Beast Slayer Online: Initialization
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 167: Steel Against Hollow Flesh
By the time Eddard and Lannor returned to the Hand’s Tower, the once orderly and dignified entrance had become a complete mess.
A horse could never pass through there now. Even walking on foot took effort.
Needless to say, that was Jory Cassel’s handiwork.
Once Eddard returned, he openly praised and rewarded the Guard Detachment Leader for his loyalty and preparation. He also explained the current situation, that they would return to Winterfell in the North and begin summoning the bannermen for war.
In theory, Robert Baratheon, as sovereign of the Seven Kingdoms, should have held overwhelming advantage against a single region like the Westerlands.
But wars were never settled simply by lining armies up in neat rows.
Over the years, nobody knew how many houses Tywin Lannister had bought, controlled, or indebted with the wealth from his gold mines.
Nor did anyone know how many still secretly longed for the old days beneath Targaryen rule.
But everyone understood one thing clearly.
If Robert wanted to defeat the Lannisters, then the enemy standing before him would never be merely Tywin Lannister, Lord of the Westerlands.
That was why Eddard Stark intended to rush back north and gather his armies before the conflict spread across the realm.
“Sansa, you and Arya are staying in King’s Landing. This isn’t a pleasure ride. We’ll be marching hard, and war’s coming.”
As he spoke, Eddard sorted scrolls, documents, and seals across his desk with increasingly hurried movements.
The dragonbone dagger hung at his waist.
Sansa was not stubborn by nature. Usually, once her father gave an order, she obeyed quietly.
She had already lowered her head, ready to agree.
But Eddard did not have only one daughter.
“War?”
Arya’s face first tightened with worry. Unlike Sansa’s fear for herself, Arya had already seen blood and cruelty beside Lannor. She knew what chaos looked like when the world slipped loose from order.
Yet beneath the fear, another light flickered in her eyes.
Restless.
Hungry.
The wolf blood in her had always yearned for adventure.
“Can I come with you?” She grabbed at Eddard’s clothing and pleaded desperately. “I can handle a forced march! I really can! Please, Father! Let me see it!”
But Eddard had long since learned how troublesome his youngest daughter could become.
“Not a chance, Arya. I know exactly how much hardship you’ve endured in your life. A forced march, ambushes on the road, battle, danger, none of it is something I’ll drag you into.”
Once he finished speaking, Eddard turned and left immediately.
Though they intended to travel fast and light, his position still required him to carry too many important things personally.
As he descended from the study, Eddard felt faintly puzzled.
Arya had surrendered far too easily today.
Normally, a refusal like that would buy him at least half an hour of relentless arguing.
But events were moving too quickly for him to dwell on it. The Hand of the King buried the thought and threw himself back into preparations.
“Jory, go to the royal cellars. Help Lannor crate up the dragon bones. They’re his reward from the King. Quickly now, we leave in one hour.”
“Yes, my lord.”
When Eddard had first ridden south from the North with Robert, their caravan had stretched for miles.
Now, stripped down for speed, they numbered barely over twenty riders. Every man rode with spare horses, and a single heavy wagon carried supplies.
And a dragon’s jawbone.
The thing looked monstrous.
Jagged fangs jutted from the wagon like pale spears, the lower edges nearly scraping the ground. Thankfully, dragon bones were strangely light from generations of creatures built for flight, otherwise the weight alone would have crippled their pace.
Even so, the jawbone of the Black Dread, Balerion, occupied more than half the wagon by itself.
The royal cellars still housed the creature’s full skull, but that thing was absurdly huge, large enough to swallow a mammoth whole.
Lannor had already calculated the limits of both their speed and what he himself could transport later.
The jawbone was the limit.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.