As dawn broke.
There were still four or five hundred pairs of living eyes in the barracks, all trembling as they looked at the terrifying Lava Warrior.
The monster was clad in blazing red invincible armor, and the raging fire it wielded created a ground full of charred corpses, the smell thick and pungent, nearly unbearable for anyone to not vomit, and not a single person dared to resist.
The Hound wiped the blood from his face.
"Listen up, all of you! The former Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish, and the former Master of Whisperers, Varys, have conspired to rebel. By order of His Majesty the King, the King's Landing City Watch will immediately apprehend the traitors and seal the city gates. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"
"I'm in charge of the command. Any objections?"
The Hound grinned as he scanned the crowd, as if looking forward to tearing apart a few more humans and savoring their fresh flesh and blood.
No one spoke.
"Very good. If you had obeyed earlier, would it have come to this? What a bunch of fools. Don't you even think about who gave you these Gold Cloaks."
The Hound began to relay Prince Joffrey's orders.
"Reorganize into fifty small teams, each with eight men. You decide who the team leaders will be. No problem, Grey Rat?"
The man beside the Hound nodded silently and then walked into the crowd to pick out familiar faces.
The Hound paced back and forth. "Five teams will be stationed at each of the seven city gates. No one is allowed in or out.
You yourselves are not allowed to move a single step.
Don't talk about dukes, earls, ministers, or rich merchants. Even if you see your wife being gang-raped by beggars in some corner, you'll have to wait until tomorrow, goddamn it!"
The Gold Cloaks looked at each other.
"The other fifteen teams will follow me to your headquarters. There are still quite a few traitors there. Remember, they are no longer your comrades."
The Hound smiled again, and the burn scar on his left face opened up with fiery red cracks.
"The remaining dozens will stay in the barracks on standby, checking the bodies and houses. If even one rat is allowed to sneak out of the barracks..."
The Hound didn't finish his sentence, leaving the Gold Cloaks with infinite room for imagination.
Grey Rat had already selected fifty team leaders.
The Hound held out a hand. "I'll count to five. Stand in formation by teams! Five, four..."
The Gold Cloaks' hearts pounded uncontrollably, and they frantically pushed aside the people next to them to find their positions, the crowd instantly descending into chaos.
"Two..."
Some guys were completely bewildered, but others, afraid of being implicated, directly dragged these cowards into the ranks.
"One. Not bad."
"Grey Rat, personally cut a lock of everyone's hair and bring it to me. If they're bald, other hair will do."
Grey Rat didn't understand why, but he could only obey.
After receiving the hair to be used as a positioning medium, the Hound nodded with satisfaction and slowly walked to the far left of the neatly arranged fifty teams.
He patted each team leader on the shoulder.
"Your five teams go to the Dragon Gate, you lead. Your five teams go to the Iron Gate, you lead..."
Seven team leaders were appointed as temporary supervisors. They were all in a complex mood. Was this a good thing? Was this a bad thing?
"Do your job well. Don't worry, I remember your faces."
The Hound's gaze swept over everyone.
Far more than seven officers' hearts stopped and cold sweat dripped down their backs.
"Move out immediately! I'll count to ten. Disappear completely from my sight. Ten, nine..."
The speed at which the Gold Cloaks moved out had never been so decisive and efficient as it was today. They were practically a well-trained elite army.
Watching the thirty-five teams step out the gate, the Hound turned to the fifteen teams looking eagerly at him. "What are you waiting for? Bring the horses over and set off immediately. Your former commander, Janos Slynt, is also a traitor. Kill him!"
Although most of the Gold Cloaks were infantry, there were still over a hundred horses in the stables, which the Hound had known for a long time.
The sky gradually turned white.
The entire city was waking up, and the noise made by the Gold Cloaks accelerated the process.
The wide Street of the Silent Sisters originally had only a few scattered pedestrians, but the chaotic sound of hooves and angry shouts swept across the street, instantly waking up countless people along the way from their dreams.
Pedestrians scrambled to hide in alley corners and along the street. Many windows opened, and faces peered out from inside.
