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Chapter 490 - Chapter 484 : The news of Stannis Baratheon 

The news of Stannis Baratheon giving up Dragonstone and going to the Wall to join the Nights Watch was undoubtedly the most talked-about event, overshadowing even Joffrey I's wedding.

Originally, everyone thought that Stannis's stubborn personality would lead to a direct conflict with Lynd, followed by the Miracle Fleet besieging and capturing Dragonstone. However, no battle occurred; Lynd simply rode his dragon to Dragonstone, and Stannis conceded. This made people feel that Stannis was not living up to his reputation, while also marveling at Lynd's assertiveness.

However, news soon spread from Summerhall, making it understandable why Stannis would give up resistance and voluntarily join the Nights Watch. After all, Linde Terra had adopted Shireen Baratheon as his foster daughter and promised that upon her coming of age, she would inherit the titles of Duke of Storm's End and Warden of the Stormlands.

No one believed Lynd's promises were false, because at the same time Lynd announced the news, he also gathered the lords of the Stormlands at the Redemption Sanctuary in Summerhall, where these lords swore fealty to Shireen Baratheon before the Seven Gods.

Stannis Baratheon's deep-seated feelings about Storms End and the Stormlands were almost common knowledge. Lynd's actions undoubtedly resolved his inner conflict. Some people from Dragonstone saw Stannis leading his army away from Dragonstone with a smile on his face, as if he were going to the Wall not to become a man of the Nights Watch, but to become a king.

Tywin was also surprised by Lynd's method of dealing with Stannis. He had never imagined that Lynd would give up Storms End and the Stormlands so easily. If it had been him, he would never have been able to do it.

Although this outcome was not what he most wanted to see, he was still satisfied. After all, the Iron Throne's biggest threat had gone to join the Nights Watch, and the mistress of Storms End was just a young girl who hadn't grown up yet, so there was no need to worry about her posing any threat to the Iron Throne.

Just as Lynd indirectly helped him solve the problem of Stannis, the situations in the North, Riverlands, and Vale were also changing.

When the decree from King's Landing reached Winterfell, Roose Bolton was preparing to retake Dreadfort, but the situation was not optimistic. After Theon captured his bastard son, Ramsay Snow, he extorted information about Dreadfort's secret passages and mechanisms from Ramsay, setting up ambushes in advance. This caused Roose Bolton to suffer significant losses when he tried to use these secret passages and mechanisms, failing to capture Dreadfort in one go.

Upon receiving the King's Landing decree, he decisively gave up wasting more time at Dreadfort, taking Catelyn south to inherit Riverrun. As for Dreadfort, he left it for Sansa, who was inheriting Winterfell, to handle. He believed Lynd would help Sansa take Dreadfort, and then he would only need to pay a small price to retain his title and lands as Count of Dreadfort.

Roose Bolton and Catelyn Tully's inheritance of Riverrun was not so smooth. Daisy Mormont had already left before their arrival. Although they crossed paths on the way, they didn't even greet each other, clearly indicating Daisy's displeasure with Catelyn's betrayal of Lord Eddard.

And Blackfish Brynden also left for the Vale with Bronze Yohn Royce on the day Catelyn arrived at Riverrun, also without meeting Catelyn.

After Catelyn officially inherited the title of Riverrun, she summoned the Riverlands vassals to Riverrun to swear fealty, but they were all refused by the Riverlands lords. Those lords with better tempers would offer excuses like being too busy with reconstruction in their lands, while those with bad tempers directly told the emissaries that they would not swear fealty to Catelyn.

In short, the Riverlands had already fragmented, and it would be very difficult to restore normalcy.

The situation in the Vale was similar to that in the Riverlands. After the Wildling invasion, the various lords of the Vale suffered heavy losses. During the Wildling invasion, the Eyrie completely disregarded pleas for help from various territories, blocking all roads leading to the Eyrie and ignoring the turmoil the Vale was experiencing. This inaction on the part of the liege lord had already caused resentment among the lords, both great and small, of the Vale. However, because no one was leading them, the lords of the Vale could only suppress this resentment.

However, after the Iron Throne's decree of rewards and punishments reached the Vale, the lords, great and small, of the Vale found a suitable excuse and a suitable leader. When Bronze Yohn Royce returned to the Vale, the lords, great and small, of the Vale gathered at Runestone, electing Yohn Royce as their leader, and jointly challenged the Eyrie, demanding that Lysa Tully comply with the Iron Throne's decree, hand over the Eyrie's heir, Robert Arryn, and leave the Vale.

Lysa Tully naturally refused. She ordered all passages to be blocked and then arrested those suitors she deemed suspicious, throwing them down the Moon Door of the Eyrie. Whether there were truly malicious schemers among these people, Lysa Tully did not care at all.

Thus, the Vale, like the Riverlands, saw its liege and vassals break apart, falling into the brink of internal war.

As for the North, the situation was slightly better. After Daisy returned to the North, Stannis also arrived. Their forces combined and took Dreadfort by storm. The captured Theon and Ironborn were taken by Stannis, who planned to bring them to the Wall to join the Nights Watch.

Roose Bolton's bastard son, Ramsay Snow, was found in the dungeon, but he had been tortured beyond recognition, and Daisy ended his suffering.

Afterward, Daisy held Winterfell, awaiting Sansa's arrival to inherit the title and lands.

Although the North did not fragment like the Riverlands and the Vale, the deaths of all the Northern lords at The Twins caused some problems with the inheritance of their lands.

For those lands that already had heirs, it was straightforward; the heir could directly inherit the lord's position. But for those without heirs, such as House Umber, whose lord and heir both died at The Twins, their succession became problematic.

If the Duke of Winterfell and Warden of the North were still alive, the liege lord could decide the ultimate heir. But now, the liege lord of the Northern lords is still in Summerhall, and she is just a young girl, unable to gain the trust of the Northern lords in a short time.

As for Daisy Mormont, despite her impressive military achievements and growing reputation in the North, she is, after all, only the Countess of Bear Island, not yet qualified to interfere in the internal affairs of the various Northern lords.

As a result, disputes over lordly succession erupted throughout the North, escalating from initial arguments to armed confrontations, and even bloody clashes. In short, the actual situation in the North was not much better than in the other two kingdoms.

Currently, while the situations in the Riverlands, the Vale, and the North are not exactly as Tywin had envisioned, they are not far off. For a long time to come, these three kingdoms will not be able to cause him any trouble.

Now, for Tywin, the only thing he needs to be wary of is House Tyrell of The Reach.

Although The Reach and the Westerlands are currently allies, it is only nominally so. The moment Robb Stark died at The Twins, the alliance between the Westerlands and The Reach became questionable.

Tywin was already infamous in King's Landing; many still remembered his atrocities against the city back then. And this war was initiated by Lannister, so the common people of King's Landing naturally had no fondness for Lannister.

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