Game of Thrones: Knight's Honor-Chapter 339: The First Battle of King’s Landing

The outbreak of war in King's Landing had always been expected—just much later than anyone had anticipated.

Originally, based on outside predictions, Stannis's fleet should have reached the waters near King's Landing several days earlier. But after bringing the army from the Stormlands to Dragonstone, Stannis didn't launch an immediate assault. Instead, he cautiously waited until the 5,000 mercenaries hired from Braavos and Pentos arrived before setting sail.

During this time, he wasn't sitting idle. He sent agents into King's Landing to spread rumors and incite unrest, forcing Tyrion to dispatch the Gold Cloaks in a sweeping crackdown for spies.

And Stannis knew better than anyone how the Gold Cloaks behaved—of course they wouldn't just arrest spies. They'd take the opportunity to frame people, extort bribes, and enrich themselves.

In the end, even if the spies were caught, the citizens of King's Landing would suffer under the Gold Cloaks' abuses.

This further deteriorated relations between the city's populace and the Red Keep, reaching a point of outright hostility. The fact that nobles within the city no longer dared to go out alone said it all. At this rate, once the siege began, the Red Keep would struggle to rally the citizens to help defend the city. In that sense, Stannis's infiltration strategy was already achieving its purpose.

Tyrion, of course, saw through Stannis's ploy, but there was little he could do. With no room to maneuver, all he could do was go along with it. After purging the spies, he had no choice but to select a few of the most notorious and corrupt Gold Cloaks and execute them publicly in the square, hoping to give the people an outlet for their frustration.

Even so, it did little to ease tensions between the people and the Red Keep. And Tyrion soon had more pressing concerns—Stannis's fleet had set sail and was closing in on the capital.

The initial clash between King's Landing and Stannis's forces could be considered a draw.

To minimize the effectiveness of the city's archers, Stannis chose to launch his assault at night, when visibility was at its worst. Tyrion had anticipated this and laid several traps in advance.

Before the full assault began, Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight, saw through part of Tyrion's preparations and ordered prisoners to sail decrepit ships into the Blackwater Rush, disguised as the vanguard of the main fleet.

As those ships entered the river, the great chain at the river's entrance was raised, and the wildfire planted beneath the surface was ignited—engulfing and destroying all the decoy ships.

With the trap at the mouth of the river now revealed, Stannis's advance fleet moved in, aiming to land at the docks near the Blackwater and launch their assault through the Mud Gate.

They chose the Mud Gate because of its wide approach and its reputation as the weakest point in King's Landing's defenses.

Before launching the assault, Davos urged the siege commander, Ser Imry Florent, to send scouts to survey the dock, fearing another trap.

But Imry dismissed the warning. He believed the wildfire trap on the river had been Tyrion's only ploy, and saw no need to waste time on reconnaissance. He was also under pressure to have the siege equipment in place before Stannis's main army arrived. If he failed, Stannis—known for his unforgiving nature—would punish him, even if the task was completed later.

So, as soon as the fleet docked safely, Imry gave the order to begin the siege, unloading and positioning the siege equipment along the riverbank.

But halfway through the transfer, Tyrion triggered a second trap—wildfire hidden in the nearby warehouses and buildings erupted, engulfing the entire dock and the Mud Gate in a storm of green flame.

Caught in the blast, Stannis's advance force and their siege equipment were completely destroyed. The fire even spread to the ships on the river, reducing them to burning wrecks. Davos fell into the Blackwater and narrowly survived, but all of his sons perished in the flames—including the stubborn Imry Florent.

On the surface, it seemed Stannis had suffered a catastrophic loss. Thousands of soldiers in his vanguard were gone, and all of his siege equipment had been destroyed. This would make any future assault far more difficult. But there was a silver lining: most of the advance force had been made up of mercenaries, with only Imry Florent's contingent representing a noble house. So in terms of actual military losses, it wasn't too severe—and he'd saved a significant amount in unpaid mercenary wages.

Still, although Tyrion had succeeded in wiping out Stannis's advance forces with his trap, the cost on his end wasn't light either. He had completely underestimated the destructive force of wildfire when ignited in such concentration. The Mud Gate and the soldiers stationed on its walls were also consumed in the inferno.

Hundreds of defenders were either burned alive by the wildfire or crushed beneath the collapsing gate. Tyrion had no choice but to forcibly mobilize the city's commoners to seal off the fallen Mud Gate and reinforce the damaged section of the wall before Stannis launched another assault.

The wildfire, once ignited, was nearly impossible to extinguish. It spread along the row of slums hugging the city walls, engulfing them in flames that would take several days to burn out.

At first glance, it might seem that the fire had helped delay Stannis's advance, but in truth, his siege equipment had already been destroyed and would need time to be rebuilt anyway. In the short term, an immediate attack was off the table. What the fire had truly accomplished was clearing the structures around the wall—removing obstacles that would have otherwise hindered attackers and opening up more points of assault for Stannis's forces.

Moreover, while the inhabitants of those poor dwellings had been relocated inside the city ahead of time—thanks to Tyrion's arrangements, sparing them from harm—none of them felt any gratitude. On the contrary, they now hated him more than ever, blaming him for destroying their homes and what little they had left. Tyrion's name in King's Landing was now reviled beyond measure.

Following this initial clash, both sides entered a lull, preparing for the full siege to come. Inside and outside King's Landing, an uneasy calm settled.

Since Lynd was particularly focused on the unfolding battle, Balin had made sure to gather detailed intelligence from both Tyrion's and Stannis's camps. The report stretched over ten pages, meticulously compiled to offer a complete and coherent overview of the current military situation.

And it wasn't just written data. Balin had also commissioned a detailed sand table of King's Landing and its surrounding areas, mapping out both armies' deployments in a clear, visual form.

