With a reputation of 70,000, one leader travels across countless worlds with his adventure team.

Inside the Red Keep of King's Landing

"Why did you let Ned Stark leave? With him, we can control the North..." Cersei asked Jaime, somewhat puzzled.

“If he returns to the North and declares that he does not recognize His Majesty’s legitimacy, it will cause turmoil in the Seven Kingdoms, and war will be inevitable,” Cersei continued, looking at her beloved brother.

"What matters now is not Ned Stark, but making Joffrey's throne legitimate!"

We need to get the other six kingdoms to recognize the legitimacy of his throne. Then, with their recognition, even if the North rebels and doesn't recognize Joffrey's rule, we can gather the armies of all six kingdoms, march north, and wipe them out. Then we can appoint a trustworthy person to guard the North.”

Jaime was still able to distinguish between what was important and what was not. If Ned Stark were to be spared now, and the North were to turn against them, they would have no choice but to use the Lannister and royal armies to fight against the North.

If King Joffrey's throne is secure and recognized by the other six kingdoms, he can use the combined armies of those six kingdoms to attack the North, thus eliminating the advantage that Bai Ze brought to the North.

"Don't forget about that Bai Ze boss. If we send our family to deal with the Northern Border, we might suffer heavy losses and still fail to defeat them, which would weaken our ability to protect the throne!"

Jaime reminded his beloved sister once again that the North, armed by the White Ze, was no longer a match that the Lannister family could handle.

"We should have found a way to kill him or take him with us before we left the North!"

Cersei still wanted to take advantage of Bai Ze, but Jaime Lannister, who had received weapons from Bai Ze, kept his oath and did not make things too difficult for Ned, successfully getting him to leave King's Landing.

"Give the Grand Secretary an order to send a message to the Seven Kingdoms that our King Robert is dead, and that they shall keep their promise and come to pay homage to the new King, Joffrey I!"

Cersei raised her neck like a proud swan and spoke to the guards.

This is a report from a Lannister redcoat:

"Your Majesty, your brother Tyrion has returned from the North!"

Cersei had no liking for her dwarf brother and pursed her lips without replying to the Red Robe's report.

Jaime, who was standing nearby, was delighted to hear that Tyrion had returned and said:

"Let him in!"

Without his brother's help, he wouldn't have been able to get the sword. Jaime, who was always good to his family, still cared about his brother.

"What happened? How long have I been late? And you've turned King's Landing into this mess!"

On his way there, he learned from his servants about everything that had happened in King's Landing during this time.

Cersei didn't want to talk to her dwarf brother, giving him a disgusted look. Jaime explained to Tyrion the death of King Robert and everything that followed.

At this moment, Emperor Qiao, whose eyes were already blinded by the throne, said with considerable confidence:

"Yes! We can wage war, ordering the other six kingdoms to send troops, with each kingdom contributing at least 10,000 soldiers. At the same time, we should also get the other lords in the North to send troops to jointly attack House Stark!"

"Oh, by the Seven Gods! This idea is absolutely brilliant! At a time like this, you're still thinking of starting a war and inciting other lords to send troops! Hahahaha!"

Tyrion said with a smirk.

“Who gave you permission to be here, you dwarf!” Joffrey roared at him, still remembering the slap Tyrion gave him in the North.

“I don’t think I need your permission to be where I am.” Tyrion shrugged, completely unconcerned about the furious Joffrey.

“I am the king, I have the right to command you, you damned bastard!” Jorge the Great stood up and pointed at Tyrion, shouting insults.

Tyrion, who had been completely unconcerned, heard Joffrey's words and jumped off his chair, walked over to Joffrey, and slapped him across the face.

"Snapped"

A sharp crack rang out in the council chamber. Joffrey looked at Tyrion in disbelief. "You hit me when I was still a prince in the North, and now that I'm the King of the Seven Kingdoms, you still hit me!"

“You’re a complete idiot! If I’m a bastard, then what are your mother and your Uncle Jaime? And what are you?” Tyrion roared, his face dark with rage.

"You dare hit me! I am the king!"

"Snapped!"

With another sharp crack, Tyrion showed no mercy to Joffrey and slapped him across the face again.

Joffrey hadn't expected Tyrion to slap him again; his proud status as king had brought him little dignity.

He covered his face and looked at the people in the hall. Seeing that they seemed indifferent to the matter, the once proud little dog felt as if it had lost its affection and slumped into a chair.

"Someone, take the prince to rest!" Cersei said, looking at Tyrion, who had already sat back down in his chair.

"You don't need to worry about anything else these next few days. Just focus on preparing for your coronation ceremony!"

Cersei looked at Joffrey with eyes full of affection as she spoke. Joffrey, utterly humiliated, turned grim and silently followed the servants out of the council chamber.

"Then let's hear your brilliant ideas. I'm very interested to know how you plan to handle this matter."

After sending Joffrey away, Cersei's doting expression instantly vanished, replaced by disgust and coldness as she glared at Tyrion and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Before we get to other things, I need to tell you about some things in the North."

