The Iron Throne of Ice and Fire

The next morning, Lord Emmon Frey personally led two thousand Frey soldiers into the Lannister camp.

The Marquis of Almon was dressed in gorgeous clothes, riding on a tall horse. Not far away... the dust raised by Frey's soldiers filled the sun.

"I have kept my promise, then you..." Before he finished speaking, Marquis Aymon laughed at first, and then showed a flattering smile to James and Davon who came to greet him. In James' eyes, his Laughter is like the blooming flower of hypocrisy.

Seeing that Davon's face was stiff and silent, Sir James paused slightly. His tall and straight figure cast a long shadow in the sun.

He smiled and said, "Thank you Frey for your support. Please come here in person if you can."

Marquis Aymon nodded repeatedly, and the smile on his face became even brighter: "It's better if I come over, it's better if I come over."

Then, he rubbed his hands and said nervously: "As agreed, your promise..."

Ser Jaime glanced helplessly at his cousin who had turned into a stone statue. Then Ser Davon spoke impatiently, with suppressed anger in his voice: "Give me the command of Frey's army. As agreed, I will write to the Queen Regent and the Imperial Council, proposing to 'give' Riverrun to you."

Marquis Aymon stood there and hesitated for a moment, his eyes wandering between James and Davon.

After a pause, his eyes stopped at James, and he said flatteringly: "I hope that letter also has your signature."

Before James could respond, Sir Davon's voice sounded first, with anger in his tone: "Marquis Frey, are you doubting my sincerity?"

Marquis Aymon shook his head quickly, his movements so exaggerated that it made people feel funny.

"No, no, no, I feel... I just feel..."

His eyes rolled a few times, as if searching for the most suitable words.

In the eyes of Sir Davon who could burst into anger at any time, he continued: "After all, Sir Jaime is the captain of the Kingsguard with a seat on the Royal Council, and he is the younger brother of the Queen Mother. With his signature, the Red Keep will definitely You will understand my feelings better.”

Ser Davon gritted his teeth and said, "I'm afraid you don't trust Lannister?"

Upon hearing Davon's question, Marquis Aymon immediately waved his hand and denied: "How is that possible? My wife is also a Lannister. Sir Davon, I promise that I really want to help."

help………

Sir James reached out and patted Davon, and said in a cold voice: "Marquis Frey, I will not sign, but I will propose your request to the Royal Council."

Marquis Aymond's eyes rolled a few more times, then he smiled with a smile on his face, bowed his waist and said: "It's okay, of course it's better. Thank you so much, Lord James. There's one more thing..."

Sir Davon clenched his fist, his thick knuckles making a "click" sound.

"Don't waste my time. Let the commanders of Frey's army come to see me immediately."

Marquis Aymon rubbed his hands again and said: "This matter is related to the army I brought. I want to ask... about their bounty... As you also know, I just took over my father's castle... …I don’t have enough money…”

Sir Davon's generous chest rose and fell visibly, as if the anger in his heart was about to erupt: "Is the Lannister also responsible for the food and drink of Frey's soldiers?"

The Marquis of Emmon was stunned for a moment, and then said in surprise: "That would be even better. He is indeed a kind and generous Lannister."

Da Feng: “…”

James: "......"

However, Marquis Aymon seemed not to notice the emotions of James and Davon, and continued: "Please forgive me for being presumptuous, I actually have something else..."

…………

afternoon.

In the Western Border Guard's tent, the light shines through the slightly old tent, casting a dim yellow tone. The air smells of leather and metal.

Looking at his cousin whose beard was wet with sweat, Sir James looked over and said, "Is everything going well?"

With a bang, Sir Davon placed the lion helmet heavily on the table, licked his lips, his voice was slightly tired: "It went very well, I announced to Soldier Frey that the bounty has been doubled, which is higher than that of our soldiers. "

After speaking, Sir Davon took the large glass of ale handed by the waiter, and the amber liquid swayed slightly in the glass.

He first motioned for the others to leave, and then...gulped, gulped, and drank it all in one gulp.

Sir James frowned for a while and said, "What are you planning?"

Putting down the wine glass, Sir Davon exhaled happily, and the ale seemed to extinguish the heat in his heart.

He came to the chair next to James and sat down, making the chair creak.

"Since Lord Frey wants to trade his soldiers with me for Riverrun, of course I have to fulfill his wish."

He grinned, with a hint of cruelty in his smile: "In the next siege, either Frey soldiers will climb Trout's walls, or Trout will open the floodgates."

Sir Jaime's green eyes stared at him closely, and he frowned: "Davon, Frey is an ally of Lannister."

"The White Walkers are Emmon Frey's allies. He is a greedy and shameless old man!"

Sir Davon's voice was full of anger and disdain. He paused, patted James on the shoulder, and continued: "My cousin, if it were Lord Tywin and Lord Kevan today, what do you think of Marquis Frey?" Do you dare to bargain like a merchant?"

