iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 444 Defender (End)
The next morning, Lord Emmon Frey personally led two thousand Frey soldiers into the Lannister camp in a mighty manner.

Lord Emmon was dressed in gorgeous clothes and riding on a tall horse. Not far away... the dust raised by the Frey soldiers filled the sunlight.

"I have kept my promise, so you..." Before he could finish his words, Marquis Emmon first laughed, and then gave a flattering smile to James and Davon who came to greet him. In James' eyes, his smile was like a blooming flower of hypocrisy.

Seeing that Davon had a stiff face and didn't speak, Sir James paused slightly, his tall figure cast a long shadow in the sun.

He forced a smile. "Thank you for your help, Frey. It's a pity you came here in person."

Marquis Aimon nodded repeatedly, with a brighter smile on his face: "It's better for me to come over. It's better for me to come over."

Then, he rubbed his hands and said nervously: "According to the agreement, your promise..."

Ser Jaime glanced helplessly at his cousin who had turned into a stone statue. Ser Davon spoke impatiently, his voice filled with suppressed anger: "Give me the command of the Frey army. I will write to the Queen Regent and the Small Council as agreed, proposing to 'give' Riverrun to you."

Lord Emmon stood there and hesitated, his eyes shifting between James and Davon.

After a pause, his gaze stopped at James, and he said flatteringly: "I hope your signature is also on that letter."

Before Jaime could respond, Ser Davon's voice rang out, his tone filled with anger: "Lord Frey, are you doubting my sincerity?"

Marquis Aimon shook his head quickly, his movements so exaggerated that they seemed funny.

“No, no, no, I think…I just think…”

His eyes rolled a few times, as if searching for the most appropriate words.

Under the gaze of Sir Davon, who seemed ready to explode with anger at any moment, he continued, "After all, Sir Jaime is the captain of the Kingsguard with a seat on the Royal Council, and he is also the Queen Mother's brother. With his signature, the Red Castle will certainly understand my intentions better."

Ser Davon gritted his teeth and said, "I'm afraid you don't trust the Lannisters?"

Hearing Davon's question, Lord Emmon immediately waved his hand to deny it: "How is that possible? My wife is also a Lannister, Ser Davon. I promise that I really want to help."

help………

Ser Jaime reached out and patted Davon. He said in a somewhat cold voice, "Lord Frey, I will not sign my name, but I will propose your request in the royal council."

Marquis Emmon's eyes rolled a few more times, then he smiled and said, "That's fine. That's even better. Thank you so much, Lord Jaime. There's one more thing..."

Sir Davon clenched his fists, and his thick knuckles made a "cracking" sound.

"Don't waste my time. Send the leaders of the Frey army to see me immediately."

Marquis Aimon rubbed his hands again and said, "This matter concerns the army I brought with me. I want to ask... about their bounty... As you all know, I just took over my father's castle... I don't have much money..."

Ser Davon's broad chest rose and fell noticeably, as if his inner anger was about to erupt: "Are the Lannisters also responsible for the food and drink of the Frey soldiers?"

Lord Emmon was stunned for a moment, then said in surprise: "That's even better. He is indeed a kind and generous Lannister."

Davon: “…”

James: “…”

Marquis Emmon seemed not to notice James and Davon's emotions, and continued: "Excuse me, I actually have something else..."

…………

in the afternoon.

Inside the West Territory Guardian's tent, light shone through the slightly old tent cloth, casting a dim yellow hue. The air was filled with the smell of leather and metal.

Seeing his cousin whose beard was wet with sweat, Sir James looked over and asked, "Is everything going well?"

With a thump, Ser Davon placed the Lion Helmet heavily on the table and licked his lips. His voice was a little tired. "It went well. I announced to the Frey soldiers that the bounty will be doubled, higher than our soldiers."

After saying this, Sir Davon took a large glass of ale from the servant, and the amber liquid swayed slightly in the glass.

He first signaled to others to leave, and then... gulp, gulp, he drank it all in one gulp.

Sir James frowned for a moment and said, "What are you planning?"

Putting down the glass, Sir Davon breathed a sigh of relief. The ale seemed to have cooled down the heat in his heart a little.

He walked over to the chair next to James and sat down, making a creaking sound.

"Since Lord Frey wishes to trade me his men for Riverrun, I shall grant his wish."

He grinned, his smile tinged with grimness. "The next time we attack the city, either the Freys will scale Trout's walls, or Trout will open the sluice gates."

Ser Jaime's green eyes fixed on him. He frowned. "Davon, the Freys are allies of the Lannisters."

"The White Walkers are Emmon Frey's allies. He is just a greedy and shameless old man!"

Ser Davon's voice was full of anger and disdain. After a pause, he patted Jaime on the shoulder and continued, "My cousin, if it were Lord Tywin and Lord Kevan today, do you think Lord Frey would dare to bargain like a merchant?"

