The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 170 Red Fort Coup (7k)

King's Landing is now in a solemn mood. This city, which was once filled with countless joy, now has cancelled all large-scale entertainment activities.

Although the Red Keep blocked the news immediately, rumors about the life and death of the monarch of the Iron Throne still appeared on the streets of King's Landing, and these rumors became more and more intense as Robert no longer showed up. All the officials of the Red Keep could do was to order everyone who discussed these things to shut up.

Inside the Red Keep, the news of the king's condition has spread among the top dignitaries in Westeros - although the king has not yet been declared dead, it is only a matter of time - everyone is silently waiting for Robert's death, which makes the situation in the Red Keep become extremely turbulent.

Everyone knows that with the change of the throne, the power of the court will also change. No matter what you do at this sensitive time, it will be interpreted by others, so almost everyone is cautious in their words and actions, which directly leads to the atmosphere in the Red Castle becoming very... weird.

There were spies everywhere, servants busy working for their masters everywhere. At first glance, it seemed as if everyone was communicating with each other with their eyes, but it was impossible to find such people if you tried hard.

At the critical moment of power transition in the kingdom, an incident occurred that made the atmosphere in the Red Keep even more tense - the king's brother, Lord Justice, Duke Renly Baratheon of Storm's End announced his resignation from the Red Keep, and without waiting for any reaction from the current Prime Minister, he left the Red Keep and King's Landing.

If the Iron Throne was in normal condition, even if Renly was the king's brother, he would be severely punished. But now the Iron Throne is not in normal condition, and neither the Prime Minister nor the Queen cares about the departure of the Duke of Storm's End.

"Lord Ed, I beg you to let the Wall Battalion fully move into the Red Fort. At this critical moment, we must ensure that the Red Fort is under control and under the control of our people." The Prime Minister's secretary Du Long pleaded with the Prime Minister, his face full of anxiety.

On the issue of power transfer on the Iron Throne, Duron, a civil servant who has always been neutral, rarely expressed a clear preference. He tried his best to persuade Eddard to transfer the Wall Battalion to the Red Keep to ensure full control of the Red Keep.

Eddard asked him why he did so, he could have remained neutral, right? But Duron said that since he had sent Eddard the message during the attack by Jaime Lannister, the queen now saw him as a thorn in her side, and he also asked Eddard to take him with him if Lord Stark wanted to leave King's Landing.

Eddard was willing to agree to this, but in his heart, he thought that Duron's reaction was a bit too much. Was that woman so scary? Yes, Eddard knew that Cersei had a bad character, but did she have the ability to kill him?

Therefore, facing Dulong, Ed couldn't help but frowned, "Dulong, no, if I do this, the Lannisters might take extreme actions. Now the Stag Guards remain neutral, and the Wall Battalion also has people in the Red Castle. Even if the Lannisters include the servants, there are only a hundred people. There is no need to worry about them."

"Lord Eddard, please forgive me for being blunt, but the situation is too tense right now. We cannot give the Lannisters any chances. If we are not careful, we may be doomed."

Du Long continued, which made Ed frown. It was not that exaggerated. "It is impossible to mobilize troops. I can't do such a sensitive thing at this juncture. Du Long, if you are so worried, arm all the servants going to the Prime Minister's Tower."

In the end, Ed chose to back down. Du Long wanted to say something, but he also knew that this was the limit of what he could do to the Prime Minister in front of him.

Moreover, as Eddard said, the situation is completely under control. The forces of all parties in the Red Castle are now balanced, and the Lannisters have no chance.

"Yes." The Prime Minister's secretary regained his usual expression, and then he mentioned another matter, "Prime Minister, there is one more thing. The Earl of Duskdale has just arrived."

"I have to go right away." This news made Ed stand up immediately, and there was a reason for his reaction.

After forming an alliance with the slippery eunuch, Adelben hoped for his direct help, but the eunuch said he had no armed forces.

