Casterly Rock is the gateway to the Westerlands, flanked by steep mountains on both sides, with the castle built at a mountain pass.
Not only is the terrain high and easy to defend but difficult to attack, but it also boasts rich gold mines.
Of course, the gold mines of Casterly Rock belong to the Lannister, and the gold reserves here far exceed those beneath Casterly Rock.
The gold mines of Casterly Rock, the gold mines beneath Casterly Rock, and the Red Gold Mines of the Reyne Family, which Tywin annihilated, all belong to the Lannister Family.
Casterly Rock has a strategic location and thousands of Soldiers, but Tywin did not linger there. He quickly set up the defenses, appointed a commanding general, and then led the remaining Soldiers, who had fled from King's Landing, directly to Casterly Rock.
He knew where he was most needed now: Casterly Rock, the heart of the entire Westerlands.
Only by returning to Casterly Rock could he command the entire Westerlands, organize defenses, and resist foreign enemies.
Leaving Stony Sept, and crossing Casterly Rock, the isolated mountain-like Casterly Rock stone mountain could be seen in the distance.
The two-hundred-foot-high stone mountain sits on the flat coast of the Sunset Sea, with an unobstructed view of the surrounding terrain, like a chess piece placed alone on a chessboard by a Heavenly God, a natural and massive fortress.
Moreover, beneath the Casterly Rock stone mountain is a dock cave where the Lannister can hide their warships, completely safe from storms.
If the Targaryen had such a fortress back then, their fleet would not have been destroyed by a storm, leading to their complete annihilation.
In short, seeing the Casterly Rock stone mountain, Tywin felt a sense of relief, like a lion returning to his territory, finding a place where he could safely lick his wounds.
"Addam," Tywin called out to the bastard.
"My Lord."
"How many people do we have left?"
"We still have over fourteen hundred people."
"And the wounded Soldiers?"
"My Lord, there are no wounded Soldiers. All our wounded Soldiers voluntarily stayed behind at Stony Sept to cover our retreat."
Hearing Addam say this, the light in Tywin's eyes sharpened a bit. He turned to look at the golden-haired Addam and asked, "Voluntarily? How many of them were voluntary?"
Seeing his lie exposed, Addam felt his heart pound. He stammered, "My Lord, some of them couldn't even ride a horse anymore, I—"
"Enough," Tywin interrupted him. "You did well. I don't blame you."
"My Lord, I am willing to accept punishment."
Tywin waved his hand and said, "Go and count the surviving Soldiers. When we return to Casterly Rock, I will personally reward them."
"Yes, My Lord." Addam relaxed and went to carry out the task.
Tywin was not lying; leaving the wounded Soldiers behind was the best option.
But at the same time, he felt a pang of sorrow. A large army of over twenty thousand, plus the Westerlands army led by Jaime, totaled almost forty thousand, and now less than two thousand remained. He felt his heart bleeding.
After two more days of travel, Tywin saw many ravaged villages along the way, and even bodies abandoned by the roadside, left for wild dogs to fight over.
In a daze, he thought he had returned to the Riverlands.
What he had done to the Riverlands people was now being repaid to the Westerlands people, which left a very bitter taste in his mouth.
Tywin clutched his chest, pondering, 'Am I old, and therefore soft-hearted?'
No, it was more than that. All three of his children were now in enemy hands. This lord of casterly rock might become a 'childless old man.'
Before long, Tywin's army arrived at a sizable market town. Just as Winterfell has 'Winter Town' nearby, there are also various towns and villages surrounding a lord's castle-fortress.
Not to mention a powerful and wealthy lord like the Lannister.
The army Tywin had led out of the Westerlands this time was mostly recruited from these towns and farms.
And as Tywin led his army through the town, a crowd of commoners, though cleanly dressed, gathered on both sides of the road with mournful faces.
They were reminding Tywin that this was not a triumphant return.
Suddenly, a child's voice from the crowd asked, "Mother! Where's big brother? Why don't I see big brother?"
The child's voice was like colliding glass cups, clear but also piercing.
Tywin instinctively wanted to turn his head to see where the sound came from but forced himself to resist.