He sneered and continued, "When he came back, he kept nagging in my ear, saying that Riverrun would soon become his castle, and that we should do our best to avoid causing damage when attacking the city."

James rarely showed a "shocked" expression, as if he had heard the most incredible thing in the world, which made Sir Davon burst into laughter.

"He also wants us to tell Lord Crabbe not to continue throwing wildfire at Riverrun. Jaime, if I didn't know the greed of the Weasel family, I would almost suspect that he has secretly defected to the Trout."

The tent seemed to be shrouded in silence, with only the occasional sound of breathing floating in the air.

Sir Jaime shook his head slightly and broke the silence: "It seems that Marquis Emmon does not object to your arrangement."

Ser Davon took a sip from his wine glass, shrugged, and said, "He only cares about his Riverrun. Two thousand soldiers in exchange for a big castle, he must think it's a good deal."

Bringing in reinforcements by Marquis Emmon was almost like sending him to his death. Although Ser Jaime wanted to stop him, he knew that this was a deal reached between the Warden of the West and the Marquis of the Twins, and he had no right to interfere.

After struggling for a while, Sir James rubbed his brow and said, "Maybe I can talk to Blackfish."

Hearing this, Sir Davon was stunned. He thought for a moment and said, "If you want to negotiate with him, you can try... But I think it's just a waste of time. Don't have any expectations. It's obvious that Brynden Tully wants to fight us to the death. Everyone can see that."

"At least Trout's men are not having a good time either. Blackfish is a good knight." Ser Jaime stood up from his chair.

Then he asked his cousin, "How much time do we have until the next siege?"

Ser Davon looked at his cousin who was still so... naive, spread his hands and said, "You have two days at most. If you delay for too long, no matter how much bounty you offer, it won't inspire the Freys to fight again. I don't want Trout to rest too long."

Ser Jaime paced back and forth for a few steps. "Have you decided how to fight Riverrun when there's only water below you?"

"That was dug by the trout themselves. It's not the Tengshi River or the Red Fork River. Besides... the stone bridge facing the city gate will not be submerged in water."

Ser Davon stood up as well. He reached out and grasped Jaime's arm. He said in a serious tone, "My cousin, I don't have the wisdom of Lord Tywin. All I can think of are stupid solutions. We don't have much time left. When the time comes... I can only order the Lannister soldiers to fill the ditch and build a wooden bridge despite the stones and arrows of the trout."

Ser Jaime patted his cousin and said, "You have done well enough. I will try to convince Brynden to open his gates."

Sir Davon laughed, but there was a hint of helplessness in his laughter: "It doesn't matter, just give it a try. In the name of protecting the West, I have ordered the remaining new troops in Golden Tooth City (a fortress in the West that guards the riverlands) to come to support. There are more than 3,000 soldiers, and they should be able to arrive here in a few days."…………

Ser Jaime didn't actually hold out much hope, but the person he sent replied that Brynden Tully had accepted the invitation to meet on the stone bridge in front of the city gate.

…………

The next morning, the sky was a clear light blue.

An ancient and solid stone bridge spans the moat on the west side of Riverrun, facing the majestic city gate.

There was still some dew from the night on the stone slabs of the bridge, sparkling in the sunlight. Clack-clack, Sir Jaime sat upright in the saddle, and the horse beneath him paced forward.

At the end of the stone bridge was Lord Brynden, wearing black iron armor, and the chestnut warhorse under his crotch was covered with a red and blue horse robe.

The two men stopped their horses in the middle of the stone bridge, and Ser Jaime felt the hatred for himself or the Lannister from Brynden's angular face.

The two of them used to talk about everything...

Sir Jaime suppressed his suddenly confused emotions and nodded to Blackfish.

Blackfish stared at him for a while, and then said in a hoarse and slightly old voice: "King Slayer."

Sir James forced a smile with mixed feelings: "Blackfish, thank you for accepting my invitation to meet."

Blackfish looked at him and said, "I agreed to meet you only because I thought you missed the dungeons of Riverrun. I still have your cell and even had it replaced with hay."

Hearing this, Sir James smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, but I don't like it there at all, especially the dung bucket locked next to me at that time."

After a pause, the smile on his face faded, and he said seriously: "Brynden Tully, I am here for the remaining survivors of Riverrun, the knights, soldiers and servants of the Trout family, including you."

His tone became sincere: "I am trying to save those who can survive."

Brynden pursed his lips with sarcasm and said, "How funny! You should just use the conspiracy and tricks you are best at. This is the Lannister way."

"The hatred between Lannister and Tully comes from the war. There is no reason why we can't negotiate."

After a pause, Ser Jaime said solemnly: "Blackfish, you can trust my sincerity. I promise you on my honor."

"Your honor? Do you know what honor is?"

