Chapter 136 The Shadow of Death

Archmaester Pycelle, who was sent by Lord Tywin, was called out directly when he was having sex with a poor young girl.

The beard is all white and the Grand Maester walks tremblingly. Although he is old, he still performs well in some aspects. He is about to show the power of the Grand Maester again, but he is frightened by the visitor, Lord Tywin, and shrinks back.

"Why do you call me an old man? Oh, I am so old, but I still have to serve this kingdom..."

The old man put on his clothes slowly, slowly and reluctantly, and slowly opened the window, causing the person waiting for him to frown fiercely, and urged with an impatient expression:

"Hurry up, Lord Tywin, Grand Maester, go to the front line of Harrenhal immediately, don't delay, and move quickly!"

Originally, for a minister of the Royal Council, such a tone was not allowed except for the king and prime minister. However, the nobleman of the Western Region who came to see Pycelle was told by Tywin:

"You don't have to be polite to the grand sergeant with the chain. He is a good dog raised by our Lannister family. You are going on my behalf. There is no need to be polite to him. He will not make any resistance."

Tywin judged his pet very accurately. Before Pycelle called for the guards, he was suppressed by the title of Duke Tywin announced by the nobleman of the West.

And when he heard that he was about to be called to the front of the army, the short stick under his crotch was retracted at once. The old face of the bachelor was full of fear, and he shrank and asked:

"My lord, I, I am old. Look, I can't walk on the road. How about you go back first and I will slowly go to Lord Tywin?"

Any fool would understand what this meant. This Western nobleman did not expect that the kingdom's great bachelor was such a top-notch person. It seemed that King Robert's death was not unjust at all.

Duke Tywin's will cannot be violated. As one of the nobles who fought with Tywin, he knew exactly what he was doing by calling Pycelle over. When you, an old man who is afraid of death, slowly arrived in front of the army, Ed Starr The grass on Ke's grave is three feet high.

Therefore, after hearing Grand Maester Pycelle's poor excuse, the Western nobleman's face immediately sank. He directly rejected the old silver stick's delaying words and said coldly:

"My lord is in the military, and what you say is a military order. Therefore, your lord's words cannot be violated. Do you need me to help you go? Dear Grand Maester Pycelle?"

The nobles of the Western Region have also been on the battlefield. They know that when dealing with such people, they should not reason with them. He directly placed his palm on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and the threat was self-evident.

Pycelle knew that it was useless to ask for help. For this Western noble to find him accurately here, he must have received the instruction and permission of Queen Cersei. Otherwise, how could he know where he was?

"Hey, why don't I go? I believe that your Excellency is not interested in the body of an old man like me. Please wait outside the door for a moment while I clean up."

Pycelle rolled his eyes. At this moment, he remembered that he was still in this posture, which was detrimental to the dignity of the courtiers of the Royal Council. Obviously, he was not ready to give up.

"No, I'm right here. Don't worry, I'm not interested in the old man. You're safe behind you, so be careful!"

The Western noble rejected Pycelle's request without blinking an eye. Obviously, he knew that the old guy still had to struggle, so he directly cut off his thoughts.

"Okay... Sir, don't draw your sword. Isn't it okay for me to go?"

After a rustling tidying up, Pycelle took his potion and followed the Western nobleman with trembling steps, slowly and reluctantly moving towards the door.

Just as he was about to go out, the girl covering her body on the bed asked timidly:

"Sir, you haven't given me the money yet. It's a silver deer as promised."

Pycelle glanced at her impatiently and said rather irritably:

"Next time, wait until I come back."

…

When Pycelle arrived at Duke Tywin's camp and understood his mission, his hands shook. Good guy, he has already murdered a king, and now he wants to add another duke.

"Sir, this... the Seven Gods bless Master Ed. I have a way to make him wake up quickly, but this medicine is simply fatal to a weak patient."

Duke Tywin wanted this effect, so he asked directly:

"Tell me the truth, how long will it take for this medicine to return Eddard Stark to the embrace of his old god? Pycelle, you know I am the best at telling whether a person is lying. of."

