A surging sea of ragged, starving people, pushing and trampling each other, swept over them.
To them, starving and irrational, the Archbishop, too fat to move, became an unavoidable target.
The Archbishop and the monks beside him, along with the Gold Cloaks and Red Cloaks at the very front, were submerged by the surging crowd.
"Gods!"
"Who will save us!"
"Stop those commoners!"
The nobles on the viewing stands, who had come to watch the Stark trial, cried out in alarm, and chaos immediately ensued.
The directions leading into the Great Sept of Baelor and the Silent Sisters' street were packed with people, while to the east lay Fleabottom.
Greene Kleber glanced at the Clebers Blue Cloaks beside him and shouted, "Assemble! North!"
"Queen Regent Cersei, hold onto me!"
Greene's sword suddenly swung, knocking away an unknown object flying towards him, and with a flick of his blue cloak, he covered Queen Regent Cersei.
"Follow me!" Greene led a few guards and strode forward.
… … … …
Under Queen Regent Cersei's orders, Eddard Stark received only one cup of water and an occasional rock-hard black bread each day, just enough to keep him from starving to death in the Black Cells.
His hands were still tied behind his back, and although the guards beside him had vanished, Eddard Stark had no strength to escape amidst the chaos.
He lay on the ground, unable to get up, feeling both despair and relief at this moment… Perhaps ending his life this way would be more honorable than being beheaded by the Lannister.
Duke Eddard was quickly surrounded, and he watched helplessly as the "mob" stripped off his grey velvet tunic embroidered with a Direwolf.
Duke Eddard foresaw his end, and he was in extreme despair; he would rather be beheaded by the Lannister.
"No!" The Direwolf desperately kicked his legs, wanting to resist to the death; he did not want to become a stripped corpse.
A dirt-faced middle-aged man whispered in his ear, "Kleber never forgets."
Duke Eddard's movements stiffened, his pupils constricted sharply, and his tensed body suddenly relaxed, allowing himself to be carried away by them.
Duke Eddard murmured, "Honor never dies," then his vision went black, and he fainted directly.
… … … …
Greene roared, "Lancel, draw your sword!"
Greene directly knocked aside Lancel Lannister, who was trying to hide beside him, and continued forward.
Cersei Lannister had originally been holding onto one of Greene's arms, but now she was almost entirely hanging onto Greene's body.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
One… two… three… Greene's sword rose and fell, blood splattering, and his steps never faltered.
The panicked nobles and soldiers gradually gathered closer.
… … … …
Bang!!!
Mondon Wei Shui's broad, heavy body, holding a large round shield, slammed into the crowd, and blood seemed to explode on the spot.
"Lord Green!"
Mondon picked up the Ice Greatsword from the ground and directly threw it over; Greene raised his hand and caught the hilt perfectly.
The Valyria steel blade was dark as smoke, a good sword!
Lord Green was quite pragmatic; his requirement for a sword had always been heavy, as he did not want to encounter problems like a rolled or broken blade as soon as he entered combat one day.
Greene naturally knew that a Valyria steel sword would not have such troubles, but it was simply too rare.
For most people, the weight of the Ice Greatsword was not suitable for prolonged combat… Greene simply swung the Ice Greatsword a few times, and it felt good!
The narrow slit in the helmet's visor greatly hindered external observation, so Greene pulled up his visor.
He first lowered his gaze to Queen Regent Cersei; she, surprisingly, remained composed… The Lannister Lioness seemed fearless; she was very brave, which was very Cersei.
Greene then surveyed the chaotic surroundings, raising his sword with one hand, the tip of the Ice Greatsword pointing towards the sky.
"Protect the Queen Regent! The brave fear nothing!"
"Protect the Queen Regent! The brave fear nothing!"
"Protect the Queen Regent! The brave fear nothing!"
Many Red Cloaks and Gold Cloaks had already gathered around, gradually stabilizing their formation, and they followed with loud roars, dispelling their uncontrollable fear.
"The brave will prevail!"
"The brave will prevail!"
"The brave will prevail!"
… … … …
Kingsguard Ser Boros Blount hid in panic behind his sworn brothers; his position was even safer than Joffrey Baratheon's.
"Coward."
