Fixed target, forty meters away, no hostile fire harassment......

Naturally, there was no reason for such an ideal artillery bombardment to miss, and the sound of the cannon hitting the target was heard back to the ears of everyone in the arsenal after the cannon was discharged. When the smoke cleared, Egger, who was looking for the point of impact, was slightly surprised to find that despite the low charge, the projectile still shot through the door panel and into the main fort without any suspense, not only piercing through the hole, but also bringing up a long crack along the direction of the wood grain - I don't know whether it was because the gate cut corners for the tofu scum project, or the cross-era thermal weapon is like a terrifying crushing destructive power.

I hope no one is standing behind the door—Iger thought to himself. Without much thought, he nodded and ordered: "Go on, three more shots." ”

Gun reset, breech clearing, reloading...... Iger didn't plan to storm the main fort, so he didn't have any requirements for the rate of fire, not only did he not rush, but he even had to slow down a little bit to give the people in the main fort time to react - to better appreciate the fear of being bombarded by artillery, and the fragility of the old fortress in the face of such weapons. In ten minutes, the artillerymen methodically completed a total of four shots as if they were demonstratively taught. Again, again, again...... The roar of cannon fire echoed through the buildings and walls of Winterfell, and the entire world was silent, as if only one sound remained.

Not long after the fourth shot, the people Iger wanted were also brought to the second floor of the arsenal.

Maester Lewyn had a bruise on one cheek - he had been freeing the crows when the Land-giving soldiers had broken into the Priest's Tower the previous night, so he had been beaten up for a beating, and if it hadn't been for the ten golden dragons bounty that Iger had given him, he might not have survived from the muscles of the old man.

"Lord Egger!" the maester walked quickly to the Night's Watch as soon as he entered, and pleaded eagerly and sincerely, "You have taken Winterfell, there is no need to hurt any more people, please let me intervene to persuade Lady Catelyn to surrender the main castle!"

"That's what I called you for. Iger was kind and pointed to the large pile of objects behind him: "You have heard the voice, so you will not demonstrate it - I can break the gate of the main fortress and even raze the whole fortress to the ground, the ceasefire is because I do not want to hurt any of the people inside, ask Master Luwen to tell Madame about this, and ask her to make a wise choice." ”

The old bachelor agreed, and eagerly stepped out of the door that led to the main castle, as if he was afraid that Egger would change his mind if he took a step too slowly. Holding his hands high so that the archers inside the fortress could see him, he approached the gate step by step, and once he reached the entrance of the main fort, he negotiated with the defenders behind the gate through the hole in the door panel made by the projectile. The conversation took a little time, and even the quarrel between the guards and the scholars could be faintly heard while they waited.

Iger neither urged nor pricked up his ears to listen, his strength had already been demonstrated, and the negotiator sent was also the most rational and reliable person in the city, if the people in the main fortress were still determined to be broken, then Iger could only ......

Well, not so many ifs, about an hour after the aftermath of the fourth cannon sounded, Master Luwen, who had been negotiating with the defenders for a long time in the cold wind, finally shut up and took a step back to the side. Behind him, the gates of the main fort, which had been hit by four shells, opened with great difficulty, and a group of people came out in a line.

At the head were a few soldiers in armor, who were at the forefront empty-handed to show that the main fort had given up resistance, and there were fewer of them than Eggguess - the first land-giving troops to storm the city last night had carried out the tactics of blitzkrieg weapons depots so well that no defenders had time to retreat into the main fort, and at the end were a large group of stewards or servants who were in charge of all the affairs up and down the castle, and they followed their masters at Egger's request to "empty the main fort...... Sandwiched between these two groups are the members of House Stark.

The first was the young Rickon, who, at the age of eight, became the oldest Stark man in the main castle due to Bran joining the Night's Watch and Robb being captured in a coma, thus taking on the role of temporary head of the house and becoming a representative of surrender.

Then there's Lady Caitlin, who puts her hand on Rickon's shoulder and is half a step behind her youngest son, and looks like she's pushing the boy forward, and though he's second, everyone knows that this mother is the real head of the Starks, at least for the time being.

