"I, Sandor Clegane, swear fealty to Jon Stark and his future Family, from this day until the end of my life, I swear by the Old Gods and the New." Sandor raised his sword above his head. "My sword will be at your command!"
"My will and mission shall guide your sword." Jon recalled the etiquette lessons he and Robb had received. "There will always be a place for you at my table, and a fire burning for you in my hearth."
The ceremony was completed, and the vassalage was established.
A chilling smile once again appeared on the Hound's face. He said with a playful grin, "My Lord, if you wish to summon me in the future, just say 'Come, Hound.'"
"Come, Hound?"
"My Lord!" Sandor stood up straight with a fawning smile.
"Is that what Joffrey usually called you?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"Since you are now my vassal, I believe my subjects should be treated with respect. I will only call you Sandor from now on."
"My Lord—" Sandor felt a lump in his throat but insisted, "My Lord, just call me the Hound."
"Gods, what have the Lannister done to you?"
Jon felt a bit uncomfortable, but still insisted on calling him Sandor. After all, he wanted a warrior, not a slave.
Calling Sandor 'Hound,' while it might add a touch of dark humor when he was powerful, would prove to be too disadvantageous if he ever encountered trouble.
Jon looked at Sandor, who was more than half a head taller than him, and said, "Since you are now my vassal, I will tell you something that many people still don't know."
"Tell me, My Lord," Sandor bowed, still wearing a fawning smile.
"His Majesty Stannis wants me to go to Riverrun to persuade Robb Stark, my brother, to lay down his crown and pledge allegiance to the iron throne again. If I succeed, His Majesty will enfeoff me as lord of casterly rock and warden of the west. Of course, Casterly Rock and the West will be mine to take."
Listening to Jon's words, Sandor's eyes widened, even his left eye, scarred from burns, bulged like a hard-boiled egg.
"My Lord, you're going to be the lord of casterly rock? Casterly Rock is not easy to conquer!" Sandor reminded him.
In his opinion, Harrenhal was not bad either; it was a bit ruined, but large enough and sturdy enough. Although Casterly Rock was good, he estimated that Jon would still be unable to enjoy it.
Sandor, like everyone else, hoped Jon would not set his sights on Casterly Rock.
He even precisely told Jon how many watchtowers, armories, and hidden troop caves Casterly Rock had.
Seeing Sandor genuinely concerned for him, Jon felt quite pleased.
He asked with a hint of jest, "What if I insist on taking Casterly Rock? We just had the vassal ceremony; if you want to leave, now is still the time. No one will know."
Sandor looked into Jon's eyes, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to speak but couldn't. Then he said with some helplessness, "Seven Hells, no one will know, but the Gods will know. If you insist on fighting, I will follow your lead."
Jon chuckled inwardly. He knew there was no absolute loyalty in this world, but for Sandor to show this level of commitment right after swearing fealty was much better than an average mercenary.
He stood up, patted Sandor's shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, I'm not someone who disregards human lives. I heard those Western Soldiers are still in the prisoner-of-war camp. Let's go see them together."
Since Harken and Harrion left, the army directly under Jon's command was no more than two thousand.
The Western Soldiers who surrendered after being surrounded by wildfire that day numbered about four to five thousand.
Although they were almost all Lannister and Western elites, and their loyalty was relatively high, the most loyal Lannister ones were burned to death because they charged too fiercely. The remaining ones were not impossible to recruit.
Furthermore, how much favor could a feudal lord bestow upon an army? Most of these Soldiers came from peasant Families, at best slightly wealthier.
What Lannister could offer in the future, Jon could also offer. He didn't believe he couldn't win over this group of people.
The Dragonpit was originally where the Targaryen housed their Dragons.
The predecessor of the Dragonpit was actually the Sept of Remembrance, built by Aegon the Conqueror to commemorate his second wife, Rhaenys.
However, the Sept of Remembrance was destroyed during the brutal Maegor's reign. Maegor brutally suppressed the Faith Militant uprising and built the Dragonpit on the ruins of the Sept of Remembrance.
——————
After all, the Sept of Remembrance commemorated Rhaenys, and Maegor's mother was Queen Visenya. Maegor was already short-tempered, so he naturally wouldn't care about such things.
The Dragonpit was abandoned after the Dragons became extinct, becoming a haven for thieves, prostitutes, bandits, and Gangs.
That day, after Jon conquered the Red Keep and achieved complete victory, he captured these trapped Western armies and imprisoned them all in the Dragonpit.
Since there was no extra food in King's Landing, Jon only gave them one meal a day and a small amount of water to keep them alive, ensuring they wouldn't starve to death or cause any trouble.
When Jon and Sandor arrived at the Dragonpit, they heard a cacophony of laughter. Riding closer, they saw a group of House Florent Soldiers teasing the surrendered Western Soldiers.
Several House Florent Soldiers were seen surrounding a few surrendered Western Soldiers, continuously tossing and catching rice balls.
The starving Western Soldiers could only chase after the rice balls like monkeys being played with, looking miserable and pathetic.
Soldiers from the Riverlands were also cheering them on.
But Jon did not intend to intervene, because these surrendered Western Soldiers probably abused civilians in the same way when they were in the Riverlands, so suffering a bit was deserved.
A moment later, a House Florent Soldier sensed what seemed to be an approaching army, turned his head, and saw a force of over a hundred Soldiers drawing near.
Discovering that Jon was the leader, he quickly came over to salute.
They knelt before Jon, looking reserved.
The House Florent army could be said to be His Majesty Stannis's most direct forces. They represented The Queens Party, and Jon did not want to conflict with them over some morally debased surrendered Soldiers.
"Rise. I've come to see the surrendered Soldiers."
"Yes, My Lord."
