Seeing the two White Cloaks surrender, Joffrey suddenly plucked up his courage. Feigning composure, he shouted at them, "I am your King, you fools! My grandfather, Lord Tywin Lannister, will surely hang you all!"
Unfortunately, the two of them simply kept their heads bowed, kneeling there, completely ignoring Joffrey's verbal abuse.
The soldiers of the Golden Company looked at each other and then burst into a round of laughter. Looking at Joffrey, who was cowering in the corner even while shouting sharply—even hiding behind two children who looked smaller than him—their faces were filled with mockery.
"This is that little King?" one of the soldiers couldn't help but ask.
A man who appeared to be a captain stepped forward, squatted down, and sized Joffrey up with a scrutinizing gaze. With a hint of irony in his tone, he said, "King? There is no Lannister or Baratheon King in King's Landing anymore. Come with us. The Dragonlord of the Valyrian Empire, His Majesty Viserys Targaryen, wants to see you."
As he spoke, he grabbed Joffrey by the collar and hauled him up. Joffrey struggled incessantly, shouting loudly, "Let go of me! I am the King! I'll have you all killed!" But no one paid him any mind.
Joffrey wanted to say more, but the captain of the Golden Company was clearly impatient. He slapped Joffrey directly, dazing him, then grabbed Joffrey's arm to drag him straight out.
Tommen and Myrcella were terrified by this scene. They burst into tears, clutching tightly to Joffrey's clothes. The remaining soldiers did not use violence against the two children, but they unceremoniously led them away from the cellar along with the Lannister women.
The once royal and ducal bloodlines were thus led away from their final sanctuary in a state of utter disgrace.
The battle for King's Landing did not last long. The Targaryen army moved swiftly, quickly taking control of every corner of the city.
Viserys, riding Ghidorah, slowly landed on the plaza of Red Keep. Rhaenys followed closely behind on Meleys, landing on the plaza as well.
The remaining nine dragons continued to circle in the sky behind him, letting out deafening roars as if proclaiming the return of the Targaryen Dynasty.
All around the plaza, the Golden Company and the freemen soldiers behind them looked at Viserys atop the three-headed dragon and shouted in unison, "Long live His Majesty Viserys! Long live Targaryen!"
Their voices shook the heavens and spread to every corner of King's Landing. Some citizens, hearing the cheers, cautiously poked their heads out of their windows to watch the victorious army on the streets outside, many of them with complex expressions on their faces.
After all, it had only been thirteen years since the Targaryen regime was overthrown. Although House Lannister had carried out a bloody massacre after taking King's Landing back then, many people still remembered the scenes of that time.
They just hadn't expected the Targaryens to fight their way back so quickly, bringing with them dragons that had been extinct in Westeros for over a hundred years.
After briefly acknowledging the soldiers, Viserys leaped down from Ghidorah's back.
His attire today was very formal, consisting of a suit of black and red Valyrian armor covered by a golden cloak. The cloak was embroidered with the three-headed fire dragon sigil of the House Targaryen in red-dyed gold thread.
His purple eyes scanned the castle before him, which was both familiar and strange, his gaze filled with complex emotions. After all, this was his first stop upon arriving in this world, and he had lived here for several years.
Rhaenys also jumped off her dragon's back and stood beside him. Wearing a similar suit of armor, she looked valiant and heroic, her purple eyes shimmering with a light similar to Viserys's.
She walked to Viserys's side and said softly, "Brother, we did it. The House Targaryen has reclaimed the Iron Throne."
Viserys nodded and took Rhaenys's hand of his own accord. "Yes, we did it. But this is only the beginning, Rhaenys. There is still a long way to go to truly unify the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros."
Just then, Lord Connington walked quickly out of Red Keep and came before Viserys. After bowing respectfully, he said, "Your Majesty, Red Keep is fully under control. Cersei Lannister has been captured. Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella—Robert's three children—were also found in Red Keep's cellar and are currently being guarded by the Golden Company."
"You have done well, Lord Connington," Viserys's voice sounded very calm. "For now, imprison Cersei and the others in the Black Cells of Red Keep under strict supervision. I will deal with them personally later. What we must do now is take complete control of King's Landing and use this opportunity to purge all restless forces within the city."
"As you command, Your Majesty," Connington replied, accepting the order.
Viserys looked up at the high towers of Red Keep, his gaze finally landing below the castle that symbolized the center of power for the Seven Kingdoms. He saw Sansa Stark and the others emerging from a secret passage under the lead of Varys.
He instructed Connington beside him, "Go find Varys. Have him hand over a list of restless individuals in King's Landing, and then have him bring Miss Stark to see me."
Although Varys was also a man of divided loyalties, he was at least better than the others. He was a eunuch, and had been since childhood, so he would have no descendants. Furthermore, he was from Essos and had no family power in Westeros to which he was loyal.
Even if the list Varys provided was entirely composed of his own enemies whom he wanted to eliminate through Viserys's hand, it didn't matter to Viserys. After all, those people were certainly restless elements; he wouldn't be killing the wrong people.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Connington bowed again and immediately turned to arrange the task.
After Connington left, Viserys took a deep breath, straightened his cloak, and led Rhaenys toward the Great Hall of Red Keep.
He entered the hall he had rarely stepped into before, his gaze falling directly on the Iron Throne at the end of the hall, forged from countless sharp swords.
When Viserys was a child, due to Aerys's paranoia, he could only stand at a distance and watch from afar, unable to approach at all. Now, the Iron Throne sat there quietly, as if waiting for its new master.
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