Battle for King's Landing-Invincible Fleet

As the weather turns colder, the water of the Blackwater becomes even more icy. It gets its name from the fact that its extremely deep riverbed makes the water appear black.

Looking down from the sky, its color was so striking, like blue veins on pale skin. Jon Raven Skinchanging, circled over the Blackwater.

By this time, Stannis's fleet had crossed the mouth of the Blackwater River. It was clear that Stannis's army's plan was to first occupy the Blackwater channel with the fleet, and then have the soldiers on the warships rush up and break through from the front of the River Gate.

Compared to the massive fleet, the Blackwater was rather narrow, and they could only enter the Blackwater in columns, with each column containing about a dozen or twenty warships.

The oars of these warships resembled the legs of a centipede, vigorously propelling their massive bodies.

The current at the mouth of the Blackwater was very rapid, and their commander ordered the sails to be lowered, so they could only rely on manpower to propel the boat.

Two hundred or so warships were spread out completely, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Meanwhile, the "Royal Fleet" on the Blackwater River consisted of only a dozen or so pitiful ships, barely larger than fishing boats, making the two completely incomparable.

This massive fleet was actually blocked by iron chains and Wildfire.

Jon, piloting the Raven for reconnaissance, looked toward the Winch Tower at the river mouth. He knew that once most of Stannis's fleet had entered the river, the iron chains blocking the river would be raised, cutting off their retreat.

The Winch Tower they used to raise the iron chains blocking the river were recently built on both sides of the river mouth.

The black Winch Tower looked about two or three stories high, with a base the size of a house. The upper part had a huge wooden wheel with a thick, black iron chain wrapped around it.

Jon maneuvered his Raven to land on the Winch Tower when no one was looking, and sure enough, he saw a group of Lannister soldiers hiding in the grass. From this position, he could hear their whispers.

"...-. Fifteen ships, twenty-five ships - eighty-three ships-"

"Devotion, Swordfish, Laughing King Lady Harlaw, Sea Demon, Trident - Smiler, Sea Fish, Pious, Prayer, Royalty, Red Raven, Brave, Dragonsbane Black Betha, Cat, Sea Spirit, Valyrian, Fury!"

The soldiers lying in ambush in the grass were whispering and counting incessantly, as if they were calculating their own countdown to death.

Not only could they count, but they were also very knowledgeable, reciting the names of these majestic warships one by one, as if they were pronouncing their own crimes.

Just then, Jon heard an impatient voice. "Alright! Stop fucking muttering. So what if you know a ship? Are you trying to impress me?" The one who was scolding him was Bronn. He flicked a blade of grass in front of him as if it were in his way, but when he looked at the fleet, he seemed to have difficulty breathing.

The question that had been lingering in his mind for so long resurfaced:

Can Wildfire really stop this fleet?

Bronn had personally witnessed those Wildfire sealed in jars.

But each jar is only a foot tall, and hundreds of jars can be transported away by a small merchant ship. Compared to the fleet in front of them, it's just a small thing.

He didn't have a high opinion of this little thing being able to take down such a big guy.

But now this mercenary has staked everything on Tyrion and the Lannister. From now on, whether he goes back to the life of a swordsman or enjoys himself in a brothel in Pattaya depends on today.

He turned to the soldiers behind him and said, "Once Stannis's ship is completely in the river, you all pull with all your might! Pull as hard as you did in bed, and double that strength now! Understand?!"

"Yes, yes!"

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir."

The soldiers' answers were somewhat listless.

Many of them were mercenaries Tyrion had temporarily recruited from King's Landing; they had all been offered high rewards to secure their service.

As a fellow mercenary, Bronn understood that if the battle went badly, it was best not to have any expectations of these people. He looked towards the direction of the River Gate, which was the key.

Ultimately, no matter how hard they try, they still have to help Tyrion defend the city gates. Even if Stannis's army manages to catch up and captures their city, as long as the gates remain intact, they will still have wealth and glory.

Just as Bronn was worrying about the strength of the city gates' defenses, Jon also sent Raven to Tyrion's River Gate.

As its name suggests, the River Gate is the city gate directly facing the Blackwater, and Stannis's fleet came from the Blackwater, where the fiercest battle will take place.

Jon saw Tyrion rallying the troops on the city wall, with two fully armed knights protecting him. One of them was wearing a white robe and was probably a Kingsguard.

Because of his short stature, Tyrion deliberately stood on a platform made of stacked wooden crates, but the soldiers who listened to his encouragement all felt as if they were watching a dwarf play.

Because of his physique, even when Tyrion wears a fine suit of armor, he still looks like a paper doll.

"The 50,000 troops from the Westerlands and the 100,000 troops from Tyrell will be here soon. Our task is to hold the city! If you hold King's Landing, I will give each of you an extra ten Gold Dragon! For every Stannis soldier you kill, I will reward him with one hundred Gold Dragon!"

Tyrion announced loudly, even somewhat recklessly, and despite the tempting reward, the soldiers remained unmoved. There was no way around it; the difference in strength was simply too great.

The endless fleet on the Blackwater instilled unease in everyone; even a glance made it hard to breathe. Because the light from the city walls was brighter, and the weather was getting cooler, Jon seemed to feel the warmth emanating from Tyrion's breath as he spoke. At that moment, a soldier asked, "Sir, I heard that Ser Clegane was killed by Lord Eddard's bastard son. Is that true?"

