The sound of the city gate being rammed open was particularly jarring in the quiet night. The Seagull Town guards in the watchtowers rushed over, but the enemies they faced—soldiers in Blue Cloaks—were exceptionally fierce, and they fell one after another into pools of blood.
Under the soft moonlight, shadows of blue spread throughout the city.
The shouts of soldiers, the clash of swords and shields, and the whistling of arrows intertwined, blood splattered, and lives vanished in an instant!
"Sword-bearers, kill!"
"Sword-bearers, kill!"
"Sword-bearers, kill!"
The unified battle cry of the Cleber Soldiers made the Seagull Town soldiers, who were already on the verge of collapse, lose their will to fight even more.
Thud! Thud! Companions who had lived together for years fell one by one. A Seagull Town soldier trembled uncontrollably, and the spear in his hand dropped to the ground.
Similar scenes were repeatedly played out within the city.
But… the vengeance of the Crab Claw Peninsula soldiers had been ignited. Only a small number of Seagull Town soldiers who threw down their weapons and gave up resisting were lucky enough to survive.
The hatred accumulated for over a decade was being unleashed; it was more like a kind of barbarism, and Westeros valued blood for blood.
Greene Kleber wielded the whip of vengeance, and all the people of Crab Claw Peninsula were waiting for their Lord Green to lead them in avenging their grievances.
Only kill the sword-bearers—this was the battle cry Lord Green had set before the war, and it was the greatest mercy he could offer.
...
Bodies and shattered weapons gradually piled up in the alleys of Seagull Town, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.
The Crab Claw Peninsula soldiers held high the swamp marigold banner representing Kleber. Years of training had accustomed them to top-down commands, which to some extent restrained their vengeful fury.
At least, the Crab Claw Peninsula soldiers did not have enough time to break into a house and do anything unspeakable.
What… you're fast? According to the territory law set by Lord Green, those who leave their posts without authorization during wartime will be executed without mercy.
Similarly, those who uphold the territory law during wartime will also earn military merits.
The higher the military merit, the more generous the Lord Green's reward.
Kleber's territory law was as cold as winter, and as warm as summer.
...
Bang! Amidst mixed male and female cries of alarm, the gate of the Seagull Town Lord's Hall was rammed open, and Kleber's vassal knight, Pel Pili, led the Blue Cloaks surging in.
Earl Grafson sat high on the lord's chair, surrounded by his terrified kinsmen.
Although Earl Grafson feigned composure, he could not control his body's trembling.
His voice trembled: "You are committing a crime!"
The Seagull Town maester stood up straight and declared loudly: "You are bandits! I will accuse you of your crimes to King Joffrey and Duke Robert!"
Everyone seemed to regain their courage and shouted along.
Ser Pello, grasping his blood-stained longsword, strode over. Then, with a flash of cold light, the maester's head rolled limply to the side, his headless neck horrifyingly agape, and blood instantly gushed out.
Buzz!
The bloody scene was horrifying. Grafson's kinsmen stared at this sight in disbelief, and the air in the hall seemed to solidify.
How dare he?!
Their eyes were filled with helplessness, not knowing how to face this cruel scene; they dared not speak, fearing that their voices would break the deadly silence and invite misfortune.
Earl Grafson stammered: "I can pay a ransom!"
The answer he received was suffocating silence.
Tap ~ tap ~ tap ~ tap ~ In the eerie silence, the sound of footsteps on the flagstones was unusually loud.
"Good evening, Earl Grafson?"
Greene Kleber, clad in silver armor, spoke as he slowly walked in. The Blue Cloaks uniformly made way for their Lord Green.
Only then did Earl Grafson notice the swamp marigold emblem. He seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
But as Lord Green drew closer, Earl Grafson shifted uneasily in his chair, sensing a greater danger from the man before him.
Earl Grafson's Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and he said: "K-Kleber, this is the Arryn Family's Vale! You are invading!"
He paused, then added: "I hope you leave immediately! Otherwise… otherwise…"
Tap ~ tap ~ tap ~ tap ~ Lord Green ascended the steps and stood before Earl Grafson.
Lord Green surveyed the people gathered around the lord's chair and casually asked: "Otherwise what?"
