*
Harrenhal, Riverlands
On a wide road outside Harrenhal in the Riverlands, Jon's Targaryen army was conducting intense and orderly preparations for a siege.
Their army had been stationed here for nearly a month. During this time, Jon had decisively launched a surprise raid, directly cutting off Tywin Lannister's supply lines.
Tywin Lannister was the commander of this operation. Upon learning that Jon had personally come south, the old lord took it very seriously, leading fifty thousand troops to garrison Harrenhal and sending soldiers ahead to harass Jon's rear base.
Therefore, after Jon stationed his troops outside Harrenhal, he also dispatched forces to sever Lord Tywin's supply lines, intending to starve him out inside Harrenhal.
However, in response to Jon's move, the old lord had the sudden inspiration to send grain across the Gods Eye, attempting to bypass Jon's blockade via the waterway to supply the garrison inside the castle.
The Gods Eye is located south of Harrenhal, and the south gate is Harrenhal's Water Gate. The waters of the Gods Eye flow south into the Blackwater River, and Lord Tywin used this method to transport supplies by boat on the river known as the Gods Eye River.
Meanwhile, in the military camp outside Harrenhal, Jon sat upon a throne. In the center of the tent below him, the Green Men, who had become Elemental Summoners, were reporting on the preparations made during this period.
"Respected Your Majesty Aegon, our descent array is ready. It can be used for the ritual to summon the Storm God."
Although Jon had received the blessings of the gods, he still could not compare to these natives when it came to using the magic of this world.
To break through Harrenhal, Jon intended to use the methods of these Green Men to bring down heavenly thunder upon this already dilapidated castle.
Under normal circumstances, ordinary lightning or magical thunderstorms do not cause much damage to buildings, and such damage is often incidental. One might exhaust all their energy only to find the castle still intact.
But Harrenhal was different. This castle, with over three hundred years of history, had been scorched by fire right after its completion. Since then, maintenance had been impossible, and many of its towers were already in a precarious, swaying state.
Therefore, Jon was very confident this time. As long as they could blast down one of these towers, the already ruined outer walls would collapse under the heavy impact.
By doing this, Jon wouldn't need to sacrifice lives to take the castle. As the king of castles on the continent of Westeros, even a great castle like Winterfell was only a third of its size.
If it weren't for the fact that this castle was known as a cursed place, it likely would have been rebuilt long ago.
"Good, then begin the operation immediately! We must move quickly; those fellows from the Reach won't be kind enough to let us stay here forever."
Tywin Lannister wouldn't rely on just one trick. He must have gathered a large army to pincer him; Jon understood this very well.
In the exposed terrain of the Riverlands, there was no natural defense to hold. If Jon were stalled here and another large army ambushed him from behind, he would inevitably face defeat.
Although he could summon a dragon form to fight at a critical moment, Jon's intelligence officers in King's Landing had sent word that King's Landing and the Riverlands were rushing to produce scorpions. It seemed Maester Qyburn had indeed reached King's Landing and gained the trust of House Lannister.
However, one thing was going well: Jon's wife, Jeyne Arryn, had led the remaining forces of the Vale through the Lannister blockade and delivered the troops to the vicinity of Riverrun.
Jon's isolated force was meant to draw fire; the true killing blow was at Riverrun. Once the army from the Reach appeared, the main force, led by the lords of the Riverlands, would directly strike the rear of the Reach coalition.
Whoosh…
Following Jon's command, the Green Men inside the tent immediately left and began walking toward the massive stone circle in the center of the camp.
It was a giant spiral stone array, evenly distributed across a large open space. Each stone pillar serving as part of the array held a piece of dragonglass. Under the influence of a strange power, these stones emitted a faint blue light and shadow.
"Begin!"
At Gray's command, the Green Men began to dance in the center of the stone array. It was a frantic dance, full of wildness and primal energy. Seeing them dance like this, onlookers couldn't help but think of the ancient First Men during a hunt.
"What are they doing?"
Among the onlookers, Sansa Stark asked Arya Stark beside her with curiosity.
"I heard Jon say they seem to be summoning ancient gods!"
