Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

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Behind them followed armies bearing various banners, including those from various families of the Stormlands and the First Legion of the Empire.

"And that person..."

Then old Egger saw a middle-aged man who was a little younger than him, about fifty years old.

He wore a metal mask with a seven-pointed star inside, exuding a calm and composed aura. His robes were of a solid color, and his eyes beneath the mask were serene.

"It's the general!"

Old Egger noticed that Bessie was slightly agitated, and her fingers were even trembling.

He was originally a mercenary, and then he took on a special mission in King's Landing: to rescue a prisoner on the street and put him on a ship bound for Braavos. However, the mission failed, and after a fierce battle, he scattered and fled, all of whom became wanted.

However, being wanted was commonplace for mercenaries, but he did not expect this prisoner to be so important.

Although the mission failed, the prisoner disappeared, so all the golden-robed men in the city searched for them like madmen.

At that time, Aegis was driven to desperation, so he came up with a plan. He saw the Golden Company recruiting soldiers on the streets of King's Landing and signed up to join.

As the conquerors of King's Landing at the time, the Golden Company was naturally exempt from the search, and Aegon the Elder escaped unscathed, but as a result, he took on a job he had never imagined before, becoming a common soldier.

However, while joining the Golden Company was easy, leaving was not so easy. Moreover, the company was in a period of intense activity, and the benefits were good, so he stayed.

Then, many years later, a long night suddenly descended, and he was transferred to the expeditionary force and sent to fight on the continent of Essos.

He tried to escape several times, but failed each time.

The safest places during the long night, besides the palace, are the army, since the army's rations have never had any problems, and at least they can eat their fill.

Then came the well-known story of the village he later wandered to.

He had performed meritorious service, but it was embezzled by his superior. He originally wanted to cut off the other party's head, but then he thought that he was too old and did not want to live a life on the run anymore.

Thus, the once ruthless mercenaries, who were like 'hungry wolves' and had no sense of morality whatsoever, committed murder, arson, kidnapping, and so on, but they never expected that they would be ridden on by others and still swallow their anger.

He took a substantial sum of compensation and left, then wandered to a small village and settled down, adopting the alias 'Aig'.

Although old Iger recognized the former general, he did not rashly try to establish a connection.

After all, how could such an important figure remember a soldier of such lowly origin as himself?

Just like a great battle recorded in history books, the perspective is always the game between commanders.

No one would even notice him, such an ordinary yet extraordinary old man.

He had his credit stolen before, but he knew it had nothing to do with Bessie; it was done by a captain of the Golden Company, and the two were not from the same system.

But if Lord Bessie really does remember him...

Then Old Egger couldn't help but feel a slight stirring in his heart. After all, he had indirectly saved the other party's life back then.

If we can find him and talk to him face-to-face, we might be able to get back everything we've lost.

Old Aiger has been silent for so many years, but he has never forgotten his original dream: to change his destiny, to have his own castle, and to become a nobleman.

Although he was tempted, he didn't act rashly. His mind started working again as he considered a solution.

He watched Prince Yinmeng and Lord Bessie walk away, while squads of Stormfield and First Legion soldiers passed by.

...

A few days later.

However, while old Iger was still searching for an opportunity to get close to the former general, their enemies finally arrived.

A massive army, personally led by Prince Oberyn of Dorne, appeared east of the Mande, while the army under Bessie's command stood ready west of the Mande, with the Bitterbridge between them.

The two sides briefly met on the first day.

No one made any rash moves, but the atmosphere naturally became tense, and it became even more difficult for old Aegon to meet with the commander.

The two armies then faced off for several days.

Old Aiger in the labor camp was still wondering why the enemy didn't have any dragons, and why the Second Prince didn't take the opportunity to send out dragons to wipe out the enemy.

One morning, a dragon's roar suddenly echoed through the sky.

It turned out that the dragon of the enemy's eldest prince, Heros, was also present, but he hadn't shown himself much.

The lower-ranking soldiers on both sides had no chance to know, but in fact, before the battle began, the brothers Yin Meng and Heros met.

Both sides agreed that no matter how fierce the battle became, they would never use dragons in the fight.

This is the bottom line of this war, to prevent a repeat of the Blood Dragon's Dance.

This was actually a gentleman's agreement without any written document or public announcement; it relied entirely on the mutual respect and trust of the two individuals.

Both of them understood that dragons should not get involved in the war, as that would escalate it.

Because once dragons join the battle, they are very likely to lose control and turn it into a real fratricidal conflict, with bloodlust taking over.

This is perhaps the rare point on which the two brothers reached a consensus.

Then the Battle of Bitterbridge finally broke out.

