The capital of the Seven Kingdoms: King's Landing. The core center of power: the Red Keep. The residence of the King and Queen: Maegor Tower.
Jenny saw the Mega Tower up close for the first time.
This is a city within a city.
Maeger I, the third Targaryen king, succeeded his half-brother Aeneas Targaryen I after his death and then built this city within a city.
Mega Tower was very tall, protected on all four sides by towering and wide city walls, which in turn were protected by a wide and deep moat. The moat had dried up, and Jenny could see that the bottom of the moat was covered with black spikes. They were multi-faceted spikes made of sharp black iron, used to prevent people from approaching the city walls from the dried-up riverbed.
Led by Minister Varys, Jenny and the Mountain, along with their adopted daughter Julie, the freckled archer Anguill, and Clegane's four knights: Bighead Chiswick, neurotic Polliver, sweet-talking Ralph, and executioner Dunson.
Apart from Varys and the Mountain, none of the rest of the group had ever come into close contact with Maegor, let alone had the opportunity to enter Maegor.
Varys stood by the moat, waving and calling out to the city walls, as the drawbridge slowly and steadily lowered. At the end of the drawbridge, two Kingsguard members stood in white robes, followed by two rows of guards in gold robes.
Varys led the way, followed by Jenny, Julie, the Mountain, and Angey, with the four Clegane Knights behind them as they walked onto the drawbridge.
On the other side of the suspension bridge, the two guards were the young and handsome Alex Ochhurst and the ugly, bowlegged Boros Braun.
"Mountain, put down your sword!" Alex said sternly. His tone was unfriendly, but his gaze was mostly fixed on Angay, who carried a longbow. This kid is an unparalleled archer, with a bright future ahead of him, so why would he follow the Mountain? It makes no sense at all!
Varys was worried that Alex's sense of authority and superiority would anger the Mountain, but the Mountain showed no displeasure. The Mountain took off his greatsword and handed it to Alex. Palos, with his splayed legs, took the sword. As soon as he got the greatsword, his arms sank down and he stumbled.
Angai chuckled. Polifer let out a giggle. Sweet-talking Ralph smiled.
Palos blushed and loudly rebuked the two groups of men in gold robes. The guards then stepped forward and took Angui's longbow and quiver, as well as the longswords of Clegane's four knights.
The group disarmed themselves, crossed the drawbridge, and entered the city gate.
Jenny and Julie looked up, looked up, and looked up again, before they could see the pointed spire of the Mega Tower.
The tower's windows are tall, narrow, and framed with gold.
The stone buildings are carved with intricate and beautiful patterns.
Outside the gate was a brightly colored, exquisitely embroidered carpet by Milne.
Varys led Jenny, the Mountain, and their party through the gate. At the entrance stood two Kingsguard guards, each carrying a sword: the imposing Maryn Trant and the brooding Ser Manden Moore. Both guards glanced at Ange several times.
A dazzlingly bright carpet covered the entire floor and spiral staircase.
The tripods for holding torches and the candlesticks for giant candles on the walls were all made of gold, displaying extreme luxury. Various exquisite reliefs and murals covered the walls.
Julie, Angui, and the Four Horsemen all stared with eyes practically glowing green.
Angay resisted the urge to knock off a piece of gold candlestick and take it with him.
The group went upstairs and arrived at the king's reception room.
Two Kingsguard guards stood side by side before the drawing room doors: Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer; and Ser Preston Grenfell, the shortest of the seven Kingsguard. Not far from them, the Hound stood with several red-cloaked guards, longswords at their waists. This indicated that Queen Cersei was also inside the drawing room.
Jaime noticed the young Anguill from the Dornish frontier following the Mountain, clearly a favored bodyguard. The Hound, meanwhile, wore a look of suspicion and uncertainty. Seeing a sharpshooter by his brother's side, the Hound felt a pang of unease. It seemed his brother had gained another powerful figure, making his crew even stronger.
Two Kingsguard guards, James and Princeton, opened the tall gates for the visiting group of guests, then closed them and stood side by side before the gates, hands on their swords.
Varys led Jenny, Julie, the Mountain, and their group into the reception room.
The reception room is very large, enough to accommodate thousands of people for gatherings, and has dozens of fireplaces for heating.
The king sat behind a table covered with a tablecloth and laden with various fruits, holding a white jade goblet shaped like a bull's horn, its rim inlaid with gold. The sommelier, Lancel Lannister, stood behind the king, holding a wine jug.
The Mountain knew that King Robert would eventually be 'beautifully' killed by the wine in Lancel's jug, and that day was not far off.
Littlefinger Petyr Baelish, Grand Maester Paisell, and Queen Cersei Lannister were all beside the King. To the right of the King's table stood a Kingsguard clad in white robes, his hand on his sword hilt, exuding an imposing and majestic aura. He was Ser Barristan Selmy, Captain of the Kingsguard.
Varys, Anguill, and the four Clegane Knights knelt on one knee to pay their respects to His Majesty the King and His Majesty the Queen; Jenny and Julie curtsied to His Majesty the King and His Majesty the Queen; and the Mountain stood with his right fist clenched and placed on his left chest in a half-bowing.
He and Ilyn Payne, the Lord Chief of Staff, were both strongmen who refused to kneel before the King. King Robert, however, did not take their arrogance to heart.
King Robert saw Angey and was delighted: "Angey, have you come to pledge your allegiance to me? Tell me, what position do you wish to obtain? As long as it matches your abilities, I will not hesitate to offer it to you."
Anga quickly knelt down again: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I have already sworn to follow Lord Gregor Clegane. I will serve Your Majesty the same way when I am by Sir Gregor's side."
Robert's smile gradually turned awkward as he looked at the Mountain: "Seven Circles of Hell, Mountain, you've got beauties and warriors all to yourself, what the hell have you done to deserve this?"
The Mountain clenched his right fist and placed it on his left chest, bowing his head as a response to the king's displeasure.
Robert roared, "Angey, what the hell were you thinking? Ned and I both sent people to invite you, and you chose the Mountain. You're a fucking bastard! Fine, when you don't want to follow the Mountain anymore, come to me, and I'll give you the position of a Royal Commander! You can still change your mind now, think it over, you idiot!"
This is the king blatantly trying to seize someone!
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I am loyal to the King and Queen until death!" Anga said, standing up respectfully, bowing his head and taking a few steps back to stand beside Moshan.
The atmosphere was subtle and awkward.
King Robert paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, saying, "Seven Hells, you foolish and ignorant boy! Well, I forgive your ignorance—Lady Jenny, I heard Lord Varys and Lord Petyr both praising your wisdom, saying that you are kind-hearted and generously donate to the children in the orphanage. I thank you for that. Lord Varys also said that you have found a scientific way to solve the problem of milk causing illness. I wonder if that's true?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. By the grace of the Seven Gods, I, together with the Grand Scholar Asa of Cliff Rock City, have developed a new mercury thermometer based on the existing one. After hundreds of trials, by boiling milk at different temperatures and for different time periods, we have found a way to kill the viruses in the milk. This method has now been fully implemented in Cliff Rock City, and dairy farmers no longer need to pour their milk into ditches and rivers. The thousand garrison soldiers of Cliff Rock City drink fresh milk and eat cheese and various milk-based desserts every day, which are delicious, safe, healthy, and nutritious."
King Robert was overjoyed: "Very well, Lady Jenny, tell me what you need, and I'll have the servants bring it in immediately. You can make it for us right here."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"