The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 194 Decision
"This battle was easier than I expected, Lord Aenys. The Braavosi were completely defeated when our cavalry arrived. They were even worse than Darry."

"Yes, Lord Hugo."

Innis was a little absent-minded, and seeing this, Hugo stopped talking.

Just now, a knight presented the heads of Innis' two good-for-nothing sons. Even though Innis personally ordered the killing of these two guys, he was still dazed when he saw the heads.

Seeing this, Hugo started talking to Inis about other things, but it seemed that Inis was still very sad.

No matter what, he is still his son. Hugo couldn't help but think that if he had to kill Kerlon in the future, his condition would probably not be much better than Inis.

But the next moment, Hu Ge killed this idea. It was really ridiculous. The child was still so young, why did he start thinking about these things?

Then, Hu Ge couldn't help but miss his hometown, his homeland, his wife and children. It had only been a few months since he had been fighting all over the country, but it felt like several years had passed.

Life on horseback was indeed uncomfortable, and even if he had God-given powers, the mental fatigue was difficult to eliminate.

This made Hugo a little dazed for a moment. He had already achieved a high position that was difficult for ordinary people in this world to reach. Was there really any need for him to continue fighting like this?

However, Hugo quickly cleared these thoughts from his mind. Such thoughts were really unacceptable. He couldn't just relax whenever he wanted. Even if he didn't discuss the dangerous political situation in Westeros, there were still the White Walkers in the north.

When Hugo thought of the White Walkers, he felt full of pressure in his heart. To what extent those things could be achieved and what kind of power they possessed were all unknown to him, and it would not be an exaggeration to overestimate them.

Besides, who knows when this war will end, he can't let these energy-wasting thoughts linger in his mind.

The two men were crossing a battlefield where fierce fighting was taking place. Servants were carrying corpses and stripping off all valuable items from the corpses. Hugo was not moved by these scenes, as they were common scenes on the battlefield.

The broken flags of Braavos could be seen everywhere. When the mercenaries from the Secret City saw the seven-pointed star and confirmed Hugo's arrival, they either ran away or surrendered, and various flags were scattered all over the ground.

The mercenaries, who still had a bit of professional ethics, protected the Braavosi people as they boarded the warships. Hugo also saw once again the quality of the Braavosi fleet - in just half an hour, the fleet weighed anchor and set sail, leaving them no chance to seize the ships.

This made Hugo feel that there was no need to gather so many forces along the way. When that guy Belixi came to join them, there would be enough manpower.

Yes, that guy Behrich really had nothing wrong. He claimed that he counterattacked the enemy in the final stage of the battle, thus surviving and fighting his way out.

Both Hugo and Inis were reserved about Berich's words. It was difficult to hear any truth from the mouth of this cunning mountain lord.

The weathered gates of Pentos are now open, gates that have faced many enemies but still stand to this day, and the defenders of Pentos are there to welcome the two commanders.

Hugo saw Illyrio Mopatis and the Tattered Prince of Pentos, but he also immediately noticed a handsome, silver-haired young man beside Illyrio.

Illyrio had served as mayor of Pentos for many years. The Pentos man had proven his ability under Frey, and it seemed that he had completely given up those unrealistic conspiracies - this was what Hugo thought when he saw the young man around him with his own eyes.

Although Hugo had long heard that Illyrio had used all his connections for his son, he was still a little worried because he had never seen the child with his own eyes. But now he was finally relieved, sure that the great conspirator in the original book had completely given up his plan.

As for the Tattered Prince, after he and his Windblown had made contributions in the Battle of the Avenue, they were officially recruited and became the garrison of Pentos. The Tattered Prince himself was also granted a castle and could call himself an earl.

The Tattered Prince and his Windblown are definitely the backbone of Pentos for being able to hold on until now.

When the two commanders came up, the two most important military and political leaders of Pentos bowed in greeting, and Hugo and Inis looked at them and returned the greeting.

"Thank you for your hard work, you two."

Innis said, he no longer looked depressed, and showed the dignity of a commander.

“This is my duty.”

The Tattered Prince, still wearing his rags, smiled and said, it seemed that he was in a good mood.

"Those guys took Pentos, but the news soon leaked out. When Illyrio's son, Lord Rochus, learned of the incident, he led his army to kill the traitors."

"Rokus?"

As Aenys asked the question, Illyrio pushed his somewhat shy son out.

"Lord Inis, Lord Hugo."

The young man was a little timid at first, but he soon left all that shyness and timidity behind. It seemed that the young man had received good training.

Looking at this young man, Hugo and Inis looked at each other. To be honest, they both found it hard to believe that this young man had taken down the rebels of Pentos.

