The king on the Great Wall

Page 198

"Then keep it well, and we'll talk about it when we have a chance in the future." The queen didn't hold back on this matter, after all, what the poison is called is not the most pressing issue right now. "What about the other thing I told you?"

"Oh!" The doctor came back to his senses, and quickly replied: "The commander-in-chief's vomit was also detected in the scene. As for why he was able to rush out of the room and spit out the poisoned wine... I guess, It may be that he has been more physically fit through years of exercise, and that the other two adults were poisoned earlier, so he had the opportunity to quickly judge that he had been poisoned after discovering the clues, and take decisive self-rescue measures. Very smart and decisive, but not enough, Even if you spit out all the vomit in your stomach, there will still be residual poison on the stomach wall, and you have to perform a thorough gastric lavage at the first time to expel the poisonous wine as much as possible... Unfortunately, for some reason, my lord commander He actually trusted witches better than medicine, and his guards refused to let me do the rescue, alas..."

The speaker shook his head and sighed regretfully.

It’s a pity, but it’s understandable that the night watchmen’s soldiers took precautions—everyone in the castle, including themselves, is suspected of poisoning. The rescue and treatment of the commander-in-chief is of course up to them. Trusted people to do it.

In addition, anyone can say big things, but in fact—he is a military doctor, he is good at dealing with sword wounds, and he is barely capable of poisoning and killing people, but how can he have any experience in detoxification?Frankly speaking, apart from inducing vomiting and gastric lavage, what he can do next is not necessarily more than that witch.

After all, the high-ranking priests of the Red God Sect really know magic.

"Okay, let's go." Daenerys still had a stiff face, frowned, and waved at the doctor who seemed to be talking nonsense: "Continue to investigate, if you find something new, report it immediately."

The doctor bowed and bowed, and exited the room respectfully.

As soon as the door closed, Daenerys sat back in her chair—letting go of her pretense of strength.

Without losing a single soldier, her power has suffered a blow like never before... It was one of the most shocking, furious and disorienting moments Daenerys can remember, only comparable to the death of Khal Drogo. This matches.

But when Ma Wang died, at least the murderer was clear, and she knew who to take revenge on.But this time... a lot of messy thoughts were crowded into a mess in her head, so that she didn't even know where to start to straighten out her thoughts.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Missandei walked to her side worriedly and asked softly.

"I'm fine——" Daenerys replied subconsciously, she shook her head after only half a sentence, "—it's strange." In front of Missandei, who is called a master and servant, but is actually more like a sister, she doesn't need to pretend, " My mind is in a mess right now, I don't know what to do, what should I do?"

Missandei went around behind her, and gently pressed the top of Daenerys' head as usual: "Your Majesty, I don't know how to detoxify poison, let alone guess who the murderer is, I just know that the most urgent thing right now The thing is—you must leave Winterfell as soon as possible."

"why?"

"Drogon and Leigo are the biggest guarantee for the order in the city right now. They are the most oppressive when they fly overhead, but it is impossible for the dragon to stay on the ground." The little document analyzed with a serious expression, "and once they land, their The deterrent force will be greatly reduced. It is already dark today, and this day has survived, but if the commander-in-chief still does not show up at dawn tomorrow or is confirmed dead, the group of wild soldiers will definitely make a big mess! At that time, even if there are no The dirt guards can fight against ten times as many rebels, so what's the point of exchanging your elite and these barbarians for their lives?"

After taking a breath, the little maid continued in a hesitant tone: "Besides, although it is understandable that the soldiers of the night watchman refuse you to send people to participate in the rescue of Lord Iger, this matter is after all a precaution and disrespect to you, so There is another possibility that has to be guarded against. That is—Master Iger was not poisoned, everything was just a scene he directed and performed, and he wanted to get rid of the suspicion of poisoning himself through the "Poisoning Distress". If this is the case , then you are even more dangerous, the land-grant army commanded by someone is a hundred times more threatening than a gang of rebels, and since he dares to cut off your left and right arms, the next step must be to try to control your majesty!"

He was almost dead, how could he be suspected of being the murderer?

