Early the next morning.
After waking up and washing, Galon intended to have a good talk with Gendry.
However, plans never keep up with changes.
Just as he stepped out of his command tent, a guard hurried over to report.
"My Lord, two people have arrived outside the camp."
"They claim to be messengers from Stannis Baratheon and wish to see you!"
Galon froze on the spot.
He looked at the guard, momentarily thinking he had misheard.
"Who did you say?"
"Messengers from Stannis?!"
The guard nodded honestly and added, "One calls himself Davos Seaworth, and beside him is a woman draped in red robes."
Hearing this, Galon instantly realized their identities.
'The Onion Knight... and Melisandre...'
'Stannis, what are you trying to accomplish by sending those two here?'
'Do you actually think you can sue for peace?'
He frowned slightly, thinking to himself, Or do you intend to use Melisandre's magic to bend me to your will?
Ever since Stannis fled in defeat, Galon had originally planned to wait until he crushed the Lannister coalition before heading to Dragonstone to hunt down Stannis and fulfill his oath.
He had not expected Stannis to deliver himself right to his doorstep.
Curiosity flared up within Galon.
"Bring them in, to the council tent... No, first go gather all the lords to assemble at the parade ground."
"Including Ser Barristan and Prince Gendry!"
He paused, then commanded the guard once more, "Once all of that is done, bring them into the parade ground."
"Yes, My Lord!"
The guard bowed respectfully and quickly turned to inform the others.
'Melisandre...'
Galon stood where he was, softly murmuring the name of the bizarre priestess. Intelligence regarding the magic she used flashed through his mind.
'Even with the protection of the Old Gods, I cannot afford to be careless.'
'I must make full preparations...'
Galon pondered for a moment and quickly had a plan in mind.
As he walked toward the parade ground, he summoned a messenger and mobilized eight hundred elites, including three hundred archers.
By the time Galon arrived at the wooden platform of the parade ground, the eight hundred elites had already surrounded the area so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through.
A moment later.
The nobles of the North, the Riverlands, the Vale, and the Iron Islands arrived one after another.
Seeing the fully armed group of elites, they assumed that today was the day they would march to war against the Lannisters, and every one of them became restless and excited.
"Lord Glover, if we are going to war, why didn't you inform us in advance?"
Lord Royce walked up to the wooden platform and could not help complaining, "The boys have just arrived in the Riverlands. I thought we would get a couple of days to rest."
Edmure, who came up alongside him, nodded in agreement.
Galon shook his head slightly. "It is not war. We have important guests arriving!"
He placed extra weight on the word "guests," leaving Lord Royce looking bewildered.
However, Galon did not explain further; Lord Royce would understand everything in a moment anyway.
When Barristan escorted Gendry into the parade ground, the fearless Lord Commander of the Kingsguard was startled.
Especially when Galon's deep gaze fell upon Gendry, Barristan instantly gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to cover Gendry's escape the moment the situation turned sour.
Yet Galon stepped forward, looked around at the nobles standing in two lines below the wooden platform, and raised his voice.
"My Lords!"
"Just moments ago, a report came from the camp gate. Stannis sent his messengers to see me!"
Before his words even hit the ground, the atmosphere in the parade ground suddenly froze.
Soon, however...
"Where is Stannis? I want to kill him!"
With a roar from Greatjon, the entire parade ground burst like a boiling pot.
"That despicable coward actually dares to show his face?!"
"Kill him!"
"Lord Protector, kill him and avenge King Robb!"
"Right, kill him!"
The knights of the North, the Riverlands, and even the Vale shouted in fury.
Gendry's face was full of shock.
He had not expected his legendary uncle, the kin-slayer, to dare send anyone here.
Gendry subconsciously glanced at Barristan, but the knight merely shook his head, signaling him to watch quietly and wait for developments.
At this moment, Galon pressed his hands down to temporarily calm the anger of the crowd.
"In the past, right here!
Before all our allies from the North, the Riverlands, and the Iron Islands, I swore an oath in blood to kill the false kings Joffrey and Stannis!
Now, Stannis actually dares to send messengers here. It seems he does not put us in his eyes at all."
"Guards!"
He ordered the soldiers, "Bring Stannis's messengers up!"
Instantly, everyone's eyes locked onto the entrance of the parade ground.
Within moments.
The Onion Knight, Davos, and Melisandre walked into the parade ground one behind the other, escorted by soldiers.
Davos scanned his surroundings, looking at the parade ground encircled by elite soldiers, and laughed bitterly in his heart.
He knew this trip was doomed to be far more ill than good.
Yet for the sake of his liege lord, the Onion Knight still strove to keep his back straight.
As for Melisandre beside him, she moved like a walking flame.
Those ruby-like eyes were fixed tightly upon Galon on the wooden platform from the very beginning.
When they drew closer, Davos bowed slightly and spoke first.
"Lord Glover!"
He looked around, ignoring the glaring Northern vassals, and spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"I come by order of the lawful King of the Seven Kingdoms, Stannis Baratheon, the First of His Name, to deliver His Majesty's decree."
"He commands you—"
Davos took a deep breath and uttered the words he himself found absurd.
"—to bend your knee and surrender to him immediately, and to fight for him for King's Landing."
"His Majesty will pardon your crimes and appoint you as the Warden of the North, to guard the North for him!"
Dead silence fell over the parade ground first.
Immediately after, a burst of earth-shattering laughter erupted.
Even Gendry could not help himself and let out a few chuckles.
"My uncle is far too confident."
