Inside The Twins, Marquis Walder Frey endured the severe pain caused by his gout, sifting through the latest intelligence reports on his desk. He had to carefully analyze every piece of information to ensure the Frey Family wouldn't capsize amidst the ever-changing grand schemes—this was his way of life.
After he finished reading the latest report from King's Landing, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, then reached for another report from Riverrun, but the pain in his body made it impossible for him to concentrate.
He leaned back in his chair, beckoned to his granddaughter standing beside him, and then reached in and kneaded her through her clothes. The sensation from his palm invigorated him and significantly reduced his pain.
He couldn't remember his granddaughter's name, only that she was the daughter of one of his sons, or perhaps one of his grandsons. He had many such granddaughters or great-granddaughters around him, all sent by his "filial sons," who sometimes even sent their wives to curry his favor.
He enjoyed this feeling immensely and hoped to remain in his position for a long time. Therefore, his eyes were always fixed on his sons and grandsons. They could fight among themselves, but if they dared to covet the seat beneath him, he would ruthlessly eliminate these troublemakers, for he was a man who valued family "loyalty" above all else.
After the pain in his body eased slightly, he released his hand, allowing his granddaughter to stand aside, and he refocused his attention on the documents.
He picked up the previous document and read it. This intelligence report was sent from Riverrun, and its main content was that his liege, Hoster Tully, was recovering. Hoster Tully, who had regained consciousness a few days ago, would assemble the Riverlands coalition at Riverrun and hand command over to Blackfish Brynden Tully to march south and support King Robert's siege of the Iron Islands.
"Is this old man crazy?" Old Walder threw the report to the ground after reading it, unable to help but curse, "Now he's moving everyone to the Westerlands; doesn't he worry about the Ironborn coming south from outside Sea Frontier City?"
In the study, Stivren Frey, the heir to the Frey Family, was also assisting Old Walder with official duties. His white hair made him look older than his father. He stood up, picked up the intelligence document Old Walder had thrown on the ground, and read it, saying, "In the Riverlands coalition list, besides our Frey Family, the Blackwood Family of Raventree Hall is also absent. Could Duke Tully be planning to use the Blackwood Family and our family to hold back the Ironborn from Sea Frontier City and trap them there?"
Hearing his son's words, Old Walder seemed to recall something and quickly found an instruction document from Riverrun among a pile of files. This document had not been opened by Old Walder since it arrived, as he thought it would simply be a summons for lords to lead troops south, making it unnecessary to read. Now, it seemed the content of this document might be different from what he had imagined.
After opening the document, Old Walder read it carefully, his expression somewhat grim. Clearly, Stivren's guess was correct; Riverrun indeed wanted him to guard the vital passage of The Twins, preventing the Ironborn from Sea Frontier City from crossing the river, and the wording was extremely severe. If the Ironborn crossed the Green Fork River, it would be considered the Frey Family's betrayal of the Iron Throne.
Evidently, this document was forcing the Frey Family to act, preventing them from leisurely waiting for everything to conclude before arriving late, as they had done before.
"That damned old man, why wasn't he frozen to death in that ice storm?" Old Walder couldn't help but curse again.
Just then, a knock sounded from outside the door, and then the door opened. Stivren's grandson, Walder Frey, known as Black Walder, walked in holding a raven's message and said, "Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, there's news from Kalin Bay."
"Kalin Bay?" Old Walder paused, then disdainfully said, "Has Victarion Greyjoy also learned to write surrender letters like his nephew?"
Stivren took the letter from his son's hand and read it, saying, "Father, it's not a letter from Victarion; it's from the Duke of the North, Eddard Stark."
Old Walder was slightly surprised and said, "A letter from the Duke of the North, sent from Kalin Bay? Has Kalin Bay already been recaptured by the North?"
After reading the entire letter, Stivren said, "Yes, Kalin Bay has indeed been recaptured, but not by the Northern army, but by the army of Chosen One Linde."
"Chosen One Linde?" Old Walder hesitated, then thought carefully and said, "Is that the Chosen One warrior recognized by the Seven Gods Church?"
