Roman had been living at Harrenhal for half a month. During this time, with Fili's care, his overall spirit had improved significantly.
Fili had also developed a taste for it, but previously, following Roman meant either inspecting fields or running around on the battlefield, leaving absolutely no time.
Now that they had finally returned to Harrenhal, she had seized the opportunity and was clinging to Roman every day.
"Fili, it's fortunate that my body is not like an ordinary person's, otherwise I would truly be done for in your hands! Can't you, as a girl, be a little more reserved?"
Fili blushed and scratched her head, but her tone did not yield an inch: "Lord Roman, if we don't seize the opportunity now, we'll have to go to the front lines again once Tywin sends out his troops!"
Looking at the young girl's charming and naive appearance, Roman could only pat her head indulgently. Fili was still as reckless as before, as if she were missing a screw in her head.
The girl could always display immense capability when by Roman's side, but once acting alone, she would become timid and hesitant, always causing a mess of trouble.
"Fine, but don't forget to monitor King's Landing and the Westerlands. At other times, do as you please."
"Yay~ Thank you! Lord Roman."
————
King's Landing, The Red Keep
Cersei had been extremely depressed lately. Joffrey was arrogant and domineering, ignoring her orders; Kevan, as her uncle, was even less likely to coddle her.
Now, Cersei was like an invisible person; even the Servants in The Red Keep didn't pay much attention to this Queen Mother.
But Cersei had already tasted the sweetness of power, and how could she be willing to give away the power she had worked so hard to obtain? So, she came up with an idea—an idea that could both harass Roman and allow her to show off in front of Kevan.
Roman had rested at Harrenhal for less than a month when new news arrived from The Crownlands: a group of landed knights and landlords had returned to their territories with mercenaries and household Servants.
Because the defensive forces in The Crownlands were currently sparse, and these knights specifically targeted the borders and areas with weak control, they had actually managed to occupy a few pieces of land in a short time.
After hearing the villagers' tearful complaints, Roman immediately realized what was happening.
"Isn't this just a 'Homecoming Group'? Whose handiwork could it be? The Crownlands nobles? Impossible, they no longer have the capability to organize such an attack. Could it be that The Red Keepprovided the money and men?"
Roman immediately called for Fili and had her cross-reference recent events in King's Landing and The Red Keep with the intelligence agency.
Subsequently, they discovered that Cersei had sold all the Harrenhal collections left behind by Robertto merchants from the Eastern Continent, then used the money obtained to forge a large number of weapons and armor in King's Landing, and further recruited mercenaries and some brigands to supplement the strength of The Crownlands nobles.
Seeing this, Roman couldn't help but laugh. He cupped Fili's face and said:
"Fili, this time you stay at Harrenhal to guard against the Lannisters. I will go to Antler Keep and Sows Corner to deal with that bunch of petty thieves."
"Lord Roman, I..."
"I know what you want to say, Fili. You always lack self-confidence, but you must also understand that we cannot be together every moment. There will always be times when we are separated for long periods."
Roman added: "I believe in your ability, and besides, Harrenhal still has Instructor Jessy and Scholar Tom. If there is anything you don't understand, you can also go to Lady Helaena of House Hoare. You need to be more confident!"
In the end, the young girl nodded in agreement, bidding a reluctant farewell to Roman at the top of the Burning King Tower.
Watching Roman's figure receding rapidly, timidity and worry welled up in Fili's heart. Only then did she realize that ever since she had been picked up by Roman, she had never left his side; even occasional separations were quickly followed by reunions.
But now she could no longer rely on Roman for everything. Fili understood that she should become a help to Roman, not a burden holding him back.
The girl patted her cheeks, looked in the direction of Roman, and made up her mind.
"I must not let Lord Roman down!"
————
The Crownlands, edge of Antler Keep
The nobles and landlords of The Crownlands had made a comeback, reoccupying the land here.
They dared not trouble the Harrenhal soldiers, so they vented all their anger on the commoners. Some unruly commoners were whipped, and the rest were dragged out for forced labor.
The nobles discovered that ever since these commoners had spent time under Roman's command, they were no longer willing to obey their original masters; some even risked their lives to escape and report the news.
These actions made the nobles even more furious, and they treated the commoners with increased severity.
"Speak! What benefits did Roman give you? To dare to disobey my words! Today I will definitely break your legs!"
In the village square, several villagers had been stripped naked, their bodies whipped until they were bloody. These were the people who had previously run to the Harrenhal soldiers to report the news.
Others were forced to watch the entire execution process, after which they were thrown into the fields to work. Now, in the eyes of the "Homecoming Group," these bottom-tier people were no different from slaves, and the nobles were enjoying the long-lost thrill of power.
"Thank the Seven! Thank Queen Mother Cersei! Without her, I would still be in the cesspit of King's Landing. You rabble still dare to defect to Harrenhal? You don't really think that Roman cares about your lives, do you?"
The noble was still beating the commoners, but his subordinate came running over at this moment, panting heavily.
"My Lord! There... there are enemies! The Harrenhal cavalry is here!"
"What?!" These words immediately caused the nobles present to turn pale with fright.
But before they could react, several glowing oval-shaped white balls fell from the sky.
These white balls slammed into the members of the "Homecoming Group" and then instantly detonated. The shockwaves and White Flame blasted the nobles and mercenaries away, and cries of agony immediately rang out to the heavens.
Amidst the bewildered gazes of the commoners, Roman, covered in White Flame, descended from the sky, cleanly and efficiently killing the guards surrounding the commoners.
Roman looked at the commoners, waved his hand, and burned away the ropes on their bodies, then, without looking back, pursued the remaining enemies.
It was not until the Harrenhal soldiers arrived to provide treatment that they realized that the Lord who was covered in fire and had wings was none other than Roman.
In the month that followed, Roman was on the front lines of the battlefield. The hastily assembled "Homecoming Group" could at most bully commoners, but when they encountered the cavalry he led, they had absolutely no room to fight back.
Roman also brought in residents from the Crabs Claw Peninsula, which was under construction in the rear, and the Free Folk to garrison the area. These people were already brave and skilled in battle, and now, equipped with good gear, they were sufficient to guard against those stray dogs.
To prevent such things from happening again, Roman deployed more troops and ravens to the borders of the new territories in The Crownlands, conducting strict screenings of people coming from King's Landing.
After a long period of bandit suppression and pursuit, Roman even fought his way to the main city of House Harford at one point.
In that battle, House Harford and other unrelated nobles watched in shock as Roman performed various high-difficulty maneuvers in the air to dodge ballista bolts, while simultaneously unleashing fire and Magic Missiles at the enemy army.
Roman's methods for dealing with these "Homecoming Group" members were not as merciful as when he fought head-on. Often, after a battle, there would be melted armor, charred flesh and bones, and burned-down buildings everywhere.
Wherever Roman went, his enemies were terrified. Some who didn't believe it and insisted on opposing Roman would end up being sliced open and melted like butter.
The nobles were now somewhat suspicious of whether the records about dragons in history books were correct. Their ancestors always said that a dragon the size of a horse had no combat capability at all.
But watching Roman galloping across the battlefield, wantonly slaughtering knights and mercenaries, people felt that their ancestors probably said that just to smear the Targaryen family.
After Roman finished this battle, the nobles of The Crownlands were completely subdued. They understood that no matter what, they could not be enemies with Roman.
They didn't have the ability, and Cersei had even less.
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