"Yes, yes, sir, that is what you said."

The bachelor's head was covered with sweat, and the bachelor's chain under his neck jingled. He thought carefully for a long time, and recalled all the memories he had in the academy. After weighing it repeatedly, he reported a number:

"Sir, if I drink this bottle of potion for Lord Ed, it can last him for a month at most. This is the best estimate. At the worst, it's only half a month."

Duke Tywin thought about this time, and based on his understanding of the hearts of the people in the North, after picking up Ed Stark, they would probably send Ed Stark to safety in the north as quickly as possible.

If this time is shorter, Eddard Stark will die somewhere near the Twins; if it is longer, the moment Eddard Stark sees Winterfell is when he dies. .

But no matter what, he and his army were able to escape from the battlefield of Harrenhal, and once the wolves lost their spirit, it would be difficult to let them go south.

"Okay, but you have to promise that Ed Stark will act like a normal person. If he can't, you don't have to go back to King's Landing. There will be a more suitable Grand Maester to replace you. My University of Pycelle scholar."

It was too easy for Tywin Lannister to do this. He thought of a way to make the senior grand maester die of illness directly. Some maesters were jealous of the position of this grand maester.

Learning does not have a family, but maesters do. Tywin thought of the maester in White Harbor who was born in his own family. If the old eel had relaxed his vigilance a little and told him the extraordinary things about Clay Manderly, all that would have happened. Maybe it will be different.

Grand Maester Pycelle agreed. In this field where he excelled, his voice finally didn't sound like a pet dog.

"Sir, if I take this medicine, Lord Ed will soon wake up and be very sober, and too sober. This is obtained by squeezing his life force, and it is indeed very costly."

Tywin didn't care about the pharmacology here. He only cared about the results. He nodded and left here without saying anything:

"You'd better wake up Eddard Stark quickly, otherwise, you'll regret coming here to see me."

…

Clay and Robb returned to the camp and told the anxiously waiting princes of the north about the contents of the negotiations. Whether it was war or peace would depend on the news they brought back.

In the conflict between the Northern Territory and the Western Territory, the nobles suffered much less losses than in the original timeline, and therefore, there were not that many fanatical militant factions motivated by hatred.

Anyway, their trip was not in vain. Although it was a pity that they could not go to the rich Western Region to grab one, the armor and weapons that Clay captured in the two battles of Riverrun and Maiden Valley would be worth a share to each family. A handsome income.

The North lacks good equipment. This is something everyone in the Seven Kingdoms knows.

"In other words, the ransom for those unlucky ones in the Western Region has not been negotiated, and the rest have agreed. So why is the old lion dawdling here?"

Earl Karstark asked excitedly. In his opinion, they are just a few Western nobles and do not affect the overall situation. Tywin is actually unhappy about this kind of thing. Does he lack the golden dragon?

"That's probably true. However, Lord Karstark, we still cannot relax, not until we have retrieved my father and the army has entered Harrenhal."

"The old lion is not trustworthy. He has betrayed the Targaryen family. Therefore, in his eyes, promises are nothing. We must be careful of him sneaking up on us."

Robb Stark's words were met with waves of applause. For the northern nobles, it was now the darkness before dawn. When the deal was over and the two sides ceased war, they could go home. Autumn food could wait. Waiting for them to harvest.

The banquet that was originally planned to be held was also stopped, and the scouts of the two northern legions were still scattered near the army, alert to any suspicious intruders.

For Tywin, the actions of the North are completely useless, because now he has no time to take care of the affairs of the North. After the negotiation, he got the latest news:

Renly Baratheon, who was eating and drinking in the south, seemed to have finally gotten tired of his game of king. Three days ago, he led an army of 100,000 people to quickly move northward, approaching King's Landing.

And his good brother, Stannis Baratheon, another king of Westeros, finally climbed out of his lair on Dragonstone Island and was gathering a fleet on the island with unknown intentions.

If the two brothers of the Baratheon family were to engage in such a mess that the first one to rule the Land would be the king, then Tywin would not want to stay at Harrenhal for even a second except for finding someone to stop it. It is urgent to return to King's Landing to arrange defense.

