The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 187 Stannis's Raid

The Storm Land, the reason why this place got this name is because of the continuous storms in the area. With the storms, there are also large amounts of rainfall. The abundant rainfall makes the vegetation grow lushly. There are indeed several huge forests in the Storm Land, and the largest of them is the Royal Forest.

And now, a huge army from the Riverlands and the Stormlands was marching on the Kingsroad in the Kingswood. Their numbers were huge, but therefore the team was very long.

The soldiers were walking on the muddy road after the rain, and the constant splashing of mud and water made them look quite embarrassed.

Along the way, Catherine has seen countless advancing knights and soldiers, as well as the huge siege equipment that accompanied the army. She couldn't help but be shocked by the power displayed by Renly, and she became more and more convinced that this army could conquer King's Landing.

Yes, King's Landing, Renly's army is marching towards King's Landing. After a long enough banquet at the River Bend, Renly Baratheon finally got his army moving. They were marching towards King's Landing with drums and gongs.

The strength of the Tyrell family after integrating the River Bend was once again demonstrated. This unprecedentedly large military force represents the Tyrells' ambition to enter the central government.

Passing through a group of infantrymen from Highgarden, Catelyn Tully remembered the consensus reached with Renly yesterday, and she was very happy about it. Renly Baratheon promised that as long as King's Landing was conquered, he would find her husband and daughter and return them to her - then, just when Catelyn wanted to say more, Renly was pulled over by a group of knights under his command who were indulging in the feast.

There was a disturbance in the king's tent that night. A servant was beheaded outside the king's tent, which caused quite a bit of trouble. The king's Rainbow Guards frantically searched for the murderer, but they found nothing. In order to curb the chaos, Renly suppressed the matter by force.

So now she had to see Renly again and express some of her concerns.

As the Duchess of Stark, Catherine had a smooth journey. No soldiers or knights blocked her way. Many people bowed respectfully to her, a noble lady from the North. There were even a few knights from the River Bay who wanted to show their courtesy to her. However, Catherine had no interest in this southern chivalry game. Sir Rodrik used his fierce eyes to scare away these so-called summer knights.

When Catherine came to Renly, the king was surrounded by his colorful knight guards. However, Renly was scolding someone at the moment. Seeing this, Catherine could not say anything and could only wait on the side.

"…Don't tell me about the monsters in the forest. They are just the savages of the little devil. Catch them and hang them. Go quickly!"

There was anger in Renly's tone, but the self-crowned king still had the nobility and majesty that a royal should have. The reprimanded officer hurriedly responded to the king, then turned around and hurried to carry out the king's orders.

"Ah, it's Lady Catherine. It's nice to see you again. How did you rest last night? Did my men take good care of you and your men?"

Of course, Catherine thought, the camping conditions provided by Renly's men were almost as good as those of the king. Was he showing off the power of the River Bend?

A holy emblem of the Faith of the Seven hung around Renly's neck. The style of the emblem was very simple, reminiscent of the time when the Andals had just arrived in the West. This was in stark contrast to Renly's ostentatious style.

But Catherine knew that the holy emblem was no simple thing. It came from the huge temple in the city of Hugo, and was something left behind when the Heavenly Father walked the world. She once wanted to buy one, but even with Mrs. Stark's financial resources, she could not get this precious holy object.

"Thank you very much for your connection, Lord Renly. We are well rested."

Catherine still insisted on calling Renly "My Lord" instead of "His Majesty", because she knew Eddard's attitude towards Renly's self-coronation, and she had to stand on the same standard as Eddard.

Renly didn't care about Catherine's wording problem and still looked cheerful. "That's good, that's good. Then, Lady Catherine, why did you come to see me?"

"To discuss the topic that was interrupted yesterday." Catelyn looked into Renly's eyes. "Lord Renly, I want to know what Stannis thinks of your coronation?"

"Stannis? So that's what you're worried about?" Renly obviously didn't care about what Catelyn was worried about. "My brother may be old-fashioned, but he will definitely stand with me."

"Lord Renly, I think I must point out that legally, even if the Lannister children are born of incest, the inheritance rights should go to Stannis, not you." Catelyn tried to make her tone less sharp, but ultimately failed.

"Succession? Hahaha." Renly seemed amused by Catelyn. "My dear lady, if everyone follows that, then the one sitting on the Iron Throne should be a Targaryen. My brother used his hammer and strength to seize the Iron Throne, and now, I will also use my hammer and strength to seize the Iron Throne... What's going on?"

There was a commotion in front and behind the army, and Renly subconsciously put his hand on the hilt of his sword, wanting to know the source of the chaos, but none of the Rainbow Guards around the king knew what was going on.

At this moment, Catherine saw a line of black spots appearing on the horizon. Subconsciously, she thought they were flying birds, but Rodrik reacted very quickly. He raised his shield and protected Catherine behind him with his armored body.

Arrows fell from the sky, and everyone, including the king, was caught off guard and was hit hard by the arrows. The king and the knights who were wearing armor were fine, because although they were ceremonial armor, it was still armor, enough to prevent this. However, many servants and soldiers fell down, and Catherine also heard the wailing and lamenting of those who were hit by the arrows.

The infantry of the river bend hurriedly formed a line around the king, vigilantly paying attention to their surroundings. The knights also ran around, looking for any available troops to protect the king's safety.

"Damn it, is this a Lannister ambush? Loras, take Lady Catharine to safety, then come back and help me."

The Knight of Flowers responded immediately and rode to Catherine's side, "Madam, please go." Behind them, although Renly was panicked, he continued to give orders to the knights and officers who had arrived.

