On the Blackwater Rush, the green fire still roared and rolled like a giant python strangling its prey.
But the problem was, the prey was simply too large to swallow in one go.
And the warships, clustered together because of the chain boom, actually formed a floating bridge on the water!
Stannis led his elite troops to complete the landing using this pontoon bridge made of shipwrecks.
This might have been the most expensive pontoon bridge in the world.
Stannis pressed his lips together tightly and turned to look at his fleet.
Soon, his gaze locked onto a warship with a yellow hull.
At this moment, it was like a giant brazier. Soldiers perished in the fire, and masts snapped under the gnawing flames.
The Fury!
He had once ridden this warship to defeat the remnants of the Targaryens.
He had once ridden this warship to assist Robert in suppressing Balon Greyjoy's rebellion.
He had planned to ride this warship to capture King's Landing and take back what was rightfully his.
It was his most beloved warship. That ship had witnessed his glory. To some extent, Stannis loved the Fury more than he liked his wife, Selyse.
Watching so many warships perish in the sea of fire, he felt as if someone were gouging his heart with a knife.
He remembered his most trusted subject, Davos, had placed his son on the Fury as the oarsmaster.
That child seemed to have just come of age...
Stannis thought of Davos again, his Onion Knight.
But the roaring flames and billowing smoke obscured his vision; he couldn't find the Black Betha that Davos was on.
The cost of this battle exceeded his imagination, and worse, victory had not yet arrived.
As if making up his mind, Stannis jerked his head around to look at the crowned stag banner still flying over the Mud Gate.
A bastard, a Lannister bastard, what right does he have to use the Baratheon banner?! Raging waves seemed to brew in Stannis's blue eyes. He had paid too much; he had to take King's Landing today!
He looked at the sword at his waist, the sacred sword Lightbringer obtained for him by the Red Woman sacrificing statues of the Seven!
Stannis drew the sword from his waist. The brilliant blade radiated yellow and red light.
Holding it in his hand, it was as if he were holding a torch.
Unfortunately, this torch emitted no heat.
He threw away his helmet and took his crowned stag crown from his squire, placing it on his head.
Then, ignoring others' objections, he moved to the most conspicuous high ground.
Stannis held Lightbringer high, trying to attract everyone's attention.
Closest to Stannis were some well-armored personal guards.
Further away were soldiers looking somewhat wretched. Faces blackened by smoke, cloaks burned and tattered.
Some even had messy hair, looking like the wildlings encountered in the Kingswood earlier.
Rather than a successful landing, it looked more like they had scrambled ashore to save their lives.
Stannis knew he had to rally the morale of these soldiers.
"Soldiers! The Usurper's defense line is crumbling. Our ships are burned; now there is only one way, and that is to breach King's Landing! Follow your King! Kill—"
With that, Stannis charged toward the Mud Gate wielding the glowing Lightbringer.
Seeing their King leading the charge, the soldiers' nearly extinguished morale was reignited.
Some even dragged siege equipment from the ships' holds.
Siege ladders, battering rams, catapults.
Their attack was not only to break the enemy's defense line but also filled with the rage of wanting revenge for falling into a trap.
At this moment, Joffrey on the battlements felt something was amiss.
"Shouldn't they all have been burned to death? Why are they climbing up again?"
Joffrey no longer leaned over the battlements with great interest to watch the plight of Stannis's army. Instead, he carefully retreated to the relatively safe position Tyrion had arranged for him.
The wildfire explosion just now, like divine punishment, was truly shocking.
Yet enemies survived such an attack and climbed ashore for revenge.
This brought a particular psychological shock to the defending soldiers.
Moreover, Stannis's soldiers below occasionally shouted "Long live King Stannis." Their leader leading the charge boosted their morale significantly.
Soon, Stannis's soldiers reached the battlements. Although they were quickly driven back, encouraged soldiers kept climbing up in an endless stream.
Among the defenders, some occasionally looked toward Joffrey's position to see if their King was still there.
But Joffrey looked left and right, feeling his position was too conspicuous.
Especially since those soldiers kept looking at him.
"He's over there!"
Suddenly, Joffrey heard a roar.
He couldn't distinguish who shouted it.
Did Stannis's soldiers see me? I can't stay here. I can't stay in this damn place anymore. I want to go back to the Red Keep! Joffrey felt his legs trembling.
He looked at Tyrion, who was currently doing his utmost to command the army.
Mm, he shouldn't be able to see me. He can't see me! Joffrey first slowly lifted his buttocks, then moved a few steps nonchalantly.
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. He turned and ordered, "Ser, escort me back to the Red Keep."
With that, Joffrey bolted, afraid his Kingsguard would object.
