Green wildfire was still licking the wreckage of the warships on the Blackwater Rush when suddenly, rain began to fall from the sky.
The rain over the Blackwater Rush seemed heavier than anywhere else.
It was a rare display of mercy from the gods, attempting to extinguish the wildfire that had devoured tens of thousands of lives. Fog rose from the river surface, and green firelight danced within it, like thousands of wailing ghosts.
A squad of soldiers roared as they pushed against the gate that had been burst open. Guttural roars erupted from their throats as they exerted every ounce of strength, as if intending to perish with this thousand-pound gate.
"Push! Push! Faster, faster, faster!" Martyn waved his chipped longsword, ordering the soldiers to close the city gate.
Through the gate, he could even see the enemy crossing the river. It was the golden rose on a green field, the banner of Highgarden, the banner of House Tyrell.
The green banner fluttered under the sky as dawn approached. Behind it followed an army of tens of thousands.
What do we do? We can't stop them! Martyn felt his heart turn cold.
The Mud Gate defense line had been ravaged by Stannis's army. But now that Stannis had retreated, they were left to clean up this mess.
"Push! Push fast! Push!" Martyn urged anxiously. He knew that if King's Landing fell, they would all die without a burial place.
Given Tywin's cruelty, it would be a miracle if a fraction of their ten-thousand-strong army survived.
Martyn urged them desperately, as if wanting to crush the crossing Reach army between the gate doors.
Boom— With a muffled sound, the city gate closed. But Martyn knew this was only the first step. The gate, having been burst open once, was already riddled with damage.
They needed to build a stone wall behind the gate to reinforce it.
So sandbags, rolling stones, and even corpses were transported toward the gate arch.
At this moment, a cavalry unit had crossed the river. The leader wore blue armor.
His helmet bore exaggerated antlers.
It was Renly's armor, but the person wearing it was Garlan Tyrell, the second son of Mace Tyrell, Duke of Highgarden.
Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger) had suggested he wear Renly's armor to confuse Stannis's troops and strike at their morale.
It had to be said, the effect was quite good. Many people saw him jump out wearing Renly's armor and thought Renly had returned to life.
Along the way, "Renly" captured quite a few of Stannis's officers and Dragonstone nobles.
Even Stannis's "Hand of the King" abandoned his army and fled directly.
Hearing that Stannis's main army was about to retreat, Garlan quickened his march, thinking he might gain more military merits.
But when he arrived under the city walls, he found something wrong. He had never seen the banner on the battlements before.
Direwolf banner? Stark? Why is it on a black field? A bastard?
A series of questions surfaced in Garlan's mind, but one thing was certain: that banner was most likely a Northern banner.
And the North was one hundred percent hostile to their ally, the Westerlands.
If so, didn't that mean King's Landing had fallen?
No!
Garlan shook his head. He remembered the Northern army should still be in the Riverlands. How could they appear in King's Landing?
Just then, another army arrived from the west.
"My Lord, Lord Randyll Tarly's army has arrived."
Randyll Tarly! Garlan was invigorated. Randyll Tarly was the best commander in the Reach!
During Robert's Rebellion, the Reach was initially on the Royalist side, and Randyll Tarly had beaten Robert decisively at the Battle of Ashford.
He was a truly fierce man.
Sure enough, the approaching army marched in neat formations, solemn and majestic, as if grinding forward bit by bit.
Renly's troops, who were whispering about the changing banners on the wall, shut their mouths one by one as they saw Randyll Tarly's army approaching.
Randyll Tarly was formidable in battle and even more so in discipline. Not just with his army—he even managed his family with military strictness.
Useful ones stay; useless ones get out.
This "Earl Tarly" was also the father of Sam, whom Jon befriended at the Wall.
Randyll Tarly despised Sam for only liking books and eating until he was fat, even proposing to become a maester at the Citadel.
House Tarly had relied on swords and battles for generations. The appearance of an anomaly who wanted to play with ink and quills infuriated Randyll Tarly.
In a fit of rage, this strict general and father threatened him: either hunt with him and be killed as prey, or take the black and go to the Wall.
If he treated his own son like this, one could imagine how he treated his soldiers.
When Garlan saw this strict, almost cold general, his whole body stiffened involuntarily.
"Earl Tarly."
"Ser Garlan."
After exchanging greetings, Garlan pointed to the black-field white-wolf banner on the wall and said, "Our enemy seems to have beaten us to it. Should we wait for the main army before preparing to siege?"
Randyll Tarly rode expressionlessly closer to the wall. Garlan quickly had his retinue step forward to protect him.
Randyll Tarly looked down and around. Under the Mud Gate wall, corpses that hadn't been collected in time lay everywhere. Among them were nobles in full armor.
Most of their banners lay scattered on the battlefield like rags, gradually being covered by mud under the beating rain.
Randyll Tarly walked to a corpse lying not far away. He dismounted, took off his glove, and swiped at the corpse's wound, finding the blood viscous but not yet coagulated.
