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Jimmy glanced at the knights of the Vale riding toward him.
'Hey, you started this fight. I'm just defending myself.'
The red flash of his blade cut through the air.
Two heads dropped instantly.
As Jimmy landed on the ground, he casually remarked,
"I told you your heads would roll, Why didn't you believe me?"
Under Petyr's stunned gaze, Jimmy plunged straight into the group of knights.
---
The knights of the Vale had a fearsome reputation across the Seven Kingdoms.
But against Jimmy, they were little more than chickens waiting for slaughter.
Inside the carriage, Sansa watched as the knights were cut down one after another, as easily as vegetables under a cleaver.
To her own surprise, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Yes…
Kill them.
Kill them all.
And that damned Petyr too…
---
It didn't take long.
When the situation clearly turned hopeless, Petyr tried to flee.
Jimmy kicked him off his horse.
Petyr tumbled across the road several times, his neatly pressed clothes now covered in mud. His carefully styled hair and trimmed beard were splattered and ruined.
Just as he tried to stand, a blade rested on his shoulder, freezing him in place.
"Who are you?" Petyr said quickly. "What do you want?"
"Money? Titles? Land? Women?"
"I can make you richer than kings."
"As long as it's in the Vale, point to any land and it's yours."
"And women? Well, there's one right there."
He nodded toward the carriage.
"Sansa Stark."
"You know the name Stark, don't you?"
"If you marry her and have a child, you'll become the heir to the entire North."
Petyr was still talking when two riders suddenly galloped in from the distance.
A man and a woman.
They cut down the fleeing knight of the Vale who had escaped moments earlier.
Brienne of Tarth.
And beside her, her squire Podrick.
Brienne really had terrible luck with the people she swore to protect.
She had served Renly Baratheon. Renly died.
She had sworn herself to Catelyn Stark. Catelyn died at the Red Wedding.
She nearly died defeating the Hound to rescue Arya. Arya slipped away and vanished.
Now she had finally found Sansa.
But Sansa, naïve and cautious, had refused to leave with her.
So Brienne had been forced to follow them secretly from a distance, hoping to find an opportunity to rescue Sansa and fulfill her vow.
And now that opportunity had appeared.
Jimmy had single-handedly slaughtered Petyr's escort.
Only one or two knights had managed to flee down the road, and Brienne had easily cut them down when she arrived.
Sansa stepped down from the carriage, clearly preparing to escape.
When she saw Brienne approaching, she visibly relaxed.
She glanced nervously at Jimmy and stepped behind the carriage for cover.
Then she looked toward the nearby horses.
But after remembering Jimmy's terrifying speed, she didn't dare make a move.
Still, it was obvious that she had finally begun to think more carefully.
Brienne immediately placed herself between Sansa and Jimmy.
Podrick raised his axe beside her, breathing heavily, staring at Jimmy with fear but refusing to retreat.
Jimmy turned slowly, resting his massive blade across his shoulder again.
Brienne's pupils shrank.
That enormous sword looked as light as a twig in his hands.
I can't beat this man.
Meanwhile, Petyr quietly began inching his way toward a nearby horse.
When he reached it, he let out a silent sigh of relief.
Then he spoke quickly.
"Brienne! Didn't you swear to protect Sansa?"
"He's here to take her back to King's Landing. Sent by the Queen herself."
"Do you know Ser Ilyn?"
"After Ser Ilyn's death, Tywin brought this man from Casterly Rock to replace him."
"He's from House Ogud. I don't know his name, but that's who he is."
Petyr spoke confidently, even inventing a noble house for Jimmy on the spot.
The story sounded convincing.
The three people across from him clearly tensed up.
Before Brienne could respond, Jimmy spoke.
"Sansa, do you know the best way to deal with a devil who speaks nothing but lies?"
Jimmy's voice was calm.
"The answer is simple."
"Never give the devil a chance to speak."
The moment the words left his mouth, a blade appeared in Petyr's chest.
Thud.
With a light upward flick, the blade split him open from the chest upward.
Petyr Baelish was cut in half.
Jimmy casually shook his hand, and the blade vanished as if it had never existed.
The others stared in stunned silence.
Meanwhile, Jimmy had already begun collecting the spoils.
Armor. Coin purses. Horses.
"Hey! You there, squire!"
Jimmy called out toward Podrick.
"Come help. Dig a hole here. I'll drag the bodies over."
Podrick pointed at himself in confusion.
"Me?"
"Who else?" Jimmy replied. "Do you see another squire around here?"
"Honestly, you're not very sharp. I'm starting to wonder how you even became a squire in the first place…"
While Jimmy dragged bodies across the ground, Podrick obediently began digging.
"Podrick, that's enough," Brienne said at last.
She had already realized Jimmy showed no immediate hostility.
There were more than fifty corpses scattered around. Making one person dig a hole for all of them would exhaust him to death.
It was obvious Jimmy had only been teasing Podrick.
As Jimmy dragged the bodies and tossed them into a shallow pit nearby, Brienne quickly understood.
He had deliberately avoided Petyr's body.
Which meant that pit was almost certainly meant for Baelish alone.
Sure enough, after dumping the other corpses aside, Jimmy slit open each of their stomachs and collected their armor into a strange cube-like device.
Then he looked toward the sky.
"Horus! Burn them!"
After that, he dragged Petyr's body over and tossed it into the hole Podrick had dug.
Jimmy extended a hand toward Podrick.
Podrick stared blankly.
Jimmy frowned.
"Slow, aren't you?"
He grabbed the shovel directly from Podrick and began filling the grave himself.
---
With a powerful gust of wind, Horus landed atop the carriage.
The creature opened its mouth.
A line of flame shot out—then expanded into a blazing inferno.
The corpses burned fiercely, the flames reducing them to ash in moments.
When Brienne and the others finally managed to tear their stunned gazes away from the fire, they saw Jimmy stomping repeatedly on the freshly filled grave.
Not dancing.
Just compacting the dirt.
"What… are you doing?" Brienne asked cautiously.
She rested a hand on her sword hilt.
"State your name and your purpose, knight."
Jimmy shrugged.
"My name's Jimmy."
"Jimmy Hoster."
"I serve none of the Seven Kingdoms."
"I was asked to escort Sansa Stark to the Wall."
"Jon Snow is there. He might be able to protect her."
Jimmy glanced at Brienne.
"I know who you are."
"Brienne of Tarth."
"A true knight."
"Not the kind who only recites knightly vows."
Then he pointed at Podrick.
"And that one… that's Podrick Payne, right?"
"Hard to forget the man who almost got himself hanged over half a sausage in King's Landing."
Podrick blinked in shock.
"Uh… yes… Lord Hoster…"
Jimmy waved a hand dismissively.
"Forget the 'lord.' Just call me Jimmy."
"Brienne, go help Sansa gather her things."
"Podrick, round up the horses."
"We're heading to Castle Black."
Brienne frowned.
"You're deciding this just like that?"
Jimmy looked at her.
"Do you think Sansa has anywhere else to go?"
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