Morning fog envelopes Seaguard.
The towering city walls and watchtowers are looming in the mist. This solid fortress was built by House Mallister to resist sea raiders. Now, the golden sea monster flag of House Greyjoy is flying on the city head. It is a huge irony.
On the city wall, Harras. Harlaw stood facing the wind. He was tall and his face was like a rock eroded by the sea wind. He was stern and unsmiling.
As the nephew of House Harlaw patriarch the Reader, he is unique among Ironborn with the name of knight Harras. It can be said that their nicknames are extremely unique among Ironborn. The Valyrian Steel Sword Nightfall on his waist is a symbol of his identity and force.
Victarion Commander-in-Chief's raven brought a clear order, stick to Seaguard, be wary of a mysterious Riverlands cavalry, and must not lose this Ironborn gateway back to the sea, Harras has already made up his mind, no matter how provocative the enemy is.
He and his six hundred Ironborn brothers will be like nails, firmly nailed to this castle.
However, just when Harras. Harlaw thought it was another peaceful day, he was stunned because he heard a low sound of horse hooves, approaching from far away, like thunder rolling across the plain.
Suleiman led his two hundred cavalry and emerged from the morning mist. They did not carry any siege equipment, and their formation was as loose as a group of nobles out for hunting.
Suleiman reined in his horse outside the bow and arrow range of the castle, and stared quietly at the sea monster's flag on the city wall, his eyes as calm as a pool of deep water.
He waved his hand, and dozens of riders left the group, like a swarm of annoying flies, galloping beyond the range of Seaguard.
"Hey! Seals in the city! Is your mother okay in bed?"
"Greyjoy bastard! Go back to your sea and drink urine!"
"Seals! Go home early!!"
The obscene words, accompanied by wanton laughter, were clearly heard on the city wall.
Harras The adjutant next to him flushed with anger and pressed his hand on the ax handle. "Harras! These green bastards are too arrogant! Let me take a team of people out and cut out their tongues!"
Harras shook his head and said in a calm voice, "No need."
He looked past the scolding riders and looked at the cavalry team in the distance.
"Their purpose is to provoke us, and no one is allowed to attack without permission."
He chose to respond with silence. He believed that the cavalry could not pose any threat to the fortified city and that these boring flies would soon recede on their own.
The first round of harassment did not seem to be effective. The cavalry under the city retreated several hundred meters. Then, they did something that made all the Ironborns on the city wall stare with splitting eyes.
Only then did they see that the Riverlands cavalry were dragging the dead Ironborn's bodies on the ground with ropes behind their horses. Then these Riverlands cavalry pulled these cold bodies out of the castle's range but out of sight, piled them up randomly, and poured kerosene on them.
On the city wall, Ironborn whispered in horror, "No!!"
In their beliefs, the people of Drowned God should return to the embrace of the sea after death. Cremation is the most vicious and eternal curse on the soul. A torch was thrown over, flames rose suddenly, black smoke rose into the sky, and an angry roar and loud curses came from the city wall.
Harras gripped the hilt of "Nightfall" tightly, his knuckles turning white from excessive force. His face was still expressionless, but suppressed anger was already igniting in his deep-set eye sockets.
The adjutant asked for battle again, his voice trembling with excitement: Harras!!!"
"We cannot just watch our brothers' souls being desecrated! This is a shame and a great disgrace!"
Harras took a deep breath, the cold air stung his lungs, and squeezed out words through his teeth. "This is a trap."
"The more they act like this, it proves that they want us to leave the city, and the more it proves that there is an ambush outside the city, stay calm."
His sanity is still there, but he has begun to fight fiercely with the Ironborn nature flowing in his blood.
While burning the corpse, the knights began to take the next step. The soldiers took out a captured Greyjoy sea monster flag and spread it on the ground. Then, they brought several horses and let the horses defecate on the flag. The filthy feces covered the golden sea monster.
