone says."

"About this..."

Lord Brynden paused for a moment, hiding the sadness in his eyes. "When King Robb swept across the Westerlands, he announced to the Seven Kingdoms the weakness of the Lannisters."

(End of this chapter)