Because he saw more commoners searching for their sons, brothers, and fathers among his troops.
Soon, more people couldn't hold back and shouted at Tywin, "My Lord, is my son still alive? Is he behind your troops?"
"My Lord, where is my husband? Is he injured?"
"My Lord, is my brother alright? He's a spearman, and good with a bow. He said you praised him."
"My Lord—"
With each question from the Westerlands commoners, Tywin felt another brick pressing down on his shoulders. One after another, the invisible bricks piled higher and higher, and he felt his back was about to give out.
Just then, Tywin heard someone respond from the ranks.
"Mama! I'm here!"
It was a young voice, and this call made countless longing mothers crane their necks, but in the end, only one had her wish fulfilled.
Tywin quickly glanced at the embracing mother and son. He thought of his brother Kevan.
They had been brothers their whole lives. Kevan's wife, Dorna, might be in Casterly Rock now. How was he to face Dorna?
Finally, Tywin could no longer maintain the dignity of a lord. He spurred his horse, and the warhorse understood, breaking into a gallop towards Casterly Rock—
By the time Tywin reached the foot of the Casterly Rock stone mountain, it was already afternoon.
But by then, the acting lord of casterly rock, Damion Lannister, had already prepared a welcoming ceremony for the true lord of casterly rock.
Damion was a collateral branch of the Lannister Family, about ten years younger than Tywin, and also appeared to be a shrewd and capable man.
Guarding the castle with Damion was Davon, the son of Tywin's cousin.
Davon's face was covered with a golden beard. He grew it to show his resolve, to avenge his father who died in the Riverlands.
In addition, there was Damon, who also took responsibility for the safety of Casterly Rock.
The Lannister are a large Family; they do not need to entrust crucial positions like castle steward or captain of the guard to outsiders, unlike the Stark or Arryn Family.
Everyone serving in Casterly Rock had golden hair.
Looking at these Lannister, Tywin's face tightened even more. Take Davon, for instance; he had not only lost his father, but even his two younger brothers were now locked in the dungeons of Riverrun.
Led by Damion, everyone saluted Tywin. After the salute, Damon looked up and said, "My Lord, please lead us so that the Lannister can overcome this crisis! We will surely exact this blood debt from the Stark and the pirates of the Iron Islands!"
"My Lord, please lead us to reclaim the blood debt!" Damion also stepped forward and said.
"Please, My Lord, lead us to reclaim the blood debt!"
Led by the two men, everyone saluted Tywin again, like a pride of lions bowing to their king.
Seeing everyone's declarations, Tywin felt strength returning to his heart. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said to the many golden-haired people before him, "Casterly Rock, never falls! We are going home!"
The Lannister began to advance towards Casterly Rock on the stone mountain.
As mentioned earlier, Casterly Rock is a castle carved into a stone mountain, almost integrated with the entire mountain.
Along the way, arrow towers built at various tricky angles could be seen. Especially in places with extreme elevation differences, successive Lannister had made them even steeper, only allowing passage when a drawbridge was lowered.
And such drawbridges could be encountered almost every few steps.
Such a castle fortress had almost no flaws; its only drawback was that the stone mountain was too high to dig wells.
But that was also not an issue; being located by the sea, constant rainfall could replenish their water supply.
What the Lannister loved to boast about most was that one of Aegon the Conqueror's wives, Visenya, upon seeing the grandeur and tight defenses of Casterly Rock, said that it was fortunate the King of the Rock surrendered at the time, for if they had to attack by force, even Dragonfire might have been powerless. They used this to prove to the world that no one could conquer Casterly Rock.
Of course, whether it was true or not is unknown.
Finally, everyone climbed to a relatively flat area.
Tywin saw the wide steps and the grand gate carved with a roaring lion.
They would have to pass through the lion's mouth to enter Casterly Rock.
In fact, this gate only took its current form over two hundred years ago. Perhaps a Lannister ancestor who visited Dragonstone at the time wanted to imitate a Targaryen castle.
Tywin looked up and saw the clear blue sky. Compared to King's Landing, home felt much better.
The air was fresh, the path beneath their feet was clean, and everything in sight was a vibrant yellow.
