Chapter 451 - The Attack on the Westerlands Begins.

Chapter 451: Chapter 451 - The Attack on the Westerlands Begins.

[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]

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Third Person POV

The Westerlands, 300 AC.

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It took about a day, but they finally reached Hetherspoon, the fief located east of Casterly Rock. There was a small castle right at the entrance to the region, and the army marched straight toward it.

A small force had gathered there, preparing to send reinforcements to Casterly Rock. But just as one knight had brought news of the attack, another must have arrived reporting that Casterly Rock had already fallen. Or, to be more brutal, telling the truth: Casterly Rock was now nothing more than a pile of rubble atop the Rock or at the bottom of the sea.

In any case, the Hetherspoons offered no resistance. When they saw an army of nearly five thousand men approaching, hauling not only siege engines but dozens of wagons loaded with Arctic’s alchemical weapon, no one dared stand against them. They had no way of imagining the danger those wagons concealed, but the giants and all those fully armed soldiers were more than enough to intimidate any army.

If it was already difficult to equip a cavalry force of a few hundred men, imagine an army of thousands. Yet those people did so with terrifying ease, never understanding how there could be so many resources and craftsmen in that corner of the world.

Jon arrived in the region. Most of the local inhabitants had already fled, along with many deserter soldiers afraid of dying, while those who remained simply waited to surrender, hoping they would not be executed.

There were only three hundred men there. It was hardly surprising, especially since they were nothing more than farmers forced to take up swords. It was all the Westerlands had left at that point in the kingdom.

Lady Roseta Hetherspoon, who was in charge, appeared with her two younger sons in front of the castle as Jon approached. She saw no possibility of resistance.

"Hello. You must be Lady Roseta Hetherspoon," he said calmly.

"King of Arctic," she replied, greeting him as she bowed in submission.

Jon looked at her for a moment and displayed a small, strangely charming smile. Even so, she felt a chill run down her spine.

"Leave the castle. Withdraw all your men immediately and go to Lannisport. This is the only offer of surrender we’re giving everyone here," Jon said.

She frowned, confused.

"Your Majesty... What do you mean by that?"

"Just leave the castle. That’s an order."

"But we’ve already surrendered," she insisted.

"In light of what we’re planning to do, your surrender changes nothing, my lady. It only spared your life and your family’s. We still have certain intentions, and despite your surrender, you’re now our prisoner and must obey our orders, not question them."

Jon’s words made her heart tighten.

"What intentions?" she asked anxiously.

"We have to send a message to the entire world."

The way he spoke made it clear that the decision had already been made.

"What do you intend to do?" she insisted once more.

Jon gave her a stern look, already irritated by the woman’s questions. "We’re going to destroy your castle, if you really want to know." She shuddered at his words.

"If you want to go back inside the castle while we bombard it with all these stones, that’s your problem," Jon replied coldly.

Even the men around him were surprised by the tone of his voice. This was only one part of his revenge. He would make the entire Westerlands pay for what the Lannisters had done.

He would reduce that region to only a fragment of what it had once been. That would be the result of having Tywin Lannister as the head of House Lannister and Lord of the Westerlands for so many decades.

He would make him a weaker leader than his own father. By the end of this war, the Westerlands would be at their lowest point. No, they would reach their lowest point when Jon was finished with them, the lowest they had ever been since their founding thousands of years ago.

The men looked toward the lady of the castle, waiting for an order.

"My lady, I’m willing to let you live. Don’t be a fool."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, unable to understand why he wanted to destroy the castle. It was her husband’s legacy, her sons’ inheritance.

She must have already heard what had happened to Casterly Rock. Naturally, she had no desire to die buried beneath a castle being blown apart.

Jon even felt a bit sorry for her. Ever since destroying Casterly Rock, the maester’s death had improved his mood somewhat, but he was still angry at the Westerlands as a whole.

In any case, the Hetherspoon men were not willing to take that chance. They no longer wanted to obey their lady.

Jon simply ordered that she be escorted to Lannisport, ignoring her pleas.

