Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

What are your plans next?

Chapter 421 Tywin's Tactics

"Intend?"

Viserys stood up from the ground and dusted himself off.

Then he bent down, picked up the twilight sword that had been tossed aside, and then used the tip of his sword to re-insert it into the scabbard at his waist.

Clang...

The blade scraped against the guard, making a sound. Viserys gripped the hilt, then raised his head and spoke.

"I don't have any plans right now, I just want to lie down and get a good night's sleep."

The silver-haired young man's face was etched with fatigue. The fierce battle of the night had indeed taken a toll on him, even though he had now reached the level of a transcendent being.

"Who told you what you just said? Was it a revelation from the Lord of Light?"

Viserys asked, and Melisandre shook her head slightly, raising her hand to greet a ray of sunlight.

"No, it's something I felt myself."

The silver-haired youth was slightly taken aback.

Then I felt the warmth carried by the sunlight. In late winter and early spring, the morning breeze was moist, and the whole world suddenly became vibrant.

Winter departed with the Night King's footsteps, and the spring breeze gently swept across the land. The nightmare had passed, and hope had finally become reality.

For some reason, Viserys suddenly felt a sense of melancholy, as if looking back on the day he came into this world to the present day was like living through a nightmare.

He then sighed inexplicably and muttered a rare curse under his breath.

"Hold!"

Time flies. The Targaryen family lost the Iron Throne in the last 'wrong spring,' but returned to their homeland this spring, a kind of fateful cycle.

Just then, the sound of thunderous hooves echoed in the distance, dust and snowflakes swirling as the Dothraki, led by Kago, arrived from afar.

After the war ended, the cavalry of the Seven Kingdoms, led by Stannis and Eddard Stark, broke away from Kargo's leadership and took a completely different route south across the river back to the Twins.

They were unaware of the fall of the Twins or Robert's fatal arrow wound, but staying with these fierce steppe warriors was certainly not a good choice.

After all, they were enemies, not friends, and had only temporarily united because of the pressure from the White Walkers. Stannis and Eddard were well aware of this.

Then.

Rumbling--

Horses galloped, dust billowed, and the earth trembled slightly.

However, the Dothraki, who had arrived in a menacing manner, did not stop in front of Viserys.

Instead, they surrounded him and the red-robed witch, raising their Arak scimitars and letting out shrill cheers.

"Hoohoho!"

Viserys, who was surrounded at the center, remained calm, simply smiling and nodding, knowing that this was a unique Dothraki celebration.

Then Kago spurred his horse out from among the cheering tribesmen.

He came to Viserys and the Red Priestess, then dismounted and knelt on one knee.

"My blood of blood."

...

A warm spring breeze swept through Twin River City.

The Seven Kingdoms coalition had retreated to the castle that had been briefly occupied by the White Walkers, where they slaughtered all the wights who remained and burned their bodies.

Many of these were descendants and servants of the Frey family, who narrowly escaped being wiped out.

The Lords of the River Crossing were arguably the most unfortunate family in this war, if not the most unfortunate. Their ancestor, Lord Walder Frey the Elder, was so frightened that he jumped into the river and committed suicide. Subsequently, the Frey family was raided by the White Walkers.

Once one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the Trident River region, the Frey family was large and prosperous, but suffered heavy casualties in this war.

Only a handful of outstanding descendants who had been sent overseas by old Walder beforehand remained. Many of them also perished in the fighting on the battlefield. The eldest son of Marquis Steve Ren Frey of New Twins, Lyman, was killed in action, and the new Marquis was deeply grieved.

The Frey family members who remained in the Twins were all killed; they all became fresh ghouls and were burned to ashes.

Ser Barristan Selmy, captain of the King's Guard, was originally appointed as the acting commander of the allied forces, but the situation changed after Lord Tywin Lannister arrived with his troops.

Many nobles, having received favors from Lord Tywin Lannister and borrowed his gold, silently turned their support to the Duke of Casterly Rock.

The many soldiers of the Allied forces suspected that they had been betrayed by Tywin, but they dared not speak out against the newly arrived Western Frontier army.

But the upright and incorruptible Earl of Runestone, Jon Royce, was not intimidated by the Western Army and instead stepped forward.

He confronted Lord Tywin Lannister, asking him why he had retreated in the face of battle and betrayed his allies.

Tywin's withdrawal put the Allied forces and His Majesty the King in danger, nearly resulting in their annihilation by the White Walkers.

The Earl of Runestone even shifted the blame for the king being shot onto Tywin.

Among the alliance of wolves, deer, and ospreys, which are the mainstays maintaining the stability of the Baratheon dynasty, only Earl Jorn Royce, as the representative of the Vale, has the ability to step forward in the face of the current situation.

Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, is dead; Hoster Tully, Lord of Riverrun, is seriously ill and has not come; Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, is not present; the Baratheon king is in a coma; and the king's younger brother has not returned with Eddard.

Unfortunately, his remaining teammates were all mediocre, so much so that when the Earl of Runestone stepped forward to confront Tywin and question him, hoping to resolve the current predicament...

Not a single noble from the Wolf-Deer-Osprey Alliance dared to stand up for him; only Jon Royce, clad in bronze armor, stood alone, facing Tywin's gloomy face.

