Chapter 224: Tyrant Joffrey, Meraxes

King's Landing, the Throne Room; Joffrey Baratheon sat upon the hideous Iron Throne, pus oozing from the scar on his forehead.

Cersei sat beside Joffrey, clutching the ancestral Lannister sword, Oathkeeper, in her hand.

The Fire Nurus, Black Kong Tabit, and the brothers of the Kingsguard were arrayed around the Iron Throne; Jaime noted with astonishment that the pure white crests of the sworn brothers had all been replaced with ghastly skulls.

On both sides of the hall stood dozens of the Black Robe Army, all of whom were followers of the Great Other.

Lancel Lannister was the commander of the Black Robe Army; he embraced Ser Kevan.

"Father, I can finally be reunited with you. I once feared you would die on the battlefield."

Ser Kevan stroked Lancel's sandy-brown hair, "I have been worried about you as well."

Seeing that Lancel had not turned into an undead, Ser Kevan breathed a long sigh of relief.

Lord Tywin, Kevan, and Jaime could not help but feel secretly alarmed when they saw the large cauldron in the middle of the Iron Throne piled high with bleached bones and smiling skulls.

A brilliant smile hung on Gillian's face; he and his witch wife, Grace, had long since seen the situation in King's Landing through a crystal ball, so they were not surprised by the corpses in the Throne Room.

Jaime raised his voice, "Are these the bones of the followers of the Seven? Why be so depraved? Piling the Throne Room with corpses—not even Maegor the Cruel, Aegon the Unworthy, or Aerys II Targaryen were as depraved as you."

Cersei chuckled, "Ser Jaime, King's Landing has long since become a city of the undead. To tell you the truth, this has already been cleaned up; usually, this place is full of bloody corpses, covered in crows and flies."

Jaime said indignantly, "Mutilating the living will never win the love of the nobles and the commoners."

Joffrey revealed a ferocious smile, "Wrong. It is better to make the commoners and nobles fear you than to have their love. Kingslayer, you once slaughtered the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen in the Throne Room, whom you were sworn to protect as a Kingsguard. You are an oathbreaker, a chameleon, a man who treats honor like shit, so don't talk to me about the love of the people."

"I heard that Uncle Imp turned traitor and is now a dog by the side of the Wolf King Eddard. Uncle Kingslayer, could it be that you, too, intend to follow in the Imp's footsteps and become a traitor to the Lannisters?"

"I heard that my Hound, Sandor, is also serving the Wolf King Eddard. I will kill the Hound Sandor and the Imp with my own hands!"

Jaime looked at Joffrey's cruel face, regretting the affair he had with Cersei years ago that birthed this cruel beast, Joffrey.

Tywin cleared his throat, "Your Grace, let us not speak of how you treated the followers of the Seven in the past; let bygones be bygones. However, I suggest that you refrain from mutilating the followers of the Seven in the future."

The necromancer Ogbeta revealed a scarlet, terrifying smile.

"Lord Tywin, no one wants to mutilate the followers of the Seven. It is just that resurrecting the ice dragons and controlling the undead army requires dark magic. Killing these followers of the Seven, their fear and screams before death can be converted into dark magic."

Lord Tywin said, "In the regions south of the Neck, the Seven have the most followers. If the Church and the followers of the Seven are offended, the Lannisters cannot win this war."

Joffrey raised his voice, "Lord Tywin, under your leadership, the Lannisters lost the Westerlands, and threw away Casterly Rock and Lannisport. For thousands of years in the past, whether in the era of the King of the Rock or the era of the Lord of Lannister, the Lannisters firmly controlled the Westerlands."

"Yet you lost the Westerlands in the war against the direwolves. You are a loser, so stop teaching others how to win this war."

Being humiliated like this by the fourteen-year-old brat king Joffrey, Tywin truly wanted to strangle him.

But now, Tywin had come to join Cersei and Joffrey; he still hoped to rely on the undead army of King's Landing to take back the Westerlands. Furthermore, with the Black Robe Army of the followers of the Great Other everywhere in the Throne Room, and that eerie and terrifying necromancer Ogbeta present, Lord Tywin dared not provoke Joffrey and had to suppress his anger.

Gillian stepped forward, his face full of smiles.

