The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 197 The sudden price

"Everyone, I think you have all seen what the Duke has been doing recently, so let me be frank. Lord Robb is in a very wrong state right now. If this continues, we will lose an important ally and may even lose the war!"

Behind an uninhabited hill in the West Territory, several Northern nobles were gathering. There was a small village not far away, but it had been reduced to ashes in the flames of war.

The nobles here are Earl Rickard Karstark of Kaho and Ser Wylis Manderly of White Harbor, as well as their subordinates and descendants.

The indignant speaker was Lord Karstark, and his words were echoed by others.

The indignation of several people was due to a series of recent events: although Robb Stark had won victory after victory in the West, and the people of the North had no doubt about his victory, but in his personal life, what Robb had done made them feel that he was destroying the future of the war.

During the war in the West, Robb had a woman by his side, Jeyne Westerling from the Rock, the daughter of a minor noble in the West.

At first, no one took it seriously. Lovers were really not a big deal, especially for the people of the North. There was nothing wrong with robbing the enemy's daughter; they were trophies anyway.

But therein lies the problem. As time passed, the Northern lords discovered that Robb was completely bewitched by this woman. He allowed the daughter of a minor noble in the West to appear openly on various occasions, treating her as the mistress of the North. The love in his eyes could be seen by everyone who had experienced it.

This is undoubtedly an insult to Frey, but as long as Robb does not bring this woman to the table, everything can be solved and negotiated. However, there have been news coming from Robb's court recently that Lord Robb intends to marry the daughter of this small noble in the West.

This plunged the Northern Army camp into a state of uneasiness, and the Freys fell into an abnormal silence. Everyone knew that this was the calm before the storm. The quieter the Freys were now, the greater the reaction would be when Robb really made that stupid choice.

This was something the Northern lords did not want to see. Now was the moment when Frey's power was needed, and Frey was no longer a thorn in the side of Duke Tully. He was now a commander on the same level as the dukes. Although many people were unwilling to admit that Frey was equal to Stark and Tully in power and status, more rational people all acquiesced to this. Even Tully of Riverrun had to admit the fact that a large number of river lords were more obedient to the Twins.

"Gods of the Seven, I smell the stench of witchcraft. There must be something wrong with that woman, or her mother!" Sir Willis held a Seven Amulet in his fat hand. "The mother of that old woman is the witch. She must have learned something from the witch to confuse people."

Since the expedition, the nobles of Westeros have become more and more concerned about magic and witchcraft, which they once regarded as illusory things, especially those who have fought and lived in the East. In the East, witchcraft is really not a rare thing, and there are many people who have been plotted against.

As they paid more attention, they indeed discovered many people practicing witchcraft. The nobles of Westeros were shocked to realize that in places they could not see, there were so many people playing with magic to achieve their ulterior motives.

What awaits these people is the stake, and the Church of the Seven is becoming more and more active in arresting those who practice witchcraft.

"But what should we do now? Lord Robb is extremely protective of that woman and won't listen to anyone's advice. The Duke was as rational on the battlefield as he is emotionally. It is one thing to advise Lord Robb not to cut off his arm, but what if he doesn't listen and instead punishes us?" said one of Karstark's sons.

This sentence poured cold water on the indignant mood. Yes, Lord Robb's attitude was a big problem, and no one wanted to be held accountable afterwards.

"Then we must first find a way to break the magic." The son of the Earl of White Harbor said, "There is a high priest of White Harbor in my army. He has participated in the expedition and broken the evil magic in the east. It will be no problem to let him come. As long as the magic on Lord Robb is removed, everything will be fine."

Lord Karstark made the decision, and everyone present agreed.

"Then do it, Lord Willis, you go and prepare the exorcism ceremony, and I will deal with Lord Robb. That bastard Umber is too stubborn, and I must lure him away first. May the new and old gods bless you, everyone, everyone, hurry up and act, I hope we can still have time now."

"Yes!" everyone present responded in unison.

However, when they returned to the barracks, they found that it was too late.

Because they had just entered the military camp, they all saw loud-voiced messengers shouting everywhere.

The news they conveyed was that Lord Robb Stark was going to marry Jeyne Westerling of Cliff Rock, and their wedding would be held soon.

Unlike ordinary soldiers who were simply happy to be able to attend the wedding banquet, Karstark and Manderly were shocked. They understood what this meant and how bad it was for the Northern Army.

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Robb Stark's actions were like a stone that caused a thousand ripples, and the entire Riverlands was shaken by his actions.

Frey didn't say any nonsense to Stark. They directly transferred all the Frey soldiers on the east and west fronts. The river lords who followed Frey also left one after another, which directly caused a large number of vacancies on the front line of the Northern Army.

If the Lannisters had not stopped their attack at this time, the Northern Army's defense line would have collapsed.

The dangers of abandoning the Freys were fully exposed. At this time, even those who overestimated the Freys found that they still underestimated the Frey family.

When the Twin Towers completely separated from the Northern Army, there were already tens of thousands of troops following it. Almost at the same time, the fleet of Pentos also carried the Frey army from the East into the Trident. They landed directly near the Twins, which made the army in the hands of old Walder even larger. At the same time, they also controlled the waterway of the Green Fork, separating Robb's headquarters from Roose Bolton on the east bank, and the way for the Young Wolf Lord to withdraw to the North from land was almost blocked - unless he went upstream and crossed the swamp at the source of the Green Fork.

