The World Opens in an Instant
At this moment, in the Kingspyre Tower of Harrenhal, Stannis looked at the map before him with a cold expression.
When he learned that an army had appeared in the rear, he rushed back from the Twins almost immediately, and even left the main force in the Twins temporarily.
"There's a group of enemies appearing to our east. They shouldn't be too many, probably no more than a thousand," Axell said, indicating that he only needed two thousand men to take down the enemy trying to cut off their retreat.
Of course, the number of about a thousand people was just his guess. After all, with such tight security, any more than that would have been discovered, so it seemed unlikely.
Moreover, Rickard's squad also included prisoners; even Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, could be taken prisoner. Jon didn't expect every soldier to die a heroic death, but he could confuse them with some dubious information. Most of the prisoners insisted that there were only three squads like theirs, and Axell accepted this claim.
Generally speaking, there aren't soldiers who are that stubborn. After all, they're fighting for their lord, and it's already quite an achievement for them to survive.
Since two teams escaped, there must be around a thousand people.
The reason he proposed bringing two thousand men was because that was almost the entire army the House Florent could muster.
"I'll give you three thousand men. Take care of these reckless fools!"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Axell replied hastily.
"Furthermore," Stannis said again, and Axell immediately stopped, "Execute the lord in charge of the right flank." Stannis's voice was icy, making Axell shiver.
He could understand Stannis's feelings. After all, the reason for the defeat at Blackwater was that his nephew Orell had failed to scout the Blackwater; otherwise, they wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat.
So Stannis was especially careful this time, but he still didn't expect this to happen. That's why the king was so angry.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Axell made his voice as respectful and loyal as possible, knowing that if he couldn't defeat this team that had suddenly appeared behind his own side, his fate wouldn't be much better than that unfortunate fellow.
Because this army was not large, Stannis focused his efforts on the decisive battle to come, entrusting the task of eliminating the enemy in the rear to Axell.
At the same time, five thousand troops were left in the Twins, while the remaining thirty thousand or so troops marched south to prepare for the final battle.
The Bucks banner fell to the ground, and the bodies of the fallen soldiers were recovered along with it.
The flags were rolled up and confiscated, and the soldiers' bodies were neatly arranged one by one; victory had been secured.
In this era without Firearms, the battlefield was littered with severed limbs and missing parts; sometimes, after a battle, there weren't even any weapons left.
The smell of gunpowder filled the air, but the invisible killing intent on the battlefield lingered for a long time.
Axell simply couldn't understand how the differences between people could be so vast.
Although he had misjudged Jon's strength, he still had a numerical advantage with three thousand men against two thousand. Yet, his army was routed in just one morning, and he himself was captured alive.
The thought of Jon appearing and disappearing like a ghost on the battlefield, while his own every move seemed to be seen through by the enemy, filled him with a sense of utter despair, a feeling of having nowhere to escape.
Axell was brought before Jon. The first thing he saw was the three-headed dragon banner fluttering behind Jon, before he saw Jon in his white Valyrian steel armor.
Standing beside him was a group of nobles and officers in gleaming armor, the victors of the battle.
But to Axell's surprise, these people didn't cheer; instead, they all picked up their notebooks and started discussing something.
However, Axell, already defeated, had no interest in listening to what they were saying. Now that he had been defeated, the only way to preserve his family's position in the Stannis court was to seek death.
He had initially thought Jon was just a young man who had risen rapidly through military merit; who would have thought he would have such a bizarre identity?
But Axell still couldn't quite believe it; it was too counterintuitive. He felt that to ensure the House Florent's position in the Stannis court, it would be better to die with honor.
He glanced at the people around him, who were still holding notebooks and talking in front of Jon. He took a deep breath and cursed at Jon, "Jon Snow! You bastard, you vile and shameless scoundrel! For your ambition, you actually let your wife sleep with other men! I bet that silver-haired bastard of yours is the offspring of some sailor from the Free Cities!"
Jon Snow! Even the Seven Hells wouldn't tolerate someone like you!
Axell unleashed every single curse word he could think of, and his voice carried far and wide.
The term "sailors of the Free Cities" comes from the fact that while silver hair and purple eyes are characteristics of the royal family in Westeros, the Free Cities have a large population of Valyria descendants, so they are not uncommon.
Sandor, who was not far away, immediately drew his sword and held it to his neck.
Sandor glanced in Jon's direction; if Jon nodded, he could immediately behead him.
Feeling the coldness on his neck, Axell shuddered. Fear felt like snow being stuffed into his clothes in winter; the icy sensation immediately swept over his entire body.
"You, you bastard, you bastard, you want to kill me, kill me, I'm not afraid! Long live His Majesty Stannis!" Although Axell's tongue was tied in knots with fear, he still swore.
He hoped to express his loyalty to Stannis in this way.
