Chapter 350: Halt the Arrest

In the land of the long summer, Viserys, having escaped the Valyrian ruins, knighted his loyal friend as his second Kingsguard.

Meanwhile, in the icy lands beyond the Wall, the army of the dead scoured the mountains and seas in search of the Three-Eyed Raven, whom the Night King despised, but returned empty-handed. With the help of the Children of the Forest, the Raven was well-hidden and protected by magical barriers, making it difficult for even the Night King to find him.

The existence of the Raven had only slightly distracted the Night King, aiding the human army's retreat. Otherwise, a single fire wouldn't have been enough to allow the human army to retreat unscathed.

The humans fled to Winterfell, where they reorganized their defenses. Maester Luwin of Winterfell was also busy, releasing all the ravens kept in the rookery. Letters bearing the seal of House Baratheon flew to all corners of the Seven Kingdoms.

The news of the allied army's defeat spread quickly throughout the Seven Kingdoms, even reaching the Iron Islands and Dorne. The noble of Dorne, Lord Ellwood, had managed to escape, but he had lost a leg on the battlefield and was now crippled.

Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands was shocked by the defeat, but also took some pleasure in it. He didn't believe the wights and the army of the dead could cross the sea. The Sunset Sea was their best barrier.

Seeing House Baratheon falter, Balon, who had always wanted to lead the Iron Islands to independence and restore the old ways, began to plot again. He sent his younger brother, Euron Greyjoy, to Pentos with a show of goodwill.

They sought to visit Viserys Targaryen, the second prince of the former Targaryen dynasty. Although he had not yet set foot in Westeros, his reputation had already shaken the Seven Kingdoms. He had been crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms by his mother on Dragonstone and had a claim to the Iron Throne.

Viserys was said to have a strong army and three dragons across the Narrow Sea. He was destined to fight House Baratheon, and the Greyjoys could bet on both sides, manipulating the details to achieve the desired result.

The Iron Islands watched from the sidelines, treating the king's call to arms as toilet paper, and even sent family members to secretly liaise with the Targaryens.

The rest of the Westerosi nobility was shocked by this news. If the North couldn't hold, and the wights crossed the Neck, they would be the next to suffer. The nobles, who had not been too concerned about the wights, suddenly became anxious.

The lords of the Seven Kingdoms stopped their feasting and began to gather and train their young men in earnest, responding to the king's call to send more troops to support the Winterfell defense line.

This time, the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms did not play tricks. They knew that if they did not unite, they would not be able to defeat the enemy from the North.

If even the allied army, which had gathered the armies of the Seven Kingdoms, could not defeat the enemy, then their own soldiers would be even less able to protect their lands and homes.

Jon Arryn, who was in charge of King's Landing, had been suspicious since the last scandal involving the queen's pregnancy. On the surface, the old Hand of the King seemed to have stopped investigating, but in fact, he was still secretly continuing his investigation. The Duke of

the Vale, despite his age, was still politically astute.

The results of the investigation were shocking.

Almost all the evidence pointed to the fact that the king's two children, Prince Joffrey and Princess Myrcella, were most likely not the king's biological offspring.

And the identity of the man who committed adultery with the queen was even more obvious.

All the children were blond, and the queen and her brother Jaime Lannister, who served as a Kingsguard, had been close since childhood, known as the golden boy and girl of the Westerlands.

All the evidence had been investigated, and only the final arrest was needed to expose the biggest scandal in the history of the royal family.

However, Jon Arryn's investigation and arrest suddenly came to a halt.

Flap, flap—

A raven carrying a royal decree flew to King's Landing, and Jon Arryn, sitting on the Iron Throne, looked extremely troubled.

There were many nobles present in the throne room, and like a dilapidated house, it couldn't keep any secrets.

In the morning, a raven from Winterfell arrived, and by the afternoon, the news of the defeat of the allied forces had spread throughout King's Landing.

The country was now in turmoil, and the defeat of the allied forces meant that they needed to unite against the enemies from the North and across the sea.

Queen Cersei was the eldest daughter of the Warden of the West, the Duke of Casterly Rock. The man she committed adultery with was her own brother, the eldest son of Duke Tywin.

If Jon Arryn arrested Cersei and her brother today, then the Westerlands would rebel tomorrow. Everyone knew that Tywin's favorite was his son Jaime.

He could give up Cersei, he could give up Tyrion, but he could never give up Jaime.

Even though Tywin had heard long ago that his beloved son had slept with his sister, there had been such rumors in the Westerlands.

But Duke Tywin, like an ostrich, silenced these rumors by cutting people's throats, telling everyone that it was just a rumor, and they were just close siblings.

Therefore, Jon Arryn, as the Hand of the King, had to temporarily halt the arrest, and also hide the truth from Robert.

Otherwise, he had no doubt that if Robert knew about this, he would immediately abandon his tens of thousands of troops and rush back to kill the adulterous couple.

The human alliance began to rebuild their defenses in Winterfell, taking a breather while the army of the dead was searching for the Three-Eyed Raven beyond the Wall.

However, the footsteps of winter would not stop because of a missing raven.

In the year 292 AC.

The army of the dead, having crossed the Wall, once again began to march south.

The last Lord of Last Hearth, Jon Umber, refused to abandon his home and vowed to resist, but it was like trying to stop a chariot with a mantis.

In the end, he was crushed by the advancing army of the dead. The soldiers of Last Hearth were all wiped out, including Jon Umber himself, who became a new wight, continuing to march forward.

The army of the dead indeed began to split up here.

Some wights, led by other White Walkers, headed straight for Castle Black, while others went to Karhold and Deepwood Motte.