The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 154 Ed's Anxiety

As a wealthy plain, Myr is not like other areas once ruled by Valyria, which have Valyria's roads built with unknown technology.

But don’t think that Mill is a poor place. On the contrary, it is because of its wealth, dense towns and fields that people consciously build complete roads.

Therefore, there was no need for the Valyrian Empire to build their famous avenue here.

Although these roads do not use the technology of the Valyrian roads that last for thousands of miles without decay, they are enough to allow them to be passed down for hundreds of years without collapse.

Not to mention, Myr's rulers have been constantly maintaining and repairing these roads. They are like capillaries, allowing Myr to firmly rule the rich plains and are also the foundation for Myr's survival in the city-state struggle.

However, the broad and well-developed roads also became a quick route for many conquerors to invade Myr. There were centaurs pouring in from the Great Grass Sea, ambitious warlords rising from disputed lands, and armies from other city-states, but the walls of Myr ultimately held.

And now, many years later, another army marches on the roads of Myr. Even though the style of armor is different, it still looks like the reincarnation of the countless armies that have walked this road before.

These are Westerners from the Land of Sunset. The reflection of their spears is like a shining ocean, and the spear shafts form forests. These people from all over the Western Continent wear various types of armor, but they are united here for one goal.

The symbol of the seven-pointed star can be seen everywhere. Since the beginning of the Eastern Crusade, the miracles of the Seven Gods have been performed one after another, and the legendary deeds accomplished in the name of the Seven Gods are countless. Therefore, the people of Westeros, who were once extremely indifferent to the Church of the Seven Gods, have become fanatical again.

From time to time, riders in royal livery would ride past the army, leaving the ordinary soldiers with a mouthful of dust while also delivering messages to various parts of the army.

The army of Westeros was so large that it looked like a migrating nation with no end in sight.

On both sides of the road, corpses piled up and burning could be seen from time to time. There were always centaurs attacking the Westeros people, but their behavior was like moths to a flame, and they were finally killed by the Westeros people.

At the same time, there appeared knights and soldiers who were counting the spoils of war. Every warrior in the queue who saw this scene showed an envious expression - after the battle with the centaurs, the most thing that could be obtained was horses. These strong beasts of the great sea of ​​grass not only freed the feet of the recipients, but their hard-working physique was also enough to be exchanged for a handful of coins in the villages and towns along the way. When the warriors who had not yet participated in the battle thought of the relaxed feet on the horse's back and the heavy silver shells around their waists, they were even more eager to go to the battlefield.

The Dothraki, who were once feared by everyone in the Eastern Continent, are now seen in the minds of people in the Western Continent as a group of ridiculous clowns without armor.

Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, is surrounded by the warriors of the North. With his eyes that always seem so calm, he is watching this army that can stir up a cloud of dust just by moving.

Thanks to the wealth obtained from the East, the Northerners were able to update their equipment. Stark's direct descendants now wore high-quality southern-style armor, and many ordinary soldiers were also able to wear armor.

These northerners are now full of confidence. They firmly believe that this battlefield is just a military parade and they will soon be victorious and return home with wealth, glory and stories - but their lord duke does not think so.

From the beginning, Eddard was unwilling to fight this war. He missed the warm fireplace in Winterfell, Kate's warm embrace, and the children who always looked at him with admiration...

But his obligations lie ahead. When the country calls for help, he must leave his warm home and head to White Harbor, leading the warriors of the North across the Narrow Sea to fulfill his obligations as a vassal of the Iron Throne.

He was very happy to see his old friend this time on his trip south, but at the same time, Ed remembered Catherine's worried look when he left.

Catherine also showed such an expression when she was conquering the self-proclaimed monarch of the Iron Islands. No matter how many promises Eddard made to his wife, he could not soothe her heart.

After all, for military nobles, dying in battle is a very normal thing, especially in these war-torn times.

Although the Crusades to the East enabled many people to gain wealth and become nobles, they also caused many people to die in the far East.

