(Volume 3: The Dead Do Not Die)

Lancel Lannister rode along the River of Green Blood all the way east, and at the end of the desert finally appeared a city—

Halberd City.

He clamped the horse's belly, picked up speed, and soon came to the first level with heavy handles.

The road was blocked by a five-foot-high earthen wall, and the Lannister family's red and gold lion flag fluttered high above.

Sir Ransell stepped forward and said in a loud voice:

"Who's in charge here?"

The captain of the guard soon appeared, recognized the nephew of the Duke of the West, and hurriedly sent someone to escort him to the garrison of the army.

Lancel walked forward in silence, his brow furrowed, thinking about how he would report to Duke Tywin about what had happened in Celestial City......

The smell of blood was in the air, and scavenging crows were prowling along the roadside, apparently there had been a recent battle.

Beyond a row of fortifications made up of sharpened wooden stakes, Lancel finally saw the camp that stretched for miles.

Wisps of smoke rose up like a black forest. A gallows stood in front of it, with shaky corpses and crows crawling all over.

A little further on, Ransail saw the tall walls of the Halberd City, which were already mottled with blood, and it seemed that the army had begun to attack the city.

The progress of the Iron Throne's Second Route Army is really fast, and it has already reached the lair of the Martell family.

But thinking of the things on the side of the First Road Army...... Lancel was completely out of mood again.

Walking into the Chinese camp, Ransell saw Duke Tywin drinking and chatting with his brother, his father, Sir Kevon Lannister.

"Lord Tywin, father." Lancel stepped forward and saluted.

"Lancel?" Sir Kevon was a little surprised to see his son, "Why are you here?" ”

"I'm here to deliver a letter."

Duke Tywin suddenly had a bad premonition:

"What letter do you need to run for yourself?"

Lancel took a roll of parchment from his bosom and handed it to Duke Tywin:

"My lord, this is a letter from your cousin Cersei......"

He didn't say much, and maybe he didn't know what to say, everything that happened in the sky and the city was so ridiculous that it felt very unreal to him.

Duke Tywin read quickly, and when he finished reading, he stared at Lancel with those eyes that shimmered with golden light:

"Joffrey is dead?"

"Yes......"

"Joffrey is dead?" Kevon let out a cry of surprise.

Duke Tywin handed the letter to his brother, then looked at his nephew:

"Cersei talks a lot of nonsense, and it's mixed with personal emotions. I want you to tell the story from beginning to end, remember, I only want facts, unbiased facts! ”

"Yes......" Lancel had no choice but to tell everything that happened in the sky and the city.

Joffrey's various maneuvers were not concealed either.

Duke Tywin listened quietly, expressionless, not even when he heard Duke Eddard Stark claim that Cersei's three children were not of royal blood, and he didn't even blink when he heard that Joffrey had been killed by Samwell Caesar.

But when Lancel spoke of Samwell Caesar hatching dragons, the Westward Guardian finally couldn't help but ask:

"Are you sure Caesar hatched a dragon?"

"Thousands of soldiers saw it with their own eyes." Lancel rolled his throat, "It is said that the raging flames consumed Samwell Caesar and a dragon egg, and when the flames subsided, a dragon was entrenched in his shoulder. ”

"It can't be!" Kaivon slapped the letter on the table at this time, "The Targaryens have tried for hundreds of years, and the fire in the Summer Hall burned down the entire palace and hundreds of princes and nobles, and nothing has hatched. Why did he, a Tully, bring the dragon back into the world! ”

"He's not Tully, he's Caesar." Duke Tywin corrects his brother.

Kevon was stunned for a moment.

Of course, he knew that his brother would not correct himself on such a small issue.

Kevon said thoughtfully, "Brother, do you want to say that Samwell is not actually Tully, but a Targaryen?" Could it be the Mad King...... But the Mad King has never been to the Horn Tomb. ”

"Black Fire." Duke Tywin spat out two words.

Among the Valyrian swords inherited by the Targaryens, the Blackfire is the most famous, having been the sword of Aegon the Conqueror.

Later, the sword was passed down by Aegon IV, the "King of Moderation", to his illegitimate son, Daemon Weishui.

Wei Shui was the common surname of Wang Ling's illegitimate son, but after receiving the [Black Fire] sword, Daemon changed his surname to Black Fire and established his own family-

The Blackfire Family.

Before his death, Aegon IV, the "Yong King", did an extremely stupid thing, he legalized all his illegitimate children.

This also means that Daemon Blackfire officially has the right to inherit the Iron Throne.

At first, Daemon Blackfire had no ambitions, until the successor Daeron II married Princess Milia Martell in order to make Dorne submit.

This act greatly displeased the nobles of the other six kingdoms, who did not want to see the Martells rise to power in King's Landing.

The vassals of House Targaryen did not want to see the crown prince of Martell's blood sit on the Iron Throne, so they gathered around Daemon Blackfire (although Daemon was an illegitimate child, his parents were both Targaryens, and they were pure dragon blood), which eventually led to the Blackfire Rebellion.