It would be difficult for someone else to make such vicious guesses, but Missandei has no such worries—she is just Daenerys' personal maid, and like the Unsullied, she has no other ambitions and outlets other than being loyal to the queen.As the saying goes, she has no political status, and she can't be anyone's ally or enemy. Naturally, she has no motivation to frame and attack anyone, so she can say whatever she thinks.No one would suspect, nor could anyone accuse her of having bad motives!

After listening to the little document, Daenerys fell into a brief silence.

It wasn't that she was shocked by being awakened by Missandei's words, but... She suddenly realized: In fact, deep down in her heart, she also had this doubt.What the girl did was to help her express the doubts in her heart through her own mouth.

Her Queen's Hand and the chief of intelligence were invited to the meeting well and good, but they walked in and lay down... The organizer of the banquet is of course the natural and unsuspecting first suspect!

Although all the personal and material evidence so far shows that Iger was also poisoned and his life was in danger, after all, hearing is believing is believing, and in the absence of face-to-face, the more abundant the evidence, everything seems reasonable. While there is no doubt on the surface, it will be even more difficult to restrain the association in the heart!

Iger is the only one who survived the disaster, not only is it not a consolation, but it is the biggest reason why her mind is in a mess at the moment: if he also died simply, Daenerys, who lost three important ministers, would certainly be worse than losing two. Heartbroken, more angry, and more determined to bring the murderer behind the scenes to justice, and began to act with a firm and clear goal... But now, although it is said that they are actively maintaining order, organizing investigations, and hunting down the murderer, in reality A small voice in the back of my mind kept saying: All this is useless, the real culprit is actually the third person who survived!

Reason told Daenerys that in the absence of two arms, only Iger survived and the southern expedition could continue; but subconsciously, she secretly hoped that it would be best for him not to be spared ——At least in this way, the hero she once admired to fight against the aliens, the close comrade-in-arms and only confidant she once relied on and trusted, can live in her heart forever, instead of turning into her sworn enemy and enemy, or bringing each other Suspicion and malice continue to work together in that great unification war.

Two diametrically opposed thoughts hovered in her mind. For a moment, she didn't know whether she wanted Iger to die or survive, and she was a little afraid of the next news from the Land Grant Army.

……

"Why? Missandei, why?" Daenerys was confused and at a loss, "Did I do anything wrong when I dealt with Miss Stark yesterday? Okay, still can't dispel his anger? Petyr is obviously on his side, why is he also affected?"

"Your Majesty, you handled that matter very well yesterday! Even if Duke Eddard Stark came back from the dead and came to the scene, he can no longer complain about your actions to appease his daughter!" Looking at Dan Missandei became a little anxious about Neris' self-doubt, and even her tone of voice began to quicken, "The matter of 'the Commander-in-Chief is the poisoner' is just a conjecture for the time being. Before confirming his life and death, It is meaningless to think about this matter too much. The most important thing right now is to organize the Unsullied Guards as soon as possible to protect the members of the Stark family and leave Winterfell overnight! You can choose to ride the dragon back to the south directly, or you can choose to station in the terror By the side of the Fort army, relying on the hostages and the confrontation between the factions in the northern border to balance the situation, try to escape the danger...No matter what you do, it is better than sitting here and thinking wildly!"

Missandei seldom spoke in such a strong and eager tone, but this contrast made Daenerys wake up in time, she put away her scattered thoughts, and her eyes became clear and firm again: "Okay, let's do this first, You go and send an order to the guards, we will simply pack up our luggage and move out of the city immediately."

Xiao Wenshu heaved a sigh of relief, quickly nodded vigorously, and rushed out of the room with eager small steps.

The cold wind outside the door was piercing, Missandei relayed the queen's decision to the Unsullied guards on duty with the cold pouring into her lungs, and guided them to prepare for the transfer... In the past, this should be the task of Lord Petyr, but now Well, the queen is the only one she can rely on for the time being, even if she bites the bullet, she still has to shoulder this burden.However, before a lot of details were explained, a familiar visitor was escorted by two Unsullied to the outside of the queen's room, interrupting what she was doing.

"Ms. Melisandre!" Missandei closed her mouth in time to prevent leaks, and turned her head to look warily at the red-robed woman who was a head taller than herself: "Your Majesty has rested, if you have something to see her, Please come back tomorrow."

