Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

At present, the kingdom has been recuperating and working hard to improve its governance. The causeway across the Neck Marsh has been repaired with the full strength of the nation and is now large enough to accommodate a large army. In addition, the interest-free loan from the Braavos Iron Treasury has been secured. After discussions between the Iron Throne and the Royal Council, the King's decree was finally issued a month ago.

Prepare to launch a war to reclaim the northern border and take back the land from the dead.

The soldiers mobilized this time were former Northern Army soldiers, but their command had changed because the new kingdom policy did not allow nobles to command armies exceeding their required private army limit. Therefore, all the Northern Army soldiers this time belonged to a legion independent of the kingdom's military system.

The Night's Watch.

The war between humans and the White Walkers was not over a few years ago. For humans, a long time had passed, but for the White Walkers, it was probably just a halftime break, a brief retreat to accumulate strength, and they would come back to fight again in the future.

To prepare for future wars, the Iron Throne proposed a plan for the 'Great Night's Watch'.

The plan was very simple: to expand the size and number of the Night's Watch, restoring this legendary and ancient army to its most powerful period, in order to prepare for the future war against the White Walkers. This also perfectly suited the unique customs and traditions of the North.

The people of the North are extremely xenophobic and dislike outsiders governing them. Under the new policies, nobles are not allowed to keep their own private armies. The state has no intention of granting special privileges to the nobles of the North like Dorne has, so it simply puts all soldiers under the command of the Night's Watch.

However, apart from the convicts who were sent over, the other soldiers in the North did not have to take those harsh oaths. After serving for a few years, they were allowed to go home, marry, and have children, and were considered to be the outer soldiers of the Night's Watch.

However, amidst a series of new policy changes at the Iron Throne and the Royal Council, Jeor Mormont, the current Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, unexpectedly emerged as the biggest winner.

He once ran around for a few criminals, saying all sorts of good things for them. However, he never expected that a decree from the Iron Throne would suddenly make him one of the most powerful people in the Seven Kingdoms.

Of course, however fast Geo Mormont's power came, it will be just as fast when it's time to take it away.

At his age, he naturally understood the power struggles involved, the intricacies and complexities. The Iron Throne could make him a great figure with a single decree, just as it could make him lose everything in an instant.

His current power is all illusory; only the supreme power of the Iron Throne is real, capable of shaking the Seven Kingdoms and turning the world upside down with a single word.

Therefore, despite his joy, Geo Mormont calmly suppressed his inner turmoil, becoming more cautious and focused on fulfilling his duties, without thinking or asking about anything else.

Even though countless nobles lined up to visit him after the imperial decree was issued, they were all turned away.

"Father!"

At that moment, a warhorse galloped up along the central avenue of King's Landing, and the rider dismounted.

Robb.

Snapped--

The man who came to see Eddard off was Robb Stark, his eldest son. Eddard jumped off his horse, and the father and son embraced tightly.

Why did you come here?

After releasing his eldest son, Ed ruffled the boy's reddish-brown hair and then asked.

"His Majesty has permitted me to come and bid you farewell."

Robb Stark, somewhat annoyed that his father had ruffled his hair, immediately shrank back.

"Ah."

Ed nodded, glanced at the Red Keep in the distance, and then smiled when he saw his son dodging.

"What is it, Robb?"

"Now that you've become the Lord Governor of the North, the Earl of Winterfell, you won't let your father touch your head anymore?"

Several months have passed, the calendar has changed, and Ed has moved on from hiding Robert's death. After all, people have to live, and his mood has improved considerably.

"Of course not, Father!"

Robb immediately retorted, refusing to admit that he was paying more attention to his image simply because he was a year older.

After all, King's Landing has so many noble ladies, and as the Earl of Winterfell, he naturally needs an heir. At a previous banquet, he unexpectedly encountered Lady Margaery of House Tyrell from Starstalker while following Viserys, and was immediately captivated by her beauty...

Ed noticed his son's slightly distracted expression, and his smile faded slightly. Although he didn't say it outright like the child's mother, as a father, he was also somewhat worried about Robb.

After all, historically, most members of the Stark family who migrated south did not end up well...including himself.

Then Ed patted Robb on the shoulder again, speaking solemnly.

