The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 102 When the door opens

Once again, looking at the city walls built when the Valyrian Free Fortress was still standing in front of him, Dontos Horad's thoughts couldn't help but think of Valyria, and then the Dragon King, and then That damn mad king.

Although he was still very young at that time, he still remembered the devil-like king with disheveled hair and beard, and how he executed his parents and relatives - the mad king showed no mercy to those who imprisoned him.

The rulers of Duskendale paid the price for kidnapping the Mad King, and the Hollard family was also put on the execution stand because of their close ties with them.

At that time, when he was young, he watched the heads rolling to the ground. He didn't know why at that time, he thought they were like red apples rolling down from the tree. To this day, he still can't figure out why. I would think so.

Whenever a person was killed, he would hear the mad king's frantic cry. Even thinking of that voice now, it made him shudder.

Originally he should have been killed together, but the "fearless" Barristan saved him. As the person who rescued the king from Duskendale, the noble knight asked the mad king to spare the young child. He, he was able to become Barristan's squire.

If he were an ordinary boy, he would be extremely happy to become a famous knight in Westeros, not to mention that Barristan was actually still a member of the Kingsguard. However, Dontos had no such thoughts at the time, and he even felt sorry for him. Barristan carried some hatred - in Dontos' view at the time, if Barristan had not rescued the Mad King, his relatives would not have died. The inner thoughts of young children are sometimes that simple.

As he grew up, Dontos' hatred for Barristan gradually disappeared. As a noble knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Sir Barristan treated him with all his heart, whether it was raising or training him. To treat him, Dontos learned many useful things from Barristan.

However, due to Barristan's identity, Dontos has lived in the Red Keep for a long time. Whenever he sees the Mad King, his memory will return to that day that frightened him.

But it is a pity that although Dontos has fantasized about gaining glory on the battlefield countless times, the fact is that he has always been mediocre. He has never experienced a war or made any meritorious deeds. Dontos is just ordinary. He survived the entire war successfully and entered King's Landing with Baratheon's army.

Of course, he would definitely not be able to get back the land of his ancestors by appealing to the Mad King. If he did that, the Mad King might think of him as a "remnant", and then there would be no need to send people. Those who expected to get the dragon's leftovers would just He will be killed to collect the reward.

After the Baratheon Dynasty began, Dontos immediately appealed, but because he had no merit, his request was shelved by Robert. However, since he was one of the first knights to join Robert, he never Dontos was given a salary in the Red Keep.

However, these emotions were relieved with the news from the Red Keep. The Lake family of Duskendale City was deprived of their title due to their rebellion. He, Dontos Hollard, will become the new Earl of Duskendale City. .

However, life will eventually stump everyone. Dontos understands that if he does not accept Robert's gift, he will have no choice but to go out and continue wandering, so he becomes a knight in Robert's court.

But there was no other way except this. Just when Dontos didn't know how to work hard, the Usurper War broke out.

It was no accident that Dontos would have fallen like this, gradually getting lost in alcohol and women. Everything that once belonged to the strong knight would have been wrapped in fat, and finally turned into a waste, but the Rebellion in King's Landing happened. .

Since what he got was nothing compared to what he had expected, from then on, Dontos gradually became addicted to alcohol, spending the night with a different woman every day, and Robert gave him a very generous salary. , enough for him to spend a lot of time and alcohol, which made his reputation stinky in the Red Keep very quickly. Barristan once tried to persuade him, but he didn't care.

At that time, Dontos suddenly suspected that he was still drunk. After realizing that everything was so real, Dontos changed instantly. He rushed home and took care of his dirty hair and beard with the help of a servant. After changing his dirty clothes, he went to the Red Keep to accept King Robert's enfeoffment.

The goal of his efforts is to get everything that belongs to him, but now this goal is impossible. He still has a salary that is enough for him to live happily, so let's play freely.

Therefore, after coming of age, Dontos took the armor and weapons that Barristan bought for him, and left King's Landing as if fleeing for his life, and began to wander in Westeros. Since he had a lot of gifts from Barristan in his pocket, Gold and silver, so Dontos first went to Duskendale City, where his family once lived.

When the chaos in King's Landing occurred, Dontos was drunk in the brothel, which made him drunk for the entire chaotic day. So when Dontos woke up, it was very difficult to adapt to everything in front of him. Why was he just drunk? One night, King's Landing became like this.

This is not what Dontos wants, and he doesn't want to stay in the Red Keep, because Barristan is also there. Although Barristan expressed his understanding, Dontos just stood there and felt very uncomfortable. Comfortable, unnatural.

Duskendale City has undergone great changes. The Mad King has almost uprooted the traces of the Darklin family's rule in this land, causing many places to become depressed. However, when he took the coat of arms of the Hollard family, When he returned, many fellow villagers who remembered the past gathered around him enthusiastically. As the first heir to this land, he still had a lot of support here. It was also at that time that Dontos vowed to get back what he deserved. power.

In Duskendale City, he was welcomed. The rule of the Lake family only lasted for more than ten years. The people preferred the former rulers. Before being destroyed by the mad king, the Hollard family was deeply rooted in this land. Also married to the Daklin family for generations.

Everyone who knew Dontos said that the knight had returned, and after Dontos received the title of Earl of Duskendale from Robert, he immediately returned to the family fortress with his entourage.

Dontos immediately joined the army of the latest usurper, Robert Baratheon, and began his civil war career. Dontos understood that doing so was undoubtedly an enemy of Barristan, but he could only If he can do this, only in this way can he get the land back.