Tyrion's face darkened, wondering who this guy was who was trying to mess things up for him.

However, he remained calm and said, "Soldier, I don't know what you're talking about. Isn't Sir Clegane over there?"

Tyrion drew his short sword and pointed it at the place where Sandor Kyrian, the Mountain's brother "The Hound," was stationed.

"My lord, I'm talking about Gregor, the Mountain!" the soldier persisted. Tyrion gripped his sword hilt and vehemently denied it. "Nonsense! Eddard's son is only a teenager. A teenager whose pee is green? Do you think that's possible?"

Tyrion knew he was talking nonsense, but he still managed to fool quite a few of these uninformed soldiers.

Meanwhile, on an inconspicuous flagpole, Jon was observing with a cold eye. As the saying goes, a person's reputation precedes them, Jon thought that he might be able to make good use of this "advantage" when the siege began.

Tyrion, of course, knew about Jon's killing of the Mountain; the news had already spread throughout the Riverlands.

Jon was almost seen as a savior and hero by the Riverlands nobles and commoners, and although he hadn't confirmed it with Tywin, it was probably true.

Tyrion might not have believed it if it were anyone else, but since it was Jon, he had no choice but to believe it.

At this moment, Jon saw Tyrion speak again, "Gentlemen, the only thing I am certain of is victory in this battle, because—look!"

As he spoke, he pointed to a yellow flag with a stag crown not far away, beneath which sat a tall young man.

"Our King, Joffrey Baratheon, is with us! Long live Joffrey!"

Knowing that the king was also fighting alongside them, the soldiers mustered some courage.

"Long live His Joffrey!"

"Long live His Joffrey!"

"Long live Joffrey!"

The city walls, which had been somewhat somber due to the pressure from the massive fleet, seemed to regain some of their vigor.

Regardless of the era, a leader who leads by example can greatly boost morale, especially since Joffrey's physique is even larger than that of an average adult.

What they didn't know was that Yang Foli was completely stiff at that moment and couldn't hear what those people were saying at all.

Tyrion told him that he didn't need to fight anyone; he could just sit there and "place" himself like a statue.

Even with so many soldiers surrounding him and the towering city walls protecting him, Joffrey still felt unsafe.

He wanted to go back, back to the Red Keep, back to his mother Cersei.

The Raven on the flagpole gave Joffrey a deep look. He was a handsome boy with blond hair, but his green eyes trembled uncontrollably.

Although Jon didn't hate him, he had to be killed from a political standpoint.

Now that Myrcella and Tommen are in his hands, if he kills Joffrey, the alliance between the Lannister and Tyrell will crumble on its own.

He estimated that the battle would begin in at least two hours, so he withdrew his consciousness from the Raven's body and returned to the army in the north of King's Landing's Landing.

When Jon opened his eyes again, he saw two people beside him: Sola, who was taking care of him closely, and Beric Dondarrion.

When Beric Dondarrion saw Jon wake up, his eyes were filled with surprise and admiration.

"Sola just told me you were sleeping, I really can't believe you could sleep in this situation."

Jon knew he had been misunderstood, but he accepted it calmly. He deliberately stretched and said, "With a great battle imminent, if even I, the commander-in-chief, am restless, what about the ordinary soldiers?"

Listening to Jon's explanation, Beric Dondarrion was somewhat speechless. If it were anyone else, the Lightning Lord would certainly feel uneasy.

But Jon is different.

He turned the tide of the Battle of the Green Fork and devised a plan to capture Tywin's elite forces.

Such a person is no longer on the same level as others.

On the contrary, as he said, Jon's carefree sleeping posture actually made him feel at ease.

Beric Dondarrion took a deep breath to relax and asked, "The army is still resting. I've sent out scouts to conceal our movements. When do you plan to begin the siege? And where should we focus our attack?"

"At the latest, two hours later, at the Old Gate."

Jon gave him a brief reply, then added, "Sola, call the others over; we need to have a war council."

"Okay!"

Sola straightened her clothes and quickly left. About ten minutes later, Jon was surrounded by people.

Beric Dondarrion, Thoros, Harrion, Haken, Tommen, Martin, Monde, and a host of clan and tribal warrior leaders—when the North first convened, Jon was just a nobody standing next to Robb.

Now that he was the "Commander-in-Chief" in charge of the entire army, Jon felt a pang of emotion upon seeing this scene. However, with a major battle imminent, he knew he didn't have much time to indulge in sentimentality; these commanders had to return to their posts as soon as possible.

There was no pre-battle discussion; Jon simply stated his battle plan directly.

"During the siege, we will use our elite heavy armor troops as the vanguard to capture the city gates in the shortest possible time. Then we will split into two groups to quickly seize the adjacent city gates: Haken, Monde, and Thoros. After the city gates are captured, you will be responsible for clearing the enemy lines that have been breached by the heavy armor troops."

"Clear."

"Sir Beric Dondarrion, I am entrusting the rest of the army to you. You are responsible for fortifying our defenses!"

"Hmm." Beric Dondarrion nodded and asked, "Then who will be the first to lead the army to attack the city?"

Beric Dondarrion looked at Jon, though he already knew the answer in his heart.

Jon's answer confirmed his suspicions. Jon, carrying the Mountain's broadsword, stood up and turned to look at the tall, magnificent King's Landing:

"I'll be the vanguard!"