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The screams and killing outside made Black Walder stop in the middle of what he was doing in bed with his cousin, Fair Walda.
"Damn it. Something has happened at the Twins. Hide in the room!"
Black Walder's short, sturdy naked body sprang quickly out of bed. He pulled on his clothes in a hurry, gave his cousin the order, grabbed his sword, and rushed outside.
As the commander responsible for guarding the Twins' southern castle, Black Walder usually found holding the southern castle dull.
Today, because of the ruby he had pocketed, all kinds of desires had stirred in him. Most of the family was in the feast hall, so he had taken the chance to drag his cousin away for a private diversion.
And at exactly that moment, the Twins, peaceful for centuries, had come under attack.
Black Walder hurried to the third-floor terrace, from which he could see the southern castle. By the light of braziers set along the bridge, he observed the situation.
A group of soldiers in Seagard armor, accompanied by a monstrous white giant wolf, had already attacked to the middle of the bridge, beneath the northern castle. Two or three hundred Frey soldiers were doing their best to stop their advance.
'A giant wolf?'
Seagard had already submitted to House Stark. It had never submitted to the Twins.
'But why is it white? The rumors said it was blood-red, or gray.'
When Black Walder saw the white giant wolf, his first reaction was that Seagard had betrayed them long ago and used the gift to feign surrender.
Rumble!
Just as he was deciding whether to join the fight, the muffled thunder of hooves came from the direction of the southern castle.
Because of the night, Black Walder could not see clearly, but the long line of torches was swiftly approaching the Twins.
'The Twins are finished.'
Black Walder knew that to side with House Lannister, his family had thrown nearly everything into sending five thousand men to join the Westerlands army. Only around five hundred guards remained in the whole Twins.
If they relied on the strong northern and southern castles, those men would have been enough to defend. But now the enemy had entered the castle's interior. With the strength the Freys still had, it was impossible to drive them back.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Black Walder decisively headed downstairs toward Lord Walder's chamber.
Everyone in the Twins knew that Lord Walder trusted none of his children. All the truly valuable wealth was hidden in his room.
Because Lord Walder was too old and long troubled by gout, making movement difficult, he had moved the lord's chamber from the top of the northern castle down to the second floor.
Black Walder quickly descended the stairs. Just as he was about to run toward the lord's chamber to the left of the stairway, his left ear caught the sound of something heavy cutting through the air. Instinctively, he ducked and rolled to the right.
Thanks to his short, stocky build, and because the attack had aimed slightly high, a single-edged axe bit hard into the stone wall of the stairs with a sharp sound.
Black Walder rolled twice, immediately steadied himself, and stood, looking ahead.
He saw the tall, armored Lord Jason slowly pulling the axe free from the stone wall. The friendly smile he had worn in daylight was gone. His face now held only cold murderous intent, made all the more frightening by the lamps along the corridor.
"Lord Jason, were you not supposed to be in the feast hall? Heh heh, do you also want that old thing's wealth?
"I cannot carry it all alone. Why not let me go in first and choose what I want? Everything I cannot take can be yours."
Without the usual pressure of status, Black Walder showed no respect for Lord Walder at all and made Jason an offer.
Black Walder was famously lustful. In the Twins, rumors had long said he had intimate relations with many women of the family, including cousins, aunts, and the wives of men close to him.
Some even whispered that Lord Walder's seventh wife, Annara Farring, had shared an unusual relationship with him.
"Heh. How could I let you in? Everything inside belongs to the King in the North.
"You have only two choices now. Keep fighting me, or take the time you still have to mount a horse and flee the Twins."
Lord Jason sneered and rejected his proposal without hesitation. He swung the axe twice, a weapon he had temporarily picked up after being disarmed upon entering the castle.
By rights, Lord Jason should have been in the feast hall, eating and drinking. But he had been calculating the time in his heart all along. After using the excuse of needing to relieve himself, he quietly came to the second-floor terrace to observe.