"Yes, Father." Stivren handed the letter to Old Walder, then recalled a previously seen document, saying, "A full-territory announcement document was sent from King's Landing earlier, mentioning that King Robert seemed to have appointed this Divine Chosen One Linde Terra as the commander of bandit suppression for the entire Seven Kingdoms."
Old Walder listened to his son's report while reading the content of the letter. Although the letter only briefly mentioned the process of recapturing Kalin Bay, he could, by experience, discern some special aspects, including the combat effectiveness of Chosen One Linde's army.
Recapturing Kalin Bay and eliminating over three thousand Ironborn within less than a day was, in his opinion, astonishing combat power.
He had visited Kalin Bay in his youth and knew it was a place difficult to attack and easy to defend. Just a few thousand men defending there could block tens of thousands from passing through, and unless tens of thousands of lives were sacrificed, it would be very difficult to break through Kalin Bay, defended by thousands, through direct assault.
This isn't to say that Kalin Bay's walls were incredibly sturdy or its defenses perfect, but rather that Kalin Bay's environment was too unique. It was surrounded entirely by unstable swamps, with only one causeway connecting to the city gate. Attackers couldn't find solid ground to stand on, let alone fight.
Moreover, the swamps harbored a large number of lizard-lions and other carnivorous swamp beasts. They were the best castle defenders; once battle began and blood flowed into the swamp, the scent of blood would attract a large number of carnivorous swamp beasts. At that point, with attacks from both inside and out, no amount of lives would be enough to fill the void.
Therefore, when Old Walder heard that Kalin Bay had been ambushed and occupied by the Ironborn, and that the Ironborn had dispatched over three thousand warriors to garrison Kalin Bay, he was certain that the Northern army could no longer advance south.
Now, Chosen One Linde had recaptured Kalin Bay so easily, which made Old Walder wonder how many lives Linde had sacrificed there.
"How many troops did that Chosen One Linde lead to attack Kalin Bay?" Old Walder was full of doubt, muttering to himself.
At this moment, Black Walder suddenly replied, "It should only be a little over two thousand, less than three thousand."
"How do you know it was only a little over two thousand?" Stivren asked doubtfully.
Black Walder replied, "Some time ago, someone reported seeing an army of over two thousand people marching north on the King's Road. Their banners were red with a longsword, so I assume it was the Chosen One's army."
"Only a little over two thousand? How was this accomplished?" Old Walder and Stivren were both astonished.
Just as the group was shocked by this achievement, Stivren's eldest son, Lymon Frey, appeared outside the open door, his expression panicked. He walked straight in and said, "Father, Grandfather, an army has arrived outside the city."
"The Ironborn army moved so quickly?" Old Frey's face showed surprise, and he said in a deep voice.
"No, not from the south, but from the north." Lymon, seeing Old Frey's misunderstanding, quickly explained, "It's an army composed of cavalry, about five thousand strong. Their banners are unfamiliar; they don't seem to be the banners of Riverlands nobles."
Stivren asked in a deep voice, "What do their banners look like?"
Lymon quickly replied, "One is covered with silver caltrops, one has a giant, and another is a red background with a longsword, and a strange symbol on the hilt."
"The silver caltrops are for the Fudeli Family of Tengshi Town. Currently, Countess Nameria, the head of the Fudeli Family, has an extremely good relationship with Chosen One Linde. The giant banner should be the Umber Family of the North, and the red longsword banner is Chosen One Linde's banner." Stivren, who was very knowledgeable about noble heraldry, quickly provided the answers for these banners.
"They arrived so quickly? The letter just arrived, and the people are already here." Old Walder's expression became serious. He thought for a moment, then pressed hard on the table and stood up, beckoning to his granddaughter to come and support him, while his other hand leaned on his cane. He said, "Let's go! We'll go meet this Chosen One."
Outside the castle on the north bank of The Twins, Linde's army was neatly arrayed not far from the city gate. Jon stepped forward to announce their identity and demanded that The Twins immediately open its gates to allow the army to pass.