He sneered and continued: "When he came back, he was still nagging in my ear, saying that Riverrun was about to become his castle, and that we should do our best to avoid causing damage when attacking the city."

James showed a rare "shocked" look, as if he had heard the most incredible thing in the world, which made Sir Davon burst into laughter.

"He also wants us to tell Duke Kleb not to continue setting wildfire on Riverrun. Jaime, if I hadn't known about the greed of the Weasel family, I almost suspected that he had secretly defected to Trout."

The camp seemed to be shrouded in silence, with only the occasional sound of breathing rippling in the air.

Sir James shook his head slightly and broke the silence: "It seems that Marquis Aymon is not opposed to your arrangement."

Sir Davon picked up the wine glass, took a sip, shrugged and said, "He only cares about his Riverrun. He must think it's a good deal to exchange two thousand soldiers for a big castle."

The Marquis of Emmon bringing new troops is almost the same as committing suicide. Although Sir Jaime wanted to stop it, he knew that this was a deal reached between the Warden of the West and the Marquis of the Twins, and he had no right to interfere.

After struggling for a moment, Sir James rubbed his brows and said, "Maybe I can talk to Blackfish."

Hearing this, Sir Davon was startled. He thought for a moment and said: "If you want to negotiate with him, you can try it...but I think it's just a waste of words. Don't have any expectations. Obviously, , Brynden Tully is going to fight us to the death, everyone can see that.”

"At least Trout's soldiers are not in trouble. Blackfish is a good knight." With that, Ser Jaime stood up from his chair.

Later, he asked his cousin: "How much time is left until the next siege?"

Sir Davon looked at his cousin who was still so...naive, spread his hands and said: "You have at most two days. As time goes by, no amount of bounty can make the Frey soldiers dare again." I don’t want the trout to have the courage to fight.”

Sir James walked back and forth a few steps and said, "When the river is full under Riverrun, have you figured out how to fight?"

"The trout dug it by themselves. It's not the Tengshi River or the Red Fork River. Besides... the stone bridge facing the city gate won't be submerged in the water."

Sir Davon also stood up. He stretched out his hand to grab James' arm and said solemnly: "My cousin, I don't have Lord Tywin's wisdom. All I can think of are stupid ways. We don't have time left. When the time comes... I can only order the Lannister soldiers to brave the stones and arrows to fill ditches and build wooden bridges."

Ser Jaime patted his cousin and said, "You have done well enough. I will try my best to persuade Brynden to open his city gate."

Sir Davon laughed, but there was a trace of helplessness in the laughter: "It doesn't matter, just give it a try. In the name of the guardian of the West, I have ordered the remaining new people in the Golden Tooth City (the fortress of the West to guard the Riverlands) The army has come to support us. There are more than 3,000 soldiers and they should be able to arrive here in a few days. "

…………

Ser Jaime actually didn't have much hope, but the person he sent replied that Brynden Tully agreed to the invitation to meet, and the place was on the stone bridge in front of the city gate.

…………

The next morning the sky was a clear light blue.

An ancient and solid stone bridge spans the ditch on the west side of Riverrun, facing the majestic city gate.

The night dew still remained on the stone slabs of the stone bridge, which sparkled with crystal light under the sunlight. Sir James sat up straight in the saddle, and the horse paced forward beneath him.

At the end of the stone bridge is Duke Brynden, who is wearing black iron armor. The chestnut horse under his crotch is covered with a red and blue horse uniform.

The two stopped their horses in the middle of the stone bridge. Ser Jaime could feel the hatred for himself or Lannister from Brynden's angular face.

The two of them used to talk about everything...

Sir James suppressed his suddenly confused thoughts and nodded to Blackfish.

Heiyu stared at him for a while, then a hoarse and slightly old voice sounded: "Kingslayer."

Sir James forced a smile with complicated emotions: "Blackfish, thank you for agreeing to my invitation to meet."

Blackfish looked at him and said, "I agreed to see you because I just thought you missed the dungeon in Riverrun. I still keep your cell, and I specially asked someone to change it with hay."

Hearing this, Sir James smiled brightly: "Thank you for your concern, but I don't like it there at all, especially the dung bucket locked next to me."

After a pause, the smile on his face faded and he said seriously: "Brynden Tully, I am here for the only living people in Riverrun, the knights, soldiers and servants of the Trout family, including you."

His tone became sincere: "I am here to save those who can survive."

Brynden's pursed lips passed through sarcasm, and he said: "It's really funny. You should just use your best tricks and tricks. This is Lannister."

"The hatred between Lannister and Tully comes from war. There is no reason why we can't make peace."

After a pause, Sir James solemnly said: "Blackfish, you can trust my sincerity, I promise you my honor."

