Inside the inner city of the Red Keep, King's Landing, Cheese walked towards the gate with his puppy.
Behind him, a hunchbacked assistant with short black hair and a dirt-stained face carried a large pile of clanging rat cages.
"Hey, smelly Cheese, why is there an extra person today?"
Due to frequent contact with dirty dead rats, Cheese always smelled bad.
The royal guards of the Red Keep naturally added the word 'smelly' before his nickname.
"Because queen Helaena is afraid of rats."
"So the intendant increased the reward for each rat."
"This is my old buddy; we're going to make a killing today while there are few people around."
Upon hearing this, Cheese immediately explained, while also slipping a bag of copper stars to the gate-keeping royal guard.
The royal guard weighed the bag with surprise and said with a smile, "Oh, it seems you're really planning to make a fortune!"
"Alright, go in! You know which areas you can't go."
"Don't worry, I don't have that many heads to risk."
After a few playful jokes and taunts, Cheese led the hunchbacked assistant into the inner city.
After moving away from the group of gate-keeping royal guards, the smile on Cheese's face instantly turned to nervousness.
He tilted his head and whispered to the hunchbacked assistant behind him, "I brought you in, where's the rest of the money?"
"After we leave safely, you can go find White Worm to collect your reward."
The hunchbacked assistant, who had kept his head low, raised it, revealing it was Daemon, disguised.
"You? You still want to take people out? This is different from the original agreement."
"Hmm, at least add fifty, no, one hundred golden dragons..."
Roar~~
Just as Cheese was haggling, a dragon's roar came from the direction of the dragonpit.
Immediately after, a large yellow-scaled dragon, visible throughout almost all of King's Landing, flew towards the northwest.
Syrax?
It seems something happened at the dragonpit; we need to hurry.
Looking up and seeing the yellow-scaled dragon, Daemon immediately realized his time was limited.
"I'll add two hundred golden dragons for you, now take me to the royal chambers in Maegor's Holdfast immediately."
"Say one more word of nonsense, and I'll slit your throat and stuff a rat inside."
Feeling the killing intent from Daemon, Cheese's heart trembled, and he immediately obediently led him towards Maegor's Holdfast.
Today was the new king's coronation day, and most of the royal guards and Gold Cloaks were maintaining order at the dragonpit.
So not only in Maegor's Holdfast, but the entire Red Keep had a pitifully small number of royal guards.
Without wasting much time, Daemon and his companion reached the royal chamber area of Maegor's Holdfast.
According to the information obtained by White Worm, Joffrey, little Aegon, and Viserys were imprisoned here.
In fact, Aemond originally wanted to lock the three children in the Black Jail, which was dark and full of death row prisoners.
But queen Alicent, while hating Daemon and Jacaerys who killed Maelor, couldn't bring herself to be cruel to princess Rhaenyra's children.
She directly ordered Joffrey and the other two to be confined to Rhaenyra's former room and assigned four royal guards to watch over them.
Before approaching the destination, Daemon took out dark sister, which was pressed against his back and disguised as a hump with the hilt, and a dagger.
After preparing, Cheese walked around the corner towards the four royal guards, holding his dog in his left hand and a rat cage in his right.
"Damn rat catcher, get lost, this is not where you should be."
The royal guard closest to Cheese frowned and walked towards him while scolding.
Tap tap tap!
Swish!
Daemon, crouching behind Cheese, suddenly darted out like a leopard; dark sister, placed at his waist, was suddenly unsheathed, and he slit a throat with one strike.
Gurgle gurgle gurgle!
The royal guard, who hadn't reacted at all, clutched his neck, spitting blood, and fell to the ground with a crash.
"Assassin, help!"
The other three royal guards shouted upon seeing this and drew their longswords, rushing towards Daemon.
The first royal guard's longsword thrust directly at Daemon's chest, simple and powerful.
And dark sister in Daemon's hand swept horizontally in a backhand strike from left to right.
Clang crash!
dark sister heavily hacked into the middle section of this royal guard's longsword, actually splitting the longsword in two.
Daemon, holding the sword in his right hand, immediately lifted it upwards and flipped his wrist, dark sister extremely smoothly sweeping back again from right to left.
Tear!
The royal guard suddenly stood frozen in place, then a terrifying bloody gash appeared above his left face, and then extended straight down to his right face.
Splash!
Half of the royal guard's head immediately fell to the ground, red and white spilling everywhere.
The remaining two royal guards turned and exchanged glances, immediately adjusting their steps to charge in parallel, wanting to use their numerical advantage to attack Daemon simultaneously.
A joyful smile, enjoying the fight, appeared on Daemon's lips; he stepped forward, relying on the lightness and hardness of dark sister in his hand, to block the two longswords with his own strength.
