Wolf Hour-All or Nothing

The charcoal in the fireplace glowed a dark red, but most of it was covered in ash, as if it were about to go out.

"What? He found a lot of wild animals!?"

"Yes, sir."

Upon hearing this news, Varys's face showed an unusual seriousness.

Compared to Cersei's disappointment at the allied forces' failed siege, Varys was so shocked that his whole body tensed up.

He knew the power of Wildfire. If Tyrion hadn't used Wildfire to burn most of Stannis's fleet, he could have used his fleet to hold off the allied forces while attacking King's Landing.

Moreover, he also knew that the Mad King Aerys had planned to use the Wildfire of King's King's Landing to perish together with the traitor.

But in the end, Jaime intervened and killed all the Pyromancer who knew the location of the Wildfire, which made it very difficult for Varys to determine where Aerys had placed the Wildfire.

There are some beneath the Red Keep, some beneath the Great Sept, and some beneath the Dragonpit, which has been abandoned for over a hundred years.

Varys simply couldn't clear them all out; he could only slowly move the Wildfire beneath the Red Keep to a deeper level—a massive undertaking—so he had to keep this a secret, a trump card.

He couldn't understand how Jon knew about the existence of these Wildfire. Was there some powerful figure in King's Landing that he didn't know about?

But that's not the most crucial point. The most crucial point is that Jon didn't use Wildfire in today's defense of the city!

He single-handedly repelled the Allied offensive.

He had thought that Jon, who only controlled the King's Landing, would be defeated sooner or later, but now it seemed that this was not the case.

Especially when he learned that Jon had begun to replenish his forces and had someone impersonate the High Septon to support him, Varys realized that this was definitely not a hot-blooded young man driven solely by revenge.

On the contrary, his strategy was astonishing!

Just as Varys was deep in thought, a maid's voice rang out from outside. "My lord, Her Majesty the Queen Mother summons you for a meeting."

"Understood." After stuffing a few Copper Star into the crack in the wall, Varys slipped on his soft slippers and left the room.

The Red Keep is teeming with patrolling soldiers; even during the day, you can hear the clanging of armor if you close your eyes.

The maids were also very nervous.

They all walked with their heads down, close to the wall.

Some of the flowers in the garden have also withered.

Firstly, because no one cares, and secondly, because they need to conserve resources, water is naturally very important.

Varys, who had just stepped out of his room, heard a long, drawn-out wolf howl coming from the night sky.

The patrolling soldiers stopped and cautiously searched for the direction from which the wolf howls were coming from.

The soldiers on the arrow towers and watchtowers immediately poked their heads out and searched around.

Many people now know that Jon owns a pure white Direwolf, Varys is no exception.

Varys, who was about to continue walking, suddenly stopped in his tracks, a question surfacing in his mind.

Although he knew of Ghost's existence before, he had never heard Ghost's voice.

Is Jon going to attack the Red Keep?

Impossible, the Red Keep's defenses are stronger than King's Landing's.

Was he going to use Wildfire? A possibility suddenly popped into Varys ' mind: Jon would use a catapult to throw Wildfire into the Red Keep.

Although unlikely, if those Wildfire ignite the Wildfire below Red Keep—

Gulp

Varys swallowed hard; this was the first time in years he had felt flustered.

Varys quickly returned to his room, wrote two letters in the fewest words possible, and then slipped them into a crack in the wall.

"Get the letter to him as quickly as possible!"

Lord Jon Snow, your battle today was valiant and wise. I wish to cooperate with you. If you can guarantee that I will retain my position as Minister of Intelligence in His Majesty Stannis's new court, I will provide you with a secret passage into the Red Keep, and you can also avenge Lord Eddard.

Varys, the Imperial Intelligence Minister.

"Huh? How come you switched sides so quickly?"

Jon was greatly surprised to see that Varys had even revealed his identity in the letter.

In his view, even if he managed to stop the Allied forces' attack, the odds of victory or defeat would at most have changed from 1:90 to 5:50.

He shouldn't have gone that far, right?

Could it be that he knows I found Wildfire and is worried I'll use Wildfire to attack the Red Keep? But Wildfire isn't that powerful, is it? Although I don't know if it's true or not, Jon thinks it's worth a try. As long as Joffrey is killed, all of this will be over.

"Tell your master that I agree."

After saying that, Jon lit the letter in his hand on fire.

But then, the child who delivered the letter produced another letter.

"Sir, my master says you need to sign this letter."

"Oh?"

Jon took the letter, which essentially stated that Jon had accepted Varys's help, and that Varys had offered to provide secret passages for Jon's army.

Jon, of course, readily signed his name.

Meanwhile, Tywin and Mace meet again.

Soft music drifted from the warm and luxurious military tent, and the scent of incense seemed to make one forget that they were on the battlefield.

Both sides discussed and summarized today's defeat.

However, both sides tacitly avoided mentioning one important reason: Mace ' impulsiveness.

Tywin had long seen through Mace as an ambitious but incompetent man, yet this incompetent man controlled a large portion of the allied forces.

We absolutely must not act impulsively at this time.

Therefore, before coming, he repeatedly instructed Kevan not to mention Mace's early attack.

"Father, let me lead the next attack! I will definitely break through the city gates and cut off that bastard's head!" A "newcomer" joined the discussion this time, Loras Tyrell, the Lord Mace's most beloved youngest son.

