Gendry stared at the open cell door, but his feet seemed to be nailed to the spot.
He never imagined that freedom would come in this way.
It came too suddenly, too violently, with a strong smell of blood. Not far away, the soldier's corpse was still bleeding from the throat.
He is a blacksmith, accustomed to the rhythm of flames and hammer strikes, creating rather than destroying.
"Time waits for no one, illegitimate child."
The voice of Corleone brought him back to reality. The voice was steady and incompatible with the chaos around him.
Gendry raised his head and looked at the mysterious man in front of him.
He claimed to be Emissary of Lannister, presented Stannis with gifts and plans, and then broke into the dungeon again.
Now, he killed the guard and opened the cell door, but there didn't seem to be even the slightest fluctuation in his eyes.
It seems that I have to get used to this bloody world as soon as possible. Gendry took a deep breath and stepped out of the cell.
"It was you who led the enemy here!"
Suddenly, there was a roar next door. Gendry turned his head and saw Davos rushing to the iron fence, reaching out and pointing at Corleone.
The firelight danced on his face, and his weather-beaten face was full of wrinkles, looking extremely angry at this time.
"I knew you were not a Lannister at all Emissary!"
"First I sent you to negotiate to paralyze us, and then the fleet landed at night. This is all your conspiracy. You never understand what honor is!"
This inference seemed so reasonable that even Gendry subconsciously took half a step back and looked at Corleone again, his eyes full of doubt.
Yes, Corleone only landed on Dragonstone Island during the day, and the night attack began at night. How could such a coincidence happen!
However, in the face of Davos's accusation, Corleone just turned his head slightly and rolled his eyes at him, as if he was suffering from a bit of stupidity.
"Move that thing on your neck, Ser."
There was a trace of impatience in his voice, as if such a simple and easy-to-understand truth did not need to be explained, "If I had designed this, do you think I would go to the island by myself and risk my life at the risk of being executed by Stannis at any time?"
"Even if there is a Dragon Island on this island, it's not worth what I do, idiot!"
He cursed unceremoniously, and then glanced at Gendry: "Besides, if Stannis loses, what good will it do to me?"
"What I want is a living king who owes me favors and can do business with me at any time, not a pile of broken stones that have been trampled on by Lannister soldiers!"
"Tywin won. The credit belongs to his army and his commanders. I am at best an unknown messenger who was almost killed by mistake. Isn't it obvious which side has greater interests?"
Hearing this, Gendry's expression began to relax, and he was obviously somewhat convinced.
But Davos's face was still tense, and he clenched the iron bars tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"Then... what is going on?"
His fists clenched loudly, and his eyes were fixed on Corleone. Gendry on the side was also looking at him eagerly, full of curiosity.
Seeing this, Corleone sighed lightly, and Davos suddenly felt a sense of disappointment, "Why don't you understand yet?"
"Obviously, the sky is blue, gold is yellow, and people's hearts are black."
"And me, I was sold on that old Tywin thing."
"He deliberately sent me to the island to use my head to disarm Stannis, making him think that King's Landing is still hesitating, testing, and looking for a way out other than war."
"Then, when your attention is attracted by my shining chess piece, he will send his fleet to launch a general attack under the cover of darkness."
Corleone said this, but there was no trace of the anger that a betrayed person should have in his tone, as if he was talking about someone else's business.
He even praised thoughtfully, "You can let Stannis relax his guard and take this opportunity to get rid of me. It's so damn... inhumane."
The dungeon was silent for a moment, with only the sound of fighting coming from outside.
Davos lowered his head and accepted Corleone's statement.
Gendry looked at Corleone curiously, feeling that his world view was experiencing a severe impact.
He initially chose to join the Brotherhood Without Banners, but was handed over by them as a bargaining chip in exchange for gold coins. Later, that Red Woman tricked him into sleeping with him and took away his virginity... Ahem, but it was just to get his blood.
Every time, Gendry felt the anger of being deceived burning in his chest, making him want to shout and smash something.
But the man in front of him, knowing that he was regarded as a starved and abandoned child, was trapped in a desperate situation, yet he was terrifyingly calm.
"You are betrayed."
Gendry couldn't help but asked in confusion, "Why don't you look angry at all?"
Hearing this, Corleone's eyes turned to him, as if he heard a very stupid question, and then the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Angry?"
