Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

Highgarden is a beautiful castle located on the banks of the Mandeb River in the Reach, built entirely of white marble and filled with an artistic atmosphere.

The meticulously maintained plant maze, blooming flowers, courtyards, ponds, and artificial waterfalls create a picturesque scene.

This beautiful castle stands on a hill overlooking the vast river bend plain, with the Mande River flowing quietly below. From the balcony of the High Court Tower, one can see all the beautiful manors and well-arranged fields within a few miles.

However, the arrival of the Dothraki army shattered this beautiful scene that could only be found in poetry, abruptly transforming the idyllic atmosphere into one of fierce warfare and overwhelming power.

"Roar roar roar~"

The magnificent scene of thousands of horses galloping can be seen from a great distance. The savage steppe cavalry has arrived in Highgarden, and their chaotic hooves have trampled the plains and the crops that have not yet grown.

However, the beautiful garden castle has already lost its beauty even before it has been ravaged by the Dothraki.

The recent siege of Highgarden in Dorne destroyed this elegance and beauty; Garden Castle has become a thorny fortress covered with spikes, bearing the marks of war and yet to be properly restored.

In a towering white building, on a protruding rooftop, a short, elderly woman with a headscarf and full of silver hair leans on a white marble railing, looking down at the endless grassland cavalry stretching into the distance.

War, like a bandit, barbarically entered the old woman's field of vision, trampling down the pale yellow flower field she loved to admire, and taking away her son and two grandsons in the process.

Although the 'Queen of Thorns' is covered in thorns and can't help but prick you with every few words, Lady Olena is not a person who likes war.

She preferred to solve problems the way House Tyrell did, or rather, she led House Tyrell into this state.

"Ho-"

At that moment, a massive black dragon appeared in the sky, emerging from the sea of ​​clouds and letting out a deep, melodious roar. Its scarlet eyes looked down at the white castle below, and it flapped its wings and circled the high ground once. The soldiers in the castle were terrified and dared not resist in the slightest.

The old woman stared intently at the giant dragon in the sky, her eyes filled with horror. Her pale, thin fingers gripped the white marble railing tightly, her nails turning slightly white.

After all, although she had lived for over sixty years and was approaching seventy, older than Duke Horst Tully, whose head had been chopped off and impaled on a spear more than half a year ago, it was also the first time she had ever seen a dragon.

Who could remain completely calm when they first encounter a monster that should belong in mythology?

Despite their previous vivid imaginations about dragons, when they saw them for the first time, they couldn't help but be captivated by their violent beauty, trembling with fear and unable to extricate themselves.

The old woman, wearing a headscarf, then left the rooftop and shakily returned to her room, closing the ornate gold-lacquered door behind her.

Soon after.

Rumbling--

The heavy gates of Highgarden opened from the inside, and all the soldiers loyal to House Tyrell, their faces still etched with bewilderment, marched out of the city in two lines.

wow-

Then he put down his weapon and knelt down on either side of the road.

Belerien merely flew around Highgarden once, and the beautiful Reach capital surrendered without a fight, without even needing Velas Tyrell to persuade his grandmother.

Viserys rode a white horse alongside the army, while Velas Tyrell followed beside him on horseback, his gaze toward Highgarden filled with complex emotions.

“I’ve heard of the ‘Queen of Thorns’ a long time ago. It seems that Lady Olena is indeed a smart woman.”

Viserys gripped the reins, then turned to Velas and spoke.

Velas's expression was complex, a mixture of guilt, sadness, and other emotions. He felt ashamed to face his grandmother, mother, and sister.

As the commander of the Reach army, he should be held responsible for the defeat in the war and the deaths and injuries of his family members.

And now, the only man in the direct line of the prestigious House Tyrell, the Rose of Highgarden… is Velas; the rest are all women.

But then Velas rallied his spirits, turned to Viserys, and earnestly answered.

“My grandmother was indeed a wise woman, Your Majesty.”

"Your Majesty is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, carrying the will of Heaven and the people, so Grandmother would naturally not dare to stand in your way."

"Otherwise, Highgarden and Tyrell will be reduced to ashes and disappear from history forever."

...

Although the Reach army suffered a crushing defeat at Starstalker, the Tyrell family, with its deep-rooted power, still had the capacity to resist.

However, instead of leading House Tyrell in a desperate resistance, the 'Queen of Thorns' Olenna Tyrell chose to surrender outright.

The Dothraki army took control of Highgarden and opened the Tyrell family's warehouses, where a mountain of gold, dazzling to the eye, left everyone speechless.

On the other hand, Viserys would naturally not do such a vulgar thing himself.

It is indeed stealing gold, but others can do it, while he cannot or cannot do it openly.

Just as Kagor could arbitrarily execute Mace Tyrell, Garland, and Loras, nearly wiping out the entire Tyrell family.

Viserys could do the same, but he must think twice before acting.

Otherwise, it could very well have the opposite effect, since in such an era, honor and faith are still deeply rooted things.

Viserys, his hand on the hilt of his sword, walked through the vibrant garden, the magnificent courtyard, and the shimmering pool.