Soon, everyone passed through the Golden Corridor, which was literally a corridor made of gold leaf.
The bas-reliefs on the corridor depicted the glorious history of the Lannister Family.
From their ancestor 'Lann the Clever' conquering the Casterly Family to the present, thousands of years of history.
The gold spent on this corridor alone was almost equivalent to Casterly Rock's annual tax revenue.
Everyone continued forward and arrived at the Lannister Family's Hall of Heroes.
In the Hall of Heroes, hundreds of sets of armor were neatly arranged, with all damaged parts repaired with gold.
These were the armors worn by Lannister ancestors, as if molten gold flowed through the Lannister bodies.
Tywin specifically chose this place for the meeting, as if to receive the blessings of his ancestors.
"Tell me, how can the Lannister overcome this crisis?" Tywin said to the assembled Lannister.
At this point, the former acting lord, Damion, stepped forward and said, "My Lord, the Lannister have thrived in the Westerlands for over a thousand years; the Westerlands only recognize us. Although Stannis succeeded by chance with that bastard, his own strength has been severely depleted. I think we might first offer a sum of gold to ransom our Family members, and at most, waive the loans to the Crown. Perhaps Stannis would accept negotiations." Seeing Damon about to speak, Damion continued, "Of course, My Lord, I am speaking of a bloodless solution. For the Lannister, gold is as precious as blood, but if it comes to war, we are not afraid! Casterly Rock is inherently easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Casterly Rock is like an insurmountable chasm; Stannis will absolutely not be able to break in!"
The more seasoned Damion analyzed the possible consequences of choosing between war and peace for everyone.
At this point, Davon spoke, "My Lord, Stannis is also exhausted now, but peace is not begged for; it can only be won with iron and blood. We can continue to conscript Soldiers and fight them!
We must let them know that we Lannister merely haven't won yet, not that we have lost!"
"Yes! We just haven't won yet, which doesn't mean we've lost!" Many echoed his sentiment.
At this time, despite not having won the war and having paid a heavy price, the Lannister were still full of confidence.
The Westerlands and Casterly Rock provided them with an extremely high baseline. The North and Riverlands had been fighting for over half a year and were already exhausted.
Stannis's Stormlands also suffered heavy losses, and his most relied-upon fleet was burned to ashes.
Even if the House Tyrell negotiated with him, they certainly wouldn't provide men or effort.
In their view, the worst outcome was merely closing their gates and living their lives; there was nothing to fear.
Confirming that the Lannister currently had no intention of surrendering, Tywin's resolve secretly strengthened. He said, "Damon, immediately gather and train another ten thousand Soldiers. Recruit all available free riders and warriors at double the price."
"Yes, My Lord."
"Damion, summon the Westerlands nobles again. Have them conduct a second conscription and training, then send one-third of the Soldiers to Casterly Rock and one-third to Casterly Rock."
"Yes, My Lord."
"Davon, raise supplies, gold, and food for us. Also, have all our gold mines increase their excavation efforts. In the coming months, gold production must double!"
"Yes, My Lord!"
As command after command was issued, Tywin once again felt like the lord of casterly rock.
After everyone left, he returned to his room. Through the window, Tywin could directly see the Sunset Sea. The golden sun gradually sank into the sea, casting dappled golden light upon the surface.
"So beautiful."
Tywin sighed, watching the gulls rise and fall. He suddenly thought of his wife, Joanna.
Suddenly, Tywin let out a wry laugh.
His father, Tytos, was known as the 'Laughing Lion.' He would never get angry no matter how he was offended, and he made many ridiculous investments, all of which ended in total loss.
Joanna, look at me now. I'm actually worse than my father. Not only have three million gold dragons been thrown into the sea, but even our three children—
Over three million gold dragons, an army of over thirty thousand, three children—these cold numbers seemed to mock Tywin's incompetence.
But this hero soon recovered his composure. He looked through the window at the distant horizon, which showed a slight curve—a beautiful sight only visible from a certain height.
Ordinary castles would only see a flat horizon in the distance.
The stone mountain beneath Casterly Rock was the reason this castle would never fall.
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