Chapter 352 Stannis in Dilemma

On Dragonstone Island, Stannis sat at the sand table in the council chamber, looking at the sand table map of Westeros in front of him and the various flags on it, with no expression on his face.

The surrounding lords loyal to Stannis were also silent. There was only despair in their hearts at this moment, because they knew very well that their lord had no chance of winning, and what awaited them in the near future might be the deprivation of their territory and their own exile. type of punishment.

"Woman, you said that I am the reincarnation of Athor Ahai, holding the Lightbringer, and will lead mankind to fight against the White Walkers and become the savior." Stannis turned his head and looked at Melisandre, who was calm beside him, and said: "Now tell me, how should I lead humans to fight against the White Walkers? Or is your so-called prophecy of the Lord of Light a lie from the beginning?"

As Stannis finished speaking, the eyes of everyone in the room fell on Melisandre. Except for a few of the lords and nobles present who believed in the Lord of Light, all the others believed in the Seven. god.

Previously, Melisandre used the Lord of Light's faith as an excuse to do many things that made people angry, such as burning those who were unwilling to convert, and persuading Stannis not to marry Renly and Robb. The Stark alliance and the like, although these are not the final reasons for the failure of the war, but now they desperately need to find a punching bag, Melisandre is perfect.

Faced with the questioning, Melisandre seemed very calm. She turned to Stannis and said: "Your Majesty, you have not lost yet. It is not the end yet. Everything is only the beginning. The turning point in the Lord of Light's revelation is very important." It will come soon, please wait patiently.”

Lord Montford Velaryon of Tidehead Island was lucky enough to survive the Battle of King's Landing, but his face was scratched by the enemy's sword, and his handsome appearance became much more ferocious.

Earl Montford is a devout believer in the Seven Gods, so now he is facing Melisandre unceremoniously: "Wait calmly, witch, you said it very lightly, our current food and grass are not enough to sustain daily consumption, you How do you want us to wait calmly?”

"Don't worry about the food and grass matter," Melisandre said with a smile: "As early as more than ten days ago, I asked the high priest of the Red Temple of Volantis to help purchase a large amount of food and grass in the Kingdom of Lorne. Now It is being transported by ship. Calculating the time, it will arrive almost today, so you don’t have to worry about food and grass. "

Almost as soon as Melisandre finished speaking, the guards of the Dragonstone Lighthouse hurriedly walked in from outside and reported to Stannis that a large number of ships were approaching, with a Volantis flag hanging on the ships.

Hearing this, everyone in the room involuntarily looked at Melisandre. They thought that since the morning, Melisandre, like other lords and nobles, had been staying in the meeting hall and had never left. You shouldn't know where the fleet has arrived.

But just now she mentioned the fleet delivering food and grass, and the next moment the fleet appeared in the waters monitored by the Dragonstone Lighthouse. It is difficult not to make people wonder whether there is some mysterious magic or witchcraft involved. strength.

"This is just a coincidence." Melisandre actively denied using any mysterious power. She looked at everyone and said: "This food is enough to sustain our daily needs for a month. We just need to wait for changes to occur. ”

Onion Knight Davos obviously disliked Melisandre among the group of people, so he asked step by step: "Change? What change? When will it appear?"

Melisandre shook her head and said: "The prophecies of the gods are often vague. It is difficult for even the blessed ones to fully understand the prophecies. The only thing I know is that the situation may change in a few days. It could happen soon, so we just have to be patient and wait.”

"Wait! I'm afraid I don't have time to wait." Stannis said with a gloomy face: "That guy Tywin gave my Dragonstone and Storm's End to Lynd Terra, and Storm's End has now been taken over by him. Take it over, the next one is Dragonstone Island." As he said that, he turned to look at Gude Morrigan and said, "Sir Gude, I want to know what you would do if Lind Terra came to attack Dragonstone Island. Stand over there.”

Good Morrigan replied very directly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. If the Prince attacks Dragonstone, our Stormland coalition forces will probably not participate in the battle. We will neither side with His Majesty nor help the Prince." Your Excellency attacks Your Majesty.”

