Battle for King's Landing-The Trembling Palace

The Red Keep is a castle built by House Targaryen.

Aegon the Conqueror simply built a military camp and fortress here using earth and wood.

With gradual expansion, it was finally completed under the rule of the third king Maegor Targaryen. Maegor built many secret passages within the Red Keep.

To protect the secret of the secret passage, all the craftsmen who built the castle were killed.

In the past, Targaryen liked to use dragon skulls as decorations for their castles.

After Baratheon took control of the area, he placed all the giant dragon skulls in the cellar and replaced them with the Baratheon Crowned Stag and the Lannister golden lion banners.

Since Robert's death, the cheerful atmosphere in the Red Keep has vanished, especially with the continuous defeats at the front.

Jaime was captured.

The Mountain was killed.

The Westerlands were invaded Stannis led a large army to the frontier.

Baratheon's dynasty seemed to crumble after only a little over a decade.

The guards and maids limped through the castle as if wading through a cold, icy river.

Every step was taken with extreme caution, and the journey was incredibly difficult.

In the Maegor's Holdfast, the royal residence, all the chill emanated from there. A woman in her thirties, with golden hair and emerald green eyes, stood on the terrace.

Her clothes were made by the best tailors from the Seven Kingdoms.

The stag and the lion form the light and dark patterns on the clothing, respectively.

The red and yellow colors accentuated her beauty and nobility. Yet, even in such attire, she would never wear it more than three times.

This is none other than Cersei Lannister, the reigning queen mother of Baratheon.

Cersei stood on the terrace, pacing back and forth incessantly, and even when she sat down, she would quickly get up again.

The Red Keep has thousands of chairs, but it seems there isn't a single one big enough for the Queen Mother to sit on.

A pair of green eyes gazed towards the River Gate, as if longing for something more.

She was particularly annoyed by Tyrion's decision to bring Joffrey to the city walls. What was even more infuriating was that Grand Maester Pycelle and Lord Warden Varys also supported his decision.

Cersei simply couldn't understand it.

A child.

What can a thirteen-year-old child do on the battlefield?

They even dressed Joffrey in magnificent armor and made him wear a crown.

As if afraid the enemy wouldn't know he was the king, Cersei gripped her wine glass tightly, but Joffrey realized something: if King's Landing fell, she'd have to escape with Joffrey!

When the enemy forces are everywhere, where will she be able to escape to?

A figure flashed before Cersei's eyes, and she turned to her maidservant beside her, giving the order:

"Summon Lord Varys here!"

Varys, who is also the Minister of Intelligence, is bald.

He was rather plump and always smelled of lilac. No one had ever seen him speak loudly, let alone get angry.

When it comes to speaking, if you don't look at his face when he opens his mouth, you might think it's a woman speaking. Sometimes he even lets out a girlish giggle.

The whole person felt like a soft, fluffy giant pillow.

But this man was no ordinary person; he came from the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea, and the last Targaryen king was Aerys Targaryen.

She was known as the Mad King, Aerys.

Varys once served the Mad King.

After Robert became king, he became Robert's chief of intelligence, and even obtained information about Viserys and Daenerys, descendants of the Targaryen, who were exiled to the Free Cities.

Of course, none of this mattered to Cersei at the moment. Her concern was not the Free Cities thousands of miles away, but King's King's Landing right before her.

Varys was quickly summoned before Cersei. Without further ado, she asked directly, "Lord Varys, I've heard you know of the secret passage leading from the Red Keep to the outside?"

"Your Majesty, please believe me, this is just a rumor," Varys replied calmly in his androgynous voice.

"But I heard that the Mad King trusted you the most in his last few years, so he should have told you about the secret passages." Cersei still wouldn't give up.

"Your Majesty, this is still entirely fabricated," Varys said, his tone growing increasingly respectful.

"Am I supposed to just sit here and wait to die, entrusting my life to that dwarf?" Cersei slammed her wine glass to the ground, shattering the expensive crystal glass into pieces.

"Your Majesty, perhaps you could keep a closer eye on Eddard; at least she's a good candidate."

Sansa.

Cersei realized she had been so flustered that she had completely forgotten she still had a hostage.

After Eddard was executed, Sansa became Joffrey's "toy" for venting his anger.

Whenever the battle at the front falters, Joffrey wants to beat Sansa up, and Cersei, the Queen Mother, turns a blind eye.

Now is the time to truly put Sansa to use. But can Sansa's life buy Stannis's mercy?

This is clearly something Cersei couldn't possibly consider.

She turned and commanded, "Go! Bring Miss Sansa to me!"

A red-haired Maiden stood by the window, her face pale, looking like a broken flower bud battered by wind and rain.

Look out the window! Look out!

