The messenger leaving from Riverrun rode swiftly towards the hunting party. They were locals, very familiar with the surrounding terrain, and many in the hunting party had fallen behind. Following the direction indicated by others, it didn't take long to find the king's location.
Fresh from magical healing, Robert sat in his tent while Barbara and Jayne, the two sisters, helped him wipe off the blood and thick fluids.
"Your Majesty, urgent military news!" came the voice of Edmure from outside.
"Quick, help me get dressed," Robert muttered, not wanting anyone to see the scars all over his body. He hurriedly put on a robe. "Come in!"
Edmure entered the tent with a messenger, his face grim. Knowing that Robert wouldn't mind the two women being present, he spoke slowly, "A vampire sneaked into Riverrun and attacked Daenerys."
Robert was furious upon hearing this and bellowed, "What were Qyburn and Thoros doing? Did they not guard the castle?"
"You speak," Edmure said, not wanting to take the blame. He pulled the messenger forward.
Jayne held Robert's hand, soothing him to prevent his anger from flaring.
"Your Majesty, Qyburn and Thoros were building a detection tower in the residential area at the time. The vampire took advantage of this and snuck into the castle. According to the two mages, the vampire took Daenerys's child and planned to turn it into a vampire," the messenger stammered, recounting the events in full detail.
Robert roared, "Building a detection tower? AbanDonnelng their posts, they should be punished!"
"A child? Daenerys had a child?" Barbara asked. All of them had been afflicted by the same deadly disease, so she was concerned whether the child had been born safely.
The messenger didn't dare look at the king and lowered his head as he answered, "The child was taken from Daenerys by the vampire, a boy with magical potential."
"I…" Robert stood up, about to say something, but suddenly everything went dark, and he almost collapsed. The two sisters hurriedly helped him sit back down.
Huffing… Huffing… The anger and illness were overwhelming, and Robert took some time to calm down. After a while, he said, "Help me up, help me put on my armor."
Edmure took a step forward, his concern evident. "Robert?"
"I'm going to kill those monsters!" Robert shouted.
"Your Majesty, you are gravely ill. Send your men to deal with it. Don't exert yourself further," Barbara and Jayne urged, trying to calm him down.
"They must die! Huff… Huff… Notify Wright, notify Renly, have them bring the dragons! Burn them all!"
Robert gasped for air and walked over to the wooden mannequin where his armor was hung. Ignoring Edmure standing nearby, he took off his robe and began dressing himself.
Edmure looked at Robert's body, covered in scars, and was struck speechless with fear. He hadn't realized just how sick Robert had become. His body was a patchwork of healed wounds, and if not for the magical treatment, he likely would have already died.
Outside the tent, Barristan, who had been waiting, entered after hearing Robert's shouts to assess the situation.
Robert, gritting his teeth against the pain, finished putting on his undergarments and began dressing his legs. "Barristan! Inform everyone, take up arms, and march towards Riverrun!"
"Understood!" Barristan immediately ran out of the tent, unquestioning of the king's orders, especially when it came to dealing with vampires.
Hearing the commotion, the three Bracken sisters—Catelyn, Bess, and Alysanne—poked their heads out of their tent to look at Edmure.
Robert's illness was contagious, and Edmure knew that the five young women, who shared the same affliction, had always been the ones to care for him. "Go help the king put on his armor," he instructed them.
"I'm going to kill them!" Robert continued to rage.
The five women helped fasten the pieces of armor onto Robert. The green metal-glazed ancestral armor hadn't been worn in over half a year, and the chestplate was no longer the specially designed one for his belly. Instead, it was the original version Robert had worn when he was younger. With the stag-shaped helmet on, Robert's weakened body felt the weight of the armor more than ever.
Once the armor was on, Robert donned his crown and stag cloak. After looking at his reflection in the copper mirror for a while, he removed the helmet. "Barbara, help me shave my beard."
Once Robert was ready, the women helped him walk out of the tent.
The king's armored warhorse was brought to the front of the tent. Seven White Cloak Kingsguard, along with knights mounted on their own steeds, were already waiting.
The Kingsguard helped Robert onto his horse and secured his Valyrian steel warhammer to the saddle.
"Let's go!" Barristan, hearing the heavy breaths coming from under Robert's helmet, called out.
The local knights from Riverrun rode ahead to lead the way. Robert pulled on the reins and urged his horse to follow, with nearly eight hundred fully armored knights from various families trailing behind him.
Boom! The sound of thundering hooves and the clash of armor echoed as Robert, sitting on horseback, seemed to return to his younger days and began pushing his steed to accelerate.
After the attack, the scattered people around the city outskirts began to gather towards the city of Riverrun. Robert and his group received constant updates from soldiers along the way, and it wasn't long before they reached the banks of the Fork.
Bang! A loud explosion rang out from the river, and across from them, Qyburn, along with several knights, spotted the vampire's boat and launched an explosive fireball.
"Hurry!" Robert shouted as he led the knights forward.
On the far side of the wide Fork, Qyburn was engaged in a magical duel with the vampires on a boat. Magic balls and bone spikes flew across the river's surface, some exploding on impact, others intercepted by spells, and some veering off course, heading into the forest.