The castle was quickly emptied. An order was sent throughout its halls. Servants and even every animal—dogs, cats, horses, and even rats—left the place.

Jon would save any animal he could if he had the opportunity. The siege engines advancing with the army were quickly prepared. The spears were launched, striking the castle from every direction.

Then everyone watched the spectacle. A brilliant flash appeared the next instant as green flames began consuming the entire fortress.

Walls, stone towers, and the main keep... Nothing survived.

The soldiers had to shield themselves from the debris. Massive shields were raised to protect the entire army from a distance.

"Good. Let’s keep moving," the king said.

Now he would head for House Clegane’s lands. He could even feel a bit sorry for Sandor because he would lose his family’s home, but there was still a debt that could not easily be repaid.

When they reached the rather unimpressive castle—though still a castle rather than something smaller—there was no warning.

The Clegane lord didn’t even have time to react. The man tried to raise the banner of surrender, but was met with an arrow through the head.

Jon had no idea what that man intended to do, nor was he willing to accept any pleas for peace. The men inside the castle were horrified.

The wall exploded almost immediately after they closed the gates, realizing there would be no surrender.

Even so, with the wall gone, the surrender came... or at least that was what the Clegane men had hoped.

Instead, they were attacked as well. Jon ordered his men to massacre every man who had remained inside the fortress. They were Cleganes; there was no way such people could be good, and a swift death was all they deserved.

The only ones spared were the servants. After searching the castle, they found many people being held captive, including many young girls who had clearly been entertainment for that bastard, the Mountain, and his men. Even though the Mountain himself should not have had a penis for years, ever since he had been castrated.

Once the castle had been emptied again, the green flames engulfed the entire fortress, destroying everything and sending enormous boulders rolling across the ground, crashing against the giants’ shields.

Arya looked at Jon with concern that night.

"Are you really going to wipe out every castle in the Westerlands?" she asked.

Jon merely shrugged.

"No. I only intend to do that to every castle I can before the army arrives."

"So... you plan to destroy every castle."

This time, it wasn’t a question.

Jon looked at her, and his eyes already said everything.

"Jon, I know you’re angry. I know you want revenge, but... isn’t this a little too extreme?" she asked.

"It doesn’t matter, Arya. This is my way. I could be flying around on dragons, simply burning down the castles without showing any mercy to whoever was inside them. But I’m still doing it in the cleanest way possible, using wildfire," Jon replied coldly.

With that said, he walked away from her. Arya simply watched his back with concern.

That same night, in the North, Bran was using his abilities. He had been watching Jon for some time, using a bird to remain among Arctic’s other animals. Surely, among the countless birds accompanying the army during the campaign in the Westerlands, he too had been witnessing everything.

He had even watched Arya’s argument with Jon. He was worried as well, but at the same time, he couldn’t help remembering everything that had happened when he first experienced his vision through the paste made from the sap of the heart tree that Jon had given him in Winterfell.

It had shown him countless visions of the future. Among them was that very moment. Bran clearly remembered seeing Jon consumed by the flames of vengeance from the moment he entered the Westerlands. There, he would destroy as much of the region as possible to satisfy his thirst for revenge.

Not that anyone could stop him. Not after what those men had done to his family and to King’s Landing.

Bran knew Jon could act with complete indifference toward the people of that kingdom, as he seemed willing to devastate the entire Westerlands, leaving those lands incapable of recovering for hundreds of years... perhaps even thousands.

Or perhaps they would never again become what they had been until that day.

Bran knew Jon wanted to leave a mark, a reminder that might take decades to fade, but whose consequences would be felt for a very long time.

"Is something troubling you?" The voice beside Brynden caught Bran’s attention.

They were already marching toward Winterfell at that moment, after taking control of the entire Bolton region.

"I was thinking..." Bran said. "I think you already know what I’m talking about."

Bran noticed that Brynden’s eyes had also been completely white over the past few days. He had been staying in that state far longer than necessary to investigate the North; he had been looking south.

