Entering the king's tent, Cadmus sat in one of the chairs around the table and spoke in a casual tone. "The Red Witch will not enter the battlefield."
His voice made Raymun Darry, Randyll Tarly, Paxter Redwyne, Mathis Rowan, and Arthur Dayne look at the mage with intrigued expressions. Because of Rhaegar and Cadmus, everyone present knew there was an extremely powerful four-hundred-year-old witch on Robert's side.
"Did you kill her?" Rhaegar asked with a touch of joy in his voice. He had reason to be happy; no one wanted such a powerful enemy so close, much less next to an enemy with an irreconcilable feud like Robert.
"No." Cadmus shook his head and replied in a calm tone. "I made a deal with her. If she doesn't step onto the battlefield, she can continue to live."
For the first time, Raymun Darry, Randyll Tarly, Paxter Redwyne, and Mathis Rowan looked at Cadmus with softened gazes. They stopped treating Cadmus as a foreigner, and from that moment on, he became a true comrade-in-arms.
Rhaegar was surprised but nodded. Although disappointed, this was the best outcome in his eyes. Regardless of who won, if Cadmus and Melisandre fought, the possibility of both sides being wounded was enormous.
At the same time, he was curious about the witch's objective. If she didn't want to be on the battlefield, why was she on Robert's side? Putting his doubts aside, Rhaegar looked at Cadmus with a grateful look.
"Thank you for your hard work, good brother." Rhaegar spoke with a laugh and poured a glass of wine for Cadmus, which made many look at it with a touch of envy. Not many people could have the king personally serving a glass of wine.
"Don't be happy too soon; she probably won't enter the battlefield, but that doesn't mean she won't play some dirty tricks." Cadmus drank the wine and said with an amused tone.
"When I arrived, she was giving birth to a Shadow Baby, an abomination that could transform into shadows and pass through any wall, kill silently, and escape without anyone noticing. Even the Faceless Men would be envious of such abilities."
Rhaegar's face turned pale; not only them, all the men present showed similar expressions. Cadmus's description was enough to scare these brave men. Which, honestly, was normal. Anyone would be terrified of being targeted by such monsters.
"I will distribute some rings to you, but I will need to be paid." Cadmus said, looking at these rich lords with a gentle gaze. He would certainly be gentle in asking for an exorbitant price. After all, each ring was an artifact capable of saving a life.
How much is your life worth?
So, Cadmus was prepared to extract a lot of wealth from these men who had accumulated riches for thousands of years.
Before Cadmus's gentle gaze, these men felt another chill. However, they had no choice; it was either pay or die silently in the middle of an entire army.
Rhaegar looked at Cadmus without words. The mage's greed was truly great.
If Cadmus heard Rhaegar's thoughts, he would have raised his middle finger and called him a hypocrite.
If Cadmus was greedy for gold, Rhaegar was Smaug, a true dragon greedy for a mountain of gold. The mage knew that Rhaegar liked gold more than anything else.
"While you were away, news arrived that the Vale Army finally moved. At the same time, Eddard Stark positioned himself, ready to attack the Vale Army." Rhaegar put other matters aside and spoke in a deep tone.
"And Dorne?" Cadmus asked in a calm tone.
"They are coming." Rhaegar replied with a cold smile. Although Dorne didn't like him, his queen was still Elia, and they had to obey, or the heir to the throne would not have Dornish blood.
"However, what worries me is Balon's Army. That salty rapist bastard is missing along with his fleet of ships." Rhaegar said, turning his gaze to the map in the center of the table. There was no piece representing House Greyjoy.
"Don't we have his son imprisoned? Is the man really indifferent to the death of his last male child?" Cadmus asked, surprised. He thought Balon would besiege King's Landing to force Rhaegar to release Theon, but apparently, the Greyjoy army was missing.
"I heard he has a very competent daughter, and the boy Theon was raised by Eddard. It's difficult for Balon to know if Theon is a Salt Man or a Northerner." Rhaegar said with a touch of sarcasm, which made the others also show expressions of contempt.
"Then kill him, let's see if Balon is really that indifferent." Cadmus said with a cold smile. "If he gets furious and attacks King's Landing, we'll know where he is. It's better than not knowing the whereabouts of such a powerful fleet of ships."
"The Heir of the North sent many letters asking me to release the Greyjoy boy; apparently, they are brothers in everything but blood." Rhaegar said, looking at Cadmus.
Cadmus understood why Theon was still alive. Robb was the future Lord of Winterfell and Lord of the North; Rhaegar didn't want to spoil the alliance between House Targaryen and House Stark in the coming generations.
"What an idiot, does he really think Theon wouldn't turn against him to inherit the Salt Throne?" Cadmus shook his head, finding Robb too sentimental to be a Lord. However, remembering how the boy died in another timeline, he found it normal for the Heir of the North to be so sentimental.
"Alright, even without killing Theon, we can attack Pyke." Rhaegar said with a bright look. With the Redwyne Fleet, he was already planning to attack Pyke, forcing Balon to come out of the hole he was hiding in at that moment.
"Lord Redwyne, how much time do you need to attack Pyke?" Rhaegar asked in a calm tone, looking at the thin, fair-haired man.
Paxter Redwyne, the Lord of the Largest Fleet in Westeros, did not hesitate to reply in a firm tone. "Two weeks, Your Grace. I will reduce those cold, lifeless stones to a pile of flames."
Rhaegar didn't think the time was long; not to mention the time to prepare such a naval war, the time to reach Pyke was also long. "Alright, but we can't remain unaware of Balon's whereabouts; he is too dangerous to stay in the shadows."
Although the Fleet of the Salt Men is much smaller than the Royal Fleet and the Redwyne Fleet, they had better ships and also the most experienced sailors in the Seven Kingdoms.
After Balon ordered the burning of the Lannister House Fleet years ago, everyone put their contempt aside. The Salt Men were a bunch of trash rapists, but they were excellent quality trash when it came to sailing.
Paxter did not feel intimidated by the Greyjoy house fleet; House Redwyne possessed the largest fleet in the Seven Kingdoms, not to mention they were elite sailors. Along with the amount of money they had, they were one of the strongest houses in the Seven Kingdoms. Even compared to a great house like House Martell and Greyjoy.
Of all the Noble Houses, perhaps only House Redwyne could rival House Lannister in terms of money. The merchant ships of House Redwyne crossed the continents and brought rivers of gold to House Redwyne.
Paxter wasted no time and left the tent; he had to get to the Arbor, the seat of House Redwyne, as soon as possible.
Rhaegar looked at everyone present and spoke in a solemn tone. "We will prevent Robert's Army from sleeping for a few more days and we will attack with full force. We will capture Robert and end this war as soon as possible."
"Those arrogant bastards will suffer." Raymun, the Hand of the King, said with a malicious laugh. He wanted to see Robert's expression as his army collapsed before him like a sandcastle knocked down by the sea waves.
"Don't be so sure of victory, Raymun." Rhaegar warned the Hand in a cold tone. "The closer we are to victory, the more cautious we must be."
Raymun felt a shiver at the king's cold eyes and nodded. The king could be gentle most of the time, but he had a gaze capable of enchanting maidens, but also a cold gaze capable of frightening the fiercest of warriors.
"Yes, Your Grace." Raymun said in a calm tone.
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