Chapter 449 - Casterly Rock Is Ours Now.

Chapter 449: Chapter 449 - Casterly Rock Is Ours Now.

[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]

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Third Person POV

Casterly Rock, 300 AC.

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The conquest of the castle, after Jon charged ahead killing any soldier who could stop the rest of the troops from entering, was swift.

With only a few hundred Arcticans, it was not as difficult a task as it seemed. After all, there were around 500 men inside Casterly Rock at that moment.

The Arctican troops proved invincible against those poor wretches who tried to stop them. Arrows could not pierce their shields or their Valyrian steel armor.

Heavily armed from head to toe, like true titans of magical steel, they all advanced without caring about the rain of arrows. The projectiles merely bounced off or shattered upon striking their armor.

The soldiers of Arctic began crushing any enemy who stood before them. Most of the defenders wore nothing more than leather armor.

They tried to face that small group, but they were completely incapable of doing anything. Before long, the castle had been taken.

Genna ran out of the castle as it was nearly overrun and tried to gather the men in the courtyard alongside the master-at-arms, but there was nothing she could do except watch.

There were 500 of her men inside the castle, yet they were unable to stop a force with little more than half that number. They were simply destroyed.

"Mother!" Her son, Tion Frey, ran toward her with a sword and shield in hand.

A group emerged from the castle entrance, cutting down every man in the courtyard. Genna watched in horror as the master-at-arms was killed by a Valyrian steel sword after only a few exchanges with his opponent.

A dwarf soldier charged forward, and her son tried to stop him. A scream escaped her lips as she watched her son be struck and thrown backward by the hammer of a man who was little more than half the size of an average adult.

Her son carried a shield and blocked the blow with it, but the strike clearly shattered his arm, destroyed the shield, and crushed his armor as though it were nothing.

"Ahh!" he screamed in pain.

"Stop! Please, stop! I beg you! Spare my son!" Genna cried. They had no choice left but to surrender.

The man, who was practically Tyrion’s height but wore armor that made him seem like something Genna could not define, merely stared at her from behind his Valyrian steel helmet.

"He’d better not get back up, woman. Otherwise, I’ll finish crushing him today." Without waiting for a reply, he advanced toward the next enemy.

She watched as another man thought he could defeat one of those dwarves from Arctic. With another swing of the massive hammer, the dwarf landed a blow that sent the man flying several meters backward.

The soldier’s chest was completely crushed. Genna could hear the sound of bones breaking echo through the hall.

Genna trembled more and more beside her son as she witnessed such a scene.

"What are these monsters?" she asked, stammering.

She had heard men laughing at songs and fanciful tales about them, but it was now clear that those stories had not been so far from the truth after all...

She had always paid more attention to the reliable information about them. But one look around was enough to realize that everything she knew about those people was extremely limited.

Not even Tywin had described how those men could be as strong as they were proving to be, or how there could be so much Valyrian steel that hundreds of men were able to wield it...

She continued watching the castle’s soldiers being crushed as though they were nothing. Arrows kept raining down upon them, but with utterly useless results.

The men who were Tyrion’s size were even stronger than the normal-sized soldiers. Most of them wielded hammers that an ordinary man would not even be able to lift.

They massacred anyone who crossed their path.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a pair of footsteps stop behind her, followed by the cold touch of a sword pressed against her neck.

Genna slowly raised her gaze, frightened.

Standing before her was a woman. It was immediately possible to make out her feminine figure even beneath the armor, which had also been fitted to her body. After all, not every suit of armor was shaped to accommodate breasts. At the center of her chest was the sigil of House Mormont.

"Genna Lannister, I ask that you surrender immediately. Order your men to lay down their arms. Otherwise, this will become a one-sided massacre," Jorelle said. She had recognized who Genna was.

The dwarf who was fighting nearby had no idea who she was. Genna’s surrender would, in practice, mean the surrender of Casterly Rock.

Hundreds of defenders had already been slaughtered. And the few who still remained standing were finally beginning to give up the fight.

Her son was still groaning in front of her. His arm was bent in a completely unnatural way as he trembled in agony.

"All right... Please, spare my men," she said carefully. "We surrender!" Her cry echoed across the courtyard.

Everyone nearby dropped their weapons. The order quickly spread among the nearest men, bringing all fighting to an end.

