The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 523: Unprecedented Prestige

(Bonus chapter for the reward from 【送子阿訇】.)

*

The fervor of the Sparrow's followers was no less than that of the Starry Knights and Holy Swordsmen.

The followers were mainly poor people.

The poor were constantly unhappy, and the Sparrow provided them with an outlet to vent their inner dissatisfaction and stood up for them.

This made their gratitude towards the Sparrow mixed with faith, and they regarded the Sparrow as the true Son of the Seven Gods. Although, the Seven Gods had never responded to the prayers of the poor.

When the great bell rang, everyone in the city heard it.

The ringing of the sacred bell in the middle of the night was extraordinary in itself.

Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms knew that the sacred bell was not rung lightly.

The people in the city included the army, nobles, wealthy merchants, mercenaries, and, of course, the poor.

The poor spontaneously gathered to support the Sparrow and his religious armed forces.

The nobles and wealthy merchants also spontaneously gathered to support the noble legions.

Just as both sides were gathering and about to erupt into conflict, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly exploded on the King's Road.

The guards had completed their assembly and set off from the Red Keep on Aegon's High Hill, rushing onto the King's Road.

Cavalry in the front, infantry in the rear, heading towards the Great Sept of Baelor.

The royal legions appeared, the gold cloaks holding torches, swords raised high, shining like a forest.

The booming sound of horses' hooves and the rustling of infantry gave the nobles and wealthy merchants courage. On the streets, the private armed forces gathered by the powerful and wealthy unsheathed their swords and pressed towards the poor people on the streets.

Bronn, the commander, rode on his horse and saw the ominous atmosphere on the street.

The guards of the powerful and wealthy drew their swords one after another, and the poor were also gathering.

Commander Bronn didn't want to create unnecessary trouble, but his heart was on the side of the nobles. He decided to use a feint. Most of these poor followers didn't have much opinion of their own. They dared to gather mainly because of one person: the Sparrow.

Bronn shouted, "The Sparrow has been beheaded, and the Starry Knights and Holy Swordsmen are being annihilated. People of the kingdom, please disperse. The Hand has ordered that no free folk are allowed to gather in the middle of the night, or they will be killed without mercy."

As long as the news of the Sparrow's death spread, these ignorant followers would inevitably be in chaos. They had lost their backbone. Once their spiritual leader fell, their spirit would also quickly collapse.

The mercenaries, free riders, and guards gathered by the powerful and wealthy were numerous, and the number was still increasing. The gathering speed on the opposite side was also accelerating. In a short period of time, thousands of people had gathered.

The people on the street had no idea what the real situation was in the Great Sept of Baelor. When they heard that the Sparrow had been beheaded, the followers' hearts were filled with confusion, frustration, and helplessness. But the guards and mercenaries of the powerful and wealthy were overjoyed and their morale was high.

The Sparrow's Starry Knights and Holy Swordsmen had done some things that all nobles and wealthy people hated very much. As long as a poor person accused a wealthy person of a crime, the Starry Knights would come to the door to 'admonish' them. This admonishment ranged from donating money and apologizing to being beaten and disabled.

The Sparrow even dared to arrest the Queen and Queen Mother, so it was only natural that his men didn't take the nobles and wealthy people seriously and had no respect for them.

This had the advantage of gaining the support of the poor, but it also had the disadvantage of making all the powerful and wealthy hate the Sparrow and his armed forces.

Tonight, in the middle of the night, the sacred bell rang, and a member of the royal family launched a surprise attack. The opportunity had come.

However, Bronn, the commander of the guards who came to the street, did not allow the two sides to fight.

The guard legions quickly passed through the King's Road.

The private armed forces of the powerful and wealthy, who had restrained themselves slightly in front of Bronn, suddenly launched a surprise attack on the poor followers gathered on the street.

The battle suddenly broke out, and the poor followers fell one after another. Most of them were unarmed. However, more and more poor people joined the battle.

There were many wealthy people in King's Landing. Governors, grand dukes, princes of the islands, and nobles from across the Narrow Sea all had their own houses and properties in King's Landing. They all had their own private guards, many with entire mercenary legions and family knights, and at least a few knights and attendants.

These people were all powerful and wealthy. Many had agents in the city. They might not be familiar with each other, but as long as they were fighting against the poor, they would naturally gather closely together.

The battle on the street suddenly broke out, and the fighting was fierce.

The poor followers fell one after another. After a brief panic, the poor followers began to fight back and fought to the death.

The followers believed that the other side had struck first, which gave them a sense of unity and hatred for the enemy.

Unity is definitely a force.

As the number of poor people increased, the private guards of the powerful and wealthy began to feel the strain.

Suddenly, the gates of the Red Keep opened again, and the sound of more horses' hooves roared, and the sound of more infantry running was like a torrential downpour.

The three thousand knights from the Reach and the knights' attendants rushed out, with at least five hundred cavalry and more than two thousand elite infantry, arranged in long ranks of four.

Garlan Tyrell led the most elite knights of his family at the forefront.

They rushed to the street of the King's Road and saw warriors in armor and ragged poor people fighting fiercely on the street.

So, this team plunged in headfirst.

The Tyrell family had long hated the poor armed forces.

Hundreds of elite knights charged into the poor who had 'no swords, weapons, or armor', cutting through them like vegetables, unstoppable. The battle immediately became one-sided. Soon, the poor followers on the King's Road were defeated, dispersed, and fled in all directions.

