Chapter 184: Receiving Gifts Again

"Ah—"

The miserable scream of Lai Si Wei Er Pei Ke resounded throughout the entire Dragonpit, echoing back and forth in the cavern.

Alduin, with a wingspan already reaching six or seven meters, was truly a top-tier predator, and the dragonfire he spat incessantly was heart-shaking, yet this did not interrupt the enemy's advance.

On the jagged, mutually supporting walls of the Dragonpit, nearly a thousand Peake soldiers wearing decent armor like brigandines and plate armor were climbing upward; after finding their footing, many of them pulled crossbows or longbows from their backs and began aiming at the already massive dragon.

Other enemies brandished their weapons, intercepting the First Men soldiers from the Crab's Claw Peninsula.

"Which house do these soldiers belong to? How dare they betray the Dragon King's family?"

Brynden carried the Lannister by the collar as if he were a chick, climbing upward with agility.

Although the situation was extremely unfavorable, he believed that as long as the dragon was sent away, the First Men of the Crab's Claw would have completed the Task the King had given them.

Tyrion Lannister looked closely, recognized the orange-field, three-black-castle sigil on the enemies, and then reminded Brynden:

"This is the Peake family from the Reach. You see, their sigil is three castles, symbolizing that in the past they..."

Brynden held Tyrion with his left arm, brandished a bastard sword with his right, and after hacking down an enemy, he indeed saw the three-castle sigil on the man's chest.

"Then they must be a wealthy family among the Reachmen? Three castles—I wouldn't even dare dream of the Dragon King rewarding me with so many castles."

He muttered to himself.

Although the First Men of the Crab's Claw Peninsula were exceptionally loyal to the Dragon King's family, they still hoped for a reward.

The reward didn't need to be much; Gold Dragons, grain, and women would all do, and if there were fertile land and sturdy castles, that would be even better.

Tyrion hugged Brynden's neck tightly, his voice trembling as he said:

"Not at all. The Peake family repeatedly supported the Blackfyre Rebellion and has already been demoted by the Iron Throne to a Viscount family; most of their lands and castles were confiscated, leaving only Starpike near Dorne."

After the Dance of the Dragons, the Peake family was once powerful enough to influence the court. During the war, they joined the Greens, supporting King Aigeng Tanggelian Ershi. Although the Greens did not win, after the war, the then-Lord of Starpike, Lord Uerwen Peike, became one of the members of the regency council for King Aegon III.

Later, courtiers joined forces to drive away the Lord of Starpike, and only then did the Peake family quiet down.

During the Blackfyre Rebellion, the family was active in history once again. Lord Gemon Peike led his army to join Daemon Blackfyre; after the Battle of the Redgrass Field, he surrendered to the royal family, and at the same time, the Peake family lost two castles other than Starpike.

During the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, Lord Gemon supported the Blackfyres again; Duke Bloodraven quickly quelled the rebellion and beheaded the Earl. At the end of the reign of King Meika Tanggelian Yishi, the Peake family rebelled once more.

King Meika, who had not designated an heir, died in battle while attacking Starpike; the Hand of the King, Duke Bloodraven, convened a Great Council to decide the choice of King to avoid the outbreak of another Dance of the Dragons.

This was the famous 233 Nian Guizu Daguihui in history, where Yimeng Tanggelian became a Maester of the Night's Watch, and Aegon V, the "King Who Should Not Have Been," ascended the throne.

These historical facts flashed quickly through Tyrion's clever brain, and when he thought of the rumors of the Golden Company landing in the Stormlands, he suddenly understood why the Peake family was making a move at this time.

"The Golden Company and the Peakes are always supporters of the Blackfyre family; it looks like that Aegon VI is a descendant of some Blackfyre."

The Tyrion Lannister reached his own conclusion.

Brynden couldn't tell the difference between Blackfyres and Peakes, but he knew their side was in a bit of trouble.

To ensure the wedding went without a single error, the King had transferred away two thousand First Men soldiers from the Crab's Claw Peninsula, so Sir Brynden had only nearly eight hundred men under his command.

The enemies who had already climbed up were visibly more numerous than his own side, not to mention those still guarding the streets outside the Dragonpit.

Although the dragon was continuously spitting dragonfire and moving rapidly to avoid the arrows shot at it, a large number of enemy soldiers were moving toward the area where the dragon was located.

Continuing like this was definitely not a solution.

"Kuhei, Huimiba."

Among the soldiers following him, Brynden pointed to two higher-ranking First Men officers and ordered:

"You two, take some men to the Red Keep to report the news; say that the Peakes are rebelling, that thousands of soldiers are attacking the Dragonpit, and go through that Flea Bottom place."

Having been in King's Landing for only a month, he only remembered the general street names.