"Your Grace Joffrey, there is no need to be so harsh on your grandfather, Lord Tywin. Victory and defeat are common occurrences. Although the Lannisters have lost the Westerlands, under the wise leadership of Your Grace Joffrey, we will certainly be able to wipe out the enemy and take back the Westerlands."

"Your Grace, history has pushed you onto the stage; this is a great opportunity for Your Grace Joffrey to perform meritorious deeds and reorganize the realm."

Joffrey was very satisfied, "You have the better eye after all. I intend to lead the army in person."

Cersei cleared her throat, "Joffrey, until you come of age, the Seven Kingdoms shall be ruled by me. As King, you are a person of ten thousand gold; how can you easily engage the enemy?"

Ser Kevan said, "Your Grace, the Queen Regent, we should immediately rebuild the Small Council. I suggest appointing Lord Tywin as the Hand of the King."

Cersei narrowed her eyes, "You are all my kin, and I can incorporate all of you into the Small Council. However, I must remind you that the duty of the Small Council is to assist me, and you must obey my orders. I will absolutely not be polite to anyone who dares to defy my commands."

Gillian said with a fawning smile, "The Small Council will certainly serve the Queen Regent. Your Grace, rest assured, we Lannisters will certainly be your most humble servants."

The skull scepter of the necromancer Ogbeta emitted bursts of blood-red light, and he wore a cunning smile.

"If you Lannisters could convert to the faith of the Great Other and follow the great Great Other together, that would be even better. The army of the Great Other can help the Lannisters take back the Westerlands."

Ser Kevan and Lord Tywin exchanged glances; Jaime gritted his teeth and was about to draw his sword, but Gillian stopped him and spoke first, "The Great Other is the only true god in my heart; we are willing to convert to the Great Other."

Cersei revealed an evil smile.

"Are you all willing to become followers of the Great Other?"

Lord Tywin and Ser Kevan had no choice but to vaguely echo, "Willing."

The necromancer Ogbeta smirked, "You all seem insincere. I know that even though you have seen the giant bats and the skeleton warriors, you still have doubts about the power of the Great Other."

Lord Tywin looked around awkwardly, "We do have doubts. I have not seen the resurrected Prince Rhaegar, nor have I seen Robert the Death Storm, nor have I seen the resurrected ice dragons."

The necromancer Ogbeta smiled and explained, "Prince Rhaegar is on the battlefield in the Riverlands, and the Death Storm is fighting in the Stormlands. The ice dragons Dreamfire and Vermithor are spraying dragonfire in the Riverlands, turning the fertile soil of the Riverlands into a cursed land."

"The ice dragons Seasmoke and the Blue Queen have encountered minor setbacks in attacking Stannis's Storm's End, and they have retreated to defend the Kingswood."

Lord Tywin was shocked, "Stannis has a weapon capable of rivaling ice dragons?"

Cersei said, "Stannis's red priestess Melisandre summoned a Balrog at Summerhall. The Balrog is the nemesis of the undead army; the Blue Queen and Seasmoke were defeated by the Balrog."

"Jaime has been attacking me, saying I shouldn't sacrifice followers of the Seven to the Great Other, but Stannis's red priestess Melisandre has been sacrificing living people to the Lord of Light R'hllor. If I did not sacrifice the lives of the followers of the Seven to please the Great Other, we would have long since been defeated by Stannis, the follower of the Lord of Light."

The necromancer said, "Don't forget, the Wolf King Eddard at Harrenhal has even greater strength. The Wolf King Eddard invented cannons, which are immensely powerful. Paired with magic dragons, griffins, and giant eagles, even ice dragons find it difficult to contend with the Wolf King's army."

"In addition, we have another formidable opponent marching on Westeros, and that is the Mother of Dragons Daenerys. She possesses a powerful army—the Unsullied, Dothraki cavalry, the Brotherhood Without Banners, the Golden Company, the Stormcrows, the Second Sons, etc. Furthermore, she has three magic dragons."

Lord Tywin clenched his fists, "Robert should have gotten rid of Daenerys back then. Now we have nurtured a dragon to our own detriment; the evil dragon has grown up."

The necromancer Ogbeta said, "The Mother of Dragons Daenerys and her magic dragons are definitely ruthless characters. My lords of Lannister, do not think for a moment that because we possess ice dragons and Death Knights, we have won this war."