They saw an ominous sight. Hundreds of cavalrymen galloped wildly, all clad in armor and wielding sharp weapons. Some of them were covered in dazzling blood and the marks of fire.
The leading knight wore an exquisite and cold hound's helmet. Some people recognized it, "The Hound."
The Hound led the team directly onto the Central Plaza, then turned towards Cobbler's Square in the northwest. The headquarters of the King's Landing City Watch was nearby, and it would become the biggest battlefield today.
The Gold Cloaks' headquarters was now both quiet and strange.
The sounds of snoring coming from the various rooms were significantly less than usual.
The reason was simple.
Some people knew that action would be taken today, and some people knew that action would be taken soon;
Some people knew that someone might take action today, and some knew that they were in danger recently;
Some keenly sensed a strange atmosphere.
In any case, they all knew they were deeply caught in a whirlpool. How could they sleep soundly?
The captain of the Mud Gate, Jacelyn Bywater, known as "Ironhand," was one of them, and a very special one at that – a double agent, no, a triple agent.
He came from a minor branch of House Bywater, with a low status. He was only knighted by the King for his merits in suppressing Balon Greyjoy's rebellion, for which he also lost his right hand and earned the nickname "Ironhand."
He had been the captain of the Mud Gate for three years. No one said he wasn't honorable or brave, but no one knew that he had a connection with the notorious Master of Whisperers, Varys.
And recently, people from the Lannisters and the Master of Coin had successively sought him out, and he had become one of their people.
A veritable triple agent.
Because of this identity, he should be considered one of the few people who had the most detailed and comprehensive understanding of what was about to happen.
The Lannisters were going to take advantage of King Robert's absence from King's Landing to launch a coup and push for the Crown Prince's succession. Two loyal ministers were forced to counterattack, quell the Lannisters' conspiracy, and report the good news to the King. This was the script written by the two ministers.
But was this the truth? Would it become the truth? Ironhand was very skeptical.
Which side should I choose?
He stared at the dim ceiling, letting his thoughts drift, until noisy sounds came from the camp gate, growing louder and clearer.
Ironhand immediately grabbed the sword by his bed and stood guard inside the door.
He heard wooden doors being kicked open one after another, messy footsteps from left to right, from right to left, the clang of swords, excited shouts, painful howls...
Not long after, the sizzling sound of roasting meat and the desperate screams of humans suddenly echoed outside.
Ironhand trembled all over. What was that sound?
But this was just a brief prelude. The roar of flames immediately drowned out all other sounds.
So hot!
He immediately stepped back a few paces, away from the wall and the scorching fire outside the door.
Bang!
His door was kicked open, revealing a familiar face inside bright red armor.
Ironhand dropped his longsword and knelt on one knee, "Lord Sandor, I, Jacelyn Bywater, captain of the Mud Gate, am at your and Your Highness's service at any time!"
The Hound glanced at him, "You're mistaken. It's at His Majesty's service."
Ironhand sincerely corrected himself, "Right, right, I was too nervous. Of course, it's His Majesty's decree. Long live His Majesty!"
The Hound helped him up, "It's too chaotic here. Just point out the traitors for me."
Ironhand breathed a sigh of relief.
The Hound was about to continue clearing up the trouble, but at this moment, the Prince's instructions came through his mind: "The Gold Cloaks sent to the Mud Gate are fighting among themselves. The rebellious side has a dozen mercenaries helping them. Stop them."
The Hound took out a Gold Cloak's hair and used magic to sense them. Their positions were all normal. The people sent to the Mud Gate were already approaching Fishermen's Square.
But not escaping didn't mean there were no other situations.
This was a bit troublesome. The Hound was quite surprised. What benefits did the Spider and Littlefinger give them that they dared to cause trouble again?
The Mud Gate needed people, but the Red Keep needed people even more, and he couldn't split himself in half.
So.
The Hound couldn't help but look at Ironhand, who had just stood up.
You're the one.
You've read this far, cast your votes!
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------