Jon and the others were gathered in the castle's council chamber at Lynd's summons to analyze the situation.

"It doesn't look good," Margaery remarked as she studied the sand table. "Without reinforcements, King's Landing won't be able to hold out against Stannis." Though she lacked military expertise, she could still grasp the basics from what was laid out in front of her.

Mus shook his head. "Not necessarily. If the city has enough gold and grain, they could recruit the commoners to defend it. After all, King's Landing has over a hundred thousand people. Take away the old, the young, and the women, and at least half of them are adult men—that's a significant pool of manpower."

Jon interjected, "But King's Landing doesn't have enough gold or food."

"No, they do." It was Raoul, commander of Summerhall's garrison, who spoke next. Since this was a military matter, Lynd had called him in for the discussion. "There's plenty of wealth and supplies stored in the estates of the city's nobles. If we conscript them all, the problem is solved."

Everyone else paused at that, then nodded in agreement—it was, undeniably, a practical solution.

Margaery and Sansa, attending this kind of meeting for the first time, were visibly taken aback. The expressions on their faces showed clear shock, and they exchanged wary glances at the officials of Summerhall. It was obvious they realized: in these men's eyes, the lords and ladies of King's Landing were little more than livestock waiting for the slaughter.

Sansa, a bit naïvely, began, "My lords, if you really do as you say, then after the war, the rest of the nobles and lords of the Seven Kingdoms will surely—"

But before she could finish, Margaery gently took her hand and shook her head, cutting her off. She said softly, "It may seem excessive, but in order to protect King's Landing, it's a necessary step. Once the war is over, it can be forgiven."

Her words were met with a chorus of approving nods.

Balin suddenly spoke up. "Forgiveness isn't even necessary. Just charge those nobles with treason. Stannis has been hovering around King's Landing for quite some time—he's had dealings with many of those elites. And if they've interacted, even slightly, they could be seen as potential allies. Calling it collusion isn't wrong."

Balin's proposal was met with nods from people like Raul and Lothor, both of whom came from humble backgrounds. But Jon and Bert shook their heads—clearly disapproving of a strategy that involved both taking someone's wealth and tarnishing their name.

Lynd had remained silent, listening as everyone aired their opinions. After a while, once the room had quieted, he turned to Margaery and Sansa and asked, "If you were the ones defending King's Landing, what would you do to survive this crisis?"

Margaery and Sansa froze for a moment, completely caught off guard by the question. Neither of them knew how to respond right away.

But Margaery quickly gathered herself and replied, "If it were me, I would immediately send envoys for reinforcements and do everything possible to win over whatever allies I could."

"Lady Margaery," Jon said, shaking his head, "that's exactly what King's Landing is doing right now. I think the Lord wants to hear what you would do, personally."

Biting her lip, Margaery hesitated before saying, "Then I would have my most trusted men secretly set up wildfire caches in the homes near the gates where Stannis is most likely to attack. I'd block off all the nearby streets with debris, station the most loyal soldiers at that gate, and allow Stannis's troops to enter just enough to create a stalemate in that district—forcing him to commit more troops into the city. Then, once the bulk of his forces are inside, I would trigger the trap: seal the gate, ignite the wildfire, and burn everything in that sector. At the same time, I would rally all our forces and launch a breakout from another gate, striking directly at Stannis's command tent. If Stannis is killed, his army would collapse, and the siege would be broken."

The room fell silent for a few seconds. Everyone stared at Margaery in astonishment.

They had all heard of the "Little Rose" of Highgarden—celebrated as the ideal noble lady, praised for her grace, beauty, and charity toward the poor. She was considered by many to be the very image of compassion and refinement.

But now, after hearing her plan, Jon and the others realized that while Margaery's beauty was undeniable—easily among the most striking in the Seven Kingdoms—her so-called kindness was... debatable. Her plan, for all its tactical merit, was ruthless and calculated—far removed from the image of gentleness she was known for.

"Not a bad plan," Lynd said at last, his tone serious, "but far too many holes. You're assuming too much. In war, nothing ever goes exactly the way you plan it."

He continued, "What if your 'loyal' soldiers panic at the last moment and flee instead of carrying out the suicide mission? What if Stannis sees through the trap and ignites the wildfire himself, on his terms? And more importantly—how do you plan to stop the fire once it starts? With the amount of wildfire you're talking about, you wouldn't just wipe out one district—you'd burn all of King's Landing to the ground. You'd end up completing the Mad King Aerys's unfinished dream."

Margaery looked a bit embarrassed after hearing Lynd's pointed critique.

Then, unexpectedly, Sansa spoke up. "I would hand over Cersei and Joffrey. That way, Stannis wouldn't have any excuse to keep attacking King's Landing."

Everyone turned to look at her in stunned silence.

Perhaps overwhelmed by their sudden attention, Sansa lowered her head and said softly, "Lord Lynd said earlier that the goal is to defend the city—not the Iron Throne. So if we give up what Stannis is truly after, and he loses his reason to attack, then the city would be saved."

"It sounds a bit strange, but it makes sense," Lothor said, nodding. "As long as the city survives, who cares what happens to the Iron Throne?"

"It's actually a very viable plan," Jon agreed. "Of course, afterward, people might accuse you of betraying your own house. And knowing Lord Stannis, even if you handed over the throne to him, he'd still punish you. In other words, Sansa—you'd be doomed."

"But sacrificing one life to save an entire city?" Mus added with a grin. "That's a good trade."

The others all expressed their surprise at Sansa's suggestion, praising her cleverness and unexpected insight.

Sansa blushed at the compliments and teasing, clearly flustered. Beside her, Margaery glanced at her new friend again—this time with a look of quiet reevaluation.