Bear School Astartes

Chapter 163: 163. Time Difference

”My lady, Catherine. She’s the one who sent the Dragonbone Dagger over, she believed Baelish’s words and met Tyrion Lannister halfway back to the North. She’s a mother, there’s no way she could hold back against someone trying to assassinate her son.”

”That place happened to be Riverrun, her father’s fiefdom, so she simply gathered people and captured that Lannister!”

Edd quickly gave Lann the general context, so that this young man who had little concept of the Seven Kingdoms could have some preliminary information.

Lann was still a bit puzzled at the moment.

After all, just half a minute ago, he was immersed in the excitement and joy of discovering a secret capable of overturning the entire continent’s power structure, ensuring the peaceful life of the Stark family, and was about to accomplish it.

However, half a minute later, Edd directly told him that war was about to break out.

”But... just captured one person! Haven’t done anything yet, right?! Isn’t this a bit much?”

Where’s the negotiation? The compromise? The deal?

Don’t you follow standard procedures?!

Are you all truly nobles?!

The countryside youth Mr. Lan felt shocked once again.

Who among you would ignite the gas stove just because there’s a missing pair of chopsticks at a table full of delicacies!

”You don’t understand the current head of the Lannisters.”

Edd furiously rubbed his face with his hand, somewhat exasperated.

”Tywin Lannister, a person who values family honor above everything else, he doesn’t care about Tyrion Lannister, he cares about someone acting against the Lannisters!”

”Anyone who dares to make a move, he will ensure that person can never act again! The Lannisters’ mountain of gold gives him this confidence! Now, he’s already mobilizing troops!”

... Indeed! People here are fierce!

Lann slightly mocked inwardly and immediately focused on the most important thing at the moment—

The time difference.

”Was the speed of you receiving the news considered fast?”

Having calmed down, Lann pulled Edd along as they walked outside, quickly inquiring while moving.

The time difference that information brings is a crucial factor.

Right now, the military deployment in King’s Landing is quite peculiar.

The Gold Cloaks, the city’s guards, number around two thousand, while the Lannisters’ private army assigned to the queen has more than five hundred!

Lann had a bit of impression on the Gold Cloaks over these few days; these people might have had some integrity and combat effectiveness when the troops were first established.

But now, they’re simply a bunch of people who would do favors for whoever pays them more.

This is even after the king was nearly assassinated today, while he still maintains health, someone presses them making them barely usable.

If something happened to the king, these people would likely sell themselves to the highest bidder!

According to Edd, the Lannisters have a mountain of gold!

Initially, based on Lann’s view, even in family wars, it shouldn’t involve the Kingdom Prime Minister.

Because above everything else, Edd holds the identity of the Kingdom Prime Minister over being the Stark Clan Leader.

Acting against the Kingdom Prime Minister in King’s Landing, isn’t this direct rebellion?

However, the Lannisters suddenly mobilizing troops to gather is indeed teaching Lann a lesson.

Not everyone plays the game according to rules and conventions.

Some people just like to gain from flipping tables, even though they know, most times, the damage from flipping tables outweighs the gains.

So now, Edd and everyone in the Prime Minister’s tower are very dangerous.

The five hundred Lannister private soldiers are enough to kill everyone here, except Lann.

They must retrieve the king’s orders before the queen mobilizes the Lannister private soldiers, directly pressing Gold Cloaks to confront the Lannister soldiers.

With one hand, Lann pulled Edd, and with the other hand, held ”Genealogy and History of Major Noble Houses in the Seven Kingdoms.”

”We have to notify the king of what I discovered before the queen reacts, let him take preemptive action against the Lannisters!”

Edd didn’t really understand political scheming, but after all, he had once led a side in the Rebellion War.

Once he switched his thinking to battlefield mode, he immediately became decisive and straightforward.

Without looking back, he instructed Jorri Kaiso who was following.

”I’ll go with Lann to see the king, you and the others guard the Prime Minister tower, remember! Defend according to battlefield standards!”

Once these words were spoken, Jorri knew this meant not caring if the Prime Minister tower looked presentable.

Directly put on armor, pile barricades and debris at the entrance! All non-combat family members, regardless of gender, must be gathered to hide.

”Understood, sir.”

The Guard Captain ran off to inform his subordinates.

Lann and Edd went downstairs again and mounted their horses.

”Did you really finish reading that book so quickly? What’s in there?”

While turning his horse, Edd asked Lann.

No matter what, it was a book with hundreds of large pages, reading so fast was just too exaggerated!

”I mentioned I have some insights in reading.”

Without a word, both rode their horses, galloping towards the road leading to the tournament stadium.

Judging by time, the archery contest should already be over, Robert is on his way back.

Lann didn’t beat around the bush, he directly shared his discovery with Edd.

”Pop, the book contains records of marriages between Lannisters and Baratheons! Not just once!”

Lann patted the thick tome fixed to the horse’s back and told Edd.

”All those children have black hair and black eyes! Without exception! Meaning none of the current heirs are the king’s biological children!”

”.... Damn it!”

Upon hearing this conclusion, Edd’s eyeballs almost popped out of his eye sockets.

”So that’s why my foster father went to find Robert’s bastard! That’s why he borrowed this book!?”

If he had gotten the answer before the incident with Tyrion, Edd might have privately allowed Cersei to leave with her children, at least letting innocent children leave.

Because he knew when his brother lost his mind, he genuinely would kill children.

But now the timing doesn’t allow him to hesitate.

Lann looked up at the sky, his vision surpassing that of ordinary people allowed him to see several ravens flying into the sky of King’s Landing one after another.

Time is running out.

Although the Starks are involved in the kidnapping and therefore have the advantage of early information, compared to the straightforward Northmen, other families undoubtedly have better intelligence operations.

The various news of Tyrion Lannister’s kidnapping came only about an hour later than the Starks’ ravens.

Lann and Edd galloped out of King’s Landing, encountering Robert halfway.

At this moment, the big, stout man had his waist bandaged and was taking swigs of wine intermittently.

Yet he still rode a horse rather than sitting in a carriage. Even if every hoofbeat made the corner of his mouth twitch.

But he still rode the horse.

He was the king, wanting to prove he was still strong and powerful after surviving an assassination attempt, there was no more convincing way than riding into the city.

Robert saw Lann and Edd coming on horseback from afar, spilling his precious Cyan Pavilion Island red wine on his beard.

”Aha! Isn’t it our Hand of the King and the Swordsman who saved the king! Why are you returning?”

But soon, Robert’s hearty smile couldn’t be maintained.

Because he saw Edd’s bitter melon face.

The Duke of the North often had a bitter melon face, but those who knew him, including Robert, understood—

The alert before battle and the difficulty when facing a situation could be distinguished in Edd’s expression.

Only he could distinguish it.