The Iron Throne of Ice and Fire

The biting cold wind howled by, and Stannis Baratheon led dozens of heavily armored cavalry to gallop through the snow, making a dull sound, like the beating of war drums.

When the team of knights came to Duke Ed and others, their horses stopped neatly with their hooves raised. Snowflakes flew for a while, and the momentum was overwhelming.

The quiet horses exhaled white mist between breaths and occasionally neighed.

The flaming red heart flag fluttered in the air, and Stannis sat upright in the saddle. He was wearing slightly worn gray leather armor, black breeches and boots. Only the golden cloak edged with black fur was eye-catching.

Stannis's sunken cheekbones and angular square chin are covered with a short and neat blue-black beard. Surrounding his eyebrows is a crown made of red gold. The spires of the crown seem to be intertwined with flames.

He was looking down at Duke Ed and others coldly with his bottomless blue pool eyes under his thick eyebrows, as if he was examining his enemies.

Another eye-catching person is the king's witch, Melisandre. Her fiery red eyes are also looking down at them, with a faint smile on her lips. The blood ruby ​​in her throat seems to be pulsing with her heartbeat, cold and cold. The wind blew her long red robe flapping.

Lord Eddard stood there, raising his head slightly to meet the sharp gaze from Stannis.

His eyes were firm and steady, not at all intimidated by Stannis' aura. The gray robe guards behind him held their weapons tightly, ready to deal with possible situations at any time.

Surrounded by the Night's Watch, the old bear came to stand beside Lord Eddard, and also raised his head to meet Stannis' cold gaze.

There was an eerie silence.

Finally, Stannis Baratheon's voice floated from the cold wind: "Duke Stark, Lord Commander Mormont, according to the laws of the kingdom, deserters should be put to death."

His deep blue eyes moved slightly, staring directly at Duke Eddard below: "Mance Rayder also threatened to destroy the Wall. He is unforgivable."

Old Xiong scratched his white hair, glanced at Duke Eddard beside him, and raised his voice: "Your Majesty Stannis, our negotiations with the King Beyond the Wall are going very well. He is willing to lead a hundred thousand free people to resist. The power of darkness.”

"King beyond the wall?"

Stannis's teeth chattered, his upper body tilted slightly, and he asked the old bear: "Is he willing to obey the true king's orders and swear allegiance?"

From the corner of his eye, Mr. Xiong saw the charming priestess jumping off the horse. He glanced sideways at Duke Ed with a sullen face, opened his mouth, and then responded: "We haven't talked about that yet... "

Old Xiong's words were interrupted by Stannis: "It seems that the deserters who are burdened with the death penalty are not willing to surrender and atone for their sins."

Lord Eddard caught a glimpse of Melisandre leading people into the leather tent of the King Beyond the Wall. He frowned and called, "Lord Stannis."

He took a step forward: "These savages outside the Great Wall that you defeated are only a small part of the 100,000 savages, and we all have a common enemy with them."

Stannis stared at the running wolf for a while, snorted coldly, and said: "Edd Stark, you can't guarantee their loyalty. Mance Rayder betrayed the Night's Watch, and now you want me to believe that?" A promise to others?”

The cold wind blew snowflakes. He squinted his eyes and his voice became colder: "Duke of Winterfell, don't forget, what I am about to face is a war between the living and the dead. I shoulder the responsibility of the entire Seven Kingdoms." This is my responsibility as the true king of the Seven Kingdoms."

The real king... The old bear moved his lips but did not choose to speak out. Ever since the Green Regent in the south declared Baratheon as the Reaver, Stannis began to use this title frequently in public.

The glorious tradition of the Night's Watch is not allowed to interfere with the conflicts in the seven countries. As the "poor" commander-in-chief of the Night's Watch, Mr. Xiong can only choose to respect every king in order to obtain the support they need and protect the Great Wall in desperate situations.

Lord Eddard's voice sounded: "Stannis, settling the old and weak of the free folk beyond the wall is enough to inspire the courage of the free folk warriors to resist the forces of darkness."

Stannis snorted coldly and said, "Yes, I need more warriors, but I hope their courage comes from their loyalty to me."