Although he was not very familiar with this Sir Brynden, Tyrion still spoke up to remind him:

"Flea Bottom is the only way from here to the Red Keep, and they must have sent people to guard it; it would be better to run from Jingmo Xiunv Jie in the southwest to the Kingsroad, and then turn toward the Red Keep."

The Kingsroad extends from the Gods Gate in the northwest into King's Landing, all the way to the Beileli'en Guangchang in front of the Red Keep.

Although the area near the Red Keep must be crowded with people now, as long as the message is delivered to the Tarly soldiers patrolling near Aegon's High Hill, it could be passed layer by layer to the ears of the King and the courtiers.

"Excellent, let's do that."

Brynden gave the order decisively, and after instructing Kuhei and Huimiba to take men and leave from the north side where there were fewer enemies, he led his subordinates to charge toward the enemy.

At the same time, he urged Gendry, who was familiar with the dragon, to drive away Lord Alduin.

Above them, Gendry tried to approach the dragon Alduin, but the dragon was in a playful mood, keeping its big mouth open and spitting dragonfire at people.

Tyrion, who was being carried, asked in a low voice: "Sir, could you put me down? I'm small, and I'd be quite safe hiding in some corner."

Anyway, the Dragonpit was large enough, and he believed that by hiding in some nook or cranny, he could make the enemy unable to find him.

"What are you thinking? You are a walking fifty thousand Gold Dragons!"

Brynden, however, remembered the King's instructions to him and dared not let the dwarf out of his sight.

A few minutes later, the main forces of the two waves of soldiers met near where Alduin was perched, and on the ruins spanning hundreds of meters, the two sides began to slaughter each other.

The Peake soldiers were superior in their disciplined patrolling, and because they were familiar with their own equipment and comrades, they could coordinate in battle.

The First Men soldiers from the Crab's Claw Peninsula had slightly higher morale; although many of them hated each other, when fighting for the Dragon King's family, they could temporarily put aside their hatred and work together to defend against the enemy.

The dragon Alduin flexibly disappeared behind a broken wall, only to fly up unexpectedly from the rear and spit viciously.

The battle between the two sides, totaling over eighteen hundred soldiers plus one dragon, was still spectacular and intense; limited by the unusual nature of the battlefield, formation fighting was not feasible, so the soldiers began to fight in pairs.

The sound of swords and axes clashing, the screams of those burned by dragonfire, and the groans of wounded soldiers increased rapidly.

……

Red Keep, Huayuan.

Dozens of long tables were set up in the open space, the tabletops piled high with fruit, roasted meat, and expensive pastries; of course, wine jugs were a must, and since the Redwyne family was loyal to the Iron Throne, there was plenty of Arbor wine.

Over three hundred invited nobles participated in this wedding banquet; most people sat at the tables according to the Red Keep's arrangements, while some higher-ranking nobles walked back and forth between the tables, speaking loudly about irrelevant gossip.

Queen Sansa, in a red and blue robe, was surrounded by a group of Riverlands nobles, and some of the ladies were conversing eagerly with the Queen.

"Although Sir Brynden did not send anyone to attend this wedding, we believe the Tully family can see the situation clearly."

A middle-aged woman from House Vance said.

Queen Sansa has the blood of the Tully family, Lords Paramount of the Riverlands, and her brother Robb once received the allegiance of most of the Riverlands Jiaodu, so this group of people naturally recognized her as their patron.

And Queen Stark herself, following the suggestion of her handmaidens, wore a red and blue dress.

Her current handmaidens were all commoners from Harrenhal and Harrentown, naturally close to the Riverlanders, and thus suggested the Queen wear the typical colors of the Tully family.

Since her husband prepared to take another wife, Sansa also sensed a crisis, so she began to draw closer to the powerful nobles.

Originally, The North was her greatest backing, but the Northmen were still in infighting and had no time to come to the King's wedding to support the daughter of their liege lord, so Sansa set her sights on the Riverlands.

Coincidentally, because her husband originated from here, the combined strength of the Riverlands courtiers and the Dragon Party families was actually only slightly weaker than the supporters of the Tyrell family.

"I hope Great-Uncle doesn't do anything foolish!" She had already heard that her great-uncle Brynden Tully was preparing to mobilize the army of Riverrun to retake Raventree Hall for House Blackwood.

The castle was currently in the hands of Rosso of House Frey.

One side was her own kin, the other was her husband's powerful vassal; Sansa felt a bit conflicted.

Just then, the late Wylis Manderly finally squeezed into this small circle.

"Slow down, you're so fat!" A Vance Knight, seeing Manderly squeeze his wife, complained aloud.

Wylis gave an awkward smile, then used a topic about The North to open this subject.

"With the recovery of Winterfell imminent, shouldn't we find a way to preserve the castle, so it isn't burned to ruins by soldiers fleeing the city like last time?"

He suggested to the many Riverlands Jiaodu.