The Arcticans stopped in the middle of the courtyard, staring at their enemies with defiant expressions, as though they expected someone to still have the courage to raise a weapon.

Footsteps approached Genna Lannister, and she raised her eyes.

The man wore silver armor unlike any of the others. It was far more sophisticated. On each shoulder were the direwolf, the symbol of House Stark, and the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen, while the sigil of Arctic occupied the center of his breastplate. She knew who he was.

"Genna Lannister," the man said, removing his helmet as he looked at her with mild interest. "This is the first time we’ve met."

"You are Jon Arctic." It was not a question.

"You’re right." He nodded. "It was good that you surrendered. We’ve already killed more than three hundred of your men. The castle has been taken."

His words struck the woman like a blow.

"Please... Spare us. Accept our surrender," she pleaded again, looking at her son, who continued groaning in pain and trembling with fear.

Jon ignored her for a moment and turned back to his men. "Enter the castle and search every room. Anyone still holding a weapon... show them no mercy."

"We’ve already surrendered. You can’t be so cruel!" Genna protested.

Jon merely snorted. In his view, he was being completely reasonable. "Anyone who raises a weapon against an Arctican should be treated accordingly, Lady Lannister."

"My men have already surrendered. I expect that to be enough."

"Some parts of the castle haven’t heard your order yet." Jon turned his gaze toward the fortress. Part of it had already been destroyed. The eastern tower had simply ceased to exist. "If they’re smart, they’ll realize the fight is over and surrender."

"..." Genna said nothing, remaining silent as she took a closer look at her son’s condition, though she never took her eyes off Jon Arctic.

Jon watched as his men quickly entered the fortress. At that moment, an eagle landed in front of him. He calmly took hold of it and gave his order.

"Leave only twenty ships below us. Send all the rest to Lannisport. We’re going to conquer the city." Genna shuddered as she watched the bird take flight once more.

It was frightening to witness that method of communication in action, but there was nothing she could do.

"Open the gates as well." Jon spoke to the men who had already taken control of the fortress entrance and the walls. They immediately got to work and began opening the gates.

There were still many soldiers in the city before Casterly Rock, as well as a large force coming from Lannisport. But now that Casterly Rock had fallen, what else could they do?

"Congratulations, Jon. Casterly Rock had never fallen to an enemy... except for that one time when Lord Sakai infiltrated it in secret." Arya approached, removing her helmet as well while watching Genna tend to her son, whose arm remained broken.

Jon nodded as Arya displayed a smile and continued. "It only took you an hour to conquer Casterly Rock from the moment we arrived. You should be proud."

She was clearly trying to provoke Genna, who shot the Stark girl a look filled with fury despite her fear.

"Arya..." Jon said calmly, and Arya merely clicked her tongue. He knew exactly how far he could go.

"I know you hate the Lannisters, but I promised someone I’d spare this woman and as many innocents as possible, even from this family." Jon began. "Your father was my uncle too. I’ll avenge him as well. I won’t say I don’t want to wipe out this family, but I can’t kill everyone out of anger..." Jon replied in a more weary tone this time.

Arya merely sighed. Genna also let out an almost imperceptible sigh. Jon noticed, but said nothing.

"Who did you make that promise to?" Genna asked carefully, though she could already imagine the answer.

As they spoke, the castle’s drawbridge began to lower over the chasm between the Rock and the coast.

"You already know who it was."

"Little Joy..." she murmured.

"Of course." Jon confirmed.

"How is she?" Genna asked, showing genuine concern for her niece.

"She’s doing well. At least, she says she’s living a much better life in Arctic than she ever did here. It was difficult at first, especially when we were at war and had to keep everyone underground, but now she’s happy."

Genna merely nodded, though she still couldn’t fully understand everything. But there was no reason to doubt him. If Jon had truly been mistreating her, he could have simply admitted it.

After all, a sword was still pointed at her neck, and she was completely at the mercy of his cruelty. Yet he had not harmed her after everything.

At that moment, the sound of horses echoed across the bridge. As soon as it had been completely lowered, Genna turned her gaze in that direction, and her eyes widened.

"No..." she murmured, utterly stunned. It was the very same carriage she had sent with Dorna and Janei.

"You really thought we wouldn’t know? She’s very important too," Jon said calmly.

