in2ebook Chapter 109 The Forgotten Corner
Chapter 109 The Forgotten Corner
Hearing this, the High Sparrow's face turned extremely gloomy. He sighed and said helplessly: "Well, it seems that we are destined to stand on opposite sides. However, I hope you can give me some time to make arrangements."
Liu Yuan nodded and said in a deep voice: "Okay, I'll give you ten minutes, and I will launch the attack when the time is up." After that, he waved his hand, and the troops that were blocking the door slowly retreated thirty meters.
At this time, there were less than four hundred people left in the main hall, almost all of whom were clergymen of the church, while the real armed forces of the sect numbered only over a hundred.
The High Sparrow said devoutly, "Brothers and sisters, I want to apologize to you all. I misjudged the situation. I thought that after suppressing the royal family, the Lannisters, and the Tyrells, I could take action against other powerful nobles to establish the majesty of the Church of the Seven. I was wrong. Victory blinded my eyes. I shouldn't have angered a great lord like Garlon. I didn't expect that he would be so crazy and bring disaster to the church. You all heard what he said. He will not let any of us go. Even death cannot tarnish the glory of God. Brothers, face death with me, and we will meet again in the kingdom of God! As for those who survived, they must work hard to preserve the church. The faith in God should not be severed due to the mistakes of mortals."
After saying this, the High Sparrow took out a spoonful of holy oil from a stone trough nearby, poured it on himself, and moved towards the door with difficulty. At this moment, a huge and powerful hand grabbed the High Sparrow from behind, making him unable to move at all. The High Sparrow looked back in astonishment and found that it was a Holy Sword Knight. He saw that his armor was also flowing with golden holy oil, and he was obviously ready to sacrifice himself.
Seeing this scene, everyone was silent. They knew that what the High Sparrow said was right. Then, one after another, people appeared behind the High Sparrow. They poured the remaining holy oil on themselves without hesitation, and then followed the High Sparrow firmly to the outside of the temple. Even some of the most devout saints and monks followed suit, not flinching.
Led by the High Sparrow, these people walked with firm steps to the outside of the main hall. Their eyes were as sharp as torches, full of determination and perseverance, and they looked straight at the army formation on the opposite side that was ready for battle.
Liu Yuan stood at a distance and witnessed all this. He already understood their decision. He knew that it was useless to say more, so he waved his hand decisively. Seeing this, Muto beside him immediately shouted at the top of his voice: "Attack!" The infantry in the front row moved at the sound, taking a step forward in unison, and the ranged soldiers in the back row quickly drew their bows and shot arrows.
Instantly, a volley of arrows shot out, and a large number of people on the opposite side fell down. However, many people resolutely stepped forward and blocked the Big Sparrow with their flesh and blood. The Big Sparrow had tears in his eyes and was very excited. He raised the torch in his hand high and was about to poke himself.
At this moment, a warrior son in the back suddenly rushed forward, snatched the torch from the High Sparrow, and put it on his body without hesitation. In an instant, the warrior son's whole body was engulfed by the raging flames. He shouted with all his might: "For the glory of the Seven Gods!" Then he rushed to the front of the army without hesitation. However, before he could rush a few steps, he was pierced by several spears at the same time and fell in front of the army.
But the others did not retreat because of the death of their comrades. Instead, they were inspired by that man and jumped over the High Sparrow, shouting slogans praising God. Some of them even set their bodies on fire and rushed towards the enemy without hesitation.
Seeing the believers so brave and fearless, Liu Yuan couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration in his heart, but he didn't stop his actions. The warriors of the cult came like a tide, but they were still unable to break through the encirclement. The infantry battle formation was as solid as a rock, and there were rows of well-trained archers in the back, constantly firing accurate shots at the enemy. They fell one after another under the attack of spears and swords, and their blood stained the ground red. Before long, a large number of enemies had fallen in front of the shield formation, and their bodies ignited a raging fire, forming a wall of fire.
Despite this, the people of the church remained fearless and rushed into the flames one after another! It was as if this was not a battle but a sacred sacrificial ceremony. Their courage was amazing.
Liu Yuan looked at the scene in front of him, and a complex emotion surged in his heart. He turned to look at Becot and said softly: "We are obviously occupying the moral high ground. This battle should be a just revenge. Why do people feel that we have become the villains, and those church people have become the persecuted party?"
Becot was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "These people all have firm beliefs. Regardless of their stance, their persistence and perseverance are admirable. Garlon, perhaps we should stop and let this end here."
Liu Yuan sighed, nodded and agreed, "Okay! In that case, I will not pursue the other survivors except the High Sparrow. Let them continue to live." After saying that, he looked at the burning corpses. Ever since he entered the fourth level, he has become more and more indifferent to life.
At this moment, the Big Sparrow watched everything happening in front of him with tears in his eyes. Believers, warriors, monks and nuns passed him one by one and walked towards the blazing fire without hesitation. Everyone's face was full of determination and firmness, as if they had already put life and death aside.
Finally, the Holy Sword Knight who had been supporting the High Sparrow let go of his arm. He stroked his chest, saluted the High Sparrow, and walked resolutely towards the sea of fire. He said, "My Lord Archbishop, it's my turn now. I hope that as you said, we will meet in the Kingdom of God." His steps were firm and powerful, without any hesitation, until the flames completely engulfed his figure.
When the High Sparrow heard this, he was stunned. His eyes followed the back of the Holy Sword Knight involuntarily until the last moment. Then, he turned his head silently and stared at the magnificent cathedral. The sun shone on the glass dome, and the colorful light shone on the statue.
