iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 661 Wolf Forest 6
Upon hearing Green's words, Stannis felt a surge of anger erupt in his chest, his face contorted in rage: "Robert is an idiot!"

Green smiled and then nodded in agreement: "But he was your father's rightful heir, and he also seized the Iron Throne for Baratheon. Therefore, you are qualified to inherit his power."

He paused slightly, then added, "Of course, this is before the Targaryens return to the Iron Throne."

Stannis: "..."

An oppressive silence spread between the two, then Green's voice drifted over again: "Lord Stannis, it seems you're ready to take your final bow."

Coming to his senses, Stannis slowly raised his head, gazing at the sky above, which was gradually being shrouded in dark clouds. The gray sky resembled a heavy curtain.

His thin lips parted slightly: "Today is a perfect day to embrace strangers."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Green: "Kleber, you have never defeated me fair and square; you only ever hide in the shadows and resort to underhanded tricks."

Green seemed to have guessed what Stannis was about to say, and reached out a hand, his fingertips casually stroking the mane of the black horse beneath him: "I thought you would at least care about your only bloodline at this point."

Shirin...

Stannis paused, his teeth grinding, his body trembling slightly with rage: "Kleiber!"

The horse, being stroked by Green, snorted contentedly and gently shook its head.

He ignored Stannis's anger and said calmly, "I am neither Robert nor Tywin."

He paused, his voice sounding as if he were lamenting, "Robert and Tywin have directly trampled on the traditional honor of the Seven Kingdoms; they have both committed unforgivable crimes."

Stannis's jaw twitched stiffly a few times, his anger lessened, but his resentment became more undisguised: "If Robert hadn't listened to Ned's nonsense, Clayber, you would never have had the chance to take the Seven Kingdoms."

"Assumptions are meaningless."

Green met Stannis's gaze for a few seconds before continuing in the same tone, "Perhaps it was because of Ned's kindness that your daughter and Robert's bastards had a chance to live, didn't they?"

"..."

Shirin...

Stannis closed his eyes, moved his lips, and asked Green, "What... will happen to her?"

Green shrugged. "To be honest, I haven't made up my mind yet. Stannis, Shireen's 'fate' actually depends on..."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand, his index finger pointing slowly at Stannis: "...your next choice."

Stannis paused, then spoke, his tone dripping with sarcasm: "Kleber, may the entire Seven Kingdoms forever be blind, forever unable to see the filth beneath your skin."

“Insidious…despicable…filthy…”

Muttering these words repeatedly, Grimm's gaze swept over the bear-head hilt of Stannis's "Longclaw" sword at his waist, and he continued urgently, "Stannis, you have been igniting wars everywhere for your so-called 'legitimate power'—Stormlands, King's Landing, Dragonstone…and the Wall and the North. Under the witness of the Seven, those innocent people who believed in you and followed you, you have personally created a hell on earth for them, and the corpses scattered everywhere have become a feast for ravens…" Stannis gritted his teeth and said, "I did it to bring true peace to the Seven Kingdoms…"

This time, it was Green who raised his hand to interrupt Stannis: "Yes, I admit that, sometimes war is indeed unavoidable. However, what I want to tell you is that you can scheme for power, but you have never considered your true responsibilities, or even your honor."

The horse pawed at the frozen ground beneath its hooves, and Green's brown eyes stared directly at Stannis: "I admit that I was also plotting for power in the Seven Kingdoms, but while you were turning the Seven Kingdoms into ruins, I never forgot to take care of the people of the Seven Kingdoms whom you had forgotten. I did my best to build houses and fireplaces for them and to gather supplies for the winter."

As he spoke, his tone became more undisguisedly sarcastic: "Stannis, the Seven Kingdoms are tired of war, tired of you lords who fight each other for your own selfish desires."

He spoke as if proclaiming a judgment: "What the seven kingdoms are hoping for is a ruler who can bring them true peace, and that person is me."

Green's last words were like a hammer blow, causing Stannis to clench his fists even tighter.

After a few seconds of silence, Green continued in a complicated tone, "You knew that the White Walkers were about to invade the Seven Kingdoms, yet you recklessly stirred up trouble in the North, and even tried to eliminate Duke Ned, the only one who could stabilize the situation in the North."

He shook his head as he spoke: "Stannis, you have committed an unforgivable crime, just like Robert."

"I am right!"

Stannis could no longer contain his raging fury: "I'm right! I've always been right! Eddard Stark betrayed Robert first, he's a traitor, he deserves to die!"

His voice was filled with gritted teeth and hatred: "Robert overthrew the Mad King for Eddard, but left that fool Robert alone on the Iron Throne, while Ned was like an exile hiding in Winterfell, letting Robert indulge in wine and women!"

Robert and Ned are so selfless, so generous, so indifferent to power—if that's the case—why did they raise an army, and why did they fight for the Iron Throne?! Was it all for that promiscuous Flower of the North?! They are the greatest fools of the Seven Kingdoms, the greatest joke of the Seven Kingdoms!

His voice rose again: "I told Ned long ago that Joffrey and the others weren't Robert's children, but Lannister bastards! But he wouldn't believe my intelligence, and in the end, he almost died at the hands of that stupid woman Cersei! They came from the Wall..."

He gritted his teeth and continued, "...He refused to join forces with me again because of that stupid bastard Robert's worthless bastard child. Ned is a traitor. He deserves to die, of course he deserves to die!"

Stannis's chest heaved violently, one hand gripping the hilt of "Long Claw" tightly, as if he were about to draw the sword and unleash his raging fury on Grimm.

This distance...

Even if it were James, Green could still make Stannis's head fly off in an instant.

however.

Somewhat surprisingly, Stannis, who had just been burning with rage, suddenly calmed down.

His lips even curved slightly, a rare occurrence, a change that seemed rather strange.

Then, Stannis's voice softened slightly: "Grimm Clyburn, you are not a knight, yet you are a knight. You are truly complicated."

As he spoke, Stannis slowly removed his hand from the hilt of the "Longclaw" sword, stared into Grimm's eyes for a moment, and suddenly said, "You don't seem to have decided how I should take my final bow yet?"

(End of this chapter)