Chapter 64 On the Trident
Light green algae spread over Edmure's face with the current of the Green Fork River. His wet hair stuck to half of his forehead, and black water was spitting out of his mouth.
"Ugh~!" Edmure was awakened by the sudden rise of the river water. He fell to the ground and vomited out all the dirty water and filth in his mouth. He held his abdomen, but the pain did not diminish at all.
He dreamed of the defeat scene a few days ago again, with flames and arrows shooting from the sky, illuminating his fearful eyes.
The blue heavy armored cavalry held the blue and white crescent falcon flag and charged forward, scattering the cavalry team around them. The horses fled in all directions, and the infantry abandoned their helmets and armor, crying and howling everywhere. The squire was calling his name, repeating the Tully family motto, "Family, Honor, Duty."
Damn it, it doesn't matter if you say the family motto, doesn't he know it himself? He didn't need to be reminded!
"Ugh!" Light yellow gastric juice spit out from his mouth. The moment he turned his head, he realized that the war horse he was riding on when he ran away without knowing the direction was already lying on the side of the river from exhaustion, with his mouth and nose immersed in the river water, and his wet eyes. Looking at Edmure lying on the ground.
"Brother," Edmure struggled to hold his upper body up with his hands. The mud wrapped Edmure's hands. The water overflowed again and the soil became soft again. "Plop!" With a sound, Edmure fell into the river. On the shoal, the river water covered his chest.
"Ahem!" Edmure struggled to stand up, looking at everything around him blankly.
A low roar came from the side, and Edmure immediately put his hand on his waist, only to find that it was empty. The long sword he was wearing was lost somewhere, and he was the only one who ran away like crazy. Headless flies were scurrying around without any order.
Edmure glanced at the bottom of the water. His dagger was safely placed on the bottom of the water. The low roar came again, and the exhausted war horse groaned softly, kicked its hind legs hard on the soil, and struggled to stand up.
A black shadow emerged from behind the war horse, and rows of fangs appeared in front of Edmure.
Lizard! Damn it!
Edmure suddenly picked up the dagger, climbed ashore with all his strength, and watched the creatures in the water warily.
The lizard-lion came out of the water with a quick "plop!" and bit into the horse's hoof with its teeth, leaving hideous blood marks.
The war horse ran away a few meters in pain and disappeared into the grass that was as tall as a man.
The lizard stuck out its slender red-core tongue and stared at Edmure closely.
Edmure only felt that his legs were weak. He held the dagger in his hand, but he had forgotten all the movements of slashing and stabbing the dagger in his mind. After running for several days, he had already exhausted all his energy. He knew that if he moved first, then In an instant, he ran away at a speed that was not as fast as the lizard's last pounce when hunting.
Like the lizard, he could only stare at the creature in front of him. Whether it was cold or fear, his hands were trembling, and so were his lips.
The sound of running water on the Trident River was still, and the sound of the breeze blowing the orange grass was forgotten. Edmure remained motionless, his left leg pressed against the rock by the water, ready to use his strength to escape at any time, even though he was exhausted. I was exhausted and my calves were sore.
The lizard lion kicked forward with its hind legs. Edmure quickly exerted force and quickly threw the dagger at the monster in the water that was about to open its bloody mouth.
"Put the tip forward, use light force, aim at the enemy's vital point, and throw." This is what his uncle Brynden Tully said when he suddenly got interested when he was playing throwing stones as a child and taught himself to throw throwing knives.
The tip of the dagger was accurately inserted into the soft scarlet mouth of the lizard lion, and blood spurted out. The lizard lion felt pain and waded into the river with its tail swung, and the water was contaminated with blood.
Edmure also jumped out a few meters at this time, stumbling away from here.
He was determined to run, but the pain and weakness in his body did not allow his thoughts to be realized. There were many bumps and bumps on the road. Edmure tripped over the road and fell to the ground after a while.
Edmure looked up in embarrassment, with only dirt on his face, and the Tully family trout emblem embroidered on his chest was also stained with dirt, making it impossible to recognize his appearance.
If his uncle led the army, he would never run away like himself... After escaping from the lizard lion's mouth, he did not feel any joy about the rest of his life. He once again thought of the panicked Riverland soldiers and thought of being hit by arrows. The bodyguard who fell to the ground and moaned in pain once again thought of himself who had fled after the defeat...
I should die there with them! Edmure slammed his fist onto the ground. If my uncle and father were here... they would be able to handle it better.
"Edmure," a familiar yet unfamiliar voice came. Edmure looked up at a loss, and the old face of Brynden Tully appeared in front of him.
"Uncle..." Edmure fainted on the ground, his beating heart and groggy head telling himself that he was safe.