The third is Robb's wife, Roselyn Frey Stark, a beautiful woman who grew into a white swan from a weasel den, with her daughter Lyanna, who was just a few months old, in her arms, and has the same name as the one who eloped with someone twenty years ago to escape her marriage and indirectly led to the fall of the Targaryen dynasty, apparently named in honor of her unmasked aunt.

After that, it was Sansa, the eldest lady of the Stark family, Arya, the second lady, and the "third miss" Misaella, and it is worth mentioning that Master Lewyn, who had completed the task of persuasion to surrender, joined the surrender team halfway through, followed Arya closely, grabbed the latter's arm and said something nervously. The old man who had served Winterfell for decades knew the temperament of every living Stark, and knew that the most troublesome of them were Rickon and Arya, the two bear children, and since the former was already watched by her mother, of course she had to keep an eye on the latter.

"Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief. The temporary patriarch of House Stark pouted, reluctantly starting to recite the lines as his mother had taught him, "I surrender to you on behalf of House Stark, and Winterfell is yours." ”

With a smiling wave of his hand, Egg stepped forward to take the swearing unrelated captives out of the arsenal, while another staggered with the Starks into the main castle to search for anyone else hiding...... Then, the Surrenderee slowly walked up to a row of Starks with a friendly expression, and slowly glanced at everyone.

......

Caitlyn's face was expressionless, Rickon's face was unhappy, Roselyn hugged the swaddling baby as if she was worried that Egg would snatch the baby girl, Sansa stared nervously at her toes trembling slightly, Misella blinked and looked at him with a suspicious look and then lowered her head, even Arya turned her head the moment the man's eyes moved.

Everyone behaved normally, except for Arya...... Eggburn feared that she would scream and embarrass herself or slash herself with murderous eyes, but who would have thought that she would not say a word, not even make eye contact with her, and did not know what she was thinking.

Before he had time to think about it, he withdrew his gaze and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to have to enter the city to meet you in such a rude way, and I hereby ask for forgiveness. But Earl Bolton has officially sworn allegiance to Queen Daenerys and is on his way here, and as a friend of the Starks, I must take over the castle before he arrives, eliminating the chance of others harming you in any way......"

In fact, Egg hadn't gotten any definite information, but he naturally couldn't tell the group in front of him that he had attacked Winterfell because of a conjecture. He has always hated this kind of bloody situation: the two gangs have no old grudges, and even the once close people have misunderstandings due to lack of communication, and eventually turn against each other and turn into hostility or even death...... In order to prevent this from happening to him, he did this: get straight to the point, and explain to the Starks the purpose and reason for his actions.

It is much better to make it clear first, even if it is to make the listener suspicious, than to be completely hostile to yourself.

"Where's the furry dog?" Rickon was uninterested in Egger's explanation, and suddenly asked himself about the whereabouts of the Icewolf.

As far as he knew, the land-giving soldiers who entered the city last night were attacked by "a big dog" while searching the Shenmu Forest, and it took more than a dozen people to be bitten and killed the giant dog, thinking that it was Ricken's wolf. But...... How do you tell him the news?

Are you dead? Of course not.

The wolf fought valiantly, and went heroically? God knows if a child can understand the gesture of favor in this euphemistic description!

If this kid hears the news and makes a fuss on the spot, how will he end up?

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Egger. Lady Caitlyn intervened in time to change the subject, and she knew that the hairy dog was more than lucky when she watched the night watchman's hesitation, but in this time of crisis, it was man who was more important than brutes, "We will cooperate with all your requests and proposals, and please do not harm the innocent inhabitants for the sake of the friendship of the past." ”

"Madame, the North is a friend of the land-grant, and you are not prisoners, and you will continue to live in the main castle until Mrs. Stark—" Iger suddenly remembered that there were two Mrs. Starks in front of him, and had to change his words, "Until Madame Caitlyn or Robb and His Majesty have a practical plan for the next step, I will leave on my own and let this place return to its normal life." ”

"Where's Robb?" heard the clear indication in Egger's words, and a ripple rippled on Caitlin's backwater-like expression.

"It's right next door and you can see for yourself. Egger tilted his head and ordered his subordinates, "Invite the young ladies back to their bedrooms, one for each except Lady Roselyn and her children, so that they can be taken care of." Then he extended his hand and invited, "Lady Caitlin, please come with me." ”

——