Game of Thrones-Lord of King's Landing

"Sir, we'll be in King's Landing in a quarter of an hour." At the mouth of the Blackwater, a low-profile merchant ship slowly sailed in. Those on deck could even see the red spire of the castle on Aegon's High Hill rising slowly, as if to pierce the sky.

"Hmm." Davos in the cabin didn't say anything, just responded.

He knew Blackwater Bay better than anyone else; he didn't need this young sailor to remind him.

Stannis sent him to King's Landing to test Jon's true intentions.

Although he is currently appearing to be a loyal subject, Dragonstone is under considerable stress after its recent major defeat and needs to ascertain the situation before making any further decisions.

Davos stepped out of the cabin and saw Melisandre already standing at the bow, looking out over the vast King's Landing. This made him instinctively put some distance between them.

He took a deep breath of the sea breeze, the air still seemingly carrying the smell of blood and burnt flesh. Davos looked sadly at the river at his feet; all four of his sons had perished here, their remains never found.

But he still mustered his spirits, soothed his slightly itchy and painful severed finger, Davos subconsciously looked at the Winch Tower at the mouth of the Blackwater, and suddenly noticed that someone was laying stones on the Winch Tower.

Upon witnessing this scene, Davos felt as if his heart had been gripped tightly. Although he didn't know what those people were doing, he knew that the deaths of his four sons were inextricably linked to this tower, and he decided to go and check it out when the ship docked.

As the ships entered the river, the vessels with white sails arrived at River Gate.

As soon as the ship docked, Davos rushed towards the Winch Tower. Melisandre saw this but said nothing, instead waiting quietly near the harbor.

Some sailors were momentarily stunned by Melisandre's beauty, but quickly walked away, simply because several fierce-looking knights stood behind her, clearly not to be trifled with.

These people are all ordinary citizens. If they offend someone, killing them would be pointless.

Meanwhile, Davos had arrived at the Winch Tower, where he saw many craftsmen building a thick stone wall. He temporarily suppressed his grief and saw the foreman in charge of directing the laborers' work shouting a work chant.

Davos, of course, wouldn't go directly to this person. Instead, he approached the young man who was not far from the leader. The young man looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old and had acne on his face.

Davos stepped forward and asked, "Sir, what are you doing here?"

Seeing Davos's polite demeanor, the young man said, "Oh, we are here on Jon Snow's orders to build a stone monument."

"Stone tablet?"

"Yes, Lord Jon said that the battle that drove out the Lannister was of great significance, and the soldiers who sacrificed their lives should be remembered. That's why this monument was built, and in the future, the lives of the fallen soldiers will be engraved on it. They were the true saviors of King's Landing."

"King's Landing - Savior." Hearing the young man's words, Davos couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat.

"Old sir, you don't know this, do you? Lord Jon Snow is a role model for all of us bastards! He defeated Tywin on the the Green Fork, killed the Mountain at Darry Castle, and led ten thousand men against an army of one hundred thousand. There is no bastard more powerful than him!" The young man with acne looked in the direction of King's Landing and said with a face full of admiration.

"Jerry! You're gossiping again. Go get me a kettle of water!" the foreman in charge of the laborers shouted as he turned around.

"Oh well!"

"I'm sorry," Davos said apologetically, then turned and left.

Then he suddenly noticed that the surface of the Blackwater River seemed different than before. Near the south bank, the boats were heading out, while near the north bank, the boats were heading towards King's Landing.

This makes water traffic orderly and efficient.

"Was this also done by Jon?" Davos wondered to himself, and soon reunited with Melisandre and the others.

"That bastard is supposedly at the Great Sept of Baelor; let's just go there directly," said Penny was in charge of protecting Melisandre.

He had a bristly beard like a steel brush at his sideburns, and his complexion was darker than the others.

Davos disliked hearing Penny refer to Jon as a bastard, even though it was true.

"Very well." Davos nodded slightly, and the group boarded the carriage that the guards had brought, entering King's Landing.

Upon entering King's Landing, Davos was surprised to find that the traffic in King's Landing was the same as on the Blackwater, with white lime scattered on the main roads, dividing the wide avenues into two lanes, which made transportation more convenient.