At just that moment, Bloodwind broke out of the sculpture, throwing the Frey soldiers of the northern castle into chaos.
With the castle under attack, the important members of House Frey, including Lord Walder, were all in the feast hall.
The remaining hundred or so Frey soldiers layered themselves around the feast hall to protect them, leaving no time to search for Lord Jason.
The gold and gems on the twin-tower sculpture he had offered had all been provided by the King in the North. He had watched Lord Walder order servants to place them in his room.
Since the clever Lord Jason had chosen to serve House Tully and House Stark, he naturally wanted to win greater benefits for his own house.
So he worried that someone might plunder this wealth, which already belonged to the King in the North, in the chaos of the attack. Alone with an axe, he guarded the second-floor corridor.
Seeing that Lord Jason could not be persuaded, the smile in Black Walder's eyes changed. He gripped his sword tightly and rushed at him.
Clang, clang, clang!
The two men fought directly in the dim second-floor corridor. The heavily built Lord Jason swung his axe with great force, striking again and again against Black Walder's sword, which was not weak either.
In the dim corridor, the fierce collision of steel rang out continuously, accompanied by brief sparks, beautiful and deadly.
Lord Jason had spent years fighting the ironborn and had rich battle experience.
From the start, his axe attacks came one after another. Relying on his tall frame, he kept chopping downward with the axe, gradually making it difficult for Black Walder to defend.
Seeing that the situation was bad, Black Walder suddenly poured all his strength into lifting his sword and knocking the axe aside. Then he turned and ran toward the stairs.
But turning his back to Lord Jason was not wise.
Rip!
Lord Jason swung down hard with his right hand, chopping at the fleeing Black Walder. Before Black Walder could escape the range, the axe blade carved a deep bloody line across his right shoulder.
Black Walder let out a short, sharp cry, but he had no time to care about the wound. Without looking back, he ran down the stairs.
Rumble!
Clutching his bleeding right shoulder, Black Walder reached the northern castle gate. He was about to find several Frey soldiers to go upstairs and cut that damned Lord Jason to pieces.
Then he saw, coming from the southern castle, lines of enemy cavalry advancing eight abreast. They were heavy cavalry, armored together with their horses.
Ting, ting, ting!
Most crossbow bolts fired by the Frey soldiers bounced off them. A few stuck in their tin-can-like plate armor, only to lose much of their force and be stopped by the inner armor.
Bang, bang, bang!
The heavy cavalry, each with a torch in one hand and a lance in the other, charged into the Frey formation, knocking aside every soldier who dared stand before their horses, breaking bones and sending men flying.
Rip!
Under the impact of the heavy cavalry, the nearly three hundred Frey soldiers collapsed directly. Men were harvested one after another by lances held one-handed by the riders. Blood splashed in the night, and more corpses kept appearing on the ground.
Thud, thud, thud!
Some Frey soldiers, forced into a dead end, jumped straight from the bridge into the dark, swift Green Fork.
Of course, compared with standing still and waiting to die, they might survive if they could swim well and were lucky enough.
For centuries, House Frey had been one of the richest and most powerful families along the Trident.
After losing the strong castle they were so proud of, they gave a vivid demonstration of what it meant to lose even if the enemy fought with one hand tied.
"If you do not want to die, follow me!"
Seeing the situation, Black Walder could no longer covet Lord Walder's wealth. He shouted to the routed Frey soldiers around him and immediately ran toward the northern castle stables, holding his right shoulder.
Twenty or thirty routed Frey soldiers had no other choice. They followed Black Walder toward the stables.
While the heavy cavalry slaughtered at will before the northern castle, Black Walder and the others opened the gate on the other side of the northern castle, mounted horses, and fled toward the kingsroad.
After escaping the Twins, Black Walder had already tied cloth tightly around his wounded right shoulder to stop the bleeding.
He looked back at the long line of torches along the bridge of the Twins, then without reluctance led these remaining Frey soldiers toward Riverrun.
