Chapter 164 - War of the Four Kings (XI)
"Free will. Such a vague word, but something so imaginary is as important as the soul itself. If you lose your freedom, you'll be a pawn in the hands of the gods. What a miserable fate." Aenar Targaryen, God Emperor of Planets.
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Looking at the red and gold wave before him, Jaime Lannister's face couldn't have been more serious. House Targaryen's private army was large and powerful, and it wasn't even the full force. Jaime knew that there were only sixty thousand, the Northumbrian army was in the Vale along with the King himself and the Dragon called Caraxes.
Something Jaime thanked the Seven for, if the entire Targaryen force had been present and along with the adult dragon, he could very well have been waiting to be burned to death at any moment the young Aenar king wanted. That feeling of being able to die at any moment was not something he liked to feel.
However, that didn't mean that things were any better. He had two options in front of him. Face the Targaryen army head-on outside Harrenhal or stay behind the walls and delay the advance of the enemy troops.
Honestly, both strategies had clear disadvantages and advantages, but he himself was indecisive when faced with a choice so crucial to the course of the war. Although it was tempting to delay the advance of enemy troops, he knew it was also a double-edged sword.
The longer he delayed, the closer Aenar would come, and with him, an army of around forty thousand one adult dragons.
When that happens, the course of the war will change dramatically. He himself would not know if he could survive in the face of the dangers that lay ahead. Was this how his ancestors felt in the face of the overwhelming force called the Targaryen with dragons?
Suddenly, under Jaime's surprised eyes, a Septon who had been in his room, writing the report for his father, began to glow. To be more specific, behind the Septon's head, a halo of light formed.
Jaime merely drew his sword and looked cautiously at the Septon. Reverence before such pure and majestic power? Sorry, as Heir to a Great House, religion was just a tool for the powerful to control the peasants.
"Fear not, my son." A feminine voice came out of the male septon's mouth. A warm, gentle, maternal aura filled the surroundings. For a moment, Jaime felt like he was in his mother's arms again.