"To use sorcery to murder Robb Stark and then dare command his high officer to kneel and surrender... he really is..."
He shook his head, unsure of how to describe Stannis.
"Haha..."
Greatjon, standing in the front left below the wooden platform, laughed so hard that tears nearly welled up in his eyes.
"A kin-slayer who uses sorcery, a vile coward of despicable actions, actually dares to command our Lord Protector?"
"Has he gone mad?!"
The overwhelming mockery caused Davos's face to flush red.
He had known this would be the result.
"Sigh..."
Davos let out a sigh and turned to look at Melisandre beside him.
Melisandre's eyes flashed with a strange light, and she calmly extended her right hand.
In the very next instant—
A orb of scorching, orange-red fire appeared out of thin air in the palm of her hand, radiating waves of heat.
In a flash, this unimaginable scene terrified the surrounding lords.
With a series of metallic clangs, they drew their weapons one after another, pointing them in panic at the red priestess before them.
On the platform, Edmure and Lord Royce were equally unable to conceal their shock, drawing their weapons out of instinct.
Ser Barristan remained calm, stepping forward to shield the terrified Gendry behind him, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Ignorant fools, how dare you mock the power of God!"
Melisandre's voice was cold and clear.
She did not even bother to cast a glance at the lords, her eyes still fixed unwaveringly on Galon atop the wooden platform.
Galon remained composure personified. Looking at the fireball, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
This was the first time he had seen someone capable of casting fire.
"Lady Melisandre," Galon stepped forward, his demeanor relaxed and composed. "Put away your little tricks."
"I assure you, before that fireball of yours can fly over, an arrow will pierce your throat first!"
His words softened the shock felt by most people present, and the archers immediately drew their bows, aiming their arrows straight at Melisandre.
Melisandre paid no attention to the surrounding archers. Instead, a trace of surprise appeared in her eyes.
She discovered that the man before her seemed entirely unaffected by the intimidation of her magic.
"I have not come to display force, Lord Protector."
A flash of fire erupted in Melisandre's eyes.
She waved the fireball in her hand, proclaiming the greatness of the Lord of Light like a fanatic, while beginning to channel her true power.
"I come to bring you a divine prophecy.
King Stannis is the Prince That Was Promised, the reincarnation of Azor Ahai!
He will save this world!
And you, Lord Glover, ancient power flows within your veins.
The night is dark and full of terrors. Great R'hllor guides me to lead you down the correct path!"
As she chanted—
An invisible, scorching mental force filled with enchantment and dominant willpower began to invade Galon's soul.
However.
The moment that power belonging to the Lord of Light touched Galon's soul.
Buzz!
An even older, deeper, and vastly more immense power exploded forth.
Galon felt a wave of dizziness, and when his mind cleared, he found himself standing within the Greensight.
A radiant, towering giant tree stood erect before his eyes.
"R...h'll...or..."
The moment the fire invaded, countless distinct faces carved into the trunk suddenly opened their eyes, their grand voices echoing in Galon's ears.
"No... You cannot... possess..."
The mental fire transformed into a blurred red figure, glaring in shock and anger at the towering tree before it.
The giant tree shook its branches made of stars and green dreams, and countless green vines appeared out of thin air, piercing and binding the red figure like winding dragons.
"He... is our... child."
"He... will fulfill... the mission we pledged."
"Our land... does not tolerate your insolence!"
Boom—
Green magical energy surged forth, instantly extinguishing the mental fire.
Meanwhile, in the outside world.
A vibrant green crown quietly emerged above Galon's head.
As the green crown appeared, everyone watched in stunned silence as Galon's tall body began to blur.
No—it could not be called blurring.
Rather, Galon's image began to look different in the eyes of every single person.
In the eyes of the Northerners, he appeared as a towering weirwood tree reaching into the sky, its trunk bearing a face that bled tears.
In the eyes of the people of the Vale and the Riverlands, some saw a long-bearded man holding scales, some saw a smiling woman full of love and mercy, and others saw a warrior wielding a longsword.
In the eyes of Harlaw and the Ironborn, he was the image of an old man holding a white staff, walking upon the raging waves.
Every single person saw the most sacred symbol of their own faith within Galon's figure.
The so-called Old Gods possessed all spirits.
A thousand faces for a thousand people, nothing less than that.
Just as everyone was too shocked to speak, a surge of severe pain tore through Melisandre's soul.
Her connection to the Lord of Light was being forcibly severed by an irresistible power.
"No... Impossible..."
She collapsed onto the ground, kowtowing frantically, begging for R'hllor's favor.
Yet Melisandre's beautiful face began to age, shrivel, and wither at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Ah—!"
Finally, with a screeching wail, the favor of the Lord of Light upon her shattered completely.
Her entire body transformed into the corpse of an ugly, shriveled old woman, collapsing limply to the ground.
The fireball extinguished along with her.
Slowly, Galon pulled back from the Greensight.
The green crown above his head gradually faded away, and the divine symbols of faith in everyone's eyes settled back into Galon's face.
"The God-Touched!"
Someone was the first to cry out the most shocking phrase in their heart with a trembling voice.
Immediately after.
The entire parade ground, and the entire ferry camp, erupted into earth-shattering, fanatical shouts.
"Galon the God-Touched!"
"Galon the God-Touched!!"
Galon stood firm, suddenly drawing his greatsword and pointing it high into the sky.
"Victory!"
Boom—
Everyone present raised their weapons at the same time, echoing his call with fanatical shouts.
"Victory!!"
With the help of this unexpected turn of events, the morale of the army was absolute!
__________
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Xorath