The North, Last Hearth.
After a night of fierce fighting, Tywin Lannister finally took this castle before dawn arrived.
The victorious Lannister soldiers were extinguishing the fires still burning in various places, collecting the dead bodies, and preparing to move them away for burning.
The wails of the wounded filled the battlefield that had only just reached daybreak.
The shouted curses as prisoners were berated also echoed all around.
Yet even so, most people could not help but lift their heads from time to time to look up at the sky above.
The great comet's long tail trailed across the high heavens, hanging there like a red banner fluttering in the wind, and like a red sword as well.
Against the reddened sky, it was as if there were two suns.
One was gray and dim; the other blood-red.
"They call this comet the 'Lion's Blood Fang.'"
Kevan Lannister, wiping the bloodstains from his hands, came to Tywin Lannister's side while breathing heavily, thick white vapor pouring from his mouth.
He climbed the long flight of steps, caught his breath, then also raised his head to look at the red comet in the sky as he spoke.
The Ghost Summer had not lasted very long, as if it had truly appeared only to help them before suddenly arriving.
And now, after no more than a single night, as they secured their victory, that strange warmth came to an abrupt halt and ended without warning.
A gust of north wind swept past, and the North returned once more to its damnable cold. The red comet in the vast sky above was like an omen.
At this moment, Tywin Lannister stood before the castle he had just taken, still gazing up at the comet overhead.
It was a wondrous sight not even recorded in the history books, as if it were foretelling and reminding them of something.
"Lion's Blood Fang?"
He did not turn around, merely voicing his doubt at Kevan Lannister's words.
In response, Kevan only shrugged, withdrew his gaze from the red comet in the sky, and lowered his eyes to look at the soldiers busily at work on the battlefield below the steps.
"They say this is a symbol of vengeance. Its arrival foretells that we will achieve victory."
"After all, from the very beginning up to now, everything has gone smoothly, so our men's morale is very high."
"This comet has brought us courage and confidence."
As Kevan spoke these words, his tone rose unconsciously, as if he were genuinely pleased by it.
The Umber family's seat, Last Hearth, was not a strong fortress like Winterfell, nor did it possess walls as formidable and easy to defend as those of the Dreadfort.
It was merely a castle built in the wilderness, constructed along a river and against the mountains, made of a mixture of wood and stone. As such, it had no particularly effective defensive capability against external attacks.
When faced with the Lannister army's sudden nighttime assault, Last Hearth had no city walls capable of defending against the enemy's attack, and House Umber also lacked sufficient troops to meet them in battle.
Thus, House Umber quite naturally suffered a solid defeat.
After all, when facing the Lannister army that had once again chosen rebellion, this force not only numbered several thousand men, but also fought with a do-or-die resolve, a madness of staking everything on success or perishing in the attempt.
As a result, in just a single night, the castle changed hands.
Tywin Lannister attached great importance to this battle. Along the way, he had implemented scorched-earth measures and conducted a rapid march, successfully catching House Umber completely off guard.
Moreover, since this was not a siege battle, the losses suffered by the calculating Lannister army were not particularly large.
In any case, such losses were utterly insignificant compared to the value of capturing Last Hearth.
This was because, at the very moment the Lannister army secured victory, it obtained exactly what it needed—supplies.
Hearing Kevan's answer, Tywin pondered for several seconds, then slowly said as well, "This is a good thing. It will be beneficial for what we need to do next."
As he spoke, Tywin's tone seemed to become much more relaxed.
However, upon hearing his elder brother Tywin's words, Kevan Lannister paused slightly, then asked, "Do we need to immediately launch a war against House Karstark?"
Kevan's question was not a casual one.
After all, according to their original plan, it would be best for them to act immediately and quickly take Karhold, thereby expanding their advantage.
Moreover, right now was precisely when their morale was at its highest, and Kevan still understood the concept of pressing the attack in one continuous surge.
But in response to Kevan's question, Tywin slowly withdrew his gaze from the sky, turned his head, and swept his eyes around the castle he had just taken.
