On the Blackwater Rush, green flames still roared and churned, like a giant python coiling around its prey.
But the problem was that the prey was too large; it couldn't be swallowed in a short amount of time.
And those warships, jammed together due to the intercepting chain, had actually formed a pontoon bridge on the water!
His Majesty Stannis led his elites and landed by relying on this pontoon bridge made of warship wreckage.
This might just be the most expensive pontoon bridge in the world.
His Majesty Stannis pursed his lips tightly and turned to look at his warships.
Soon, his gaze locked onto a warship with a yellow hull.
At this moment, it resembled a giant brazier; Soldiers perished in the inferno, and masts broke under the gnawing flames.
The fury!
He once rode this warship to defeat the remnants of the Targaryen forces.
He once rode this warship to assist Robert in quelling Balon's rebellion.
He had intended to ride this same warship to capture King's Landing and reclaim what was rightfully his.
It was his most beloved warship, a vessel that had witnessed his glory. In some ways, His Majesty Stannis loved the fury more than his wife, Selyse.
Watching so many warships perish in the flames, he felt as if someone were gouging out his heart with a knife.
He remembered that Davos, his most trusted subject, had placed his son on the fury as a master oarsman.
The boy seemed to have just come of age—
His Majesty Stannis then thought of Davos, his Onion Knight.
But the roaring flames and billowing smoke obscured his vision; he couldn't find the Black Pearl, the ship Davos was on.
The cost of this battle far exceeded his imagination, and worse, victory had not yet arrived.
His Majesty Stannis, as if making a firm decision, twisted his head and looked at the crowned stag banner still flying over the Mud Gate.
'A bastard, a Lannister bastard, how dare he use the Baratheon banner?!' His Majesty Stannis's blue eyes seemed to be brewing a surging tide. He had paid too much; King's Landing had to be taken today!
He looked at the sword at his waist, Lightbringer, the sacred sword The Red Woman had obtained for him by sacrificing the statues of the Seven Gods!
His Majesty Stannis drew the sword from his waist; its brilliant blade emitted yellow and red light.
He held it in his hand as if holding a torch.
It was just a pity that this torch emitted no heat.
He threw off his helmet, took his stag crown from his attendant, and placed it on his head.
Then, ignoring the objections of others, he went to the most conspicuous high ground.
His Majesty Stannis raised the Lightbringer sword in his hand, trying to attract everyone's attention.
Closest to His Majesty Stannis were some well-armored retainers.
Further away were some disheveled Soldiers. Their faces were blackened, and their cloaks were tattered from burning.
Some even had disheveled hair, like the wildlings he had encountered in the Kingswood before.
Rather than saying they successfully landed, it was more accurate to say they came ashore to escape with their lives.
His Majesty Stannis knew he had to rally the morale of these Soldiers.
"Soldiers! The usurper's defenses are crumbling, our ships have been burned, now there is only one path, and that is to break through King's Landing! Follow your King! Kill—"
With that, His Majesty Stannis, holding the glowing Lightbringer, charged towards the Mud Gate.
And when the Soldiers saw their King leading the charge, their nearly extinguished morale was reignited.
Some even dragged siege equipment out of the ship's hold.
Siege ladders, battering rams, catapults.
Their attack was not only to break through the enemy's defenses but also imbued with the anger of seeking revenge after falling into a trap.
Meanwhile, Joffrey on the city wall felt that something was amiss.
"Shouldn't they all be burned to death? How did they climb up again?"
Joffrey no longer enthusiastically leaned over the city wall to watch the plight of His Majesty Stannis's army, but cautiously retreated to the relatively safe position Tyrion had arranged for him.
The wildfire explosion just now, like a divine punishment, was truly shocking.
Yet, enemies had survived such an attack and were climbing ashore to seek revenge on him.
This brought a particular psychological shock to the Soldiers defending the city.
Moreover, His Majesty Stannis's Soldiers below occasionally shouted things like 'Long live His Majesty Stannis!' The enemy's leader charging at the front further boosted their Soldiers' morale significantly.
Soon, His Majesty Stannis's Soldiers even reached the city wall, though they were quickly driven back down. But inspired Soldiers continued to climb up in an endless stream.
Among the defending Soldiers, some occasionally looked towards Joffrey's position, checking if their King was still there.
But Joffrey looked left and right, feeling that his location was too conspicuous.
Especially since those Soldiers always looked at his position.
"He's there!"
Suddenly, Joffrey heard a loud shout.
But he couldn't discern who had shouted it.
'Did His Majesty Stannis's Soldiers see me? I can't be here anymore, I can't stay in this cursed place, I'm going back to the Red Keep!' Joffrey felt his legs trembling.
He looked at Tyrion, who was currently exerting all his strength to command the army.
'Hmm, he shouldn't see me, he can't see me!' Joffrey slowly lifted his backside, then subtly shifted a few steps.
He looked at the guard beside him but couldn't recall his name.
But it didn't matter.
"I am the King." Joffrey continued to encourage himself, then turned and ordered, "Ser, escort me back to the Red Keep."