Riverrun was his only choice, because his father Lame Lothar and his grandfather Stevron Frey had taken twenty-five hundred Frey soldiers to join the Westerlands army and were besieging Riverrun.
"Ah!"
When the screams outside the northern castle feast hall finally died down, Lord Walder, seated at the high table, understood in his heart that his family had lost.
Creak!
Step, step, step!
The heavy oak doors were opened from outside. Lines of heavily armored warriors in full plate, kite shields in hand, quickly occupied the entrance to the feast hall.
Inside the hall, many women of House Frey trembled and huddled together. Lacking the courage to die, they only hoped to survive whatever would follow.
"Cough. You fools, lower those crossbows. Is there any use in them now? They will only make you die more miserably."
Lord Walder, who had lived more than ninety years, still understood the situation clearly. Seeing his sons and grandsons raise crossbows as if preparing to attack, he turned his head and scolded them loudly.
"Ah! Monster!"
"What is that?"
Just as he was rebuking his children and grandchildren, the women in the feast hall cried out together. Lord Walder immediately turned toward the front.
A terrifying giant wolf, taller than the largest warhorse, slipped into the feast hall. Its smooth gray fur gleamed, and its eyes were intelligent and cold.
White mist kept spilling from its mouth as it padded forward between the heavily armored warriors standing on either side of the doors.
Shuffle, shuffle!
As it entered the hall, all the Frey women hastily moved back, crowding beneath Lord Walder's raised seat.
Gulp.
The male members of House Frey standing on the second level with crossbows in hand had no idea whether to put down their weapons and surrender or show bravery before Lord Walder.
On the left side of the second level, a tall, somewhat stooped bald man around fifty years old grew so nervous that his finger trembled and pulled the crossbow trigger.
The bolt struck the floor in front of Bloodwind's left paw, the tail still quivering. Feeling that he had been attacked, the giant wolf growled softly. His eyes fixed on the bald man on the second level, and his huge body slowly gathered low.
Bloodwind's thick, muscular limbs suddenly exerted force. His crouched body shot out like a released sling.
Because of his own weight, Bloodwind could not leap too high. But relative to his enormous size, a light jump was enough to reach the feast hall's second level.
Crack!
Bloodwind's powerful body smashed through the wooden railing of the second level. His jaws accurately seized the man who had attacked him.
Then his enormous body turned with an agility completely at odds with its size. He kicked off the left wall of the hall and leapt back to where he had stood.
"Ah! Help! Father, save me!"
In Bloodwind's mouth was Lord Walder's fourth son, Jared Frey. He was caught around the waist in the wolf's jaws. The exceptionally sharp teeth bit shallowly into his body, making him scream for help again and again.
Lord Walder looked at the terrifying giant wolf holding his son. His mouth opened, but he did not know what to say. He could not very well speak to a wolf and tell it to let the man go.
Tap, tap, tap!
Footsteps sounded at the entrance to the feast hall. A young man in Seagard armor, with auburn hair and a smile on his face, was the first to enter.
When the heavily armored warriors saw him arrive, they immediately brought their feet together, straightened their bodies, and saluted in unison.
The young man at the front stopped beside the terrifying giant wolf. Behind him, a handsome youth opened his mouth and shouted,
"This is Robb Stark of House Stark, King in the North, Lord of the Bloodwolf, and the Lawmaker!
"House Frey of the Twins, who betrayed the oath it swore to its liege, kneel at once and await his judgment!"
The title Lawmaker came from Robb's personal execution of hundreds of men who had violated military law and discipline in Lannisport. The twenty or thirty thousand northern soldiers had given it to him together.
Though most of those killed had been ironborn, all northern soldiers had felt Robb's strict demands regarding military law and discipline.
After all, even his father Eddard had not been able to stop his own fighters from acting wantonly after victory.
When Robb learned he had somehow gained another title, he merely smiled. Still, the title came at the right time. The young king was already planning to announce many new laws later to strengthen the North.
Back to the present.
The moment Crey finished speaking, the terrified Frey women were the first to kneel, lowering themselves to Robb.