……
The rise and fall of the Green Fork River's water surface seemed irregular at this time. Some scholars once tried to explore the seasonal changes based on the increase and decrease patterns of the Trident River's flow. However, not only does the amount of water in the Trident River show no gradual changes to the naked eye, but it rises and falls suddenly at the turn of summer and winter. Therefore, the best choice for judging the changes in summer and winter is still the judgment of the so-called changes in the stars.
Brynden Tully silently looked at the five small wooden boats rowing forward. Edmure Tully lay at his feet. He could even hear the sound of his nephew sleeping soundly and snoring.
"What a shameless person." Brynden muttered as he kicked Edmure in the face.
Edmure shook his head and reluctantly opened his eyes in his daze. When he looked up, he saw the stern face of his uncle Brynden.
"Uncle..." Edmure struggled to stand up. He looked around and found that five wooden boats were filled with veterans wearing chainmail and carrying bucklers and daggers. They looked much older and were basically the same age as himself. Uncle is the same age.
Only a young man standing at the bow of the boat and paddling looked very young, even in his early teens.
"Is he..." Edmure asked, pointing to the young man.
"Davin, Ser Edmure," the young man on the oar announced his name before Brynden could answer, "I am Ser Brynden's squire, the squire of the Knight of the Blood Gate."
"Knight Brynden of the Blood Gate no longer exists," Brynden held up the wine bag, took a sip, and said vaguely, "Only 'Blackfish', the black sheep of the Tully family, Brynden... It’s useless.”
"Uncle..." Edmure wanted to comfort his uncle, but was interrupted by Brynden, "Let's talk about you, my damn nephew. Your heroic actions to protect the people of the Riverlands have spread throughout the Trident. Yes, because of you, the people fled westward one after another. ”
Edmure lowered his head, speechless.
"You and Catelyn, old Trout, my dear brother is so lucky to have you both helping him," Brynden said sarcastically.
"I must send troops. The people of the Vale are burning, killing and looting on the Trident. I can't sit idly by. What's more, uncle, you should know that my sister, Lysa, was illegally imprisoned by Attis Arryn. I have her An autograph letter, an autograph letter that she ordered someone to bring out from the Eagle's Nest City even though she risked her life!" Edmure became more and more excited as he spoke. In his opinion, his actions were not legally wrong.
Brynden stared at his stupid nephew and listened to him quietly before speaking, "I'll tell you what a qualified heir should do when faced with these things." He shook his head regretfully, both for Edmure himself. Regretful, and also sorry for his brother Hoster, "Is the war between Riverrun and Casterly Rock going on?"
"Yes," Edmure said without hesitation, "but according to my eldest sister Catelyn, the lion and the eagle have joined forces. If both sides are outflanked, the Riverlands will fall into an irreversible situation, so we have to strike first. Set up defenses on the Trident..."
"Defense, I don't think you are setting up defense, but you seem to be the first to launch an attack, and you even crossed the river. You really have no common sense." Blackfish exposed him mercilessly.
Edmure lowered his head in shame, "I am doing it for the people on the east coast..."
"In order to lead the people, it's better now. The army is destroyed. If I were a Valley native, I wouldn't be in a hurry to cross the river. I would control the town of Salt Farm first. A small group of troops would cross the river to harass and devour all the territory on the east bank of the Green Fork River. Then I would take over the territory. People are forced to leave their homes, bandits are plundering, and the number of people you can't protect may increase several times." Brynden directly refuted Edmure's excuse, and directly exposed his nephew's thoughts, "I think you were captured by Tywin. The few small victories that I let go of were so complacent that I became too complacent!”
Edmure opened his mouth, trying to find a point of defense from this series of things, but found that he had no way to start, so he could only lower his head in silence.
Brynden looked helplessly at the dejected Edmure in front of him. As the Governor of the Trident, he could be regarded as the heir to the Guardian Family. He seemed completely unqualified.
"Forget about the war with the Western Territory, it is a complete misstep to rush to launch a war in the valley..." Brynden shook his head angrily, "When encountering this situation, you should send someone to question Duke Attis as soon as possible, and at the same time send People go to the Iron Throne to ask for peace, and focus on the defense of Riverrun. Diplomacy, diplomacy! ”
"As for your Lysa, my niece who deserves to go to the seven hells, she is indeed imprisoned in the Eyrie..."
"Sure enough, uncle, why didn't you tell me earlier? You should have told me before Caitlin came back!" Edmure said excitedly.
"Family, duty, honor," Brynden said through gritted teeth the Tully family motto, "your sister deserves it, she deserves to go to the seven hells!"
Edmure looked at the terrifying uncle in front of him in shock. He didn't expect Lysa to be so miserable in Brynden's mouth.
"Duke Attis only spared the Tully family for the sake of the family's reputation and the overall interests of the kingdom. It's a good thing that you actually took the initiative to attack. I really don't have a nephew like you!" Brynden scolded angrily.
But Edmure just stared blankly, listening to his uncle Brynden's angry rebuke, doing nothing.
(End of chapter)