Ed still didn't believe it. How could the eunuch not be able to get the person out? But since the eunuch said so, he couldn't do anything.

However, the dead eunuch still brought him an ally whom he said he could trust completely, Dontos Hollard.

When he heard the name, Eddard was resistant in his heart. He knew Dontos, of course. He was the banquet king of King's Landing, who held all kinds of extremely luxurious banquets every day. He couldn't help but frown when he heard the news at those banquets. Moreover, he was Robert's pimp, looking for all kinds of women for Robert, and helping Robert to deal with and place his leftovers. Many times, he also took over for Robert. Many of Robert's illegitimate children were raised in the name of his children.

Eddard disliked such a jester-like character to the extreme, but Varys thought he was very helpful. Although Count Dontos had various problems, his loyalty to the king was unquestionable and he was willing to go through fire and water for the king. After hearing this, Eddard agreed to let Dontos join.

And Dontos' joining soon paid off. As Varys said, this earl who relied on the Baratheon dynasty to gain his current status and restore the glory of his family was extremely loyal to Robert. After obtaining some inside information behind the scenes, Dontos expressed that he would go through fire and water for His Majesty the King.

Next, Dontos brought his Red Keep informant network to Eddard. As a noble who "welcomes anyone to the party", Dontos has a good reputation among the servants. Thanks to this, they were able to grasp the movements in most parts of the Red Keep - except for the Lannister area, where only the Lannister diehards were active.

Previously, Dontos was in the Royal Forest outside King's Landing, supervising the felling of trees and making siege equipment for the war in the east. After learning what happened in King's Landing, he immediately rushed back to King's Landing.

"Prime Minister, I found an opportunity." Seeing Eddard coming in, the fat Dontos stood up with a little excitement, "That Lannister came out of their lair!"

.

Lancel Lannister, the son of Kevan Lannister, has the standard Lannister blond hair and a handsome face. Many girls in King's Landing like him - but he is still far inferior to Jaime Lannister.

But for Eddard and Dontos, this man was one of the adulterers who committed adultery with the queen. If they wanted to prove the queen's problem to the whole country, they had to catch this man and torture the truth out of him.

This time, Lancel left the Queen's area to go to the Cathedral of the Seven in the Red Keep. Ever since the Seven Gods showed their power, the Cathedral of the Seven in the Red Keep was rebuilt and became even more magnificent.

Lancel came here to pray to the Seven Gods. This Lannister knelt devoutly before the seven gods and recited prayers in praise of the Seven Gods. It was also at this moment that the ambushers who had been lurking for a long time rushed out.

Lannister was obviously alert, and he subconsciously drew his sword, but the ambusher was faster and punched Lancel in the face. The punch was so powerful that it knocked Lannister down.

After Lannister was knocked down, someone immediately picked up Lancel and carried him away.

"Lord Ed, leave it to me. I will make this guy spill everything he knows."

Dontos assured him, standing before Eddard, flexing his shoulders as if ready to strike, and then walking into the room with a stick in hand.

Eddard knew very well what Dontos was going to do. He didn't like this kind of thing, but he had to admit that it was necessary at the moment. Even if it meant torture, he had to make Lannister a useful witness as soon as possible.

Besides, torture is basically a common form of interrogation in this era, but Ed's mental cleanliness makes him never use these methods - within the scope that he can see and manage.

"Lansel, you son of a bitch! I have served the king loyally for more than ten years, but I didn't expect that I was so blind that I didn't realize that there was a thing like you who was cheating on the king in the palace! And your two cousins, one is hypocritical but acts treasonously, and the other is corrupt and drunk. You Lannisters are all dogs and beasts!"

