Inside the The Red Keep in King's Landing, Robert Baratheon, holding a letter from a spy on Dragonstone, burst into laughter: "This wet-behind-the-ears boy is still too green!"
"Look, the troops from Horn Hill have withdrawn, and the warships of House Redwyne have all left! The descendants of those madmen are at the end of their rope!"
Robert Baratheon was in a great mood.
He not only planned to pardon all the nobles of The Reach who had once pledged allegiance to the Targaryen Family, but even intended to entrust them with important responsibilities!
During the three years of stalemate across the Narrow Sea, he had barely slept a wink.
He kept receiving bad news, either about fake dragon eggss being discovered or the Iron Islands raiding the people of the Stormlands again.
As the former Lord of Storm's End, Robert Baratheon's base was still controlled by King Balon, which was a complete loss of face.
"Your Majesty, the offspring of the evil dragon are not dead, and the Hatchling Dragon is still alive; one day, they will return!" Tywin Lannister coldly interrupted Robert Baratheon.
Compared to the blood feud between Robert and the Targaryen Family, House Lannister was not much better off!
kingslayer, that was the only heir he acknowledged as his son!
"Don't worry. It's been three years, and Viserys's Hatchling Dragon has only grown from the size of a kitten to a puppy! By the time it can carry a person, I estimate several generations of us will be in the ground. Hahaha!" Lord Jon Arryn said with relief.
He had always worried that this new Targaryen king, who had suddenly appeared and was known as the "Dreamwalker," would inflict an incalculable heavy blow on the army.
Fortunately, for the past three years, both sides of the Narrow Sea had been peaceful, with only the Iron Fleet of the Iron Islands constantly vying with Viserys Targaryen's Royal Navy Fleet!
Now, with the ebb and flow, the scale of the warships in King's Landing's Blackwater Bay was no weaker than any navy on the continent of Westeros!
"He's lucky he didn't run into me!" Stannis Baratheon said with a cold face.
As the one ambushed by Viserys Targaryen, he had carelessly lost Storm's End, which was a great loss of face.
Now, after three years of training new troops, he was eager to lead his fleet to reclaim what he had lost.
Unexpectedly, Viserys Targaryen had avoided his sharp edge, actively leading the Royal Navy to retreat to Pentos.
After this separation, the two would almost never have a chance to fight again!
"That eunuch Varys," Renly Baratheon said, shaking his head in dissatisfaction, "He convinced Magister Illyrio to temporarily hand Pentos over to Viserys to manage!"
"We already knew that," Tywin Lannister retorted, rolling his eyes at Renly Baratheon, "Viserys even appointed Magister Illyrio as the new Master of Coin!"
The previous ambush and assassination plot on Dragonstone was precisely Tywin and Robert's carefully designed killing blow against Viserys Targaryen!
However, the one oversight was that one of the executors was Renly Baratheon, a handsome but useless figurehead.
At the most crucial moment, Renly had retreated, squandering the best opportunity to decisively end the war.
"Daenerys Targaryen the Unburnt, Viserys the Dreamwalker," Tywin Lannister, ignoring Robert's younger brother, frowned and muttered to himself.
Decades of governing experience made him keenly aware that this brother and sister were definitely not simple.
"That time Bronn was lying! He must have abandoned Princess Daenerys to escape the sea of fire and survive!" Renly Baratheon retorted dismissively.
Although he failed to achieve the ultimate goal of killing Viserys, he did capture House Tyrell of The Reach, which was a great achievement!
Not long after, he was appointed Lord of Storm's End by his brother, Robert Baratheon, for his merits.
Although Storm's End was still in the hands of King Balon of the Iron Islands!
Renly utterly detested this sellsword who had drawn his sword against him on the battlefield but ultimately fled alone in disgrace.
"If he was afraid of death, he wouldn't have stayed behind to lead the team alone!" Tywin Lannister was not easily fooled.
His single sentence shut down Renly Baratheon's sophistry.
"This Young King has chosen three Kingsguard: Beric Dondarrion from the Stormlands, Thoros of Myr, the Red Priest from across the Narrow Sea, and Brienne of Tarth from Dorne!" Littlefinger Petyr Baelish quickly interrupted their conversation, seeing that the two were about to argue again.
He glanced at kingslayer Jaime Lannister behind him and continued, "He bestowed a valyrian steel dagger upon Brienne of Tarth as the honor of Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and also granted her the right to protect the people and execute mad kings!"
"Hahaha!" At these words, Robert Baratheon burst into laughter.
He looked around, completely disregarding the presence of Lord Tywin and kingslayer Jaime Lannister: "What a fool, he's trying to follow in his father's footsteps!"