"Traitors, you traitors!" Someone immediately loudly accused the knights and nobles of the Storm Land, but the knights and nobles of the Storm Land were all silent and did not refute.

"That's enough!" Stannis scolded his subordinates loudly, then looked at Gude Morrigan and said, "It's good that you can tell the truth now instead of waiting until the critical moment to betray me! At least you He is a loyal and principled person.”

"Your Majesty, if Lord Linde really comes..." Good Morrigan sighed, and when he was about to give his advice, a roar suddenly came from outside, and then he heard the soldiers outside. He screamed in panic, as if he had encountered some terrible attack.

"Dragon! It's the cry of a dragon." Goode was the first to react and said, "It's the prince who is here."

Stannis stood up immediately, turned around and walked to the window. Then a huge shadow flew over his head, and then Stannis saw a giant dragon covered in darkness, with veins glowing from lava gliding through the air. , circled twice over Dragonstone, and then landed on the square outside the castle.

Stannis inevitably showed a nervous look on his face, and saw that Lind actually stopped outside the castle instead of landing directly on the castle square.

So, he turned around and looked at the pale-faced Dragonstone nobles in the room, then looked at the normal-looking Stormland nobles, then turned to look at Melisandre aside, and said: "You said now you Will the changes mentioned in my mouth still happen? "

Melisandre said very seriously: "Yes, changes will occur. You will definitely become Athor Ahai, holding the Light Messenger, fighting for the King of Light against the gods outside the wall. This is what the King of Light has given me. The revelation is also an oracle, and the oracle will not change."

"Let your Lord of Light go to hell!" Stannis scolded Melisandre unceremoniously. At this moment, he already regarded Melisandre as a liar. He turned to his men in the room and said, "Let's go." Come on! Let’s go see Prince Linde. It’s better for us to go see him than for him to come in and see us.”

After saying that, she straightened her clothes, straightened her chest, and walked out of the room. Others followed. Although Melisandre was cursed just now, she did not show any anger. Instead, she smiled and followed Behind the crowd, they walked towards the outside of Dragonstone Castle.

Soon the group came to the gate of Dragonstone Castle, and Stannis directly ordered the soldiers to open the gate.

"Your Majesty, don't open the city gate yet, stand on the wall..." Someone immediately stopped and suggested.

Stannis shook his head and said, "No need! If Lind Terra wants to enter the castle, a gate cannot stop him. Standing on the wall makes us look too timid."

After saying that, he signaled the soldiers to open the city gate, and then walked out first. The Onion Knight followed closely, and then others followed.

At this time, Lind had stepped down from Neltharion and stood on the edge of the square, looking at the castle gate. When he saw Stannis taking the initiative to open the gate and walk out, a smile appeared on his face.

"I'm glad to see you safe and sound, Lord Stannis!" When Stannis arrived, Lind took the initiative to salute Stannis.

"I'm not happy to see you, Lord Lynd." Stannis glared at Lynd angrily and said, "Didn't you say you wouldn't get involved in the civil war in the Seven Kingdoms? What's going on now, becoming Tywin's Is it a dog? Tywin threw a bone and came over to bite it.”

Lind was not angry because of Stannis's sarcasm. Instead, he always smiled and said: "Lord Stannis, such harsh words are not something someone like you can say. It seems that the failure of the war has brought you unhappiness. Small changes.”

Stannis angrily shouted: "Failure! I have not failed yet, I still have tens of thousands of troops..."

"I can't see tens of thousands of troops." Lind interrupted Stannis, turned to look at Gud Morrigan and the lords and nobles of the Stormland behind him, and said: "Sir Gud, what do you plan to do? Are you my enemy?"

"No, sir." Good Morrigan said quickly: "On behalf of the coalition forces in the Stormlands, I just expressed our thoughts to His Majesty Stannis. If we fight against you, please allow us to remain neutral."

"Well! This is a way to avoid offending both sides." Lind nodded, and then turned to Stannis's Admiral Salladhor Saan, who currently controls the most ships, and said: "What about you? Smuggler Salladhor Saan Lado.”