Two purple skeletal figures, with only upper bodies, were summoned by Qyburn. These special skeletons from the Soul Cairn, known as the Mist Man, didn't wield weapons but instead used magic to attack, much like the mages themselves.
The two skeletons, with smoky lower halves, hovered in mid-air under Qyburn's command, charging towards the river's surface and casting spells on the boat from both the front and back.
"Who is this Qyburn, bringing all these dead bones!" shouted Joffrey, swatting away a bone spike that had pierced his arm.
In his hand, he carried a basket, and inside, the baby's skin had already turned blue.
"My lord, Qyburn is too cunning; we must kill him to escape," said Oswell.
"Look there, now both sides of the river have people chasing us. Who thought of this stupid idea to take a boat?" Lancel pointed at the cavalry raising dust on the opposite bank.
"It was me. Do you have a problem with that?" Joffrey said, smiling.
Lancel didn't dare meet his eyes and quickly changed the subject. "What now, how do we escape?"
Joffrey stood straight, stroking his nonexistent beard. "Qyburn is tough, and the knights over there are armed with spears and swords. There are no mages, we need to land north and break through!"
"Fine!" The bloodline suppression left little room for response.
The terrified boatmen began to row with all their might, and the merchant ship slowly neared the northern bank, where Qyburn's magic no longer posed a threat.
Once the boat reached the shore, a few boatmen were used as food by the vampires, their blood drained before being casually tossed back into the river.
"My lord, run! It's the Crowned Stag banner!" Lancel saw the flag and immediately turned to flee.
"What?" Joffrey squinted, and sure enough, it was true. He quickly shifted into monster form and began running.
The Crowned Stag flag was the symbol of the Baratheons, and with it, Wright was not far! Joffrey had made a terrible decision, and now they had risked everything to reach Riverrun, only to believe the Baratheons were coming and flee in fear.
Oswell and the other two vampires, originally his subordinates from the Gold Cloaks, stood their ground, still inclined towards him. Seeing that he wasn't running, they reluctantly stayed.
"My lord Joffrey, after Wright grew up, he hasn't ridden a living horse. Renly also rides dragons. Looking at the banner, the ones chasing us are King Robert's men!" Oswell shouted.
Joffrey, who had been running, stopped. "Robert?"
Lancel also halted. Since Donnel had turned into a vampire, Joffrey Baratheon had taken the name Joffrey Baratheon once again, always proclaiming himself as the prince and heir. Now that his "father" was chasing him, Lancel watched Joffrey fall into thought, unsure how he would face Robert.
Oswell continued, "Rober's army also has mages, but they're lower-level ones."
"Perfect. You three deal with them, I'll go first," Joffrey said, holding the basket, his back turned as he ran.
"What?" Oswell couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Joffrey, still running, turned back and growled, "I order you!"
"No!" Oswell shouted in defiance.
Oswell's entire family had perished, and he had personally fed his father to the crocodiles. Now Joffrey was ordering him to die. Could the power of bloodline be really that strong? It was impossible. Joffrey was a madman! What was he? He was the true decision-maker!
"Ah!" A furious Oswell's eyes turned red as he raised his hand and launched an attack on Joffrey.
With claws extending from his back, Joffrey dodged but still had one of his ears torn off.
Joffrey pressed his bleeding ear, shocked. "You! How dare you!"
The five vampires clashed on the riverbank as the pursuing knights closed in.
"Prepare to charge!" Barristan shouted.
Several members of the Kingsguard began to accelerate, pushing Robert's warhorse behind them.
Seeing the vampires still fighting each other and noticing the cavalry charging toward them, they immediately abandoned their companions and fled into the forest to avoid the incoming charge.
"Keep chasing!" Robert, running in the rear, raised his warhammer and led the knights to quickly change direction.
"We can defeat them, together!" Oswell shouted.
"Go if you want to!" Joffrey shouted back.
"You're always a coward!"
"I—" Joffrey had just stopped when Lancel grabbed him and urged him to keep running. Both of them were terrified. They had been on the battlefield before, but only to gain military merits, and upon seeing the heavily armored cavalry charging, they completely forgot their own abilities and only focused on fleeing aimlessly.
Several mage from the Citadel shot spells, and fireballs flew through the trees, exploding on the tree trunks ahead. Burning wood chips scattered, and the vampires, who were afraid of fire, immediately felt their skin sting with pain.
"Split up and run!" Lacking courage, the five vampires scattered, using various spells as they sprinted through the woods.
"Lancel, you loyal dog, following Joffrey will get you burned to ash sooner or later!" Oswell cursed at their fleeing direction.
Ah~~~
A scream from a companion echoed, and Oswell turned to see Robert on his warhorse catching up with one of the vampires. He swung his warhammer high, while the vampire tried to block with his strong arms. The warhorse's momentum provided immense force, and Robert's hammer slammed down. The Valyrian steel head of the hammer ignored the vampire's tough skin and bones, smashing his neck along with his arm.
The warhorse continued its charge, and the flying head burst into flames in midair, turning into blue ash that scattered in the woods.
The enchantment on the warhammer absorbed the impact, allowing Robert to feel a surge of strength flowing from the handle into his body, as though he had regained the vitality of his youth. "Keep chasing! Don't let any of them escape!"