"I will personally command the siege the day after tomorrow." Tywin said with a firm tone, looking at the black and white wolf banner in the distance after returning to the Western Army camp.
Kevan was changing his armor with his attendant at the moment, and upon hearing Tywin's decision, he instinctively almost nodded.
Because Tywin's tone was that of making a decision.
Kevan had always admired Tywin; as long as Tywin made a decision, he would execute it.
And every time, it was the right one.
It had been like that since childhood.
But this time, he did not give Tywin an affirmative answer as he usually would.
"Brother." Kevan waved away the attendant who was disarming him. "Let me lead the next siege instead."
"Hmm?" Seeing his brother actually contradict him, Tywin turned to look at him, a questioning grunt rumbling in his throat.
Kevan pressed his fingernail into his finger, forcing himself to calm down. He had liked to follow Tywin around since he was old enough to understand things.
Tywin was not only his brother but also like a father figure.
Of course, a father in the sense of life's meaning.
Kevan, like Tywin, looked down on their weak father.
He had never opposed Tywin; his obedience to Tywin was ingrained in his bones.
Now over fifty years old, he had listened to Tywin his entire life, and now suddenly having to object, Kevan felt his entire body resisting his own decision.
"Big Brother." Kevan used the address from their youth, indicating that he wasn't trying to oppose him. "You are more important than I am. The West cannot do without you. Let me do it instead."
Tywin, who had only turned his head to look at Kevan, now turned his entire body towards him. Kevan felt the pressure intensify.
"Do you know what the situation is now? Do you know what Lannister is facing now? If King's Landing cannot be taken, what will happen to the West? What will happen to Casterly Rock, what will happen to Lannister? Have you thought about it?!"
A barrage of questions almost broke Kevan's psychological defenses, but he still gritted his teeth and shouted:
"I know! Of course, I know! I am very clear! That's why you absolutely cannot suffer any mishaps, that's why I must take your place!" Kevan's reaction surprised and astonished Tywin.
"Didn't you choose to abandon returning to aid the West and instead rush to aid King's Landing precisely because only by saving King's Landing could you save the West and Casterly Rock?
But now King's Landing has been occupied. Our allies, the Tyrells, have they ever truly won even a single victory?
We Lannisters gained Casterly Rock through strategy, while their Highgarden was a gift from the Dragon King!"
Kevan's tone was somewhat agitated, his chest rising and falling.
"I know that in the next siege, we can only win, not lose, and you will go to the most dangerous place. But what if? What if we lose? Brother, only you are the last reliance of the West! We are, after all, for the sake of the West. Let me do it." Kevan took a few steps towards Tywin. "Please."
Kevan dared not look into Tywin's eyes, tears already blurring his vision.
Tywin watched his brother, who was like his own arm, for a long time.
They had been brothers since their mother's womb, brothers for fifty years!
Finally, Tywin patted Kevan's shoulder and said:
"I will gather all the knights to protect you. You must be careful, you must survive. We will return to the West together!"
Seeing Tywin agree, Kevan felt as if he had returned to fifty years ago.
He had fallen, then Tywin had picked him up, and he had broken into a smile through his tears.
"Mm!"
"You want to personally attack the Red Keep? This, how can this be!" Martin eagerly expressed his opposition.
"Jon, we know you want to avenge Lord Eddard and rescue Sansa, but you are very important now. You are the commander of all of us. That Varys, you cannot easily trust him!" Dondarrion also disapproved of Jon's decision.
"Leave this kind of thing to me!" Harrion said, "I will definitely rescue Miss Sansa and cut off Joffrey's head!"
Thoros said nothing but also did not want Jon to take risks.
Although she had only seen the Red Keep from a distance, she disliked it greatly. She also didn't think the Red Keep was beautiful; instead, it resembled a terrifying cave.
Jon agreed with this; after all, the number of people who died in caves was far less than those who died in the Red Keep.
"Although I will personally attack the Red Keep, I will disguise myself. Martin, you will wear my armor and guard the city in my place."
The Red Keep was simply too important; he had to go personally.
This was not some ordinary castle that would be over once captured.
Taking it was only the first step; Jon's goal was to make Cersei confess!
Only by bringing her into the city, having her stand trial, and definitively declaring Joffrey and the other two children as bastards could the Lion-Flower alliance be dismantled.
This required capturing Cersei alive.
Although killing her and Joffrey directly would also work, if conditions allowed, it was better to make this a concrete case.
Furthermore, most importantly, if the Red Keep could be taken, Jon did not wish for Cersei and her remaining two children to die by his hand, with the exception of Joffrey.
It would be best to pass this trouble to Stannis and let him figure it out.
Seeing Jon's insistence, everyone could only pray that everything would go smoothly.
Subsequently, Jon commanded again: "Ser Dondarrion, Ser Thoros, I have received intelligence that the Tyrell army's siege engines, arrows, and weapons seem to be converging towards Tywin's army. Tywin's attack direction is very likely the Lions Gate. You are to set up wildfire traps inside the city wall near the Lions Gate. Let them in when the time comes. If we can burn that old fellow to death, that would be best. Even if we can't burn him, we can quickly fill the breaches in the wall from both sides and trap them like dogs!"
Dondarrion and Thoros exchanged glances, then nodded.
In Jon's view, from Varys's perspective, he should be defending against Tywin, not attacking the Red Keep, which further increased the deception.
Finally, Jon stood up and said to everyone: "Gentlemen, the upcoming battle will decide the fate of all of us, not just us, but the fate of the entire Seven Kingdoms.
My father's death plunged the Seven Kingdoms into turmoil. Ambitious men who should not be kings have become kings. This is a betrayal of my father, and even more so, of King Robert! We will use the swords in our hands to pull this chaotic country back on track!"
Jon drew his sword with a clang and pointed it at the map of the Red Keep before him.
"Pull this chaotic country back on track!" Jon's declaration resonated well with Dondarrion, Thoros, Martin, and the others.
Deeply influenced by the culture of the Seven Gods, this sentence directly hit their 'sweet spot.'
As everyone thought of the great cause they were about to undertake, they felt their blood boiling.
"Pull this chaotic country! Back on track!"
Saying this, the others also drew their swords one after another, touching their sword tips together with Jon's.
After experiencing Stannis's first Battle of the Blackwater, followed by Jon's capture of King's Landing, and then the attack of the Lion-Flower allied army—in less than five days, this capital city had undergone three major battles.
The number of people who died in those few days combined was more than in the past decade or so.
And now, it finally had a moment of tranquility, but it was the tranquility before the final decisive battle.
Not only did the enemy and friendly forces inside and outside the city walls understand this, but the common people in King's Landing also understood.
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