Game of Thrones: King of Harrenhal, starting with a blue hand stat panel

Chapter 126 The Monsters of King's Landing

Conquest lasted 290 years, the year of the Long Summer.

This summer began in 289. If the world remains unchanged, its total length will be ten years, two months, and sixteen days, making it the longest summer in people's memory.

A new year brings new beginnings, may you reign supreme.

Now, on the surface, the world is at peace, thanks to King Robert's lightning victory.

On the surface, neither the Royal Council nor the people of King's Landing seemed to have many worries.

Robert's power structure remained stable, Jon Arryn controlled the King's Council, and the King could continue to indulge in pleasure without worry.

After dealing with the troubles of the Greyjoy rebellion, Robert did indeed begin to let loose more wildly.

Hunting, drinking, going to brothels—doing whatever makes them happy.

At the beginning of the new year, Arthur spent it in King's Landing, not Harrenhal.

After all, it takes much longer to craft a new Valyrian steel greatsword.

The blacksmith needs to change the structure of the sword and make both black and gold ripples appear on the blade at the same time, which will take a long time.

Throughout the entire Seven Kingdoms, only Tob is familiar with this highly sophisticated technology.

Even though Arthur's large group of men made King's Landing quite expensive, it wasn't a problem.

Arthur has plenty of money, so he'll treat it as a paid trip for everyone.

He acquired a large amount of gold dragons through the 20,000 gold dragon prize from the tournament champion and the tens of thousands of gold dragons from betting profits, as well as through plundering King's Port and sharing profits with Tob.

Dark Knights were still highly sought after in King's Landing, and Arthur got to know many free riders and hired knights.

However, given the strength of the Knights, there aren't many who can be compared to Arthur.

The Red Keep, Varys's room, the Chief of Intelligence.

The eight-legged spider sat in the soft chair and began to weigh the several major events that had piled up together.

If we start counting from when he took office as Chief of Intelligence in 278, Varys has now served as Chief of Intelligence for thirteen years.

According to the original story, he could have served until 299 years.

Having served as the chief intelligence officer for a full 13 years, he was considered a veteran in the palace.

Varys was second only to Sir Barristan and Grand Maester Paisell, but the other two did not have an intelligence network like the octopus spider.

Like his predecessors as Chief of Intelligence, Varys was enigmatic, cunning, and treacherous.

Varys' influence is actually catching up with that of the previous "Bentfoot" Lars, and the two also have many similarities in their styles of doing things.

Bentfoot always went his own way, acting independently and unpredictably.

Although he could be kind and persuasive when needed, he had few friends.

"The defeat of King Balon, the tournament at the Lion's Den. For at least ten years, sea monsters won't be a problem! And in the distance, the Dornish may have become more cautious," Varys muttered to himself. These two events had indeed impacted the power structure of the dynasty. "Our king is a great hero, but unfortunately, the Iron Throne is full of thorns."

Varys's gaze was no longer kind, but became stern and sharp.

Robert's dynasty appeared rock-solid, but in reality, the cracks were widening.

"The Queen is pregnant again, but the father of this child is not the King. What explosive news! A child of gold!" Varys chuckled and clasped his hands together.

No matter what happens in King's Landing, it won't escape Varys' notice, and he also has to actively cover up this big bomb.

"And we can't forget the young newcomers who love playing in Game of Thrones." Varys then took out three more slips of paper from his sleeve and spread them out on the table.

The first picture is about Renly, the Duke of Storm's End, who recently took Loras Tyrell, the youngest son of the Tyrell family, as his squire.

House Tyrell saw no openings in King's Landing, but wisely maintained a relationship with Renlylla.

The second picture is about Littlefinger, who also doesn't marry or have children, seemingly completely immersed in the world of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Although Old Erin promoted this person, it did not prevent Littlefinger from cultivating his own clique in his position.

It's hard to tell what's real and what's fake.

The third image is of Arthur from the River House, the Dark Knight patiently waiting for his greatsword to be forged in the blacksmith's shop.

This talented knight, a hero of the Greyjoy family rebellion and the Lannister Port tournament, was promoted by the king to be the Guardian of Crab Bay, a remarkable rise to prominence.

Compared to the previous two, one relied on his status and the other on his wealth and power, while Arthur's most outstanding qualities were his fists and spear, making him a force to be reckoned with.

"Little Bat, whose side is he truly on? Or is he only on his own? Ser Barristan isn't a cunning man, but Arthur Hoan is not. It's not that the knight became the lord, but the lord became the knight," Varys pondered, for there was no definitive answer to this question.

"However, the Dark Knight's family was once the minions of the Red Dragon. My words may move the Griffin, but they cannot move the Dark Knight, so there's no need to invite trouble," Varys mused.

Loyalty to the Red Dragon and to Rhaegar are different concepts; not every royalist is a griffin.

Varys acted very cautiously and did not approach the Dornish.

Not to mention the former royalists of the royal domain and the Riverlands.

On the contrary, Varys was indifferent to these people.

Varys knew his deception was untenable, and only in the most chaotic times could Aegon be brought to the forefront.

The Dark Knight is clearly a power-hungry creature and a knight, not a hothead like the Kingslayer, nor a purely honor-seeking knight like Ser Barristan.

