By the time the first rays of the morning light fell on the head of Storm's End, the fighting in the city had largely ceased.

The recalcitrant Stormlanders finally accepted the order of defeat, and many of them cried loudly after dropping their weapons—

This castle that will never fall in the minds of the people of Stormlands has finally fallen into the hands of the people of Riverland.

This is an unacceptable thing for the proud Stormlanders.

Samwell, of course, doesn't understand the fragile and complicated feelings of the Stormlanders, and he himself has mixed feelings at this time.

The capture of Storm's End was of course a great joy, but the matter of his younger brother Deacon hung over him like a lingering haze.

In fact, he is familiar with the original book, of course, he knows that the resurrection of the Lord of Light always seems to have various hidden dangers, but if it is just such as memory loss, personality change, or even physical disability, Samwell can accept it, and he will be grateful to the Lord of Light.

But Deacon's situation is obviously deliberately manipulated by the Lord of Light, using him as a tool, this time to carry out the mission of assassinating the illegitimate duke, so what about next time?

I didn't die this time, so what about next time? It doesn't matter if he's dead or not, the Lord of Light can be resurrected anyway.

What's the difference between that brother and the doll in the Lord of Light's hands?

Not only his brother, but also his own fate.

Has it become part of some of the gods' grand plans?

Samwell had struggled to conform to the ancient prophecy of Asha, but now he was suddenly disgusted with his status as the "Prince of Prophecy."

The fall of the High Court also seems to be in the plan of the gods, and Melisandre had told him about the "withering of roses" as early as Eaglespew.

At the time, he didn't take it seriously, but now, the cold reality has hit him hard.

A few white clouds like cotton wool floated in the blue sky, as if forming an indifferent but huge face, saying to Samwell—

Mortals, be humble.

"Master Caesar, your brother is awake." The voice of the bachelor rang in my ears.

"Okay." Samwell came to his senses, turned and walked back to the room.

Entering the room, the strong smell of herbs and a faint smell of blood came to my face.

The curtains were pulled back, and the bright morning sun shone in, dispelling the slightly oppressive atmosphere.

"Brother." Deacon Tully lay on the plank bed by the window, his face pale, but his expression was quite uplifted, like a child expecting a compliment.

"Deacon." Samwell walked to the bedside, his mood was a little complicated, he wanted to reprimand his younger brother and tell him not to be so reckless in the future, but looking at the other party's eager and reverent eyes, the words came to his lips, but after all, they became praise, "You are the biggest hero of this war!" ”

Deacon smiled brightly, "Am I qualified to be a knight?" ”

"Absolutely." Samwell said, "And you will be one of the most famous knights of the Seven Kingdoms, the bards will sing your name, and the noble ladies will dream of climbing into your bed." ”

Deacon was a little embarrassed: "Brother, I am already engaged to Miss Elo Florent. ”

Sam Will laughed, and the little brother finally gave him the familiar feeling he had before.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to fulfill your engagement with Miss Elo."

"Why?"

"We've taken Storm's End, and Stannis Baratheon must hate us to death. The Florentines will have to choose between Stannis and us, who do you think they will choose? ”

"It's supposed to be Stannis." Deakon pondered, "Our aunt...... What's your name? Looks like marrying Stannis, right? ”

"Aunt Celis." Samwell looked at his younger brother, who couldn't remember his name, and worry appeared on his face again, "She's now Stannis's queen, and her grandfather, who has also become Stannis's king's hand." ”

"That's right." Deacon suddenly realized, "Grandpa probably won't be willing to marry Cousin Elo to me." ”

A sarcastic smile tugged at the corner of Samwell's mouth: "Stannis will not be the king for long, I have received the news that he attacked King's Landing but suffered a crushing defeat, and his fleet was almost completely wiped out. So, maybe the Florentine family will re-bet, and if you want to marry Miss Elo, there is still hope. ”

Deacon asked, "Brother, who do you think I should marry?" ”

Samwell hesitated for a moment and said:

"You better listen to your father's opinion on this."

"Okay." Deacon seemed a little indifferent to this, and instead said, "Brother, since I am qualified to be a knight, can you canonize me?" ”

Under his brother's expectant gaze, Samwell smiled and nodded: "When you get better, I'll canonize you." ”

"I can now." As he spoke, Deacon struggled to sit up.

Samwell tried to dissuade: "Don't be in such a hurry. Be solemn, you'd better keep vigil in the church of the Seven Gods, and then have the monks anoint you with holy oil......"

