The dragon glides and hovers in the sky, and the Unsullied, black-clad and black-robed ones march into the city in orderly steps on the ground...... With the arrival of the Queen, the long and bitter stalemate between Winterfell and beyond has finally come to an end.

It's been a rough week.

Needless to say, the Starks were captured overnight in the face of the overwhelming superiority of gunpowder, and the reinforcements from the north who were instructed by Robb to assemble at Severn were the first to arrive after the castle changed hands. Nearly 5,000 princes, carrying banners of various colors, carrying spears and short swords, marched outside the city...... I was thinking about fighting the rebels, but I saw the red dragon banner waving in the wind at the head of the city and Ed's widow who left the city alone, Catelyn Tully.

Mrs. Stark, who is no longer young, stepped on the snow and approached the reinforcements in the north, but her mouth was explosive: the Stark family had decided to pledge allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen, and asked the nobles to lead the army back to their homes, waiting for the next news!

The woman was weak, and this must have been a compromise that Caitlin had made after being frightened by the threat of a traitor...... After asking the residents who had witnessed the battle to find out how Egger had taken Winterfell in the middle of the night, the nobles who were shocked by the strange methods and strength of the Land-Granting Army did not dare to attack rashly, but instead set up a military camp around Winterfell's town like the previous besiegers and began to besiege the city, preparing to wait for the arrival of several more troops, and then storm the castle when the strength was sufficient, and rescue Robb, his younger siblings, or daughter.

Do your best, obey the destiny of heaven. If you rescue any one, the Stark family's bloodline can't be broken, it's really not possible, and going north to the Great Wall to snatch Bran out can be regarded as a solution!

They did not have to wait long, and the Bolton army, which had arrived from the north, arrived in second place, with two thousand heavily armed gunmen and shieldmen under their hideous skinning banners, which were less than half the number of the previous ones combined, and the level of equipment and morale were even greater. The addition of reinforcements has tilted the balance of forces in favor of the north, which should have been a good news for people to breathe a sigh of relief......

It wasn't until Arazuka, a woman who was also a woman, that Lady Balballet, the widow of Earl William Dustin, recalled Caitlin's warning and asked Luce Burton to come up with evidence of "killing the Mad King's daughter and her pets" first.

Daenerys has a typical Targaryen appearance that is different from ordinary people, and her remaining two dragons are unique monsters in the world, whether Luce Bolton takes out a silver-haired woman's head or a dragon's scale and half claw, it is enough to prove that he did fight and won - but this is obviously not too much, Bolton just can't take out the same, and even after finding that he can't hide it, he puts on a formation, and simply shows the newly sewn red dragon flag.

As a result, what should have been an inspiring meeting turned into a tense and dangerous confrontation in an instant.

......

Outside the city, the two armies faced each other in the wind and snow, and Egg, who was hiding in the warm and safe castle sheltered from the wind and snow, did not have a good time.

It is certainly an unexpected gain to suppress the second lady's soaring murderous aura with a confused beating and "whipping", but after all, his relationship with the ruling family in the north after a real fight cannot be as simple as in the works of Yan Qing- Bolton asked to enter the city as an ally shortly after arriving outside the city, and Egger naturally refused the request on the grounds that the castle was full, although this was done to ensure his own safety and that of the Starks, but it was undeniable that from the camp's point of view, Bolton, who had officially sworn allegiance to the queen in person, was the "de facto" ally.

In the event of a clash between the more and more reinforcements from the north outside the city and the forces of the Bolton family, should the land-giving army go out of the city to help or sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight?

In case the Boton army suffers losses, and afterwards it makes trouble in front of the queen and pulls up the skin, and refuses to let the allies into the city, do you want to take a blame?

There are already a lot of things to be entangled, and what is even more unpleasant is that human beings still have such a nature: strangers can not fight and do not know each other, but acquaintances and friends can turn against each other if something goes wrong...... Iger is now on the brink of the latter scenario. He took advantage of his good relationship with the Stark family to successfully start the big game in his heart, and the price he had to pay was to endure the hatred and resentment of the wolf family and even more so from the enemy.

In this case, Egger's efforts to protect the Starks are a real displeasure: the queen and her staff will feel that he is a woman who cares not for the overall situation, and the wolf family will think that he is sanctimonious and "both a cousin and a memorial arch" - carrying the pressure and taking risks, and no one will appreciate it. His negotiations and meetings with several Starks, especially Robb after he had awakened, were uncomfortable: there were no insults and conflicts, and he was polite and courteous, but beneath the surface of harmony was an invisible barrier of wariness, alienation, and hostility, and even Egger showed Bolton a document asking to enter the city or brought Robb to the city to observe the troops of the Fort of Terror with the Red Dragon Banner hanging outside the city, but it did not completely relieve or convince him.

Iger had no doubts: if he let his guard down or was insensitive, Stark would never hesitate to sneak out of the castle or stab him in the back, and then try to take on Daenerys, who had Burton's backing. And in the case that all this is indeed caused by his own beginning, he does not even have the qualifications and the object of his grievances, so he can only rely on his iron will, and go down the not noble road that he has chosen, and will not look back until he becomes a winner and writes history.

And the arrival of the queen finally allowed him to temporarily raise his head and breathe from this oppressive atmosphere.

＊＊＊

Feeling sorry for Aegon who had just recovered from injury and barely took off, Daenerys did not play the dragon knight in winter on this trip. Unable to organize an attack due to the disagreement captured by Egger's "witchcraft", the reinforcements from the north resolutely withdrew their camp and retreated to the city of Severn as soon as Drogon and Rego appeared in the sky. After the clearance, Daenerys rode on horseback and led her mobile front through the gates of Winterfell, into the castle where her flag had been planted, and then through the drawbridge and the front yard, and finally to the middle of the gate and back yard where the crowd gathered.