Even in Winterfell, far away from the political whirlpool of the South and the faith of the Seven Gods, many faces he had been familiar with in the city since childhood had disappeared. Some died somewhere in the East, and some started a new life in the East.

However, Ed did not take a negative view of the Crusades because of this. Thanks to the Crusades, so many people would not starve to death in the North every winter, and he would not have to make the cruel decisions that his fathers had to make.

In the East, those who should have been abandoned in the winter and should have left their hometowns and never returned were able to survive on another continent.

The market in the North was also flooded with various commodities and reached an unprecedented prosperity. As one of the first few participants in the Narrow Sea trade, White Harbor won a large share.

When he came to the East this time, Ed stopped at the northern settlement of Pentos. Seeing that everything the northern immigrants had here was no less than what they had in their hometown, and seeing that people lived in abundance and abundance, Ed was happy for them from the bottom of his heart.

However, at the same time, he also had to notice the growth of the Bolton family in the East.

Because they played an important role in the conquest, in Pentos, although Frey was the commander, he also had to consider the attitudes of Bolton and Darry. Bolton could be said to be one of the three giants of Pentos, which laid the most solid foundation for their growth.

On the first promontory of the Gulf of Pentos, Roose Bolton built a port facing Pentos, and Roose named the place Red King City.

Then naturally, this place became the most important port for the North to the East.

People always prefer to go to places they are familiar with. Red King Port has all kinds of preferential treatment and care for northerners, so the first stop for northern immigrants and merchants departing from White Port is here.

Here, they will indeed receive good care and help, but the prerequisite is that they must not violate Bolton's laws. Once they do, the Earl will punish them with the most severe means.

And because of its good location, facing Pentos, merchants from other parts of the Seven Kingdoms are bound to settle here. Coupled with the good public security brought about by strict law and order measures, this makes the city more and more prosperous.

The prosperity naturally attracted immigrants, and soon the entire Cape of First Land was filled with people from the North. Even the Mandalay family's territory in the Andes could not compare with the population growth in the North.

As a result, the Guardians of the North were shocked to find that, indeed, fewer people died in the North during the winter, but more than half of these people went to join Bolton and became his subjects, making Bolton even stronger.

And with the surge in trade with the East, the trade on the west coast of Bolton, which was once destroyed by the northern kings, is also recovering.

In short, in this Eastern Expedition, apart from some spoils of war, more taxes from White Harbor, and a way out for the second and third sons, Winterfell gained less from this than Bolton. Although there is the Manderly family in White Harbor, this family that believes in the Seven Gods is more willing to invest resources in Andas and develop in Andas.

Therefore, no one can restrict Bolton's development in Pentos.

However, they can still contain Bolton. After all, White Harbor will not run away. Moreover, now that White Harbor has obtained a share of the Narrow Sea trade, Bolton's trade has resumed, which is stealing their meat.

But when he thought about Bolton's growth, Ed felt uneasy. The name Red King Port undoubtedly explained Bolton's ambition. Ed couldn't help but become anxious when he thought about it.

If this continues, the Red King, who has been playing games with the King of Winter for a thousand years, might return.

Ed would like to see the people who could only freeze to death in the winter find a new way out, and would like to see the North prosper because of trade with the East.

But as a Stark, he was unwilling to see the Red King's descendants grow more powerful.

Eddard looked at Bolton's troops, saw the flag of the Flayed Man, and saw the disciplined army under the flag of the Flayed Man. The shadow in his heart became heavier - Bolton's army was larger than in previous years, and there were many more Orientals.

Roose Bolton quickly noticed the lord's gaze, and he bowed his head humbly in response to the gaze. This made Eddard feel slightly relieved, but it was quickly replaced by another kind of uneasiness: How long would Bolton remain submissive?

The growing strength of the Red King's descendants is unacceptable to Stark, but in today's Eastward Expedition, everything must give way to the conquest of the Iron Throne.

