"Sir, we will reach King's Landing in two quarters of an hour." At the mouth of the Blackwater Rush, an unassuming merchant ship slowly sailed in. Those on deck could even see the red spires of the castle on Aegon's High Hill slowly rising, as if to pierce the sky.
"Hmm." Davos, inside the cabin, said nothing, only grunted in response.
He was more familiar with Blackwater Bay than anyone else; he didn't need this young sailor to remind him.
Stannis sent him to King's Landing precisely to first ascertain Jon's true intentions.
Although he currently appeared to be a loyal subject, Dragonstone, having just suffered a major defeat, was extremely tense and needed confirmation before making the next decision.
Davos stepped out of the cabin and saw Melisandre already standing at the bow, looking at the vast King's Landing. This made him instinctively distance himself from her.
He took a deep breath of the sea air; the air still seemed to carry the scent of blood and char. Davos looked sadly at the river below his feet; all four of his sons had perished here, their bodies lost without a trace.
But he still gathered his spirits, soothing his itching and aching broken fingers. Davos subconsciously looked at the winch tower at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush and suddenly noticed people building stones at the winch tower.
Seeing this, Davos felt his heart clench. Although he didn't know what those people were doing, the death of his four sons was certainly connected to this tower. He decided to go and see when the ship docked.
As the ship entered the river channel, the white-sailed vessel arrived at the River Gate.
As soon as the ship docked, Davos eagerly rushed towards the winch tower. Melisandre saw this and said nothing, but waited quietly near the port.
Some Soldiers were momentarily stunned by Melisandre's beauty, but quickly walked away, simply because she had several fierce-looking Knights standing behind her, who clearly were not to be trifled with.
These people were all commoners; if they displeased someone, even if they were killed, it would be in vain.
On the other side, Davos had already reached the winch tower. He saw many craftsmen building a thick stone wall. He temporarily suppressed the grief in his heart and saw the foreman, who was in charge of directing the laborers, shouting commands loudly.
Davos, of course, wouldn't approach this person directly. Instead, he first found a young man not far from the foreman. This young man looked to be only sixteen or seventeen, with acne on his face.
Davos stepped forward and asked, "Sir, may I ask what you are doing here?"
The young man, seeing Davos's polite demeanor, said, "Oh, we are building a stele by order of Lord Jon Snow."
"A stele?"
"Yes, Lord Jon said that the battle that drove away the Lannister was of extraordinary significance, and the Soldiers who sacrificed should be remembered. So he had this stele built, and in the future, the names of the fallen Soldiers will be carved on it. They are the true saviors of King's Landing."
King's Landing — saviors." Hearing the young man's words, Davos's nose tingled with emotion.
"Old sir, you don't know, do you? Lord Jon is an example for us bastards! He defeated Tywin on the Green Fork, slew The Mountain in Darry City, and then led about ten thousand men to resist an army of one hundred thousand. There's no more formidable bastard than him!" The young man with acne looked towards King's Landing, his face full of reverence.
"Jerry! You're chatting again, go fetch me some water!" The foreman, directing the laborers, turned and shouted.
"Oh, alright!"
"Sorry." Davos expressed his apology and turned to leave.
At this moment, he suddenly noticed that the surface of the Blackwater Rush seemed somewhat different from before. Near the south bank, ships were all going out, while near the north bank, ships were all entering King's Landing.
This made the water traffic orderly and efficient.
"Did Jon do this too?" Davos thought with emotion, and soon met up with Melisandre and the others.
"That bastard is reportedly in the Great Sept of Baelor right now, so we might as well go straight there." It was Penny, who was responsible for protecting Melisandre, who spoke.
He had a beard like a steel brush at his temples, and his complexion looked darker than the others.
And Davos, hearing Penny refer to Jon as a bastard, even though it was true, he just didn't like it.
"Alright." Davos nodded slightly, then got into a carriage found by the guards, and the group entered King's Landing.
Upon entering King's Landing, Davos was surprised to find that the traffic within King's Landing was similar to that on the Blackwater Rush. White ash was scattered on the main thoroughfares, dividing the wide roads into two-way lanes, which made traffic even more convenient.
