Casterly Rock, the lion's den perched upon the giant stone, was now shrouded in a somber, killing atmosphere.
Kevan Lannister stood in the great hall. The squire before him knelt on the ground, trembling all over.
The young man was the second son of Lord Leygood of Goldtooth, wearing the red-and-gold doublet of House Leygood. At this mont, he looked like a chicken being strangled.
"Dunn," Kevan's voice squeezed out from between his teeth, "if you dare waver the army's morale again, do you believe I will kill you imdiately? Your father and brother have already betrayed Casterly Rock. Do you want to beco an oathbreaker as well?"
The young squire trembled from head to toe, stamring, "N-no, my lord… it's just that all the nobles of the Westerlands have submitted now…"
Schlick.
The blade instantly pierced through his neck. Dunn's eyes bulged wide, his mouth opened, and blood gushed from the wound and the corners of his lips. He reached out as if trying to grasp sothing, then slumped softly to the ground.
"Anyone who dares waver the army's morale again — kill!"
Kevan's eyes were bloodshot.
He had already killed more than a dozen sons of surrendered houses. Now, no matter who it was, if they dared waver morale, he would kill them.
He refused to believe that evil god could take Casterly Rock.
Casterly Rock was carved from a single giant stone. It had a thousand years of history and had never been breached!
He could not submit to a murderer… because Tywin was his most respected brother.
Moreover, he believed Luke Jaqenion would never spare House Lannister. As long as Joffrey in King's Landing did not submit, Casterly Rock would be labeled as traitors!
The most crucial point was that he, Kevan Lannister, was now the Duke of the Westerlands — a position he had never even dared to dream of.
No one could take his ducal title away!
A maester brought a letter:
The fleet from the Arbor would reach Lannisport tomorrow. They would attack at sunset and had deliberately leaked the news to Marcus of Draco.
At that ti, Marcus, who was besieging Casterly Rock, would surely divert troops to support Lannisport. Lord Redwyne demanded that Kevan attack Marcus from the rear to form a pincer attack.
After reading the letter, Kevan let out a frenzied laugh.
"Hahahaha… Casterly Rock has five thousand defenders. Marcus and his ragtag force only have five thousand n. On what grounds does he besiege ? Now that Lord Redwyne's fleet of over ten thousand has arrived, our numbers are three tis his. On what grounds is he so confident?"
The old maester couldn't help but correct him: "My lord, although Marcus split off half his forces to support Crakehall Hall, the nobles who submitted to Draco have raised another three thousand n to support him. He now has eight thousand. And the defenders of Casterly Rock are all new recruits…"
Kevan grabbed the old maester by the collar and nearly lifted him off the ground.
"Write letters to those nobles. Promise them shares of Casterly Rock's gold mines if they turn on the enemy!"
He released his grip, turned around, and looked at the huge map of the Westerlands on the wall.
Casterly Rock was in the center, Lannisport by the sea, and the winding road between them was one he had traveled countless tis.
"With superior numbers, victory is ours!"
The next day, before the sun had set, Kevan Lannister's head had already been cut off.
The Western Expedition General Marcus had launched a surprise counterattack!
He had pretended to support Lannisport, but had actually set an ambush on the road from Casterly Rock to Lannisport. That road, after leaving Casterly Rock, passed through a narrow mountain valley with steep cliffs on both sides — a natural ambush site.
When Kevan led his five thousand new recruits through the valley, arrows rained down from both sides and rolling boulders crashed from the mountain tops. Those new soldiers who had never seen battle collapsed before they could even form ranks.
Five thousand n were annihilated in the valley. Not a single one escaped.
None of the Westerlands nobles who had already submitted were willing to turn on the enemy at the critical mont.
Kevan died without receiving a single letter!
Marcus had cut off all communication between Casterly Rock and the outside world. Those letters promising shares of the gold mines were never sent. Or rather, he had deliberately delivered them into the hands of those Westerlands nobles!
Those Westerlands nobles had already sworn fealty to Luke in Harrenhal and had witnessed Luke's "divine power." Naturally, they dared not rebel, and deep in their hearts, all of them had genuinely submitted to Luke!
They worshipped Luke as a god!
In addition, all the nobles' eldest sons were now receiving education at the "Royal Military Academy" in Draco, and every noble was required to send a young and beautiful daughter to Draco to serve as a maid for Luke or join the Great Sept of Draco as a septa!
When Luke arrived, the battle was already over.
In truth, Marcus could have taken Casterly Rock long ago, because Luke had prepared several batches of TNT explosives for him, which could completely destroy the gates of Casterly Rock.
But after receiving news that the Redwyne fleet was coming to support Casterly Rock, Marcus changed his plan. He requested reinforcents from the Ministry of War and chose to besiege without attacking, intending to lure and kill the Redwynes!
Luke greatly approved of Marcus's idea, but the main army moved too slowly. If Bronn led troops from the Riverlands to provide support, they might miss the opportunity.
So Luke ca personally.
He flew using spiritual power at a cruising speed of 120 kiloters per hour, with a maximum speed of 300 kiloters per hour!
From Harrenhal to Casterly Rock, he arrived in less than half a day!
He had originally planned to fly directly into Casterly Rock, kill Kevan, take the castle without bloodshed, and then wait for the fleet from the Arbor.
However, by the ti he arrived, Casterly Rock was already deserted…
On the blood-soaked battlefield, the Draco legions were cleaning up. Soldiers piled the corpses together for burning, herded the prisoners into lines, and collected the scattered weapons. Soone suddenly looked up and saw the flaming six wings in the sky.
"Look! It's His Grace!"
The soldiers all raised their heads.
In the sky was a golden figure with three pairs of burning flaming wings spread behind him. In the sunset, he looked like a ball of fire descending from heaven. Even the newly joined Westerlands soldiers — those who had been fighting for the Lannisters just a month ago — now imitated the others and raised their hands above their heads.
"Long live His Grace!"
Marcus jogged over, his face full of joy, and gave a crisp military salute.
"Your Grace, Kevan Lannister has been executed. In this battle, we annihilated two thousand enemies and captured three thousand!"
Luke glanced at the massive silhouette of Casterly Rock in the distance, then looked at the excited young man before him.
"Well done."
"Marcus, you have perford excellently. I am very pleased to see you using strategy. This counterattack trap was very well executed."
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