However, the North does not know this news yet. Otherwise, Tywin Lannister would not dare to be arrogant if it were delayed any longer. What he should do is quickly seek peace and go south to put out the fire.

"Let's talk about the details tomorrow. I want to send an experienced and stable adult to go on my behalf. Can you guys recommend a candidate for me?"

This is what it should be. The big guys have finalized the things in principle, and the rest of the details are left to the eloquent men to take care of.

Now, the de facto second person in the north is Clay Mandler, who has a large number of troops. But the problem is that Clay has made it clear that he will not participate in the subsequent negotiations. Rob can't ask for anything more. He can only ask for something else. Find someone else.

"I recommend Lord Bolton. If there are not enough people, Earl Severn can also go together."

Someone suggested that during the period when Clay was away, Roose Bolton showed a deep image of making decisions and acting in the war. If the two bosses don't go, he will be the one left.

As for why he is called Earl Severn, it is very simple. This is to give Clay face. After all, the situation in the North is a bit strange at the moment. Although Robb Stark is the leader of the legion, he only forces the Tai back on the battlefield. temperature.

The other Clay Manderly, however, relied on his weak troops to surround and kill more than 10,000 Lannister troops, completely turning the situation around. He has not joined them yet, which is quite a bit self-respecting.

However, Robb Stark treated him like a brother, and Lord Clay Manderly didn't seem to do anything extra, so the current situation was still harmonious.

Despite this, no one dared to ignore the greatest hero in the battle from the north to the south. The latest news was that his grandfather, Wyman Mandler, had brought his family members to Twins City.

On the surface, he was here to take over the family's latest fiefdom, but the location of Twin River City is close to the King's Road, next to the logistics line and retreat channel of the Northern Army, which makes people think too much.

Therefore, no matter what the nobles in the north think in their hearts, they must now provide Clay Mandler, a great god who is less than twenty years old, and don't come to deal with him.

"I think this is a good suggestion, what do you think?"

Robb Stark looked at his subordinates with a smile. The negotiations were almost completed and he would soon be able to see his father. He was naturally in a happy mood.

He knew that everyone was looking at him as if they were nothing, but Clay remained unmoved. He showed his majesty on the battlefield, but now was not the time to show off his majesty, especially when Robb Stark was such a soft-spoken person. in front of the Lord.

There were a bunch of petty northern nobles and well-intentioned people in the front, and there was Catelyn Tully in the back who made extremely wise suggestions. Clay didn't want Robb Stark to call him one day. Come to Winterfell and give him a shameful act of breaking a cup.

So, although everyone was waiting for him to speak, he just said nothing, making everyone present except Robb Stark who didn't realize it was embarrassed.

Especially Roose Bolton and the added Earl Severn. They looked at each other and saw a trace of confusion in each other's eyes.

What do you mean? Clay Mandler, you don’t want this final credit yourself. Why don’t you say anything when others recommend us? How uncomfortable this is for both of us...

In the end, it was Robb Stark who saved the day. Although he didn't realize why everyone was staring at each other, he still knew that the scene was a bit cold. He thought about it again and felt that these two people were the most suitable. So I made the decision directly:

"That's it. You two adults, get ready and talk to Lannister again tomorrow."

Seeing that Clay still didn't speak, everyone realized that this person was not going to make any comments at all today, so it's easy to handle, let's applaud and pass!

Clay also patted the table gently to express his agreement. The war was over for the time being, at least for the North. Clay, a military leader who made his fortune in the army, no longer had the same majesty as before.

No matter how much they support Clay in their hearts, this force under him will be disbanded and return to their hometown with the spoils of war as long as the North and West reach a short-term peace.

There is still golden wheat waiting for them to harvest at home. This is food stored for the cold winter, so there is no need to be careless.

Moreover, the honeymoon period between Clay and the Stark family in the north is almost over. After all, the existence of Galesos makes it impossible for the Mandalay family to remain calm. When the dragon wings appear in the sky, The entire seven countries will be completely shaken.

That day won't be too far away.