Genna was left speechless. The horses had traveled for only a few minutes before returning.

That left her thinking of only one possibility—they had been controlled.

"Get out of the carriage by order of the King!" An Arctican knight opened the carriage door. "You are now under the jurisdiction of Arctic."

Dorna stepped down in tears while holding Janei in her arms. The little girl remained completely terrified. The moment she saw Genna, she immediately ran toward her.

"Our horses went mad! T-They just suddenly turned around. All the men escorting us were thrown off by their own horses. Then the animals started trampling them." She spoke in complete terror.

Genna couldn’t respond. Her eyes slowly turned back to Jon. A new fear was born within her. What kind of man was he... capable of controlling animals themselves like that? Even though, by now, she already knew such a thing was possible.

Jon merely shrugged. "Raise the bridge again. There are at least four hundred men advancing toward the city at this very moment. We’ll keep the castle sealed until our reinforcements secure Lannisport and return here."

Genna knew it was impossible for any force to retake a castle perched 600 meters above the sea. Even Arctic would have difficulty accomplishing that if not for the passages beneath the Rock, since the bridge was on their side. Even with the explosives they possessed, if the bridge were destroyed, they would have to build a new one.

With the main entrance secured and the bridge raised, it would be much easier to conquer Lannisport first and then march the Arctican reinforcements the roughly five kilometers back to the castle.

"Genna Lannister, you and Kevan Lannister’s family are now under the care of my men. They will take care of you. Give her son medical attention." Jon looked at the woman once more.

"I know you lost one of your sons in the explosion. The youngest one... I’m sorry. But this is war. I hope you understand. After all, we could have taken this castle without shedding blood if you had surrendered."

Jon spoke those words, but they did not match the coldness in his eyes. It was as though he were merely commenting on something entirely natural while speaking about her son, and Genna felt a chill run down her spine.

Those red eyes shone with a terrifying intensity. She had the impression that he could kill everyone there without changing his expression.

That was far from being a genuine apology or condolence for the fate of Walder, her youngest son.

Genna wanted to cry. She was still mourning her dead son, while the other lay beside her, groaning in pain with a broken arm.

"By the way..." Jon turned his attention to another man.

"I haven’t seen your husband. Bring him here." At that very moment, several soldiers dragged a man over by force and threw him to his knees before them.

He was already an old man. He looked older than Genna. His wife looked at him with contempt and faint concern.

Despite everything... he was still her husband.

"A Frey..." Jon said with obvious disgust as he looked at Ser Emmon Frey.

The man looked at the young fellow, who was even younger than his deceased son, with nothing but fear. Even Tywin’s gaze seemed gentle compared to Jon’s.

"You probably don’t know this yet, but I wiped the Twins off the map." Jon simply told them.

The man stared at him in utter disbelief.

"W-What... what are you talking about?" He could not even hold Jon’s murderous gaze for very long.

Jon wanted to kill him. But he shouldn’t do it like this, even though he thought he could... He was a prisoner.

Besides, he had not directly participated in the Red Wedding. He had remained in Casterly Rock the entire time, despite being a damned Frey married to a Lannister.

"The first thing I did after settling matters at Seagard was destroy the Crossing Towers." Jon continued calmly.

"It was easy. After that damned Black Walder tried to attack us during negotiations, once he realized we were wearing Valyrian steel armor, we began our offensive. First, we destroyed part of the first tower."

"We took the fortress. We freed the prisoners from the dungeons. We forced the Freys to retreat to the second tower. The next day, we destroyed that one as well. They retreated again to the other side of the river."

"But two thousand of our men were already waiting there. We annihilated their soldiers. We captured the women and children. Then... we blew up the remaining towers. We made Walder Frey watch all of it."

Jon recounted the entire story with complete composure. But everyone present became deeply uncomfortable. Even the Lannister soldiers kneeling nearby looked at him with unmistakable horror.

"We killed most of the Freys—your brothers, your nephews... since they were directly involved in planning that ambush against the North." Jon maintained the same cold tone.

"The truth is, they would have done it anyway. But I wanted proof that everything happened under the protection of guest right. I have all of it. Messages from Tywin and Walder Frey confirming the entire strategy."