However, there is a saying that one cannot judge a book by its cover. Although this young man does not look very good, maybe he really has made such an achievement.

It seemed to Hugo that Illyrio wanted to show his son some face and pave the way for his career. Hugo knew that Illyrio was running around for his child.

"I am glad to see such an excellent situation in this turbulent time. Your merits will be rewarded, Lord Rochus. Frey's reward will satisfy you."

Innis responded just as Hugo thought, but Hugo could not see any emotion on Innis's face.

Young Rocus quickly bowed to Inis, but Hugo lost interest in the young man. Since he was not going to play the game of thrones, he didn't need to pay much attention to him.

"Lord Aenys, I want to know how to deal with those rebellious Freys."

Illyrio asked at this time. As he asked this question, the whole atmosphere became awkward, but Hugo also understood that this problem must be solved, and it was right for Illyrio to take advantage of the situation to ask now.

There were quite a few Frey juniors who rebelled this time. Except for a small number who escaped with Black Walder, the rest surrendered one after another when the army arrived and the people of Braavos were defeated. Now it is a big problem what to do with these prisoners.

Innis's expression was extremely conflicted, his brows were almost locked together. Hugo understood his difficulties. Old Frey had given birth to too many descendants, and the relationships behind these younger Freys were really complicated. Even with Innis's prestige, dealing with this group of people rashly would cause considerable trouble.

"Lock them all up first."

Innis said finally, making this decision seemed to have exhausted all his strength. Hugo gave him a sympathetic look. He could feel that Innis wanted to kill all these traitors, but due to the complicated relationships within Frey, he could only endure it.

"Lord Hugo, let's go in first. There is still a lot of time to arrange." "Okay, Lord Inis."

After the two men had finished talking, they rode side by side into the city of Pentos. As they passed, the musicians played music to welcome the return of the conquerors and saviors of the city.

.

Upper Lorne has always been considered the frontier of the New Seven Kingdoms, a place on par with Lower Lorne in the south.

Now that Lorne had fallen under the foolish orders of the Iron Throne, the situation in Upper Lorne was naturally not much better.

The coalition forces of Norvos and Qohor invaded Upper Rhoyne, captured Ar Noye, an important frontier town on the east bank of the Rhoyne River, and quickly swept through the Westeros settlements on the Rhoyne River - however, this was also because the Dornish voluntarily gave up a large amount of territory and concentrated their forces in strong fortresses or on the river.

The coalition forces then built a pontoon bridge on the River Rhoyne, transported a large number of troops to the other side of the river, and began to attack the Golden Fields under the rule of Lannister.

Town and fortress after town fell to the coalition forces. The city walls that once blocked the centaurs were no longer a threat in the hands of the coalition forces. They were not centaurs. Facing the solid city walls, the centaurs could only curse. They had powerful siege equipment.

The Lannisters had also organized an army to fight back. The Westerlands had always maintained a powerful army in Upper Lorn, and their solid shield wall had blocked countless horsemen, but their resistance was destroyed by the Valyrian steel cavalry of Qohor, who once again proved the value of Valyrian steel equipment.

From then on, the Lannisters hid behind the city walls and never dared to show their heads again.

The commander of this army was naturally Milo Ludesin, the commander-in-chief of the Norfoss army.

Over the years, he has been playing against Andas, causing countless troubles for Hugo - Hugo also recognizes the ability of this opponent.

And now, he has once again demonstrated his abilities. The entire Golden Fields has almost been taken over by General Norvos, and the Norvos army is surrounding the New Casterly Rock in three layers.

Looking from the walls of New Casterly Rock, you can see tents that look like an ocean. Under the rule of the Order, everything Norvos does is in order, and the same is true for camping.

However, the attack on New Casterly Rock was not smooth. This fortress, which the Lannisters had spent a lot of wealth to build, proved its value. Even with the tenacity of the Norvos people, they were defeated in front of New Casterly Rock several times.

"Alas, the descendants of the dragon king lost, and the people of Braavos lost too. So now we are the only ones fighting."

Milo scratched his head and said that he was not really surprised by these failures. If Hugo couldn't do this well, then he would not be the Hugo he knew.

After experiencing various confrontations over the years, Milo's attitude towards the people of Westeros has changed greatly compared to the beginning, and his position within Norvos has become completely consolidated. He does not need to take risks like he did more than a decade ago. Therefore, although he is an important army commander of the Confederacy, he is increasingly unwilling to support the counterattack.

After so many years of dealing with the Eastern conquerors led by Hugo, Milo became increasingly inclined to maintain the status quo and, at the same time, have Novos withdraw from this increasingly disunited confederation.