"Don't try to fool a high priest, little girl." Melisandre's voice sounded a little tired, but her tone was still calm and unquestionable, "Now, you have two choices—either go into the house and inform the Queen, tell I have something to see her, so try to stop me and force me to 'find a way' to see her. I'm short on time, you'd better make a decision right away."

-

Chapter 557 "Lifeline of Life"

Unlike most people in Westeros, Daenerys is no stranger to the Red God religion, and even in a sense, she is still a half believer.

Because the Supreme Priest Benello deciphered from the flames that "The Dragon Queen is the Son of Prophecy", countless people from all over the Red God Church continued to promote her on both sides of the Narrow Sea and obstruct the formation of the Anti-Targaryen Alliance. The Red Temple of Volantis also sent a high-ranking priest of the same level as Melisandre—Maqiro, who traveled thousands of miles to Slaver’s Bay to help and guide her, and stayed with her until the prophecy was fulfilled and the White Walker was defeated. .

In the process, Daenerys not only learned more about the magic of magic, but also got to know the red-robed monk and the gods he believed in during the long-term relationship...

He was a mysterious but reliable wizard, and the R'hllor he believed in seemed to be real. Every word he said and everything he did around him... was in response to the instructions of that god, Lead yourself to the final battle, to become the son of prophecy who defeats darkness and saves mankind.During this process, Maqiro maintained a strict neutral attitude, neither participated in the battle between Varys and Petyr, nor did he seek power and self-interest for himself, let alone spread the Red God religion. Do any absurd thing like burning heretics to harm innocent people.

Maqiro's good and upright words and deeds undoubtedly made Daenerys have a good impression and impression of the red monk and R'hllor he believed in-in fact, she even moved to appoint March after unifying the Seven Kingdoms. Luo is the chief religious and magic advisor, introducing the Red God Sect to stir up the stagnant religious status of the Seven Kingdoms, and weaken the absolute influence of the Seven God Sect under the control of the Hightower family in the old town on the entire territory of Westeros, breaking many places. People "only know that there are seven gods but don't know that there is a king".

It's a pity...the latter insisted on leaving and returning to Volantis after completing his mission, but she didn't stay.

But it doesn't matter if Marquis is gone. Daenerys' closeness and affection for him and the forces of the Red God Sect behind him have now been extended to his trusted colleague—another high-ranking Red God. Priest Melisandre.

A group like them who possess great power but are extremely devout and have no political ambitions, shouldn't help others to deceive or deal with themselves, the... prophesied queen, for some dirty purpose, right?

With this mentality, Daenerys decided to take a little time to see the witch after a little thought, even though the timing of the witch's visit was very unfortunate.

***

"Please come in."

After Daenerys gave the order, she sat back in her seat, put away her confusion and haste, straightened her waist, and put on the strong mask that belonged to the Dragon Queen again... and looked up at the twisted man who walked into the room. Tired but as always, the elegant and proud red-robed woman.

"Ms. Melisandre, what's the reason for visiting late at night?"

"What's the matter?" The red-robed woman shook her head, "Your Majesty, it's not you who should ask me now, but I should be the one who should ask you—what are you still doing here at this hour?"

"Ma'am, we all respect you." Missandei immediately jumped out to defend the Queen: "But this is His Majesty's room, and she doesn't need any reason to be here, please be respectful!"

"I know this is her room." Melisandre glanced at the girl with the contemptuous eyes of adults talking and children not interrupting, and then turned her gaze back to Daenerys: "The three important officials of His Majesty were poisoned at the same time, two The life of the remaining one is hanging by a thread, but you are neither trying to rescue the survivors, nor evacuating Winterfell quickly to prevent civil unrest in the Land Grant Army...Hidden in this building under the protection of the Unsullied, is Wait for some miracle to happen, or hope the situation will improve and subside on its own?"

Daenerys was not angered by the obvious ridicule, because she was actually about to evacuate, but was interrupted by the red robe woman's door-to-door visit—she and Missandei glanced at each other quietly, and neither of them told the truth. Say it.

After a few seconds of embarrassing silence, Daenerys realized that before the truth was revealed, she should show a little concern for her subordinates, even if she only made an appearance: "This is indeed my mistake, please forgive me. Ms. Sandra, Iger asked you for help before he fell into a coma, you must have participated in the treatment, can you tell me how he is now?"