Before I went to the Wall, you both saw that all the guards and soldiers of Winterfell had changed into the same armor.

The day after I arrived at the Great Wall, some of the veterans there changed their armor and their weapons were standardized.

Weapons forged in ordinary blacksmith shops can be easily cut in two. Given that over a month has passed, can you ascertain how many lords and soldiers in the North loyal to House Stark have changed their armor and weapons?

Tyrion, while drinking, recounted his journey to the Wall and what he saw on the way back to the crowd.

"Our only advantage now is that Joffrey can rightfully inherit the throne, and then we can unite with other nations to put pressure on the North, forcing them to recognize Joffrey's legitimacy and pledge their allegiance!"

Before the kingdoms surrounding the capital are dealt with, the northern border cannot reach here. Moreover, I have discovered that a portion of the northern army is supporting the northward movement of the Great Wall.

So, do we know what happened over there?

As he spoke, Tyrion looked at Varys, the King's intelligence chief, known as "The Spider."

"There is no intelligence yet about anything important happening in the north. It's possible that the North doesn't want us to know. I'm sorry, Your Majesty."

Varys bowed to Queen Cersei without missing a beat.

"Wouldn't it be too easy for the Stark family to just let them go like that? It would be better if we started a war first."

Cersei, being a woman who holds grudges, couldn't let it go unavenged, and angrily roared at Tyrion.

"If we start a war, how many countries will support us? Once the war gets into trouble, other surrounding forces will take the opportunity to intervene, and we will face being besieged."

Tyrion immediately retorted.

"Enough! I will not negotiate with the barbarians of the North. I will not let them go unless they are all dead!"

Queen Cersei has transferred her hatred for Lyanna Stark to the entire North, and Ned Stark, who knows her secret with Jaime, is even more hated by Cersei. She cannot rest easy until she kills them.

"Go and inform the Grand Maester to issue a royal decree to the Seven Kingdoms in the name of the new King Joffrey I, declaring Ned Stark a traitor and announcing his crimes of treason."

At the same time, they assembled troops from the royal domain and the western border, preparing to launch a campaign against the northern border.

Cersei issued commands to the assembled courtiers like a queen.

"I hope you won't regret this!" Tyrion said, looking at his sister who had lost her mind.

"You can get out of the Red Keep now. Don't let me see you in the Red Keep again, or I'll chop off your disgusting head!"

Cersei issued a death warrant for Tyrion without any mercy.

"Alright, Tyrion, let's go. I'll see you out."

Unable to bear it any longer, Jaime Lannister quickly stopped Tyrion, who was about to say something, and pulled him out of the council chamber.

 …

While King's Landing was busy issuing orders, gathering manpower, and sending out the new king's decrees, Ned's fleet arrived at Dragonstone.

Stannis Baratheon was surprised to receive Ned Stark and his nominally deceased brother, King Robert Baratheon.

After learning of the two's deception, Stannis looked at his king brother with a strange expression and said:

“I sensed something was wrong when Eileen died. The chaos in King’s Landing made me leave. I’ve been recruiting soldiers on Dragonstone, and I was looking for an opportunity to bring people back. Now you’ve given me that opportunity!”

"Then await my command. This time, I will send that damned Lannister family to meet the Seven. These bastards have betrayed my trust in them; they do not deserve to live!"

Robert looked at his serious-looking brother and said.

"Then I will inform the southern duchies that the Storm Kingdom and the River Reach Kingdom will not heed the orders of a Lannister bastard!"

Stannis was also furious about what the Lannisters had done in King's Landing.

"Then I'll leave everything in the south to you. Send a letter to Renly the Fool, tell him to stop wandering around King's Landing like an idiot, go back to Storm's End, take charge of our Baratheon army, and await our orders," Robert then instructed Stannis.

"So what about you? Are you still going north?"

Stannis asked doubtfully, assuming Robert would stay.

“There are more important matters at the Wall. If the Lannisters really intend to break the alliance, I will gather the armies of the other nations, have the armies loyal to Baratheon block them in the Riverlands, and then have Renly lead his men to flank them from behind, and find an opportunity to send these beasts to meet the Seven at once!”

Ned picked up where Stannis left off and asked:

"How's your investigation going, about the letter I sent you asking you to investigate whether Dragonstone Island has dragon crystals? Do you find any?"

I sent Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight, to handle this matter. He was originally going north to your Winterfell to see the swords in the swordsman's tavern that rivaled Valyrian steel swords, but after your letter arrived, I stopped him from leaving.

Some black dragon crystals were indeed found in some of the previous dragon caves on Dragon Island, but they were unprocessed and very small. They could be used to forge arrowheads, daggers, or small axe blades, but they were too short to forge swords.

"That's good. We'll use dragon crystals to forge the arrowheads and axe blades. We'll also help you with the sword and blades."

Knowing how extravagant Bai Ze was, Ned wasn't worried about not having enough weapons and equipment. Having dragon crystal weapons was just icing on the cake; he wouldn't lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains.

After discussing their respective tasks and arranging follow-up matters, Ned's fleet resupplyed at Dragonstone and continued its northward journey.