(Prologue to the Rise of Kings)

*

"What's the news?" Blake fed the caged ravens in the cage.

"King's Landing is coming. Will stepped aside, facing the sea.

Blake could see that he was preoccupied.

Blake poured a bowl of bloodied minced meat into the raven cage, and the ravens fluttered and croaked. Blake drops the bowl and chases after Will.

"What happened to King's Landing?"

Will walked along the sea: "Stannis I was killed. ”

"Huh?!" Blake said in a strange voice, and he was shaken strongly.

"Stannis is dead. Will threw the flames and aquamarine off his shoulders, and the two griffons flapped their wings and flew high into the air just as they were about to fall into the water.

Blake followed Will's footsteps and followed Will's gaze into the distance to the right.

In the distance, half a day's journey, is the famous Lannisport Harbor. One of the five major ports on the continent of Westeros, dozens of docks are busy, large and small cargo ships come in and out, and the noise does not stop day and night. Inside the harbor, the Lannister family naval warships are moored.

The Lannisters of Lannisterport are a branch of the House of Tywin Lannisters in the Westside of Castle Rock, with Mullen Lannister as their patriarch and lord.

With a formidable navy, Mullen Lannister is one of the most important maritime forces in the West.

"Who will inherit the throne?" Blake stared at Will.

"Of the Seven Kingdoms, only in the law of Dorne women and sons are treated equally and can inherit the throne, and both nobles and commoners will accept it, and no one will resist it. ”

"Stannis doesn't have a son. ”

"Yes, he did not designate Shireen Baratheon as the heir, and if it was specified by will, the legitimacy of Shireen's succession would be more popular. “

"But courtiers loyal to Stannis I could also support Shireen Baratheon to succeed him. “

"Yes, but even the Targaryens have had a civil war over Princess Rhaenyra's succession and led to the eventual extinction of the dragons. The power of the royal realm is now empty, unless Eddard Stark returns to King's Landing as the eternal Prime Minister and embraces Shireen Baratheon as king, but even if Eddard Stark does, he will still need to solve the problem of legal succession. Eddard Stark, who obeys the ancient law, must be very conflicted. And this time of power vacuum on the Iron Throne will be a great opportunity for Tyrrell, Kayvon Lannister, the royal nobles, and the vale careerists. ”

"The Knights of the Valley will rebel too?"

"Don't forget that Cersei, who is under house arrest in the Vale, has a son named Tommen Baratheon. If the careerists of the Vale want to seek power, Tommen Baratheon is the blood of the former King Robert Baratheon. ”

Yes, for careerists, they just need to find excuses, which have nothing to do with the truth of the facts.

Blake was silent for a while, and then said, "Then we still want to attack the Iron Islands? Stannis is no longer there, does his order still need to be carried out?If we lead the army to the king at this time and support Shireen Baratheon as king, the kingdom is in our hands, and anyone who disobeys is a rebellion, and we can justifiably conquer him." ”

Will was silent for a while, and said slowly: "Now the situation is unclear, the first person to seize power will be the target of everyone's attack, we are not Eddard Stark, it is not right to go to the king, and we are ready to fly, let's focus on the war in front of us." ”

Blake was silent.

The forces of the North have infiltrated Lanniport Harbor, just waiting for the Ravens of the North to hear that the Iron Islands fleet is approaching the North.

"There is no king in the Seven Kingdoms, and Shireen is just a puppet when she ascends the throne. The dragons are leaderless, and Eddard Stark is more than loyal and brave, but not enough scheming. The alliance will soon collapse, whether Shireen Baratheon is on top or not, the country will inevitably face division and chaos, who will unify the continent and gather the strength of the Terrans to fight against the strangers?" Will asked Blake, as if to say to himself, "Chaotic and fragmented countries have no power, only unified countries have. ”

"Haven't you been fighting the Wraiths? Don't forget, what is the oath you convinced me of?" Blake said.

Will was silent.