With that, Joffrey bolted, afraid that his Kingsguard would object to him.
But with his departure, the pressure on Tyrion's side surged. The Soldiers realized their King had abandoned them and fled for his life, and their morale plummeted.
Some simply followed suit and also left the city wall. Tyrion watched helplessly as the Mud Gate defense line gradually crumbled.
The battle cries of His Majesty Stannis's Soldiers were in his ears.
Below, the battering rams furiously pounded the city gate, a terrifying impact after another, like rolling thunder from underground.
"Tyrion!" Tyrion turned his head and saw that it was Bronn.
"Why are you here?"
"I came from another gate." Bronn shouted, "Can we still hold on?"
"We have to hold on even if we can't!" Tyrion roared, his face contorted in a ferocious expression, truly showing a bit of a lion's spirit.
He had no intention of saying more to Bronn, and taking him and the guards beside him, ran to the front of a group of Soldiers who were about to flee the defense line.
"Soldiers, our reinforcements are coming soon, hold on! Do you think your courage is even less than mine, a dwarf?"
Tyrion knew that at this moment, simple taunting would be useless.
He drew his short sword and shouted with all his might, "Now, go back and hold the line! As long as you push His Majesty Stannis back, each person gets a hundred gold Dragons! If anyone flees, I will kill him right now!"
Under Tyrion's threats and inducements, these Soldiers, whose morale had collapsed, returned to their fighting positions.
They restabilized the crumbling defense line.
While both sides were locked in fierce combat, they were completely unaware that another army was seizing territory.
Jon, leading over ten thousand Northern and Riverlands allied forces, began attacking from the Old Gate.
After taking the Old Gate, they split into two along the city walls, successively capturing the Gods' Gate, Dragon Gate, Iron Gate, and Lion's Gate.
Jon's speed was extremely fast; he even captured them before the enemy's messengers could report the situation to adjacent gates or Tyrion.
The main reason was that Tyrion had placed all his elites at the River Gate.
At this moment, Jon and Martin, along with over a hundred heavily armored elites and nearly a thousand Soldiers, had arrived at the King's Gate.
The King's Gate was also about to be breached.
However—
Jon, who had maintained God's Perspective, noticed that something was amiss.
At this time, the range he could scout had exceeded thirty kilometers.
And thirty kilometers away, he felt a high-spirited fresh army rapidly approaching.
As for the numbers—from his perspective, he could detect about four thousand people.
Beyond his perspective, more enemy forces were continuously pouring in.
It was like playing some kind of hack-and-slash game; although the monsters entering the map didn't seem too many at first glance, they kept coming in an endless stream.
"The Highgarden army has arrived!" The maximum number of defenders in the city was only about ten thousand. His Majesty Stannis's Soldiers, after the wildfire immolation, probably only had three or four thousand left.
Jon still had about ten thousand people, and as far as he knew, the army of The Reach was a full eighty thousand!
Eighty thousand!
This was a terrifying number.
King's Landing only had a population of about half a million.
If this army rolled over, everything would turn to dust.
Judging by the enemy's advance speed, he had no more than an hour!
Within an hour, he had to take not only the King's Gate but also the River Gate!
And there was also a more troublesome place: the Red Keep.
The Red Keep's ramparts were even taller and thicker; it couldn't be breached in a short time.
Jon felt a bit confused. He clearly remembered that the Tyrell and Lannister armies only arrived when His Majesty Stannis was almost about to break into King's Landing. This seemed earlier than before.
But at this moment, Jon had no time to think. He turned and shouted to Martin, who was still leading the charge:
"Martin! Martin!"
"Lord Jon."
Martin, hearing Jon's summons, quickly ran over. "Spare no cost, plow a path for me! I need to take people to capture the River Gate!"
Jon decided to abandon the previous mode of operation, which was to completely capture one gate before moving on, and instead chose to first open a breach, allowing him to launch an attack on the River Gate more quickly.
He estimated that His Majesty Stannis would also soon receive news of the Tyrell army's arrival.
His Majesty Stannis was also an experienced commander; he wouldn't prolong the fight but would retreat as before.
And at this time, the defenders on the River Gate were relaxed, so he might be able to decide the battle with one strike.
It was not beyond Jon's expectation.
His Majesty Stannis, who had almost reached the city gate, was practically struck by lightning when he received news of The Reach's reinforcements.
He pursed his lips and ground his teeth, feeling even more that the world was spinning.
"Your Majesty, retreat! If we don't leave, we'll all be finished!" The one advising him was just a knight.
This knight had platinum-blonde hair.
'House Massey,' His Majesty Stannis recalled the knight's origin before deciding whether to retreat.
However, he quickly pulled himself back to reality.
Previously, after he ordered The Red Woman to kill Renly, The Reach did not choose to join his army but instead launched the Bitterbridge mutiny and killed his dispatched men.
His original plan was also to preemptively capture King's Landing before The Reach's army could react.
This would also secure victory in advance.
But now, it seemed he had run out of time.
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