"I'll be waiting for you in the North, Robb."

"Ok!"

Robb looked at his father and nodded emphatically.

Chapter 610 Stonehelm Rebellion

thump—

thump—

thump—

Right on time, the bells of King's Landing rang out, and the melodious horns sounded.

The endless army of the Night's Watch set off towards their homeland amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd. They were seen off by countless people, most of whom were northerners exiled in King's Landing. With tears in their eyes, they bid farewell to the army of their homeland, hoping that they could soon reclaim their home from the dead.

The people of King's Landing, however, showed little interest. They had no interest in knowing what the distant North was like. For most of them, they would probably never leave the land beneath their feet in their entire lives, let alone care about the dead who roamed at the ends of the earth.

When the Legion of the Dead invaded in force, they may have been terrified, feeling that the end of the world was just around the corner. However, the Legion of the Dead was ultimately stopped at the Twins.

The Night's Watch army marched north along the King's Road, and when they passed the small hill outside the city where Robert Baratheon was buried, Eddard separated from the group.

Robert.

He rode his warhorse to the hillside, paid his respects to his friend, spoke with Robert for a while, poured himself a jug of fine wine, and then rode off to catch up with the rest of the army as the sun set overhead.

...

The Night's Watch's expedition to the North was a major event for the new dynasty. The kingdom was now stable, but it had not yet fully emerged from the shadows, and there were still many things to be done.

Viserys was not too worried about the Night's Watch's expedition. The power of the Old Gods was mainly to travel to the past, and occasionally they could also glimpse a little of the future, but unfortunately they could not see it completely, only some clues.

This is why Viserys could not have a complete understanding of the past, present, and future, and could not become a complete prophet. He could only glimpse the whole picture from a few points and speculate on the future course and development of events based on limited details.

Based on current observations, the Night's Watch's expedition to reclaim the North has not encountered significant obstacles.

What remained in the northern lands were only scattered wights. Without the White Walkers' command, their savagery and ferocity could deal with scattered mercenaries, but they could not contend with organized armies. The Night's Watch, nominally the Kingdom's Fifth Legion but actually more independent, only needed to spread out their formation and push forward to reclaim their homeland.

The night outside the window was fading.

The Red Keep stands atop Aegon Hill, the highest point in King's Landing. Within the Red Keep, Maegor Tower, the royal bedroom, is the tallest. The king's bedroom is extremely spacious, furnished with elegant and exquisite furniture, featuring a huge, soft feather bed, precious porcelain vases on the table, and magnificent curtains and draperies hanging down, swaying gently in the breeze.

Viserys was sitting at his desk, facing the sea breeze blowing from the extended balcony, holding up one finger and lost in thought.

"What are you thinking?"

"my sweetheart."

His wife, the beautiful Queen Dorne, was lying on their soft bed, naked except for a thin, transparent veil, her legs crossed and her feet intertwined. She turned to look at her husband and asked a question.

She had been watching Viserys for a long time; he was lost in thought, seemingly preoccupied with something.

Are you thinking about Stonehelm City?

Not long ago, a rebellion broke out in Stonehelm. Lord Gullion Swin of Stonehelm was dissatisfied with the death of his last heir, Baron Swin, at the Trial of Battle. He believed that the Iron Throne should have shown leniency to his son, and thus launched a rebellion.

Gulian Sven first convened a grand banquet to invite many nobles from the Stormlands to participate, but unfortunately, few people came. Only a few families not far from Stonehelm City, such as Earl Lister Morrigan of Raven's Nest, Lady Mary Meyerlin of Fogwood, Earl Alexander Stemon of Longarchs, and some other nobles from the Stormlands.

At the banquet, Gullion Sven suddenly cursed Viserys loudly, calling him a tyrant who had violated the sacred rights of the nobility, and rallied the Stormlands nobles present to join the rebellion against Viserys.

However, the other Stormlands nobles were startled when they saw Gulian Sven suddenly go mad. The spies of the Ministry of the Interior were now everywhere, as they had already experienced in King's Landing. They could even tell what color their underwear was.

Fearing they would be implicated by Gullian Sven, they hastily rose to leave the banquet, but were immediately detained by the crazed Earl Sven.