After recovering from the joy of suddenly acquiring the family land, at that time Dontos only planned to manage the land well and fulfill his previous ambitions.

However, as the expedition to the east continued to develop, Dontos remembered the scene he would never forget, the scene where his relatives were killed and their heads rolled to the ground like red apples.

Dontos was angry, and the emotions that he had forgotten - or suppressed - surged up, and he decided to take revenge on the Mad King, whose descendants were in exile in the east. Therefore, he joined the second expeditionary force and received an aid from the Iron Throne - the Iron Throne needed one of its own to watch in the east, and Dontos was one of its own in every sense of the word. own people.

His behavior was also echoed in Dusking Valley City. When the Mad King was in Dusking Valley City, he killed many people. The nobles' heads fell to the ground, not to mention the peasants? However, most of the people who joined the expedition were ultimately motivated by the wealth of the East. After many events during the rule of the Darklin and Lake families, Duskendale became impoverished and the locals needed a new way out.

In this way, Dontos led the people of Duskendale on the Eastern Expedition to find the descendants of the Mad King and make them pay the price. Then, he discovered Darry's coat of arms in the second expeditionary army. This The family has produced the Mad King's Kingsguard, and has given several sons to the Mad King. The word Targaryen Supporter is written on their foreheads.

Therefore, Dontos has been looking for trouble for Darry. In his opinion, the Darry family's joining the expedition is really suspicious, and the Darry family's series of tolerant behaviors against him causing trouble also make him more suspicious.

However, after crossing the narrow sea and reaching here, Dontos hesitated and his mind changed because Dontos saw too many killings along the way.

As someone who had been a hired knight, murder and arson were not unfamiliar things to Dontos, but he rarely saw systematic massacres. At most, he only injured people and then set them on fire. , and then left with the farmer’s food.

In the east, he walked all the way and saw that the liberated slaves raised their butcher knives against the slave owners, Pentos and naturalized slaves without hesitation. Everywhere he could see the "forest" of the hanged and the piles of charred dead.

This brought a great shock to Dontos. It was the first time for the young earl to see this kind of scene, and the life-and-death atmosphere gave him too much shock. Regarding the expedition, he still had the fantasy of a young knight in his heart, thinking that it was glorious, that was glorious, but he never expected that what happened would be rolling in the mud, fighting each other with all means in an ungraceful manner. .

For the first time, the young earl felt how insignificant things like revenge were. He was in an unprecedented situation. This emotion reached its peak when he came to the city of Pentos.

More than 100,000 slaves helped them in the siege of Pentos. This really shocked Dontos. What this scene represented left Dontos speechless and did not know what to say - and at the same time, he was speechless. There are still those killing fields that are speechless.

From then on, he felt that his things were so insignificant and that he was in the midst of bigger things. Compared with this, what was a Targaryen?
But when he saw the walls of Pentos, he was reminded of his old hatred.

This is what I feel after all. Dontos told himself in his heart that all this still had to be solved. If it was not solved, he might not be able to feel at ease for the rest of his life.

After having such thoughts, Dontos felt a little funny. He was obviously involved in more meaningful things, but he still thought about such trivial things.

Dontos had no doubts about conquering Pentos. With the large number of troops on their side and the legendary Lord Hugo, who was illuminated by the Seven Gods, they were bound to win. This city would eventually fall. As part of the Westerosi Pillar of Glory.

However, he also knew that when the city was broken, it was also when the massacre began. Thinking of this, Dontos couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness for no reason. Pantos was an ancient city.

And next, this city will be baptized by the military disaster. He is not optimistic about how many Pantos people can survive. During this period, countless inheritances will be lost, and he doesn't know how many records will be burned - he thought Dontos regrets all of this.

Regarding the issue of massacre, the generals of the expeditionary force chose to remain silent. Everyone acquiesced in the massacre that would happen next, and there was also an unspoken consensus among everyone that they should not go against the wishes of these slaves. , if they wanted to, they could devour the people of Westeros in an instant.

Therefore, massacre is bound to happen.

Across the cleared land, Dontos looked at the city walls of Pentos. He felt as if he had seen the city burning and countless people being slaughtered. Well, this scene was becoming more and more detailed. The city of Pentos in front of him The doors are open, huh? Why are there still people coming out and waving flags?
Dontos suddenly realized that what he saw was not an illusion, but a real fact. The city gate of Pentos had indeed been opened!
"gather!"

Just as Dontos's order was shouted, melodious horns suddenly sounded throughout the camp, and then he saw a group of heavy cavalry hidden somewhere suddenly rush out and rush towards the city gate in the smoke and dust.

"Hurry up and assemble!" Dontos roared next, and quickly climbed onto the horse brought by the attendants. He was now glad that he did not drag off his armor, otherwise it would take a lot of time to put it on.

The entire military camp fell into panic because of the horn, but when they saw that the city gate had been opened, the panic turned into excitement and enthusiasm.

Behind him, the soldiers of Duskendale City were gathering in a hurry. Among them, the fastest responders were the spearmen of Duskendale City. These professional spearmen supported by Duskendale City were the most elite in Dontos' team.

"My subjects, I won't say much more. The glory and wealth are all in front of you, follow me forward!"

After watching his peasants hurriedly assemble, Dontos shouted to them that this was the most reliable thing to say to ordinary soldiers, and he received a cheer in response.

Dontos heard the loud shouts of killing coming from Pentos, and saw the troops of other families moving. He no longer hesitated, turned his horse's head, and called his men to charge forward.

(End of this chapter)