However, the gate officer of The Twins refused Jon's request, citing his low status and inability to decide whether to open the gate. He only agreed to send someone to the main castle to inform Marquis Walder Frey, leaving the decision to the Marquis.
Jon was naturally furious at this reply and wanted to loudly reprimand the Frey Family's impoliteness, but Linde called him back and told him to inform the gate officer that if the Frey Family did not open the gates of The Twins and allow his army to pass before nightfall, he would declare the Frey Family in rebellion against the Iron Throne, using his authority as the commander of bandit suppression for the entire Seven Kingdoms, granted by the King.
Hearing Linde's threat, the official on the city wall immediately panicked and quickly sent several more people to the main castle to report, as it was already evening, and the sun was setting in the west, meaning darkness would soon fall.
Around the time when only a strip of fiery red remained in the western sky, the gates of The Twins were opened. Immediately after, Old Walder, along with his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons, emerged from the gate and approached Linde.
Before Old Walder could speak, Linde, seated on his horse, directly asked Old Walder, "Marquis Walder, are you still loyal to the Iron Throne?"
"Of course, the Frey Family has always been loyal to the Iron Throne, never wavering." Old Walder straightened his posture slightly and replied.
Linde said very directly, "Since that is the case, I now need to pass through The Twins to suppress the rebellion at Sea Frontier City. I require you to provide a cavalry unit, consisting of three thousand men."
Old Walder's expression stiffened, a flicker of displeasure crossing his face, but he quickly returned to normal and said, "Forming an army takes time."
Linde did not give Old Walder any chance to retort, saying, "I apologize, Lord Marquis, but I don't have extra time for you. Your army must be ready when I pass through The Twins, understand?"
Old Walder was completely suppressed by Linde's aura at this moment; let alone retorting, even looking up was difficult. He gripped his granddaughter's arm tightly, preventing himself from being crushed by Linde's presence, and at the same time, he steadied his voice and said, "Understood. I will immediately prepare the supporting army for you."
Linde nodded, waved his hand, and commanded, "Enter the city."
Following Linde's command, the army slowly began to enter The Twins.
As Linde's horse passed by the Frey Family members, they only then noticed a giant beast hidden in the shadow of Linde's warhorse. This beast looked at the Frey Family with its vertical pupils, making the hair on the Frey Family members stand on end.
After Linde's figure disappeared into The Twins, Old Walder's tense body relaxed slightly, and his grip on his granddaughter's hand loosened. The place where his granddaughter had been held was already bruised purple, but she dared not cry, only enduring it.
"Stivren, immediately organize three thousand cavalrymen to follow Linde Terra south to suppress the rebellion. Do exactly as he commands; do not give him any excuse." Old Walder paid no mind to his granddaughter's injury, turning to instruct his son, then instructed Black Walder, saying, "You immediately investigate whether our family has had any past grievances with this Chosen One. Why is he targeting us so much?"
"Targeting us?" Several Freys were stunned, not understanding Old Walder's meaning.
Looking at the foolish expressions of his sons and grandsons, Old Walder couldn't help but roll his eyes and say, "He was clearly here to destroy our Frey Family just now. Thankfully, we arrived in time, otherwise, he would have branded us as traitors. A person doesn't target a noble family for no reason; we must have offended him in the past. We must find out exactly what happened, otherwise, with such a terrifying fellow watching us, we'll never have an easy time."
Just as Old Walder was lecturing his sons and grandsons, Nameria rode up to Linde and asked, puzzled, "Do you have a grudge with the Frey Family?"
"No." Linde shook his head and said, "Why would you think I have a grudge with him?"
"I felt like you were looking for an opportunity to eliminate the Frey Family just now?" Nameria looked at Linde, puzzled.
"Was I? Was it that obvious?" Linde paused, then chuckled, "You don't need to overthink it; I have no grudge with the Frey Family. I just simply don't like him and wanted to teach him a lesson, but he evaded it. It's likely I won't have the chance to teach him a lesson for a long time, so I'll let him off for now!"
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