"Since the Iron Throne was forged, there have been many ungrateful bastards like you. Do you want to know their fate? Lukamer Strong, who took a vow of celibacy but married three wives, was castrated and exiled to the Wall. Bethany Bracken, who committed adultery with the Iron Guard Terence Toyne, was tortured to death. Lancel, the truth has been revealed, but you still want to keep your mouth shut? If you keep your mouth shut, I guarantee you will never leave here, and you will experience the most severe pain in the world before you meet the Stranger. On the contrary, if you confess everything, I can spare your life and send you to the Wall - but not only will your little head be lost, but your tongue will also have to be cut off. Who told you to seduce the queen not only with your lower head, but also with your upper head?"

Not long after Dontos entered, Eddard heard his roar. Subconsciously, Lord Stark frowned and turned his head away, but it was this turn that made Eddard see a person who should not be here.

Sansa Lannister, Eddard's daughter, was trembling at what she heard and her face turned extremely pale.

Damn it, old gods, why is Sansa here? Eddard felt distressed when he saw his daughter's pale face. Sansa's mind was full of poetry and fairy tales, but now she was suddenly faced with such a cruel fact. How much of a shock would this have on her?

"Jory, take Sansa back." Eddard was furious. Where was the septa? Why didn't she take good care of Sansa? But facing his daughter, he suppressed his anger and just asked her to be sent away.

After all this trouble, what Ed didn't expect was that Dontos walked out of the room with a victorious smile on his face.

"Done?" Ed was very surprised. It shouldn't be so fast.

"It's done. This Lannister's psychological defenses are weaker than I expected. I haven't even started to fight him yet, but he's already chickened out and confessed everything. He seems to think I was sent by the Seven." Dontos' tone was full of pride, and then it turned into a sigh, "That Lannister has been committing adultery with other men for a long time. Lancel said that it was only this year, but Jaime Lannister has been committing adultery with our good queen for more than ten years."

"Ten years? So exaggerated?" Ed didn't expect this, but when he thought about the age of the king's children, he could only say that this was not a strange thing.

"Now that we have this guy's testimony, we can at least shut Lord Tywin's mouth. What should we do next, Prime Minister?" Dontos gave the choice to Eddard, who is now the leader of their group.

Ed was in a dilemma. Logically speaking, the evidence he had was enough to prove the king's bloodline and the queen's adultery. However, he couldn't help but wonder, was it really appropriate to do so at this critical juncture?

Now all the princes have gathered their armies. It is a question whether Duke Tywin will do anything impulsive in anger. And as for Renly, Eddard didn't have to care about this duke before, but now, he must consider what to do if he captures the queen.

If the Lannisters were taken down and the issue of the king's bloodline was announced, seeing that Renly was planning a coup before Robert died, it was hard for Eddard to believe that this man would not take any action.

So, Eddard was very conflicted, very, very conflicted. For the stability of the kingdom, Robert even put aside the doubts in his mind. Now he had found out the problem and found evidence according to Robert's orders, but he was in a dilemma about what to do.

However, Eddard's subordinates then brought him a piece of news, so that Eddard didn't need to worry about it for the time being - King Robert suddenly woke up, and he wanted to give his last words and make arrangements for his funeral.

Nothing is as big as this matter. Eddard immediately put down what he was doing and rushed to the king's room with Dontos. As for the Lannister, he was still controlled by Dontos's subordinates.

.

In the king's room, Robert Baratheon lay on the king's big bed. This strong man had gone through a lot of torture in the past few days. He was almost skinny, but Robert was in good spirits now - everyone knew that this was just a last gasp. Doctor Mill respectfully left the room, along with the servants, because the next occasion was not a place for them to stay.

"Alas, Ned, I didn't expect that I would have to go look for Jon not long after he left. Fate is so fickle. However, I have no regrets about my life. I have enjoyed what I should have enjoyed and experienced what I should have experienced. There is no need to put on that expression. Pycelle, take the written document to the Prime Minister and ask him to sign it as well."

The Grand Maester trembled as he took out a will. Robert showed a look of dissatisfaction on his face because of his slow movements. "Hurry up, you old man."

