Chapter 19. Green Light

Tonight, Robb planned to take down the entire Lannister family, including Cersei, Jaime, Tyrion, and Joffrey.

Don't talk about how Myrcella and Tommen are still children and innocent! Or that Tyrion hasn't done anything wrong and is innocent!

If Cersei and Joffrey were allowed to continue, wasn't his beheaded father, Eddard, innocent?

Wasn't Bran, who was crippled, innocent? Wasn't Rickon, who tragically died in front of Jon during the Battle of the Bastards, innocent?

Weren't Sansa and Arya, who endured countless hardships to return home, innocent?

And what about the tens of thousands of Northmen who set out from the North, only to die miserably in foreign lands; weren't they innocent?

To hell with innocence! To hell with guest rights!

Forget about the Red Wedding in the future. Robb's ancestors from Earth in his past life taught him to use any means necessary to eliminate dangerous threats.

The banquets in his homeland throughout Earth's history were countless!

"Hmm, Theon probably still needs a bit more time to prepare.

Dacey, inform the captains, except for Theon, to wait for my signal. Once I give it, proceed according to plan."

Shaking off his distracting thoughts, Robb tilted his head and gave orders to Dacey, who stood behind him.

"As you command, my Lord!"

Dacey nodded in acknowledgment, bowed to Robb, and disappeared once more into the darkness of the corridor.

The guest quarters where the Lannisters were staying were located in the back half of the Great Keep. Most of the Wildfire was also concentrated on the outer walls of this section.

Robb had made thorough preparations for tonight, having already brought in professionals to survey the structural layout of the Great Keep.

The collapse of the guest wing would have some effect on the overall structure, but it wouldn't be enough to cause a chain reaction.

It made sense; after all, the inner keep was the safest and last refuge for the nobility.

If the Great Keep were that easy to collapse, a single catapult strike by the besieging army could unintentionally destroy part of the structure and cause the entire castle to come down. Wouldn't that mean the nobles would all be wiped out in an instant?

Tap, tap!

Robb walked through the quiet castle stairwell, the only sound being his own footsteps.

He was now heading back to his chambers, where Bloodwind had been waiting for him.

Once Theon sent word, he would have Bloodwind release the signal they had long agreed upon.

That signal would be Bloodwind's howling at the sky.

By this point, Bloodwind had grown so large that his howl had an incredibly terrifying piercing power.

If nothing unexpected happened, the entire Winterfell, including the Winter Market, would be able to hear Bloodwind's howl tonight.

As for the plan after success, Robb had a rough outline in his mind.

The first scenario, the most optimistic one, was that the Wildfire would successfully kill all the Lannisters, and then the various traces of accidents he had left in advance would come into play. When the King and his father returned, they would conclude it was just an accident.

After all, even a King could encounter an accident, couldn't he?

As for how enraged Tywin, the Old Lion, would be, Robb didn't care. The North had never feared any foreign enemy, except for the Targaryens who carried dragons.

The second scenario, a more optimistic one, was that the Wildfire would kill most of the Lannisters, and he and his Wolfguards would eliminate the survivors. Then, he would face punishment from the King and his father.

If it wasn't a death sentence, he would silently endure it, waiting for a chance to recover and rise again.

If it was a death sentence, the escape plan he had prepared would come into play.

After breaking out of prison, he would take the wealth he had gathered over this time, along with anyone willing to leave with him, and flee to the continent of Essos.

The third scenario, a very pessimistic one, was that the Wildfire failed to kill the main Lannisters, and they managed to escape the encirclement of his Wolfguards.

In that case, Robb would directly launch a coup and take control of all of Winterfell.

Although this would lead to instability, with various vassals refusing to recognize his authority, he would have to take it one step at a time. After all, Robb was human, not a god, and couldn't control every situation.

As his thoughts flowed, Robb arrived at the door to his bedroom.

When he opened the door, a green light flooded his entire vision.

***

"Robb, the Lannisters have fallen into the trap. It's time for us to act!"

The green light that had overwhelmed Robb's eyes hadn't yet faded when he heard Theon's familiar voice in his ear.

Blinking hard and reopening his eyes, Robb's vision had returned. He now found himself standing in a barren grove of red-leafed Weirwoods.

"Sound the horn, all troops advance!"

Before Robb could ask Theon about the situation, he heard himself say these words.

Moo!

Immediately, the heavy sound of a horn echoed from behind him.

Robb began to instinctively drive his horse forward, rushing out of the Weirwood grove.

Although he couldn't control his body, his eyes were still able to observe his surroundings.

Around him were cavalrymen clad in standard-issue chainmail, flying the Stark family's direwolf banner. Theon rode closely at his side.

After charging out of the Weirwood grove, a valley plain surrounding a small river came into view before Robb's eyes.

About two thousand cavalrymen flying the red-gold roaring lion banner of House Lannister were chasing after a group of two to three hundred cavalrymen under the trout banner of House Tully.

With the sounding of the horn, countless Northern soldiers emerged from the left, right, and front of the forest, frightening the Lannister cavalry in the center of the valley. They immediately ceased their pursuit and began to turn back in the direction from which they had come.

Unfortunately for them, Northern banners had appeared behind them as well.

As the Lannister cavalry hesitated for a brief moment, one rider charged forward, heading straight for Robb. Following close behind were over two thousand cavalrymen, launching a desperate final charge.

Arrows, swords, blood, screams!

In large-scale battles like this, the themes were always the same.

Robb's group of Northern cavalry numbered roughly over five thousand. Under his leadership, the Northern cavalry, outnumbering the Lannister cavalry, tightly engaged them.

Protected by his guards, Robb personally killed only two or three enemy cavalrymen.

By the time the Northern cavalry from other directions converged, there were no Lannister cavalry left in sight before him.

"Kill!"

A sudden roar came from ahead. Robb looked up toward the source of the sound.

He saw Jaime, clad in the Lannister lion armor, covered in blood, sword in hand, riding straight towards him.

The ordinary Northern cavalry were no match for Jaime, unable to withstand even a second strike before falling from their horses, cut down by his sword.

Torrhen and Edd, the two Karstark brothers guarding Robb, immediately led a few guards to intercept him.

Theon drew his bow, aiming at Jaime. Though his view was obstructed by the surrounding Northern soldiers, it added some pressure on Jaime.

Robb knew Torrhen and Edd well; their swordsmanship was quite good.

But after exchanging a few blows with Jaime, he suddenly lunged forward, leaping toward Torrhen. With both hands gripping his longsword, he thrust it upward, piercing through part of Torrhen's warhorse and impaling Torrhen himself.

"Torrhen!"

Edd's face changed dramatically as he shouted, urging his horse forward, sword raised, to strike at Jaime, who had lost his mount.

Swish!

A small dagger flew from Jaime's hand, embedding itself directly into Edd's left eye, causing him to fall from his horse instantly.

After killing the two Karstark brothers, Jaime, now without a horse, had no mobility and posed no further threat to Robb. He was soon surrounded by a large number of cavalry and captured alive.