"Winner takes all, loser is eliminated?" Aegon's eyes lit up, and he was about to agree on the spot.
"Oho!" Tyrion let out a strange cry and snapped his fingers, lightly bumping into Aegon's group with his shoulder and cutting off what he was about to say.
"King Stannis is truly brave, daring to challenge the dragonrider Aegon!"
Stannis glared angrily at the dwarf and ground out, "Since when does a knightly duel count dragons as well?"
Tyrion nodded and said with a smile, "If this were a trial by combat for justice, of course it should be fair and impartial.
"But as you yourself said, winner takes all. If this is a fight for the Iron Throne, then naturally one should use every possible advantage. Having dragons and not using them would be idiocy, wouldn't it?"
"Very well. You've finally said what's really on your mind. For the Iron Throne, you've finally decided to make your move against me. All that talk of justice and Renly was nothing but an excuse." Stannis sneered coldly.
At that point, Tyrion stopped playing word games and spoke plainly. "Prince Renly is not an excuse. Brienne has her own oaths and choices.
"Your enmity with her will be noted by His Majesty Aegon, but he will not take part in it.
"Now let us set Brienne aside and speak only of the relationship between you and His Majesty Aegon.
"Everyone knows there is only one Iron Throne and only one king. When two kings meet, one must leave the stage.
"The contest for kingship between you and His Majesty Aegon was bound to happen sooner or later.
"His Majesty Aegon has the support of the Vale, the Riverlands, the Stormlands, Dorne, half the North, and half the Reach. You have fewer than four hundred core troops left, no foundation at all, wandering from place to place, with no chance of victory whatsoever.
"As for recruiting Braavosi sellswords, most of the famous mercenary companies in the world have already been gathered up by the allied forces. Right now they are probably being brutally trampled by the Dragon Queen.
"Even if you could find a few small companies with low strength, reputation, and credibility, all they would do is plunge the Seven Kingdoms into even greater misery. They would not change the final outcome.
"Winter has come, the Others are roaming beyond the Wall, and the Seven Kingdoms can no longer endure further chaos.
"Why not voluntarily don the black and go to the Wall as a savior?
"Your daughter, Princess Shireen, will become the heir to the Stormlands and can return to Storm's End at once.
"Your wife and your vassals will retain their titles and lands and may freely choose their future paths. They may even continue to worship the Lord of Light, provided they do not force the people of their lands to do so."
Aegon's lips twitched several times. He very much wanted to interrupt the dwarf's unilateral decisions.
In the end, out of trust and also to spare the dwarf's dignity, he merely shot him a displeased, subtle glare.
The dwarf blinked back, quietly sending a message to stay calm and not act rashly.
Previously, they had not decided to return Storm's End to House Baratheon at all. Aegon had even told Sansa that they could have more children and arrange for a second son to inherit Storm's End.
Stannis, however, did not hesitate in the slightest. His tone was hard as iron. "I will not hand my authority to someone of unknown origin. That would be irresponsible to House Baratheon and to the people of the Seven Kingdoms!"
"The silver-haired king's offer is generous enough. Why refuse it?" Greatjon could not help saying.
"You have no chance of winning, no matter how you look at it," Meiji muttered.
Even the knights on Stannis's side were visibly tempted. They looked at their king, wanting to speak yet holding back, their eyes full of expectation.
They had once been nobles, but after following Stannis in rebellion, they had long since been stripped of their lands and titles by the Iron Throne. Tyrion's promise to restore their ranks had almost fulfilled the very purpose for which they had followed Stannis.
Davos hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer to Stannis and whispered in his ear, "Your Grace, please don't act on impulse. You truly can consider this."
Even the Hand of the King was tempted.
The veins on Stannis's forehead throbbed. His teeth ground audibly, and the fury in his eyes seemed hot enough to roast an onion.
"I will don the black as well. Wherever you go, I will go," Davos said with a bitter smile.
The anger in Stannis's eyes gradually faded. He said calmly, "Then walk with me to the very end, even if it means dying in battle."
"But Princess Shireen—"
Seeing Stannis and Davos seemingly fall into dispute, Jon's heart stirred. He guessed that the Onion Knight was persuading his king, then swept his gaze over the Knights of the Flaming Heart. More than half of them showed signs of wavering.
"Why don't we all go to the guest chamber next door to discuss this first, and then make a decision?" Jon suggested.
"We have no objections," Tyrion said quickly.
Stannis narrowed his eyes and stared at Jon's face. "Does our alliance still stand?"
"Of course," Jon touched his nose and nodded awkwardly.
At this moment, he was also filled with regret, regretting that he had boarded Stannis's pirate ship too early.
That day, Daenerys and Stannis had arrived at the Wall almost at the same time. After witnessing the Dragon Queen's valor, strength, and mercy in sparing both him and Stannis, Jon had decided to throw in his lot with her: to use the Dragon Queen's power to take revenge and reclaim Winterfell, after which House Stark would swear fealty to her.
Unfortunately, Daenerys bore no ill will toward Jon or the Starks, but she felt little fondness either, and she looked down on the Northmen's allegiance.
Almost at the same time, Stannis had proactively extended an olive branch to Jon, offering of his own accord to seek justice for Eddard and Robb.
And in the king's name, he would restore Jon Stark's identity, which meant releasing him from the Night's Watch.
Robb had done the same thing.
Before these kings, sacred oaths were no different from a chamber pot: useful when needed, thrown far away when not.
Back then, Jon's sense of honor was still intact. Though tempted, he refused to abandon his Night's Watch vows, but he did acknowledge the alliance between House Stark and Stannis.
At that time, Aegon had not yet gone to Slaver's Bay.
Even later, when Jon began to cast aside his scruples and decided to restore his Stark identity, Aegon was still in Slaver's Bay taming dragons, pouring out his grievances and playing the victim to the Black Dread.