Then he looked up at the wall and saw a scarlet banner representing the Lannisters still fluttering.
He returned to Garlan and said, "Ser, I suggest we begin the siege immediately."
"Now?"
Randyll Tarly pointed to the lion banner on the wall that hadn't fallen yet and said, "Our enemy is lucky, but they haven't held King's Landing for long. They haven't even pushed down all the flags. The King's Landing defense line was nearly collapsed by Stannis. This Northern army must be desperately repairing the defenses. Look at the soldiers moving weapons on the wall; this should be their weakest moment!"
As expected of a battle-hardened general, Randyll Tarly saw through the reality of Jon's defense line at a glance.
Although Garlan and Randyll Tarly led only a vanguard of about four thousand men, they believed they could take the city!
Just as the two were preparing to order the attack, another group of men crossed the Blackwater Rush.
The man was very cautious. Not only did he wear armor, but he also hid behind a group of guards.
He was of medium height, slender build, with a pair of grey-green eyes constantly peering around like a hidden viper.
He was the current Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish.
It was Littlefinger who single-handedly orchestrated the "Mutiny at Bitterbridge," cutting off Stannis's reach into the Reach army.
Then, under orders from Tyrion and Cersei, he facilitated the "Lion-Rose Alliance."
If he could secure victory for the "Lion-Rose Alliance," his position in the "new dynasty" would be pivotal.
At the very least, he could become a lord controlling a region, even if secretly.
Chaos is a ladder. Looking at King's Landing getting closer, Petyr was smug, as if admiring his own masterpiece.
He had climbed a significant distance up the ladder of chaos he created himself!
But seeing the Reach army gathering under the city walls, he felt puzzled.
Since Stannis's army had retreated, why didn't they enter the city?
Like a striking intuition, Petyr suddenly remembered the urging message Tywin sent before their arrival:
Speed up the support, just in case.
"Please hurry, I need to see Ser Garlan," Petyr urged the boatman, though his tone remained gentle.
Knowing this was a big shot, the boatman was flattered to be spoken to so calmly.
But his hands didn't stop, rowing faster.
Soon, the boat docked, and Petyr arrived among Garlan and Randyll Tarly's troops.
Then he received unexpected news.
"The North?" Petyr felt his brain crash for a moment.
Then he asked the same question as Garlan.
Shouldn't the North still be in the Riverlands?
Why are they in King's Landing?
When Petyr saw the familiar yet strange banner on the wall, his face darkened imperceptibly.
Although the black background differed greatly from the Starks', no one but Stark blood would use a direwolf.
Eddard's bastard! Petyr immediately thought of the rumor—Eddard's bastard Jon Snow showed divine might at the Battle of the Green Fork, using a flood to turn defeat into victory.
Not long ago, he set an ambush and killed Tywin's most capable general, The Mountain, allegedly slaying him personally.
Petyr thought Jon killing The Mountain personally might be an exaggeration, just like Robb capturing Jaime Lannister must have relied on soldiers encircling him. But for a young man just come of age, such a record was still too terrifying.
"Do you intend to siege the city now?"
"Yes, Earl Randyll Tarly is in command." Garlan told him the truth, including Randyll Tarly's deduction.
This relaxed Petyr slightly; he almost thought his impending lordship had flown away.
If it really was Jon, his army couldn't be very large.
Holding King's Landing against the combined forces of the Reach and Westerlands would be impossible.
Petyr gathered his thoughts and said, "My Lords, since the Northerners have breached King's Landing, taking the Red Keep will still take some effort. Besides, Princess Myrcella and Prince Tommen have been moved out of King's Landing. We can attack freely and deal the Northerners a head-on blow!"
"Mm."
Garlan nodded, but his heart was shaken.
His reaction was a bit slow; he hadn't even thought of that just now.
If Jon captured and killed Robert and Cersei's three children, the Reach and Westerlands alliance would be pointless.
They would have been busy for nothing.
But hearing Myrcella and Tommen were moved out of the city, he felt much relieved.
Even if Joffrey died, it didn't matter.
The basis for the alliance still existed.
Soon, the troops brought by Garlan and Randyll Tarly were ready.
It was now dawn. The last lion banner on the wall had just been pushed down.
And they could almost clearly see the busy defenders on the wall.
Inside the city gate—
"Lord Martyn, Jon asks if the wall is built."
A soldier was sent to ask, but looking at the stone wall only one-third built, Martyn wanted to cry but had no tears.
He had anxiously joined in himself, but time was just too tight; it was impossible!
"Tell him, give me another quarter hour—no, half a quarter hour! I will definitely build it!"
Unexpectedly, the soldier said, "Lord Jon said to build the stone wall sturdily. He will buy you enough time."
Hearing that Jon wasn't rushing him but buying him time instead, Martyn was incredibly moved.
"Tell the Lord to rest assured, I will block this place tight!"
Outside the city gate—
"Prepare for siege!" Randyll Tarly ordered.