Brynden mocked him first, and before Jaime could respond, he said, "If Edmure and Robb had died on the battlefield at the hands of Lannister, I would have admired them, but they both died in Lannister's dirty conspiracy... Now, only the fire of hatred is burning in my body."

"As far as I know, the Lannisters were not involved in those things..."

Before Jaime could finish, Brynden interrupted angrily, "The only enemy who wanted Tully Stark dead from the beginning to the end was the Lannisters, and they had captured the traitor bribed by Tywin (Chapter 373). Don't lie to yourself anymore. There's a stench of Tywin Lannister in this."

He knew his father's methods, and the White Knight couldn't deny it. He clenched his fist and said, "Blackfish, my father is gone too."

Brynden said coldly, "May the gods judge him fairly."

Ser Jaime slowed down and warned himself to stay calm. "Tully, don't speak in anger. Robb Stark's body is cold, and his kingdom is dead. The war should have ended long ago. As long as you lower the rebellious flag and open the city gate, I will spare your people. They can hand over their weapons and armor and leave on their own. And you, I will allow you to wear black clothes."

After a pause, he added: "If you don't believe me, I can swear an oath in public under the witness of the gods."

"Forgive me, Kingslayer, I will never trust the Lion's promise."

Brynden's deep blue eyes were as hard as stone beneath his thick eyebrows. "I tell you, the oath of a sworn man is like a house built on quicksand. Enough. Before I die, I will hold a red sword stained with lion's blood in my hand."

Ser Jaime frowned and reminded, "The blood of the Tullys is equally red. All of the Tullys' vassals have defected, leaving only Riverrun to hold out. You will not receive reinforcements, while the Lannisters will receive reinforcements constantly. If you refuse to surrender, no one in Riverrun will be spared."

Brynden was not afraid of Jaime's threat: "If one of my warriors dies, ten of you will die. The Battle of Riverrun will be the beginning of the complete weakening of the Lannisters."

After a moment of solemn silence, Ser Jaime exhaled and said as calmly as possible: "I can also choose to besiege you until all of you within the city walls starve to death."

Brynden snorted coldly: "If I didn't have enough food and grass, you wouldn't have chosen to attack. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourselves. I heard that you go fishing every day."

"The Twins will bring provisions to the Lannisters, and if necessary, we can get reinforcements from the westerlies."

Brynden sneered at Jaime's response. "Of course I would not question a White Knight who values ​​honor."

Blackfish's repeated sarcasm made Sir Jaime unable to suppress his anger any longer. His hand touched the hilt of his sword: "I have a way to end this war quickly and prevent the loss of lives. I will fight you one on one. If you win, I will retreat. If I win, you surrender and promise to forgive everyone in the city, including you."

Brynden suddenly laughed. "While I would gladly impale your head on a pike at the gate, your word is worthless, Kingslayer."

Jaime's handsome face sank. "Brynden Tully, what else is left of your knight's heart now except doubt? Before I came here, I thought you were still a good knight."

Brynden laughed again. "As the leader of an army, I shouldn't take risks, especially against a Lannister. No risk is worth it... But your death can ease some of the hatred in my heart."

His big hand slowly moved towards the hilt of his sword: "Since you want to die so badly, I can't refuse you, lest my honor be tarnished by a man without any honor."

"very good."

He was young and strong, while Blackfish was old and weak, and Jaime was confident in his sword skills.

Although he shouldn't have forced Old Black Fish to duel with him, this was the best ending to this dispute. He would only defeat Black Fish and not take his life.

He would allow Blackfish to continue his honorable career as a knight on the Wall.

Breathing in and out, Ser Jaime adjusted his breathing, his eyes gradually becoming sharper.

Sir Jaime and Sir Brynden looked at each other, their eyes full of fighting spirit intertwined. Their hands slowly reached for the hilt of their swords at the same time. The subtle sound of metal friction was particularly clear in the quiet morning.

At this tense moment, a sharp and urgent sound of breaking through the air suddenly came from behind, instantly breaking the solemnity in the air.

An indescribable shock surged in James' heart. He subconsciously wanted to turn his head, but before he could move, an arrow had already passed by him like lightning.

Whoosh————

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, Jaime's pupils contracted sharply, and he could only watch the arrow fly towards Brynden.

Brynden also sensed the approaching danger, but... the arrow appeared too suddenly and too fast, and he had no time to completely avoid it.

when.

The sound was dull and sharp. Brynden's rich combat experience and black armor saved him. Sparks flew when the arrow hit.

The arrow was blocked by the hardness of the plate armor and fell crookedly on the stone slab, making a "click" sound.

And... Brynden was staggered by the impact of the arrow and almost fell off the saddle.

After finally stopping himself, Brynden suddenly roared, "Despicable Lannister!"

(End of this chapter)