Under such a dire situation, the Northern Army had to withdraw from the Westerly Border and face the Lannisters' relentless pressure from the Riverlands, as well as the Freys in the North who might turn their flags around at any time.

No matter how brilliant the plan Robb had, he lost the possibility of carrying it out when the rear was shaky.

The Northern lords also had complaints about Robb, and now, except for those diehard Stark fans, when everyone mentioned the Young Wolf, they couldn't help sighing and shaking their heads.

Those who were even more dissatisfied would privately greet the Duke who was under a spell, and some even missed the missing Lord Ed. If Lord Ed was here, why would they be so embarrassed...

Under these circumstances, the northern army crossed the mountains to the east. Robb disbanded part of the river army and asked them to return to their homes, and the rest of the army went to Riverrun, and Edmure had already prepared for the arrival of the army.

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Riverrun, the former power center of the river, now has tens of thousands of northerners gathered under this fortress. However, a gloomy atmosphere permeates this mighty army, and the morale of these elite warriors who have experienced many battles is particularly low.

Catherine saw it all, but in the end she could only sigh helplessly.

In order to leave the West as quickly as possible and avoid being surrounded on both sides by the Lannisters, the Northern Army continued to march quickly during the retreat, and all the spoils that exceeded the load of the men and horses and affected the marching speed were discarded.

The impact on ordinary soldiers was particularly obvious. Many of them were forced to abandon the captured wealth and could only carry some easy-to-carry coins and valuables to barely make back their investment.

If his son had not been defeated, the soldiers believed that they could obtain new spoils in the battle in Hejian to offset their losses. The Northern Army camp would probably not be so quiet today.

Now, whenever she thought of her eldest son, Catherine would feel angry and helpless. If this incident hadn't happened, the war situation would not have reached this point, no matter how embarrassing and unfavorable it was, and they would not have been trapped in a corner of the river. However, her son's irrationality made the situation worse.

Unilaterally giving up the marriage with a great lord like Frey and instead choosing a declining small noble in the West to become a relative is a big taboo in family relations.

Catherine couldn't understand why her son was so determined. He would rather give up tens of thousands of spears and the road back to the north and stick to his emotional impulse. Now if they want to go back to the North, they will probably have to wait until Duke Theon has settled the matter with those leaders.

The Iron Islands, damn the Iron Islands... They move when they shouldn't, and then they stop moving when you tell them to, Catherine thought.

When the war first broke out, her adopted son, Robb's good playmate, Theon Greyjoy, Duke of the Iron Islands, volunteered to return to this barren island and call on the Ironmen to join the Northern Army. In this way, they could fight together at sea and the army's actions would be more flexible.

However, what no one expected was that when Theon returned to the islands, those leaders who had assembled their troops under Robert's orders chose to stand by and remain neutral during the melee on the mainland. This really surprised everyone.

According to the letter from the adopted son, these leaders who opposed the war were headed by Rodrik Harold, Theon's uncle. He had been in charge of the affairs of the Iron Islands since Theon went north. He was the most opposed to participating in the war among the leaders of the Iron Islands, and he also received the support of his sister, Alanis Harold, the Queen Mother of the Iron Islands. Therefore, he successfully suppressed those war factions who believed in the ancient ways.

According to Theon, Rodrik acknowledged Theon's duke title, but did not think that he was capable of leading the Iron Islands now, especially since the current situation was unpredictable and he should not act rashly.

To this end, he not only summoned those leaders who advocated neutrality, but also called Theon's sister, Asha Greyjoy, to persuade the Duke, and started a war with Theon.

After recalling the tangled situation on her adopted son's side, Catherine thought of Robb's excuses in the castle just now. "Love", "honor" and "status" were just excuses made by young people, but he didn't realize that all of this was just an excuse - however, Catherine felt that her son knew it in his heart, but he refused to admit it.

Catherine thought of her youth. When duty and personal conflicts arose, Catherine chose family and responsibility without hesitation. For this reason, she showed ruthlessness and cruelty to Petyr. Ah, Petyr...

Catherine thought of Petyr, the little man. Now, he was a player at the card table, which was something Catherine had never thought of. Moreover, he also married Lysa. Lysa had always liked Petyr and hoped that this could soothe her sister's uneasy heart.

It is said that Petyr has done a very good job in the Vale. The rebellious knights in the Five Fingers Peninsula have been tamed, and the mountain clans have even become much more obedient. Catherine doesn't know how Petyr did all this, but this means that the Vale can finally free up its hands.

She needs to prepare a letter to Petyr. Catherine thought that Frey’s attitude is unclear now, so she must find a way to bring in new allies. Petyr is a suitable candidate... huh?

Suddenly, Catherine saw clouds of dust coming from the distance. Even a woman like her who knew nothing about military affairs could tell that it was an approaching army.

This made Catherine worried immediately. She immediately thought of Frey, who had an unclear attitude. If it was Frey... and in this kind of thing, you will never get what you don't want.

The Frey towers fluttered in the wind.

(End of this chapter)