"Anger is an expensive emotion, boy. It burns away your reason, blinds your eyes, and makes you just chew the bitter pill that you have swallowed when you should be thinking about how to survive."
He took a small step forward, and the firelight illuminated his face more clearly. Corleone, who was not very young, had obvious signs of weathering on his face, and his eyes were unusually clear.
"This world, especially the corner we live in, is originally a slaughterhouse where you sell me and I sell you."
"Loyalty has a price, and oaths are flawed. The brothers who fought side by side yesterday may be the murderers who stabbed each other in the back tomorrow."
"As for Tywin Lannister and I, the cooperation between us is not very stable to begin with. He uses me to do things that Lannister cannot do in person, and I borrow his name and resources to achieve my goals.
"Using each other, each getting what he needs, that's all."
As he spoke, Corleone spread his hands and smiled casually, "I just didn't expect that he would be so ruthless this time, without even leaving any room for maneuver."
"With Tywin's methods, once he takes action, he will definitely launch a general attack with a decisive battle mentality. If my guess is correct, it should be the Redwyne family fleet surrounding Dragonstone at this moment. Stannis may be unable to save his life this time."
He said it very lightly, but the meaning behind it was very heavy.
Stannis's failure means the fall of Dragonstone, which means that the last legitimate force of the Baratheon family may be destroyed. It also means that everyone in the dungeon in front of them, including Gendry, the bastard son with King Robert's blood, may not be able to see the sun tomorrow.
As soon as he said this, Gendry looked at Corleone looking so calm and composed, and couldn't help but feel a little respect in his heart.
He thought that he had experienced betrayal and betrayal, which was tragic enough, but he never expected that there were people in this world who could calculate and discuss life and death so calmly.
Corleone's calmness, more than any angry roar, made him feel how ridiculous his previous emotions were.
"Are you leaving or not?"
Seeing that he was still in a daze at this time, Corleone urged again, interrupting Gendry's daze. "Time waits for no one, kid."
Gendry suddenly stirred and stood forward, his survival instinct overwhelming his chaotic thoughts.
But he still couldn't help but float towards the Onion Knight in the cage beside him.
Davos was seen sitting on the ground blankly, his head lowered, his eyes falling on the scattered severed fingers in front of him.
The firelight illuminated half of his face, which showed no expression at the moment.
"Ser..." Gendry couldn't help but say.
Davos is one of the few people here who has never looked at him strangely, and he once tried his best to help him escape from Dragonstone.
Hearing Gendry's call, Davos finally raised his head.
He first looked at the other party with complicated eyes, and then moved his gaze to Corleone, staying on that calm face for a moment, as if he was making a final measurement.
The air in the dungeon seemed to be stagnant, and only the increasingly clear shouts and crashes outside reminded the passage of time.
"The east side of the dungeon." Davos suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse but extremely clear. "Go inside, pass the three forks and turn left. The stone wall at the end looks like a dead end, but there is an abandoned drainage channel behind it. It has not been used for many years, and not many people know about it."
"The pipe leads outside to a reef beach under the cliff. When the tide is low, you can climb down from the reef. There is a small boat I usually prepare there. Maybe you can leave here on it."
Hearing this, Corleone raised his eyebrows, feeling a little surprised.
He never expected to get any help from this loyal Onion Knight, nor did he intend to help him.
But Corleone nodded quickly.
"Thank you."
"Take him away, this child does not belong here." Davos said solemnly, then turned his head and stopped looking at them. His back looked stooped and lonely.
Corleone No more delays.
"Follow me." He ordered Gendry, and then opened the heavy door of the dungeon without hesitation.
Shouts and footsteps echoed everywhere in the corridor.
Corleone stepped over the dead soldier's body, but then squatted down, neatly removed Longsword from the other man's waist, weighed it, turned around and stuffed it into Gendry's hand.
The hilt of the sword was cold, and when Gendry held it, it felt extremely heavy.
"Can you use it?" Corleone asked.
"No." Gendry shook his head honestly.
He has made many swords for noble men, but he has never fought with anyone, and he has never learned swordsmanship.
"It's okay if you don't."
Corleone did not blame him, but told him, "Hold tight, follow me, don't fall behind."
"If someone rushes in front of you and wants to hurt you, don't think of any tricks, just use your sledgehammer strength and hit him."
"Horizontally, vertically, whatever comes your way, remember, if you hesitate, you will die.
