Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 130 Cognitive Limitations
When there were only two days left to the Twins, intelligence arrived from Riverrun and the horses were catching up.

This was the nth piece of news from behind. Following the messengers sent by Lord Mallister of Seareach, Hoster, the eldest son of Lord Tytos Blackwood of Raventree, and the Bracken family of Stonehedge, two more knights from Riverrun came to deliver intelligence.

At this time, it was close to sunset, and Robb, the King of the North and the Riverlands, immediately ordered the army to stop marching and set up camp on the spot.

After leaving Riverrun, the autumn rain never stopped day after day, and the team heading north from the Northern Territory had a hard time moving forward.

The troops of the King of the North and the Riverlands heading north stretched for miles.

Although there were only 3,500 warriors left, these northern warriors were veterans of the Whispering Wood, Riverrun, and many battles in the Westerlands. They were the best soldiers under King Robb's command. They were all northerners.

Since Robb decided to go north, most of the Three Rivers lords, except for a few close friends of Edmure, stayed in the riverlands to watch the king recover the north. "Southern Marshal" Brynden the Blackfish guarded Riverrun for the king.

Thirty-five hundred troops were not a small number. They were a large number of fully armed cavalry, accompanied by civilians, totaling more than four thousand people. Although there were no enemies expected within a radius of hundreds of miles, King Robb was careful and divided the troops into the typical front, middle, and rear armies according to the marching formation.

The Glover family of Deepwood Motte was tasked with marching scouts. The vanguard was Greatjon of House Umber, a fierce northern general under the king. The king, his mother, Edmure and others walked with the main army. Behind them was the baggage train, which was composed of many civilians, accompanied by countless carriages loaded with food, fodder, supplies, gifts and wounded soldiers. Ser Wendel of House Manderly and his White Harbor knights were responsible for protection.

Behind them came the herds of sheep, goats, and cattle, the army's meat source, as well as a small group of traders and camp prostitutes.

Finally, the rearguard came from the Flint army of the northern mountain clans.

The order to set up camp was issued by two riders from the center army. By the time the order had been notified to the front and rear, the center army's tent had been set up.

King Robb sat by the fire, his soaked armor having just been removed and a simple leather suit warming him, the map on his knees while Grey Wind dozed at his feet.

Soon, the leaders of the three armies, the nobles around the king, and Edmure and Catelyn, who were responsible for the marriage contract, all arrived.

The king asked his servants to place all the letters from various places in the past few days on a wooden table covered with dry striped cloth beside the brazier. When everyone was gathered, he ordered them to clear away the idle people, and then solemnly said: "There is intelligence from Riverrun. Ser Brynden suggested that I keep it secret, but I don't mind publishing it to my loyalists. It is a rumor. A merchant who took a boat from King's Landing into the Blackwater River and ventured north from Stonetown brought a rumor and wanted to sell it to me at a high price. The rumor said that the Targaryen king who ordered me to go north to rescue the Wall might have a dragon. He relied on the dragon to defeat the army guarding Dragonstone Island of Lord Stannis. It is said that his dragon has three heads, is more than ten feet tall, and it took only a moment to capture Dragonstone Island."

"Dragon?" Edmure has been in a bad mood these days. Robb and Catelyn have forced him to face reality and marry Roslin, the daughter of the Frey family. He is not sure whether this Roslin of the Frey family will be an ugly and old girl. "The late Lord Frey" has never been a generous person. He holds grudges and has a strong desire for revenge. Robb's breaking of the engagement is undoubtedly the ultimate humiliation in the eyes of old Walder. "I am curious whether old Walder knows this news and whether he will believe it. He should have received the letter of release from King Targaryen." He said gloomily, "If the North raises the 'black and red flag'."

"Edmure!" Catelyn could not stand Edmure's increasingly resentful attitude these days. "The King of the North will not obey the orders of a Targaryen! Dragons have been extinct for more than a hundred years. The news brought by a merchant is not credible. Dragon, three-headed dragon? I'm afraid this is a trick of that Targaryen. These letters he wrote are full of ulterior motives? Can't you see that he is using these letters to try to give the Northern lords an excuse to rebel? Robb, I'm afraid the Karstark army..."

"Stop." Robb stopped his mother. "The lords in the north will not rebel. As long as we pass through the Twins and successfully go north, the North will return to the Starks. Balon is dead, and it will be unpopular for this Euron Greyjoy to be king... The ironborn will return to Pyke and start a power struggle. The Iron Islands, the biggest threat to our recovery of the North, are no longer a concern."

The young king expressed his belief in victory before speaking. "As for the dragons. Look at these letters, everyone. Lord Stannis's summons, Targaryen's reply." He pursed his lips as he spoke. ". Sansa's wedding invitation to King's Landing and Tyrion's wedding invitation - damn Lannister," but he continued patiently, "and these letters from Targaryen to me, the river lords, and the northern lords. Why did Targaryen write so many letters? If he really had dragons, he would never be so anxious.

Rumor has it that Lord Stannis was defeated at the Blackwater, but a Targaryen with a 'dragon' actually let Stannis escape back to Storm's End, while King's Landing is still preparing for Joffrey's wedding?

If so, then the dragon rumored to have three heads may have used up all its fire on Dragonstone, and can't even seal its throat, so it can only rely on ravens to carry out its plots everywhere."

The Greatjon laughed. "Your Majesty, when we have retaken the North, I will go meet the Targaryens on Dragonstone for you. The real dragons are all dead! Why should we care about a Targaryen who can only send letters? We should hurry to drink Lord Edmure's wedding wine, and then march north. I can't wait to appear in front of the ironmen at Moat Cailin and see their surprised expressions when they see the Greatjon appearing from the north. I must capture it quickly and present it to you as a gift."