*

Although there were many poor people in Flea Bottom, a considerable number of these poor people were thugs and dockworkers, and relatively few believed in the Sparrow.

Eight or nine out of ten thugs in King's Landing came from Flea Bottom. And the thugs in Flea Bottom had been unified by Burney the Clever.

When the people of Flea Bottom came out of their homes, they were greeted by the thugs they knew. These people had grown up here and were familiar with each other. Some were even related. And most of these thugs had a new identity that was impressive: helpful Starry Knights.

This prevented the followers in Flea Bottom from gathering together to form a force of resistance in the first place.

Hundreds of thug henchmen effectively delayed the reaction of the Flea Bottom followers.

When Burney annihilated the Starry Knights, hundreds of thugs gathered with Burney in the identity of Starry Knights. The combined team was half a street long, making the people of Flea Bottom even more fearful.

The poor were more afraid of thugs!

By the time the followers of Flea Bottom walked out of their homes and gathered in twos and threes, Burney had already led his team onto the Street of the Silent Sisters. And Garlan Tyrell was also carrying out a large-scale massacre on the Street of the Silent Sisters.

Burney rode forward and blocked Garlan.

"Ser Garlan, don't massacre the innocent. You should go to the Great Sept of Baelor to bring back Queen Margaery."

"These people are Starry Knights."

"They are not Starry Knights. They are believers of the Seven Gods. I also believe in the Seven Gods. You also believe in the Seven Gods. We are no different from them."

"We believe in the Seven Gods, but they believe in the Sparrow."

"The Sparrow is dead, they will no longer believe in him. The Sparrow has been abandoned by the Seven Gods, they will understand. Look, among my brothers, they are the real Starry Knights who have joined the poor people's assembly, but they know right from wrong and know that they believe in the Seven Gods, not the evil Sparrow. These believers will have a new High Septon to teach them and give the lost lambs a way out, Ser," Burney said.

Garlan listened to Burney's advice. His primary task was to protect Margaery.

"Lord Burney, did Duke Gregor Clegane launch a surprise attack?"

"Yes, for the Queen Mother and the Queen!" Burney shouted slogan-like.

"Is Queen Margaery safe?"

"Very safe!" Burney, who only knew about the surprise attack plan, said as if he had seen Queen Margaery escape danger with his own eyes.

The Tyrell family's three thousand soldiers, Burney's hundreds of thug warriors, and five hundred naval warriors formed a team of more than four thousand people. They marched towards the Great Sept of Baelor. Along the way, the armed forces of the powerful and wealthy of King's Landing also spontaneously followed, and the number of people in the team increased. The long street was lit up by torches, forming a long torch dragon that could not be seen from end to end.

Seeing such a momentum, the followers who wanted to support the Sparrow were silent. They avoided the street and dared not speak out in anger.

The Starry Knights still had wooden sticks, and some of the followers didn't even have wooden sticks.

The royal legions had shining swords, armor, and helmets, which were much more difficult to provoke than their bare hands or a wooden stick.

Before the team reached the square of the Great Sept of Baelor, messengers came to report that the Queen Mother and the Queen were safe, and the Sparrow had been beheaded.

Garlan Tyrell's hanging heart finally landed safely.

*

That night, Queen Margaery returned to the Maidenvault of the Red Keep. She and her handmaidens were safe and sound.

Queen Mother Cersei returned to the Red Keep. With her was Lancel Lannister, a prisoner. He was covered in blood and fought to the end, captured alive by Vaggot leading the family warriors.

Kevan Lannister greeted the return of the Queen Mother and the Queen outside the bronze gate of the Red Keep. He saw Lancel, but did not speak to ask for forgiveness for Lancel.

The seven High Septons of the Great Sept of Baelor accompanied the Queen Mother and the Mountain back to the Red Keep. In the team, the Sparrow's head was stuck on the tip of a spear and paraded all the way. Accompanying them were many white-robed monks, who persuaded the gathered followers to disperse peacefully.

The guards, naval warriors, Reach legions, Queen Mother's guards, and private armed forces of the powerful and wealthy gathered in the city totaled more than 10,000 people. Such a powerful legion occupied the length of several streets and could not be defeated by the followers who had lost the Sparrow.

The warhorses' iron hooves clattered, and the infantry warriors' footsteps rustled. The entire King's Landing was plunged into a solemn military might. The poor followers dared to be angry but dared not speak out, silently on the streets, watching the teams rumble past, no one dared to step forward and fight an egg against a stone.

The Sparrow was killed, shaking the followers' confidence!

If the Sparrow was the Son of the Seven Gods, he would not have been killed.

The Son of God would not die. He could see prophecies and had the protection of the Seven Gods.

But the Sparrow was dead, his head was stuck on the tip of a spear!

Was he really evil? Was his nature bewitched by demons?

The followers were confused after seeing the Sparrow's head with their own eyes!

Their morale was like a punctured balloon!

The Mountain launched a surprise attack in the middle of the night, beheading the Sparrow, and annihilating the Poor Fellows and Holy Swordsmen. A new High Septon will soon be enthroned, and the monks will launch a city-wide campaign to deny the Sparrow. The overall situation in King's Landing has been decided.

The Mountain's reputation shook King's Landing overnight, making his potential opponents even more fearful, and also severely shocked the powerful and wealthy class.

For a time, his prestige was unprecedented!

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