Thus came today's awkward situation. For the sake of family, Jon wanted to help his brother-in-law, yet his vows stood before him, and at this moment he was an ally and bannerman of Stannis.
Stannis pointed at Aegon and asked Jon, "If I ultimately decide to go to war with him, will you fulfill your duty as my bannerman?"
Jon thought for a moment with an awkward expression and said, "Your Grace, before I became Lord of Winterfell, my sister Sansa had already led the North in swearing fealty to King Aegon.
The North is already divided, and I cannot allow the northern lords to turn their blades on one another, so I can only aid neither side."
Stannis gave him a long, searching look, then turned and left.
"Why give Storm's End back to him?"
Upon arriving at the guest quarters Jon had prepared for the Targaryens, Aegon finally vented his pent-up dissatisfaction.
"Didn't Stannis refuse?" Tyrion said absentmindedly, propping his chin on his hand as he pondered.
"What if he agreed?"
"He won't. I know that man's temperament, stubborn to the bone," Tyrion said with a frown.
"But what if?" Aegon pressed.
Ser Andar Royce advised, "Your Grace, haven't you noticed? After Lord Tyrion offered such generous terms of surrender, Stannis's followers were all tempted. Even the Onion Knight quarreled with him, and a single exchange shattered the enemy's morale. We were practically standing on the brink of victory."
"I just…" Aegon waved his arms a few times unconsciously.
"If it were me, I would definitely surrender," he said helplessly at last.
"That woman's body, was it burned?" the dwarf suddenly asked, turning to Lady Maege.
"Melisandre?" Maege froze for a moment, then nodded. "After confirming her identity, I burned it on the spot in the godswood. Nothing was left except a few rubies."
"Stannis didn't object?" the dwarf asked again.
"Of course he did, but this is Winterfell, and we outnumber him," said Greatjon.
Stannis had only three thousand paid sellswords left, just over three hundred Knights of the Fiery Heart, and the thousand-plus clansmen and northern lords who had followed him earlier had all returned to the King in the North after Winterfell was taken.
On Aegon's side, there were two thousand elite knights from the Vale and the Riverlands, plus nearly twelve thousand northerners loosely backing him. Jon had brought back six thousand from the Wall, then gathered the clan warriors and household troops of various lords, and even absorbed the non-Bolton prisoners after taking Winterfell.
If Jon were willing to continue casting aside his scruples and abandon his vows entirely, there would have been no need for such trouble. He could have crushed them outright with overwhelming force. Forget one Melisandre, even if Stannis had a hundred red-robed women forming a mage corps at his side, it would not have mattered.
The dwarf also wanted his young friend to abandon his scruples. When necessary, Jon was willing to keep selling off his principles. But at this moment, seeing that his brother-in-law had a ninety percent chance of victory even without his help, he wanted to keep at least a fig leaf to cover himself.
Not long after, Jon brought his brother-in-law Stannis's decision: "He is unwilling to surrender. He has ordered the entire force to go on full alert immediately and to seal off the West Castle.
As for Ser Brienne, if he wins, she dies. If he loses, she gains glory."
Winterfell as a whole was rectangular in layout. The godswood, the great hall, the main keep where the lord resided, and the guest quarters were separated by inner walls and towers, each occupying a corner of the rectangle.
Of course, they formed an organic whole and could interconnect under normal circumstances.
The guest quarters where Stannis resided included not only bedrooms but also access to the training yard, stables, kennels, smithy, kitchens, and library. The area was vast and separated from the main keep, forming the eastern and western castles respectively.
Now, Stannis had sealed off the entire West Castle, intending to hold the city defensively.
"What is he thinking? He clearly has no chance of winning," Aegon said in disbelief.
"Stannis has an iron will. Think about it. He once led more than three thousand exhausted, starving troops across thousands of kilometers of jagged mountains and bottomless snow forests, with almost no supplies, yet still dared to assault a heavily defended Winterfell," Jon said with a sigh.
He began to regret it again, thinking he should never have intervened to save Stannis back then. If the Bastard of Bolton had flayed him alive, there would be no trouble today.
"How is his morale?" Andar Royce asked.
"Poor, very poor. The sellswords see no hope of victory and have begun to slack off. Half of the Knights of the Fiery Heart are disheartened, their spirit completely gone.
But he may already be used to it. During the earlier campaign against Winterfell, the soldiers were so hungry they began murdering their own comrades for meat. Morale then was ten times lower than it is now.
Yet a general is the courage of his soldiers. When they see their king draw his sword and charge first, the troops will always be stirred.
Do not doubt it. Stannis has always charged at the front, braver than anyone," Jon said with a pained expression.
"To think there is such an unyielding man in this world," Aegon exclaimed, awed and afraid.
"You should have understood long ago. Any normal person would have surrendered after the disastrous defeat on the Blackwater," Tyrion said, shaking his head with a bitter smile.
"You should have let me duel him. I have Valyrian steel armor," Aegon complained, looking at him.
"You do not understand. Do not be fooled by how gaunt Stannis looks now. He has fought in far too many wars. He is a true veteran, a seasoned commander, with a hundred times your combat experience.
And have you forgotten Lightbringer?That sword can end the Long Night. Do you think it could not kill you?
Even if it could not, it would roast you alive."
Then Tyrion looked up again, his eyes blazing as he fixed them on Jon. "Are you willing to let Winterfell become a battlefield?"
"You want me to help him drive you out?" Jon countered.
"Then let's fight!" Aegon stood up, gazing firmly through the window toward the West Castle.
"Fight. Start with wildfire," Tyrion said through clenched teeth.
Two days later, Aunt Dany received the terrible news. Her grand nephew was gone.
(End of chapter)
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