On the second level of the feast hall, the many sons and grandsons of Lord Walder exchanged glances, hurriedly put down their crossbows, and knelt on the floor as well.
"Lord Walder, you..."
"Ah!"
Robb looked around the feast hall where the Red Wedding had occurred in his previous life. He had just turned to speak to the only man still seated, Lord Walder, when Jared, caught in Bloodwind's jaws, cried out from sudden pain and cut him off.
The corner of Robb's mouth twitched. He gathered his emotions, smiled, and spoke again. "Walder..."
"Ah!"
Whether because of Bloodwind's wicked sense of humor or not, Jared screamed again the moment Robb opened his mouth.
"Bloodwind, too noisy."
Having been interrupted twice, Robb frowned and complained to Bloodwind.
Pfft!
Bloodwind might have been waiting for exactly those words. His jaws suddenly closed. Under that terrifying bite force, Jared was cut in half like a man under a headsman's blade. Blood splashed across the floor.
"Ah!"
One Frey woman kneeling on the ground saw the bloody, brutal scene and screamed. But she suddenly remembered that Jared had died because he was too noisy.
She immediately bit her lip tightly and held her breath, not daring to make another sound. Bright red blood slowly flowed from the corner of her mouth.
"Lord Walder, do you not intend to submit to me?"
This time, no one dared interrupt again. Robb looked at Lord Walder, whose face had turned terrifyingly dark, and asked.
"Heh. Whether I submit or not, you do not intend to spare my life. What difference is there?"
Lord Walder, old enough to have taken eight wives, fathered more than thirty legitimate children, and countless bastards, stared at Robb without fear.
"Hah. Clever. You are right. Today you will certainly die here, and it should be rather dramatic."
Hearing him, Robb laughed softly, swept his eyes around the feast hall, and directly announced his judgment on Lord Walder.
Though he had guessed he would die, hearing Robb say it so directly crushed Lord Walder's last hope.
Furious, he roared at Robb, "Then why waste words? Do it, little wolf pup. Tywin Lannister will avenge me. You think you can fight him?
"I curse you. Before long, you will die in King's Landing, just like your father!"
Clap, clap, clap!
Listening to Lord Walder's venomous words, Robb laughed instead of growing angry, and even clapped for him.
"Good. Only now do I know that House Frey has such backbone."
Robb paused, then looked up at the sons and grandsons of Lord Walder kneeling on the second floor, only their heads visible beyond the railing. His voice turned cold.
"Since that is the case, every male Frey taller than my knee is to be beheaded."
The moment Robb said this, the Frey men in the hall burst into uproar.
Some knew they were doomed and turned ashen. Others reached toward the crossbows they had abandoned, preparing to fight to the death.
"Except..."
Robb's voice rang out again in the hall, seeming to offer the Frey men a thread of hope.
Watching their expressions all along, Robb sneered disdainfully and continued, "Except the man who personally kills Lord Walder. He will become the new lord of the Twins."
"Hahaha! Little wolf pup, you want them to commit kinslaying? What do you take House Frey for?
"We may not be great warriors, but our loyalty to family is beyond question."
When Robb finished, the feast hall fell into dead silence. Lord Walder laughed loudly and praised his family's unity.
A crossbow bolt shot from the second level and struck Lord Walder in the left cheek, freezing his laughter on his face.
Lord Walder had not yet felt the pain. He looked toward the source of the bolt.
It was his twelfth son, Lothar Frey.
Lothar had been born with one crippled leg and was called Lame Lothar. Lord Walder had overruled objections and made him family steward for twelve years, winning recognition from the members of House Frey.
Yet now this son had betrayed him and killed his own father.
Perhaps worried that the first bolt would not be fatal, Lothar reloaded his crossbow. This time, after careful aim, he shot a bolt into Lord Walder's brow, finishing him himself.
Looking at Lord Walder, slain by his own son, Robb murmured, "In my previous life, I died here through betrayal. In this life, you die here through betrayal. Is that not dramatic?"
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