Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 148: Suspicion in Storm Land

"Oh, Ellery, can't you let the old, blind mother have a little talk with her son?"

Elli was blamed by the old lady for no reason and felt aggrieved: "Mother."

"Shut up, Ellery, don't use that tone." Lady Olenna, "You should blame your husband, the Duke of Highgarden. He refused to see me, so I, an ignorant old woman, had to come to him."

"Mother, what's wrong with you?" The Duke of Metz winked and watched the maids and servants around him leave one by one, and even his wife, Lady Ellery, was about to be driven away.

When the Lord of Highgarden's chambers were cleared, Lady Olenna said bluntly, "Have pity on your old mother. Tell her what it is about King's Landing that has enchanted you, Mace?"

The Duke of Mace avoided the question and said, "Mother, if you want to go back to Highgarden, I will send someone to take you back. Willas and Garlan miss you."

"Would you rather Margaery be a septa, never marry, and never be able to ask the Lannisters to bring her back to the South? Why, oh, by the gods, wise Lord of Mace, noble Lord of Highgarden, tell me, what has the lion given you?"

"Mother!" The Duke of Mace still did not answer, "We have Willas and Garlan in the South. I can do more for our family in King's Landing!"

Olenna lamented, "Son, I would rather you do nothing. This way you will be doing a great service to the Tyrells. Don't you like hunting? Go back to the Southland with hounds, ride horses, hunt, raise horses and feed hawks, or even find some beautiful young girls to have some illegitimate children."

"Mother, what are you talking about!" The Duke of Mace frowned, "Don't you want to see Tyrell's rose bloom more prosperously?"

The old lady felt pain in her heart: "My Lord Duke, tell me, how do you plan to make the roses flourish?"

Lord Mace whispered to his mother, "When King Tommen ascends the throne, mother, Lord Tywin will become regent, and I will become prime minister. The lords of the Reach will get more ministerial seats in King's Landing."

The old lady just felt a headache: "My Lord Duke of Highgarden, can't you see that this mountain is collapsing? What do you want to do by climbing so high?"

"Hmm," Lord Mace blinked, looked around cautiously, and whispered, "Mother. You haven't thought it through. When they start to march, if the Lannisters choose to withdraw to the Westerly, won't King's Landing be in our hands? By then we will own the South and King's Landing. Mother, have you ever thought about it? It was Lord Tywin who offered King's Landing, and that's how the Lannisters have been powerful for so many years. Even if they don't withdraw, we can just sit back and watch the outcome."

"Where are Redwyne, Rowan, and Tarly? Can't you, the upstarts of the Reach, put your heads together? Have you communicated with them? Do you know what they think?"

"Alas, mother. Now that Lord Tywin and the Queen Mother are still here, we must act carefully. Let me tell you, mother, many of the nobles in King's Landing are waiting for them to attack King's Landing and observe the situation. We just need to wait for the opportunity. Moreover, I have secretly sent a raven to congratulate them on the wedding. Since Bitterbridge and Staghorn Castle have established a reason to contact them, we just need to wait for them to come to King's Landing. Most of the troops in the Reach are now west of King's Landing. Whether the Lannisters fight or flee, I can deal with it calmly."

The old lady's blood pressure rose. "This is a foolish act. You will not benefit from doing this! Willas's letter has already said that the Dornishmen have deployed troops on the border. What do you think they want to do?"

"Oh, mother, this is military affairs, you don't understand. Highgarden has the largest army in the whole realm. Lannister and the other side need us. Neither Lannister nor Dorne can unify the whole realm alone." The Duke of Mace explained to his mother with a bitter face, "I'll tell you the truth, mother. I have more detailed intelligence. The Dornish are indeed heading there, but you don't have to worry about the safety of the south. The Dornish have the Bone Road exit that can lead directly to Summerhall. They will send troops from Summerhall to King's Landing. We will see how Lannister reacts and then we will respond calmly. No matter how the situation develops next, Highgarden is already invincible."

The old lady disagreed and just said: "You are playing with fire. You can be calm now by leaving Lannister and King's Landing. When the war starts, you will be a traitor!"

The Duke of Metz opened and closed his mouth, and finally said impatiently: "Mother, if you want to go to High Garden, I will send someone to take you back?"

"You are truly your father's son. He was so engrossed in watching the eagle in the sky that he didn't notice the cliff beneath his feet."

Maybe my father jumped off the cliff on purpose, the Duke of Mace thought. But he said, "Mother, you are not used to living in King's Landing. I'd better send you back to Highgarden."

"You!" The old lady's face turned pale.

"Margaery cannot go back with you," added the Duke of Mace. "She has dedicated herself to the Seven Gods and will stay with the Archbishop of King's Landing to serve the gods devoutly. If you ask me, we should thank the little devil, otherwise I really don't know how to save her."

"."Mrs. Olenna really regretted that she was reluctant to beat her son severely when he was still young.

-

Viserys was puzzled. "A reply from Bitterbridge? House Caswell? The same one from Antlers? Congratulations on my wedding. No signature? Besides that, have you received any other replies?"

The maester handed over the letter respectfully: "To Storm's End."

"Oh? Let me see." Viserys was curious about what Stannis would write.

When he opened the letter, it was not a wedding blessing, but an explanation of the previous incident of Lannister pretending to be Stannis's army at Stonehenge, and a rebuke to Lannister. At the same time, the reply letter brought a letter hoping to restart the negotiations for the redemption of prisoners. Stannis decided to send Alister Florent to Dragonstone to negotiate the exchange and redemption of prisoners and nobles on both sides.

"Your Majesty, do you want a reply?"