Earl Grafson: "…"
After a moment of silence, he displayed the pride of Seagull Town's ruler: "Kleber, do you not understand the crime you are committing now? Not only the Red Keep and the Eyrie, but the entire Seven Kingdoms will not tolerate your wickedness."
He paused, then softened his tone: "If you are willing to leave now, I promise not to pursue your crimes tonight, and Seagull Town will still open its doors to Whispering Fort."
He forced a smile: "The Grafson Family and the Kleber Family's friendship begins tonight!"
Lord Green's eyebrow twitched slightly, and he said: "The noble Grafson Family is willing to establish friendship with a half-savage family?"
He chuckled Whispering Fort and said: "Do you enjoy spilling your own blood for so-called friendship?"
Grafson's heart skipped a beat, and he said: "I promise, I can swear to the Gods, Kleber!"
Lord Green looked up at the burning tower banner hanging behind the lord's chair and slowly said: "Earl Grafson, I did not come for hatred…"
"Lord Green!" Leyton, the young steward,'s urgent voice suddenly came.
Lord Green's eyes flickered, and he gestured. Kleber's young steward hurried up the steps and came directly to his side.
Leyton had a restrained excitement on his face. He whispered in Lord Green's ear, and Lord Green's ear twitched.
The Grafson Family was the ruling family of Seagull Town, so Seagull Town's treasury was also the Grafson Family's treasury.
Littlefinger, Petyr Baelish, had served as the tax collector of Seagull Town, and with his shrewdness, he knew the location of Seagull Town's treasury like the back of his hand.
On the night Lord Green "sent off" Petyr from King's Landing, when Lord Green expressed his curiosity, Petyr merely smiled meaningfully and truthfully provided information about Seagull Town's treasury.
Tonight's "Blue Cloaks Crossing the Sea," the young steward Leyton's task was to guard Seagull Town's treasury.
Why was Leyton so eager to see his Lord Green?
After Leyton reviewed the blood-stained ledger, he was both excited and frightened.
...
Millions of gold dragons?! Lord Green's brown eyes trembled slightly.
Lord Green had to admit that his identity as a poor Lord Green limited his imagination… When he obtained 500,000 gold dragons worth of supplies from Highgarden, Lord Green's pursuit of gold dragons was no longer so urgent, because he had already exceeded the goal he set for himself.
Just now, Lord Green's young steward told him with a trembling voice that there were several million gold dragons in Seagull Town's treasuries…
Hiss ~ So many… How to spend it all?!
Seagull Town truly lives up to its name as one of the five major cities of Westeros!
Lord Green raised one eyebrow and looked at Leyton: Exactly how many millions?
Leyton was not very sure, he blinked: Four or five million?
...
Lord Green looked at the composed Earl Grafson… The original plan was to escort Grafson and others to the Red Keep under the name of Lady Lysa's accomplice, to show King Joffrey's military achievements.
But… Seagull Town had too many gold dragons! Although several million gold dragons were now in his pocket, theoretically they belonged to the Grafson Family, and these gold dragons were engraved with invisible burning tower emblems.
Therefore, whether it was the journey of escorting Grafson and his group to the Red Keep, or after arriving at the Red Keep, it was full of various uncertainties.
Lord Green looked at his vassal knight standing below and said: "Pel, take them away."
Amidst various noises, Grafson and his group were roughly led out of the hall by the Blue Cloaks soldiers.
Ser Pello removed his helmet, crossed his arms, and asked Lord Green: "My Lord Green, what should be done with those people?"
"In the name of the King…"
Saying that, Lord Green extended a hand and made a beheading gesture.
The gold dragons without owners would soon be engraved with invisible swamp marigold emblems.
...
Lord Green sat in the lord's chair of Seagull Town, tapping his fingers on the armrest carved into the shape of a seagull.
Only a few million owed over a decade… Rich Lord Green suddenly felt that Robert I was not too extravagant.
Lord Green's eyes trembled slightly… Could he buy as many supplies as he had gold dragons? This was impossible, because Westeros's limited productivity led to a limited volume of supplies.
Scarcity increases value; if Lord Green bought a large quantity of a certain item, the price of that item would increase the more he bought.
Therefore… it's still the same question, how should so many gold dragons be spent?!
...
The next morning, Seagull Town, one of the five major cities of Westeros, raised Kleber's banner.
