Longtable Castle.
Under the portico of the main hall, a two-meter-tall armored knight had his hands and feet bound with wrist-thick iron chains, locked to a corridor pillar.
Silver fine-steel armor, a white cloak, a perfect White Knight outfit.
At this moment, that symbol of purity had already been stained with dark red, foul-smelling blood, like a courtyard after the first snowfall, trampled into a mottled mess by the boots of servants and knights.
The White Knight's helmet was nowhere to be seen, revealing a grayish-white head crudely stitched together by the worst of tailors. On that dead man's face were a pair of small lightbulb-like eyes, emitting a cold and terrifying blue glow.
"Seven gods above, what has Cersei done?"
"A monster, this is a monster."
"Too tragic. No matter what, he was once the King in the North, yet he has fallen to such a state."
"This is a curse. Betraying sacred oaths will bring the gods' curse. Didn't the Rat Cook turn into a rat?"
"But Walder Frey didn't turn into a rat!"
"Walder Frey believes in the Seven. Maybe he even carries indulgences. Robb Stark is a heretic who worships the Old Gods."
In the courtyard, knights, landed knights, and servants crowded together, pointing and whispering at the tall White Knight chained to the pillar.
The White Knight bound to the pillar was Robert Strong, also Robb "the Mountain."
"Clatter, clatter~~~" The presence of living people stirred the ghostly Robb into agitation. He struggled violently, the chains on his body tightening, and even the marble pillar began to sway slightly.
"Ah! Quick, go call the Dragon Queen. Robb Stark is about to break free from the chains!" a noblewoman cried out, covering her mouth.
Inside the hall, Dany was arranging for the maester of Longtable Castle to send warning letters to the southern lords.
Hearing the commotion outside, she quickly walked out, drew the white sword at her waist, and fiercely slashed several times at the backs of the Mountain's knees and his arms. The sharp blade even damaged the fine steel armor.
Immediately, although the wight Mountain still shook his head and struggled, his limbs had already gone limp like noodles.
"Your Majesty, this blasphemous monster should be burned immediately. Why keep it?" asked a short, middle-aged knight with a yellow centaur sigil on his chest.
He was Ser Lorent Caswell of Bitterbridge.
Bitterbridge Castle was small. After the Battle of Winterfell, following the Anti-Wight Committee's orders, he had brought his family and subjects to gather at the high-walled, deep-moated Longtable Castle.
Recently, however, he had been considering moving again, eastward to the safer Storm's End, or southward to Oldtown near the Arbor.
Dany pointed at ghostly Robb and said, "This is Robb Stark's head and the Mountain's body. I must hand the corpse over to the Starks for disposal."
In truth, she was thinking: you ordinary folk have no idea how precious this experimental material is.
She did not intend to study necromancy itself, but to figure out why corpses revived by necromancers suddenly turned into wights, and why their strength increased significantly.
Robert Strong had originally been a personal bodyguard crafted by the mage-maester Qyburn for Cersei. Later, Qyburn died unexpectedly, and Cersei was placed under the supervision of septas. Euron seized control of Robert Strong, making him his Kingsguard.
When leaving King's Landing, even the chief steward Tania had been sent to the military camp to reward the soldiers, yet Robert Strong, the so-called "strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms," had been kept by Euron at his side like a treasure.
Well, Euron had originally been quite fond of Tania, who was skilled in seven arts of pleasure. He hadn't lied to the young lord; he and his mother truly had been lovers. Unfortunately, with his manhood gone, what use was a lover?
Robert Strong possessed immense combat power and did not need to eat, like a perpetual machine. He followed Euron all the way to the Reach without any mishap.
Until the Others appeared.
Facing the horde of wights, Euron had expected Robert Strong to display the prowess of the Seven Kingdoms' greatest warrior.
Endless stamina, unmatched bravery, Robert versus the tireless and countless wights seemed like an exciting prospect.
Yet after just a single exchange, Robert Strong's eyes lit up. Then he turned around and began slaughtering the living ironborn.
He was like a "fully ripened" corpse, easily plucked away by the Others.
Even among a group of wights, Robert Strong's appearance and size were too conspicuous. When Dany, at the center of the storm, noticed him, she immediately sensed something unusual and did not kill him.
Before the crowd surrounding Robert Strong had dispersed, Dany had already returned to the castle hall, accompanied by several highborn landed knights.
The Dragon Queen had been in the Reach for four or five days. Within a radius of two to three hundred kilometers, many lords and landed knights had come, either in person or by sending powerful knights as representatives.
After the upheaval at Casterly Rock, nearly a month had passed. More than a million wights had gradually entered the Reach, and several long-established noble castles of the "Greenhand" lineage, such as Goldengrove and Red Lake, had fallen. The lords of the Reach were all terrified and at a loss.
Even the Hightower of Oldtown had sent many letters asking the Dragon Queen for aid during this time.
"Your Majesty, now that the wights from the Westerlands have all poured into the Reach, why not remain at Longtable Castle or go to Cider Hall?
"As long as you raise your banner, you will surely assemble a volunteer force of five thousand from the Reach very quickly.
"I swear, every one of them is a true knight who has been properly anointed," suggested Ser Tanton Fossoway, whose gray breastplate bore a red apple.
He was the "Red Apple" of Cider Hall.