"Don't be that troublesome." Deacon insisted, "Just my brother's canonization is enough for me!" ”

Samwell couldn't resist his brother after all, so he helped him out of bed and got down on one knee on the ground.

Then, Samwell drew out the giant sword [Dawn], this time the sword did not burn, but only a faint red-gold pattern appeared.

As he placed the greatsword on his brother's shoulder, he saw a reddish-gold glimmer in Deacon's eyes.

Samwell suppressed the churning thoughts in his heart and said aloud:

"Deakon Tully from the Hornlands, are you willing to swear before the gods and the world that from this day on, you will fight for the dignity of the weak, for the safety of women and children, for the glory of the feudal king, no matter how difficult the future is, no matter how humble the future is, you will always stick to your faith and fulfill your mission."

"I do." Deacon's tone was full of fanaticism.

Samwell moved the greatsword from his brother's right shoulder to his left: "May Heavenly Father grant you integrity." ”

Then it moved back: "May Our Lady grant you mercy." ”

The greatsword moved back and forth on his shoulders: "May the warrior give you courage, may the blacksmith give you strength, and may the old woman give you wisdom." ”

Finally, Samwell withdrew his greatsword and said with a smile:

"Arise, Sir Deakon Tully."

As he spoke, he stepped forward to help his brother up and help him get back to bed.

At this toss, there was already faint blood oozing from the white bandage, but Deacon didn't care, with a satisfied smile on his face, as if the previous battle of forgetting life and death was for this moment today.

Samwell didn't feel good in his heart, he restrained his smile and asked tentatively:

"Deacon, how did you come up with the idea of assassinating Edric Storm by posing as an emissary?"

"It was a flash of inspiration that came up with the idea." "And the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a good idea......

"That's not a good idea." Samwell interrupted, "Do you know how risky this kind of thing is?" If you're not lucky, you'll be hacked to death by the angry Stormlanders, even if you succeed in the assassination. ”

Deacon's eyes dimmed, and after a long silence, he said:

"Brother, I've already died once, haven't I?"

Samwell was stunned.

Deacon laughed instead, "I'm already dead in Tianji City. ”

"Nope. You're still alive and well. Samwell said earnestly.

"Don't lie to me, brother." Deacon sighed, "I still remember you giving me your horse and letting me rush out of the Templar. But on the way, an arrow shot me off my horse, and then a long sword pierced my shoulder blade through a gap in the armor, crushing my heart, and I still remember the sharp pain......"

"Don't think about it." Samwell put a hand on his brother's shoulder and dissuaded.

Deacon's face was tired and confused, and he muttered:

"But what else could I think? I can't remember a lot of things. Brother, you know what? I can't even remember what the castle looked like, my sisters' names and hair colors, and my father...... His image also became blurred in my mind, as if he were a stranger......

Only you, brother, only everything about you, I keep in mind. ”

Samwell was silent.

"It was the true god Rahlo who resurrected me, right, brother?" Deacon added, "He brought me back into this world with a mission......

"Bullshit Mission!" Samwell cursed, "You're living for yourself, not for bullshit Laherlo, and not for me." ”

Deacon smiled at his brother:

"I thought you'd love the change, not to mention, I heard the oracle from the flames. Brother, you are a hero chosen by the true gods to lead the world to repel the evil in the darkness. It is a great honor for me to be able to fight for you. ”

"It may not be clear who is righteous and who is evil." Samwell said, "Our invasion of the Stormlands, is it good or evil?" The farmers of the Stormlands are fighting under the call of the lord, is it good or evil? The knights on both sides are fighting for glory, but what exactly is glory. ”

A hint of confusion appeared in Deacon's eyes, but soon, he was overwhelmed by the red-gold light, and his tone became fanatical again:

"Fighting for my brother is glory and justice!"

Samwell sighed and said no more on the subject.

It wasn't that he didn't want to accept the help of the Lord of Light, and even at the beginning, he had the idea of hugging the King of Light's thigh, but after seeing the god's manipulation of his brother's mind, he felt an irrepressible disgust and disgust.

"Rest well." Samwell turned, "I'll withdraw my troops tomorrow and return to Riverbank, and you'll stay at Storm's End to recuperate." ”

"Okay." Deacon nodded in response.

Samwell got up to leave, and when he reached the door, he turned back again, and saw his brother looking at him and smiling brightly.

I'll take you back from the gods, Samwell secretly decided.

You are not an instrument of the gods, but a brother of Caesar.

Render to the gods what is of the gods, but to Caesar what is Caesar's!

(End of chapter)