The Great Sept of Baelor was even more renowned than the "Starry Sept," the headquarters of the Faith of the Seven.
Jon's order for Martyn to control the Great Sept naturally attracted the attention of the commoners in King's Landing.
Especially the act of digging three feet deep to find wildfire was considered "blasphemy" by some.
However, the Northern Army had controlled King's Landing for less than a day, so any dissatisfaction hadn't had time to ferment. Moreover, the current High Septon was hiding in the Red Keep, daring not to come out at all.
On the other side, the Reach army, blocked from attacking outside King's Landing, temporarily set up camp.
Although they couldn't siege the city, they could send men to check the defenses of each gate.
After receiving news that the Northern Army had completed their defense lines, the atmosphere in the camp became even stiffer.
Especially since Mace Tyrell had arrived with the main army, his complaints made everyone more irritable.
"Jon Snow?! Gods, why play with me like this!"
"Hasn't Tywin been urging us to hurry? Why isn't he here yet?"
"This isn't sixteen years ago. Sixteen years ago, we could wait for Rhaegar's victory. Although he failed... but what are we waiting for now?"
A brown-haired noble with a potbelly and a prosperous face paced anxiously in the camp.
His thick palms scratched his belly from time to time.
Fortunately, he hadn't practiced martial arts for years, so he had no calluses on his hands; otherwise, he would have snagged his expensive green silk tunic.
But even so, everyone had to revolve around him. After all, he was the Warden of the South, the commander of eighty thousand troops.
"My Lord, perhaps we can wait for Duke Tywin to arrive and launch an attack together. The bastard's army can't be large; he won't be our match," Petyr explained humbly.
"But if Margaery can't be Queen, what is the point of this war?"
"Lady Margaery will definitely be Queen. I am very confident King Joffrey is still alive."
"King this, King that! I've seen more Kings than you've seen whores in a brothel!"
Mace waved his hand impatiently. Petyr knew he had to shut up temporarily; if he wanted to say anything, he'd have to wait until the Duke was in a better mood.
"Duke."
Watching Mace shout incessantly and others grovel before him, Petyr muttered softly. He felt it was unfair. Why should such trash be above thousands? But he quickly suppressed these distracting thoughts. Because Jon Snow had burst onto the scene, Petyr was also in a terrible mood.
Just then, news arrived—"My Lord, Ser, the Westerlands army has arrived forty leagues from King's Landing. Duke Tywin has arrived outside our camp."
Tywin.
Hearing Tywin had arrived, Petyr felt invigorated. He thought perhaps Tywin had a solution.
Petyr suddenly remembered that when the alliance was first formed, Tywin had urged the Reach army to march north as quickly as possible to prevent changes.
Petyr had thought Tywin was wary of Stannis's fleet. Now it seemed even the Duke of Casterly Rock hadn't figured out Jon's moves.
And there was one thing he couldn't understand: how did Jon gain command of the great army?
Judging by the Northern Army's defensive posture and scout reports, the army in Jon's hands couldn't be less than ten thousand.
Suddenly, another thought flashed through Petyr's mind: Tywin dared to come alone to the Tyrell camp. What if they detained him?
If they detained or killed Tywin, the Tyrells could escape the mistake of "choosing the wrong side."
As the proposer, perhaps he could—
But Petyr quickly rejected this idea.
Tywin dared to come because he knew unless absolutely necessary, the Tyrells didn't want to cooperate with Stannis. Over a decade ago, Mace besieged Storm's End with tens of thousands of troops for over half a year, forcing Stannis to eat shoe leather and dead rats for months. There was old enmity between the two sides.
And cooperating with Stannis wouldn't give the Tyrells what they wanted. Stannis's wife, Selyse, wasn't dead, so he couldn't marry Margaery, and he only had a daughter.
The two sides had no basis for immediate cooperation. Moreover, persuading Mace wasn't easy. Better to see if Tywin had any good ideas for sieging the city.
Soon, a tall, burly noble with a bald head, green eyes, and red armor met with Mace.
Behind Tywin followed a group of retainers, but neither the soldiers nor knights of the Reach saw the infamous Mountain.
"I heard he was killed by Eddard Stark's bastard."
"Really?"
"Yes, at the Green Fork, Eddard's bastard used the river—"
Tywin could hear some whispers, but he couldn't care less right now.
His dignified face couldn't hide his exhaustion. Before arriving at King's Landing, he had fought a battle with the blocking force Jon left behind.
Although he won, he paid a considerable price.
Before the Green Fork, he had an army of over twenty thousand.
Now only about fifteen thousand remained.
And it was an exhausted army.
Many soldiers' spears were broken, their swords chipped.
To hurry, he lost nearly a fifth of his cavalry.
Yet it seemed he was still late.
Tywin met Mace in the Tyrell family's luxurious tent.
As soon as he entered, Tywin felt the ground was soft. This Mace actually carpeted his tent!
No wonder he couldn't take Storm's End with tens of thousands of troops back then.
Despite his inner disdain, Tywin restrained his emotions and sat opposite Mace.