"On the surface, this is a war between Stannis, Daenerys, the Wolf King Eddard, and the Lannisters. However, in reality, this is a war between the Old Gods behind Stark, the Lord of Light R'hllor behind Stannis and Daenerys, and the Great Other behind the Queen Regent Cersei."

Jaime said disdainfully, "So, the Great Other may not necessarily win this war?"

The necromancer Ogbeta said, "Kingslayer, the Great Other will certainly win. When winter descends, the power of the Great Other will be unrivaled. Today, I will show you the power of the Great Other!"

"I am going to resurrect the dragon Meraxes into an ice dragon!"

Jaime, Lord Tywin, Ser Kevan, Gillian, and the witch Grace were led by the necromancer Ogbeta to the training yard of the Red Keep.

The skeletal remains of the dragon Meraxes lay in the training yard. Around the yard were cages filled with septons, septas, Silent Sisters, as well as some fishermen, prostitutes, farmers, stable boys, and the like.

Back then, Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys relied on three magic dragons to conquer Westeros, with the exception of Dorne.

Meraxes was the mount of Queen Rhaenys; its skull was large enough to swallow a man and his horse in one bite.

Back then, Queen Rhaenys rode the magic dragon Meraxes to conquer Storm's End, and together with Balerion and Vhagar, participated in the Field of Fire, crushing the allied forces of the King of the Reach and the King of the Rock in one fell swoop.

In the war to conquer Dorne, Queen Rhaenys was riding Meraxes when, at the Battle of Hellholt, a crossbow bolt struck Meraxes squarely in the eye. The dragon fell, screaming in agony, and Queen Rhaenys died on the spot.

Previously, the necromancer Ogbeta specifically dispatched bats to collect the Dragon Soul of Meraxes at Hellholt and brought the Dragon Soul back to the Red Keep.

Under the gaze of Joffrey Baratheon and Cersei, the necromancer walked onto the high platform and brandished a scepter.

"Under the witness of the Great Other, I shall resurrect Meraxes."

Jaime glared at the necromancer Ogbeta, pointing his Longsword at the followers of the Seven in the cages.

"You intend to use the lives and blood of these innocent people to resurrect a dead monster?"

The necromancer Ogbeta said: "Sorcery naturally requires a price. These people's lives are worthless. After they die, I will resurrect them as Undead Warriors to continue serving the Lannister."

Jaime said indignantly: "Manipulating sorcery and murdering defenseless people, this is too evil!"

Cersei gave a light hum, "Jaime, I remember you were always indifferent toward the gods; when did you become so pious?"

"Remember when we were children, often in the Great Sept of Casterly Rock, praying together... you were never serious at all."

Jaime suppressed his anger, "This has nothing to do with faith; one should not murder innocent people!"

Joffrey Baratheon said angrily: "Kingslayer, you are so heroic, simply the embodiment of a Warrior; why not just sacrifice you to the Great Other."

"Necromancer, kill my uncle the Kingslayer, then resurrect him to make him a Death Knight; perhaps that can teach him the way of humility."

Gillian hurriedly stepped forward to stop them, "Jaime just doesn't quite understand the process of Magic. Since this is a necessary step to resurrect the frost dragon, we Lannister absolutely support it!"

Under the persuasion of Gillian, Tywin, and Kevan, Jaime retreated to the side, seething with resentment.

The necromancer Ogbeta stood on the high platform piled with skulls, chanting spells; dark clouds gathered, and a gale blew.

"Great Great Other, please enjoy these frail bodies and humble souls!"

The Skull Scepter in the necromancer Ogbeta's hand emitted streaks of eerie blue light; the blue light shone on the cages around the drill ground, and the followers of the Seven in the cages screamed repeatedly, black smoke rising from their bodies.

The wails, despair, and fear of the dying formed a massive force of Magic, all of which was collected into the necromancer Ogbeta's Skull Scepter.

The necromancer Ogbeta began to chant.

"Please bring Meraxes back to the human world, transformed into a frost dragon, to slaughter all fires of life!"

Streaks of blue light shone on the giant dragon remains of Meraxes; soon, layers of icy, rotting flesh grew on the dragon's skeleton, and Meraxes opened its blue eyes.