Finally, Ed received the will, which was written in the same way as what Robert had said to Ed before. Robert had expected that he might die in a coma, so he gave Ed the power to make the will. However, he had already gotten out of the coma and recovered from the illness, so the will had been signed and sealed by him personally.

"I'm going to die soon, Ned. You continue to investigate the matter of my three children, but don't tell me the result. Let me leave here in confusion." Robert continued. There was not much fear of death in his tone. Instead, it sounded as if he was going somewhere for fun. Ignoring the current environment, you could even think that the king was just talking about an ordinary journey.

"Ned, I have no regrets in my life. I have taken all the revenges I deserved and enjoyed all the things I deserved. The only thing I am worried about is the country I founded and the foundation I have laid for future generations.

Once, I didn't want to wear a crown, I just wanted to be a knight-errant, wandering the world and enjoying life, but you forced the throne on me - but it doesn't matter, as I conquered the East, I have done what neither the Valyrian Dragon King nor Aegon the Conqueror could do: to rule both sides of the narrow sea under one throne. Gradually, my thoughts have changed: I used to think that sitting on an iron chair made me boring, but later I paid more attention to this rusty thing, because I knew that if I didn't seriously consider every meeting and every decision, my achievements would not be passed on to future generations. "

Ned, my dear brother, I have traveled through every piece of land I have ruled, faced enemies that my predecessors had never expected, and enjoyed all the beauty of the world, but this does not mean that I have no pursuits now - I want to be recorded in history forever, not only as a great conqueror king, but also as the founder of a great dynasty! People in later generations will always admire my deeds and praise my greatness, and my descendants will prosper for thousands and thousands of years..."

At this point, Robert's face still showed a spirit despite the endless pain. How could he not be a little proud of his efforts over the past ten years?

“I still have countless ideas for the kingdom, and they burst out of my mind all the time. Unfortunately, I will never see the day when they are realized... Ned, please assist my offspring, even if their bloodline is questionable. You must know that nobles from all over the country have already gathered their troops. If my children’s bloodline is beyond doubt, this expedition will at most change from the unified leadership of the Iron Throne to the nobles setting out on their own and fighting on their own. But now rumors about their bloodline have spread everywhere. If we don’t deal with them properly, a major civil war caused by the struggle for succession will break out on both sides of the Narrow Sea, and the entire kingdom will be flooded with blood—not to mention that the kingdom’s enemies will not sit idly by and watch us in civil strife... So, although my children objectively have bloodline problems, please ignore it subjectively for now, and wait until the kingdom is stable, and then slowly push forward the truth of the incident.

...As for the queen, she is a foolish woman, but her decisive actions can make up for some ideological defects. I don't know how far you have investigated, but you should ease the relationship with her now - my will has already recorded the forgiveness of Cersei, and all she wants is this peace of mind. After easing the relationship with the queen - or the queen mother, you must firmly control the situation in King's Landing until Tywin arrives - he is the queen's father, but he values ​​the family honor more. He will never allow his children's scandals to be exposed, not to mention that the new king is his grandson - in terms of maintaining the kingdom, he is your ally and worthy of your trust.

And the little king - my Joffrey. In front of you, I must admit that when I sat on the Iron Throne, I devoted myself too much to entertainment and official duties, so I forgot to discipline my children seriously, and Cersei, that stupid woman, doted on her firstborn son too much, so that the new master of the Iron Throne has been too spoiled. I heard that he stayed with a group of gladiators every day and didn't take violence and death seriously... Ned, the kingdom is already peaceful, it doesn't need a new Maegor to spread fear, I originally wanted to take him on this expedition, let him understand the real war and the king's responsibility - unfortunately I can't do it now, hereby appoint you as the regent of the Iron Throne, grant you the power to strictly discipline the new king, and assist him until he comes of age - the specific details are recorded in the will, please let him understand the responsibilities of being a king.