In his heart, Varys also considered Arthur to be a destabilizing factor.

The Dark Knight, who had the king completely under his thumb, didn't seem like a purely righteous character.

A wealthy, astute, cunning, and fearless knight is far more threatening than a stubborn knight.

It was simply Varys' intuition; he instinctively felt that the Dark Knight, Littlefinger, and Renly were not exactly law-abiding citizens.

But Varys can't say for sure what exactly they want to do yet.

Just as Varys was in a jungle of wild beasts, he had the most direct sense of these schemers and ambitious men.

"Let them play their games, and I'll wait patiently for my prince to grow up." Varys took a deep breath.

Prime Minister Jon, despite his prominent position, was largely a figurehead leader, not a particularly sophisticated one.

Nearby, Robert was surrounded by Queen Cersei, Renly, Littlefinger, and Stannis.

The mere sight of these four people exploding together already made King's Landing seem quite crowded, not to mention adding the Dark Knight from Harrenhal.

Meanwhile, in the distance, the Iron Islands and Dorne remain adversaries to be patiently endured.

Varys knew these destabilizing factors would explode, but it would take at least a while before they did.

Varys's tactic was to gather a mix of true and false intelligence to lower Robert's guard against the Targaryens and to conceal the fact that Varys was truly protecting Aegon.

In the tavern in King's Landing, the fireplace was burning brightly.

Four people were drinking around a short table.

Arthur Hoan the Dark Knight, Thoros the Red Monk of Myr, "The Hound," and Sir Lucas Dayne.

Soros also met Arthur during the Greyjoy Rebellion; both were at the forefront of sieges, and Soros also had a lifelong love for...

Wine, too, can be considered Arthur's friend.

As for the hound, he is elusive and only appears occasionally.

If we were to meet, I would like to drink with Soros and Arthur.

Arthur's servants silently blended into the tavern and sat not far from them.

"There is no better drink than wine! Praise be to Dionysus!" Soros raised a glass of ale and drank it merrily.

"Fatty, you should go to Tyrossi, that's where the Tower of Dionysus is," the Hound said impatiently.

"Tyros is still not as good as the King's court. I can drink the perfect wine there," Soros laughed heartily.

He was the king's number one drinking buddy and had also drunk quite a bit of fine wine.

"Bravour Sir Arthur, I believe the finest wines of Whitewall are only inferior to those of Greenwood Isle," Soros said.

"Then you should drink more." Arthur laughed, as he was drinking his own lemonade.

Perhaps the person selling the wine isn't particularly fond of wine.

Soros was also an acquaintance of Tob, so the world is a big circle.

Soros became a regular customer of Tob Mott because of his flaming sword trick, but Tob Mott was very dissatisfied with Soros's flaming sword trick.

"Red-robed monk, you've forgotten your own faith," Sir Lucas said sharply.

Soros of Mil laughed and said, "I used to be a devout follower of the Red God, but I find fine wine and food more appealing."

Driven by his yearning for battle, alcoholism, and women, he never truly became a devout man, even though he donned a red robe.

Thoros was sent to King's Landing to convert the fire-obsessed mad king Aerys II to the Lord of Light. However, he failed in his mission and instead began to question his own faith.

After Robert's rebellion, Soros became Robert's number one drinking buddy in the court.

"Looks like I missed a fantastic tournament," the Hound said with a hint of regret. "And those two Valyrian steel swords clashed so fiercely it was truly a rare sight."

Although not a knight, the Hound quite enjoys participating in tournaments.

The hounds did not participate in the tournament for honor.

One reason was to join in the fun and win money, and the other was to explore the possibility of confronting Demon Mountain, as he always harbored a desire to defeat Demon Mountain.

"There will be an opportunity," the red-robed monk said to the hunting dog. "When the next martial arts tournament comes around."

"Then I'd better be prepared." The hound grinned, a comical smile on his face. "After all, the most famous right now..."

But the Dark Knight is very difficult to defeat.

"Come on, hound," Arthur said dismissively.

As the saying goes, "People fear becoming famous, just as pigs fear growing fat." Only a legendary knight like Sir Barristan would attract a large number of young people eager to challenge him.

However, the Hound wasn't after fame; he was simply a ruthless bounty hunter.

"Perhaps only in King's Landing can you gather this whole bunch of monsters. The Red Monk, the Hound, the Bat Rider, and the exiled prince of the Summer Isles," the Red Monk laughed.

Actually, the Red Monk underestimated two people. If you add Varys and the newly arrived Littlefinger, there are even more mysterious monsters in King's Landing.

"Perhaps the whole world is a world of monsters. It is this world that has shaped us into monsters," the Hound said solemnly.

The bewildered red-robed monk's current belief is simply to eat, drink, and have fun.

The bewildered hound now seeks only revenge.

"I am not like you," Arthur said clearly to the red-robed monk.

"Of course you're different from us; you're a knight too. But at least you're not as hypocritical as we think, since you really do have a big castle," the Hound said with a shrug.

"Let's drink, let's drink." Under the arrangement of the red-robed monk and Sir Lucas, everyone drank a few more cups.

The Dark Knight is never confused; his dream is power, to wield supreme power.

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