Chapter 389 Even God must kneel before the king’s authority

Brynden Rivers is in the South again.

He is now very accustomed to his identity as Duke Stark.

After all, He had to bear this face for a long time, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Three months ago, He was in King's Landing, watching Clay Mandler, the agent of the alien god who had just unified the country, use the entire Westeros as the stage to start his performance as king.

However, a letter from the valley dragged everyone into the abyss.

The White Walkers, servants of the Cold God, actually crossed the Great Wall directly in a way that Brynden Rivers could not understand, and landed in the central valley of Westeros.

Frankly speaking, when Brynden Rivers first heard the news, he was thinking about how to run away.

If Clay Manderly, who was sitting on the throne, had not begun to mobilize the power of the country in an orderly manner, He would really have been prepared to do this.

After all, in the eyes of the White Walkers, they, the owners of the power of the old gods, are like hungry men facing fat meat, which is an irresistible temptation.

Then, he was stabbed by Clay Mandler and sent to the Northern Guard's home.

However, after he arrived in the north, he found that it was eerily quiet. The south was in full swing, but there was not a hair in the north.

He even went directly to Castle Black and asked Commander-in-Chief Mormont and garrison commander Jon Umber to conduct reconnaissance outside the castle, but nothing was found.

Obviously, the White Walkers seem to have completely given up on the idea of ​​fighting humans on the Great Wall.

He ran into the valley and caught all of Westeros off guard.

Then, there is no point for him to stay here. Moreover, as the agent of the old god, he also has a mission, just like the red-robed monk, to bring the power of the old god to the south again.

After this battle, the valley will definitely be cleared, like a blank sheet of paper.

At that time, whether the glory of R'hllor will gain a firm foothold in Westeros through the war, or whether the devout believers under the weirwood will appear in the valley, it depends on their performance.

Brynden Rivers finally understood that Clay Mandler had no interest in establishing a religion on his own, and he especially hated religious interference in secular political power.

As long as you don't play around with his bottom line, it won't be a big problem.

Moreover, the trust foundation between the two of them is still good, at least better than those of the red-robed monks.

Not taking advantage of the available opportunities would be a disgrace to His identity as the last green prophet.

"Your Majesty, we are almost arriving at Earl Holloway's town. Look, that is the royal flag."

Sir Roderick, who continued to serve as the bodyguard of the family head, pointed to the fluttering flag in front of him and said to the Duke of the North who didn't know what he was thinking.

"Well, this road looks pretty safe. It looks like His Majesty has really worked hard."

Brynden Rivers replied casually.

What he was thinking about now was how to tell Clay Mandler his thoughts when he saw him soon.

This is a guy who has no profit and cannot afford to be early. He can allow himself to bring the power of the old gods to the south, but this is a deal. What can he give?

To be honest, I really don't have much to give. The favor I gave to Long Dan has long been paid off after several rescues in the north.

Among the priests of the Red God, there are guys with big breasts and big butts. What does he have?

After approaching the military camp stationed near the outer wall, a group of royal cavalry with bright armor rushed out on horseback and came under the direwolf flag to represent and the royal family's welcome to the Duke of the North.

"Your Majesty, please follow me. Your Majesty is waiting for you."

The leading knight opened his mask and spoke softly.

Brynden Rivers nodded and motioned for the other party to lead the way.

The mobilization of troops can be seen everywhere here.

The troops stationed at Harrenhal have now moved forward to Earl Holloway's town for deployment.

The losses on the front line were huge. After all, the opponent was a death regiment that did not care about casualties and had no sense of pain or fear.

Not many soldiers actually died in the frontal fight. On the contrary, more soldiers were knocked down and bitten to death in the rout driven by fear.

Therefore, this requires constant rotation of troops.

Rickard Karstark's ghost-catching plan didn't go so well. After all, he was doing it during a war, and the opponent was the kind of thing that wouldn't be a prisoner at all.

So far, there was only one unlucky guy who had his lower body smashed and was locked in an iron cage by Rickard Karstark.

A corpse is not enough as a performance prop.