He raised his hand to stop Duke Ed who was about to speak, with a hint of impatience and anger in his voice: "That's enough, we don't need to waste our words anymore, I will only listen to advice based on loyalty."

He glanced at Running Wolf coldly: "Stark, you should kneel down and pledge allegiance to me, but you are still unwilling to admit that I am your king."

Duke Eddard's chest couldn't help but heave. If Robert is real steel, then his brother is pure iron. Black, hard and strong, but also easy to damage. Like iron, it will break before it is bent. .

He slowed down slightly and said in a cold voice: "Protecting the North has been the responsibility and obligation of the Stark family for thousands of years. Stannis..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted again by Stannis: "Yes, I am very aware of the so-called responsibilities of the Stark family, that's why you were not expelled from the Great Wall by me."

After saying this, he jumped off his horse, and immediately his knights also dismounted.

The king's squire - Davon Seaworth (the fifth son of the Onion Knight) took the reins of the king's horse, and Stannis put his left hand on the hilt of his sword: "You should obey me. Sent, Lord Eddard Stark."

Duke Ed closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said: "If I make a choice, before the war between the living and the dead breaks out, it will first cause another turmoil in the Seven Kingdoms."

Stannis stared at the running wolf, his jaw moved silently for a while, and said: "That is a matter between me and Green Crabb. Lord Eddard, this is not your responsibility."

Gray eyes and blue eyes looked at each other silently, and Old Xiong suddenly spoke: "Regent Green has exiled many prisoners, and there is one person among them who you must be interested in."

Seeing that he had successfully attracted their attention, he grinned: "Kingslayer and Godslayer, Sir Jaime..."

Hearing this, Lord Eddard and Stannis frowned almost at the same time. Neither of them liked this man. However, he has been tried for his crimes and he has been clothed in black.

Elder Xiong said loudly again: "The envoy sent by Regent Green... is probably coming soon. His name is Humphrey Weishui. It is said that he once served as the commander-in-chief of the Golden Robe (Chapter 478)."

At the same time, the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch couldn't help but secretly lamented... The Great Wall is expected to be lively for a while.

At this time, the tent door of the King Beyond the Wall was opened, and Melisandre slowly walked out. Behind her was the pregnant woman Dana, the Queen of the King Beyond the Wall, who was being escorted by two knights. The last one was carried out. The war trumpet - the Horn of Winter.

Stannis's gaze moved to Melisandre, who smiled softly, then glanced at Queen Daena's bulging belly with her red eyes, and nodded towards him.

Stannis frowned and looked at the fierce-looking Queen Danna, then asked Melisandre: "Is it useful?"

Melisandre approached him, smiled slightly, and said in a pious tone: "I feel the pure power she gave birth to. This is the guidance of the Lord of Light, Your Majesty Stannis."

Stannis nodded his chin and glanced past Queen Danna, looking at the big, black horn behind him: "The Horn of Winter?"

Melisandre also looked over: "Yes, that's it, the horn of darkness."

Stannis took a step forward. As he approached, Queen Danna suddenly spat at him and said angrily: "Despicable kneeler!"

Stannis's footsteps stopped, and a knight who was holding Queen Danna firmly pulled out his sword and shouted: "Kneel down, damn wild man!"

Queen Dana struggled and roared: "A free man will never kneel to those who kneel! Bah, kill me!"

Duke Ed strode over and reached out to grab the wrist of the sword-drawing knight: "She is just a pregnant woman. Please put away your sword, knight."

Then, he turned to the other side: "Lord Stannis, women and children have nothing to do with the war."

Stannis stared at him coldly: "Stark, this woman is my prisoner."

As he spoke, his teeth suddenly creaked: "I heard that seventeen years ago you rescued a pregnant woman from Robert, and the child born to that woman... was the one who declared Robert to be the one who took the throne. Greene Kleb."

Duke Eddard's gaze did not avert: "Stannis, if Robert could predict the future without my advice, he would take the initiative to forgive the pregnant woman. He would look forward to her son coming to challenge his hammer every day. It was Robert's glory that he never feared."