Tywin Lannister shook his head, his expression grave.
"No. Right now, we cannot go on to attack Karhold."
Kevan could not help but frown, puzzled in his heart. This did not align with their original plan.
"But…"
However, Kevan's words had only just left his mouth when he was interrupted by Tywin once again.
"Taking this place is enough. If we continue to press the fight, we will immediately sink into a quagmire."
As Tywin Lannister spoke, he walked step by step to the front of the stairs and looked down at the small town not far below, which had likewise already become a post-battle scene.
Large numbers of commoners who lived here were driven out of their homes, while the Lannister army forced its way into their houses and began looting.
Hearing Tywin say this, Kevan did not speak again. Instead, he kept silent and thought in silence.
As long as he was by Tywin's side, he was already used to having no thoughts of his own before his brother Tywin had thought them through.
Kevan had long ago recognized his elder brother Tywin Lannister's exceptional qualities, so he had always loyally carried out his duties by obeying Tywin, and took pleasure in fulfilling Tywin's will.
Although this meant he would forever live in his brother's shadow.
But what could be done, when he had always admired and loved his brother Tywin so deeply?
Tywin, however, did not pay attention to Kevan's contemplation. After he spoke that sentence, he paused, and his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were feeling troubled by something.
That silence did not last long. After about several minutes, Kevan spoke slowly in a heavy tone, "Do you think House Bolton is not worthy of our trust?"
"He would betray us?"
Kevan Lannister was very clever. In only such a short time, he realized that the problem did not lie on the battlefield.
"This place is actually a tempting cake, and beneath the cake is a man-eating trap."
As for his answer, Tywin Lannister did not deny it, but immediately said, "So I worry that if we continue to act according to the original plan—if we continue to choose to attack Karhold—then when the time comes, this ally will immediately become our enemy."
"I think he would very much like to add some Lannister skins to his family's collection."
As Tywin said this, those emerald eyes tinged with gold were filled with deep coldness, and his tone was as piercing as a winter wind.
"Roose Bolton—" Kevan began instinctively. "You mean he won't truly cooperate with us? But what he's doing right now—?"
Kevan spoke reflexively. It was not that he disbelieved Tywin's words; rather, he felt unwilling to accept them and somewhat at a loss.
"Mutual exploitation, nothing more. Only after taking this place did I realize that we were actually helping him."
What Tywin said carried a hint of disappointment, yet his tone remained calm.
"We are indeed cooperating right now, but are we not also testing each other?"
"If I were truly to proceed as agreed with him and go on to attack Karhold now, do you believe that what would greet us would immediately be a joint encirclement by the Stark forces, the Bolton forces, and the Karstark forces?"
"At this position, we would have nowhere to escape—an enticing pouch holding a cake."
"Roose Bolton has calculated that we would certainly come here, because this is our only chance at survival and opportunity."
"But to go one step further would be destruction."
Hearing this, Kevan could not help but open his mouth wide.
He instinctively placed himself into the scenario Tywin described, and in an instant understood what his brother meant.
After all, the fact that they had taken House Umber and Last Hearth so easily could be said to be due to the alignment of timing, terrain, and manpower, all standing on their side.
But once they had taken this place, their rebellion could naturally no longer be concealed.
At that point, attacking Karhold would no longer be so easy. This was precisely why, according to their original plan, they had intended to immediately move on Karhold after taking Last Hearth.
But that plan was predicated on House Bolton being their ally.
And if everything were instead Bolton's scheme and deception—
At the thought of this, cold sweat immediately broke out on Kevan's back.
It was not that they had never considered this issue while they were still at the Nightfort; rather, having reached this point, they had no other choice.
Robert Baratheon's sudden death.
The pressure from the Iron Bank, the fleeing remnants of the Lannister family, and most importantly of all, this being the Lannisters' final chance.
All of these factors combined forced them to make a decision.
So no matter what, this first step was one they had to take.
But if House Bolton were not an ally, and instead intended to seize this opportunity to use them as a blade, then it would be a different matter entirely.