Anyway, Norvos did not suffer any serious losses in the expansion of Westeros, and in the past decade or so, not many Westeros people have shown interest in this isolated hills and valleys.

Of course, the Westerosi people did have some influence on Norvos. The resurgence of the Andar forces caused some fluctuations in the belief in the Seven Gods within the territory of the Order, but this was within the controllable range and was just a minor problem within the city-state. Compared to Braavos directing everyone to go all the way through the Confederation, this trouble was not a big concern.

However, there has always been a group of resolute war advocates within the bearded monks. These people hold great power and they are pushing the war forward.

"Linde, is there any new news from Norvos?"

"Yes, Lord Milo. The Order has received news. The Order is aware of Viserys and Braavos' defeat. Even those lords who advocated continuing the war have to admit that this massive counterattack has in fact failed."

Young Linde has changed a lot. He has grown a beard, looks more reliable, and acts more cautiously. All the frivolousness has disappeared from him.

"Yes, failed, failed again."

Milo's tone was calm, as if this was not a failure, but something ordinary.

"From the initial battle in the river valley, to the subsequent centaur invasion, to the current full-scale counterattack; compared to our city-states with different thoughts, the Iron Throne is not only huge in size, but also more united internally. When Balboa was defeated and died, we thought the reason for the failure was just the difference in strength, but what about this time? Viserys occupied one-third of the East, and our city-states also occupied one-third of the East. The territories of those conquerors have basically returned to the situation during the first expedition, but even so, we did not win."

"The Volantines were content to reclaim their old territories, while the Braavos were focused on the northern coast, ignoring Viserys's dire plight, ignoring his need to rely on warlords and citizens, which led to the Dragon Prince's defeat. It's much the same here, the Qohor are focused on removing Ar Noye, the downstream thorn, while we take up a few plots of land when we can, and gather the spoils back to the valley when we can't. How can we defeat the Westerosi and drive them into the sea if we can't even agree?"

"If we continue to stay here, I'm afraid we will have to face Hugo again... Linde, what do you think we should do next?"

Lind seemed to have been waiting for this for a long time. Without any hesitation, he immediately said:
"Lord Milo, I think we should withdraw our troops and return. Although we are not afraid of the God-favored One, it is not worth it to risk our lives for the Braavos people. At first, they exchanged the Anders Valley for our troops, and then called on us to unite because of Robert's threat. But now Robert is dead and the Anders Valley cannot be seized. Why should we bleed for Braavos's plan? Over the years, we have fought so many battles for the Secret City, and what have they given us in return? Those so-called northern route benefits are probably not as much as the profits from trade with the Iron Throne. How much can they make up for the blood shed by the warriors in the mountains?"

Linde's words were full of resentment, and Milo looked at him seriously.

"The people of Norvos are not afraid of war, but they are disgusted by meaningless and unrewarding wars. If you ask me, there are probably many people in the valley who share the same idea as me. My lord, withdraw the troops!"

Milo looked at his attendant for a moment, "Well, then we will prepare to break camp and return."

"Sir, I...this?"

Linde subconsciously thought that Milo was still refusing, but he never expected that Milo would directly agree. Even though he had been with Milo for so many years, this was the first time he encountered such a situation, which caught Linde completely off guard.

So, after realizing what Milo said, he suddenly closed his mouth and looked at Milo awkwardly.

Looking at his personal soldiers and recalling the orders just given, the heavy burden on Milo's shoulders was lightened a little.

Yes, since the soldiers are tired of the war, let's just march back north and let the anger of the people of Westeros be vented on the people of Braavos first.

In the past decade or so, the people of Braavos relied on the time bought by the blood of the Norvos army to complete their grand plan. Now that the order has been reversed, it can be said that there is a give and take.

"Don't be surprised, Linde. I have been preparing to withdraw." Milo looked at the Lannister fortress outside the tent. "The strength of this castle is far beyond our expectations. Even though the Dragon Prince and the Braavos people bought us more time, we still couldn't take it. As the Westeros people recover, we no longer have this opportunity."

"Now that those grumpy bearded men in the cult have bowed their heads, the last obstacle preventing us from retreating has also collapsed. In this case, let's get out of this damn place."

Milo stood up. "Come on, tell the boys for me that it's time to go. Linde, what are you hesitating about? Aren't you most eager for this moment?"

Milo's words made Linde follow immediately. Just as Milo said, he was longing for this moment to come, but when it really came, he didn't know why he was so panicked, and he kind of didn't believe it was real.

(End of this chapter)