Earl William Mooton, who had arrived in King's Landing temporarily, was standing in the crowd; he cleared his throat, "I heard an Umber lord has defected to Ramsay Bolton. I believe that after the Vale and the Reachmen send troops, this Umber warrior will defect back to us."

The higher-ranking Riverlands Jiaodu were all gathered in a circle around the King, so Earl William Mooton, who was here, instead became the leader.

Wylis thought for a moment and echoed, "The Earl must mean 'Whore's Bane' Hother Umber! He is indeed a loyal vassal of the Starks."

"Why is he called Whore's Bane?" a noble lady asked.

Just as the Northmen didn't care much about southern affairs, the Riverlanders were also unfamiliar with the stories of the Northmen.

Manderly had no choice but to tell the Southerners the story of this Umber.

Hother Umber was the former lord of Last Hearth and the youngest son of Baishuang Anbai. His father believed he had the potential to become a Maester, so around 250 Conquest Era, he sent him to the Citadel in Oldtown to study.

While in Oldtown, a prostitute tried to steal from him. As a result, Hother removed that person's internal organs, which earned him the nickname "Whore's Bane."

People never discussed this terrifying story loudly because that prostitute was a man.

The noble lady who asked blushed, but Sansa thought of something else.

"Lord Mooton is right. I remember my father once mentioned that Umber House is indeed one of the most loyal vassal families of the Starks. We should, and must, contact this Lord Hother Umber."

If nothing went wrong, Winterfell would become her private property independent of the royal family, so Queen Sansa was very concerned about this matter.

"Hother Umber's brother, Lord Crowfood, is in our White Harbor. I will have him send someone to contact Whore's Bane. Additionally, there are quite a few commoners in Winterfell loyal to the Stark family. Could Lady Sansa please bestow some token, so those servants can work for us?"

Although his martial prowess was poor, Wylis's brain was still sharp enough, and he proposed a small detail.

And this detail was one of the sources of the Bolton Pie.

On the main seat further away from the Riverlanders, the seated King was receiving gifts from his vassals one by one.

The first to give gifts were, of course, the Reachmen.

Given that he had paid for the vast majority of the wedding expenses, Duke Mace Tyrell only sent a golden goblet.

Arthur remembered that at the Purple Wedding, Mace gave Joffrey a seven-sided gold cup, but the pure gold goblet in front of him was made into three sides, that is, a triangular cup.

"Thank you, it looks beautiful. I certainly won't use it to drink. Pod, remember to remind me to build a cabinet in the King's bedchamber; I want to display this gold cup inside."

Arthur's expression was exaggerated, as if Mace had sent some peerless gift.

In reality, the little rose who loved to spray water was indeed a rare gift in the world.

The Inflatable Fish Lord shrugged; he couldn't control what his son-in-law did in his own room.

Next was Earl Paxter Redwyne, who gave the King a model of a longship.

"Your Grace, a great ship a thousand times this size is being rushed to completion on the Arbor. Perhaps in a few months, you will be able to see it in Blackwater Bay."

Arthur picked up the longship model and examined it for a moment, "This looks to be a full foot long. If it's a thousand times that, the ship you give the royal family would have to be a thousand feet long, which is over three hundred meters. Wooden ships can't reach that length, right!"

He remembered the ten-thousand-ton giant ships of his past life were only a few hundred meters long; the longships of the Game of Thrones world shouldn't be able to be that long.

At most, they would be a few dozen meters.

Earl Paxter said smoothly, "Your Grace, the value of a longship ranges from one thousand Gold Dragons to tens of thousands. A significant portion of the millions Robert spent was used to rebuild the Royal Fleet. Just in terms of length, this ship of mine might be one of the longest warships in the entire world, and it could sell for twenty or thirty thousand Gold Dragons in any of the Free Cities."

He didn't mention the length, but emphasized the value again.

Arthur nodded, not making things difficult for Mace's cousin and brother-in-law, and waved for him to step back.

The gifts from the next few families were quite ordinary, but the Mariweisi Jiazu of Longtable sent a fun gift.

The family's sigil was a golden cornucopia overflowing with apples, carrots, plums, onions, leeks, turnips, and fruits of various colors on a white background, and their family motto was "Look at my gift."

In keeping with this, Aurane Waters sent the royal family a hundred carts of fruits and vegetables.

"Your Grace, these items are being collected on my lands and will be delivered to King's Landing soon."

Arthur smiled and thanked him, "This is indeed the most humble yet most practical gift. I accept it."

Some Reachmen Jiaodu were still being held by the Westerlanders, so some families did not send gifts. To express their apologies, Margaery sent a grand gift on behalf of these families for her husband.

This was also the gift that had received the most attention from both the host and guests since the wedding banquet began.

A full set of golden Plate Armor crafted with the dye-steel method.

PS: Seeking recommendation tickets and monthly tickets.