"Jaime, you've chosen the wrong king!" Robert Baratheon raised his wine cup to Jaime Lannister and drank it all in one gulp.
He was not King Aerys, who was mediocre in martial arts.
Although he prided himself on not being a match for Rhaegar Targaryen, he was very confident that he could easily defeat Jaime Lannister.
Listening to the new King Robert Baratheon's mocking words, Jaime Lannister's face fell, looking incredibly displeased.
Ever since his father, Tywin Lannister, became Hand of the King in the new regime, his domineering style once again created irreconcilable conflicts with the new king's authority.
Although for the sake of the bigger picture and to present a united front, the two had never completely fallen out.
However, Robert Baratheon was quite dissatisfied with Lord Tywin's aggressive attempts to embed his own power.
He often vented his displeasure with Lord Tywin onto Jaime Lannister.
Not only were there verbal insults, but when he was with his sister Cersei Lannister, he even demanded that Jaime patrol outside the door.
"Haha, even women are doing better than you, Jaime!" Robert Baratheon yelled loudly.
At these words, even the prostitutes waiting in line outside the door couldn't help but snicker.
This was one of the few relaxing activities Robert Baratheon had enjoyed since becoming king.
But now, the prostitutes' snickering at Jaime Lannister sounded incredibly harsh within the great hall.
Even though Jaime Lannister's expression remained unchanged, his father and Hand, Tywin Lannister, finally reached his limit!
He stood up with a livid face and said coldly, "Now that Viserys Targaryen has led his army away from Westeros, you can handle a mere Iron Islands yourself, can't you!"
Before he finished speaking, he glared at his son Jaime with a look of disappointment, then threw down the Hand of the King's badge from his chest and turned to leave.
"Go if you want to go, no one is asking you to stay! The old king didn't want you, and the new king won't either!" Robert Baratheon's eyes were wide with fury as he cursed at Tywin Lannister's retreating back.
He had endured this day for three whole years!
What iron-blooded Hand? He was clearly using the king's power to strengthen his own family.
No wonder the previous King Aerys had been so wary of him!
If not for Robert Baratheon's heavily indebted iron throne and his own lack of funds to build a navy, he would never have married that useless yet self-important woman!
Seeing the king and the Hand at odds, the ministers in the Small Council dared not speak, only silently awaiting the king's command.
"Your Majesty, Hand Tywin has still made great contributions to the stability of the dynasty!" Lord Jon Arryn stood by, helplessly trying to intervene.
The two strong men, having lost their greatest common threat, had finally completely torn away their facade of amiability!
"He is no longer Hand," Robert Baratheon picked up the Hand of the King's badge and pinned it to his foster father Jon Arryn's chest: "From today on, my foster father, you are the Hand of the Kingdom!"
"Your Majesty," Jon Arryn sounded a little anxious.
He didn't care about the position of Hand; what he cared about was the stability of the alliance!
"Hmph! If I indulge him any longer, one day he'll be riding his warhorse and shitting on my iron throne!" Robert Baratheon roared, pounding the table in anger.
This verbal conflict was, in fact, an invisible struggle for power.
He had been plotting this for a long time; it was by no means an impulsive act!
"Lord Beric Dondarrion of Blackhaven, I have wronged him!" Thinking of the family that had served him for a hundred years, Robert Baratheon sighed.
If he hadn't been so heavily pressured by Viserys Targaryen, he wouldn't have listened to Tywin's advice and actively allied with those bandits from the Iron Islands.
For three years, three whole years, he had been cursed by the people and nobles of the Stormlands.
A king, having to use allies to reclaim his own territory, and even for a time not daring to take it back.
At this thought, Robert Baratheon clenched his fists.
He made up his mind to completely sever this humiliating alliance: "The Stormlands were lost under my watch, and I will personally take them back!"
Before his words faded, a sudden, urgent, and heavy bell rang from outside.
"Enemy attack?" Robert Baratheon's eyes widened, his face filled with alarm.
How could King's Landing be ambushed?
Where did such a large army come from?
He had no time to think, scrambling up to a high point in the The Red Keep to survey the entire Blackwater Bay.
As far as the eye could see, the Blackwater Bay was a sea of fire!
Stannis Baratheon's fleet, painstakingly built with gold from the Westerlands, was currently under attack by the Iron Fleet!
"That's... the kraken banner! Greyjoy—" Robert Baratheon's heart ached, his eyes bloodshot.
This navy, built with tens of millions of golden dragons, had been completely reduced to ashes by the Iron Fleet before it even had a chance to achieve anything!
His chest tightened, and a mouthful of old blood spurted out directly.
"Quick... quickly go to the Westerlands... invite Lord Tywin—" Robert Baratheon clutched Stannis Baratheon's hand tightly, whimpering tremblingly.