[It's time to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, thank you for your subscriptions, rewards, recommended tickets, and monthly passes in the past year. I sincerely wish all book friends a happy new year and all the best!]

*

When Queen Cersei said that she wanted Memmy to go with her, and watched Connie drink the dumb medicine, Cobain had the judgment that this was not Queen Cersei. If it was the Queen Mother Cersei, she wouldn't have asked Memy to go with Cobain, and Cersei trusted Cobain. But this Queen Mother Cersei doesn't trust Cobain.

For the sake of safety, when Cobain left, he naturally turned around, smiled, and was kind and harmonious: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, please reward me with Connie, who can no longer serve Her Majesty the Queen Mother, I have learned a kind of occultism of necromancy in the school city, and I need someone to do the experiment." ”

"Necromancy, it's too evil to hear the name, Master Coben, I won't allow you to study necromancy. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen Mother. Cobain was sure that the Cersei in front of her was not the real Cersei, she was Arya Stark. Her ability to change her form is amazing, something that is not found in the occult of the school city. According to the occult books of the school city, the occult that can change its form so perfectly is only the faceless ones in the Isle of the Gods of Braavos.

Bachelor Corben felt a chill in his heart, could it be that Arya Stark was from the Black and White House of Braavos? Could it be that she was a terrible Faceless? The Faceless had no family name of their own, no hatred of their own country, they called themselves nameless. But Arya Stark, if she wasn't hired to take revenge, would have violated her own teachings.

*

In this world, the most mysterious and top assassin is the Faceless from the Black and White Court. Anyone who is targeted by the Faceless One, whether a king or a duke, will inevitably die in the end, without exception.

The Faceless Ones believe in the God of a Thousand Faces, the god of death. They see death as a relief, a return. The Faceless Ones have a longer history of appearing than the city-state of Braavos. There has been a legend about the origin of the Faceless.

The cult of the Thousand Faces was originally born out of the miserable slave hordes in the mines of Valyria, where slaves often revolted, and the first Faceless One was one of the rebels. But in fact, no one really knows where he came from, only that he was active among slaves and listened to their prayers.

Hundreds of people were captured to work in the mines of Valyria, each praying to his god in his own language, all praying for the same thing – liberation, an end to suffering, but without exception, no one received a response from God. The torment continues endlessly every day.

Until one night, in the reddening darkness, the Faceless founders understood that all gods had their own tools, and the good men and women who worked for them carried out their wills in the world. Ostensibly, slaves from different countries were crying out to a hundred different gods, but in fact it was the same god, with hundreds of different faces—and he himself was convinced that he had been chosen by the Grim Reaper, and that he had become the Grim Reaper's instrument for his miracles in the world: he would act on the Grim Reaper's behalf!

Because of this, the first Faceless One began to give the "gift of death" to the desperate slaves, a glass of black water of the Nightshade, which only needed to be drunk and leave this world without pain. Later, the Faceless Founder's Water of Night not only gave gifts to slaves who prayed miserably, but he also gave gifts to slave owners, governors, counts, and even kings who hoped for liberation. Bestowed on anyone who wishes for liberation: all mortals die. And because death is a rare gift, there is a second proverb: All men must serve!

In the eyes of the Faceless founders, death is a benevolent relief. At the price, he would agree to take the life of a man in the world, a sacrifice to death. Thousands of years later, there are more and more believers in the God of Thousand Faces, and only the most elite among them are qualified to be called Faceless.

Each Faceless One must undergo a rigorous training that involves mysterious and elaborate rituals, including swordsmanship, stealth, a thousand faces, illusions, medicine, and poisonology.

When a Faceless has completed all of these required trainings, they have magical abilities that ordinary people cannot match. Each of them is a master of swordsmanship with a narrow sword, and any of them can change their appearance at will. They are also top experts in all kinds of poisons.

As part of their training, the Faceless are required to abandon their true identity and see themselves as "nameless". They used swords, poisons, ropes, sticks, knives and forks, daggers, and unarmed hands...... and so on for an infinite number of ways to kill the target, if you hire a faceless to assassinate an ordinary merchant, it will be enough to hire an entire army of ordinary mercenaries for half the price, and if you hire a faceless person to assassinate a certain king, the cost will be unimaginable.

The Facelings are the most expensive assassins in the world, and their fees are prohibitively high, but once they are hired, their names are out, and death strikes, no one can escape.

As a scholar, Cobain is unaware of the Faceless Person. In the school city, there are special records about all kinds of unusual organizations in this world. Corben, who is obsessed with studying the occult and medicine of the Academy, knows that if Arya is a faceless, if she chooses someone, it will only be sooner or later, someone is doomed, and there is no chance of a miracle of survival.

It's just that, according to the training of the Faceless, Arya should have believed in the God of a Thousand Faces, abandoned the grievances and hatred of the Stark family, and became a true nameless. She has no family, no last name, no friends, no personal vendettas of her own, and unless someone hires her specifically to assassinate Cersei, Arya will not act out of personal vendetta according to the Faceless Doctrine.