Catherine didn't say much. In the chaos of the army, there was no mercy and what she should do was to leave the place as soon as possible.

Before turning her horse around and leaving with Loras, Catherine looked back and found that the enemy had rushed out from the forest on the side where the arrows came from. They had knights and infantry. At the same time, she could see the enemy's flag clearly, which was a stag in flames.

.

Although he was a member of the Stormlands nobility, Davos hated the rain. Getting wet reminded him of the time when he was a humble smuggler. However, the rain was a perfect assist for his king's offensive. It was because of the continuous rain that their army was able to reach the designated location so smoothly.

The king rode his horse and looked at the battlefield not far away. Except for the crown on his head, there was nothing that could prove Stannis's identity.

Compared with the gentlemen behind him with bright coats of arms and distinctive clothes and armor, the king even looked like a servant, but his majesty could not be concealed by any clothes.

Davos consciously stood together with those who were like him, that is, those commoners who were granted titles. The expedition created many such people, and Stannis always promoted people based on their merits and abilities, so their number was increasing all the time. Among these people, Davos had a sense of belonging.

Before his eyes, a group of red-robed infantrymen were running towards the battlefield, and there were more red-robed infantrymen waiting there. Red-robed monks were chanting Rahno's prayers, encouraging the soldiers to move forward bravely.

Seeing these people, Davos felt uneasy. He had never trusted these people.

Ever since the king began recruiting soldiers, followers of the Red God have been joining the army in an endless stream. Even the local Red Temple in Tyroshi has sent out their temple guards - the Red God's most powerful military force - this action has directly led to the already large number of followers of the Red God in Tyroshi joining the army. Now, the number of followers of the Red God in the king's team has exceeded 20,000, almost the same as the king's own team.

Tyrosh is the place with the largest number of Red God believers in the New Seven Kingdoms - but Davos has never figured out why. In recent years, the migration of Red God believers has been almost endless, and even the Red Temple in Tyrosh has replaced the Red Temple in Volantis to become the headquarters of the Red God - this has made a large number of Red God believers become supporters of the king. Now in Tyrosh, there are still tens of thousands of Red God believers being trained.

The Red Temple gave such strong support, so Stannis naturally wanted to return the favor, so a flaming red heart was added to his emblem.

However, although these made Davos uneasy, they were all okay overall. What made him most uncomfortable was the woman who was arranged by the Red Temple to be by the king's side, the red-robed woman.

She seemed to have some magical power. The king always listened to her words, and the queen and the whole nation bowed down before her and followed the will of the Red God.

This scene was too dangerous, and caused concern among the people of Westeros, led by Davos. She even suggested to the king that he should completely bow down before the Red God and destroy both the new and old gods. Fortunately, their king was still rational and he rejected the red woman's request.

The rejected red-robed woman was not angry, and continued to serve the king, acting as the king's most important aide. Except for those believers of the Red God, no one liked her - but Davos also knew that everyone was afraid of her, including him. That woman... was too elusive.

Putting the woman aside, Davos forced himself to focus on the battle, and he happened to hear the conversation between the king and the red-robed woman.

"…You should listen to my prophecy, not…"

"Be quiet, red woman. I gave you a chance yesterday. Since you failed to do it, I can only do this."

In response to the king's words, the woman in red remained silent, but her expression remained calm, and no change could be seen at all.

Although he didn't know what they were talking about, Davos was happy to see the red woman's mistake. He hoped that this woman would get away from the king as soon as possible, but he knew that was unlikely. This woman was backed by believers of the Red God, not to mention that she herself had power.

"Davos, come here." Suddenly, the king called his name.

"His Majesty."

Davos said respectfully. He felt some jealous gazes, but he ignored them and glanced cautiously at the red-robed woman. Fortunately, the woman didn't care about him at all. Davos didn't like being stared at by that woman. It was really uncomfortable.

"What kind of results do you think we can achieve in this battle?"

"If we can capture or kill Renly Baratheon, then this war can end right now. But if not... Your Majesty, with all due respect, we will have endless battles ahead. What has been defeated now is only a small part of the River Reach army. By the time the rest of the River Reach army reacts, it will be hard to say whether we can gain any advantage by then."

Davos had no scruples and spoke directly what he was thinking.

"Well, very well, Davos, you said it well. You see, I told you that my Onion Knight would never lie to me." The king boasted to the red-robed woman, and the red-robed woman bowed slightly to the king.

"In that case, Davos, I will now give you an important task. I want you to take the bannermen of Dragonstone and go to take down Storm's End for me. Red Woman, you will also go with the Onion Knight. I hope you will not let me down again this time."

When Davos heard the first half of the king's words, he was ecstatic and terrified. He was a commoner who was granted a title, and he led the nobles of Dragonstone to attack Storm's End? He was ecstatic about the king's trust, but also terrified that he would have to face that strong city.

Davos knew how strong Storm's End was. It was the key to his transformation from a smuggler to a nobleman. There was no way he would forget that fortress.

"As you command, Your Majesty." Davos said subconsciously, and then he told the difficulties, "But that is Storm's End..."

"Melisandre will solve this problem for you." Stannis interrupted him without hesitation. "I will lead my main force to sweep the Stormlands, and Storm's End will be left to you and Melisandre."

"Of course, Your Majesty. I swear to you in the name of R'hllor that Storm's End will return to the true king's hands. Lord Davos, I will have to trouble you when the time comes." There was no pressure in the red-robed woman's tone, as if it was as easy as taking something out of a bag.

Listening to the red-robed woman's words, Davos felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his whole body cold, but he had to say "yes".

(End of this chapter)