Tywin was attacked by the Earl of Runestone, who accused him of betraying the King and the interests of the Allied Forces.

Faced with such heinous crimes, Tywin naturally denied them outright.

Otherwise, even if he had three heads, it wouldn't be enough to chop them off, and he would have become a public enemy.

However, having been confronted so directly, Tywin still had to give a face-to-face explanation for this thorny issue.

The Duke of Casterly Rock, with a grim face, then addressed all the nobles and soldiers, explaining why he had voluntarily withdrawn his troops in an attempt to salvage his reputation.

According to the Duke of Tywin, he reported the bad news to the King immediately upon receiving it.

However, for some reason the messenger disappeared and failed to deliver the message to the king.

He was not guilty of dereliction of duty or failure to fight; on the contrary, as the commander of the rear guard, he held off the White Walkers for at least several hours for the main force of the Allied forces.

He sent messengers to the king multiple times during this period to request aid, but no reinforcements were ever received.

Therefore, they were forced to withdraw their troops.

Chapter 422 Hidden Arrows Are Hard to Defend Against

It's unclear how many people truly heeded Tywin's explanation; at least, the missing messengers couldn't come forward to vouch for him.

But amidst a sparse round of applause, Tywin Lannister managed to oust the Kingsguard captain, who had little political influence, and temporarily become the commander-in-chief of the allied forces.

It seems reasonable that the king's father-in-law would take over as commander-in-chief of the army in place of the injured and comatose king.

We're all family, no matter how loyal the Imperial Guards are, they're still outsiders.

Therefore, Tywin Lannister, along with his rear guard and the newly arrived reinforcements from the Westerlands, easily relieved Barristan Selmy of his post.

The other party served as commander for less than an hour before reverting to being a senior bodyguard.

The allied forces, under the command of Lord Tywin, returned to the Twins to recuperate, and then the Seven Kingdoms cavalry returning from the front brought more good news.

The White Walkers retreated very thoroughly this time, and it seems they won't be making a comeback anytime soon.

The scholars accompanying the army also noticed the change in temperature, predicting that the harsh winter had passed and a new spring had arrived. The last spring was the 'false spring' of 281 in the Conquest Calendar...

The retreat of the White Walkers was like a mountain that had been weighing on everyone's hearts collapsing. The crisis of the apocalypse disappeared, the gloom overhead dissipated, and everyone felt that they could breathe more easily.

Some even suggested holding a grand victory banquet and tournament in the Twins to celebrate this moment of triumph.

After all, this has been how things have been for so many years. His Majesty the King is also ambitious and extravagant, and the vassals below are willing to cater to him.

If His Majesty the King had not been struck by an arrow and fallen unconscious, he might have indeed invited that King and the Dothraki to a victory banquet and tournament to commemorate the sincere camaraderie they shared in fighting side by side.

After the two sides celebrated with drinks, whether tensions rose or they sat down to negotiate was a matter for later.

But defeating the White Walkers would certainly be a cause for celebration, worthy of a few drinks.

If King Robert hadn't fallen into a coma, such a thing might very well have happened, given his temperament...

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in this world, and Robert remained unconscious in his hospital bed.

Tywin Lannister, the commander-in-chief of the army, has meticulous green eyes. His style of commanding troops is to enforce orders strictly and he detests drinking and merrymaking in the army.

Therefore, he ruthlessly rebuked the fool who came up with the idea and sternly told him that defeating the White Walkers did not mean complete victory, because there were even more powerful enemies waiting for them.

Tywin's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over people's heads, completely sobering them up from the joy of victory.

Who is the more powerful enemy?

Tywin didn't need to explain; everyone knew.

That enemy, capable of repelling the Night King, must be an even more powerful one, and he still has a large number of soldiers across the Narrow Sea who have not yet landed in Westeros.

However, although Tywin's words dampened everyone's joy and made them tense again, overall they were not as nervous as when facing the White Walkers.

Because Viserys and his steppe cavalry, however terrifying they may be, are still human. As humans, they can communicate with each other, while the White Walkers don't even give them a chance to communicate.

If they truly cannot withstand the Targaryen family's massive army that will devour Westeros in the future, they can simply kneel and surrender. At that time, they will have no psychological burden and it will not affect the family's honor.

Moreover, the coalition forces and Viserys have not yet completely fallen out.

Therefore, although Tywin poured cold water on the situation, the overall atmosphere of the coalition was still relaxed and lively.

However, there were still two people in the entire army in Twin Rivers who felt somewhat worried.

One of them was Eddard Stark, Duke of Winterfell, and the other was Stannis Baratheon, the king's younger brother.

The two were in the same boat, holding the titles of Warden of the North and Duke of Dragonstone but having no territory.

They followed the Dothraki deep behind enemy lines and outflanked the White Walkers, thus learning just how terrifying Viserys's herd of steppe knights truly were.

Moreover, they witnessed the dragon's power up close and were worried about the future.

It's fine if they don't fall out with Viserys; if they do, they probably won't stand a chance.

Moreover, after the two returned with their army, they first went to see Robert Baratheon, who was in a coma. They were originally qualified for the position of Commander-in-Chief.