As Ser Barristan prepared to depart, Kevan had already rushed before Cersei to give her a fierce scolding.
"Cersei! What are you doing? Do you have any idea what will happen if you cast out Ser Barristan, who just quelled the King's Landing riots? Those mobs only settled down for Ser Barristan's sake. What if they riot again once Ser Barristan is gone?"
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The Queen Regent, however, was indifferent: "Our Lannister army is invincible in Westeros. If the King's Landing mobs dare to cause trouble, we can simply suppress them directly."
Hearing this, Kevan's entire face turned beet red. He roared at the guards outside the door:
"Someone! Escort the Queen Regent back to her chambers to rest!"
Kevan no longer wanted to argue with Cersei. The most important thing now was to quickly bring Barristan back, even if it meant losing the face of House Lannister.
However, at that moment, a subordinate brought news to Kevan:
"Lord Kevan, the Queen Regent just sent people to assassinate Ser Barristan. They have likely encountered him by now!"
"What?!!!"
The subordinate before him was Kevan's personal guard; he wouldn't make such a joke. That meant Cersei had truly done such a thing.
"Quick! Go stop them! Don't let them actually start fighting!"
Kevan led a large group of people and charged grandly in the direction Barristan had left. They galloped and crashed through the streets along the way, causing the nearby residents to complain bitterly.
Kevan rushed anxiously toward the coast, but it was already too late. Everyone present saw the fragments scattered all over the ground.
There were over 30 corpses in total, and every single one had been wearing a full set of plate armor before death. Such a move was undoubtedly Cersei's handiwork.
But what was unsettling was that none of the corpses were intact; their armor and flesh had been sliced cleanly through, with internal organs spilled everywhere.
Kevan stepped forward to examine them closely and found that the wounds on each corpse showed signs of carbonization, and the cross-sections of the armor looked as though they had melted and then cooled into a solid state.
Furthermore, there were clumps of sand resembling glass on the beach next to the bodies.
"Being able to slice through armor directly, charring the corpses, and these glass fragments... There's no mistake, this is the work of that sword in Ser Barristan's hand!"
Kevan's heart had already sunk halfway. Now, let alone inviting Barristan back, they would likely meet on the battlefield in the future.
A Barristan who could single-handedly charge the enemy lines and kill Maelys during the Blackfyre Rebellion, and who saved his lord alone during the Defiance of Duskendale, had now taken up a magic sword and left, carrying the love and respect of the residents of King's Landing and a hatred for the Lannisters.
Kevan felt a bit unsteady for a moment; he knew exactly what would happen next without even thinking.
"Everyone, quickly clean up the scene and block all news! Don't let anyone else know what happened here. We cannot give Roman the chance to publicize this!"
————
The Crownlands, Sows Corner
Barristan, wearing a black linen robe, huddled together with a group of refugees from King's Landing.
Along the way, they encountered bandits every few days, and it was entirely thanks to Barristan's superb martial prowess that they remained safe.
The people on the wagons greatly respected this mysterious old man in the black robe. They would often give Barristan their treasured meat and fine wine.
The weather today was very clear and sweltering. The people on the wagons were all silent, afraid that moving too much would let the hot wind into their bodies.
Suddenly, the driver shouted: "Look! It's the sigil of the Hean Family. We've reached Sows Corner!"
Everyone was jolted awake by the driver and hurriedly turned their heads to look into the distance.
They saw a group of cavalry in light armor charging toward the wagons, their surcoats clearly emblazoned with the nine black bats of the Hean Family.
Seeing the Herrenburg Army cavalry approaching aggressively, Barristan instinctively gripped his sword hilt. However, the people around him weren't afraid at all; instead, they happily waved to the Herrenburg cavalry.
The cavalry on the other side also acted as if this was a common sight. They conducted a routine inspection and merely reminded Barristan not to carry a sword within the town.
"If I don't carry a sword in the town, how is security guaranteed?"
The Herrenburg cavalry looked at each other and suddenly burst out laughing: "Old man, there are constables patrolling the large towns. Carrying a sword will only cause them more trouble!"
Barristan could only follow the crowd in confusion to report to Sows Corner, and it was this short journey that truly opened his eyes.
Near Sows Corner, castles surrounded by earthen walls had been built at some point. Surrounding the castles were scattered villages, where local farmers had reclaimed all the nearby land. A sea of green wheat seedlings filled his vision.
Barristan had once come here with the royal family. He could swear that this was just a wasteland back then. But now, while The Crownlands were in the midst of war, how could it be developed better than during peacetime!
Yet the people in the accompanying caravan were actually sighing:
"Oh dear! We're late. The land here has probably already been distributed. We'll just have to make a living in the town now."
"It doesn't matter if we live in the town. Anyway, Lord Roman doesn't collect poll taxes, and food and medicine are cheap. You won't starve no matter what job you find."
"I heard Lord Roman built several new textile mills by the river and is short on hands. We can go work there."
These refugees had been on edge just moments ago, but as soon as they entered the Hean Family territory, they immediately relaxed. Some were even already fantasizing about entering a factory and making big money in the future.
Barristan walked along the newly built main road, looking in wonder at the people working fervently all around. Their faces were full of smiles, as if the wars of Westeros did not exist.
People were discussing where Roman had started a new large-scale infrastructure project, or where a new public school or public hospital had been built, and how to use connections to sign up and join so they could earn more money.
After asking in detail, Barristan understood that after Roman occupied the lands of The Crownlands, he took most of the wealth of the local nobility and invested it into infrastructure.
The main roads, canals, workshops, public mills, hospitals, schools, and so on that he saw were all built after Roman arrived.
Roman had abolished most of the miscellaneous taxes, and the agricultural tax was only 30%. Residents of Westeros were now scrambling to work under Roman.
The Riverlands itself was a transportation hub for Westeros, and the Herrenburg Army had previously defeated Tywin's Lannister army west of the Gods Eye. Now, people everywhere were even more reckless, taking their families and rushing into Hean Family territory whenever they had the chance.
The sights Barristan saw after arriving at Sows Corner further corroborated Roman's actions.
The tower castle in Barristan's memory was now surrounded by tall and wide city walls. Inside, it was bustling, with tens of thousands of people from all walks of life living there.
All of this proved that the rumors among the commoners of King's Landing about Roman were true. Subsequently, he handed his longsword to the guards and walked into this unacknowledged new city with great anticipation.
There were clean streets, constables and cleaners everywhere, an efficient drainage system, and neatly arranged houses.
Even the air in Sows Corner was fresh enough, completely unlike a city housing tens of thousands of people. Living areas and working areas were strictly separated, and heavily polluting industries were not allowed to be built in the city.
Barristan was deeply shocked by these sights. On the continent of Westeros, of the lords who could care for the people like Roman, Barristan was reminded of the "Old King."
He looked back at his actions during the period he served Robert, and Barristan felt he had been completely inadequate.
He had failed to prevent Robert's death, was unable to stand up when Joffrey was harming innocent people, and now he couldn't save the commoners who trusted him.
At the same time, he also felt extremely disappointed in Joffrey. He felt he should seek out a true king and then serve him unto death.
Barristan looked toward Harrenhal from afar. Perhaps that young Magic Dragon could bring him a different choice.
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