Hearing this, Gendry nodded vigorously, holding the hilt of the sword tightly with both hands. The cold metal seemed to inject a bit of courage into him.
Corleone took one last look inside the dungeon, his eyes resting on Davos's back for a moment, and then decisively stepped out of the prison door.
However, just as his left foot stepped out of the threshold, something was suddenly thrown into the cell.
There was a soft "ding" sound, and it landed right at the feet of Davos.
The voice was very soft. Davos lowered his head and saw an iron key lying quietly at his feet under the firelight.
Davos stared at the key and remained silent for a long time. There was no expression on his face, but the rise and fall of his chest was slightly more obvious.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally reached out and grabbed the key, stood up, walked to the cell door, inserted the key into the lock, and turned it.
"Click"
Davos opened the door and stepped out.
The smell of freedom is mixed with smoke and blood, and it doesn't smell good.
He glanced in the direction in which Corleone and Gendry left, then as if he remembered something, he turned back and walked back into the prison, squatted down, and carefully picked up the four severed fingers one by one.
The movements were very light, as if they were some sort of treasure.
Immediately afterwards, he took out a relatively clean piece of linen from the lining pocket of his old coat, carefully wrapped the severed finger, put it in his pocket, and patted it gently.
Then he strode out of the prison without looking back.
There was chaos in the corridor outside the dungeon.
The shouts of killing came from all directions, and Gendry felt that he was so close to the battlefield for the first time. The hair on his body stood up, and the hand holding the sword could not help but tremble.
Corleone's steps were very fast, Gendry staggered behind, but as the two continued to move forward, he noticed something was wrong.
"Ser, are we going in the wrong direction?
"The road that Davos Ser said is over there..."
"I know what he said."
Corleone in front didn't look back or stop. He explained as he walked, "That road may be an option, but what next, kid?"
"When you reach your destination, you jump off the cliff and struggle in the cold water?"
As he spoke, he sidestepped through an arch, glanced warily at the empty side corridor, and continued, "Not to mention whether his precious ship is still waiting for us."
"Even if it's still there, will you be able to sail it?"
Seeing the unabashed "use your brain" look in Corleone's eyes, Gendry opened his mouth and finally shook his head honestly.
"Isn't that right?"
Corleone clapped his hands and sighed, "I can't do it either."
"We might be able to make it float, but we can't make it sail the way we need it to."
"More importantly, we have no food, no fresh water, and no charts. We entrust our two lives to a small wooden boat and the vagaries of the sea, expecting the sea breeze to blow us to the shore?"
He pushed open a small door that was ajar and motioned for Gendry to follow him. "I have never, and will never, entrust my life to luck."
"Luck is a prostitute. If you talk sweetly to you today, your body may sink to the bottom of the sea tomorrow. The only one you can rely on is here."
As he spoke, Corleone tapped his temple with his finger.
Hearing this, Gendry understood.
Corleone wants to take the initiative, rather than rely on luck to drift in the sea.
Although he felt that this move was a bit risky, Gendry shut up obediently and stopped questioning. He just held the sword tighter and tried to keep up with the pace of Corleone.
As a blacksmith... well, an apprentice blacksmith who has not yet graduated.
Gendry was always used to following other people's instructions, and ever since he met Corleone, he always felt that the man in front of him was smarter than anyone he had ever seen before.
You're right to follow smart people.
Sure enough, the rest of the trip made Gendry even more impressed.
Because Corleone seemed to have some unusual intuition about the layout of this strange castle.
He could always make a choice at the fork in the road in advance, avoiding the main passage and the place where the shouts of death were the loudest.
He would also stop suddenly before entering the next corridor and signal Gendry to be silent. A few seconds later, there were indeed chaotic footsteps and sounds of fighting.
Several times, they almost collided head-on with the searching soldiers, but Corleone always detected and escaped at the critical moment!
So amazing!
This is simply the ability to be like a prophet!
Gendry has no way of knowing, and will never know, that there are people in this world who possess something called "hanging".
With the blessing of [Insight Iv3], Corleone's senses are far sharper than ordinary people. It is just a routine operation to detect dangers in advance and avoid them.
The too-smooth sneaking gradually relaxed Gendry's tense nerves, and even began to breed a kind of blind trust.
Following Corleone, he always seemed to be able to avoid danger no matter what. Gradually, he began to lose focus.
"Stay alert, Gendry!"
At this moment, Corleone, who was walking in front, stopped without warning.