They hung this filthy flag high and planted it next to the burning pile of corpses, facing the city gate of Seaguard. The wind blew and the flag rustled, as if it was crying or mocking.
Harras's defense line almost collapsed. He could feel the city wall under his feet shaking. It was the roar of his Ironborns who banged their weapons on the wall stacks. The morale of the army was turning from anger to a state of agitation that was extremely humiliated. If he didn't do something, mutiny was right around the corner.
But he was still hesitating, and his cautious reason was still screaming to warn him that the other party was provoking them to leave the city, and there must be a trap outside the city.
Suleiman knew that the fire was coming, so he galloped forward and approached the city wall, out of range. After gathering enough energy, he shouted out the carefully designed slogan in a voice that was clear and loud enough to spread across the entire plain.
He did not use vicious curses or complex language.
"Ironborn has thousands of troops!!!"
He paused deliberately, letting the words reverberate in the air, each syllable hitting Ironborn's nerves like a hammer, and everything on the city wall fell silent for an instant, with everyone's eyes focused on him.
Then, with all his strength, he roared out the second half of the sentence: "No one is a man!!!!"
These words were like a thunderbolt, striking hard in the hearts of all Seaguard Ironborns.
"Ah!!!!"
"Let me out!! I'm going to kill this Riverlands bastard!!"
"Kill him!! Show him what a man is!!!"
On the city wall, the anger that had been suppressed for a long time finally erupted like a volcano. The Ironborn people banged their weapons on the wall stacks crazily, letting out roars that shook the sky. Many people even ignored military orders and began to rush to the city gate, roaring for a fight.
And Harras. Harlaw, he stood at the top of the city, his whole body trembling violently, blood rushed to the top of his head, his face turned the color of pig liver, and his extremely humiliating shout completely destroyed his proud reason.
But at the peak of his anger, his reason still lingered. He believed that the best way to deal with this kind of verbal humiliation was not a chaotic team battle, but an irrefutable, heroic personal showdown.
He wants to use the enemy's head to wash away the stains on the sea monster's flag, and also to keep the army stationary and save the castle.
After thinking about this, he roared, "Open the city gate!"
The suspension bridge slowly lowered and the city gate opened, but Harras stopped the surging Ironborn behind it.
He was alone and slowly walked outside the suspension bridge. The city gate was closed behind him. He held high the shimmering Valyrian Steel Sword. Nightfall, using all his strength, challenged the Suleiman army. "I am the Ironborn commander of Seaguard! Knight Harras. Harlaw! That coward who can only fight with his tongue! Do you dare to come out and fight me to the death?!!!"
This unexpected turn of events made the Suleiman cavalry a little stunned, and then they burst out with a loud cry for battle.
Bryn was the first to gallop forward. "Sir! Let me go! I'll chop off his head!"
Rosso also clapped his hands and stepped forward, shouting eagerly, "Let me go! Sir! Let me go!"
The knight of Raymun. House Darry, Sir Ronald, also followed closely behind. "I will take this honor for House Darry!"
For a time, all the knights were vying to go to battle. The duel was an honor and an opportunity to make a name for themselves.
Suleiman slowly raised his hand and suppressed all the sounds. He quietly looked at the Harras. Harlaw standing like an iron tower in the distance. His eyes fell on the famous Valyrian Steel Sword in his hand. What a good sword!
Then, under everyone's shocked eyes, he said calmly, "I'll go."
This decision was like a huge stone thrown into a lake, causing thousands of waves.
Lord Suleiman is the guarantor of his future land. Sir Old Lopin was the first to object, with a hint of panic in his voice, "Sir Suleiman! No!"
"You are the commander-in-chief, how can you personally take risks?!"
The knights were shocked and began to speak out to dissuade him.
"My lord, no."
"Let's go!"
"There is no need for you to take risks."
In their hearts, Suleiman is the embodiment of wisdom and a strategizing commander, not Warrior who charges into battle. Many of them have never seen him actually take action.