Just as Jon was doing in the Westerlands, using his abilities to monitor what was happening in the North. He had even placed a bird among Arctic’s army in the North so he could listen to them directly whenever necessary, although Jon did so far more easily, while Bran and Brynden had to leave the consciousness of their own bodies behind in order to control their animals.

Brynden sighed.

"Yeah... I know. But there’s nothing that can stop the king. The situation may be harsh, but it’s not entirely unjustified either. He has the power to bring them down."

"Here... I dreamed all of this," Bran confessed.

He didn’t remember many of the dreams he had in Winterfell, but now, seeing the explosions, he knew exactly what they had meant.

That made Brynden look at him with a raised eyebrow, and Bran explained.

"I didn’t see the castles being destroyed like they are now, but I saw countless flames surrounding Jon. Piles of stone kept collapsing one after another. I know this is only the beginning. He’s going to devastate the entire Westerlands, and he may even reach the Reach. The only person who can do anything to calm him down is my sister."

"Well, I’m sure the king is wise enough that we can trust him. They’ll find a way somehow," Brynden replied, though he sighed.

He didn’t believe Jon would go that far. After all, destroying a castle was no simple feat. Even so, he couldn’t imagine Jon crossing certain lines. He wasn’t executing people simply because they belonged to that kingdom.

Meanwhile, back in the Westerlands, the attacks did not come only by land. Several ships quickly sailed north under the king’s orders to launch direct assaults against the coastal castles.

Taking House Prester’s coastal castle was easy. They surrendered immediately. Even so, the bombardment began.

Much of the castle collapsed directly into the sea while everyone watched in terror.

That had only been the first warning. Soon afterward, a raven arrived carrying a message ordering everyone to abandon the castle immediately.

About two-thirds of the men obeyed. The remaining third died in the explosions or were buried beneath the collapsing walls out of sheer stubbornness.

Then another letter arrived. The Arcticans ordered everyone to leave the castle and evacuate the prisoners as well. They had already proven they were not bluffing.

After verifying the site to make sure no one had remained inside, they began the bombardment.

Lady Prester could only watch the scene in tears and despair as the castle was completely destroyed. Her husband and sons were away at war, and she lost her home before her very eyes.

The entire attack came from the giant scorpions mounted on the ships. Arctic had no interest in entering the town. Afterward, they continued north, sailing around Fair Isle.

They refused to surrender. But after losing part of the castle and seeing several men killed, everyone began to flee.

Wildfire had become a weapon perhaps even more feared than the dragons themselves. Next, the Arcticans attacked House Farman’s lands, then continued north and assaulted the Crag, in House Westerling’s territory.

There was no warning there. Those people had been involved, in one way or another, in the planned Red Wedding that Robb had prevented before reaching the Twins.

The bombardment was relentless. The castle was easily reduced to ruins, but the fleet had to dock to pursue the fleeing Westerling family.

"Move."

The soldiers quickly executed the older members of the family.

Jeyne Westerling and her relatives remained kneeling beside their parents’ bodies before being taken away as prisoners.

She screamed, asking why they were doing all of this. She had cooperated with her parents and the Lannisters in luring her own husband into their trap.

Jon had already said that he considered Robb Stark a fool. But he also had no tolerance for people capable of such betrayal in order to violate the sacred laws of guest right.

To Jon, people like that could never be trusted, and House Westerling would be treated accordingly. They took the former Queen in the North aboard the prisoner ships and continued north once more.

Over the following days, the fleet would head for Banefort, the greatest fortress defending against invasions from the Iron Islands. The reason they had not attacked that castle the first time was simple: they did not want to draw so much attention right from the beginning.

After that, they continued north, devastating every region they passed through.

They had already erased countless castles from existence. They had simply vanished. This left every man in the Westerlands who witnessed it utterly terrified, but messages were still being carried by knights riding back and forth.

Jon passed through the lands of House Falwell, House Ferren, House Bettley, and House Yarwyck, devastating castle after castle in the heart of the Westerlands.

