Chapter 444: Ambush in the Rainy Night

At this moment, the gold cloaks on the opposite side had already launched their attack.

Thud, thud, thud—

In the rainy night, the sound of crossbow bolts being fired echoed, and the bolts, gleaming with a cold, harsh light, pierced through the gray curtain of rain and flew straight towards them.

Thump, thump, thump—

In the light drizzle, blood blossomed forth. In an instant, several of the Red Keep guards who had accompanied Jaime let out screams of agony, falling one after another as they were struck by arrows.

Among them, two white-cloaked knights with exceptional martial skills reacted swiftly.

Arys Oakheart drew his sword, slashing left and right, cutting down several bolts. On the other side, Jaime rolled on the spot, taking cover next to the door of a closed tavern on the side of the street, using the boxes placed at the entrance as a shield.

"What are you trying to do?!"

"Is this a rebellion?!"

Arys was both shocked and furious, but the only response to his raised torch was another crossbow bolt, which nailed itself into the barrier in front of him, sending wood chips flying.

Arys Oakheart turned his head and exchanged a glance with Jaime.

There was no need to ask any more questions at this point. The city watch's standard weapons did not include crossbows. These deadly weapons could only be taken from the armory under unconventional circumstances.

"Damn that Janos Slynt!"

"I'll have his head!"

Jaime spat fiercely, believing that the commander of the city watch, Janos Slynt, had betrayed the Iron Throne and secretly sided with the Targaryens.

He never considered whether this matter had anything to do with his sister, let alone what role his brother Tyrion might have played in it.

"Kill!"

After a round of shooting, the Red Keep guards fell one after another, and the gold cloaks then charged forward, shouting their battle cries.

"Capture the Kingslayer!"

"Seize Jaime Lannister!"

In the rainy night, the two sides began to fight in the streets of King's Landing's busiest main road. The sounds of metal clashing and battle cries filled the air.

Clang, clang—

A Red Keep guard, clad in red armor, cut down a gold cloak, but was immediately impaled by three or four spears, blood flowing from his mouth as he fell into a pool of blood.

The Red Keep guards that Jaime had brought with him were well-equipped and brave, but they were outnumbered. The gold cloaks were too many, and they had the deadly crossbows. From the beginning, the battle was one-sided.

The Red Keep guards were killed one by one, Arys Oakheart was surrounded, the white-cloaked knight fought bravely, slashing left and right, killing several gold cloaks, but he himself was also seriously injured.

Thud—

Arys's abdomen was pierced by a gold cloak wielding a long spear, pinning him against a mud wall behind him, dust and blood flying.

The white-cloaked knight let out a painful grunt, but he bit his teeth and gripped the spear shaft with one hand, blood flowing through his fingers, his arm muscles trembling slightly, preventing the spear from going any further.

Seeing Arys's bravery, the gold cloak holding the spear was slightly taken aback.

However, in the moment he was stunned, Arys roared and threw his long sword directly, piercing the gold cloak's throat.

Thump—

The gold cloak fell, his face full of disbelief, but his body lost all strength and fell limply.

Arys immediately pulled out the spear stuck in his abdomen with his blood-soaked hands, threw it aside, and picked up his thrown long sword.

The white-cloaked knight, a member of the Kingsguard and one of the best knights in the realm, killed many gold cloaks even while seriously injured.

On the other side, Jaime Lannister was no pushover either, with even more gold cloaks falling around him than Arys.

However, the Kingslayer did not suffer any serious injuries, all the blood on him came from his enemies.

Firstly, Jaime's swordsmanship was extremely superb, and he was considered one of the bravest in the Seven Kingdoms.

Secondly, the enemy was clearly more lenient with Jaime than with Arys, aiming to capture him alive from the beginning.

Cersei knew that her brother would never willingly relinquish his military power and obediently surrender to her arrangements.

The two had argued many times over this issue, and never reached a consensus.

Jaime was heartbroken, thinking that Cersei did not care about his life.

He had once broken his vows to prevent the Mad King from blowing up King's Landing, becoming a Kingslayer. Now, if he fell into the hands of the Mad King's son, how could he possibly survive?

Cersei, on the other hand, believed that King's Landing could not be defended. The only way to save Joffrey, Myrcella, and Jaime's lives was this path. The worst outcome might just be donning the black, which was better than death.

But Cersei underestimated Jaime's need for her, for which he was willing to go through fire and water, at all costs.

The one-sided battle finally showed its outcome, all the Red Keep guards were killed in the street.

On the slippery street, Kingsguard Arys Oakheart also died tragically on the battlefield, pinned in place by six spears.

Jaime, however, seized the opportunity. Taking advantage of the enemy's intention to capture him alive, he cut a bloody path and slipped into the alley, hoping to escape.

"Chase him!"

"Capture the Kingslayer!"

Seeing this, the commander of the city watch, Janos Slynt, became anxious.

The most important target had escaped, and he had no way to report to the queen. He had given Jaime too much leeway to escape, so Janos Slynt hastily ordered everyone to chase after him.

"Remember! Take him alive!"

He also emphasized once again that they must capture Jaime alive and not harm him.

The queen's intention was merely to detain him. If Jaime were brought back as a corpse, Janos Slynt feared the queen would have his head as well.

"Chase him!"

"Don't run!"

Then, the two sides chased and fled, weaving through the dimly lit alleys of King's Landing.

Jaime, with his excellent martial skills and strong physique, managed to lose the gold cloaks after several twists and turns, disappearing into the darkness.

"Huh?"

"Where did he go?"

The gold cloaks lost Jaime and stood at the intersection of six alleyways, somewhat at a loss.

On the other side, Bronn and his companion Chiggen, mercenaries hired in advance by Tyrion, were lying in ambush on the main road leading directly from the Gate of the Gods to the Red Keep.

They were waiting to rescue a certain 'fat sheep' worth a hundred gold dragons who was being captured by the gold cloaks, kill all the gold cloaks, and then send him off to the eastern continent.

Unfortunately, it was already past the scheduled time, even considerably so, but the target mentioned by their employer had not shown any signs of appearing.

If it weren't for the fact that their employer

had paid a hefty sum of thirty gold dragons in advance, they might even think they had been played.

"What the hell is going on?"

Chiggen, the mercenary, asked impatiently from the darkness.

On the other side, Bronn, with his black hair and scruffy beard, gave him a slight glare.

"Shut up!"

"Keep waiting!"