Some bold men and women began to emerge from their houses, cautiously inquiring about the situation outside.
They found that apart from a few more patrolling Blue Cloaks, everything seemed normal.
But the lingering smell of blood in the air and the dry bloodstains on the ground told them that a fierce battle had indeed taken place in the city.
As daylight fully broke, more and more figures moved through the streets, and the entire city seemed to be just waking up.
"I heard that we will be governed by savages from now on, Gods preserve us!"
"Savages?!"
"Shh, not so loud, I heard they eat people when they're hungry!"
"Yes, yes, I heard that too, they particularly love to eat children!"
"Oh, Gods preserve my children, boo hoo hoo!"
"Shh, try not to go out these days. Lord Arryn will definitely send troops to drive out the savages, then everything will be fine…"
"Hey, stop talking, let's go quickly!"
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Everyone from the Grafson Family is dead! Their heads are all hanging on the city gate!"
"Oh, isn't that our governor? Oh, Gods…"
"Quick, quick, if we go too late, we might not see it!"
"Yes, yes, let's go! Let's go quickly!"
...
As news of the Grafson Family's deaths spread, the nobles, merchants, and Sellsword representatives of Seagull Town gathered at the entrance of the Lord's Hall, loudly protesting Kleber's atrocities.
By noon, Lord Green personally received these indignant Seagull Town representatives and patiently explained the Grafson Family's crimes.
What were Grafson's crimes?
Lord Green explained that Grafson was not only an accomplice of Lady Lysa but also openly opposed King Joffrey's Iron Throne.
Furthermore, Grafson not only refused to meet the Red Keep envoys who came with goodwill but even resorted to force to expel them.
Therefore, Lord Green arrested them in the name of the King, but Grafson resisted with force, forcing Lord Green to execute them.
Lord Green thought he had explained it well, but dozens of Seagull Town representatives all expressed… We don't believe it.
Lord Green maintained a gentle expression and tone, patiently listening to the representatives' questions and repeatedly explaining the legality of the execution.
After spending the entire afternoon, the representatives firmly refused Lord Green's invitation to a banquet, and they were still indignant when they left.
The next day, it was the same.
The third day, it was still the same.
On the morning of the fourth day, 2,000 Blue Cloaks entered Seagull Town according to Lord Green's orders, and the city experienced a cruel and bloody massacre.
The first time, when the total number of gold dragons in the treasury reached 6 million, Lord Green withdrew his soldiers.
Lord Green met with the slightly reduced number of Seagull Town representatives, but he read hatred in their eyes.
The second time, when the number of gold dragons in the treasury reached 8 million, Lord Green again met with the Seagull Town representatives, whose numbers had almost halved. Lord Green detected their forbearance.
The third time, when the number in the treasury reached 9 million, the Seagull Town representatives actively sought an audience with Kleber, and he felt a certain affection from them.
...
Lord Green still had a gentle face and tone. He personally escorted the Seagull Town representatives, whose numbers were almost two-thirds less than at their first meeting, to the door.
As their figures gradually disappeared, Lord Green looked at his vassal knight, who was standing beside him, and said: "Pel, you can stop."
Pel, whose face was always serious, uncharacteristically showed an unnatural smile, bowed with his hand on his chest, and said: "My Lord Green, I am at your command at all times."
Lord Green seemed to have an auditory hallucination—Pel Pili's loyalty increased by one.
Lord Green reached out and patted Pel's arm, saying: "Go, the curfew must continue, our war has just begun."
After the vassal knight left, Lord Green paced around, rubbing his raven-black hair. The simple Crab Claw Peninsula soldiers loved slaughter… especially a war of revenge.
Lord Green's thoughts raced. He had to find a balance point here, because his goal was to rule the entire Vale.
After a while, the young steward Leyton came to report: "My master, they are all here and are waiting for your summons."
Because of Kleber's rectification, Seagull Town had lost many large merchants. He planned to "promote" some small businesses to fill the market void.
For the first installment, the generous Lord Green took out 1 million gold dragons, intending to provide interest-free loans to reputable but weaker businesses to restore Seagull Town's prosperity as soon as possible.
The bloodshed had stopped, and the sharing of the pie was about to begin.
With new people filling the old positions, the Lord's Hall in Seagull Town was filled with laughter and joy.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"