Bang!
While blocking the opponent's attack, Daemon's right foot directly kicked the royal guard on the right back two steps.
Seizing this opportunity, he attacked the guard on the left with all his might.
In the time it took for two or three sword strikes, he had used dark sister to pierce this guard's armor, entering his heart.
And at this moment, the royal guard on the right rushed forward again.
Unable to pull out dark sister in time, Daemon simply abandoned the sword and drew the dagger from his waist, throwing it out.
Thud!
His throwing skill was terrifyingly accurate; the sharp dagger directly plunged into the eye socket of the royal guard on the right.
Daemon unhurriedly pulled dark sister out of the body of the royal guard on the left, then delivered the final sword strike to the royal guard who was clutching his eye and screaming.
This one-on-four battle lasted only half a minute from start to finish; Daemon directly displayed his superb art of killing.
Creak!
Daemon, splattered with blood, stepped over the bodies on the ground and reached out to push open the door.
Inside the room, the three brothers, who had heard the screams, huddled closely together.
Joffrey, with a bandage wrapped around his left eye, protected his two younger brothers behind him, just as he had done on Dragonstone.
Seeing this scene, Daemon's expression immediately softened considerably.
"Joffrey, Aegon, Viserys, come with me quickly!"
A familiar voice sounded, and only then did Joffrey and the other two recognize Daemon, with short black hair and covered in blood.
"Father!"
Seven-year-old little Aegon and five-year-old Viserys rushed over and hugged Daemon immediately.
Daemon didn't waste words either; after sheathing dark sister, he picked up one in each arm and left the room with Joffrey, who had come forward.
Cheese, waiting anxiously outside the door, saw Daemon come out and immediately walked quickly towards the Tower of the Hand.
He was the person who knew the secret passages of the Red Keep best, and naturally knew where the only usable secret passage was now.
Ser Otto had not sealed the secret passage in the Tower of the Hand to make it easier for Aemond to act and also to leave himself a way out.
But he had added a bolt to this secret passage, which could only be opened from inside the Tower of the Hand.
The Red Keep's defenses today were indeed unprecedentedly weak; it was only several minutes after Daemon and the others had left that four figures arrived at the scene upon hearing the commotion.
The leader was none other than Larys.
If he hadn't heard the sound in queen Helaena's room, Daemon and the others might have escaped the Red Keep before this place was discovered.
Larys, with his very Agile mind, walked around the room and then muttered to himself, "The intruder took three children; it's certainly impossible to force their way out through the main gate of the Red Keep."
"So where could they go?"
"Tower of the Hand... You three, go to the Tower of the Hand quickly!"
He had discovered these secret passages in the Red Keep himself, and naturally had been quietly keeping track of which ones Ser Otto had sealed and which he had left open.
As soon as Larys's order was given, the three royal guards beside him immediately left him and strode forward.
As Hand of the King, one naturally had to serve their king at all times, so the Tower of the Hand and the lower level of Maegor's Holdfast were connected.
When Daemon and the others successfully reached the lower level of Maegor's Holdfast, they happened to encounter the famous White Knight twins, Ser Erryk and arryk cargyll.
These two were originally responsible for security at the dragonpit, but a royal guard informed them that the hand had asked them to find queen Alicent and queen Helaena.
After returning to Maegor's Holdfast, they happened to run into Daemon holding the children.
They didn't recognize Daemon, who was disguised with a haircut and dyed hair, but the features of these three children were too obvious.
Clang!
arryk, who was extremely loyal to the Green Party, drew his longsword immediately; Ser Erryk beside him placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, a complex expression in his eyes.
"You take them and escape first!"
Daemon instructed Cheese, put down his two sons, and drew dark sister.
Through this famous Valyrian steel longsword, arryk and Ser Erryk immediately recognized Daemon.
"The kinslayer Daemon Targaryen is here, quick, someone!"
arryk was quite self-aware, knowing his swordsmanship was not as good as Daemon's.
Before rushing into battle, he also shouted a warning to attract the royal guards in Maegor's Holdfast.
Clang clang clang!
Daemon and arryk became entangled, their two longswords constantly colliding, making a series of clanging sounds.
Although Daemon's weapon and swordsmanship were superior, arryk was a White Knight after all, and he was also distracted by keeping an eye on Joffrey and the other two.
The two of them were locked in a fierce struggle for a while.
During the fight, arryk suddenly glanced at his twin brother standing still and immediately roared, "Ser Erryk, what are you standing there for?
Either fight with me, or go catch those children!"
Ah~~
Just then, a child's scream came from the direction of the Tower of the Hand.
Daemon immediately turned his head and saw three royal guards chasing Joffrey and the other two like eagles chasing chicks.