So, everyone led Jon to the front of the dilapidated Dragonpit.
Soon, four to five thousand captives were brought out. Ten days without much food, coupled with the previous long march, made some people's ribs clearly visible.
Stepping out of the Dragonpit, many shivered due to the sudden drop in temperature. The light outside the Dragonpit was also brighter, and many squinted uncomfortably when they first emerged.
It took nearly a quarter of an hour for the several thousand surrendered Soldiers to somewhat adapt.
Sandor looked at the cowering Western army before him, resembling autumn straw, having completely lost their former sharp impetus. He couldn't help but feel a touch of sadness.
At the same time, he was curious how Jon planned to recruit these Western Soldiers.
At that moment, someone among the surrendered Soldiers suddenly spoke, "My Lord, are you going to kill us?"
The speaker was a soldier with yellowish-brown hair. It was unclear if he had any blood relation to the Lannister, but even if he did, it would be a very distant one.
Jon looked at the soldier and then said, "I am indeed here to kill, but not to kill all of you."
The wind carried Jon's voice to most people's ears, which made many perk up.
Sandor, beside him, pricked up his ears and glanced at Jon, wondering why he would kill people if he intended to recruit Soldiers.
"I know you people had a grand time pillaging and burning in the Riverlands. If the Lannister had won, you probably would have been able to plunder King's Landing again, just like a decade ago."
The surrendered Soldiers' faces tightened as they listened to Jon's words.
"But I also know that Tywin's indulgence played a part, yet this doesn't mean I will forgive you. If the rest of you want to live, then form groups of ten, and vote to execute the person who committed the most evil deeds. The remaining people will live, and I will even take you back to the West. Begin now!"
Jon's words immediately caused an uproar among the surrendered Soldiers, and some even showed fierce expressions.
But seeing the heavily armored Soldiers around Jon, they clearly knew they had no chance of winning.
To suppress these surrendered Soldiers, Jon had brought his most elite Heavy Cavalry.
If the unarmed surrendered Soldiers dared to resist, they would face a massacre. Conversely, if they quietly accepted the execution, there was a 90% chance of survival.
With a wave of Jon's hand, under Martin's arrangement, the Riverlands Soldiers behind him pulled out the Western Soldiers in groups of ten, making them vote amongst themselves.
"I only killed two people, and you made me do it."
"Bullshit! You clearly killed four people; two women were * to death!"
These Soldiers were mostly rough men, and when faced with life and death, they had no kind words.
"Those two women were already dying. You! Jayn, you were the strongest when you were on them, you should be blamed!"
"Stop arguing, vote quickly!" a Riverlands Soldier nearby shouted angrily.
Soon, the first group of ten voted out a thin-faced soldier. The Riverlands Soldiers gave each of them a dagger, and each one stabbed the soldier until he collapsed, twitching.
Next group————
Before the sky completely darkened, this execution-by-punishment, a decimation, finally concluded.
Because when grouping, most Soldiers who knew each other were put together, and they were killing their own acquaintances, which further eroded the remaining cohesion of these surrendered Western Soldiers.
When more than five hundred bodies were stacked to one side, these surrendered Western Soldiers had completely become like lambs to the slaughter. Soon, Soldiers brought firewood, and Jon lit the bodies of the Soldiers who had been voted for execution.
A massive bonfire was lit in the Dragonpit.
The orange bonfire blazed skyward, dispelling much of the darkness.
This was another mass execution, two hundred years after Maegor burned the rebellious Faith Militant.
The orange firelight illuminated everyone's faces, and the air was filled with the nauseating smell of burning protein.
Sandor looked at the cowering surrendered Soldiers, then at Jon, behaving as obediently as a true dog. Killing hundreds of people without hesitation, in terms of ruthlessness, reminded Sandor of Tywin's extermination of House Reyne years ago.
Tywin flooded the underground hiding place of House Reyne, drowning them all, and House Reyne was thus erased from Westeros.
The flames still burned. Jon looked at these surrendered Soldiers and could feel that their morale, far from just declining, had completely vanished.
This meant that their army, as a collective, had completely ceased to exist.
"Alright, let your sins disappear with this fire. I said I would take you back to the West, but if anyone dares to harm innocent civilians, I think they know the consequences."
Jon's words fell, but no one responded.
After a long while, a still somewhat childish voice came from a corner: "My Lord, will you really take us back to the West? You won't continue, you won't kill, no—"
Even though the soldier speaking stammered, those around him automatically made space for Jon to see his appearance clearly.
Jon looked at the young soldier, who seemed to be no older than seventeen or eighteen.
"How about this, I won't leave tonight. I'll sleep here with you."
"Eh, My Lord?!" Sandor, beside him, tried to stop him but was waved away by Jon.
Jon walked among the surrendered Soldiers in front of them, then chose a slightly elevated small mound, ensuring most people could see him.
He spread his cloak on the ground and lay directly on it. "It's getting late. Anyone who wants to sleep, sleep. Tomorrow I'll have breakfast sent over."
"My Lord, I'll accompany you—" Sandor was interrupted by Jon before he could finish.
"Go back and protect my sisters. Bring more food tomorrow, and some wine. That's all."
After speaking, Jon was about to lie down with his arm as a pillow, but then suddenly sat up.
He casually tossed aside the sword His Majesty Stannis had bestowed upon him, muttering "uncomfortable," then lay back down under the stunned gaze of the Soldiers.
The autumn wind blew gently, and the stars overhead shone as brightly as lanterns.
Initially, the Soldiers sat in groups of three or five, whispering, but soon some lay down with anxious hearts.
The first led to the second and third, and soon thousands of Soldiers lay down in the open like that.
Øóffer going on for diamond tier
pàtreøn (Gk31)
Grab the offer soon it's going to end