"Dead." The red-robed woman spat out the words expressionlessly, and then added, "Bachelor Qyburn identified some kind of poison that was stolen by the commander-in-chief. This drug is extremely toxic, but it has a characteristic. ——It can be digested by the human body itself, so...not only is it slightly poisonous if taken in small doses, but theoretically speaking—as long as you try to hang the poisoned person's life, he can rely on his own bodily functions to survive and fully recover. , I have been casting spells to renew his life all afternoon, engaging in a war of attrition with mana and poison, trying to save the Lord Commander of the Night Watch."

"Ahem, Your Majesty."

Missandei muttered something next to her, she seemed to have no idea what to say, but actually hinted to remind Daenerys: even if it is a high priest of the Red God, what she said may not be completely credible.

"Then why did you fail?" When Daenerys heard the word "dead" from the mouth of the red-robed woman, Daenerys felt as if something had been pulled out of her body, she was a little empty, but at the same time she breathed a sigh of relief .The bitterness of losing a confidant, and the lightness of knowing that the former has not betrayed... Several completely different emotions are mixed together, the taste is really indescribable, even after being reminded by Missandei that the witch may be deceiving himself Still unable to get out of this sense of loss for a long time.

"Because no one's magic power is endless, I have tried my best, but the commander-in-chief drank a lot of poisoned wine, and the power of this poison is completely beyond imagination... If I persist, I will support it first Can't stop."

As she spoke, as if she wanted to add persuasiveness to her words, Melisandre walked to the chair specially prepared for visitors beside her, and sat down as if she had been exhausted.

She's certainly not as weak as she appears to be, but at least it's true that she's nearly depleted of mana now: when Iger returned the magic necklace to Melisandre, it was running out of magic power .This is unbelievable-you know, when this necklace was designed and built, it was guaranteed to be able to detoxify enough to kill ten elephants. As long as the wearer does not drink the poison as water or eat it, no matter what, it is impossible to get rid of it. The mana is consumed so cleanly.

Rather than saying that Iger used it to detoxify and exhausted the magic power, it was more like—something sucked all the magic power inside.

If the person who borrowed the necklace was a fellow priest, she would definitely come to her door to ask for an explanation, but facing the spokesperson chosen by Rhloh, Melisandre didn't dare to ask more questions, and could only swallow the loss silently.She is now relying on her own magic power to maintain the youth spell, which makes her look a bit haggard, but if she hits the right side, it can be used as strong evidence for her statement.

"So, you gave up on his treatment?" Even though she knew it was probably a lie, for some reason, Daenerys still felt the real pain in her heart, and even the words she said carried some The reluctance to part from life and death is bitter.

"Unfortunately, but I have no choice." Melisandre said in a calm and cruel tone, "Although the breathing and heartbeat have not disappeared, there is actually no difference between him and the dead. If it is slow, it will be dawn... But, after I calmed down and thought about it, I found that there is actually a way to save him."

……

Should I say "that's great" or "it really is this way"?

The queen and Missandei's master and servant looked at each other, seeing the same thing in each other's eyes.

If the first half of Melisandre's words still made Daenerys feel sympathetic and immersed in grief, but the second half of the sentence immediately disrupted this atmosphere - and even made her grit her teeth uncontrollably : After talking a lot, anyway, he will definitely not die in the end?

Isn't a lot of my previous mental activities just a waste of emotion?

As long as Iger does not die, no matter what the reason is, how many hardships and turmoil he "said" has experienced, he will be the biggest suspect in eternity, and he will not be able to get out of this suspicion for the rest of his life.

Daenerys' face turned cold, but after all, she didn't want to turn against a priest of the Red God, so she continued to play tricks: "What can I do?"

"The blood of the real dragon contains powerful power. I happen to have learned a kind of unpopular blood magic, which can release this energy and introduce it into other people's bodies, making them bring back the dead." Melisandre stared at Daenerys Silk's eyes said, "If Your Majesty is willing to donate some blood for me to cast spells, maybe I can give it a go and try to save the Commander-in-Chief from the brink of death. I just don't know if this night watchman is so important to His Majesty." status, and you...do you have the courage and courage to give it a try. "

Blood magic?

Dany's heart skipped a beat.

No one knows blood magic better than her!