Well, now that I have said what I need to say, I know that I am only in my last moments, and now the Stranger is staying by my bed with you."

After arranging his funeral arrangements, Robert seemed to be a little relieved. Perhaps he realized that he had done everything he could.

"I have achieved an unprecedented achievement, but I don't want this achievement to be recorded in history too early. Ned, please assist my family, protect my foundation, and make my name a conqueror more resounding than the ancestor of the dragon. All this is up to you."

Robert's words made Eddard feel the heavy burden on his shoulders. The king entrusted everything to him, and now, he was standing at a crossroads that would determine the future of Westeros and Robert's Kingdom.

Eddard wanted to tell Robert everything he had discovered, but facing Robert like this, the words came to his lips but he could not say anything.

"Yes, Robert, I understand what you mean. I swear to you in the name of the old and new gods that I will do it." Lord Stark made a solemn promise.

"Pycelle, bring me the milk of the poppy. While I am still conscious, I choose to embrace the Stranger." Robert was very satisfied with Eddard's words. He nodded and called the Grand Maester.

The Grand Maester hurriedly brought the cup filled with milk of the poppy to the king. This scene made Eddard want to cry, and he wanted to stop Robert, but as Robert's good friend, he knew that Robert had made up his mind and he should not interfere with his thoughts.

And so the monarch of Westeros and Essos drank the flower milk in one gulp, with his posture no different from that of ordinary drinking. Then he closed his eyes and waited for his fate; as a great conqueror, his death was worthy of the name of a warrior.

Seeing this, everyone present left the room silently, leaving the king with a quiet environment for him to leave peacefully.

After leaving the room, everyone, including Eddard, remained silent because they didn't know what to say or do. Finally, it was Pycelle who broke the silence first, saying that he would prepare documents and letters related to the handover of the throne and returned to his tower.

Eddard and Dontos continued to be silent to each other. Both of them were sad about the death of the king. Eddard was Robert's good friend, and Dontos could say "without the king, there would be no him". Although the reasons for their sadness were different, their emotions were the same.

Ed felt something was unreal, something was not real. Robert was gone just like that? Why did he feel like it was fake? But everything around him, everything in his body was telling him that this was real, more real than anything else.

"Lord Eddard..." After brewing their emotions for a while, Dontos broke the silence, but before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a noise coming from outside.

At first, neither of them took the commotion seriously, thinking at most that it was just panic caused by the spread of the news of the king's death. But then, as shouts and screams appeared there, their faces changed.

The two men immediately went to the nearest window, from which they could see the main gate of the Red Keep. There, they saw a scene that made their brains freeze: groups of golden robes were rushing into the Red Keep with spears in hand. The original guards of the Red Keep, whether they were the Wall Guards or the Antler Guards, would be ruthlessly killed by them if they dared to stand in front of the golden robes.

Some guards gathered in the courtyard, trying to stop the golden robes who suddenly rushed in, but they were immediately broken through by the golden robes. However, if other guards came at this time, they might still be able to stop the golden robes, but the problem was that there were no reinforcements, and the guards were overwhelmed by the superior enemy forces.

"By the Seven Gods! How dare the Lannisters do this!" Dontos roared, his face changing drastically.

No one had any doubt as to who had transferred the capital garrison in. It must have been Lannister. She was the only one capable of doing so in King's Landing now.

"Jory! Go to the Tower of the Hand, find my daughters, and protect them! Everyone else, come with me, Lord Dontos, bring as many men as you can find, we are going to fight to the death."

Ed felt the situation was a little bad, but as prime minister, he had to remain calm and protect his daughter first, so Jory, who had just returned, was sent over again.

As for himself, he should fight for his life and take a gamble now. The Lannister woman has turned against him, so he has to take the challenge. Although he doesn't know why the Antler Guards and the Wall Guards are like dead and don't move, he has to act.