The rebellion was widespread and repercussive, and it took five generations of Targaryen kings to finally suppress it once and for all.

The last Black Fire was killed by the current captain of the Kings of the Kings, "Fearless" Barristan Selmi, in the "Battle of the Nine Bronze Kings".

"Impossible, right?" Kavon's brow furrowed, "Samwell is Black Fire?" But isn't the Black Fire long gone? ”

Duke Tywin said lightly: "It may not be impossible. The Black Fire family has no heirs in the paternal line, but there is still a inheritance in the maternal line. ”

"So...... Samwell Caesar is the illegitimate son of Randolph Tully and a certain female Blackfire? Kevon muttered to himself, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this guess was probably true, "That's right! No wonder Randolph Tully wanted his eldest son to go out and open his own trail, because that child was not his sister-in-law at all! What Caesar! It's black fire at all! ”

Seeing that his father and uncle were entangled in Samwell's origins, Lancel couldn't help but remind:

"Lord Tywin, Father, should we care more about the one Eddard Stark claims to be, the ......?"

"The lie?" Duke Tywin said lightly, "When will you take a book written by a scholar from a former dynasty to deny the legitimacy of the king?" ”

Lancel was stunned for a moment.

However, seeing Duke Tywin's understatement, the heart he had been hanging on before finally landed.

But Lansel still reminded: "My lord, what Duke Ed said...... I'm afraid that many people will choose to believe that lie. ”

Kai Feng said to his son calmly:

"Don't panic too much. Truth can also be distorted in the face of power. Eddard Stark can't make too many waves, but it's the dragon...... If there is another 'conqueror', we will really be helpless. However, fortunately, it will take a long time for the dragon to grow, and Caesar does not have to worry about it for the time being. ”

With that, Kevon turned to Duke Tywin, "Now we still have to deal with Eddard Stark first. We can claim that these are lies, but it is inevitable that some careerists will still make a living from them.

In particular, the two brothers Stannis and Lanley of House Baratheon, if Eddard Stark's lies are believed, then these two are the rightful heirs to the Iron Throne. ”

Duke Tywin looked at Lancel with golden eyes and asked:

"This happened a few days ago?"

"Five days. Immediately after the incident, I came to you day and night on horseback. And all the ravens in the city of heaven and city have been slain by us. ”

Duke Tywin nodded: "It's good that you came quickly enough, the emissary from the north should be a step slower." And without ravens, it will take some time for the news to spread, and now we have the upper hand. ”

The Westward Guardian pondered for a moment, then stood up, as if he had a plan.

"It's true that the worst is not yet the worst. Eddard Stark may seem menacing, but he doesn't necessarily get much real help. Moreover, King's Landing is now in our hands, and it is naturally up to us who will sit on the Iron Throne.

The key to winning or losing this war lies in whether we can choose our allies correctly and, more importantly, whether we can choose our enemies correctly. ”

With that, Duke Tywin looked at his brother and commanded, "Kevon, you immediately take all the cavalry from the West, go into battle lightly, and go to King's Landing as fast as possible, so that the Archbishop can crown Tommen Baratheon." ”

"Archbishop...... "What if you don't want to cooperate?" ”

Duke Tywin said coldly, "He just accepted a crystal crown from the Lannisters, he should know what to do." If he forgets, remind him that the Lannisters can give it to someone else. ”

"Okay."

"That's right." Tywin remembered something and added, "I remember Eddard Stark had two daughters left in King's Landing, right? Remember to keep them under control. ”

"Yes."

Lord Tywin looked at Lancel again: "Rancell, return to the city of Heaven and Castle at once, find Duke Mace Tyrell, and if he withdraws, chase him to the High Court and tell him that Tomman will marry Margaery Tyrell in the place of his dead brother." ”

Hearing this, Lancel reminded, "Lord Tywin, Miss Margaery has eloped with Baron Caesar......"

Duke Tywin snorted lightly and said, "The Natyrel family should be even more grateful that the king is willing to marry a woman whose reputation has been tarnished. ”

Then, as if he did not feel safe, he added, "Moreover, when King Tommen succeeds to the throne, he will appoint the Duke of Metz as Minister of Justice." ”

Lansel was stunned again: "My lord, the Minister of Justice is Duke Lanli." ”

"Soon it won't be." Duke Tywin said lightly, but didn't explain too much, just waved his hand to let the two leave.

Duke Tywin then unfolded a piece of parchment and began to write.

After writing three letters, sealed with melted gold, and stamped with the seal of the Roaring Lion, Duke Tywin summoned three knights and handed one of the letters over:

"This letter is to be sent to the Twin Rivers and handed over to Marquis Walder Frey."

Then, he walked over to the second knight: "This one is sent to the Castle of Terror and given to Count Luce Bolton." ”

And then the third: "This letter was sent to Iron Oak and given to Countess Anya Weywood." ”

Sending off the three messengers, Duke Tywin commanded his attendants:

"Go and get the Duke of Lanli here."

(End of chapter)