Chapter 163: Littlefinger Alarmed, Chaos in Gulltown
The Vale, the Eyrie
This was the Moon Tower of the Eyrie, a place where once only the Lord of the Vale could reside. However, today, Littlefinger, Petyr Baelish, had moved in quite grandly.
"The happiest thing in life is to defeat your enemy, live in his house, taste his wife, and use his belongings."
After finishing a bout of lovemaking with Lady Lysa Arryn, the thin but well-endowed Littlefinger said these words with some delight.
At this moment, Lady Lysa had fallen completely unconscious. Exposed as she was, she appeared quite charming; once she shed that acerbic and mean-spirited expression, this daughter of House Tully still possessed a bit of alluring grace.
After licking away the white fluid overflowing from the corner of his mouth, Littlefinger was very satisfied with his decision to keep demanding that Lady Lysa continue breastfeeding.
Although Littlefinger had not succeeded in keeping Sansa Stark, the daughter of his enemy, during the previous actions in King's Landing, at least he still had Lady Lysa to use as he pleased.
Littlefinger had long since planned that once he controlled the Vale and the Riverlands, he would find a way to take the North. By then, Catelyn Stark and Sansa, whom he constantly thought of, would naturally not escape his grasp.
After casually throwing on a robe, Littlefinger walked nonchalantly toward a desk in the bedroom.
This desk was called the Hero's Chair by the people of the Vale. Rumor had it that the famous Falcon Knight, Artys Arryn, had signed the order to attack the kings of the First Men on this very piece of furniture.
Just as Littlefinger was about to sit in the chair to experience the majesty of the Lord of the Vale, a light knock on the door reached his ears.
"Come in!"
Accompanied by the clinking of a maester's chain, the young Maester Colemon appeared behind the door. He walked directly to the desk as if he didn't see the lewd scene in the bedroom.
"Honorable Lord Petyr! This is a letter I just received. Please examine it!"
"Mm! Good. It seems Royland has taken good care of you. Keep it up; you'll get everything you deserve."
After taking the letter, Littlefinger couldn't help but tease the maester in front of him.
Maester Colemon had always been his man. This young maester had been bought by Littlefinger long before entering King's Landing. Originally, Littlefinger intended to dump him on Grand Maester Pycelle to scout out the old man's true strength, but the other party saw through his intentions and kicked the maester out of King's Landing.
"Hmm! What!? How is this possible!"
Littlefinger, who had been in a good mood, saw his expression change instantly upon receiving this raven message, and he even shouted out loud.
"How is Gulltown gone? Is that fellow Jeyne Grafton a pig? Isn't Gulltown his territory? How could he fail to manage even this!"
"Oh! Darling, what's wrong?"
Hearing Littlefinger's cursing, Lady Lysa climbed out of bed and looked at Littlefinger with some panic and fear.
The Vale, Gulltown
Meanwhile, in the Vale's largest port, Gulltown, a secret power grab was underway with intense preparation.
Due to the crisis at Ironoaks and the obstruction around the Gates of the Moon, Lord Jeyne Grafton had to send half of his City Watch soldiers as reinforcements for Ironoaks.
However, only ten days after the allied forces departed, various malicious incidents began to erupt in Gulltown. First, dockworkers went on a massive strike over wage issues, followed by a collective protest and closure of Flour Street and Bacon Street due to House Grafton's price-control policies.
It was precisely because of this that Lord Jeyne Grafton instinctively felt something was wrong. Thus, he hurriedly gathered the town's mercenaries to form a temporary guard, preparing to suppress those who dared to offend his authority.
"We need to live! We want bread!"
"We've been closed for so many days, how are we supposed to live..."
"Damn House Grafton..."
"You nobles are all worthless..."
...
In the warehouse district of Gulltown's docks, countless dockworkers holding short clubs were shouting around the harbor tax office. Due to Stannis Baratheon's blockade, during this period, aside from small trades with the North and Braavos...
There were basically no foreign ships at the docks of Gulltown. Many dockworkers and captains were unemployed as a result. Although the Gulltown Merchants' Guild had initially issued some subsidy policies, as time went on, these merchants could no longer hold out.
At this time, Jon secretly added fuel to the fire, directly isolating the entire Vale from Gulltown. Upon hearing this news, the moles Jon had placed among these dockworkers immediately became active.