Salado Sann, who was born in Lys, said quickly: "I am honored to hear my name from your mouth, Prince. If I dare to be your enemy, please allow me to remain neutral."

"Salado, you guy..." Onion Knight saw his old friend surrendering on the battlefield and couldn't help but glared at him.

Salladhor smiled and said: "Davos, my old friend, when you invited me, you said you were only enemies with the dignitaries of the Seven Kingdoms, but you didn't say you wanted to be enemies with the princes. I am Rhys." Man, Lis is a territory directly under the jurisdiction of the prince, and I am also a subject of the prince. How can I do something disobedient to the prince? "

Linde then looked at other lords and nobles such as Chaotou Island and Crab Claw Peninsula. These lords and nobles all lowered their heads and did not dare to look at Linde.

Lind's eyes swept from Melisandre, and finally returned to Stannis, and said: "My attitude is consistent and I will not intervene in the civil war, but I still abide by the existing laws of the kingdom. Since Dragonstone has been Give it to me, and I won’t let it go.”

Stannis smiled disdainfully and said, "They are all just excuses. According to what you say, if I canonize Casterly Rock City in the West to you, will you go and capture Casterly Rock City?"

Lind nodded and admitted: "Of course I will go, but only if you win the final victory in the Battle of King's Landing and sit on the Iron Throne."

When Stannis heard this, his face became even more gloomy. It was obvious that Lind's words hit his pain point. He was so close to the Iron Throne, only separated by a wall. As long as he was given half a day, he could completely break through the Red Castle and solve the problem. That bastard on the Iron Throne, it was a pity that everything was so unfortunate, he fell before the finish line.

Lind saw Stannis' face become extremely ugly, and asked more and more closely: "Lord Stannis, I have a question to ask you. This question is related to whether you are qualified to accept my friendship? "As he spoke, he paused to allow Stannis to calm down a little, and then asked in a deep voice: "Please tell me, did you kill Renly Baratheon, for example, with the Shadowbinder? means."

As he spoke, he looked at Melisandre.

However, upon hearing Lynd's words, Stannis became furious and shouted: "Lind Terra, in your eyes, am I a kinslayer? Although I want the Iron Throne, I still I'm not crazy enough to kill Renly, and I won't use any dirty magic to kill Renly. I will use my own methods to take back Storm's End, which is rightfully mine, and then lock Renly in his place forever. In a small house, let him reflect for his whole life."

"I can prove this, what His Majesty Stannis said." Good Morrigan stood up and said: "Before Lord Renly was killed, His Majesty Stannis had already been in contact with us, and we also planned to kill Renly." After the wedding is over, Lord Renly will be taken to Highgarden by the Tyrell family and there will be no danger. "

After hearing Gud Morrigan's words, Lind couldn't help but frowned. He believed that Gud Morrigan would not lie to him. Stannis had already convinced the Stormlands coalition at that time and was bound to win Storm's End Castle. There is no need to kill Renly by assassination anymore.

Killing Renly in that way will only make Stannis bear the crime of parricide as he is now. He can't even enter Storm's End, which he already has in his hands. He can only leave after taking over the army. Because if he had stationed at Storm's End at that time, there would really be no explanation.

Lind thought of this and looked at Melisandre again, wondering if it was Melisandre's own initiative.

Melisandre seemed to see through Lind's thoughts and said: "I use the Shadowbinder's magic to make the Shadow Killer, which requires the blood of the king and the king's blood. Lord Stannis does not want to give me a descendant, nor does he want to give me blood. I can't do anything!"

Stannis frowned, turned to look at Melisandre, and said: "You had this purpose that night..."

Stannis didn't finish his words, and his expression looked very bad.

Lind had confirmed that Stannis did not kill Renly, so he smiled and said: "Lord Stannis, I must conquer Dragonstone, but I don't want to fight with you. After all, in this world There are not many people who follow the law like you. I will show you a way out, go to the Great Wall and become the commander-in-chief of the Night Watch."