Some time later, Jon arrived at the Golden Tooth, gazing upon the fortress that blocked the passage of any army wishing to cross the region, the main gateway between the Westerlands and the Riverlands.

Of course, there were other routes, even secret passes that Robb Stark had discovered during the war, but there were certainly many more still unknown, something Jon could easily locate with his wargs. In any case, none of that mattered at the moment.

As soon as they arrived, they were met by a group waiting outside the gates. The master-at-arms, the maester, and a girl who could not have been more than thirteen years old stepped forward.

"Your Majesty," they said, immediately bowing.

Jon raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, Lady Lefford and your advisors... I assume you’re here to surrender," he said, as though it were the obvious thing to do.

The three of them nodded.

"Please... Don’t destroy our castle," the girl immediately pleaded, looking at him with tearful, trembling eyes.

Jon continued staring at the three of them coldly.

"King’s Landing, twenty years ago, should have begged as well. But the men of the Westerlands showed no restraint while they were looting. Your father or grandfather was among them too... murdering and raping the people of the city, weren’t they?" Jon replied.

The girl immediately shuddered and began to cry.

"Please... I beg you, Your Majesty. Spare our castle... Without it..." They must have already heard everything about what had happened to every fief the Arcticans had passed through...

Jon remained silent for a few moments. Then he shifted his gaze to the maester. They had not arrested any of them, partly because the girl was the only heir present in the castle while her brothers were in King’s Landing, and she held very little authority.

"We’ll think about it. Go back to the castle. We’ll decide what to do."

The voice that answered was not Jon’s.

Everyone turned to Arya, who had spoken those words beside him.

The three of them looked at her while Arya maintained an indifferent expression.

"Go. Now."

The growl in her voice was enough to frighten them.

They quickly left the place. Everyone present looked at that exchange in surprise. Had it been anyone else interrupting the king in such a manner, they certainly would have been reprimanded at the very least.

But Arya was the princess. Even so, that did not stop Jon from looking at her. Surprisingly, he did not say a single word.

"Let’s prepare a place to camp for the night."

That was all he said.

It was already near the end of the afternoon. There were no enemies nearby, and the siege of Riverrun was still in complete disarray. No one even knew exactly what had happened in the North.

That night, Arya entered Jon’s tent. She needed to speak with him, seriously.

Jon looked at her but said nothing.

Arya decided to step closer and break the silence.

"Jon," she said in a pleading tone. "I know you’re angry with the entire Westerlands, but if we destroy the Golden Tooth as well, you know very well what the consequences will be. That girl will end up in Lannisport... if she even makes it that far. You know this is already creating bands of outlaws in the Westerlands. People no longer have castles to protect them, and they’ll turn to other means."

Arya looked at him with concern while Jon remained silent.

"Look, Jon... Please spare the Golden Tooth. At least this one," she pleaded, standing before him as she touched his face, looking into his eyes with a pleading gaze.

Jon held her gray eyes longer than he normally would have.

There were very few things for which the King of Arctic showed weakness.

And that girl was certainly one of them.

"I’ll see what I can do... only the Golden Tooth."

That was all he said.

Arya smiled, stood up, and hugged him.

"Please... Don’t lose yourself, Jon. I know many men change because of war. You’ve already been through a few of them, but this time you’re acting out of anger. I don’t want you to change too. I know you’re much better than this."

"Arya... I may spare the Golden Tooth, but I won’t do the same for the other fortresses. Not when I still have a debt to collect. The Lorchs are one of them..." Jon replied.

"I know I can’t stop you from doing all this..." she said softly.

Jon simply nodded.

The next instant, Arya pulled him toward her and kissed him. The king could have reacted, but the shock was so great that he simply stood still, feeling Arya’s lips pressed against his own.

When she pulled away, she wore a bold smile.

"I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t lose yourself. Because I love you."

"Good night, Jon."

Arya ran out of the tent, leaving Jon completely stunned.

There had been a certain tension between the two of them for a long time. Something that had lasted for years. But Jon had never imagined that Arya would do something like that that night.

He remained alone, lost in his own thoughts.

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