When Robb heard of Balon's death, he immediately made a plan to join forces with Lord Bolton and the Freys at the Twins, and march north to attack Moat Cailin in three groups, with Robb and Roose Bolton leading each group.

The Greatjon's mission was to wait for Maege Mormont, the current Earl of Bear Island, and Galbert Glover, the Lord of Deepwood Motte, who were sent by Robb, to find Howland Reed of Greywater Watch to seek guidance, and to go around to the back of Moat Cailin through some paths in the swamp deep in the Neck that were not written on the map and only known to the people of the swamp.

The Moat of Cailin is the gate to the North. The three remaining towers control the only causeway to the north from three sides. This is the only passage for the army to go north. The south is a swamp and the north is a plain. Fighting from the south to the north will face the most desperate terrain for the army, the swamp where the army cannot be deployed. The three remaining towers serve as barriers to each other, forming a horn-shaped situation. To attack one of the towers, the army must wade through waist-deep black mud, cross the moat where lizard lions live, and then climb the mossy and slippery walls, while being exposed to the rain of arrows from the archers of the other two towers from beginning to end.

Robb smiled: "I look forward to your gift."

Speaking of his "wedding wine", Edmure on the side was unhappy: "Old Walder Frey must have received Targaryen's letter. Whether his decision has changed, we'd better confirm it before we enter the city, Your Majesty!"

"Robb, you must be careful," Catelyn said with some worry. "Lord Walder is cunning, has a strange temper, is suspicious by nature, is extremely sensitive, has a thin skin, and a sharp tongue. He is not an easy person to get along with. What Edmure said makes sense. They have received Targaryen's letter, and they may have other ideas in their minds."

"Mother, we have already sincerely apologized in the letter we sent, and Lord Walder has also replied to explain the situation. Among the letters carried by the Targaryen ravens on the table, there is one sent by Lord Walder." Robb did not care. "This time, we have been delayed in the rain. When we reach the Twins, I will express my special apologies to him."

Robb thought to himself that he was a pathetic king, ready to apologize at any moment.

But Robb didn't care about these letters as he said. The letter from King's Landing was about Sansa and Tyrion's marriage, and the letter from King Targaryen to him and the lords of the Riverlands and the North was to urge people to find a "qualified" Northern Guardian from his heirs. He had to think that if he died in the next battle, his kingdom would disappear in an instant, so he decided on an heir in Stonehenge.

In his eyes, his brothers Bran and Rickon were both dead. Before his Queen Jeyne became pregnant, Sansa was his first heir in the law, but he didn't want the North to fall into the hands of the Little Devil, and the second heir Arya might have died. Although his mother told him that his great-grandfather had a daughter who married out and merged into the branch of the Royce family, according to the law, she could be found and granted legal inheritance rights. But after thinking it over, he decided to make Jon Snow his successor.

Because of this, the young king had a big quarrel with his mother, because his mother had always been prejudiced against Jon Snow and was unwilling to support him in making his illegitimate son his heir. But he still made the decision, but he has not yet made it public.

It was not a smooth journey for them. They had to cross many rivers to go north from Riverrun. When they arrived at Beauty Market, the Blue Fork River was flooded due to continuous autumn rains, and the violent river water washed away the wooden bridge at Beauty Market. This forced them to plan a detour to Stone City, but plans can never keep up with changes. Scouts soon told them that the bridge in Stone City had been washed away by floods long before the one in Beauty Market.

They had to cross the Witch Swamp in the rain from Desert Stone City upstream of the Blue Fork River, and head north through mud and bad roads, which delayed the journey north much longer than originally planned.

But at this time, they would only complain that the autumn rain had delayed their journey, preventing them from reaching the Twins as soon as possible, setting up camp on the Green Fork, celebrating Edmure's wedding in the warm tents, indulging themselves in the banquet, taking the opportunity to rest and relieve the fatigue of marching in the rain for many days.

After resting in the double bridgeheads, these northerners will set off northwards to return home.

The news of the fall of the North touched the hearts of every Northern soldier. They were eager to return home. They believed that under the leadership of the invincible Young Wolf King, they would retake the North and return home.

The news of the dragons on Dragonstone, thousands of miles away, could not stop these Northern troops who were far away from their homes. The Lannister and Tyrell armies far away in King's Landing seemed to be too late to stop these Northern troops from returning to the North.

The Young Wolf King is invincible. Countless wars, big and small, in the past year have proven his bravery and fighting skills. Every soldier in the North firmly believes that the young king can lead them to win every battle.

Including Robb himself, this year's victory gave him strong confidence on the battlefield. He believed in his own clever plans and his ability to lead troops. He firmly believed that he could retake the North. The soldiers of Lannister and Tyrell were far away in the South and had no time to take care of him. These ravens from Targaryen might cause some trouble but they could not replace the army.

Yes, no one could doubt that the Young Wolf Lord won all the battles.

But at the same time, the young king had not yet clearly realized that although he won every battle, he had already lost the entire war.

The Twins ahead was not his first stop on his journey north to retake the North, but his end.

It is quite sad that Robb, who always won, never figured out why he lost until his death. His strategy of going north was quite feasible.

Robb's will conflicts with the letter sent by Viserys, because Viserys' letter requests the "in-line heir to the Stark family" rather than the heir to the King of the North, and Robb's throne was not recognized by Viserys.



(End of this chapter)