But his departure suddenly increased the pressure on Tyrion's side. Discovering their King had abandoned them to flee for his life, the soldiers' morale plummeted.
Some simply followed suit and left the battlements. Tyrion watched helplessly as the Mud Gate defense line gradually collapsed.
The shouts of Stannis's soldiers were right in his ears.
Below, the battering ram pounded the city gate frantically. Terrifying impacts one after another sounded like rolling thunder from underground.
"Tyrion!" Tyrion turned to look; it was Bronn.
"Why are you here?"
"I came from another gate." Bronn shouted, "Can we still hold?"
"We must hold even if we can't!" Tyrion roared with a ferocious face, truly showing a bit of a lion's spirit.
He had no mind to say more to Bronn, leading him and the surrounding guards to run in front of a group of soldiers about to flee the line.
"Soldiers! Our reinforcements are arriving soon! Hold on! Do you think your courage is less than mine, a dwarf's?"
Tyrion knew that simple goading was useless at this time.
He drew his shortsword and shouted with all his might: "Now, go back and hold! As long as we push Stannis back, a hundred gold dragons for everyone! Anyone who runs, I'll kill him right now!"
Under Tyrion's coercion and bribery, these soldiers with shattered morale returned to their combat positions.
They stabilized the crumbling defense line again.
Just as both sides were fighting fiercely, they were completely unaware that another army was conquering the city.
Jon led over ten thousand Northern-Riverlands coalition troops, starting the attack from the Old Gate.
After taking the Old Gate, he split his forces into two along the wall, successively taking the Gate of the Gods, the Dragon Gate, the Iron Gate, and the Lion Gate.
Jon's speed was extremely fast, conquering them before the enemy messengers could even report to adjacent gates or Tyrion.
The main reason was that Tyrion had placed all his elites at the Mud Gate.
At this moment, Jon and Martyn, with over a hundred heavy armored elites and about a thousand soldiers, had arrived at the King's Gate.
The King's Gate was also about to be breached.
Only—
Jon, maintaining his [God's Eye View], realized something was wrong.
The range he could scout now exceeded thirty kilometers.
And thirty kilometers away, he sensed a high-morale reinforcement army rapidly approaching.
As for the number—he could scout about four thousand in his view.
But outside his view, more enemies were pouring in endlessly.
It was like playing a Dynasty Warriors game; although not too many monsters appeared on the map at first glance, they kept coming.
"It's the Highgarden army!" The defenders in the city numbered at most ten thousand at their peak. After the wildfire explosion, Stannis's remaining soldiers might only be three or four thousand.
Jon still had about ten thousand men, but as far as he knew, the Reach army numbered a full eighty thousand!
Eighty thousand!
That was a terrifying number.
The population of King's Landing was only about five hundred thousand.
If this army rolled over them, everything would turn to dust.
Judging by their marching speed, he had less than an hour!
Within an hour, he not only had to take the King's Gate but also the Mud Gate!
And there was another troublesome place—the Red Keep.
The Red Keep's ramparts were even taller and thicker, impossible to breach quickly.
Jon was somewhat puzzled. He clearly remembered that the Tyrell and Lannister armies arrived when Stannis was about to breach King's Landing. This seemed earlier than before.
But there was no time for Jon to think too much. He turned and shouted to Martyn, who was still leading the charge:
"Martyn! Martyn!"
"Lord Jon."
Hearing Jon's summons, Martyn ran over quickly. "At all costs, plow a path for me! I'm taking men to capture the Mud Gate!"
Jon decided to abandon the previous operational mode of completely conquering a gate before moving on. Instead, he chose to open a breach first, allowing him to launch an attack on the Mud Gate faster.
He estimated Stannis would also soon receive news of the Tyrell army's arrival.
Stannis was also a seasoned commander; he wouldn't linger in battle and would retreat as before.
And right now, the defenders on the Mud Gate battlements were at their most lax. Perhaps he could settle it in one blow.
As Jon expected.
Stannis, who had almost ascended the city gate, felt like he was struck by five thunderbolts upon learning of the Reach reinforcements' arrival.
He pursed his lips and ground his teeth, feeling the world spin.
"Your Grace, retreat! If we don't leave, we're all finished!" The one advising him was just a knight.
This knight had platinum-blonde hair.
House Massey. Before deciding whether to retreat, Stannis first recalled the knight's background.
However, he quickly pulled himself back to reality.
Previously, after ordering the Red Woman to kill Renly, the Reach didn't choose to join his army. Instead, they launched the mutiny at Bitterbridge and killed the envoy he sent.
His original plan was also to capture King's Landing before the Reach army could react.
This would also lock in the victory early.
But now it seemed he had run out of time.