Riverlands, Twin River City.
Lord Forrester, no, Duke Forrest, looked at the east bank castle, which was much grander than before, with a sincere and brilliant smile on his face.
Whoosh, whoosh!
A pearly white dragon descended from the sky and landed in front of him.
Prince Lucerys, whose height was at least seven or eight centimeters taller than before, jumped down from Arrax.
He said excitedly, "Duke Forrest, the final tower has also been topped off.
The reconstruction of Twin River City is officially completed, right?"
"Yes! Prince Lucerys, you have worked hard.
Without the assistance of your dragon, it would have been absolutely impossible to complete it in just over half a year."
Duke Forrest lowered his posture significantly when speaking.
Because he knew how he got his dukedom.
"Great, I can finally return to King's Landing!"
"Uh, Prince Lucerys, why don't you wait a few more days.
I will first report to King's Landing with a raven letter."
Seeing Prince Lucerys turn to leave, Duke Forrest immediately asked.
Although king had outwardly sent his younger brother to assist him in rebuilding Twin River City with a dragon.
But he knew through certain channels that this was actually a punishment for Prince Lucerys for something that happened over half a year ago.
And it wasn't just Prince Lucerys, even House Velaryon and House Celtigar were implicated.
"You're right, I forgot everything when I got excited.
Duke Forrest, then I'll trouble you to send a letter to your majesty first to report!"
It was obvious that Lucerys's personality was much more stable than it was half a year ago.
He forcibly suppressed his excitement, turned around, and intended to take Arrax to the dragonpit specially built for it in Twin River City.
Tap, tap, tap!
Just then, the scholar of Twin River City rushed towards them with a raven letter in his hands.
Seeing this, Duke Forrest immediately went up to meet him, took the letter, and examined it.
Lucerys, who was beside him, also noticed something was wrong and immediately stopped to wait for Duke Forrest to finish reading the letter.
Duke Forrest handed the letter in his hand to Lucerys and said with a gloomy face, "king has issued a call to arms to all lords in the Seven Kingdoms!"
"There's going to be a war? Against whom? Could it be that another great house in the Seven Kingdoms has rebelled?
Could it be House Tully?"
Lucerys stepped forward a few paces upon hearing this, took the letter, and examined it carefully.
Ever since he made a mistake last time and was lectured by his brother, he had been holding back his anger and was eager to try upon hearing this news.
However, Duke Forrest was the complete opposite; their Frey Family had won the gamble in the last Blood Dragon Dance.
Although the cost was relatively high, they have now replaced House Tully as the guardian family of the Riverlands.
For a family at the level of the Frey Family, slowly settling down, developing, and increasing the family's foundation is the best choice.
But when their liege lord calls, they cannot refuse!
Logically speaking, Lucerys could have flown back to King's Landing on his dragon right now.
But having been taken care of by Duke Forrest for the past six months, he was worried that the other party might make a wrong choice in a moment of confusion.
After all, he knew his brother's personality and methods well.
Three days later, Lucerys rode with Duke Forrest and the two thousand veterans and three thousand new recruits he had gathered with all his might, heading south along the King's Road.
Lucerys, who had been stuck in Twin River City for over half a year, felt as free and relaxed as a bird escaping its cage the moment he stepped onto the King's Road.
With the implementation of king's new policies, the living standards and happiness of the common people in the Seven Kingdoms have significantly improved.
The towns along the King's Road, which were only considered relatively lively before, can now be described as prosperous.
This is because with the halving of commercial taxes, a large number of merchant caravans and traveling merchants traveling north and south have driven the development of these towns.
Furthermore, Lucerys noticed that both the towns along the way and the passing merchants wore a unified dragon emblem.
He looked closely at the merchants' dragon necklaces and saw a figure wearing armor on the dragon's head.
Lucerys immediately understood that this was the emblem of the Dragon God Church, which he had heard of before, founded by his brother.
When the Frey army reached the lower reaches of the Green Fork River, they could already see the Mountains of the Moon in the vale from a distance.
In the past, those merchant caravans would have definitely followed closely behind the Frey army to pass through this area, which was prone to being plundered by the mountain clans, as quickly as possible.
But now they didn't need to worry, because the mountain clans who refused to bow down to king had long since turned into charred ashes under Dracarys.
The Mountains of the Moon, which were once overgrown with weeds and trees, have now become terraced fields filled with crops, and busy figures are diligently harvesting in the terraces.
When the Frey army arrived at the crossroads, Duke Forrest announced that they would set up camp and rest there.
However, the crossroads now had changed from a single lonely inn to a small village primarily focused on lodging and dining.
As a noble prince and the new Duke of the Riverlands, they naturally stayed in the inn with the best conditions, the Twin Crowns Inn (later the Crossroads Inn).
