Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 289 Death of Rhaegar

Rhaegar Targaryen's body collapsed like a felled white sacred tree, but his death did not immediately end the bloody battle. The battlefield remained chaotic, the fighting continued, and many royal soldiers were still fighting for their prince.

Euron Greyjoy caught the decisive shift on the sandbar almost instantly. He leaped onto a slightly higher mound, took a deep breath, and raised his voice to its absolute peak, like a horn before a tsunami, drowning out the battlefield's clamor, and uttered a thunderous declaration: "Rhaegar Targaryen is dead!!"

Those who surrender will not be killed!

The shout was like the first stone thrown into a calm lake. Immediately, Allied soldiers nearby who had seen or heard the news reacted, their elation and belief in victory driving them to shout along. The sound expanded rapidly like a snowball, from local to global, eventually coalescing into a massive wave of noise that swept across the entire battlefield: "Rega is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

"Rega is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!!"

This declaration, like an invisible plague, instantly shattered the last pillar of morale for the royal army. Seeing the ecstatic expressions on the faces of the allied soldiers and hearing their thunderous shouts, fear and despair replaced their will to fight.

In an instant, the tide of battle turned completely. Having lost their core allies, the royal army's resistance crumbled. Some soldiers immediately threw down their weapons and knelt to surrender; many more, utterly losing their courage, turned and fled desperately towards King's Landing, seeking only to escape the hell that had devoured their hopes and their prince.

The morale of the allied forces was greatly boosted, and they began to accept surrenders in an orderly manner and pursue the fleeing soldiers.

The Battle of Trident River, with the resounding cries of victory, finally came to an end.

The dying Ser Barristan Selmy was helped by two soldiers and brought before Robert Baratheon, who had just achieved a decisive victory.

The captain of the Imperial Guard was deathly pale, his breath was weak, and his magnificent white armor was tattered and soaked in blood. Only his eyes, though dim, still retained their last shred of dignity.

A group of nobles, led by Earl Roose Bolton, immediately surrounded him. The lord of Dreadfort's voice was as cold as the skinning legends of his family: "Your Majesty, Barristan Selmy is the Mad King's most loyal hound, his hands stained with the blood of the rebels. This man must not be spared; he should be executed immediately as an example to others!"

Many generals around him echoed his sentiments, and the air was thick with the murderous intent of revenge.

Robert waved his hand, silencing the commotion. He stood before Barristan, his massive frame bowing down to gaze at the opponent who had caused him so much suffering in the tournament.

Beneath Robert's ferocious exterior lies a deep appreciation for true bravery. He saw Barristan's courage in fighting to the death despite his severe wounds, and he remembered that the Selmy family had been loyal vassals of Stormlands for generations.

"Enough!" Robert's voice, though hoarse, carried an undeniable authority. "To kill a defenseless warrior is not the glory of the victor, but the act of a coward! He is a legend, and I want him to live on!"

Ignoring the astonished and displeased looks of Roose Bolton and the others, he turned to his entourage and gave the order: "Take him away! Have my maesters use the finest medicine to save Ser Barristan. I want him to live."

This decision surprised many, but it also clearly demonstrated Robert Baratheon's formidable magnanimity and respect for tradition beneath his rugged exterior, the king he was about to become.

The Allied victory at the Trident River was forged with countless lives and blood.

As the euphoria of victory gradually subsided, the weight of tallying casualties loomed over the entire camp like a dark cloud. It was a Pyrrhic victory, joy tinged with sorrow.

The casualties suffered by the Allied forces were staggering. About a third of the soldiers fell forever on the blood-stained riverbank, never to return to the snowfields of the North, the fields of the Riverlands, or the hills of the Valley. Countless families were shattered as a result.

Even more heartbreaking is that many talented and courageous nobles also perished in this battle, their names inscribed in the annals of the dead:

The North lost a loyal and valiant general. Morse Umber's two sons, the future hope of his family, both died at the Trident River, leaving the old lord with the extreme grief of a parent outliving their children.

The Earl of Allview, of the Riverlands, was not spared either; he fell not far from his hometown and could never return to his castle that overlooked the surrounding area.

Lord Grandson, patriarch of House Grandson of the Stormlands and Robert's vassal, also shed his last drop of blood for the banner of the new king.

The list continues to grow, and behind each name lies the collapse of a family's pillar and the wounds that will take a long time to heal in a territory.

Robert Baratheon remained silent for a long time upon hearing this devastating news. He stroked the dents on his warhammer, and for the first time, he felt so clearly how much loyalty and blood had been poured into forging that cold Iron Throne.

The laurel wreath of victory is far heavier and more thorny than imagined.

The news of Prince Rhaegar's death at the Trident spread like a cold plague throughout King's Landing, ultimately shattering the last shred of reason within the Red Keep.

Upon receiving the devastating news, King Iris II descended into utter madness. He roared hysterically in the throne room, his voice so shrill it could pierce eardrums.

He cursed the dead Rhaegar, calling him a "worthless piece of trash"; he cursed the fallen Kingsguard Jon Darryl and the captured Barristan Selmy, accusing them of "failing the White Robe"; he denounced the routed soldiers at the front as "cowards who should be burned at the stake"; even the trembling servants around him became "useless fools and potential traitors" in his eyes.

In the midst of this frenzied chaos, a cold-blooded decision was made: Queen Rhaela and Prince Viserys were to be immediately sent to Dragonstone. Ostensibly, it was a consideration to protect the main family's bloodline, but in reality, it was filled with Aerys's obsessive and inexplicable ruthlessness.

Queen Rhaela was six months pregnant at this time. The arrival of this child stemmed from that incredibly dark night—the same night that Aerys II burned Lord Rickard Stark alive with wildfire and forced his eldest son Brandon to commit suicide. In his extreme cruelty and excitement, the Mad King once again vented his anger and desire on his queen, whipping and raping her.

Soon after, Queen Leila discovered that she was pregnant.

This life, conceived amidst extreme violence and suffering, like a secret lurking in the shadows, followed her aboard a ship bound for Dragonstone, sailing towards an unknown destiny.

King's Landing, the capital city on the verge of collapse, is marching step by step toward its final destruction amid the mad king's frenzied dance.