Accompanying the Northerners and some servants and soldiers gathered on the road, Eddard and his men rushed towards the queen's bedroom. As a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for many years, Eddard quickly judged the key. The city guards had already entered the Red Keep in large numbers, and the situation of the Stag Guards and the Wall Battalion was unclear. He had to be mentally prepared for the worst, and no matter what the situation was, controlling Cersei was the key.

On the way, Eddard and his companions met with some Stag Guards and received bad news. The commanders of the Stag Guards and the Wall Camp were attacked and killed by Lannister. The Lannister guards approached them in the name of discussing defense, and then suddenly attacked and killed them, which directly made the two troops leaderless.

Now Ed immediately understood why the Antler Guards and the Wall Battalion did not react when the Capital Garrison rushed in. Their commanders had been killed, so how could these two troops react? Therefore, he had to capture the queen.

Soon, the queen's bedroom appeared in front of them, and it was also filled with Lannister guards. They formed a solid shield wall, and crossbowmen shot arrows from behind. Several Northern guards who rushed in front of Eddard were shot dead. Eddard subconsciously bent down and dodged several crossbow arrows, then used the ice in his hand to directly chop the Lannister soldiers' shields.

Facing the Valyrian steel two-handed sword, the shield was directly split, and before the Lannister could react, Eddard stabbed the ice directly into his face. A small gap appeared in the Lannister's shield wall, and Eddard immediately got in and waved the ice desperately. The advantage of Valyrian steel weapons was also fully utilized at this moment. If it were an ordinary steel weapon, it would be stuck after cutting down two people, but the ice in Eddard's hand was simply sweeping, and Lannister fell one by one.

The Northern warriors followed closely behind. The Duke had already rushed to the front, so why shouldn't they follow closely? The Northerners used their bravery and fearlessness to tear apart the Lannister defenses, and these Lannister warriors were indeed loyal. Even if the line was broken, they fought to the last moment.

When Eddard killed the last Lannister on the field, he raised his head which was already stained with blood. The corridor completely turned into a battlefield. The people of the North stood among the corpses and cheered, but Eddard, for some reason, had a bad feeling in his heart.

He pushed open the door of the queen's room, but when he opened it, he found it was empty and there was no one inside.

"Lord Ed, what should we do now?"

Looking at this scene, Dontos asked, his tone a little depressed, because they failed to capture Lannister and her children, which meant they had lost this time.

"Now we can only find a way to escape from the Red Castle. Dontos, do you know any secret passage?" Eddard tried his best to calm himself down and asked Dontos, but the only response he got was Dontos' silent shake of his head.

Everyone fell into a deathly silence again. Everyone was aware of the current situation. The city garrison had already taken control of the main gate and was rushing towards this side, and they had these people in their hands.

"Let's go to the courtyard. No matter what, let's understand everything. Now we can at least choose how to die."

There was despair in Ed's tone. He made a desperate choice, but no one objected to Ed's choice because they all understood that this was the only choice at the moment.

Lord Stark couldn't help but think of Robert, who chose to die. It was ridiculous. Robert had only been gone for a short time - he might not even be gone yet - but he had to make such a choice. Fate was really unpredictable.

The group walked towards the courtyard with a desperate momentum. To their surprise, no one stopped them along the way. This made some people have illusions and escape in other directions, but screams were soon heard from that side.

Cersei's meaning was very clear, she wanted to force them to go into the courtyard.

Finally, everyone arrived at the courtyard of the Red Keep, and as soon as they entered, they saw countless golden cloaks lined up there. Their commander, Janos Slynt, was standing next to Cersei Lannister, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes. Seeing Eddard and others walk out, the expression on Cersei's face became even brighter.

"Edard Stark and Dontos Hollard are trying to murder the King's heir. City Watch, take them down!"

Genos shouted at the top of his voice, and the man in the golden robe put down his spear.

Ed and his men raised their weapons. No matter how desperate the situation was, they would not surrender.

(End of this chapter)