The name of this Twin Crowns Inn was not chosen arbitrarily; it was to show the glory of Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne having stayed there.
Upon learning of the noble status of Lucerys and the others, the innkeeper immediately showed a thousand percent enthusiasm in welcoming them.
When Lucerys said he was hungry and wanted to eat, the innkeeper immediately took out a special menu.
"Volcano Meat Slices, Dragon Scale Green Peppers, Dracarys Braised Chicken?
Uh, what are these things?"
Lucerys frowned and asked, looking at the completely unfamiliar dishes on the menu.
"Prince, you must not have been to King's Landing for a long time.
These are all dishes I specially learned from the noble chefs in King's Landing.
I heard that these were all developed by king, and basically all the nobles in King's Landing are eating these dishes now."
The innkeeper immediately nodded and bowed in response upon hearing this.
"king also develops dishes?
Alright then, bring me one of every dish on your menu."
When Duke Forrest heard that these dishes were developed by king and were already being enjoyed by the nobles in King's Landing.
Worried that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the king's pace and fall behind, he didn't order any more dishes and simply generously told the other party to bring one of every dish.
The innkeeper's face lit up with joy upon hearing this; these dishes, which only nobles were currently enjoying, were expensive, and he had made a good profit today.
Afterward, the innkeeper personally cooked, and with the help of the original chef, he started making the dishes according to the menu.
As soon as a dish was ready, he would immediately have an inn servant deliver it to Lucerys and the other person.
The first dish presented to them was Volcano Meat Slices.
A large basin filled with bright red chili peppers, minced garlic, minced scallions, and pork slices was brought to the table.
Lucerys and the other person were about to taste this never-before-seen dish immediately, but were stopped by the servant serving the dish, who asked them to move back a little.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
Then a servant walked to the table and poured a small pot of boiling hot oil over it.
The basin of pork slices instantly erupted like a volcano, sizzling while the oil splashed in all directions.
Lucerys sniffed the mouth-watering aroma and marveled at how the name Volcano Meat Slices was indeed fitting.
After the servant gestured for them to enjoy, Lucerys immediately used a fork to pick up a slice of pork wrapped in red oil from the basin and put it into his mouth.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
Lucerys blew on the hot pork slice in his mouth while also chewing it with his teeth.
The tender meat, the intense spicy aroma, every bite gave Jacaerys a sense of satisfaction, making him intoxicated and unable to stop.
Although Duke Forrest was not as exaggerated as Lucerys, when he tasted the delicious meat slices, his eyes also widened, and he kept picking up slices and putting them in his mouth.
And this was just the beginning!
Dragon Scale Green Peppers were green peppers that looked more like tiger skin than dragon scales, with a delicious and refreshing taste that was both sweet and sour with a hint of spiciness.
Dracarys Braised Chicken was even more peculiar, covered in a ball of dried mud.
But when the mud was opened, inside was a fragrant braised chicken.
There was also a copper pot filled with spicy red oil, where various meat and vegetable ingredients were cooked, making Lucerys and the other person sweat profusely.
In any case, this meal truly opened their eyes and made them feel the changes in the outside world.
Of course, the price of this table of delicacies was absolutely astronomical for commoners.
However, in the eyes of Lucerys and the other person, the price was indeed worthy of these delicacies.
After enjoying the delicious food, they rested well for the night, and after having a similarly unique breakfast the next morning, they set off again.
After marching for another three days, Lucerys and his group arrived at the newly renovated and maintained Dragon Gate.
As soon as they passed through the Dragon Gate and entered King's Landing, Lucerys and the other person saw Prince Joffrey and earl samwell waiting on horseback.
"Joff!"
"Second Brother!"
The two brothers, who hadn't seen each other for over half a year, almost simultaneously jumped off their horses and then hugged each other tightly.
"Tsk tsk, you little guy have grown quite a bit!"
"Oh dear, Second Brother, you're actually making fun of me, aren't you! You're much taller than me."
Joffrey, who was chatting with his brother, suddenly seemed to discover something and stared closely at Joffrey's left eye, asking, "Joff, your eye..."
"Is it very realistic?
Actually, this is a prosthetic eye, made for me by Sister Ela.
Big Brother... uh, your majesty also said he would give me a prosthetic eye that can shoot lasers in the future.
Although I don't know what a laser is, it must be a good thing.
As the esteemed Dragon God, he wouldn't lie and deceive a child like me, would he!"
Joffrey rubbed his incredibly realistic prosthetic eye and replied upon hearing his second brother's question.
"Hmm, yes, there's definitely no mistake in listening to your majesty!
Has anything interesting happened in the past half year that I've been away?"