Stannis gritted his teeth and forced out his voice: "It is precisely because of his glory that he has left so many hidden dangers. He should deal with those people in accordance with the law. If he listens to my advice, he will not let the worshipers The Lathien family......"

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His teeth chattered again: "Suffering this humiliation! And you, Robert's favorite, my brother's love and trust in you far exceeds that of my true brother and sister!"

He clenched his fists: "And you, how did you repay Robert? He became the Seizer, but you are allowing others to humiliate the brother who regards you as a brother!"

Duke Ed's chest rose and fell slowly, and he tried his best to hide the pain in his voice: "He saved me, my children, and my wife. And..."

The master of the North quickly swallowed his pain, and the running wolf looked directly at Stannis: "... Winter is coming, and the people of the North are tired of war. As a lord, I cannot ignore their wishes. ”

Finally, Lord Eddard's tone became very sincere. Deep down...he did not want to become Stannis's enemy.

"Favor...Private feelings..."

Stannis clenched his fists tighter: "It is these things that affect everyone's judgment, Ed Stark, rulers must abandon those useless emotions in order to ensure the justice of the kingdom's laws, and justice is A real honor.”

Then, after a pause, he said impatiently: "That's enough, I don't need to discuss this with you, just get out of my way."

"Life is fire, coldness is death."

Melisandre's voice sounded with an accent from the Jade Sea region. She walked over as she spoke.

She stretched out her white and slender hands and slowly stroked Queen Dana's bulging belly, as if she were treating a treasure.

She moved her gaze to Duke Eddard and added: "The night is dark and dangerous everywhere. The Lord of Light saw that his people were in danger, so he sent them a leader, Azor Ahai Reborn. ”

She waved one hand to Stannis: "Duke Eddard, the highest honor is to follow the Son of the Holy Flame according to the will of the Lord of Light, and to sacrifice everything for it, to defeat the darkness, and to protect the living!"

Melisandre took a few steps, put a hand on Lord Eddard's arm, looked up at the stern face of the wolf, and smiled gently: "We will take good care of her. His Majesty Stannis is a fair king."

The big ruby ​​on Melisandre's neck flashed with light. Although separated by a layer of thick leather armor, Lord Eddard could still feel the heat from her palm.

The tall Lord Eddard looked down at the king's witch in front of him. She was charming and dangerous. A vigilant look flashed in the bottom of the wolf's eyes.

She smiled at him with her lips pursed, and her voice was low and hoarse: "Lord Eddard, if they are willing to surrender, the kind King Stannis will definitely protect his people."

Hearing this, Lord Eddard frowned. Is Stannis planning to subdue 100,000 wildlings outside the wall?

Stannis' voice came later: "If they swear to serve me and believe in the Lord of Light, as a king, I will protect them."

"Bah!"

Queen Dalla said angrily: "Free people will never kneel!"

Twisting Eddard's arm with her fingertips, Melisandre turned around, paused, and signaled several knights to take Queen Dalla away, and instructed: "Arrange a maid to take care of her and her baby."

Stannis moved and stood in front of the "Winter Horn", with his hands behind his back, looking at it for a while, and suddenly turned his head to look over: "Duke Eddard, Commander Jeor, what are Mance Drey's conditions?"

Old Bear glanced at Duke Eddard and replied: "Your Majesty Stannis, his condition is to allow the Outer Wall to be opened. "He promised us that if we agreed, he would give us the 'Horn of Winter' to take care of."

"Take care of it?"

Stannis glanced at the Horn of Winter and sneered, "If the Wall falls, the living will lose their most solid line of defense, and night will fall with it. How can we guarantee that there will not be another person who will use it to threaten the safety of the living again?"

He pursed his lips for a while, and then said, "This must not happen, and I will never allow such a thing to get close to the Wall! Come!"

Stannis's order was issued, and his knights quickly brought wood, dead leaves and fire starters, and lit a bonfire. The flames burned fiercely under the low spell of the priestess.

Stannis' eyes reflected the dancing flames: "It shouldn't exist."

Two strong knights carried the Horn of Winter over, and at his command, it was thrown into the fire.

The Winter Horn exploded in flames, and yellow-green flames spurted out along the broken horn body with a "whoosh" sound, and in the blink of an eye the entire horn was burning.