Arriving at the frontline camp, Brynden Rivers saw a suit of armor. He was discussing the situation on the entire battlefield with a group of noble generals. When he saw Brynden Rivers coming in, after the other nobles saluted, they stood under Clay's With a nod, he exited here.

"coming?"

Clay quickly sat down in the chair, poured himself a glass of water, and looked at Brynden Rivers standing at the door.

The latter found a place to sit down by himself, glanced at the dense markings on the map, and asked in a low voice:

"How is the front line? Can you withstand it?"

Clay waved his hand indifferently:

"It's okay for the time being. I feel that the White Walkers also know that it is difficult to cross the Blood Gate, so although the main force of the zombie army is gathered here, it should not be their main attack direction."

He took the cup in his hand and tapped the location of Candle Cave City:

"I'm worried that the White Walkers will choose to violently break through our defenses here."

"The navy sent a report that a group of dead enemies is moving rapidly towards here along the coastline."

Brynden Rivers frowned and stared at the inconspicuous town, gestured the distance between the maps, and whispered:

"Time is very tight, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it in time..."

Clay sneered:

"If I had waited for you to remind me to prepare, it would have been too late to do anything. I would have ordered people to reinforce the defense line there. Garland Tyrell led 6,000 people there. There was no way. The width of the battlefield was too small, and it was defensive. There is no need to burden so many people with war.”

He looked at the silent Brynden Rivers and asked:

"Tell me, if you don't stay in Winterfell, why are you here?"

Seeing that Clay took the initiative to bring up the entire topic, Brynden Rivers no longer hesitated and said directly:

"Your Majesty, I wonder what your plans are for the valley after the war?"

Upon hearing this, Clay knew what the three-eyed crow was doing here.

He glanced at him with a half-smile and asked:

"What? Are you anxious? Thoros, the priest of the Red God, is now performing a trick on the Blood Gate to make the sword burn out of thin air. What about you? Why don't you join in too?"

Brynden Rivers knew that his psychology had been seen through by this guy. It was impossible for him to compete with the apostles of R'hllor. That would be too uncomfortable.

"Forget it. In other words, do you mind if the Red God establishes a foothold here after the war?"

Brynden Rivers stared into Clay's eyes:

"Let me remind you, R'hllor's ambitions don't stop there. Who will your new dynasty use as the state religion?"

Clay knew that Brynden Rivers would ask this question. Since it would have to be solved sooner or later, it was not a bad idea to say it now:

"Why do I have to have something like a state religion? The Targaryens have been bound by religion for three hundred years, and I don't want to be like them."

"The Seven Gods are weak, but the Dragon King does not dare to do anything to the Archbishop. Even the legitimacy of the throne partly comes from the Archbishop's coronation."

"I will never allow this kind of thing to happen to me again. Do you understand what I mean?"

really.

Brynden Rivers sighed inwardly.

The guy in front of him, from the very beginning, has been deeply wary of religions, such as Gods or Gods organizations like Him, Melisandre, and the Church of the Seven Gods.

Even he himself represents a different god.

In his heart, royal power must be higher than all religious power. The last Green Seer, the priest of R'hllor, the Archbishop of the Seven Gods, in the land of Westeros, in his Clay Manderly Under his rule, everyone must obey.

So this guy doesn't care at all what the priests of the Red God did in the war. As long as he doesn't let go of the fact that he ultimately represents the power of the country, let them do whatever they want.

Anyway, after defeating the White Walkers, Clay Mandler's reputation among the people and nobles across the country will reach a peak.

When the time comes, what will they do if they occupy the valley?

It can be said that he has a good calculation and a clear conspiracy.

And Brynden Rivers couldn't refuse.

"Well... a person like you is suitable to be on the throne."

Brynden Rivers said something rather depressed.

I originally wanted to talk about friendship and see if I could gain control over the religious aspects of the valley, but now it seems that my previous calculations were all nonsense.

"I will go to Candle Cave City now, but I still have a question. The Seven Gods are so weak. I am sure that the influence of the Seven Gods is almost non-existent in the valley now. Those guys who can open the portal at any time , you are here..."