With a thud, Ser Boros was kicked to the ground by Greene.
"Mother!"
A pale Joffrey quickly spotted Queen Regent Cersei approaching from behind, as if he had seen a savior.
"Joffrey!"
Queen Regent Cersei let go of Greene and tightly embraced her son, who had thrown himself into her arms.
However, not long after, Queen Regent Cersei's brows furrowed; she pushed Joffrey away, grabbing his shoulders with both hands.
"Joffrey, you are the King, and the King always prevails."
Greene briefly glanced at something on Joffrey's face, and his eyebrow twitched.
At this moment, Lancel appeared beside Greene, his clothes stained with a good deal of blood.
Lancel's face showed excitement, and his voice trembled: "Greene, I killed an enemy."
After speaking, he even showed Greene the blood-red longsword in his hand.
Greene suddenly felt that Lancel needed to leave King's Landing for a while, like Jaime, which might help him return to normal, but for now… Lancel's thought process could only be described as peculiar.
"Lancel, stick close to me!"
"Oh… alright!"
… … … …
A cold flash, the Ice Greatsword swept through, and where it passed, it instantly became a bloody space.
The cold light flickered, and after Greene swung the Ice Greatsword in his hand more than a dozen times, the irrational crowd finally fell into extreme panic.
Greene's gilded armor had turned blood-red, and his location seemed to have become a living hell… Amidst various heart-wrenching screams, the crowd frantically retreated as if insane.
The people in front wanted to flee backward, while those behind, unaware, still wanted to rush forward, and a violent clash quickly occurred.
Queen Regent Cersei and Joffrey followed closely behind Greene, with Lancel guarding their side.
"Keep moving forward!"
"Forward! Forward! Forward!"
"Forward! Forward! Forward!"
… … … …
Sansa Stark cried out in terror, "I have no bread! I have no bread! I have no bread!"
She and a few other girls huddled together, while Ser Dontos Hollard, who had been protecting them, lay nearby, his head covered in blood, his breath gone.
Although the Gold Cloaks and knights tried their best to guard the front, some people always managed to break through them, and various desires caused more and more commoners to surge towards the area where dozens of girls were gathered.
A grimy hand grabbed Sansa's ankle, trying to pull her away.
Another hand grabbed the skirt of another girl.
A richly dressed young noble boy was about to rush over to rescue them but was struck on the side of his head by a flying stone and fell straight down.
"Gods, save us!"
Rip, Sansa's sleeve tore, and a plump girl, holding onto the sleeve, was pulled down from the platform.
"Grab me!" Sansa immediately reached out to grab the girl but grasped nothing but air.
The scene before Sansa's eyes changed; she had released one hand to save someone, and as a result, she was powerless against the force pulling her ankle… Sansa was also pulled down from the platform.
"Mother!"
Sansa cried out, surrounded by suffocating darkness.
Wuwuwu… She could only weep in despair.
… … … …
… … … …
In the distance, hundreds of swamp marigold banners fluttered, war drums rumbled, and horns blared.
Beneath the banners, a thousand-man army formation, composed of blue and gold, advanced with raised shields.
The surging crowd shattered upon contact with them.
… … … …
Greene exhaled, handed the Ice Greatsword to the Clan Soldiers beside him, and then took off his helmet.
The players at the table of power were all manipulating King's Landing, a city full of sacrifice and sin.
The undercurrents Greene had secretly propelled directly turned into giant waves.
Greene threw his helmet to the ground; he considered himself farsighted, but he had miscalculated the power of incitement and the scale of the riot… Chaos might be the ascending ladder for all power players, and the hidden manipulators exceeded his estimations.
Greene closed his eyes and took a deep breath, cautioning himself not to treat the game of power as a single person's game.
Greene turned around and began to walk… Lord Green, indomitable.
… … … …
The Kingsguard surrounding Cersei and Joffrey parted as Greene approached.
Greene bowed, hand on chest: "Queen Regent Cersei, King Joffrey, please rest here for a moment; our reinforcements will arrive soon."
Queen Regent Cersei nodded slightly; although she still held her chin high, her current disheveled state could not be concealed.
A group of noblewomen and ladies gathered not far away, their weeping causing Queen Regent Cersei to frown, revealing a disdainful and impatient expression.