But it's clear that, judging from the current situation, Arya Stark is an exception in the Black and White Academy!

There are exceptions!

*

Cobain and Memmy came to the back of the group, and Cobain's mind always had the sharpness of Arya's last glance at him - he saw through Arya's true face, and Arya seemed to see through the fact that he saw through Arya - the meaning in that look was full of threats - Arya was outstanding in terms of the Faceless's ability to perceive people's hearts, and when she was not a Faceless, the dance teacher Celio Friel told her not to see the world with her eyes, but to be attentive. When a person looks attentively, no matter how complicated the opponent's sword moves are, he can also gain insight into the reality of the opponent.

Arya, who has been trained by the Faceless, is even more reborn, and that invisible acuity is her talent, just like the innate instinct of animals.

"Connie, this is the medicine for your throat, drink it, and the wound on your throat will heal faster. Cobain smiled sweetly, and the old man next door still smiled so kindly, but Cersei sensed danger, and she saw the smile in Memi's eyes, a smile of bad intentions, a kind of schadenfreude, a kind of impatience...... She just wanted to reach out and gouge out Mei Mi's eyes, but she was weak and no longer Mei Mi's opponent.

"Cobain, you swore an oath!" Cersei said in a hoarse voice. Time is the best doctor, it allowed Cersei to gradually recover some of her sanity from extreme fear, and the glory and pride of the Lannister family also instinctively recovered some, like a compressed spring, under the effect of time, the pressure was gradually released, and the spring slowly recovered.

"Connie, trust me. Cobain's encouraging eyes, a kind smile, Cersei was still hesitating, Cobain had already reached out and pinched her chin, Cobain's hand was like a steel hook, pinched Cersei's chin, forced her to open her mouth, the black liquid poured into Cersei's mouth, Cobain skillfully closed Cersei's mouth, the fishy smell of the liquid filled Cersei's mouth, chest and abdomen, making her almost vomit.

A bright smile appeared on Mei Mi's face: "Great Master, how long does it take for the medicine to treat throat injuries to take effect?"

"Soon!"

"How long will it take soon?"

"For those who are stronger, more than ten breaths, and if they are weaker, for a few heartbeats. ”

"Well, there's a heartbeat now. Mei Mi smiled lightly.

Cobain looked at Mei Mi with a smile: "Mei Mi, I have all the potions you like." The little maid actually asked about the arrival of the great master, which made Coben very uncomfortable. Cobain smiled lovely, but Mei Mi suddenly shuddered, her face changed slightly, and she immediately closed her mouth.

Cersei looked at Cobain and looked at Memi, looking incredulous, the conversation between Cobain and Memi scared her and made her deeply uneasy, what exactly did Cobain give her to drink?

"Cobain. She said subconsciously, but found that there was a lump in her throat, and it was difficult to make a sound, "What are you giving me to drink?" In the end, the pronunciation of the words was already indistinct, as if the channel of the sound was narrowing, and finally it was so narrow that the sound could not pass through.

Cobain looked at Cersei and smiled kindly, but Cersei was already creepy: "Cobain, you broke your oath, you will ......" The last voice, completely inaudible, all turned into a hissing sound. Cobain's medical skills were indeed very high, but after a few heartbeats, the power of the medicine attacked, Cersei's throat seemed to be locked and dumb! She suddenly erupted and reached out and grabbed Cobain's neck, and Cobain grabbed Cersei's arms with both hands and pulled her hands apart, leaving several blood marks on her neck.

"Connie, there is a shortage of necromancy experimenters in my underground laboratory, you are disrespectful to me, I will apply to Her Majesty the Queen Mother, and ask her to give you to me for medical research. ”

Cersei was terrified and incredulous, Corben was her most trusted courtier, he already knew the truth, why didn't he save himself?: "You're a demon, you're going to be sent to hell by strangers." Cersei suddenly had the courage to scold, but she found that she could no longer speak, and she heard her voice hoarse, but all she could make was ahhhhhh

*

A few days later, Queen Cersei returned to King's Landing with the Iron Guard and her courtiers, and she presided over a meeting of the Imperial Ministers, announcing that she would go to the North to help the Magic Mountain Coalition eliminate the Strange Spirits as quickly as possible, and then return to King's Landing to fight Daenerys Targaryen. The Targaryens had three dragons, and she believed that the garrison of King's Landing could not be separated from Jaime's command, let alone the Magic Mountain and his dragons.

In order to allow the Magic Mountain and Jaime to return to King's Landing as soon as possible, Her Majesty the Queen Mother decided to lead 3,000 legions north.

This was a big surprise to the ministers, and in the end, Her Majesty the Queen Mother decided to go north to winter two days later.

The decision of the king, queen, prime minister and courtiers turned out to be true, and everyone looked at each other in the royal courtroom.

