The wind grew stronger.
The banners on Old Oak Castle fluttered because of it.
The Golden Tree Banner waved fiercely, encouraging the Rowan soldiers below, who were arrayed in formation, and the ballistas, bows and arrows, swords, and spears in their hands.
The Oak Leaf Banner rustled, and the Oakheart soldiers, summoned by its call, rushed to gather and build the defense line.
Renly's Stag Banner was also inspiring.
Only the Tyrell Golden Rose Banner, though equally vibrant, left the soldiers unsure whether they should answer its call.
After all, the enemy formation outside the castle also had Golden Rose Banners flying. And they were the first.
Under the Golden Rose Banners, the enemy army brazenly advanced step by step, even approaching within a hundred paces. Yet the defenders on the city walls still did not react.
There was a reason for this.
In the days they had been surrounded before, these enemies wearing Six-Pointed Stars had shown them terrifying magic power.
At first, it was the "daily training" of those "cannons."
Perhaps out of some scruple, or perhaps simply out of arrogance, the power of the cannons did not directly fall upon Old Oak Castle, but chose to ravage the land around the castle instead.
Even so, all the soldiers in the city could see the terror of the cannons and the desperate battle they might face in the future from the miserable state of the land and the fortifications.
Then came the rash approach of the "Six-Pointed Stars."
Dozens, even hundreds, of enemies wearing shining armor walked towards the tall city walls and the thirty thousand warriors. It was a foolish and ridiculous act of seeking death.
Old Oak Castle, of course, counterattacked with full force.
However, the soldiers who went out to fight in close combat were all killed, but the Six-Pointed Stars did not leave a single corpse behind.
Many attacks clearly landed on them!
Similarly, whether it was arrows, stones, or flame and hot oil, none could kill these Six-Pointed Stars! It was as if they were truly the warriors of the Gods!
The Six-Pointed Stars easily walked to the foot of the city walls, at most making some marks, and then leisurely returned, as if the arrows and stone balls constantly falling from above were truly just a light drizzle, and he was on a leisurely outing.
What obvious, what glaring mockery and display. The soldiers on the city walls could only watch helplessly, powerless.
Undoubtedly, this dealt an unprecedented huge blow to the morale of Old Oak Castle.
In such a situation, with the spread of various rumors about King Joffrey, the soldiers in the city truly no longer wanted to resist.
Anyway, no matter what, they couldn't possibly kill all these people, could they?
Surrender.
Everyone in Old Oak Castle had heard this word, and almost no one strongly objected.
Although the relationship between Lord Tywin, who was behind King Joffrey, and their own family was not good, it was not to the point of a fight to the death. Choosing to yield when it was time to compromise was not shameful.
Under the anticipation of tens of thousands of soldiers, Lord Matus Rowan sent out five peace talk teams one after another, each led by a wise and peaceful elder of the Lord's family.
But the final result was always no news.
If they hadn't seen the emissary teams enter the enemy army's camp outside the city with their own eyes, people would have probably thought the peace talk teams had gotten lost in the wilderness.
Unfortunately, they hadn't.
Lord Tywin must have known about Old Oak Castle's intention for peace talks, but he gave no response.
Why?
People dared not think deeply, and could only hold onto hope and send out the next team, waiting in the city with a glimmer of luck, enjoying the current moment of peace and the vibrant life.
The voices of "going out and fighting with all our might" were not absent, but they were extremely weak and gradually faded away.
Every sane person should understand: human flesh and blood were not even as good as tissue paper under those iron balls and big explosions, and the strange Six-Pointed Star warriors killed people no more effort than killing a chicken.
What's more, they couldn't even compare in numbers. Outside the city alone, there were King Joffrey's thirty thousand troops, what about those from the other Seven Kingdoms?
Old Oak Castle was on its own now.
The soldiers on the city walls looked down. The Golden Rose Banner of Highgarden was already very, very close, close enough for people to distinguish the figures beneath it with the naked eye.
The leading knight wore white armor, with a golden rose embroidered on his cloak, and the intricate breastplate also seemed to be engraved with roses.
"I am Garlan Tyrell, the second in line to Highgarden, and the first Governor of Old Oak Castle..." The man's voice was unusually loud, and somewhat familiar.
Many people knew him, or had heard of him.
But few could imagine the current scene of the two sides opposing each other.
Tyrell actually led troops to attack Old Oak Castle?
They clearly rose up for Highgarden, so how did they receive this kind of treatment?!
Shameful!!
Countless resentful gazes pierced towards Garlan Tyrell below the city walls, as if to shoot him into a hedgehog with their sight.
But at the same time, the defending soldiers also noticed the two rows of banners behind the Golden Rose Banner: King Joffrey's Stag Golden Lion Banner and the "Royal Guard's" Six-Pointed Star Banner.
There were probably a thousand of them. More than ten times the number of Six-Pointed Stars who had attacked before!
And behind these people, the Golden Lion Banners of the Westerlands also began to move in large numbers, raising clouds of dust. Lord Tywin's army was advancing towards Old Oak Castle!
Today is the end! From Lord Matus Rowan down to the lowest peasant soldier, everyone realized this.
"Storm's End has been retaken," Garlan Tyrell continued. "The main force of the rebellion has been annihilated below Storm's End. The culprits like Renly are either dead or have surrendered, none escaped..."
This news instantly shocked the entire city of Old Oak!
King Renly failed?!
Is this true?
Indeed, before the siege, Old Oak knew that King Renly and Lord Mace were both rushing to Storm's End, preparing for a major battle, even a decisive battle.
So, this war failed?!
No wonder Highgarden abandoned Renly Baratheon and threw itself into the embrace of King Joffrey!
Heh! As expected of the "Lord of Highgarden," the Tyrells!
They could betray their liege for power three hundred years ago. Now, for survival, what's surprising about selling out their vassals?
The honorable old Lords, recalling the Tyrell family's history of rise to power, understood the current situation with full contempt.
"Ser Jon Fossoway's troops were also defeated and offered surrender in Rising Stone Town," the news Garlan Tyrell delivered remained incredibly heavy. "They are now moving south along the Mander River, suppressing the rebellion and pacifying the people along the way. Old Oak is the last rebel army!"
Garlan took a deep breath and finally spoke, "You have no retreat. Highgarden has sent two thousand elite soldiers to retake Goldengrove, which will fall within days. By then, Old Oak will have no more support!"
The Rowan family's Goldengrove!
Everyone couldn't help but look at Lord Matus Rowan, and saw the commander's body trembling violently, finally erupting in a roar, "Garlan Tyrell! How dare Highgarden be so faithless! Are you not afraid of the Gods' curses and the scorn of ten thousand people?!"
Garlan turned a deaf ear. "The previous peace talks conditions are unacceptable! In my name as the Governor of Old Oak, everyone immediately gives up resistance and surrenders unconditionally!"
"Those who dare to resist will have their families destroyed!" Garlan raised his hand. "Attack!"
Bang! Bang! Bang...
The thick city gate was blown to pieces, and the Royal Guard were the first to enter the city, followed by tens of thousands of soldiers.
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