"That was why I decided to destroy House Frey. House Frey will no longer exist in the Seven Kingdoms, just like the Boltons. Your father was found a few days later. At first, I intended to take him to King’s Landing. But a group of men found him first and hanged him. After losing everything, Walder Frey ended up dying at the hands of a band of outlaws."

"Rather poetic, don’t you think?" Jon looked at Emmon Frey as though he genuinely expected an answer.

The man remained in complete shock. Genna, who had always despised her husband, could not help but feel a measure of compassion for him at that moment.

After looking at a destroyed section of the castle, how could they not be capable of doing something like that...?

"Well... I still don’t know exactly what to do with you. Honestly, killing you would be the easiest option, considering your blood. But to do that, I’d also have to kill the sons you still have left."

"I believe there are two, right? The eldest died some time ago, the second is in King’s Landing. Your youngest son was disintegrated by the flames, and this one is incapacitated." Jon turned his gaze to the last one he had mentioned, a man in his early thirties, who could only stare back at him in absolute terror as his fate was discussed before him.

"Please... Don’t do that," Genna pleaded immediately.

"I won’t," Jon replied without hesitation. "I promised Joy that I would spare her family whenever possible. So... I’m doing this for her. You should thank your niece."

His cold gaze returned to Genna, who remained silent.

"In any case... I still haven’t seen the maester." This time, Jon showed a faint smile.

It was obvious that he already had his own spies and men searching the entire castle. Genna’s despair upon realizing that no letter had arrived now made perfect sense.

Jon had already captured more than five thousand ravens. They all remained confined in enormous aviaries aboard his ships to prevent any communication. Controlling that many animals at once was impossible, even for him.

That was why he preferred to focus his attention on his own ravens and other birds scattered throughout the Seven Kingdoms, which constantly brought him information, while the rest were simply captured to interrupt any exchange of messages.

"He’s in the dungeons. Assuming he wasn’t buried when part of the castle exploded," Genna replied.

Jon merely whistled and turned back to his men. "Looks like we’ll have to assign an Arctican healer to tend to the wounded."

Then he looked at her again.

"So... you received my letter. It must have been quite a shock to discover that your own maester had murdered Lady Lannister," Jon asked calmly.

His gaze now held only curiosity. All the murderous intent that had radiated from him earlier had vanished. Genna merely lowered her head, clenching her fists.

"Damn you, Jon Arctic." She took a deep breath. "I’d rather die than have to hear that. But I hate the maesters so much now... that I wanted to kill him. But I couldn’t, because I know Tywin wants him alive."

Jon simply watched her in silence. Through his consciousness, he also saw that the fleet had already departed, and the ships were advancing toward Lannisport.

In the distance, the city’s bells had already begun to ring as its troops desperately prepared a defensive line, if that was even still possible.

Jon finally broke the silence. "I merely exposed the truth about what that Order really is, Lady Lannister. You should thank me for revealing that truth. Discovering that Joanna had been poisoned for moons... The Lady of Casterly Rock and Tyrion Lannister were victims of those maesters. They speak with gentle words... but they harbor murderous intentions."

Genna could not argue. They had truly done all of that simply to eliminate a possible Targaryen.

And the man standing before her was one of them. Now he sought vengeance while revealing that truth to the world.

"I know it must have been a shock to discover that your lady had slept with a mad king. My grandfather, despite being poisoned. That will never erase his madness. He was a man who deserves to rot in the Seven Hells, as you are fond of saying." Jon brought the matter to an end.

"In any case, from now on you will obey every order given by my men." He turned his attention toward the gate. The fortress had just been completely sealed.

It would remain that way until his troops arrived. Which would not take long. The Westerlands had few men available. By the time the main army arrived... it would already be too late.

Jon intended to make the Westerlands pay until then, since his next objective after the west was the Reach.

"You’ll be in command here." He spoke to one of the Kingsguard. Then he turned to Arya. "And you stay here with Jorelle. I’ll be back soon."

At that moment, Caraxes landed in the courtyard. The beating of his enormous wings sent a wave of dust sweeping across the fortress courtyard.

Without another word, Jon mounted the dragon. Caraxes immediately took flight, soaring into the skies.

The giant eagle flew straight toward the flagship. Jon himself would lead the assault to command the conquest of Lannisport.

Genna and the others could only watch as the great white eagle capable of carrying men disappeared as it descended toward the sea.

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