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#462 - Chapter 196: Truce and Alliance

At this moment, Cersei was furious, her whole body trembling, as if she wanted to burst forth with all her anger. She gnashed her teeth and cursed, "That despicable Targaryen bitch! And those damned dragons! Where the hell is Euron?" Her words were filled with resentment and unwillingness.

Victarion, standing beside her with a grave expression, slowly said, "To be honest, I truly did not expect dragons to possess such terrifying power. Had I known this beforehand, I would never have allowed Euron to come here and risk himself. It's a pity that Euron's whereabouts are unknown; he may be dead, or he may be with those who forcibly landed. In my opinion, you might as well send people to search carefully in the area south of the Kingswood."

Hearing this, Cersei clenched her teeth tightly, her heart filled with endless anger and disappointment, as if a storm had been stirred up. She found it hard to accept this cruel reality. The Iron Fleet, which had always been regarded as invincible by the Seven Kingdoms, had been defeated in the battle with the Targaryen fleet, and had suffered heavy losses; what worried her even more was that Euron's life and death were now uncertain.

However, despite the turmoil in her heart, Cersei, as the queen of the country, knew that she had a heavy responsibility on her shoulders. She suppressed the anger in her heart and decisively ordered, "The matter of finding Euron will be left to my confidants. As for you, you must race against time to repair the damaged ships and quickly gather your forces. Once everything is ready, immediately devote yourselves to the defense of King's Landing. Remember, we are now allies and should work together to resist the threat posed by the Dragon Queen!" Cersei's words were forceful and her eyes were firm.

Victarion nodded slightly, indicating that he would do his best. He knew very well that if the Ironborn who had come from afar lost the Iron Fleet, the road home would be遥遥无期. Moreover, most of the supplies had been lost, and even eating was difficult to guarantee. There was no other way but to submit to the Queen Mother before him.

Cersei immediately turned and left the cabin, returning to the Red Keep. Her mood was extremely heavy. The defeat of the Iron Fleet had undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to her prestige, after all, the alliance with the Iron Islands had been fully promoted by her.

At this moment, she deeply realized that the situation was becoming more and more critical, and what worried her was whether the Dragon Queen would launch an attack in advance. However, this matter was not without its benefits. At least, the relationship between herself and the Iron Islands had changed. From former allies to vassals, one could get a glimpse of this from Victarion's attitude. These Ironborn were all brave warriors, and in this way, she had unknowingly controlled thousands of powerful combat forces.

On the way, Cersei thought about her subsequent plans. She decided to have Qyburn send more spies to gather information about Daenerys and her army. At the same time, she would intensify the training of her own army to prepare for the possible war.

After Cersei returned to the Red Keep, she immediately summoned the ministers to discuss countermeasures. She knew that with the military strength of King's Landing alone, it would be difficult to resist the Dragon Queen's attack, and she had to find more allies.

In that tense and important meeting, the atmosphere was so heavy that even the air seemed to be frozen. Everyone sat around, their eyes fixed on Tommen, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Cersei cleared her throat and slowly said, "Gentlemen, I think it's time to stop the war in the south. The long and fierce war with Storm's End has consumed a lot of our precious troops and supplies. In my opinion, we should try to negotiate peace with Aegon VI of Storm's End. After all, we are now facing a common and powerful enemy."

Hearing this, the young King Tommen couldn't help frowning and asked suspiciously, "However, Aegon of Storm's End and Daenerys both come from the Targaryen family, and Daenerys is his aunt. In this case, is it really feasible for them to turn around and work with us?"

Kevan, who was on the side, calmly analyzed, "The struggle for power has always been cruel and ruthless, especially within the Targaryen family, where infighting is often exceptionally fierce. Just think back to the Dance of the Dragons and several Blackfyre Rebellions, and you will know the stakes involved. Now, Daenerys has an absolute advantage. If Aegon wants to save himself, he is very likely to choose to ally with us."

Tommen pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly in agreement: "Since everyone has no objection to this, let's send an envoy to Storm's End for peace talks. In this way, we can end the war in the south as soon as possible, so as to draw more elite troops back to King's Landing to strengthen our defenses. At the same time, Highgarden can also free up its hands to deal with other potential threats." With that, he turned his gaze to Queen Margaery, who was beside him, and her brother, Willas Tyrell.

Margaery returned a faint smile and said softly, "Well, this is indeed a good strategy, but the question is, who should we send? After all, the chosen envoy must have a certain status and prestige in order to fully demonstrate our sincerity." With that, her beautiful and deep eyes slowly swept over the ministers in front of the meeting, as if expecting them to give a satisfactory answer.

At this moment, Cersei's eyes rolled slightly, a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and then she said, "In my opinion, this matter may as well be handled by the Grand Maester! You know, Grand Maester Pycelle has been working diligently in our Red Keep for thirty years! Back then, he served five kings in succession, and his qualifications in the Small Council can be said to be the most profound. What's more, he is now also the Minister of Finance of the kingdom, and his status and position are just right." In fact, Cersei had long been dissatisfied with this old guy. Since Tywin's death, Pycelle's position had become quite questionable. Not only did he repeatedly offer slanderous advice to Tommen in private, but he also made Cersei feel deeply uneasy. This was a good opportunity to send him away.

Hearing this, everyone invariably focused their attention on Pycelle.

The Grand Maester stood up tremblingly, his face full of sorrow as he argued, "Your Majesty, I am already 88 years old, please forgive me for being old and frail, I am really unable to withstand such a long and arduous journey! I am afraid that my old bones will fall apart on the road, and I may not be able to fulfill such an important mission! I implore Your Majesty to choose another virtuous person to take on this responsibility." His words were full of fatigue and helplessness. He was not stupid. Since he had decided to turn against Cersei, he would inevitably suffer revenge from her.

Margaery lightly raised the corners of her mouth and said slowly, "I deeply agree with what the Queen Mother said. Within the Red Keep today, it is really difficult to find a more suitable person than Grand Maester Pycelle. With your wisdom, you will surely be able to successfully persuade Aegon and promote peaceful coexistence between the two sides. I am willing to send twenty Tyrell guards to protect you, and you can also travel in my carriage." After saying that, Margaery thought to herself, this old guy is really extremely annoying, just a weathercock.