Five-year-old Viserys was the slowest runner and had already been firmly held in the arms of one royal guard.
And Cheese, seeing the situation was bad, had already run into the Tower of the Hand by himself.
Good opportunity!
arryk saw Daemon make a major mistake due to distraction and seized the opportunity to raise his longsword and hack fiercely towards his head.
Clang!
A longsword inserted from the side at an extremely fast speed, just in time to block this fatal sword strike for Daemon.
"Prince Daemon, leave this to me, go save them quickly!"
Ser Erryk shouted loudly to Daemon and immediately swung the longsword in his hand, attacking the disbelieving arryk.
"Damn Ser Erryk, why?"
"For Viserys I, for honor!"
Daemon ignored the White Knight twins fighting for their respective beliefs; his attention was entirely focused on the three children.
Daemon, unleashing his fastest speed, rushed towards the nearest royal guard like a leopard.
Thud!
This royal guard, who had been unable to catch up to Joffrey, had no time to react and was directly run through the head with a sword, dying on the spot.
And at this moment, seven-year-old little Aegon was also caught by another royal guard and carried on his shoulder.
"Run!"
The two royal guards, knowing they were no match for Daemon, exchanged glances, turned around, and fled in two directions.
"Father, save me!"
"Woo ah~~ Father!"
Aegon and Viserys simultaneously let out piercing cries for help, and Daemon was instantly faced with a difficult choice between the two.
If he missed this opportunity today, saving them again would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
It was very likely that this was the last time he would see his other son.
Tap tap tap!
He hesitated for only one or two seconds in his mind before making his choice.
Daemon rushed directly towards Viserys, who was closest to him.
The royal guard holding Viserys was naturally no match for Daemon.
But he delayed Daemon for a full three or four minutes before dying.
"Prince Daemon, leave here quickly!"
When Daemon returned holding Viserys, Ser Erryk also rushed over holding Joffrey.
arryk, not far away, had been stabbed in the leg and fallen to the ground, but a group of royal guards had appeared at the main gate of Maegor's Holdfast.
Turning his head to glance in the direction little Aegon had disappeared, Daemon decisively ran towards the Tower of the Hand.
After entering the Tower of the Hand, Ser Erryk immediately put Joffrey down, then turned to close the main door and put on the bolt.
Bang bang bang!
As soon as the main door was closed, banging sounds constantly echoed, but with the quality of this door, it was impossible to break it open for a while.
Daemon and the other three quickly climbed up the stairs of the Tower of the Hand.
When they reached the Hand of the King's chambers, they saw that a stone slab with a bolt added to it on the floor had been lifted.
Needless to say, Cheese had escaped through this secret passage.
Daemon, carrying Viserys on his back, was the first to enter this stair tunnel that led straight down.
Ser Erryk then had Joffrey, who could walk on his own, enter it.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and quickly rushed out of the Hand of the King's chambers.
A minute later, he crawled into the secret passage, holding a golden crown engraved with the three-headed dragon sigil in his hand.
This golden crown was the one worn by the king Ser Erryk had served, Viserys I, during his lifetime.
Rustle rustle!
After traveling through the Red Keep's secret passage for nearly twenty minutes, Daemon and the other three emerged from a wardrobe in a bedroom of a civilian house near the Red Keep.
As soon as they exited the secret passage, they saw Cheese, who had been stabbed in the back and was lying on the floor of the room.
"Mother!"
Joffrey and Viserys saw Rhaenyra waiting nearby and immediately rushed to hug her excitedly.
"Joffrey, I'm sorry."
Rhaenyra first apologized to Joffrey with a look of guilt, then suddenly realized something was wrong and turned to ask Daemon, "Where's Aegon?"
Daemon didn't speak, just shook his head at her with a cold face.
"princess Rhaenyra, I have brought you your father's crown."
"Thank you for your loyalty, Ser Erryk."
"Hey, you can reunite after you leave King's Landing!"
'White Worm' mysaria interrupted Rhaenyra and the other's conversation, urging them to leave King's Landing as soon as possible.
After leaving this civilian house, Rhaenyra and the others got into a cargo cart that mysaria had prepared for them in advance.
The Gold Cloaks guarding the major city gates of King's Landing were significantly reduced today.
In addition, Daemon had contacted his old subordinates in advance, and the cargo cart left King's Landing very smoothly.
Of course, a large part of the reason for this was that they did not choose the heavily guarded River Gate and Steel Gate.
The former led to Storm's End, where King Jacaerys's army was located, and the latter led to duskendale before going to Dragonstone.
Rhaenyra and Daemon chose the Dragon Gate; this gate led to the Riverlands, the vale, and the north!