Chapter 55: Riverrun

Robb Stark

"Lord Mallister, it's a pleasure to meet you again," I smiled at the frowning lord, who was eyeing his heir with a critical expression. Seeing that Patrek was in one piece, the lord nodded in satisfaction before turning his gaze to me. "King Stark," he greeted, "It appears a lot has changed since we last met."

I chuckled softly before giving him a firm handshake. "Aye, my people decided before I could give any input. But do not worry, our agreement will remain the same."

"Do you have any news about my mother's family, Lord Mallister?" I asked him, as more than a week had passed since the execution of the late Lord Frey. Lord Glover had chosen Robin Flint, the son of the Lady of Widow's Watch, to be the lord of the Twins during this war.

If I remember correctly, he was one of Robb's personal guards in the original timeline, but since I'm now an enhanced version of my canon counterpart, I didn't need as much protection.

For now, my body had the strength, speed, and reaction time of a man in his prime. I was probably one of the best fighters the North had to offer, and I was by far the best at long-range combat thanks to my powers.

"Not much, King Robb," he shook his head. "The last I heard was about some skirmishes along the Red Fork between the Riverlands and the Lannisters. I can honestly say that the Blackfish is one of the best generals Westeros has ever seen," he said with admiration.

"Indeed, my great uncle deserves praise for this," I nodded. "And now he will have our support. How many soldiers can you spare?"

He thought for a moment. "My full force is small compared to what you command," he sighed. "I can spare three thousand soldiers. I will keep one thousand here at Seagard to protect my lands."

"Will you follow us, or will you stay here?" I asked, curious about his decision.

"I think Patrek can manage Seagard in my absence. I will follow you, King Robb," he said with a smile. "From what I can observe, most of your generals are young. I don't mean to belittle anyone, but I'm sure my experience could help in one way or another."

"Yes, I ordered the lords of the North to protect the kingdom in my stead, the same for my father," I replied with a smile. "I'm afraid things are not so simple." I continued, explaining the details about the White Walkers and calling for the Wight we had been using as proof.

"This is troubling news…" he murmured as he paced through the courtyard. "I'm afraid I cannot spare more soldiers for this venture, but I assure you, after we finish the war for the Iron Throne, House Mallister will support the North against this blight," he vowed seriously, and I nodded in acceptance.

We still had time, after all. Rushing things would only make it harder in the future.

"Then we will rest for a day before marching to Riverrun. I fear we have already wasted too much time," I nodded grimly. "As promised, we will leave four thousand men here to fulfill the pact, and you will have the support of Heir Robin Flint, who is overseeing the Twins if Patrek needs any more help."

"As a matter of fact, if you permit us to use your lands, we could plant the crops discovered in the North to prepare for the future. I fear we will need them. Heir Robin will also use the lands of the Twins for this," I continued, offering something I knew he couldn't refuse, lest his people rise against him.

"What can I do to repay this kindness, King Robb?" he asked seriously, and I smiled benevolently.

"Nothing, my lord. It's the least I could do. We need to be strong and united for the threat to come."

Jason Mallister nodded gratefully. "I will never forget this. You have made a friend for generations, King Robb."

Two weeks later 

Robb Stark

Seeing Riverrun at the edge of my range, I nodded in satisfaction. The army had great morale since we didn't face many battles, and the travels had been swift. My army now consisted of thirty thousand soldiers, as many lords with territories between Seagard and Riverrun had joined us.

Some of them bent the knee to me, though they were the exception. I knew most of them wanted to see me in action before making such a big decision, as it would affect their relationship with us. Oaths were not something to break lightly.

One thing that made me smile was a single addition to our group.

While passing Stone Hedge, my group found a small sellsword company, and color me surprised—their leader was Bronn.

Since my mother hadn't kidnapped Tyrion, Bronn must have formed this small group to make some coin during these hard times. I couldn't trust him completely, as his main motivation was gold, but I was sure that in time I could make him work for me of his own volition. If I knew one thing, it was that Bronn always followed whoever seemed to be winning.

Either way, I had time to win over Bronn and the other lords' allegiance. For now, the most pressing matter was that the Lannisters had pushed my great uncle's army back to Riverrun. They had fallen back because they were taking too many losses against Tywin and Jaime's army.

Currently, they were being besieged at Riverrun by Tywin, but the problem was that Jaime had taken half of their forces to fight the other houses, killing and burning multiple keeps.

For now, we would help the Blackfish against Tywin. When his army fled to regroup with Jaime's, we would take them both. My main focus was to take them hostage. Jaime, for all his faults, was a damn good fighter—one of the best in Westeros—and we could use his help. As for Tywin, I still wasn't sure what to do with him. He was a threat, but I couldn't deny that he knew how to run things. Maybe we could reach an agreement, though I wouldn't bet on it.

For now, it was pointless to dwell on that. We needed to focus on defeating an army larger than ours. During our travels, my army continued to train. I wanted them to fight as a unit, rather than the chaos most armies in Game of Thrones used.

They weren't at the level of the Unsullied yet, but they were getting there. With my insects, we could make shields out of chitin, which made things easier. Most of the soldiers used blunt weapons or spears, with only a fifth of the army wielding swords.

I never understood why in Game of Thrones, blunt weapons weren't more common. They were probably the best weapons against armored enemies. Robert Baratheon was the biggest example of this. I couldn't deny that in his prime, he was a beast, but he also had the advantage of downing most of his opponents with a single well-placed hit. The series lied to me—using a sword against someone in full plate armor was almost impossible. Slashing was ineffective, and finding a weak point to stab was incredibly difficult.

Shaking my head, I focused on the battalion approaching us from Riverrun. The Lannisters undoubtedly knew about our arrival; it was impossible to hide the sheer number of soldiers I had behind me.

I wasn't worried, though. Since the war started, I'd been using my insects freely, and I knew I could overrun any army unprepared for the millions of bugs under my control.

To be honest, the fight for the throne wouldn't be the hardest part of my journey—at least not if no new variables appeared. I still wasn't sure if there was a Faegon with the Golden Company vying for the throne, as I had no information from that side of the world.

And since the Old Gods got involved, I was certain the more mystical aspects of the books were present here. I needed to keep my guard up against Melisandre and, worse yet, Euron Greyjoy. In the series, they weren't much of a threat, but the book Euron scared me. A more competent Melisandre also sounded like a problem.

Seeing who I assumed to be my uncle, Edmure Tully, leading the battalion, I wondered what he would be like. Would he be the disgrace the showrunners of the series made him, or the dumb but honestly good person book Edmure was?

"Nephew!" he shouted with a grim face. He looked stressed and, more importantly, pissed off.

I couldn't fault him—the Riverlands had been the battlefield for most of the fighting since the Conquest, and now it was burning again.

"Uncle Edmure, mother sends her regards," I said neutrally. "The North is here to support you and destroy the Lannisters."

"Thank you for the help. Uncle Brynden speaks highly of you. He made sure everyone knew you were the reason for his presence in the Riverlands," he smiled, and I could see the strain lifting from his body.

"I'm sorry I couldn't inform more people," I replied somewhat guiltily. I couldn't show weakness, but humanity was another matter. "My father was in danger, and I didn't have time to visit earlier."

"Fret not, nephew," he nodded. "Father understands this as well. He has been ill for a while, but I can see his happiness that you came to aid us. I've seen him smile more in these past weeks than in the last few years, even with all these hardships."

"Problems that will cease to exist, I assure you," I replied with a smile. "Why don't we set camp near the castle? That way we can go and pay our respects to Grandfather."

"Aye, follow me," he said as he began giving orders to his men.

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