Game of Thrones: Lord of Winter

"Lord Gullion, you came here at all costs just to make peace?" He casually fiddled with the small wooden turtle sculpture on the table.

"Lord, this is just a magical misunderstanding. Elton never thought of being your enemy. He is Stannis's grandfather and your relative. In the Stormlands, we have always had a saying, 'There is no hatred between blood'. I have always been reluctant to see blood relatives killing each other, and I have written letters to persuade Stannis and Renly." His eyes were helpless and sad.

Cole turned the turtle with his index finger, "Do you know what Elton Esmond called me in the letter?"

"The bastard of the Night's Watch, the damn usurper," he said with a sneer. "He never regarded me as a relative."

"What kind of identity do you think can be worthy of Esmond's noble turtle bloodline?" he asked.

Gullion Sven thought contemptuously in his heart: At least not like you.

In the eyes of the arrogant Sven, Cole was just a lowly species who gained power overnight. If he were Stannis, he would even be willing to marry his daughter to a dwarf of the Lannister family, and would not marry her to such a lowly bastard.

"My lord, you also know that old people are always easy to confuse some things. Maybe the letter was just a mistake made by him after his eyesight became dim. You should forgive our Lord Estermond, he is already seventy years old." Earl Swen used a smile to imagine the contempt in his eyes.

How could the eye of time not see the disguise on his face?

"Do you know how long a turtle lives? Lord Sven." Cole shook the wooden sculpture in his hand. "I once read a book. I can't remember which maester wrote it. He wrote in the book that the life span of a turtle is twice or even three times that of a human. And through his observation, he found that the older the turtle is, the wiser it is."

"This is really an interesting book, my lord. But I privately think that the task of a maester is to serve the owner of the castle."

"What a maester should do depends on how the academy teaches them." Cole put the wooden sculpture on the table, stood up, and took Winter Night off the hanger. "And I am just a knight, my lord. I am loyal to Stannis, and I know who my lord is. Why don't you go and see it with me?"

He walked to the door of the tent, and Earl Sven also stood up suddenly.

The two walked out of the big tent together, and tents were neatly arranged around the main tent.

When Gullian Swen entered the camp, he was observing the camp. Now, when Cole led him to walk slowly, the strict layout did not see a prostitute or a traveling merchant.

Cole reached out to stop a soldier who was walking over and asked him, "What's your name?"

The soldier saluted, "General, my name is Dilu."

Cole patted his shoulder, "Yes, then let me ask you, do you know why we came here?"

He glanced at them hesitantly.

Cole gave him an encouraging look, "Speak, no one in the camp will blame you for your words."

"It's to kill the traitors in Stormland."

"Traitors?" Earl Swen was surprised.

Cole gave him a smile.

"When I was in Storm's End, I swore to my soldiers that I would never return to Storm's End without killing the traitors." His eyes were filled with murderous intent.

The murderous intent approached, and Gullian Swen felt a chill on his back.

"Will you break your oath, Lord Gullian?" Cole asked him.

Gullian looked at the soldiers who were looking around and put on a smile, "Only villains and eunuchs like to break their oaths, my lord."

Cole nodded in agreement.

"It seems that Lord Sven already knows my answer," he smiled.

"My lord, why don't you think about it?"

"Do you think I'm a villain?" Cole swept his sharp eyes over him.

Gullion shook his head, "I have no such intention. Before leaving Stonehelm, I received a letter from the Royal Council. His Majesty the King asked me and other Stormland lords to meet the Kingdom fleet sailing from the west coast. As far as I know, the fleets from Lannister Port and Qingting Island have already arrived at the mouth of Dorne. My lord, why don't you think about it carefully before making a decision?"

Cole sneered, "Has the Swen family of Stonehelm now become a vassal of the crown?"

Gullion's face suddenly flushed, "Don't bother with it. I know who I am loyal to when I am in power. I also know who is the real Baratheon, sir."

Cole just tilted his head, "I hope the gods think so, my lord."

"Then please allow me to leave." Earl Swen said.

"Please."

He snorted coldly, then turned and left.

Cole narrowed his eyes and stared at his back.

As expected, he came on behalf of Lannister.

It seems that old man Tywin doesn't want him to filter out this muddy water so easily.

Things have become tricky. With Tywin's intervention, he should consider whether to take action.

Lord Swan has already revealed the threat of Lannister to Cole. The fleets of Qingting Island and Lannister Port are at the mouth of the Dorne Sea. The Isle of Ethmond has been requisitioned as a temporary port for the fleet. If you want to continue the attack, you have to weigh your own strength.

If he wanted to fight, Lannister would never miss such an opportunity that was delivered to his door. Almost all the main forces of Storm's End were here. If Lannister took advantage of the situation to destroy this army, Cole would no longer be a threat to Lannister.

This was a dilemma. The border lords who supported Cole would not agree to his withdrawal.

If he advanced, he might face a joint attack by the rainforest rebels and the Lannister army. Moreover, the battlefield was still on the sea where he was very weak. If he was defeated, he would fail and even could not defend Storm's End in the end.

If he retreated, he might be able to return to Storm's End safely, but the border lords who surrendered to him would inevitably make trouble or betray him. At that time, he would be caught in a complicated struggle over the claim to Storm's End, which was exactly what Lannister wanted to see.

Cole paced in the big tent, his mind was in a mess. He flashed through various response plans and predicted various consequences.

He glanced at the book on the chair unintentionally. That page recorded the "Nine-Copper King's War" during the reign of Aegon V. A name caught Cole's eye, and he gently picked up the book.

He shook his head and smiled slightly.

[He rushed into the Golden Company alone and successfully killed the last Blackfyre "Ferocious" Malis one-on-one] - Fearless Barristan!

What was he afraid of?