In an instant, Kevan thought the situation through.
After all, once this point was understood and examined a little further, the logic behind the matter was not difficult to discern.
First was why Roose Bolton had chosen to cooperate with them.
Because it would bring him benefits.
As long as they truly acted in accordance with their agreement with Roose Bolton—first attacking House Umber and taking Last Hearth, then proceeding to attack House Karstark at Karhold—then regardless of whether House Karstark was ultimately taken or not, it would at the very least be a weakening blow to House Karstark.
And by that point, Roose Bolton's scheme would already have been accomplished.
Because by then, the entire northeastern region of the North—from the Tears River to the full area radiated by the Last River—would all be territory where House Bolton alone held dominance.
How could that not be the greatest benefit?
After that, once he had simply waited for them to act, Roose Bolton would only need to choose to betray them and tear up the so-called "agreement" he had with them.
At that point, the Lannisters would successfully become his second source of benefit as well.
It could be said that if they still failed to realize this by then, that flaying family would truly feast on them until its mouth was slick with grease.
"What should we do?"
"If your conjecture really comes true, then the situation of us remaining here will become even more passive, and Genna will not be able to arrive in time to rescue us."
"At that point, the Iron Bank will certainly abandon this 'investment' and then sell us off without hesitation in order to stop the bleeding in time."
At the thought of what was about to happen, Kevan Lannister could not help but break out in a cold sweat.
It could be said that at the very moment they achieved victory in the war against House Umber, they were already standing at the edge of a cliff.
If they took even one more step forward, it would be exactly as Tywin had thought.
Destruction.
In response to this question, Tywin's gaze once more swept across the battlefield before him, and the gravity in his eyes turned cold again.
"Give the order. Stop clearing the battlefield, and seize everything we can carry away in terms of supplies."
"Then, as for those still alive, tell them that if they wish to live, they are to choose surrender and join us. All who shake their heads are to be executed on the spot."
"And as for all the corpses, do not concern yourselves with them. Leave them here to buy us time."
"The severely wounded—find an opportunity to deal with them."
"Right now we must turn back. I intend to head west toward the Kingsroad and see whether we can find an opportunity."
"As for what comes next, we will take it one step at a time and see if we can find a way to take Winterfell. Only then will we truly have a chance!"
After issuing these orders, Tywin Lannister could not help but raise his head once more to look at the sky above.
"Lion's Blood Fang?"
...
On Dragonstone, Stannis Baratheon was waiting here together with his maester Cressen, his knights, and Davos Seaworth, whom he had already knighted and appointed as his Hand.
Also present were the priestess of the Lord of Light, Melisandre, and his wife Selyse Florent, along with the others, all waiting there.
At this moment, a ship from King's Landing, flying both House Stark's direwolf banner and the crowned stag banner of House Baratheon, slowly sailed in.
High in the sky, the blood-red comet hung suspended.
The reception accorded to this vessel was of a very high level.
Everyone on the dock remained silent. No one spoke, while the sea wind from the Narrow Sea howled loudly.
Some people watched the ship as it drew closer and closer, while others still looked up at the sky above.
Guided by a small boat, the ship came alongside the dock, and a wooden gangplank was set down.
By the ship's rail, Jory Cassel glanced at the people on the dock, then led a few men down first to confirm that there were no problems, before allowing his lord to disembark.
Stannis Baratheon did not pay any attention to his actions, nor did he even shift his feet.
He simply stood there in place until Eddard Stark came before him, at which point he slightly raised his chin.
Standing before Stannis Baratheon, Eddard Stark fell silent for a moment, but still opened his mouth to offer a greeting.
"Stannis—"
Yet the instant he began to speak, Stannis Baratheon cut him off.
"Lord Eddard Stark, you should address me as His Grace the King, Stannis the First of House Baratheon."
Such a deliberately discourteous act caused Eddard Stark's expression to darken, anger surfacing in his eyes.
"Stannis, you and I both know who the true king is!"
"That man is not you!"
"The king can only be me!"
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