Although traffic jams still occur from time to time, it's much better than the King's Landing that Davos remembers.

Soon the group arrived at the Great Sept, where tents were pitched in the square in front of the Great Sept; that was Jon's office.

As soon as the group got off the carriage, they saw some civilians hurrying toward the tents.

Penny roughly grabbed a small man by the collar, and the small man's legs went weak at the sight of such a big man in armor.

"What are you all doing? Why are you all running that way?"

"My lord, we... we've come to watch Jon's execution."

"Execution?" Davos was startled, thinking that Jon was too arrogant to kill people so soon after taking over King's Landing.

At this point, Penny, standing to the side, said disdainfully, "What right does a bastard have to give him such power? Who does he think he is?!"

Although the group disagreed with Jon's actions, they decided to go and see what was going on since they had come to meet him secretly, concealing their identities.

After all, watching an execution is one of the activities that the people of King's Landing enjoy.

Soon, under the protection of Penny and others, Melisandre and Davos arrived at the Great Sept of Baelor.

Just months earlier, Joffrey had beheaded former Hand of the King Eddard Stark here.

And today, Eddard Stark's son is going to behead someone here.

Davos initially thought the person being beheaded would be a nobleman, but upon closer inspection, he realized that the person tied to the execution platform was actually a soldier.

Moreover, judging from his facial features, he doesn't seem to be from King's Landing.

Davos, born in King's Landing's Flea Bottom, knew the people and things there all too well. He turned to the King's Landing commoners watching the spectacle and asked, "Sir, may I ask who Jon is trying to kill?"

This commoner from King's Landing looked to be around thirty-four or thirty-five years old. He had flaxen hair and very bright eyes. He was clearly a typical King's Landing citizen, shrewd to the point of being calculating.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I heard that the man was one of Jon's soldiers. Apparently, he killed someone, so Jon wanted to kill him," a citizen said excitedly.

"Execute his own soldiers? Isn't he afraid of demoralizing his troops?" Penny, standing nearby, thought Jon's actions were unwise.

These soldiers who followed him from Harrenhal had endured brutal sieges and defenses, and each of them deserved credit. Yet Jon publicly executed them for such a matter. Wasn't he afraid of alienating his soldiers?

Then, noticing that Davos group were dressed in unusual attire, the commoner spoke up, "Actually, this soldier didn't necessarily have to die. At the time, no one knew who had killed him; it was Jon who found out himself."

Hearing him say this, Penny and Davos both felt that Jon seemed quite similar to Stannis. Then the King's Landing man continued, "However, most people in King's Landing think he's a good man. After he drove out the Lannister and Tyrell, he made a pact with the people of King's Landing: those who kill must pay with their lives, and those who injure or steal must be punished. No one can break this pact."

"Yes, Tywin tricked the late king into opening the city gates, then allowed his troops to plunder—"

The older people around him were whispering, and Davos knew that the "former king" they were referring to was Aerys.

Although Aerys was known as the Mad King, he hardly ever caused trouble for the common people. Among the common folk, compared to the extravagant Robert, Aerys's reputation wasn't that bad.

Listening to the man's words, Davos's expectations for Jon grew even higher, and his favorability towards him increased even further.

He can win battles, govern cities, and control armies! What else could he be but a talented individual? Since he openly opposes Robb's claim to the throne, perhaps we can win him over to Stannis!

Soon, they saw a young man walk out and step onto the makeshift execution platform. Behind him, a knight of similar age held a broadsword nearly as tall as a person.

"That's the Ice, the ancestral sword of House Stark. Eddard Stark was beheaded by this sword," the man said again.

When Jon arrived, the soldier who was about to be beheaded seemed to plead as he spoke something. Jon bent down, looked into his eyes, and comforted him for a while. In the end, the soldier stopped talking, lowered his head, and accepted his fate.

The broadsword, Ice and sharp, fell with a sudden thud, drawing a gray arc of light in the air, as if carrying the biting winter winds of the North.

As the head fell to the ground, a gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

After a moment, Davos came to his senses and looked at Melisandre: "Let's go see him."