*

Night, Megger Building.

The Queen Mother's Bedroom.

Mei Mi came to say: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, the great teacher Keben asks to see you." “

Queen Cersei nodded slightly.

Plum Mi withdrew, and Cobain arrived.

With his trademark friendly smile, Cobain humbly said: "Your Majesty, King Tommen is still young, Sir Jaime has already gone north in winter, after you leave, Maegar House will be controlled by Queen Margaery Tyrrell, and the Council of Ministers will fall into the hands of Prime Minister Mace Tyrrell, which is not wise for King Tommen's future." ”

Empress Dowager Cersei looked at Cobain with an expressionless face: "National teacher, according to what you see, what should I do?"

"Your Majesty the Queen Mother, what Winterfell needs to fight against the Strange Spirits is the Predator, and Her Majesty the Queen Mother is not a warrior, and the best way to help Winterfall is not to go north, but to preside over the overall situation in the palace and continuously transport military supplies to Winter. If Her Majesty the Queen Mother wants to strengthen the strength of the northbound coalition army, send a general to lead the army north. ”

Queen Cersei stared at the humbly smiling Great Master: "National Teacher, according to the Raven letters in the last few days, Winterfell will be the first to receive an attack from the Strangers, and Daenerys Targaryen's 100,000 cavalry will only get out of the savannah, and it will take a month to get from the Valyrian Avenue to Pantos City. Tyrion Lannister's navy and the Unsullied, though they had arrived at Pantos, were too numerous to fear. Before Daenerys' armies converged, I judged that Tyrion did not dare to cross the sea first. ”

"Your Majesty, if you insist on going north, if there is any delay or slip of the road, if the battle with the strangers is in a stalemate, whose hands will the Red Keep fall into? Queen Mother, Lord Inflatable Fish is not a general, and he has no guts. He was scheming and fearful, and he couldn't keep King's Landing if things changed. ”

"You're worried that the Iron Throne is in Daenerys Targaryen's hands!"

"Your Majesty the Queen Mother, the ministers are loyal, please think twice about the Queen Mother, don't go north easily. ”

Cersei is stupid, but the Lannisters have been in King's Landing for twenty years, and the pro-Lannister forces she has cultivated should not be underestimated. Once the Queen Mother moved north, the people's hearts were impetuous, Tyrion, Varys, and the fearless Barristan were all former courtiers of the palace, and they knew all the courtiers here, and knew the loyalty and talent of each courtier, and some of the private relationships were very good and ambiguous, to say that there were no little devils and Varys's spies in the Red Keep, it was simply impossible.

The Queen Mother was silent, and the national teacher knew that the Queen Mother had been moved by him, so he took the opportunity to say: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, in extraordinary times, the minister is willing to recommend a few brave and loyal courtiers to assist Her Majesty the Queen Mother in governing the dynasty, defending against strong enemies outside, and eliminating traitorous ministers inside. ”

"Who are the loyal ministers?"

"The Minister of Intelligence, Bernie Clegane, has a lot of information, and has not been reused by Her Majesty the Queen Mother, such as the reuse of Bernie Clegane, we will know the enemy situation in Pantos City well, there are many people in the court who collude with Tyrion and Varys, Sir Bernie has been pressed by Her Majesty the Queen Mother, and he has not reported some key information. ”

"Among the generals, who can reuse?"

"Baron Swain, the Kingsguard. ”

"What about the Royal Navy?"

"Recall the former Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Wagner Garr, who is currently stationed on Dragonstone Island, which can be reached in just two days, and he and Count Gavin Westerling are in charge of hundreds of naval warships in the Magic Mountain, and their strength is unrivaled in naval warfare. “

"Well, apart from these, do you have any good suggestions for government affairs?"

"Your Majesty the Queen Mother, Count Gavin Westerling is the father-in-law of the Magic Mountain, he has a son named Renard Westerling, Her Majesty's princess Messira Baratheon has reached the age of marriage, and the minister suggested that Messira and Renard marry to unite the Magic Mountain by their side. The Magic Mountain has elite soldiers and strong generals, as well as the only giant dragon in the mainland. In the future, the decisive battle of King's Landing will have to deal with Daenerys's three dragons, and it is inseparable from the dragons of the Demon Mountain. ”

The Queen Mother nodded: "Ke Guo Shi, go on." ”

Cobain observed the Queen Mother's face, seemingly casual but actually cautious: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, the Magic Mountain is actually not the Messiah who wants to marry the most, the marriage of the Messira is the idea of the Prime Minister Mace, and the Magic Mountain hopes to marry Rosamon Lannister of Lannisport." Her Majesty the Queen Mother. With the powerful army and invincible dragons, the best strategy to stabilize the kingdom is to bring about the marriage of Rosamon Lannister of Lannisport and Comm Warner, the adopted son of Magic Mountain. ”

The Queen Mother stared at Cobain for a long time, without saying a word.