Eddard once tried to impose some restrictions on the development of the Boltons, but the laws from the Iron Throne forced him to abandon these ideas.

That is why Catherine has advised him many times that his friend Robert has changed. He is no longer the same Robert as the monarch of the Iron Throne.

For him, maintaining the rule of the Iron Throne is the most important thing, so the North will definitely be checked by Robert, and Robert is supporting Bolton's power.

Ed didn't want to believe this, and whenever Catherine brought it up, he remained silent and refused to comment on it.

But no matter how he refused, the fact remained that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Iron Throne had indulged Bolton, as if it were happy to see the Red King rise again.

After seeing Robert again, Eddard's original thoughts were not shaken. Instead, he realized some of the reasons why the Iron Throne did that - even for his good friend, it was not as easy as before to see Robert.

Although Robert was still as strong and heroic as ever, he was surrounded by flattering clerks, fawning bards and mindless gladiators. He wore oriental silks, sat in a beautiful elephant sedan, and was always surrounded by praises and joy, as well as beautiful ladies from all over the narrow sea.

Eddard could see that Robert was also enjoying it very much.

Robert seemed to be surrounded by clusters of flowers, which made him look full of the majesty of a monarch of a great country. Even the Dragon King of Targaryen could not compare with him. However, these flowers also dominated his thoughts inadvertently - for example, those civil servants often acted directly with the law. It turned out that these things had to be consulted with the king, even if they were just some ordinary affairs. This made it convenient for the king, but Eddard immediately realized that power was lost.

This made Eddard uneasy. Was it really possible for a lord to not rule directly, even one like Robert, but to outsource the affairs to salaried bureaucrats? Would these people really do their job? Could they really be given power? What was Arryn thinking?
Although he was in the North, Eddard knew about old Arryn's construction of the civil service system - from the complaints from White Harbor - and now, he saw the results of old Arryn's construction with his own eyes.

Ed was very confused as to why old Ailin did this, but he was just confused and he would not doubt old Ailin.

And there are the Lannisters. These guys also fill Robert's court. Eddard can always see people wearing lion cloaks in the king's tent. They give orders to people everywhere like the masters of the king's tent.

Although the king still looked happy and not troubled at all, Eddard felt that Robert was now in an awkward situation where he was "helpless".

Ed could understand this very well. After all, their positions were different, and one had to do things that suited one's position.

So, after seeing Robert again, he only hoped that in the future, their friendship would not be destroyed because of interests.

Just as Lord Eddard Stark was thinking about the future, a rider came, looking dusty and tired. He was wearing royal livery with beautiful gold thread on the edge and holding a small flag with a leaping stag in his other hand.

This immediately made Ed alert, as he was very clear about the meaning of this thing. Such a messenger was giving orders to the great nobles of the Iron Throne.

"Lord Stark, His Majesty the King has ordered the entire army to speed up its advance."

"Why? Why did you suddenly speed up?"

Robert would not speed up the march for no reason. Something must have happened at the front.

"Seven Gods, the Targaryen flag was found in the centaur ranks. The scouts said they saw the 'Beggar King'. His Majesty wants to chop off the head of the remnant of the evil dragon. Lord Stark, please forgive me, I must continue to pass on the message."

After saying this, the messenger left, but a thunderclap sounded in Ed's heart because of his words.

Targaryen remnants? At this time?
Then Eddard remembered Jon Arryn's concerns, and he felt that something was wrong.

However, when he raised his head, he saw that the royal team at the front of the team sped up, and the knights also increased their horse speed and headed forward.

The actions of the king's troops caused a commotion in the army. The entire army became restless because of the movement of the royal flag, like a wild beast ready to move.

"Damn it." Ed couldn't help but say, but he couldn't rush to the king right away. He had to take care of the army in the North. "Move your legs, don't fall behind, and get ready to follow the king's flag!"

(End of this chapter)