In the open space directly opposite the guard room, the Unsullied who entered the city first dutifully occupied all the key positions, vigilant against the "Winterfell Guards" around them, while Egger and other high-ranking officials of the Land-Giving Army in the center stood with Stark's family and lined up to greet the royal car.

Missandei sings the long list of titles of her own queen skillfully and loudly, Arya stares hatefully at Daenerys, who is so radiant that any woman would be ashamed of herself, Robb Stark catches a glimpse of Luce Burton, who is a loyal vassal behind the Mad King's daughter, and the Earl of the Castle of Terror gazes with unwavering indifference at Egger, the lord of the land-giveaway, who has torn his face with his actions...... The latter, on the other hand, carefully observed the expressions of Varys and Littlefinger with a contemplative gaze.

The scene was silent and embarrassing for a while, until Robb Stark, who had not healed from his injuries, gritted his teeth and walked out of the crowd, like the ancestor "Submission King" Torren Stark, after three hundred years, and once again bent his knee to a Targaryen riding a dragon.

"To the true and only King of the Seven Kingdoms, I offer the loyalty of Winterfell and House Stark. The young father, who was not very good at this, bowed his head, reluctantly but solemnly, "The swords, axes, and spears of the North are at your beckon. As long as Your Majesty treats every subject fairly and equally, we will always follow you. ”

The voice of the oath dissipated in the cold air, but there was no immediate answer, Daenerys walked out with her head held high, came to Robb Stark, and looked down at the kneeling guardian of the North, satisfied and hesitant, and for a moment did not know how to respond.

The Night's Watch Commander and the Earl of the Dread's Keep, the two new helpers she'd recruited on her trip north, had chosen to head south first, waiting for her in Winterfell. In the little queen's initial conjecture, when she arrived in Winterfell one step later, she would see nothing more than the following three situations: either Egg, who arrived first, succeeded in convincing the Starks to be loyal to her, or the two had successfully taken Winterwinter and shackled the Starks after they met, or the war was not going well, and Winterfell was still in the hands of her enemies.

......

The first scenario is naturally the best outcome, as the long-standing ruling family north of the neck, winning Stark's support is equivalent to taking the entire north, and the task of unifying the Seven Kingdoms is completed by one-third in an instant...... Even if it is only in the proportion of territorial area, it can be regarded as a major breakthrough, at least so that she can save more time and energy to complete the "Great King's Territory Plan".

In the second case, Daenerys has also thought of a solution: she will strip the Stark family of their property and status, expel them from Westeros, and promote the preemptive allegiance of Bolton to become the new Lord of the North. Support this unconvincing second elder in the north to ascend to the throne, and when the world is calm in the future, the forces north of the neck will spend most of their energy in internal friction and mutual confrontation to achieve checks and balances, and the northern part of the kingdom will be safe for a long time......

As for the last bad situation, the countermeasures are very simple: ride the dragon from the sky, burn the winter, simply wipe the Stark family from the world, save even the effort of capturing them alive, and kill the enemy in battle is much easier than executing prisoners, and there is no suspicion of brutality and murder.

The little queen thought so much, but she never guessed: she was in a mixed state between the first and second situations.

Anyone who is not blind can tell that the gate was violently opened not long ago, and although the traces of the battle in the castle are almost nowhere to be found, the wounded residents and soldiers in the winter town are living evidence...... Winterfell was undoubtedly breached, but its owner was not imprisoned, but still dressed decently and moved freely, not half a prisoner!

The Starks' vassal allegiance was not entirely voluntary, but was fought out by the Night's Watch!

To surrender is to surrender, of course, whether voluntarily or forced...... Otherwise, Aegon would not have been able to become a conqueror until he died of old age. Daenerys was not unwillingly surrendered and allegiant, but the Starks were the main rebels who helped overthrow their father's and brother's dynasty in the War of the Retainers. Other people's hearts are absent-minded, she only needs to keep her sanity to tolerate it, but if the object is replaced by the group of former imaginary enemies in front of her who have a deep blood feud, then not only does it need to be reasonable, but also incredible generosity!

The cold wind whirred, and time passed second after second, and Robb's right knee, which was kneeling on the frozen ground, was wet with melting snow, and his already injured body began to tremble slightly because he had maintained an uncomfortable posture for a long time...... The uneasy atmosphere began to spread silently, until Egger sensed that something was wrong, coughed and spoke: "Your Majesty, the weather is very cold, you better make a quick decision, and then go into the house to discuss the next move." ”

The familiar and magnetic male voice brings Daenerys back to reality from her inner activity, and she suddenly realizes that acceptance is not just a matter for herself. Whether it's the breach of Winterfell without harming any Stark, or the loud distraction when the scene is cold, it all points to one conclusion: Egg wants to accept it.

And is she willing to be angry for her own selfish sake and create a rift between herself and her most powerful followers and comrades before she succeeds?

The answer is obvious.

"Master Stark. The Queen replied reluctantly, answering Robb's oath, but her eyes were staring straight at the Commander-in-Chief of the Night's Watch who had just spoken—even if she had no choice, she could at least tell Iger in this silent way that she had made concessions for the sake of his face. If this favor can make him more powerful in the next service to him, it will not be in vain for her forbearance today: "In the name of the gods, old and new, I promise that as long as you serve faithfully, I will repay you with justice." ”

——