"Duke Tywin, you seem a bit late." Mace said, holding an exquisite gold cup. "That bastard is in the city now. Tell us, what should we do?"
Tywin didn't mention being blocked but stated he already understood the situation.
"That bastard claims he captured the Red Keep. We can verify that."
"Verify?" Mace asked. "Doesn't that require entering the city?"
Ravens! Petyr suddenly realized what method Tywin meant for verification.
But he chose not to say it, lest Mace appear too stupid.
Sure enough, Tywin proposed finding a nearby castle under their control and having the maester write a letter to King's Landing.
If the Red Keep could reply, it would mean it hadn't been captured by Jon yet. Joffrey was not only alive but also not under control.
Then they could siege the city freely.
"What about Myrcella and Tommen?" Mace asked.
"Compared to the entire Westerlands and the future of House Lannister, what do two grandchildren matter? Even my eldest son is still in Riverrun."
Tywin spoke coldly, causing Mace to turn his body sideways subconsciously.
Putting himself in Tywin's shoes, if Jon held his bloodline, he might not be able to make such a resolve.
Although Mace was incompetent and not a strong lord, he was impeccable regarding his children.
Spreading out the map, there was a small town southwest of King's Landing. They decided to send someone to verify Joffrey's situation via raven.
---
On the battlements, Jon stood surrounded by personal guards, eyes closed, controlling a raven to monitor every move of the "Lion-Rose Alliance." Previously, Martyn had unearthed a large amount of wildfire from beneath the Great Sept of Baelor. This wildfire was being moved bit by bit to the battlements.
With this wildfire, Jon had the confidence to defend King's Landing against the siege of a hundred thousand troops.
Although the Lion-Rose Alliance beneath the walls hadn't decided to siege yet, large quantities of siege equipment were being transported.
From the beginning, they were prepared for Stannis to capture King's Landing and then retake it.
Catapults and siege ladders were gathering toward King's Landing in a steady stream.
Jon knew that once they were fully prepared, the defense line would face immense pressure.
If the ten thousand men under him were trained by his own hand, Jon could hold King's Landing firmly even without wildfire. But this group of patchwork soldiers was truly worrisome.
Jon looked toward the Red Keep. Its walls were nearly twice as high as King's Landing's, and the moat was deep and wide.
Even with a secret passage, it wouldn't be easy to capture. Just then, Sora brought a child to Jon, holding a letter.
"Jon, he says he's here to deliver a letter to you."
"Deliver a letter?"
Jon took the letter, shaking it away from his body to prevent any poisonous powder.
Opening it, he found handwriting deliberately altered:
Respected Jon Snow, I have heard of your deeds at the Green Fork and Darry, and I admire them greatly. But at this moment, a full hundred thousand troops lie outside King's Landing. Holding it with thirteen thousand men is truly a difficult task. Once failed, I imagine the consequences are self-evident.
Now I have a suggestion. If you are willing, I can send you out of King's Landing. You can go to the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea. I have a friend there who can offer you shelter.
Also, your secret passage might not be accurate.
The content was very brief. The writer expressed extreme confidence and control, as if seeing through everything.
But reading the content, Jon sneered. He had already guessed who this guy was.
Varys!
The Master of Whisperers trying to help the Targaryens restore their dynasty.
Only whether that child was Rhaegar's son or a Blackfyre descendant was hard to say.
He sent Jon this letter because Jon's previous performance caught his eye.
Perhaps seeing Jon's potential, he thought Jon could assist that "Targaryen orphan" in retaking Westeros in the future.
In his view, Jon was at a dead end and could only accept his suggestion.
Jon had asked the captured Gold Cloaks and mercenaries about Tyrion's whereabouts after capturing King's Landing, but they all said they didn't know.
It seemed he had been saved by Varys as in the original story.
But Jon considered another layer.
That is, Varys worried that if Stannis took the throne, he might not be able to continue as Master of Whisperers.
Especially since Stannis had explicitly expressed dissatisfaction with his use of children to gather intelligence.
Losing his position near the core of power, Varys's importance would diminish greatly, and assisting the Targaryen orphan would naturally be out of the question.
Varys controlled the secret passages of the Red Keep. If there were traps or mazes inside, it would indeed be hard to pass. Moreover, he probably saw clearly what Harrion was doing outside the Red Keep, knowing Jon was looking for the secret passage entrance.
Regardless, the current Varys didn't want him to breach the Red Keep.
Unless Jon could fight the "Lion-Rose Alliance" outside and prove his ability to defend the city, showing him who truly controlled the fate of King's Landing!
Only then would this Spider, who thought he controlled everything, talk to him as an equal.
After reading the letter, Jon looked at the child still waiting there.
He wore a brown linen shirt, about ten years old, likely from Flea Bottom, but his cheeks were unusually round.
It seemed he got plenty of benefits from delivering letters. He didn't leave because he was waiting for Jon's reward.
However, he was disappointed.
Jon tore the letter to shreds and said to him, "Tell your master I came to King's Landing to avenge my father. Failure is but death. I have no interest in his proposal."