Gurian Sven then issued an ultimatum to the nobles he had detained, demanding that all Stormlands nobles join his rebel army to fight against Viserys' rule.

He even went so far as to declare that the rainforest had become independent, and that if that brat Viserys wanted to take his head, he should ride a dragon and burn down the entire vast forest.

Unless all the trees are burned, any soldiers who break in will be killed by the soldiers of Stonehelm.

However, the turmoil in Stonehelm actually occurred three months ago, but the news only reached King's Landing two months ago. The reason is naturally that news from the rainforest is too isolated, and the Ministry of the Interior's reach is currently limited to the royal domain and has not extended too far.

Embarrassingly, the farce ended before the Iron Throne could personally lead troops to quell the rebellion.

It turned out that Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight in charge of inspecting the kingdom's customs, had recently arrived in Stonehelm by boat with dozens of border guards.

They discovered unrest in Stonehelm, where the Sven family had begun to amass soldiers, exceeding the limit of their private army, and were sweeping through the rainforest.

The Onion Knight was trapped in the rainforest and could not leave. He was forced to hide and flee. However, he eventually led dozens of his men to ambush in the rainforest and seized an opportunity to break into Stonehelm and kill Earl Gullian Sven, thus quelling the rebellion.

Because of the new policies, the nobles' armies were reduced and incorporated into the military. As a result, the soldiers hastily recruited for the Stonehelm riots were mostly local farmers with little fighting ability. This gave the Onion Knights an opportunity to quell the rebellion.

However, it is worth mentioning that after the Onion Knight stormed into Stonehelm, he also killed several prisoners held by Gullian Sven, including the Earl of Raven's Nest and the Countess of Mistywood.

Davos claimed they had surrendered to the Sven family, which is why he killed them.

These people happened to be the three nobles who had seized Storm's End a year earlier when Stannis was assassinated. Davos took the opportunity to avenge his former lord.

Chapter 611 Golden Flame

The Stonehelm Rebellion was merely a minor incident for the new dynasty, causing no significant disturbance to the outside world. However, it revealed the dire situation of the nobility being weakened under the new policies.

Even in King's Landing, only Jon Clinton apologized to Viserys for his lax management as Lord of Stormlands, which led to this minor incident.

However, this successful suppression of the rebellion was, in a strict sense, an accident. Although the power of the nobility was suppressed, it was not so weak that it could not even defeat the scattered bandits and the Brotherhood.

The real reason for this incident was that most of the newly recruited soldiers in Stonehelm had little combat capability, and most of them had been sent out to attack the surrounding castles, leaving the city weak.

In addition, with the awakening of the kingdom's consciousness and the suppression of the nobles' power, ordinary soldiers knew about the Iron Throne, the Young Dragon Lord, Viserys I, and the dragons. In fact, everyone was living well and had no desire to follow Gurian Sven in rebellion.

However, a change in consciousness is not something that happens overnight. After all, following their lord in battle was a rule that had been maintained for thousands of years. Therefore, although they were unwilling to follow Gulian Sven in rebellion, they did not dare to openly rebel.

"kill!"

So when the Onion Knight and his men stormed into the city with menacing expressions, they were surprised to find that they encountered no resistance whatsoever.

So everyone just looked at each other, watching helplessly as those dozens of men stormed in, killed their noble lord, and then scattered, the matter closed.

Viserys paused slightly upon hearing Arianne's words, then shook his head.

No, no.

"I was thinking about other things."

He then looked away and gazed at his fingertips, where a semi-transparent, illusory golden flame was burning. However, Arianne seemed oblivious to it, and the flame did not illuminate anything around them. Viserys had also tried to light a candle with it.

This tiny flame seemed to exist outside of this world, burning quietly from beginning to end, unaffected by any breeze. Nothing in this world could affect it; the only thing that came into contact with it was Viserys.

Viserys seemed to be the only medium between them; only he could connect the two worlds.

Viserys was actually somewhat surprised to see the tiny flame burning on his fingertip, but he didn't show it on the surface. Having been king for so many years, countless people were watching even the slightest expression on his face, so Viserys had long ago learned to keep his emotions hidden.