"Longtable Castle and Cider Hall are both too small. Why not drive out the ironborn and seize Highgarden? Your Majesty could lead the Reach volunteers and use Highgarden as a base to rescue all parts of the Reach, just as was done in the Westerlands," said Jon Fossoway, whose velvet coat bore a green apple.
He was a landed knight from New Barrel and the head of the Green Apple Fossoways.
These two were actually old acquaintances of Dany. Not just them, many of the knights and landed knights present had dealt with the Dragon Queen long ago.
Back when she participated in the Honeywine tourney as the "Bat Knight."
The two Fossoways had even given roasted fish to the Bat Knight at the time.
Ser Montaley frowned and said, "Victarion refuses to yield Highgarden. He even threatens that if we try to force him, he will burn the granaries of Highgarden.
"At the same time, he has sworn on the honor of House Greyjoy that as long as he lives, he will not allow a single undead to set foot in Highgarden."
He had been personally chosen by Tania of Myr before she went to King's Landing as guardian for her son, Russell. During this time, he had also represented House Merryweather in serving the Dragon Queen.
As soon as Ser Montaley finished speaking, everyone turned their gaze toward the Dragon Queen.
"I have no interest in interfering with the political structure of the Reach. And Highgarden is too remote; it is not the best defensive point," Dany said.
Highgarden was of course not remote. It lay along the lower Mander River, possessing the most fertile lands in the Reach and was roughly at its center. But when considering defense, Dany had to view Westeros as a whole. On the map of the Seven Kingdoms, Highgarden lay in the southwest corner, too far removed.
After thinking for a moment, Dany continued, "It is a fact that the Others have entered the Reach, and we cannot ignore it. A volunteer force can be formed. There is no need for too many, three thousand knights will suffice. They will be stationed temporarily at Longtable Castle."
Just as the lords of the Reach showed signs of joy, she added, "You must still strengthen the defenses of your own castles. The volunteer force will only handle wight forces numbering over one hundred thousand."
At this point, Dany could not help but show a hint of helplessness. "You all understand that the Reach is not the only region in Westeros.
"The Westerlands have already fallen, and the Riverlands and the Crownlands are in dire condition. The Dawn Knights are few and can only defend cities; they lack the strength to take the offensive.
"Relying on me alone, even if I slept on dragonback every day, I could not possibly reach every castle in time.
"In fact, just in the past week, two lordships in the Riverlands have already fallen."
The gentle-looking Green Apple Jon said with a troubled expression, "The situation in the Seven Kingdoms is too difficult. Food grows scarcer, knights fall in greater numbers, the dead increase day by day. What are we to do in the future?"
"If only there were more great sorcerers like Your Majesty," said the Red Apple Tanton.
Count Mathis Rowan shook his head. "There is no need for someone as powerful as the Queen. If each castle had a few fire mages capable of instant communication and producing wildfire, along with a few priests, and one or two thousand soldiers armed with dragonglass weapons, then even a siege of thirty to fifty thousand wights would not be feared."
He was the lord of Goldengrove. House Rowan belonged to the "Greenhand" lineage and was one of its most prominent noble houses.
Moreover, Count Mathis himself was known throughout the Seven Kingdoms for wisdom, prudence, and popularity, and together with Randyll Tarly and Paxter Redwyne, he was called one of the "Three Heroes of the Reach."
At one time, Kevan had even considered making Mathis the Hand of the King. But unlike Randyll, the old count held no prejudice against the Dragon Queen and had no intention of trying to "defy fate" for the Iron Throne.
After Aegon landed at Storm's End, he led his troops back to his homeland; previously, he had been assisting Mace Tyrell in besieging Storm's End.
Unfortunately, fate did not favor him. His lands lay directly in the path of hundreds of thousands of wights moving south.
By the time the Dragon Queen arrived, Goldengrove had already fallen, leaving only the main keep resisting in despair.
Much like Hearthome before.
Thus, Count Mathis spoke with deep feeling. "There are too few mages in Westeros. If there were as many sorcerers as maesters, Goldengrove would surely have held until the Queen arrived."
"It's not that there are too few. Aside from the Alchemists' Guild in King's Landing, there is simply no foundation for mages to survive. In the past, when we discovered forest witches, we would hang them. Who would still dare to study magic?" muttered the Red Apple.
A glint flashed in the old count's eyes as he said meaningfully, "Perhaps we need to establish a magical academy, similar to the Citadel."
From the high seat, the Dragon Queen saw his gaze and nodded. "A good idea, but you must first solve one problem. Magic equates to direct power. When mages hold power, they will affect the authority of the nobility. What then?"
The old count seemed to have long considered this and immediately replied, "Let mages become a secluded order. A magic guild will manage their daily affairs, and the guild itself will be supervised by the Faith to ensure that mages do not participate in politics and do not openly act in secular society, similar to monastic orders.
"Then place the headquarters of the magic guild in a remote region, for example, beyond the Wall."
"Count Rowan, aren't you thinking too far ahead?" Green Apple Jon frowned.
"Not at all," the old count shook his head and looked at the Dragon Queen. "Your Majesty, how long do you think the Long Night will last?"
"More than ten years," Dany said firmly.
"Ten years?!" The knights and landed knights on both sides of the table turned pale, their expressions filled with despair.
"My stores will only last two years. What should we do?"
"If we gather more wight beasts, perhaps we can last four years."
"Seven gods, this is the Reach, the most prosperous region. After ten years, will there even be any living people left in the Seven Kingdoms?"
(End of Chapter)
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