Above the sky, Tyrion once again saw the red comet, so terrifying. When Tyrion was on the Kingsroad, the comet almost covered half the sky, completely obscuring the light of the new moon.
The desolation everywhere made the acting hand of the king, Tyrion Lannister, very worried, seemingly confirming his suspicions.
"What do the people of king's landing call this comet?" Tyrion asked.
The Captain of the Guard said, "The common folk on the streets call it the 'Red Messenger.' They say this comet heralds the appearance of a new king and warns of the blood and fire that will follow. However, many sycophants in the court say the red star illuminates the king's future."
"Future?" Tyrion almost laughed.
Under the ominous sign of the red comet, the people of king's landing were already in such disarray from the aftereffects of war. If an enemy fleet truly appeared on the horizon, the future would only be more difficult.
Tyrion finally understood how difficult it was to protect a city full of hungry mouths. King's Landing was the largest city in Westeros, and the largest port after Oldtown, with a population of about 500,000. Plus, with residents fleeing into the city due to war, the population would only be greater. However, commercial value could not be translated into military terms; King's Landing's defenses remained weak.
Fortunately, Tyrion's mind was very sharp. He knew to grasp the key points of war: troops, grain supplies, intelligence, finances, Cersei, and her children (heirs). He couldn't control Joffrey, but Prince Tommen, the second heir, and Princess Myrcella, who could be married off, also held great value. It was impossible to have abundant grain now; The Imp couldn't conjure grain out of thin air, so he had to consider defense and troop strength.
"What countermeasures does my dear sister have?" Tyrion asked Captain Vylar.
"She is gradually restoring order within the kingdom," Vylar assured him. "Lord Janos Slynt has tripled the size of the City Watch, and the Queen Regent has dispatched a thousand craftsmen to build defensive fortifications. Stonemasons are thickening the city walls, carpenters are making hundreds of giant scorpions and catapults, fletchers are busy making arrows, blacksmiths are forging swords and daggers, and the Alchemists' Guild is willing to provide ten thousand jars of wildfire."
"wildfire." Tyrion shifted uneasily in his saddle upon hearing this. He was glad Cersei wasn't sitting idly by. The large population of King's Landing was indeed beneficial; although these slippery citizens were not as brave in battle as simple farmers, there were plenty of craftsmen and no shortage of skilled labor. Carpenters, stonemasons, blacksmiths, and fletchers working at full capacity would be enough to arm King's Landing into a sharp-toothed beast of war.
But the incendiary was truly unreliable; ten thousand jars of such a substance were enough to burn King's Landing to ashes. Cersei might have seen the power of wildfire, but not its terror. Once wildfire was ignited, it would burn whatever it touched to cinders and could burn for a long time. It could seep into clothes, wood, leather, and even steel, setting them all ablaze. wildfire could even burn on water.
wildfire was not absent from the history of King's Landing. During the Great Spring Sickness (after the spring of 209 AC), Brynden Rivers, the hand of the king, advised the new King Aerys I to transport the bodies to the Dragonpit and have the Pyromancers burn them all. It was said that the flames of the wildfire during the burning of the bodies made King's Landing glow in the night. Prince Aerion Brightflame even swallowed a jar of wildfire, intending to transform himself into a dragon. As for the Mad King's obsession with wildfire, it was common knowledge.
In the urgency of the situation, Tyrion did not notice the captain's mention of the astonishing wildfire production and the Alchemists' sudden surge in productivity (attributable to the magic tide after the red comet).
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