He didn't look back, but Gendry's serious voice suddenly brought him back to his senses. "The road ahead will not be so easy."
Upon hearing this, Gendry immediately imitated Corleone and grasped the hilt of his sword, looking around.
Only then did he realize that he was standing in the middle of a relatively wide stone corridor, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
But then, dense footsteps suddenly came from both sides at the same time, and not long after, two groups of people appeared at the ends of the corridor on both sides at the same time!
Gendry's heart tightened, and he looked up and saw about seven or eight soldiers in front of him, wearing mail and leather armor, with the stag coat of arms of the Baratheon family embroidered on their chests.
Obviously, they are Stannis's army.
These people looked like they had gone through a hard battle, their armor was stained with blood, and their leader was a middle-aged knight wearing a half-helmet and with a wound on his cheek.
Turning around, I saw that there were about seven or eight people behind me, but the equipment looked more sophisticated and uniform. The overall armor was dark purple with a bunch of grapes embroidered on it!
"As expected, he is from the Redwin family."
The whisper of Corleone came to his ears, and Gendry realized that the opponent coming over was the famous Arbor Redwin fleet!
It is said that their fleet is powerful enough to dominate an entire sea area, with more than two hundred ships!
The two groups of people were obviously eager to pass this intersection, but they also discovered each other's presence at the same time. Longsword unsheathed and cocked their crossbows, and a confrontation instantly formed.
A tense atmosphere filled the corridor, and Corleone and Gendry happened to be blocked by two groups of people, unable to move forward or retreat.
The scene was a little awkward for a while.
The leading knight on Stannis's side frowned, and suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "You! Which side are you from?"
This question is obviously asking Corleone two people.
Gendry swallowed and was very nervous for a moment. He glanced at Corleone and blurted out. "He is Lan..."
"We are Davos Ser's men, my lord!"
Fortunately, Corleone reacted faster than him, and immediately blocked Gendry's gloomy expression with his body, and replied loudly, "Stannis Your Majesty originally sent us to count the batch of emergency food shipped from King's Landing, but the castle was suddenly attacked by these bastards, and we lost contact with the main army!"
Hearing this, most of the suspicion on the leading knight's face obviously disappeared.
If it was the subordinate of the smuggler Davos, then the young Sailor next to him who was dressed in rags and looked frightened would make sense.
And even though Davos is currently trapped in Tutu, he and his fleet are vital to Dragonstone's supply lines.
"So that's how it is."
The knight nodded, accepting this statement. "Come to our side, hurry up, stay away from those guys!"
As soon as these words came out, Corleone immediately pulled Gendry, who was still a little dazed, and quickly walked to the middle of the Dragonstone soldiers. The other party was also very cooperative, making a way for the two "non-combatants" to go to the back of the team.
After finally squeezing into the crowd, Gendry felt frightened and looked at Corleone with admiration in his eyes.
This person reacted too quickly and his lies were perfectly crafted!
But... but there are Lannister allies across the way, and they are now siding with Stannis?
Why?
But no one paid attention to his doubts at this time, because the two groups of people began to approach gradually.
The battle... is about to break out.
"Kill all these traitors!"
Suddenly, the knight's roar exploded in the stone corridor.
Almost at the same time, Officer Redwin on the opposite side also loudly ordered, "Leave no one behind, clear the passage!"
Without any nonsense, the two groups of men and horses quickly collided with each other. The swords slashed and the sharp blades penetrated the flesh. Wails instantly filled the entire space.
The firelight jumped wildly on the waving weapon, casting the twisted and fighting figures on the mottled stone wall.
Looking at the scene before him, Gendry felt his blood surge, and sweat oozed from the palm of his hand holding the sword.
A Dragonstone soldier was stabbed in the abdomen by his opponent's spear, but he still roared and cut off the spear shaft with his sword. A Redwyne soldier's sword was blocked by his shield, and he pulled out a dagger with his backhand and inserted it into the side of his opponent's neck.
He instinctively raised his sword and moved forward.
But at this moment, a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
Hearing this, he immediately turned around and saw the calm eyes of Corleone.
"Help!" Gendry replied matter-of-factly, pointing to the fighting in front of him.
"Help?" Corleone rolled his eyes at him like he was looking at an idiot. "Do you really fucking think you are one of Stannis's people?"
Hearing this, Gendry finally remembered that he was not Warrior, but a prisoner.
"Then... then we...