Even if he dies in battle, at least Stannis won't abandon the other Florent, and in the future, he can save his family from Jon Snow.
Jon understood Axell's intention and waved for Sandor to remove the longsword from Axell's neck.
"Sir Axell Florent, why don't you House Florent simply pledge allegiance to me?"
"I absolutely will not—what?"
Axell opened his eyes and saw Jon looking at him calmly, as if he had just been cursing someone else.
A black flag fluttered above his head, sunlight shone on his face, and his silver armor gleamed. Axell swore this was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
"I mean you can pledge your allegiance to me completely. I will grant you a fiefdom elsewhere that is no less valuable than Brightwater Keep, and the safety of the rest of Florent will be guaranteed."
Moving Florent out of the Reach naturally prevents him from causing any further trouble for House Tyrell. Jon still has a large amount of land and vacant castles, so this is nothing to worry about.
Moreover, the House Florent's accumulated wealth over thousands of years can be put to use as soon as possible. Not only soldiers, but also various collections, books, and ancient texts are all very valuable.
"But Selyse, no! This won't do, this is betrayal."
"Aren't Selyse and Shireen now Baratheon? Are you really going to sacrifice the entire family for your niece and niece?"
"I----"
When Axell asked Jon, he froze, looking like a wooden statue.
And the officers and lords around Jon realized that this might actually work!
The saying goes, "The moment the thought of surrender arises, the world expands in an instant."
Since Axell was with Stannis to rescue his family, and now that he's been captured by Jon, why not just surrender?
Come on over! A family should be complete, we're just missing you.
"Surrender, Sir Axell! Look across the Seven Kingdoms, which one wasn't once a subject of the Dragon King? Which one didn't submit to him?"
"It is an honor for your House Florent to surrender to the Dragon King," said Leo Tyrell, who had become a Grand Knight under Jon Snow.
Now that he had received a title, he reverted to using his own surname.
"I----"
Axell still hesitated; he found this change somewhat difficult to accept.
Jon continued, "Axell, if you surrender, I will forgive and forget everything. If you refuse—" Jon suddenly stood up, looking at the soldiers in the distance, many of whom were from House Florent, "I will have no choice but to kill them."
"No! Mercy! Please have mercy!" Axell said hastily. Putting aside the soldiers, almost all the officers were related to the House Florent, and it would be painful for them to kill him.
After all, the story of Jon killing thousands of Iron Islands soldiers and using their heads to build a pyramid in the harbor had already spread.
There are only a little over two thousand people now, and he believes Jon is capable of doing such a thing.
"Stannis will soon find out you've been defeated, and he'll come with even more troops. I can't possibly send troops to watch them. Only the dead won't cause me any trouble. Alternatively, you can choose to surrender and join my army. Just helping me hold off Stannis will be a great achievement, and I won't be stingy with the rewards."
Axell hadn't expected things to turn out so suddenly. He had just been thinking of conveying his final loyalty to Stannis by insulting Jon, but in the blink of an eye, Jon hadn't shown the slightest anger, which made him somewhat tempted.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I, Axell Florent, pledge my allegiance to you on behalf of the House Florent." Finally, Axell uttered the word with difficulty.
Jon's lips curled slightly as he personally stepped forward to help him up.
"I, Jon Targaryen, accept your allegiance."
Leo Lefford, who was standing nearby, also stepped forward and said, "Sir Axell, it's a pleasure to fight alongside you."
"Um, uh, okay----" Axell didn't know Leo Lefford and could only respond somewhat awkwardly.
"You were really rude just now! Apologize to His Majesty immediately," Sandor said very seriously.
Your Majesty----
Axell looked at Jon and was about to kneel down to express his apology, but Jon raised his hand to indicate that it was alright.
The addition of the Florent army increased his force from over two thousand to over four thousand, thus greatly increasing his chances of success.
Having made a firm decision to return to the banner of the Dragon King, Axell regarded Jon as his sovereign and began to offer advice and suggestions.
The position of queen was never something that a small family like Florent could afford. Now that he had put aside his ambitions for the queen's throne, Axell felt completely relieved. Moreover, he no longer had to deal with Stannis's stubborn and unpleasant temper. He was overjoyed.
He mentioned Stannis's plan to use the Dorne army to tie down the Reach army, and then defeat Jon while they still had a numerical advantage in the Riverlands.
"I have reached an agreement with the House Martell; they will not attack the Reach."
In other words—
Axell turned to look at Leo Lefford, who had an air of scholarship about him and was the one who had just persuaded him to surrender.
"Yes, it won't be long before the Southern army marches north. Stannis will either surrender or be defeated and killed. We just need to hold out until the Southern army's reinforcements arrive, and victory will be within our grasp."
After hearing Leo Lefford's explanation, Axell was incredibly glad he had made that decision.
Fortunately, they jumped ship in advance; otherwise, the House Florent would have been buried with the House Baratheon.