Two renowned generals of the empire clashed on the battlefield. Oberon personally led the imperial legions in a fierce attack on the Bitter Bridge, while the Second Prince's side was at a disadvantage, with Bessie commanding the army to defend.

Although Bessie's command was flawless, after all, they had managed to hold out for a month under the White Walkers' fierce attack.

Orders were issued one after another in quick succession.

However, when the giant prince Artis appeared on the battlefield, he still inspired awe and fear in all who beheld him.

The giant, who was over four meters tall, was an absolute master of attacking strongholds. He was heavily armed and invincible, tearing apart the combined forces of the Reach and Stormlands.

The balance of the war began to tilt as a result.

Chapter 1037 Bronn

Chaos reigned on the battlefield of the Battle of Bitterbridge.

The Crown Prince's army was clearly an elite and well-trained force, and launched a fierce attack on the combined forces of the Reach and Stormlands.

While the soldiers under the Second Prince Yin Meng's command included elite troops and were not all farmers, the number of elite soldiers was far too small.

After a day of fierce fighting, the outcome on the battlefield is gradually becoming clear.

Oberyn's army gained the upper hand, while the enemy on the other side showed clear signs of defeat, with desertions and command failures emerging.

...

The war was lost.

The high-ranking figures, unhurried and under the protection of numerous soldiers, calmly withdrew from the battlefield and fled.

Most of the ordinary soldiers who remained became cannon fodder. The Second Prince conscripted many laborers, which is why the army was roughly equal in number to the First Prince's.

But at this moment, these cannon fodder came in handy. The battle line began to collapse, and everyone scattered and fled, attracting and diverting the attention of the pursuers, thus covering the withdrawal of the main force.

The battlefield is now in chaos, filled with shouts of killing and screams of agony, and the air is thick with the smell of burning and blood.

Everyone was bloodthirsty, and even when their enemies knelt and begged for mercy, they still grinned as they chopped off their heads to claim the reward.

Old Aegon, who was stationed in a labor camp in the rear after the war, was naturally not spared either.

He was dressed in tattered coarse cloth clothes, with his sleeves rolled up to reveal his thick, hairy forearms, and he was carrying a sword that he had picked up from who-knows-where.

The sword still bears bloodstains and several clear collision marks, indicating that its former owner had been through a fierce battle, but had now fallen.

"There are still a few who slipped through the net!"

However, at that moment, several fierce-looking imperial soldiers saw the old man leading a group of laborers and then pounced on them with savage grins.

The empire's military system rewarded soldiers based on the number of kills they committed; the more people killed, the greater their merit. While this increased the abuse and killing of prisoners of war to some extent, it also encouraged soldiers to fight bravely.

Now that they have caught several lone laborers, it is a remarkable achievement.

However, when the Imperial soldiers pounced, the young men following behind Old Aegis were terrified. Their hands and feet went numb, and they gripped their axes and clubs, unsure how to fight back.

But old Aegon saw the enemy rushing towards him without any fear, and, holding his longsword, he also went to meet them.

Ding ding—

The longswords then clashed violently. The soldiers had underestimated the old man and had not expected him to be so vigorous. They were quickly cut down by the old man.

Murder involves bloodshed.

Old Egger's once kind face now revealed a fierce expression like that of a hungry wolf, as if he had found a reflection of his younger self.

Old Aiger then traveled east and west, stopping and starting along the way, eventually leading the young people from his village to escape from the chaotic battlefield.

They fled into a nearby grove of trees and then stopped.

"Aeger... Uncle Aeger... how are you?"

The group fled into the woods, some of them panting. Old Aiger, no longer the young man he once was, leaned against a large tree, breathing heavily.

The group of boys he was leading were all terrified by his appearance. They exchanged glances and asked him in unease.

"By the gods of dog shit..."

However, before they could finish speaking, Old Aeger interrupted them by raising his longsword, which had been cut off and was now only a hilt.

"Stop calling me Aiger!"

"Aegis, Aegis, do I look that much like an egg?"

"Thirty years have passed, and I'm tired of hearing that name..."

Old Egger, his gray hair stained with blood and showing his advanced age, turned his head slightly and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"My name is Bronn."

"Remember not to call me by the wrong name again."

His eyes were fierce, a far cry from his former amiable demeanor. With his gray hair, black eyes, and unkempt beard, he looked exactly like a hungry wolf, frightening the crowd in front of him into exchanging bewildered glances and remaining silent.

Bronn was, in fact, a mercenary with no moral loyalty whatsoever, who followed only self-interest.

However, a man like Bronn unexpectedly ended up on such a path, struggling and striving for half his life but gaining nothing, and even being forced into labor in his later years.

But this is actually the most realistic portrayal of the era in which there is no noble bloodline and no suitable opportunity.

"So... what should we do next?"