Removing his helm and throwing it against the tent, Robert looked dangerously at the red witch and asked in a cold, dissatisfied tone, "Why did you ask me to retreat?"
Tissaia and Gerhart widened their eyes at the lack of respect, and even the sheer magnitude of disrespect, toward one than one of the strongest women on the planet. Both looked at each other, seeing the same look of incredulity. They truly could not believe what they were seeing.
"Ignorance is a blessing," Tissaia murmured to Gerhart. That was the only thing she could assume was happening. After all, no one in their right mind would mistreat a being capable of destroying a city; it was stupidity.
"It is arrogance at its highest peak," Gerhart, who had spent more time alive than Tissaia, spoke in a calm tone.
"Your Grace, two people, a mage and a powerful witch, have entered the battlefield and are willing to fight by your side," Melisandre replied in a respectful tone, unbothered by the way Robert spoke to her.
Robert's blue eyes stared at Tissaia and Gerhart. Naturally, his eyes lingered more on the beautiful and extraordinary Tissaia, especially her fine body hidden beneath the noble blue dress.
Faced with such blatantly lecherous stares, Tissaia frowned and snorted coldly. However, feeling Melisandre's eyes on her, she simply spoke in a freezing tone, "I am Tissaia of Aretuza, Your Grace, and I will participate in the war."
"A beautiful woman is always welcome, though I don't think you can do much," Robert said. He certainly wouldn't refuse a beautiful woman; he was already sick of seeing nothing but men for so many days.
A noticeable look of displeasure appeared on Tissaia's face. She wanted to laugh, to conjure a water bubble and drown Robert in his own arrogance, but feeling Melisandre's gaze, she remained silent while looking coldly at the Storm King.
"I am Gerhart of Ban Ard, and I would also join this war." Gerhart looked at Robert with a touch of admiration. He had to admit, not every man had balls big enough to dismiss Tissaia.
The woman might look like a lady from a noble family, but being a witch who graduated from Aretuza, Tissaia could be many things, but never a gentle or indecisive woman.
"Can you defeat the magic bastard on the dragonspawn's side?" Robert asked Gerhart while drinking a cup of wine. The question was direct and clear.
"No, he is too powerful," Gerhart was also direct and replied instantly. Fighting was possible, but defeating him? Not to mention he didn't want to fight Cadmus in a duel to the death; he would be happy with a few exchanges of hundreds of spells in a fight.
"Are these your helpers? They don't seem very useful to me," Robert looked at Melisandre and said with a hint of sarcasm.
"They are, it is just that the king does not see their true strength," Melisandre showed a beautiful smile and spoke in a soft, mysterious tone.
"You said you could fight Cadmus, you could kill him," Robert said, looking at Melisandre with a piercing gaze. He was still quite dissatisfied that Melisandre had not gone to the battlefield to fight Cadmus.
'This man is insane.'
That was the thought of Tissaia and Gerhart. Making two Apostles fight? That is asking for mutual destruction. Instead of a battle between the powerful, it was better to resolve it by letting the weaker ones fight while both sides prevented each other's destruction. It was the best thing that could be done in the eyes of both.
"If I go to the battlefield, he will too," Melisandre said with a smile. "If he goes to the battlefield, your soldiers will not last ten minutes and will be reduced to mere ashes by his blue flame spell."
"So, instead of fighting Cadmus, it is better to act as a deterrent to prevent such a thing from happening on either side," Melisandre added, trying to make Robert understand the magnitude of Cadmus's power and her own.
Robert only snorted coldly; he didn't care about his army, he only wanted revenge. What would become of the future was not his problem, but Stannis's or Renly's. He came to the battlefield to kill and die, nothing more and nothing less. Therefore, he was quite uninterested in the consequences.
Melisandre certainly knew Robert's thoughts, but she ignored them completely. How could she let Robert's madness decimate more than two hundred thousand lives? Don't misunderstand, Melisandre didn't care about the lives of the more than two hundred thousand people on the battlefield. She cared about the two hundred thousand lives that would fight the Others in the Great Battle.
Because of this, she could not allow Robert's madness to decimate all the lives present.
Tissaia and Gerhart finally knew that Robert was mad—not normally mad, but a rational and cold madman. He seemed not to care about his own people or their ultimate fate.
Gerhart had already met a few similar men, who had only revenge in their eyes and nothing else. Regardless of how much damage they could cause around them, they only cared about getting revenge. Robert was just another mad man, resentful of the world.
"Since you cannot fight the Magic Bastard, you will go to the battlefield to fight the common people," Robert said in an indifferent tone.
As soon as his words rang out, an old man wearing red and gold armor entered the tent. "That will not happen, boy."
"Yes, Rhaegar did not do that, you have no reason to do something like that," another old man entered the tent, this one wearing silver armor accented with blue tones.
They were Tywin Lannister and Jon Arryn, respectively.
Both were on the battlefield but retreated when they saw the Baratheon army pull back. Before entering the tent, they heard Robert's words and entered the Storm King's tent with dissatisfied looks.
Even Jon Arryn was dissatisfied with Robert's decision.
"Men must fight men," Tywin did not care about Gerhart or Tissaia's unpleasant expressions; he spoke in a hard, cold tone.
How could he allow mages to fight on the battlefield? Not to mention the damage caused by mages with magic attacks, just commanding an army alongside these mages was a headache he didn't even want to think about.
Although he wanted an army of mages, that was a gradual thing, not simply placing mages in the ranks of the soldiers. That would make the army's cohesion and discipline crumble.
Robert showed an unpleasant look; being called a boy irritated him, being advised by Jon Arryn also irritated him.
"These two can kill as many enemy soldiers as possible; there is no reason not to use them," Robert countered Tywin and Jon's words with a hard, unyielding expression.
"And?" Tywin said in an indifferent tone. "If you can, Rhaegar can too; that is not what we want."
Knowing the power of a powerful mage, how could Jon and Tywin allow such a thing to happen?
"You don't care about the lives of your soldiers, but I care, and I will not sacrifice my soldiers for a childish and crazy tantrum of a boy resentful because he couldn't get a woman's cunt," Tywin did not speak gently; he said those words in front of Robert without any hesitation.
Robert's face turned red with rage; he gasped as his eyes widened. He grabbed the warhammer beside him, and just as he was about to advance toward Tywin, he noticed Jaime Lannister beside his father, hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at any moment.
"Enough, Robert, you are tired and must rest to keep a clear head," Jon Arryn, not wanting things to get out of hand, spoke in a hard and firm but gentle tone to his foster son.
But he also agreed with Tywin's words. He didn't want mages involved on the battlefield because the damage they could cause was too great. Besides, anyone could see that the Court Mage was stronger than all the mages present.
Tywin, seeing Robert's reaction, showed a disappointed look, and his last shred of hesitation disappeared. Robert was mad; he could recognize a madman like no one else. Robert had the same eyes as Aerys, a look that showed flames and destruction.
Melisandre, seeing Robert's state, knew that the consequences of fate regarding the birth of six Shadow Children were beginning to take their toll on Robert. The man would become increasingly mad and paranoid, until he became a hostage of his own mind and a madman without fear of anything.
She was not surprised. If it were only one, this wouldn't have happened, but there were six! Six cursed lives; magic had its price, and it was being paid by Robert.
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Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard