The moment the Gold Cloaks burst into the hall, Aedric opened his eyes, steady and cold. He reached out to pull Arya close, his hand gently rubbing her trembling back. The captain of the Gold Cloaks strode forward, his voice flat and emotionless.
"Arya Stark. You're coming with us. Your father wants to see you."
"Where is Lord Stark? And why would he send Lannister men to summon Lady Arya?" one of the Stark guards demanded sharply before Aedric could answer. Aedric stayed silent, focusing only on calming the teary-eyed girl in his arms.
"This is an order from His Majesty the King! Do the Starks mean to defy royal command?!" barked the Gold Cloak captain. Though surprised to see so many of Stark's remaining guards gathered in one place, he was confident — he had over fifty men under his command. There was no tension in his tone, only arrogance. He drew his sword with a metallic ring.
Only Arya was to be taken alive. Everyone else… had already been marked for death.
Aedric looked down at Arya. His voice was steady as a drawn blade.
"Arya. Look at me. Breathe. Think about everything you've trained for these past months. Now is the time to see the results."
He released her and pointed at the captain.
"Kill that man. Let them remember — the House of Stark is not to be humiliated."
One of the guards blurted out in horror, "What are you saying? Lady Arya can't possibly—"
"Silence."
The single word, charged with Aedric's internal energy, struck like a thunderclap. The sound reverberated through the room, shaking the very air. Every guard behind him felt their vision blur, their heads spin, and their voices die in their throats.
After four months of relentless cultivation, Aedric had advanced his Postnatal Inner Core Skill to the fifth level. His control over internal force was already profound — enough to channel a sound wave attack that stunned without harming, carefully avoiding Arya and the enemy soldiers.
Re-centered by the command, Arya took a long breath, wiped away her tears, and stepped forward. Her eyes had gone cold.
She drew her twin blades — Frost and Moonlight.
The captain's eyes lit up greedily. "Fine swords," he muttered, recognizing their worth instantly. They gleamed with the kind of craftsmanship that rivaled Valyrian steel. "So the little wolf girl carries treasures like these? No wonder nobles think themselves above everyone else."
He smirked, raising his blade. "Enough talk. Stop struggling and come along. His Majesty is—"
His words cut off. Literally.
His head fell before his sentence could finish.
Arya had blurred forward like lightning — left sword cleaving through his leg, right sword flashing in a single smooth arc across his throat. The two movements flowed together seamlessly, a perfect expression of her Jade Maiden Twin-Sword Technique.
For a moment, the hall was utterly silent.
The others hadn't even processed what had happened before the captain's body collapsed, twitching once or twice before going still. Only a few seconds later did blood finally well up from the wound, spilling darkly across the floor.
Steel armor offered no protection. Against blades forged in the wuxia world, ordinary iron was no sturdier than tofu.
Aedric smiled faintly. Rising from his chair, he picked up the True Martial Sword, slowly unsheathing it. The sound of metal whispering against the scabbard was soft and deadly.
"Since you're here," he murmured, voice calm as death, "none of you need to leave. My old friend here has been hungry for quite some time — let's feed him."
And then he moved.
If Arya's attack had been as swift as a leaping hare, Aedric's strike was like a phantom storm. His figure flickered in and out of sight — every flash of silver light marking another Gold Cloak's death. None even had time to cry out.
Killing in a confined space was almost too easy. In the narrow hall, with furniture and pillars all around, his Lightness Skill allowed him to twist and vanish between shadows, faster than any mortal could track.
By the time the stunned Stark guards thought to draw their own swords, it was already over.
All fifty Gold Cloaks lay dead.
Only one man — a trembling lieutenant — remained standing, his sword shaking in his hand.
Aedric stepped forward, slicing the blade cleanly in half with one flick of his wrist, then kicked the man so hard he rolled across the floor. Before the man could rise, Aedric's sword tip rested against his throat.
"I'll ask. You'll answer. No nonsense. For every extra word, I cut once. Understand?"
The lieutenant nodded frantically, eyes wide with terror.
"Is Lord Stark still alive?"
"Yes! Yes! Lord Stark is alive!" the man babbled. "He's been arrested for treason — they've locked him in the dungeons of the Red Keep!"
"You lie! My father would never betray the King!" Arya shouted, fury blazing in her eyes. "It's Joffrey — that bastard! He framed him!"
Aedric gave her a helpless side glance. Thanks for that, he thought wryly. Now I'm a bastard by association.
"Where is Sansa Stark?"
"I—I don't know! I swear I don't! I haven't seen her!" the lieutenant sobbed. "If I did, I'd tell you! Please, spare me!"
"Sorry. Can't."
A flick of the wrist. A soft shhhk. The man's plea ended with a wet gasp as he collapsed beside his fallen comrades.
"Everyone — mount up. We're leaving King's Landing. Now."
Knowing the Red Keep would soon dispatch reinforcements, Aedric sheathed his sword, seized Arya's hand, and turned toward the door.
"But, my lord," one of the guards stammered, "Lord Stark and Lady Sansa are still in the palace. If we leave now—"
Aedric's hand snapped out, clamping around the man's throat. He lifted him effortlessly with one arm, eyes cold as iron.
"I said now. Did you not understand me?"
With a flick of his arm, he hurled the man aside like a rag doll. The guard slammed into another soldier, both sprawling across the floor.
No one else dared speak.
Without another glance back, Aedric tightened his grip on Arya's hand and strode swiftly out of the hall.
Behind them, the corpses of the Gold Cloaks lay in crimson silence — a grim offering to the true beginning of the war.
~~--------------------------
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