"Why don't you just stand up and unite everyone under the banner, what are you worried about? Do you lack a slogan or a reason?"

"The reason has existed for a long time, but the banner of Stannis I has fallen, and the nobles pay attention to bloodline and inheritance, and it is impossible to take me, the night watchman, in their eyes. ”

"Once there are reasons, only power is left to determine the outcome. Lord Will, with power, you can empower loyal people to become new nobles instead of old ones. In the fight against the Strangers, you have conquered the North. Of course, just one northern border is not enough. ”

Will Moran.

He naturally understood what Blake said, but the situation in front of him was too complicated. Moreover, in this fantasy world, the foundation and bloodline of any great nobleman are stronger than him, a guy born as a thief. Without the likes of Stannis and Eddard Stark as his banner, his appeal was insignificant to the aristocracy.

He remembered the Sparrow that had died with Stannis I.

The Sparrow has managed to defy all nobility and royal power and possess grassroots power, although he relies on the power of God, but who is not? In the world before Will crossed over, in the ancient feudal dynasty, the king was no longer a king, but the Son of Heaven.

The Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven, what can the Son of Heaven be if he is not the Son of God?

All histories and legends, stripped of the superficial branches, are the same at the core.

Will understood what Blake was saying, and looked deeper.

In order for a person to do something and succeed, two conditions are indispensable: the first is the time of day, which requires the situation, and the second is artificial. And the condition for human success is: strength!

As a modern scientific worldview with another world, Will understands this.

He understands better than anyone else in this world in this era.

When a strange ghost strikes, no one can stay out of it, including himself, this is the time of the day and the situation of the times.

When the cold sweeps over the land, rivers and lakes will be frozen into smooth paths. And the sea can stop people who don't have boats, but it can't stop the cold and winter snow. - The continent of Essos on the other side will also face a bitter winter and a long night, and when the gods of cold and the wraiths rule the continent of Westeros, the continent of Essos will be in danger as well.

Will remembered Melisandre, the Red Shaman from Asha, twenty thousand miles away, and he remembered the dragons of House Targaryen, who had risen from extinction and would come with legions from across the continent.

In the face of a real apocalypse, whether you are fleeing, fighting, hiding, or any other choice, as long as you want to live, you can only fight and do your best. Any ostrich that buries its head in the sand and ignores the catastrophe of the world is self-deception.

*

"When will Robb Stark break this news?" Blake asked.

Robb Stark infiltrates Lannisport Harbor.

"Tell him today, and the news will soon be known to the seven countries. Will said, "We are ready to defeat the Iron Islands first, not for Stannis's orders, but for ourselves." If you don't get rid of it, you will always be a threat. ”

Unbeknownst to Blake, the Iron Islands will have to be hurried, as Theon Greyjoy's uncle, the missing captain of the Serenity, Crow-Eyed Eulen Greyjoy, will soon return from the ruins of Valyria with a mighty fleet and untold treasure of gold and silver, and he will use his sword and gold to reunite the Iron Folk and make waves. And, that guy will also find something that is truly threatening: the Dragon's Horn.

"You made a decision?" Blake doubted. He could see the hesitation in Will's eyes.

The Faceless Ones are as observant as their thousand-faceted abilities.

"I can't do it if I don't make a decision, the strange ghosts are coming, they will bring the cold and the night, when the cold and the night rule the world, where else can I and you go?"

"Then do it, Will!" Blake said lightly.

"Good!"

Blake looked into Will's eyes from the side, and he saw that the hesitation and confusion in Will's eyes vanished, and a clear sky filled Will's eyes.

In fact, he already knew how to choose, and he had already understood how to do it, and his hesitation and confusion, the confusion and confusion, maybe just because he was a little tired. Blake said secretly, "You fellow, don't forget the oath you gave me that I can't refuse." ”

Will looked at the sea in front of him and the endless blue sky, the sea and the sky were the same color, magnificent and vast.

The sea is wide and the fish jumps, and the sky is high for the birds to fly!

"Do it, Will!" he said to himself.