Suleiman ignored any dissuasion. He neatly took off the thick commander's robe, revealing the black chain mail underneath that was close-fitting and easy to move. He reached out and pulled out Myr Sword from his waist. The blade of the sword flashed a cold light in the gloomy sky.
Raymun. Darry's eyes widened, wasn't that the sword I gave him?
Suleiman rode his horse forward slowly and came to the center of the battlefield, facing Harras. Harlaw from a distance. He dismounted and waved to signal the other party to come forward. The soldiers of both armies held their breaths, and thousands of eyes focused on these two men who were about to decide the fate of life and death.
Harras looked at the opponent who was much younger than him and slightly thinner in stature, with a flash of contempt in his eyes. He had absolute confidence in his swordsmanship, especially with Valyrian Steel Sword and "Nightfall" in his hands. He believed that this duel would end with the tenth swing of the sword.
Without unnecessary nonsense, Harras launched a charge towards Suleiman like an arrow from the string.
Clang, two swords clashed, the first sword, the second sword, the sound of metal collision resounded across the plain, the contempt on Harras's face gradually solidified, and he began to become calm.
Suleiman's swordsmanship is completely beyond everyone's imagination.
It does not have the elegant and complicated moves of the knights, nor does it have the wild and unrestrained slashing of Ironborn. Each of his swords is precise, concise, efficient, and full of deadly killing intent. His movements are as fast as lightning, every block is just right to remove the opponent's strength, and every counterattack is vicious and even vicious.
The knights present, except those who had seen Suleiman take action, were all dumbfounded. Their young commander actually hid such terrifying force...
Harras relied on his rich experience and the unparalleled sharpness of "Nightfall" to barely resist Su Lymond's violent and vicious attacks. Cold sweat oozed from his forehead. The shock in his heart could not be greater. He could not figure out how such a young Riverlands could have such terrifying swordsmanship and physical strength.
The two of them exchanged positions, the sword light was dazzling, and sparks flew everywhere. Every time they fought, Harras's confidence was weakened. He was covered in cold sweat. The opponent was too weird. This kind of swordsmanship should never be possessed by such a young person. Yes, and the opponent's physical strength was surprisingly good, which was completely inconsistent with his physique... In a close-range staggered block, Suleiman's sword edge pressed hard against the sword body of "Nightfall".
He looked at Harras's eyes widened in shock, and suddenly spoke in a calm and weird tone that only the two of them could hear, "Harras. Harlaw, your sword is whining."
Harras was stunned, what kind of crazy talk is this, you must be sick.
Suleiman continued, as if stating a simple fact. "It told me that it is tired of your incompetent hand, and it longs for a more powerful master."
Distraction is a taboo in a duel. Suleiman's favorite trick is to use verbal provocation in a duel to influence the opponent and make the opponent make mistakes or panic. Although it is a bad move and has no reputation or honor, it is very useful.
Sure enough, at the moment when Harras was in a trance, Suleiman seized on this fleeting flaw. He exerted force and swung away "Nightfall" with his sword. He leaned forward and drew an extremely fast silver arc with the long sword in his hand.
Harras felt a coldness in his right arm, followed by severe pain. He looked down and saw that his right hand, together with the Valyrian Steel Sword he was holding tightly, had left his body and traced a bloody trail in the air.
With a clang, the broken wrist and Nightfall fell to the muddy ground together, and blood spurted out from his broken wrist.
Suleiman calmly walked to the fallen Nightfall, used the tip of the sword to pick away the severed hand that was still holding the hilt, and then bent down to pick up the legendary Valyrian Steel Sword.
He weighed the sword as if admiring a work of art.
"Your sword is good."
He paused, raised Nightfall high, turned around and faced the countless horrified faces on the Seaguard wall, and then faced the excited Riverlands knights under his command, letting everyone see the sword in his hand clearly.
"Now, it's mine."