"If you reply, write: 'I wonder if the famous Lady Melisandre is among the visitors you sent. If so, please take care of yourself. It's easy to get your hands dirty, but it's hard to wash them clean. I heard that the Stormlands are still militaristic, and the princes and people are still suffering under your rule. I really don't want to see this. Lady Shireen has grown up on Dragonstone. She is dignified and smart. I think she can heal the scars of the Stormlands for you. Why don't you step back and pass the throne to the more talented Lady Shireen? In this way, the Stormlands will be free from war and the country will be safe and the people will be happy. Isn't it wonderful?' Do you need me to repeat it?"

".No need to trouble your majesty." After taking notes, Bachelor Pylos was speechless for a moment.

"Okay, send it to Storm's End." Viserys didn't want any unexpected incidents at his wedding, the black shadow assassin.

The scouts who had been sent out to the Stormlands had already brought back first-hand intelligence. The military forces of the Stormlands are now concentrated in Storm's End, and Stannis has strict control over the inside and outside of the castle, leaving the local management almost at a standstill.

The castles in the Stormlands were still being summoned to send new soldiers to Storm's End, but each castle began to send money and food instead of the lord's call for troops. Rumor even said that Stannis was sending people to Essos to recruit mercenaries to fight for him.

Combining all the information, Stannis undoubtedly still wanted to fight and had no intention of surrendering. Just after sending Maester Pylos away, another report came in soon: "Your Majesty, the military intelligence department has brought someone to the castle."

"Okay, take him to the castle office of the MI6 and you can interrogate him for me, Godien."

"Yes."

-

Viserys came to the room at the back of the castle's so-called MI6 office and sat there listening to Godien asking for information from a scout named Scott.

This Scott was one of the scouts sent by Viserys to various places in the Stormlands to gather information on a merchant ship. But it is hard to say whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, but the merchant ship this scout was on encountered a storm in Shipbreaker Bay and the ship ran aground and sank. He held on to a piece of driftwood and drifted on the sea for half a day before being washed ashore.

Local fishermen caught him.

He said he was caught by fishermen and taken to an offshore fishing village on the northern edge of the rainforest.

There, he was nearly sacrificed to the local "sea god" by villagers in order to pray for a good fish harvest.

Godian could speak the Common Tongue fairly well, albeit with a strange accent: "Tell me more about what you saw there."

"Yes, sir." Scott still felt a little frightened when he recalled it. "The fishing village looked no different from an ordinary fishing village. At first, when I was caught, I thought they were under the order of the local lord to investigate the local martial law, but later I found out that it was not the case. The locals were very vigilant and did not communicate with me. They just locked me in a dark room. There were two other people in the room. They were both injured. They told me that they were survivors of the shipwreck of other ships that were hit by the storm. They had been locked there for a day without eating anything. They were all very hungry and weak.

That night, I heard the commotion outside and realized something was going on. I thought I was just a poor man who was unlucky enough to be shipwrecked, and it didn't matter if I was handed over to the local militia and lords. But that was not the case. They were holding a sacrificial ceremony that night.

The other two people in the house were taken away. The look on the villagers' faces as they took them away was disturbing, and I realized I had to find a way to escape.

Thanks to Brick - who had a not-so-honorable career and taught me how to pry open villagers' doors in different situations - sir, I only use this to save my life.

There was no one guarding the door, so I hid in the dark and observed at night.

It was only then that I realized that there was a bonfire burning in the middle of the fishing village. The two people who had just been taken out were stripped naked and tied to wooden stakes, while the fishermen were worshiping around a black stone in the middle of the fishing village.

They are all crazy and fanatically believe in a 'sea god'.

The altar above was already filled with sacrifices, all of which were human limbs and internal organs.

My Lord, I have been to the battlefield. I know that is not the entrails of any animal.

An old woman holding a kitchen knife covered in rust and blood began to chant, and all the villagers began to chant with her.

They prayed to the sea god for fish and to the sea god for storms to bring new sacrifices.
They are crazy, my lord.

I didn’t dare to continue watching, and ran out of the village in the night. Later, it started to rain, and I was lucky enough to meet a smuggler’s boat, so I was able to rush to Yuwu City, where I met my companions. ”

Speaking of which, as a scout going to Stormlands and encountering such a thing, Scott wanted to keep it in his heart for the rest of his life, but after drinking one time, he couldn't help but tell his companions about it.

Because of this incident, he was laughed at by the people in the camp for a while. People called him "Scott the Horrible Fishing Village Survivor" or "Scott the Sea God Follower" to make fun of him. Later, the news reached Viserys.

"You said you ran away. How long did you run before you encountered the smuggling ship?"

Scott hesitated for a moment and said, "Three days, sir."

"You told your companions that you survived by eating sea fish. You were fishing while you were escaping?"

"No, sir, they don't believe me, but you must believe me to ask!" Scott became excited, "Sir, on the rainy night when I escaped, fish swarmed onto the shore like crazy, and there was no need to fish at all. Sir, I know it's crazy, but it's true. They all think I'm lying, making up stories, and they all think I'm dreaming, but it's true!"

"Your companions call you 'Sea God's Believer'. Do you think that is what the fishermen get when they offer sacrifices to 'Sea God'?"

".Sir, that's false. I never believed that." He denied it flatly.

"Do you still remember the location of the fishing village? If I let you lead the way, can you still find the village?"

"My Lord, I will never forget this until I die!"

"On the rainy night when you escaped, besides rain, was there thunder?"

"Of course, sir, there are always thunders on rainy nights in the Autumn Storm Land."

(End of this chapter)