Although there were still occasional traffic jams, it was already much better compared to the King's Landing Davos remembered.
Soon, the group arrived at the Great Sept. Tents were set up in the square in front of the Great Sept; that was Jon's office.
As soon as the group got out of the carriage, they saw some commoners rushing towards the tents with hurried expressions.
Penny roughly grabbed a small man by the collar, and the small man, seeing such a prominent figure in armor, immediately felt his legs go weak.
"What are you all going to do? Why are you all running that way?"
"M-my lord, we, we are going to watch Lord Jon's execution."
"Execution?" Davos was startled, thinking that Jon was too arrogant to start killing people so soon after taking over King's Landing.
At this point, Penny, standing nearby, also disdainfully said, "What right does a bastard have to such power? Who does he think he is?!"
Although the group disagreed with Jon's actions in their hearts, they had come to meet him under false identities, so they decided to go and see.
After all, watching executions was also one of the popular activities among the people of King's Landing.
Soon, under the protection of Penny and others, Melisandre and Davos arrived at the Great Sept of Baelor.
Just a few months ago, Joffrey had beheaded the former Hand, Eddard Stark, here.
And today, Eddard Stark's son was also going to chop off someone else's head here.
Davos had expected the person to be beheaded to be some nobleman, but upon closer inspection, the person tied to the execution platform was actually dressed as a Soldier.
And from his features, he didn't look like a King's Landing native either.
Davos was born in the Flea Bottom of King's Landing and knew the people and affairs here all too well. He turned to a King's Landing commoner watching the spectacle and asked, "Sir, may I ask who that Jon is going to kill?"
This King's Landing commoner looked to be in his mid-thirties, with flaxen hair and very bright eyes. He clearly looked like a typical King's Landing citizen, shrewd and prone to calculation.
"I'm not sure, but I heard that person is one of Jon's Soldiers. It seems he killed someone, so Jon is going to execute him." The citizen said with some excitement.
"Executing his own Soldiers? Isn't he afraid of morale collapsing?" Penny, standing nearby, thought Jon's actions were not wise.
These Soldiers who had rushed with him from Harrenhal had endured brutal sieges and defenses, and it could be said that each of them had contributed. Yet Jon was publicly executing a Soldier for such a matter. Wasn't he afraid of disheartening his Soldiers?
Then, the commoner, seeing that Davos and his group were not dressed ordinarily, said, "Actually, this Soldier didn't necessarily have to die. At the time, no one knew who killed the person; it was Jon himself who found out."
Hearing him say this, Penny and Davos both felt that Jon seemed very much like Stannis. Then the King's Landing man spoke again: "However, most people in King's Landing think he's good. After he drove away the Lannister and Tyrell, he made a pact with the people of King's Landing: those who kill must pay with their lives, and those who injure or steal from others must be punished. No one can violate this."
"Yes, back then, Tywin deceived the former King into opening the city gates, and then let his Soldiers plunder—"
An elderly person nearby whispered, and Davos knew that the "former King" they spoke of referred to Aerys.
Although Aerys was known as The Mad King, he hardly ever troubled the common people. Among the populace, compared to the extravagant Robert, Aerys's reputation wasn't so bad after all.
And listening to this man's words, Davos was filled with anticipation for Jon, his favorable impression growing even further.
He can win battles, govern a city, and even discipline an army! What else is he if not a talent? Since he openly opposes Robb's claim to kingship, perhaps he can be brought over to Stannis's side!
Soon, they saw a young man walk out and ascend the makeshift execution platform. Behind him, a Knight of similar age held a greatsword nearly as tall as a man.
"That's Ice, the ancestral sword of House Stark. Eddard Stark was beheaded by this very sword." The man said again.
The Soldier who was about to be beheaded, seeing Jon approach, seemed to plead for something with a look of entreaty on his face. Jon bent down, looked into his eyes, and comforted him for a while. Finally, the Soldier stopped speaking and lowered his head, choosing to accept his fate.
The greatsword Ice fell sharply, cutting a grey arc in the air, as if carrying the biting winter wind of the North.
As the head fell, a gasp erupted from the crowd.
After a moment, Davos recovered and looked at Melisandre: "Let's go meet him."
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