This building once carried the faith and dreams of countless people, but now it is crumbling in the flames of war. The High Sparrow was filled with endless sadness and helplessness. He dragged his severely injured leg, and every step he took was so difficult, as if the legs no longer belonged to him. He kept murmuring: "The Kingdom of God...it must exist, and the Seven Stars Scripture will not lie." The linen robe dragged on the ground was soon stained with flames and quickly burned. However, he seemed to be completely unaware of all this and continued to move forward on his own. In the end, the High Sparrow fell in front of the wall of fire and was unable to reunite with his brothers and sisters.
While waiting for the flames to die down, Liu Yuan received two letters, one from Thorn Castle and the other from Duskendale. The contents of the letters were exactly the same, both describing the war in the North. Robb led his army to successfully capture the Dreadfort, and the ancient Bolton family, which had been passed down from the Age of Heroes, was completely wiped out.
In fact, if it weren't for the arrival of winter, two consecutive years of severe cold that made the Bolton family's territory unable to produce enough food, they shouldn't have been defeated so easily. In addition, Robb strictly ordered any lords and merchants to trade with the Dreadfort, and directly sent troops to assist neighboring lords to blockade Bolton territory, strictly prohibiting any food and supplies from entering.
As mortal enemies of the Stark family, the Boltons and Freys suffered heavy losses in this war. Especially in the last winter, nearly one-third of the residents of the Dreadfort and its surrounding areas died due to lack of food and other necessities of life. Now, Robb has concentrated most of his forces and launched an attack on the Dreadfort. Faced with such strong military pressure, the Boltons are simply unable to resist.
After a month-long siege, the engineering team led by Grieg successfully destroyed a section of the city wall with a catapult. Then, the Northern Army rushed into the city through this gap. Roose Bolton and Ramsay Bolton eventually died on the top of the city wall. In addition, Domeric Bolton, who was captured at the Red Wedding, was also executed according to Robb's order. At this point, the Bolton family, which had been entangled with the Stark family for more than 6,000 years, was completely exterminated.
Right now, Robb is leading the Northern coalition army towards the Wall, preparing to launch a large-scale offensive against the wildlings outside the Wall together with Stannis' army and the Night's Watch. Before the arrival of the White Walkers, this hidden danger must be completely resolved. This battle will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the entire Westeros continent.
Judging from the date, this letter was sent ten days ago. All the Stark children participated in this battle. Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon all witnessed the demise of the family's old enemy. Liu Yuan put away the letter and threw it into the fire.
"What happened?" Becot asked.
Liu Yuan: "Nothing, it's a letter from the North, the Bolton family is finished. After things here are over, I plan to go to the Wall."
"Sir! There is urgent information!" A soldier came quickly on horseback.
Liu Yuan took the letter and quickly glanced at it. "Huh?" Then he looked at the Red Castle in the distance and muttered to himself, "Interesting! They couldn't help but take action." He naturally had spies in the Red Castle who reported in detail what happened today.
After reading the letter, Beckett was stunned: "Mace Tyrell died in the Red Keep, and the murderer was Varys. How could this happen?"
Liu Yuan looked deep in his eyes. "It's nothing. Someone just wanted to plot against us, but failed. We'll settle accounts with them when we have a chance. Let's retreat when things here are over. To be honest, I don't like this stinking city at all."
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At this time, in the Eyrie in the Valley, Petyr Baelish, who had disappeared from the eyes of the world for a long time, covered his lower back and slowly walked up the spiral staircase leading to the High Hall. When Petyr arrived at the High Hall, he found that there was no one there. He walked around the moon door in the center of the hall and came to the marble throne. He reached out and touched the throne of the King of the Valley, and let out a helpless sigh.
When Petyr left King's Landing, he was full of energy and everything went as he planned. He owned Harrenhal as his fiefdom, married Lysa Tully, who had loved him since childhood, and served as the guardian of Robin Arryn, Duke of the Eyrie, and acted as the Protector of the East.
Although his origin as a small lord made the lords of the valley very resistant, Lady Lysa stood up for him. After punishing several lords, Petyr still gained a foothold in the valley.
But before Petyr could integrate the army of the Vale, the war in the north had already ended. He did not expect that someone as tough as Tywin would choose to compromise with the North. What he did not expect was that Tywin would choose to split such an important place as the Crownland into two, directly creating two first-class lord forces, completely blocking the Vale's way south.
What made Petyr most angry was that Harrenhal, which was supposed to belong to him, was now assigned to Garion. Moreover, he heard that there was a large-scale construction going on there, and the ruins left by the evil Harren had been completely demolished. As a result, his identity as the so-called Lord of Harrenhal became a huge joke, and those nobles with ulterior motives often used this title to mock and humiliate him. Fortunately, Lysa stepped forward at the critical moment. She instructed her son Robin to enthrone Petyr as the Count of the Gates of the Moon, which saved his face to some extent.
However, Petyr was not grateful to Lysa for this. On the contrary, he thought that it was all because he was not strong enough, so he was controlled by others. So he decided to take this opportunity to completely cut off the connection with King's Landing. He firmly believed that there could be no real peace between the two sides, and sooner or later, Tywin would ask him for help. By then, he would be the one in control of the overall situation, instead of being passive like now. During this period, all he needed to do was to fully integrate the power of the valley and wait for the opportunity to come.
However, to his surprise, what he finally waited for was the news of Joffrey's death. This sudden news shocked and confused Petyr. Not long after, the news of Tywin's death came, which caught him off guard. Faced with such a complex and changing situation, Petyr began to feel confused and unable to see the situation clearly. So he resolutely chose to stay in the Eyrie and quietly wait for the opportunity to come.
Even when Kevan later invited him to return to King's Landing and resume his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he still firmly refused. At the same time, the church also attacked him and destroyed all his properties in King's Landing, but Petyr did not respond. These actions seemed passive, but in fact they were all strategies that Petyr had carefully considered.