Clay knew what he was talking about, touched his chin, and whispered:

"Now I don't think the problem is big. They are the living, and now they use the White Walkers as swords. But I am not optimistic about how long the cooperation between the two parties can last."

"There have never been any reports of those guys appearing on the front line, and there is no similar news from the observation post in Eagle's Nest City. I even doubt that they appeared on the valley battlefield at all."

In fact, Clay guessed it right.

The Wild Hunt did help bring the White Walkers to the Valley, but as the autumn wind swept across the entire Valley like fallen leaves, the White Walkers became less friendly to their former allies.

Brainless ghouls, hungry for fresh flesh and blood. Unfortunately, Wild Hunt soldiers fit this criteria.

After several crises, Kuang Lie left this place of right and wrong.

The original plan to fish in troubled waters could not be carried out.

It is impossible for Ain El to support the Wild Hunt and devote its limited troops to the confrontation with the dead.

"You go ahead and try your best to block the first wave of the Death Army's attack. You will replace Garland Tyrell and become the commander there. If you can't withstand it, contact the base camp in advance for reinforcements."

Don't forget, this guy is still the Duke of the North, a proper heavyweight.

…

Brynden Rivers left, heading to the location Clay had prepared for Him.

However, Clay was not reassured, and in the town of Salt Farm behind him, he also began to dig trenches and lay traps.

It was definitely too late to cast the city walls and could only do everything else that could be done.

Clay didn't have to wait too long.

Ten days later, the fleet sent a report that the vanguard of the Dead Army had approached the northeast side of Candle Cave City.

Along the way, the cavalry in the northern border and the valley have been trying to kill the lone enemy troops.

Cut off their arms, take away their ability to move, find an opportunity, and light a fire to solve the problem.

But this did not stop the enemy's main force from rolling forward, like a huge wave, slamming hard towards humanity's fragile Candle Cave City defense line.

Candlehole City.

Northeast frontal defense line.

"Quick, boys, don't be afraid. Remember, you must light the fire before shooting the arrow, otherwise it will be useless."

Older veterans who had participated in the defense of the Blood Gate encouraged the soldiers on the hastily built low wall.

"Sir... is that... really a dead person?"

A young soldier asked with trembling lips.

The veteran frowned, but he understood the boy's mood very well. After all, he was not much better at that time.

"It's okay, just dead people, but those guys are flammable. As long as we can light them, we don't have to be afraid. And, you know, this is a war between the living and the dead. We are all bards in the tavern in the future. The main character in the poem.”

"Don't bring shame to yourself or your father's family here."

Gently patting the soldier's shoulder, the veteran did not give much comfort because it was of no use.

There was no telling how long the small fortress they were in could resist.

All veterans who were transferred from the Blood Gate battlefield were told by their superiors that they could escape in a real crisis.

After all, veterans like them would not show mercy in the face of the dead.

One person is efficient, but there are more than five recruits who are in a hurry and panic.

There's no way, it's just so cruel.

"Get ready, they're coming!"

The veteran observed the approaching black wave on the city wall and shouted to his subordinates:

"Stretch your bow, light the fire, and obey my orders..."

Calculating the timing correctly, the veteran gave the order to attack:

"put!"

The arrow with burning flames was quickly sent into a small wave coming towards them.

There was no scream, no blood rising.

I saw flames lighting up the enemy's formation.

As the body became extremely flammable, the flames quickly began to spread as the corpse ran.

The scorching power quickly dissipated the thin cold magic in this body.

The corpse ghost that lost its "fuel" fell to the ground and turned into withered bones that could no longer be aroused.

"Well done, boys, some of those bastards have already fallen. If you don't see it, they can also be killed!"

The veteran raised his arms and shouted, and then continued to give orders calmly:

"Listen to my orders, light the fire, draw the bow...Okay, that's it, keep...ready, release!"

Another burst of colorful fire rain fell on the top of the wave.

The flames are spreading, but the speed...

There seems to be something not enough.

The more brutal battle has actually just begun.