The nun's harsh voice lashed at Sansa's heart like a whip.

Those grayish-brown eyes were like murky ice cubes, and the gray cloak she wore was the attire the Maiden feared most.

Sansa opened her red and swollen eyes and looked out the window. There, a human head was stuck in a javelin.

That was the head of the previous Hand of the King, Eddard Stark's head, her father's head.

Joffrey used this method to torment Sansa's mind.

Her arms were covered with nail marks, and there were some whip marks on her back.

But she was happy with it. All of this was Joffrey's doing.

The whip marks were because her elder Robb had captured Joffrey's uncle, Jaime Lannister.

The fingernail marks on her arm were from when her bastard Jon Snow killed Gregor Clegane, Tywin's most trusted general.

A fire burned within Sansa's heart; she believed her family would come to King's Landing to rescue her.

But trapped in enemy territory, boundless fear engulfed her. Her once round cheeks became sunken, and veins could even be seen on her neck. The delicate beauty that belonged to a noble lady was gone in just over a month.

At that moment, a man who looked like a knight entered her room.

"Sansa Stark, Her Majesty the Queen Mother requests your presence."

"Empress Dowager."

Sansa recalled the details of her time with Cersei when Eddard was still alive. Cersei had always patiently taught her the etiquette and rules of court life, and even chatted with her over tea.

But after his father Eddard died, he felt like a roadside weed, and he couldn't even see his own face anymore.

Sansa didn't know why Cersei had summoned her, but she obediently went with her anyway. At least she wouldn't have to see her father's increasingly ashen face.

Urged by the nun, she changed her clothes.

Because of her thin physique, some of her clothes no longer fit.

Sansa followed the knight; she was only about ten years old. The knight was tall and strong, and walked ahead without any intention of accommodating Sansa.

Sansa could only try to keep up, but she was being skimped on food and was exhausted, to the point that she was out of breath.

"Hurry! Don't keep His Majesty waiting!"

The knight urged her on, which made Sansa feel wronged. All the knights she had met before had been so polite.

Tears welled in Sansa's eyes as she sadly prayed:

"Mother, Robb, Jon —when are you coming to save me?" Just then, a deep, resounding voice rang out, and even the knights urging her on slowed their pace.

A low, rumbling sound, like an invisible wave, came from the direction of the Blackwater in the south.

"It's the sound of bugles!"

Sansa suddenly remembered that when she and her father Eddard had just arrived in King's Landing, King Robert had held a tournament to welcome them.

Such bugle calls could be heard at the start of the martial arts tournament.

It wasn't just Sansa and the knight.

Throughout the Red Keep, all the guards and maids heard the battle horns.

They all stopped and stood there.

Some people even stood there praying.

Because they knew what fate awaited them once Stannis's army stormed King's King's Landing.

Being raped is already a good outcome; being able to save one's life is something to be grateful for, thanks to the mercy of the gods.

Cersei remained standing on the terrace, and when she heard the horn, she almost lost her balance. She could now place all her hopes on her dwarf brother, Tyrion.

=

The battle horns had sounded, but Davos remained restless.

This Onion Knight enabled Stannis to hold Storm's End's End during Robert's Rebellion by smuggling food to the city.

He also used smuggling to elevate himself from a commoner to a nobleman.

Although he was only a minor nobleman, it was enough for him to be completely devoted to Stannis.

He placed all four of his adult sons in the most dangerous place.

He also told his sons that this was the "most glorious" place.

They hoped to be the first to storm the city, to repay Stannis's kindness.

only--

Davos looked back at the Winch Tower again.

He often claimed to know the waterways near King's Landing inside and out.

But to him, the appearance of those two Winch Tower was like two extra fingers growing onto his hand.

He always felt that Imry Florent, who commanded the fleet, was somewhat reckless.

The massive fleet was unable to utilize its advantages on this narrow river. Instead, the warships became obstacles to each other's maneuvering.

But they had already ventured deep into the Blackwater, with no way back. For the massive fleet, turning around was out of the question; even slowing down was difficult.

They now have only two choices: either hold a victory celebration in King's Landing or suffer a humiliating defeat.

To die in battle, or to become a prisoner.

The sound of horns urged everyone on, carrying far and wide, even reaching the Northern Army hiding in the woods north of King's Landing's Landing.

Beric Dondarrion approached Jon and found him still asleep, with Sola sitting beside him.

Upon seeing him arrive, Sola said, "Jon said he would come to you if we were to launch an attack. Please go back and have the soldiers check the weapons and siege ladders."

Beric Dondarrion glanced at Jon, who was "sleeping soundly with his head covered," hesitated for a moment, and then left the tent.

The army was built up by him; everyone had to listen to him, and could only listen to him.