Wait, it's a play... Of course it's nonsense to say so, Daenerys is by no means arrogant enough to dare to compete with a high priest of the Red God who knows more about blood magic, but she has never eaten pork and seen pigs running, Although she can't say that she has mastered or proficient in this extremely unpopular and evil-sounding technology, she does know something about it.

There is no other reason, she really—witnessed this thing with her own eyes more than once, and even came into close contact with this thing.

As early as Mirri Maz Duur, the witch and witch she met in Lazarin, later she went to Asshai to learn the dragon control technique, and a little closer to watching Maqiro sacrifice to the flames Blood contacted R'hllor to ask Him for response and guidance...

Everything Daenerys knew and saw made her understand: blood magic does exist and it can really save people.

As for the power possessed by the blood of the true dragon, she has been coveted by many mysterious people—whether she was almost imprisoned by the wizard in the Immortal Temple, or was captured by the mysterious Quai Lizard when she went to Asshai. Asking for blood in exchange for "The Essentials of Controlling the Dragon"...

If Daenerys was still very suspicious of Iger before, then after Melisandre said it so seriously and made it seem real, it dropped to eight points.

Is this a scam directed by Iger, who wants to dispel his doubts about him because he personally participated in the rescue, or...he is really dying at the moment and is going to die, and he desperately needs unconventional methods like blood magic to win a glimmer of life ?

Daenerys was hesitating, but Missandei next to her jumped out anxiously.

"Your Majesty, you can't go there!" Seeing Daenerys's attitude softening from resoluteness, the little clerk realized that the queen had fallen into the predicament of being a fan of the authorities, and then fantasized in his heart. Under the tension, he no longer cared about self-restraint and etiquette. Melisandre yelled in front of her face: "This is obviously a trap!"

-

Chapter 558 "Lifeline of Life"

Melisandre has done a lot of things to deceive people, but it’s been a long time since she did blatant deception—especially non-kind deception, and she was really shocked for half a second when Missandei called it out. , relying on the strong psychological quality brought about by ordinary people's unimaginable experience, he survived abruptly.

Not only did she not reveal her guilty conscience, but she even narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at the dark-skinned girl with a vicious viciousness: "Little girl, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't talk nonsense, what do you mean by 'this is obviously a trap! ', do you understand that you are accusing others of deceiving the emperor?"

The atmosphere was even more embarrassing. As the queen, Daenerys should have opened her mouth at this moment, but she neither rejected the witch's suggestion, nor scolded the little clerk for interjecting at will. Strong dilemma.

Cautiously asked her to agree to this point—the other side was indeed likely to be a trap; but reason immediately reminded her that she had no evidence; Comrade struggled hard at the last moment of her life and could not wait for the blood of the real dragon to save her life... As a result, she lost her only confidant and forever missed the opportunity to realize the grand ideal of "breaking the wheel", and she will regret it for the rest of her life.

After struggling for a while, Daenerys suddenly figured it out: The core of the problem is actually—is Iger really poisoned and his life is hanging by a thread?

And this point, professionals or people who are more careful, should be able to see it.

Her queen's self-esteem can't take the risk to go to the screening in person, just send her subordinates down!

"Ms. Melisandre, please forgive Missandei's rudeness. She is only a child, and she was frightened by what happened to Petyr and Varys." Daenerys made up her mind, and immediately looked calm. Many, "But blood magic is not an easy method after all, I can't make a decision in my head, so I will first send my medical staff to the commander-in-chief's bed to make a diagnosis, confirm that there is no other way to do it, and then do it." Decided, how?"

"The Land-Grant Army is loyal to you, and you are the one who needs to bleed for spells. Naturally, it is up to His Majesty to judge and decide." Melisandre secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded without changing her face, "However... You don't have much time to think, and you hope your subordinates can move faster."

"That's natural." Daenerys agreed with a smile, and immediately raised her voice: "Missandei, you go and inform Potter, let him take two Unsullied to visit the commander-in-chief's ward immediately, and report the situation to the commander-in-chief as soon as possible. I."

It only took half a second for the girl to fully understand Daenerys' thoughts - sending someone to investigate is indeed a more reliable method than guessing by intuition, but after all, it is a human being who undertakes the task, and as long as it is a human being, there will definitely be problems. Problem - the Unsullied knows nothing about toxicology, and the Healer, he's just a mortal, could be tricked, bribed or coerced!