"Watch."
Corleone let go of his hand and stood in front of Gendry: "This is their battle, not ours."
Hearing what he said, Gendry had no choice but to calm down and wait silently.
The knight is very brave. He is fully armored and he kills two Redwyne soldiers with a sword.
However, his soldiers were already tired and their equipment was not as well-equipped as their opponent's. Under the well-trained coordinated attacks of Redwin's soldiers, they fell one after another.
Finally, the last Dragonstone soldier was pierced by three spears at the same time and fell to the ground.
The knight was left leaning against the cold stone wall, covered in blood, his armor broken in many places, and his chest heaving violently.
In front of him, there were four Redwin soldiers, led by the cold-faced officer. Their eyes were red and they were pressing closer and closer.
Facing the threat of death, the knight still held his sword firmly, but Gendry could see that his sword-holding arm was shaking slightly, and blood was dripping down the sword.
At this moment, Corleone, who had been waiting quietly to see what happened, suddenly stepped forward.
Catching a glimpse of his movements, the knight's eyes were filled with joy at first, but then he immediately shouted loudly, "Idiot! Don't come here!"
"Quickly, go to the basement below Mason's Tower! Take Miss Shirin away!"
"Go! I'll stop them!"
However, Corleone turned a deaf ear to his roar, his footsteps did not pause at all, and his eyes did not even look at the knight, but fell on the Redwin officer.
A trace of doubt flashed in the officer's eyes, and he raised his hand to signal his men to stop approaching the knight.
He looked at Corleone, the man who had just claimed to be a subordinate of the Onion Knight, but now he seemed to be exuding some kind of dangerous aura.
Seeing this, the knight's eyes were about to burst, and he immediately stepped forward to fight the enemy civilians, but in the end, with one enemy and four enemies, he was unable to resist.
Soon, a few more sword scars appeared on his body.
The knight fell to his knees weakly, despair enveloped him, and three or four gleaming sword blades stabbed at him at the same time. He seemed to have heard the wind of death.
Just at this moment.
A figure cuts into the battle circle at an astonishing speed!
The vigilant officer immediately raised his sword to block. With a "dang" sound, he felt a far greater force than expected coming from the sword, which made his wrist numb. Longsword almost lost his grip.
Upon seeing this, the other three soldiers immediately abandoned the knights and instead besieged Corleone.
But the opponent seemed to have eyes in his back, so he turned sideways to avoid it. He made a mistake in his steps, and the hilt of his sword hit a soldier's Adam's apple hard. He spun around and the sword light drew a semicircle.
Poof!
In the blink of an eye, both men died.
The officer and the only remaining soldier were frightened and angry, and both roared and rushed forward.
Corleone suddenly lowered his body and rushed forward. Longsword penetrated the soldier's jaw from bottom to top, and the tip of the sword came out from the back of the head.
At this time, the officer's sword was still in the air. Corleone calmly blocked the sword, and the sword followed him, drawing a sharp arc.
The officer hurriedly raised his sword to block, but the opponent's sword strangely bypassed his blocking path, and the cold blade pressed against his neck, pulling gently.
Bah!!!
Blood spurted out like a waterfall.
The officer covered his neck, stared at Corleone in disbelief, slowly knelt down, and then threw himself to the ground.
From the time Corleone took action to the time four Redwin soldiers were eliminated, it only took ten seconds!
The corridor suddenly became quiet. The knight leaned against the wall and panted violently. He stared at this scene with wide eyes, as if he couldn't understand what just happened.
How come he had never heard of "Davos's men" having such terrifying skills?
But Corleone just shook off the blood beads on his sword and walked up to the knight who was almost out of strength.
The knight looked at him with extremely complicated eyes. "You... why are you... so strong? Why didn't you take action earlier?"
Corleone did not answer his question, but stretched out his hand. "Save your energy in asking why, knight."
"Stand up, if you still want to complete your duties and take Miss Shirin away."
Hearing this, the knight was shocked, and Shireen's name seemed to give him the last strength.
He glanced at the body of the Redwin soldier on the ground, and then took a deep look at Corleone, as if he was thinking about something.
This man doesn't look like a person from Dragonstone Island at all, but now there seems to be no other way but to believe him.
In the end, he supported his body with his sword and stood up unsteadily, although blood was still seeping out from the thigh wound."
... Follow me."
The knight dragged his injured leg and trudged towards the other end of the corridor.