These dockworkers were already on the verge of being unable to survive. Now, upon receiving the news spread by Jon's side that House Grafton was going to increase taxes, these dockworkers could no longer sit still.
"Wooo..."
Just as the dockworkers were clamoring for the harbor tax official to come out and speak, the sound of horns echoed across Gulltown's Seagull Square.
Following that, under the terrified and bewildered gazes of these dockworkers, a large crowd of armed mercenaries and City Watch soldiers surged forward aggressively.
The leader was named Tykes Grafton, the heir to Lord Jeyne Grafton and the commander specifically in charge of the Gulltown City Watch. Upon learning that these dockworkers were preparing for an armed uprising...
This young and impetuous Tykes Grafton led the army directly there. When he saw the smashed harbor tax office, the suppressed anger in his heart flared up instantly.
"In the name of Lord Jeyne Grafton of Gulltown, I demand that you rebels immediately lay down your weapons and kneel in surrender! If you continue to resist, I will issue the order to attack!"
"Hu-ha!"
Following Tykes Grafton's shout, the soldiers he brought also instinctively gripped their weapons and shouted loudly.
The dockworkers had never seen such a display. Seeing this, they all instinctively backed away. Just then, a bald middle-aged man emerged from the crowd.
"Honorable Ser, we can barely survive. Why increase taxes? Why not pay us our wages?"
Amidst the man's shouts, the fearful expressions on the dockworkers' faces vanished. In this situation, if they retreated, it would mean they accepted the tax-hike proposal. Since they would die either way, some bold dockworkers began to have other ideas.
Swish...
"Ugh... You... You all..."
Just then, a feathered arrow suddenly shot out from Tykes Grafton's side. The dockworker leader who had just spoken was struck directly in the chest by the sharp arrow. After pointing a finger at Tykes, the man collapsed into the crowd.
Right then, bursts of screams erupted from the crowd.
"They killed Uncle Lemon!"
"They're going to kill us..."
"These despicable nobles..."
...
As the screams continued, the dockworkers' side fell into complete chaos. Under the instigation of those people, the dockworkers holding clubs charged directly at Tykes Grafton's side.
"Who among you shot that arrow? Didn't I say to wait for my command?"
"Protect Lord Tykes!"
"Assassin!"
"Ouch..."
"Kill them!"
...
While Tykes Grafton was loudly reprimanding those around him, his side suddenly fell into chaos. Many people dressed as mercenaries pulled lime powder from their robes and threw it into the faces of the City Watch soldiers beside them.
Under these sneak attacks, Tykes Grafton's side fell into total disarray. The mercenaries and Gulltown City Watch soldiers began fighting each other in their confusion. Initially, some officers tried to step forward to stop it.
But after only a few minutes, those who dared to shout were stabbed by the people beside them. In the chaos, Tykes Grafton saw several mercenaries take off their cloaks to reveal City Watch uniforms.
"All members of the City Watch, hear my command! Quickly gather at the square, regardless of the surroundings, hur—ouch!"
Sensing that something was wrong, Tykes Grafton very keenly realized where the problem lay, so he shouted for those around him to gather at the square.
Unfortunately, before he could finish, he was knocked off his horse by a hammer. In a daze, Tykes Grafton saw a very familiar face.
It was the face of his knightly squire, Andar Stone. But now, there was no trace of the usual respect or envy on his face; there was only cruelty and bloodlust.
Clang, clang, clang...
With Tykes Grafton's fall, the sound of bells began to ring throughout Gulltown. These were the warning bells rung only during emergencies.
"What's happening?"
"What's wrong?"
"Get home quickly!"
...
With the sound of these bells, many Gulltown residents who were accustomed to a peaceful life didn't feel anything was particularly strange. However, as the sounds of fighting and the appearance of smoke and fire grew, some shrewd people keenly sensed the arrival of danger.
Thus, those who owned houses quickly ran back to their homes and bolted their doors and windows shut. Some who owned weapons even pulled them out of their storage rooms.
While Gulltown was in an uproar, in the distant Crackclaw Bay, warships flying the direwolf sigil had already arrived quietly. Meanwhile, the warships belonging to Gulltown were unable to set out in time due to various accidents.
The Northern fleet had arrived, and Gulltown had fallen into complete chaos. Now, they were just waiting for Jon to take it over entirely.
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