Meraxes spread its wings of death, and the shadow of the Undead obscured the sky above the Red Keep.

Cersei and Joffrey Baratheon, leading hundreds of the Black Robe Army, servants of the Red Keep, maids, and skeleton warriors, all knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the Great Other!"

Gillian and the witch Grace knelt down; Tywin, Kevan, and the others had no choice but to kneel on the ground, joining the chorus of death.

Only Jaime stood proudly with his sword amidst the crowd.

After a long while, the crowd slowly stood up; the frost dragon Meraxes landed beside Cersei, and Cersei climbed onto Meraxes.

"I am a Dragonrider more beautiful than Queen Rhaenys."

Duke Tywin said excitedly: "With such a frost dragon, we can certainly take back the Westerlands. Cersei, please allocate me an Undead army, and let us march to the Westerlands immediately!"

Cersei shook her head, "Father, Meraxes must remain in King's Landing. The Stark Army that conquered the Westerlands is currently assembled near Harrenhal; the strength of the Stark Army near Harrenhal exceeds sixty thousand men."

"The Wolf King Eddard possesses Cannons, Magic Dragons, giant eagles, and Griffins; if he leads his army south along the Kingsroad, he could be at the city gates in a few days."

Duke Tywin said: "Cersei, you have so many frost dragons, how about sharing one with me? It would be best to resurrect Balerion the Black Dread directly."

The necromancer Ogbeta said: "Duke Tywin, resurrecting Balerion the Black Dread requires more Dark Magic, more sacrifices, and offerings; it cannot be resurrected for the time being."

Duke Tywin refused to give up, "I am willing to be the most loyal servant of the Great Other; even if Balerion cannot be resurrected, you have so many frost dragons, how about sharing one with me? If I win back the Westerlands sooner, we can defeat Stark and Stannis sooner."

The necromancer Ogbeta placed a hand on Tywin's wrist, "Lord Tywin, you have lost your home and yearn to take back the Westerlands; I understand completely, but please note that the Westerlands is not the top priority; the real battlefield is in King's Landing, on the Iron Throne."

"Stark is stationing troops at Harrenhal, eyeing us covetously; Stannis is at Storm's End, and with the fire demon, Stannis's strength has greatly increased. The fire demon can resurrect corpses into fire slaves, which happens to be the nemesis of our Undead Resurrection."

"Not to mention the beautiful Daenerys; Daenerys's three Magic Dragons are much larger than the Magic Dragons in Stark's hands. Daenerys is very likely to attack King's Landing directly."

"King's Landing is surrounded by powerful enemies; we need every frost dragon to guard the city of the Undead."

Tywin was unhappy, and Cersei added: "Actually, Father need not be anxious; winter is coming soon. When my subordinate, the Night King, leads the Undead army south from Beyond the Wall, breaches The Wall, and sweeps through the North, Stark's base will be destroyed, and taking back the Westerlands will be easy."

Gillian leaned in, "I believe Her Majesty the Queen Mother can certainly lead the Lannister to win this war."

"We Lannister are all followers of the Great Other, and from now on, we part ways with the Seven."

Cersei was satisfied: "Since you have all converted to the Great Other, there should be no more estrangement between us. My father, Duke Tywin, will serve as Hand of the King; Uncle Kevan, you will be the financial advisor; Jaime will remain as his Kingsguard Captain; Uncle Gillian, you will be the Master of Ships."

After Joffrey Baratheon, Cersei, and the necromancer left, Jaime was furious.

"You just abandoned the faith in the Seven that the Lannister have believed in for generations? What a disgrace!"

Tywin said: "Jaime, you are very heroic, but it's a pity you have no brains. King's Landing is a city of the Undead; since we have come to join Cersei and the necromancer, we must naturally go along with them."

"Remember, the goal of the Lannister is to use the Undead to take back the Westerlands and defeat our enemies. Since the necromancer Ogbeta has displayed the power of the Great Other, why not pretend to be followers of the Great Other for once?"

"Deep in your heart, you can keep a place for the Seven, but there is no need to say it out loud; otherwise, you will only end up like the Death Storm and Rhaegar, becoming a Death Knight."

Thanks to hiddensecret for the reward, thanks to Lin'an Farmer for the monthly ticket, thank you for your support!

(End of this chapter)