Highgarden truly lives up to its reputation as the center of art in the Seven Kingdoms, with its artistic stone carvings, fountains, marble columns, and walls and sculptures adorned with grapes and roses.

Then, we climbed to the top of the tall, rotating tower, where a wide corridor led to a spacious and luxurious bedroom. The floor was covered with thick, handcrafted Mil carpets with exquisite patterns, clearly worth a fortune.

Viserys pushed open the door, and inside was an elderly silver-haired woman wearing a veil, who looked like she had been waiting for a long time. She was also holding the hand of a brown-haired girl.

"Combat is indeed not our forte, Your Majesty."

Chapter 541 Tearing Up the Surrender Agreement

"Did our soldiers put up a brave resistance on the battlefield?"

“Galan, Mayes…”

Lady Olena's opening remarks were simple; she tilted her head back and asked a question.

Viserys paused for a moment after hearing this, then clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"It's not much different from what we expected."

He then added a further emphasis.

"Sir Garland died in battle."

"Ha, I knew it, because we are proud golden roses..."

Upon hearing Viserys's words, the old woman's expression darkened, and she shook her head with a self-deprecating smile.

"Garland is the most stubborn of the Tyrells, that silly boy, and Mace... he's been a coward since he was a kid."

"But...we still chose to fight."

"Mays, Garland... and Loras, perhaps their deaths were also destined."

The silver-haired old woman recited these names one by one, her voice hoarse. Although her face was expressionless, these names were all those of her flesh and blood and descendants.

"We paid a heavy price."

Then Lady Olenna, the 'Queen of Thorns,' raised her head and looked earnestly at Viserys with her dim, yellowed old eyes, and began to speak.

"We fought, but we lost, Your Majesty."

"We also paid the price we deserved."

"You possess a powerful army capable of sweeping away all the nobles of the seven kingdoms; the Iron Throne should naturally belong to you."

"But conquering the world and ruling the world are not the same thing."

Lady Olena's eyes were bright and piercing.

"A powerful army that can sweep across seven kingdoms can help you unify the world, but it cannot help you govern the country well."

Although she lost the war and her son and grandson, the old woman did not give up trying to persuade Viserys to abandon his plans for change.

She tried to persuade Viserys by pointing out that the political system of the Seven Kingdoms had always been one of aristocratic autonomy.

The Iron Throne is his, the King is his, he can command nobles at will, wage war, ask nobles for money when he's short of cash, marry a beautiful and noble queen, and even have hundreds of mistresses like the 'mediocre King' Aegon, enjoying endless riches and glory.

But the Queen of Thorns couldn't understand why Viserys insisted on taking away the power of the nobles.

If Viserys simply nods, the seven kingdoms can be unified the next day, and everyone will be happy. Wouldn't that be great?

However, Lady Olena firmly believed that conquering the world and ruling the world are not the same thing.

Without the help of the nobles, Viserys would not have been able to govern the country well.

Therefore, she tried to persuade the silver-haired young man to give up his idea of ​​change, after all, she had more experience than Viserys had.

However, as Viserys entered the magnificent room filled with classical charm, he couldn't help but look around before his gaze fell on the brown-haired girl and he looked away.

He heard the Queen of Thorns' words, but shook his head slightly.

Viserys pulled up a chair and sat down directly opposite her, then began to speak.

"Lady Olena, are the rules that have been in place since ancient times always right?"

The old woman with a full head of silver hair was slightly taken aback when she heard this. As the high and mighty 'Queen of Thorns', she had never thought about this question before.

"Why are nobles nobles?"

Viserys then looked at the grandfather and grandson in front of him and calmly continued to ask.

The old woman opened her mouth as if to answer, but Viserys answered before she could.

"Because of noble blood?"

"Because they are smarter or more capable?"

In fact, there are quite a few notorious fools among nobles throughout history. Viserys's words left Lady Olenna speechless, and it seems that nobles are not so special after all.

Nobles are human too; they can die if a knife pierces their heart, and in their old age, if they fall seriously ill, they will also defecate and urinate on their sickbeds, which does not make them seem noble at all.

Their so-called noble bloodline doesn't seem to have given them any special advantages, such as being smarter or stronger.

If we're talking about the continent of Westeros, it seems that only the Targaryen and Stark families can truly be considered to have noble bloodlines.

House Targaryen possesses 'true dragon blood' and can establish very good relationships with dragons, becoming partners with them.

The Stark family's bloodline is also very mysterious, with an unknown origin. They possess the talent to become green prophets, and seem to have some inextricable connection with the White Walkers and the Old Gods.

Apart from the Targaryen and Stark families, the other families in the Seven Kingdoms seem to be just ordinary people who seized the opportunity first and gained an advantage by being there first.

The old woman was speechless after hearing Viserys's words.

Meanwhile, the brown-haired girl on the other side still had tears in her eyes, and her gaze towards Viserys was filled with fear.

Then, Lady Olena, with a veil over her head, took a deep breath, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and shook her head.