"How many times have I told you? You must call him His Majesty Aegon. It's too impolite to do otherwise!"
Upon hearing Arya's way of addressing him, Sansa couldn't help but lecture her.
"Jon doesn't mind, so why do you care so much?"
Arya curled her lip in dissatisfaction.
"By the way, didn't I hear mother say she wants you to consider an alliance through marriage with White Harbor? What do you think?"
"You… how did you know!"
Sansa said in disbelief after hearing Arya's question.
"Did you eavesdrop on our conversation?"
"Pfft, I was listening out in the open. I was practicing my Skinchanger powers and accidentally ended up outside your window."
Arya said without blinking or blushing after hearing Sansa's words.
"I haven't thought about it. I only want to continue helping Aegon… er… His Majesty!"
As Sansa said this, she seemed to think of something, and her face unwittingly turned red.
"I know! You like Jon too, that…"
Rumble…
Just as Arya was about to say more, peals of thunder suddenly echoed from the sky. Immediately after, a mass of dark gray rain clouds gathered above Harrenhal.
This sudden change surprised the soldiers. They all looked up at the sky, witnessing the formation of this rain cloud.
As time passed, the rain clouds accumulated more and more, becoming as black as a massive shroud, as if water could drip from them at any moment.
Its shape constantly shifted, sometimes expanding and sometimes contracting, looking like dough in the hands of a god.
At that moment, a deafening crack of thunder resounded throughout Harrenhal. After building up for so long, this sudden burst of terrifying energy startled everyone, as if someone were striking their hearts with a heavy hammer.
The "rumbling" thunder filled the soldiers with awe; they felt the power and unpredictability of nature.
With the thunder, lightning began to flicker within the rain clouds, like silver serpents weaving through the dark layers.
These bolts of lightning tore through the night sky, illuminating all of Harrenhal, making people marvel at the wonder and majesty of nature.
Just as the soldiers thought it was actually going to rain, Jon, who had already changed his equipment, walked directly to the front of the magic stone array.
Under Jon's control, he took the magic book 'Thunderstorm' out of his item space. Soon, influenced by the terrifying storm in the sky, Jon's Thunderstorm also accumulated powerful energy.
Rumble…
Crack…
Following Jon's manipulation, the first bolt of lightning struck one of the five main towers of Harrenhal. The searing high-temperature energy left a terrifying mark on the already precarious tower.
Meanwhile, the Lannister soldiers stationed inside Harrenhal were all shocked by this terrifying scene.
"Everything was fine just a moment ago. Why did a terrifying thunderstorm suddenly appear?"
This question lingered in everyone's hearts. Many clever people actually already knew the answer, but they simply didn't dare to face it.
"What do we do now? Are we just going to stay here and wait for death?"
Avis of the Green Fluorite and Kaseda of the Blue Sapphire, both members of the Gem Knights, looked at the eerie thundercloud in the sky with faces full of terror.
"Think of something! Aren't you a mage?"
Avis shook his head at the rambling Kaseda after seeing that terrifying lightning, indicating he had no solution at all.
"Dammit!"
Rumble…
As Kaseda roared in frustration, another bolt of lightning descended from the sky. Jon's luck was quite good this time; this terrifying lightning once again struck the already swaying high tower.
Under the influence of this fearsome power, the high tower, which could no longer support its own weight, began to slowly collapse.
It fell with an incredibly terrifying momentum; it seemed no power except that of the legendary gods could withstand the force of its collapse.
"Aaaaah…"
The Lannister soldiers hiding in the other towers looked like they had seen a ghost when they saw the soldiers falling from that tower. While they were relieved not to be in that specific tower, they were also terrified that the tower they were in would collapse in the next moment.
Rumble…
With the collapse of the tower, the already dilapidated west wall of Harrenhal was smashed, creating a massive breach.
As the wall collapsed, the broken bricks and debris kicked up a cloud of dust over ten meters high.
"Long live!"
"Long live the Dragon King!"
"Long live Lord Aegon!"
…The Targaryen soldiers under Jon's command became excited upon seeing this miraculous scene. They shouted "Long live," tightly gripping their weapons as they waited for the command to attack.
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