The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 217 Tyrion's Decision
In the mountains of northern Essos, large armies are advancing. The Andals, holding high the seven-pointed star that has not been seen for thousands of years, are heading towards the birthplace of their ancestors.

Originally, it would have been impossible for the Andals to travel so far north, and Norvos would never allow such a thing to happen. However, thanks to the defeat of Braavos, the Northern Confederation automatically disbanded, and the other two members of the Confederation, Norvos and Qohor, both chose to sign peace treaties with the Andal conquerors.

For Norvos and Qohor, over the years, they have found a new position in the Eastern system dominated by Westeros. The bearded monks of Norvos, who are self-sufficient, are unwilling to continue this war, and the craftsmen of Qohor no longer want to be hostile to their biggest customers.

So the Andals were able to take over Braavos's legacy in the north.

Tribal people along the way continued to join the army. Although these people had only a vague concept of their ancestors and beliefs, the weather was now beginning to get colder, and those who were useless to the tribe needed to reduce the pressure on their families, and joining the war was the best choice.

Entire tribes joined the expedition in droves, eyeing the spoils and the opportunity to settle in better areas.

In the eyes of many expeditionary fanatics, this was a manifestation of the favor of the Seven Gods on their conquest, and so these fanatics became more and more fanatical and marched faster and faster, wishing to reach the Axe Peninsula immediately.

But other troops didn't like it very much.

"Damn it, Seven Gods, those lunatics don't even take a break, they're still walking and urging us to go. What's in their heads? Aren't they afraid that they'll die of exhaustion before they get to the destination?"

Under the gaze of the towering mountains, Tyrion Lannister's army was marching through the valleys between the mountains. The little devil was wrapped in a thick robe with chain mail underneath. He couldn't help but tighten his robe. "And this damn weather, after entering the mountains, it's cold in the mornings and evenings, hot in the afternoon, and now it's getting colder in the mornings and evenings."

"That's how it is in the mountains, Lord Tyrion," said the sellsword Bronn, who wore a cynical smile on his face, no matter what he looked at. "The temperature fluctuates several times a day. You must take care of yourself and dress well, otherwise you will easily get sick. There are no doctors in places like this."

Tyrion looked at the mercenary. He didn't know whether accepting this man was the right choice, but Bronn's current performance was completely in line with the abilities he boasted about. This man was familiar with the East and had been working on the front line for a long time, so he knew a little bit of everything.

Tyrion once asked him, shouldn't a capable man like him have been a noble in the East? Bronn just smiled, and there was bitterness in that smile that Tyrion saw for the first time on his face.

"It also depends on luck and connections." This is what Bronn said at the time.

Tyrion naturally understood what a mercenary meant, which made him grateful for his identity again. He was a Lannister. Even though he was a dwarf, he was still a Lannister. This ensured that he would not be drowned immediately after birth, and also ensured that he would succeed if he worked hard.

Thinking of this, Tyrion began to be grateful for his identity as a dwarf. If not, he would probably have become a second-generation rich man who knew nothing about the world.

But then again, if he were not a dwarf, he would not have encountered all that. It must be said that the will of the Seven Gods is really hard to understand.

Speaking of the will of the Seven Gods, Tyrion couldn't help but think of the meeting with his wife and daughter. It must be said that the meeting was extremely awkward. Facing Tysa and the children beside her, Tyrion's face turned red and he couldn't say anything.

Tessa's attitude seemed much more indifferent than his. Facing the silence between the two, she just sighed silently. In the end, both sides asked each other dryly about their information and current situation, and then said goodbye to each other and left.

Next, Tyrion had a good talk with his uncle and learned about the living conditions of the mother and daughter over the years. His uncle told him that Tysha and the children had lived well over the years and that Lord Hugo personally arranged to take care of them.

To be honest, this was also a tormenting thing. After committing the crime of patricide, Tyrion did not want to see his relatives. He could not bear the sight of them. Fortunately, his uncle did not mention anything about his father from beginning to end, but his uncle's eyes had already put enough pressure on him.

After asking his uncle to take good care of Tysha and her daughter, Tyrion focused on his expedition, worked harder for it, and was more willing to ask for help. All he could do now was to gain higher power and status and bring them back in glory.

Back to the present, Tyrion looked back and saw that the army with the lion banner was advancing in an orderly manner. The composition of this army was very mixed, including the mountain clans that had always followed him, new soldiers recruited in the interior of Braavos and along the way, and mercenaries and small nobles recruited through sweet talk and promises of benefits.

In order to gather these 3,000 people, he used up all his tricks and used up all his face. He also made a lot of promises and wrote a lot of IOUs on behalf of the Lannisters - after all, the good reputation left by his father is essentially a resource, and as a resource it should be used.

Although the quality of this army was not very reliable, Tyrion understood that although the soldiers were elite, if the number of iron boots stepping on the ground was too small, it would be of no use.

"I don't know why those knights are running so fast."

Tyrion couldn't help but complain after seeing a group of knights with seven-pointed star flags and various emblems running by, raising dust that choked his face.

"They are just young people who think they can reproduce the martial arts of their fathers." Bronn's tone was full of contempt, and there was also some barely perceptible shame in the past. "These people grew up under the instigation of the people around them. They think that what their fathers can do, they can do too. Those brainless people have become like this. But it's good that they are willing to rush to the front."

"Why?" Tyrion asked very appropriately.

"At least they have eliminated all the ambushes." Bronn said, and the corners of their mouths rose at the same time.

Tyrion liked this sellsword very much. He was funny and capable, which was rare. But he never trusted him. What Bronn said about him working for the highest bidder was never false.