"Too much, your majesty has many wonderful ideas brought down from the divine realm.
You can experience these slowly, and I'll secretly tell you a huge piece of news.
One of your majesty's queens is pregnant with a baby, we're going to be uncles!"
"Really? Who is pregnant? Is it Sister Baela?"
While Lucerys and his brother were chatting excitedly for a long time, Duke Forrest and earl samwell, who hadn't seen each other in a while, also gathered together.
These two men could be considered good brothers who had fought side by side in the past, and they had long ago formed an offensive and defensive alliance between their two families, as well as a marriage agreement for the next generation.
"Haha, the esteemed Duke Forrest has finally returned from repairing the city!"
"Hehe, repairing the city is better than being your Sea Minister who fishes every day, right!"
"Long time no see!"
After a round of mutual teasing, the two men used heavy punches to pound each other, closing the slightly estranged relationship between them.
"Sam, who is your majesty planning to conquer with this call to arms?"
"I don't know, due to the terraced field transformation, the autumn harvest in the Seven Kingdoms has been unprecedentedly abundant.
Our Dragon God King has fulfilled his promise, not only allowing the followers of the Dragon God Church but also all the citizens of the Seven Kingdoms to eat their fill.
Correspondingly, the population will explode, and the Seven Kingdoms will enter an unprecedented period of prosperity.
But at this important moment, your majesty suddenly issued a call to arms.
Ever since the mountain clans were burned by your majesty's dragon, let alone any noble rebellions.
Even those Ironmen from the Iron Islands are behaving themselves and plundering the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea.
So there are no enemies in the Seven Kingdoms at all, and we have no idea why your majesty issued the call to arms!"
Regarding Duke Forrest's question, earl samwell could be said to have told everything he knew, holding nothing back.
Seeing that he also had no clue, Duke Forrest stopped asking further questions.
The Frey Family's army was camped outside the city, and their two groups merged into one and headed towards the Red Keep.
From the Dragon Gate, following Silent Sisters Street all the way to Aegon's Square, the scenery along the way immediately made Lucerys and the other person feel the rapid changes in King's Landing.
First of all, the sanitation, although it cannot be said to be spotless, it is definitely no longer the smell of urine and feces that could be smelled even outside the city in the past.
Even if a horse defecated while traveling, if the owner did not clean it up, they would pay a fee to the sanitation supervisors wearing yellow vests for cleaning.
Then there was the mental state; although the population of King's Landing was very large before.
But most commoners were just struggling to survive, and most people's faces were numb.
Besides the chaotic stalls of various kinds on the streets, there were many ragged little beggars,
They would either gather around people to beg or take the opportunity to steal.
Their numbers were enormous, and 'the Spider' Varys, over a hundred years later, relied on them to become the Master of Whisperers.
But now, the pedestrians on the streets have rosy faces, talking and laughing as they walk, full of hope and aspirations for their future lives.
And there are basically no little beggars on the streets, the stalls along the street are neat and orderly, and at a glance, there is a feeling of a prosperous era.
Finally, there is a very prominent giant landmark building.
A giant dragon statue, dozens of meters high, stands on Visenya's Hill.
This dragon is clearly Womax, depicted with its head raised as if roaring.
And on the top of its head, a statue of Jacaerys stands with his arms outstretched, as if embracing all living beings.
"Uh, what is that giant statue?
I remember that before I left King's Landing, that was the site of the Sept of Remembrance."
Duke Forrest looked at the giant statue with a shocked expression and asked.
"That is the symbol of the Dragon God Church!
Six months ago, king Jacaerys rode several dragons and used Dracarys to melt the top of a mountain, then brought it back directly and carved this magnificent statue, thirty meters high."
"Brother's dragon melted a mountain?
My god! My Arrax can't even melt a stone!"
"Prince Lucerys, don't be discouraged.
Besides this living Dragon God, probably no human can achieve this level.
Let's go! Your majesty is still waiting in the Throne Room!"
earl samwell briefly introduced the statue and then urged the shocked Lucerys and Duke Forrest to hurry along.
Joffrey, who was beside them, saw his second brother looking like a country bumpkin entering the city and covered his mouth to chuckle to himself.
When they arrived at the Throne Room of the Red Keep, Jacaerys was seated on the Iron Throne, and the Throne Room was filled with lords from the Seven Kingdoms.
It turned out that the Frey Family was the last to be summoned.
Seeing that everyone was present, Jacaerys stood up directly, spread his arms, and announced loudly, "The evil gods of Essos have been manipulating those barbarians to harass Westeros.
As the Dragon God who protects Westeros, and the king who protects the people of the Seven Kingdoms.
I declare a holy war against Essos!"