After a fierce quarrel, during which they failed to obtain even a symbolic concession from Ian, Sir Beryn and the knight from House Bulwer finally could not stomach Ian's almost humiliating arrogance. They chose to accept the payout Ian offered and departed with their men.
At that point, among the mercenaries Sir Wylis had hired, only two knights from House Fossoway and their attendants remained.
Sir Wylis was not satisfied with the outcome, but considering the notorious pride of House Lannister, from which 'Sir Ian' hailed, he could understand the young knight's refusal to compromise with blackmailers.
Moreover, since they had already figured out the enemy's strength, the loss of a dozen cavalrymen did not affect their overwhelming advantage against the approaching caravan. In the end, Wylis did not reproach Ian for his handling of the matter.
The trap in the abandoned fishing village was designed by Wylis himself, but Ian, under the guise of learning from an experienced commander, made a thorough study of the troop deployments near the village.
As night fell, just as Ian was about to end his activities for the day and get some sleep, he found that his system tasks had been updated.
Only then did he remember that a full week had passed since he completed his first main mission.
[Main Mission 2: Legion]
Mission Description: To prepare for the wars to come, you must accumulate strength in advance.
Mission Goal: Possess a force of more than 1,000 soldiers.
Mission Reward: 20 Points, 3 Attribute Points, 3 Skill Points, 2 A-rank NPCs of your choice (from the local area).
<[Accept]> <[Replace]>
"A thousand soldiers? That's quite a leap," Ian blinked. "Annie, are there any restrictions on the soldiers for this mission goal?"
"The 1,000 soldiers must be directly loyal to the player," Annie replied. "If they are mercenaries, the player must sign an employment agreement with them for a term of more than ten years."
Ian fell silent. Hiring a thousand mercenaries for ten years was something only a madman would do. And without a fiefdom of his own, he had no way to garrison or support such a force.
Without much thought, Ian selected [Replace].
[Main Mission 2: Lord]
Mission Description: Knights and nobles are everywhere in Westeros. Perhaps you wish to transcend your current class.
Mission Goal: Obtain the title of Lord.
Mission Reward: 20 Points, 5,000 Gold Dragons.
"Oh, this is playing right into my hands," Ian couldn't help but smile. This mission coincided perfectly with his new plan.
Ordinarily, the [Lord] mission was even more difficult than the [Legion] mission, due to the unique noble system of Westeros. There is a common misunderstanding that the noble titles in Westeros are arranged in a familiar hierarchy of duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron, but this is an artifact of translation, not the reality of the world.
In truth, in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, the noble titles of Westeros are divided into only three tiers: King, Lord, and Ser.
The other titles are merely conventions used by translators to help readers quickly gauge the relative power and status of a given noble house. A 'Duke' Stark is a Lord of immense power, while a 'Baron' Cowat is a Lord of minor standing, but both hold the same fundamental rank: Lord.
In this system, the two classes below the king—Lord and Knight—are separated by a vast gulf that is nearly impossible to cross in most circumstances.
For example, House Paege of the Ninestars is a house of knights sworn directly to House Arryn. Their strength is no less than that of many so-called 'earls' in the Vale, and their patriarch can easily gather a force of thousands, yet his title is still the same as the most common hedge knight: 'Ser'.
Another example is Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight. For saving Storm's End from starvation during Robert's Rebellion, Stannis Baratheon made him a knight—a tremendous leap for a common-born smuggler. It wasn't until the War of the Five Kings, when Stannis needed to make Davos his Hand, that he was granted the title Lord of the Rainwood, finally allowing him to complete the class jump from Knight to Lord.
Of course, there were exceptions, like when Janos Slynt was made Lord of Harrenhal for betraying Eddard Stark. But that was a special reward for what could be called 'the merit of siding with the winning dragon'.
Ian had no way of achieving a feat on par with Davos or Slynt, but he now had a ready-made Lordship to claim: the one belonging to House Darry.
Ever since Arys Rivers admitted their plan was to defect to Viserys in Pentos, a very bold idea had taken root in Ian's mind: he would pretend to be a bastard son of House Darry and join Daenerys Targaryen himself.
The complete story was this: He, a bastard of House Darry, along with his two 'brothers' and Daeron Grafson, formed a company of outlaws to plunder the Riverlands. Their goal was to raise an army to join Viserys, but their plan failed when they were discovered by their enemies. In the aftermath, House Darry was destroyed for treason, and he, the lone survivor, took his few remaining men to join the one true king across the sea.
Choosing such an identity and story offered many clear benefits.
First, with House Darry destroyed for treason, the last surviving son—even a bastard—who came to join the Targaryen cause could naturally claim the Darry name and the title that originally belonged to it. While the Darrys' current title was 'Ser', they had once been lords. From a Targaryen legal standpoint, when their vassal returned to the fold, their former, higher title should naturally be restored.
Second, by arriving with a failed plan and very few men, he posed no threat to Illyrio Mopatis's control over Viserys. Ian suspected that the real Daeron and Arys never appeared in the original story because their plan was too successful. They had fifty cavalrymen and enough wealth to raise an independent army, which would have been an unacceptable loss of control for a puppet master like Illyrio.
Third, the story was almost entirely true. For a knight claiming to be a 'bastard son of House Darry', Illyrio would certainly not take him at his word. He would undoubtedly write to Varys, the 'Eight-Clawed Spider', to investigate. The results of Varys's investigation could only conclude that there was indeed a raiding party involving House Darry in the Riverlands, and that its members were executed for treason. Whether a bastard named Ian Rivers truly existed would become a matter with no proof one way or the other. As long as Ian could get Sir Daeron Grafson to testify on his behalf at that crucial moment, his identity would be confirmed.
The final benefit was that it would confuse any other players who might be watching Daenerys. It was logical to assume that an unknown character appearing at her side was a player. But if that character appeared alongside a known canon figure like Daeron Grafson, they would more likely suspect a deviation in the world's timeline rather than the presence of another player.
Of course, even if another player did target him, Ian wasn't particularly afraid. With the power he now possessed, an opponent could hardly threaten him with anything besides poison. As long as he arranged for a food taster, he could basically guarantee his safety from such plots.
---
$5 Tier – Early Access!
Read 30 chapters ahead of public platforms like RoyalRoad and Scribble Hub — with plans to increase to 40 chapters ahead once I reach 10 members!
Chapters are posted as soon as they're completed, so you'll always stay ahead of the curve.
Support the story and unlock early access:
Patreon is linked in My Profile or About.
Please select your membership carefully, as I have multiple novels ongoing. If you're on Apple, consider subscribing through your browser instead — it will be cheaper for you, and I won't have to wait 2 months for payments. Thank you!