Only myself, who is as careful as a hair, and would rather die than betray the queen!

It's up to you to carry out this investigation!

However, Missandei immediately thought of a new risk: even if she would not be fooled or coerced, she would still be controlled by a witch with spells, or be impersonated by a disguise technique!

"Your Majesty, I'll go and have a look too." She put her mouth close to the Queen's ear and whispered her thoughts: "If you don't return within a moment, or if you come back without saying the agreed signal, Don't hesitate any longer, immediately withdraw from Winterfell under the cover of the Unsullied and Drogon Leigo, and seek resettlement and protection from Lord Bolton!"

Daenerys quickly understood, and after hesitating for a moment, she grabbed Missandei's hand and whispered: "Be careful, even if you find clues, don't expose them on the spot, and don't talk about it until you come back."

……

Wrapped in thick winter clothes, Missandei and Doctor Potter followed the red-robed woman to leave the guest room where the Queen stayed, and went to the Land Grant Army camp on the other side of the castle under the escort of a small team of Unsullied.

The moon was completely covered by dark clouds, and the wind blowing through the buildings was extremely fierce... At midnight, Winterfell was dark and silent, only the occasional patrols passing by could bring some vitality.After walking nearly [-] meters under the snowflakes that hurt people's faces, the group arrived at their destination.

There is a whole row of guards standing outside the commander-in-chief's room at this moment. They are wearing armor and armor. Not only are they more numerous than usual, but they are also more guarded than usual. His movements seemed to wish to engrave the words "Like a Great Enemy" on his face. Seeing that Melisandre brought back not the queen but only a maid beside the queen, she muttered to express that she didn't even bother to hide it. Doubt and dissatisfaction.

The complaints belong to the complaints, they still did not dare to stop Melisandre, after declaring that the soldiers of the Unsullied were not allowed to enter and carefully searched behind the doctors, they skipped the further inspection of Missandei under the guarantee of the witch, Let three people into the house.

The flames in the fireplace in the room not only filled the room with a gloomy and shaking red light, but also made the air feel anxious and sultry. In the pervasive heat, there was a scent of medicine and a slight sour smell. And the steaming warmth made Missandei's eyes sore and blurred for a second when she suddenly walked in from the cold outdoor environment.

There was no axe in ambush, on the big bed facing the door, a pale man was lying down quietly, and the doctor in charge of the treatment was sitting by the bed, looking helpless. A spearwife concentrated on adding wood to the fireplace, while a black-clad officer paced anxiously.

Melisandre's guidance was no longer needed here, and Doctor Potter and Missandei went straight to the bed and started their respective tasks.

"Bachelor Keben, how is the situation?"

The person being questioned stood up, reluctantly nodded to the person who came, then drooped his shoulders and shook his head. While getting out of the way, he tilted his head to the bed. Obviously he had nothing to say, and asked the person to look at it for himself.

So Doctor Potter unceremoniously sat down on Qyburn's stool and began to observe the person lying on the bed.

It looked like he was indeed the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch. At this moment, the land-grant overlord who was still alive and well yesterday had a serene expression, motionless like a flat sculpture. Under the thick quilt covering his chest, even the breath that should have brought him The ups and downs are almost untraceable.According to Porter's experience in treating the wounded, it was obvious that he was close to death, and there was little hope... After trying to maintain his patience, he touched the left hand of the patient lying on the side of the bed under the quilt, and he was even more shocked.

That hand was as cold as ice, if it wasn't still soft and not stiff, and there was still a weak and slow pulse on the radial side of the wrist, he would have absolutely believed that this was a person who had been dead for a long time... just from the ice water If you don't quickly try to raise your body temperature back to normal, no matter how healthy you are, you will surely die. No wonder there are so many firewood added to the fireplace!

He originally wanted to do more tests, but why is it necessary now?The Queen suspects that the Commander-in-Chief is pretending to be poisoned, heh, if there is anyone in the world who can pretend to be like this, then he should not be called the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch, but the King of Faking Death.

Potter sighed and stood up, looking at Maester Qyburn standing aside, he felt closeness and sympathy for his colleagues who were also helpless.