Joffrey was kicking Sandor Clegane while angrily shouting, "You useless dog, where did you run off to?!"
Sandor stood there motionless, offering no explanation, allowing Joffrey to punch and kick him.
After a moment of silence, Queen Regent Cersei beckoned to Greene.
Greene's eyes subtly shifted, and he walked to her.
Queen Regent Cersei scrutinized Greene from head to toe, then said softly, "Count Greene, you're not injured, are you?"
Greene shook his head slightly and said seriously, "Queen Regent Cersei, when you travel in the future, please allow me to guard you."
Queen Regent Cersei's gaze was gentle: "I will; only you can make me feel at ease."
When Queen Regent Cersei suddenly became gentle with him, it definitely meant she had something to arrange; this was Greene's work experience.
Greene's face showed no pride from having rescued her; he remained humble: "Queen Regent Cersei, protecting you is my duty."
Queen Regent Cersei's beautiful eyes fixed on Greene, and her voice contained anger: "The atrocities of these commoners will affect Joffrey's prestige. How do you think we should retaliate?"
"Queen Regent Cersei, to restore order, we need to implement a curfew as soon as possible and extend its duration as much as possible."
"And what else?"
"We need to acquire food… For specific methods, you can discuss them in the Small Council."
Queen Regent Cersei snorted coldly and said, "The Small Council now consists of only two fools, and their foolishness caused today's riot and put my son in danger."
She paused, then added, "Today's events have made me sick of Pycelle and Varys's foolishness. From now on… for important matters, I will directly exercise the Queen Regent's authority."
Joffrey, having vented, walked over and said, "Mother, I want to punish Pycelle and Varys!"
Queen Regent Cersei looked at the angry Joffrey and smiled, saying, "They are cowards to begin with. Joffrey, you will scare them."
Joffrey snorted coldly and said, "Don't let them make mistakes again. I never want to see a scene like today's again."
Queen Regent Cersei nodded slightly, her beautiful eyes turning to Greene: "Count Greene, I need you to handle this like you handled the Queens Quarter back then…"
Joffrey looked around and suddenly said, "Have you seen Sansa?!"
Queen Regent Cersei couldn't help but stand up, glancing around, and said, "Wasn't she being watched by Master-at-arms Allen and Ser Mandon?!"
Queen Regent Cersei and Joffrey both looked at Kingsguard Mandon Moore, who was guarding nearby.
Ser Mandon replied expressionlessly, "When the chaos broke out, my first thought was of the King."
Queen Regent Cersei nodded, then looked to the other side: "Ser Boros, Ser Meryn, go find the Stark girl."
Ser Boros did not move his feet; he leisurely said, "Queen Regent, our white cloaks can easily provoke those commoners."
Cersei sharply retorted, "Boros, you obey me, or you will take off that white cloak! Remember your oath!"
Joffrey added, "You two also check on the Direwolf while you're at it."
"I think he's dead; someone saw him torn apart by the commoners."
… … … …
… … … …
A week later, the Throne Room.
Tyrion Lannister limped in, interrupting the Small Council meeting convened by Queen Regent Cersei.
Queen Regent Cersei said with disgust, "Who let you in?"
Tyrion walked and said, "Ha, I finally know where Joffrey learned his good manners!"
"The changes here are truly great…"
Tyrion sighed, walked to a chair, and climbed onto it.
Queen Regent Cersei's voice carried a hint of anger: "Get out! This is not where you belong!"
Tyrion grinned: "Cersei, I love your welcoming ceremony, my dear sister."
After speaking, Tyrion took a letter from his pocket and tossed it to Varys.
"Lord Varys, my dear sister must love you the most."
Queen Regent Cersei put down the quill in her hand, her beautiful eyes fixed on the letter in Varys's hand.
"What trick are you playing? This is the Small Council, not the brothel you frequent."
Tyrion said with a smile, "I think they're quite similar. The Small Council is also responsible for making people happy… Hmm, perhaps with less tip money."
He paused, then continued, "My clever sister, don't pretend to be confused. You've already seen the familiar insignia on the letter, haven't you?"
Tyrion met Cersei's icy gaze and added, "That's right, our most amiable father has written to his dearest son."