Loras was handsome, with a sharp look in his eyes.

His slightly wavy brown hair made him quite popular with aristocratic young ladies.

He was known as the Knight of Flowers.

But Loras didn't care about any of that.

He now has only one thought in mind: revenge.

After Renly declared his right to the Iron Throne, the House Tyrell arranged for Margaery and Renly to become engaged.

Renly naturally also formed his own Kingsguard.

However, the Kingsguard of the actual king wear white robes.

He dressed his Kingsguard in "seven-colored robes".

Renly's Kingsguard is also known as the Rainbow Guard.

Loras is the captain of Renly's Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

He believed that Stannis was the one who assassinated Renly, and he was constantly thinking about avenging Renly.

Since Jon, who now occupies King's Landing, claims he will make Stannis king, then Jon is his enemy.

However, Mace did not agree to Loras's suggestion.

He couldn't bear to let his youngest son face an enemy like Jon.

"Could it be that bastard son touched a nerve?" Kevan wondered, seeing Loras's expression. At that moment, Tywin, adjusting his sleeves, spoke up, "Lord Mace, that bastard Eddard is truly cunning. Tyrell lost many brave knights in today's battle. My plan is to attack the King's Gate the night after tomorrow, hoping to draw upon the Reach army's siege equipment and arrows."

Knowing that his impulsiveness had led to the failed attack during the day, Mace replied, "So, what do you think we should do?"

"The Reach Army is certainly important too; I hope you can help us distract that bastard son."

Before Mace could even speak, Loras expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Attract attention? Doesn't that mean we can just watch from behind? Tyrell fears no enemy!" Loras reiterated.

"Lo!" Garlan, who hadn't spoken until now, tried to dissuade him.

"Alright, Lord Tywin has conquered King's Landing once, so he's more experienced." Mace naturally didn't want to see his youngest son risk his life, but he still used Tywin's experience to cover up his own lack of military ability.

The meeting ended after Tywin left.

The Reach nobles also left, and Garlan left the tent with his younger brother Loras.

Today's failed siege stirred up unpleasant memories for Mace. He had led a large army to besiege Storm's End for more than half a year, but still failed to capture it.

History seems to be repeating itself.

Compared to fifteen or sixteen years ago, he has aged considerably, his body is not as strong as before, and his muscles are atrophying.

Sometimes, even walking a little bit makes the fat on my thighs chaf painfully.

The image of Jon carrying four banners and fighting his way around during the day lingered in his mind.

He wished he could be twenty years younger.

"If I were twenty years younger, I would climb up the city wall myself and twist this kid's head off!" Just as Mace was feeling melancholy, a figure lifted the tent flap and returned.

Petyr Baelish.

Petyr witnessed the entire meeting that just took place.

His intuition told him that Tywin was about to "go all out".

The Westerlands were plundered and harassed by the Iron Islands and the North, while the Reach army was forced to undertake a long and arduous expedition.

Although they are still King's Landing's Landing, this situation won't last long, and Jon's chances of holding King's Landing have suddenly increased dramatically.

Petyr believed that since the wrong choice was made at the beginning, it was necessary to make amends as much as possible, such as by defecting!

He was now incredibly grateful that he had expelled Janos Sterling, the former commander of the King's Landing Guard who had conspired with him to kill Eddard Stark, from King's Landing's Landing and banished him to the Wall.

Even those officers in Gold Cloaks who knew the truth were cleaned up through a combination of murder and persecution.

This gave him the possibility of defecting again and continuing to lie low without being purged.

After receiving permission, Petyr approached Mace.

"Your Grace, I've noticed that the number of guards on the city walls seems to have increased. It seems that Jon has taken advantage of today's temporary victory to get those former Gold Cloaks to join the defending army."

"Yes, Earl Tarly told me about this."

At the mention of this, Mace ' brows furrowed even more deeply, the wrinkles almost enough to trap a mosquito.

His most trusted advisor Randyll Tarly, analyzed the day's battle for him.

He speculated that either Jon had more than ten thousand men under his command, or he was better at commanding soldiers than he was!

He always managed to deploy his soldiers to where they were most needed, which was key to Jon's victories.

Randyll Tarly also warned that if King's Landing could not be captured quickly, Jon might use the resources King's Landing to strengthen the defenses.

Moreover, this is not the time for Robert's Rebellion; the Reach and Dorne are both King's faction.

At this time, Dorne's movements were unclear, and Robb's army in the North, the Riverlands, and the Iron Islands was in a state of "idleness".

Although Stannis suffered a crushing defeat, he still possessed the ability to launch an attack.

They had no chance to besiege King's Landing for more than half a year.

Petyr carefully observed Mace's reaction, constantly considering his words. He needed to achieve his goal while also saving face for Mace.

"My lord, what I mean is that the price Tyrell paid for the crown was far too high. After all Tywin only managed to open the gates of King's Landing because Aerys trusted him and didn't guard against him. What do you think?" Baelish wanted to tell Mace his plan directly, but in the end, he only subtly emphasized the words "trust" and "unguarded."

"You mean you want me to trick you into opening the city gates? That Jon is very cunning." Mace's mind wandered, and he looked at his Littlefinger, whose lips were twitching slightly.