An hour passed after this conversation, and just as they had just said, they saw an ambush on the battlefield, and the victims were the knights.

Now the knights no longer had the majestic appearance they had before when riding on their tall horses. Instead, they were lying on the ground in a mess. There were also many dead horses among them, and many people's heads had been cut off and impaled on wooden stakes.

Tyrion looked at a breastplate with an extremely scary wound on it. It seemed that this was the masterpiece of the Ibben axemen mentioned in the information.

Looking at the scene, Tyrion restored the scene in his mind. These knights who were running did not expect to encounter an ambush, so they were knocked down by the tripwires, and the fallen knights also tripped more people. At the moment when the knights were in chaos, the Ibbenese threw javelins and bows, and then the infantry rushed into the knights to kill them. After the battle, the Ibbenese took away everything that could be used, and then did not forget to cut off the heads and stick them on the roadside as a deterrent. "A typical Ibbenese army intimidation method." Bronn commented, "Those hairy tall guys like to use this method to intimidate the enemy, but it is quite effective for the mercenaries in Braavos. When I fought for Braavos, I often saw the new recruits that Braavos had recruited from all over the world being frightened."

As a mercenary who had been in the East for more than ten years, Bronn had naturally worked for Braavos and fought against the Ibbenese in the north. Bronn described that experience as not being a very pleasant one, as the people of Braavos used them as cannon fodder. Fortunately, Bronn reacted quickly enough, otherwise he would have died there long ago.

"And my army is full of rookies. Shaga, deal with these corpses and heads." Tyrion frowned. Although Shaga muttered and complained, he still obediently led his men to clean up the corpses and heads.

In response, Bronn just shrugged nonchalantly, "It looks like we have entered the war zone. It won't be long before we can see those fanatical guys."

Speaking of "fanatic guys", Tyrion thought of the followers of the Seven Gods, led by the famous old sparrow. These guys ran very fast, and they were also the main force of the expeditionary force.

When Tyrion thought of those people, he felt unhappy, because some of the fanatical believers among them regarded him as "the filth of the Seven Gods on earth" and a child that could never be born, and attacked him madly on this basis.

Sooner or later I'll find a way to make these guys pay, Tyrion thought.

After this episode, Tyrion's army continued on their journey. As time passed, the temperature gradually became hotter, especially when the sun shone in the mountains.

Therefore, many soldiers took off their coats and moved forward. As the temperature became more suitable, their steps became lighter, and some soldiers even sang songs.

At this moment, Tyrion received bad news.

"What do you mean you were defeated?"

Tyrion didn't notice the exasperation in his tone; he wanted to get accurate information immediately.

"Old Sparrow was ambushed by the Iban people, and they are now forced to retreat." said the messenger, who was dressed in tattered clothes and looked like he had traveled a long distance.

"Oh my god, this is bullshit." Tyrion felt that this was nonsense. Old Sparrow was a participant in the first expedition. How could such a person lead the troops into an ambush?

What Tyrion didn't know was that although the Old Sparrow was very experienced, he lacked experience in leading an independent army. Moreover, he now led a group of fanatics. It was normal for these people to rush forward desperately.

The messenger did not answer Tyrion's question because this was something he didn't know about, he just came to convey the news.

"Lord Tyrion, now Lord Sparrow has ordered all troops to fall back and regroup. I have brought the message, and I will say goodbye here. I still have to notify the other troops."

With that, the messenger rode away, not giving Tyrion a chance to ask further questions.

Seeing this, Tyrion simply stopped the army and set up camp on the spot. Then, he and his staff and allies analyzed the situation together.

Because, although this defeat came suddenly, it also gave Tyrion some different ideas, some ideas that allowed him to stand out in this expedition.

He never forgot that, for him personally, this expedition was, after all, a test given to him by Hugo Tollet, and he had to hand in an excellent answer, otherwise he would be lost among the adventurers in Westeros in the future - after all, what the East lacked the least was military leaders like him.

However, Tyrion is not the kind of person who acts on impulse. Before taking action, he must collect enough information and conduct sufficient analysis.

"Since we haven't seen any fleeing troops until now, it undoubtedly means that the Old Sparrow's troops did not retreat along our route, and the Ibans must be chasing the Old Sparrow's troops retreating from another route. Everyone, if we are lucky, the road to the Ibans' lair is open to us."

Standing in front of his subordinates, Tyrion said firmly as he was being scrutinized by everyone.

This was the plan he had spent a great deal of time piecing together using the information he had collected and the information he had gathered from his scouts.

Yes, Tyrion intends to take a gamble, seize this opportunity, and attack the Ibbenese's lair directly, so as to achieve unprecedented merit and perfectly complete Hugo's assessment.

However, there was silence in response to Tyrion, and the reason was very simple, because this was too risky. To put it nicely, this was courageous and knowledgeable, but to put it bluntly, this was a solitary expedition, and if one was not careful, the entire army would be wiped out.

Bronn was just standing by and watching the show, as if he was just standing there watching the show.

Tyrion frowned, but this was expected. But just as he was about to say the lines he had prepared for a long time, Shagga suddenly spoke.

"Half-man, others think this is risky, but I believe in you. Back then, you alone dared to light a bonfire in the Moon Mountains and lured us here. Then you persuaded us to take you to see the chiefs. Then, our High Mountain Clan was able to raise its head for the first time in thousands of years and defeated those Andals."

The words of the mountain barbarians were very powerful. Tyrion saw that the expressions on many people's faces had changed, which made him feel relieved. He was still planning to talk about this matter for a while.

However, even if this problem is solved, it is only the beginning. Tyrion knows very well that the road ahead will still be difficult, and he is ready to take this path.

(End of this chapter)