"Your honor? Do you know what honor is?"

First he mocked, and without waiting for James to respond, Brynden added: "If Edmure and Robb died under the sword of Lannister on the battlefield, I would admire them, but they both died in Lannister's filth." In the conspiracy...there is only the fire of hatred burning in my body."

"As far as I know, the Lannisters were not involved in those things..."

Before James could finish speaking, Brynden interrupted angrily: "The only enemy who wanted to kill Tully Stark from beginning to end was the Lannister, and he personally caught the traitor bought by Tywin (Chapter 373), you Stop kidding yourself, this stink of Tywin Lannister."

He understood his father's methods and the White Knight could not deny it. He clenched his fist and said, "Blackfish, my father has also passed away."

Brynden said coldly: "May the gods judge him fairly."

Ser Jaime slowed down, and he warned himself in his heart to stay calm: "Tully, don't speak in anger, Robb Stark's bones are cold, and his kingdom has also perished. The war should have ended long ago. As long as you lower the rebel flag and open the city gate, I will spare your people, and they can leave on their own after handing over their weapons and armor. And you, I will allow you to wear black clothes."

After a pause, he added: "If you don't believe it, I can swear an oath in public under the witness of the gods."

"Spare me, Regicide, I will never trust a lion's promise."

Under his thick eyebrows, Brynden's dark blue eyes were as hard as stone: "I tell you, the oaths of those who break the oath are like a house built on quicksand. That's enough. Before I die, I will hold a hand full of lion's blood. The bright red sword."

Ser Jaime frowned and reminded: "Tully's blood is also bright red. All the vassals of the Tully family have defected, and only Riverrun is still resisting. You will not have reinforcements, and Lannister reinforcements If you refuse to surrender, no one in the city will be spared."

Brynden was not afraid of Jaime's threat: "One of my warriors will die, and ten of you will die. The Battle of Riverrun will be the beginning of Lannister's complete decline."

After a moment of solemn silence, Sir James exhaled and said as calmly as possible: "I can also choose to besiege you until all of you within the city walls starve to death."

Brynden snorted: "If I didn't have enough food and grass, you wouldn't choose to attack by force. Instead of worrying about me, it's better to worry about yourselves. I heard that you are fishing every day."

"The Twins will bring supplies to the Lannisters, and if the situation calls for it, we will get replenishments from the west."

Hearing James's response, Brynden sneered: "Of course, I will not question a white knight who values ​​honor."

Blackfish's repeated sarcasm made Sir James unable to suppress his anger any longer. His hand touched the hilt of his sword: "I have a way to end this war quickly to avoid the loss of life. I will fight you one-on-one. You win. , I retreat. I win, you surrender, and promise to spare everyone in the city, including you."

Brynden suddenly laughed: "Although I would be happy to stick your head on the spear at the city gate with my own hands, your guarantee is worthless, regicide."

James's handsome face sank: "Brynden Tully, what else is left of your knighthood besides doubt? Before you came here, I thought you were still a good knight."

Brynden laughed again: "As the leader of the army, you should not choose to take risks, especially for Lannister. No matter how small the risk is, it is not worth it... But your death can relieve some of the hatred in my heart."

His big hand slowly moved to the handle of his sword: "Since you want to die so much, I can't refuse, lest my honor be tarnished by a person without honor."

"very good."

He was young and strong, Blackfish was old and frail, and Jaime was confident in his swordsmanship.

Although he should not force the old Heiyu to duel with him, this is the best ending to this dispute. He will only defeat Heiyu and not take his life.

He will let Blackfish continue his glorious knighthood on the Great Wall.

Inhaling and exhaling, Sir James adjusted his breathing, and his eyes gradually became sharper.

Knight James and Knight Brynden looked at each other, their gazes filled with fighting intent intertwined. Their hands slowly stretched towards the hilt of their swords in unison, and the subtle sound of metal friction was particularly clear in the quiet morning.

At this tense moment, a harsh sound broke through the air suddenly from behind. The sound was sharp and rapid, instantly breaking the solemnity in the air. ,

There was an indescribable shock in James's heart. He subconsciously wanted to turn his head, but before he could make any move, an arrow had already passed over him like lightning.

Whoosh————

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, James' pupils shrank sharply, and he could only watch the arrow flying towards Brynden.

Brynden also sensed the approaching danger, but...the arrow appeared so suddenly and so fast that he had no time to completely avoid it.

when.

The voice was dull and sharp. Brynden's rich combat experience and black armor saved him. The moment the arrow hit, sparks flew everywhere.

The arrow was blocked by the hardness of the plate armor and fell crookedly onto the stone slab, making a "clack" sound.

And... Brynden was staggered by the impact of the arrow and almost fell off the saddle.

After finally stopping himself, Brynden roared suddenly: "Despicable Lannister!"