Moonshadow's Shadow Lynx was glaring fiercely at the Dire Wolf and White Tiger beside Mako. It was especially focused on the White Tiger, as it sensed a familiar scent, which intensified the Shadow Lynx's territorial instincts!
However, it didn't know that this White Tiger was actually a Shadow Lynx transformed. This world didn't have tigers, and the White Tiger Mako summoned could be considered the first tiger in this world.
Compared to Warg's animal companions, Mako's two system-summoned animals were more tamed. They could completely understand human language and instructions, and would become powerful weapons in future jungle warfare.
"Mako! Are these the magical creatures you just summoned?"
Moonshadow's voice suddenly came from the side. Mako then summoned the White Tiger, letting it go play with Moonshadow.
Maeve was also staring at the White Tiger with curiosity. Females didn't have much resistance to these white, fluffy things. Moonshadow had just made contact with the White Tiger and already loved it, happily playing and frolicking with it.
"This one is a White Tiger, this one is a Dire Wolf. They are also the strongest in their respective groups, about the same as Swan!"
The unique natural aura of the Children of the Forest was also the favorite of these animals. Gradually, the White Tiger, relying on its huge size, pushed the Shadow Lynx away.
Watching the Shadow Lynx's mournful little eyes, Mako found it particularly amusing. While he and the others were playing with the animals, Caspar Ed rode up from a distance. Since becoming a knight, he rarely managed the castle's affairs, focusing instead on assisting Godric and the others in training the native warriors.
"My Lord! Sir Magna has brought a merchant from the King's Hall. That merchant has gifted us three large ships and hopes to meet with you!"
Mako raised an eyebrow, a little curious.
"So wealthy! And he even managed to convince Mashendan, that's interesting! Alright, take him to the Throne Room on the third floor! Also, notify everyone to assemble! We have matters to address after meeting with him!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
Gode, who hailed from Braavos, was staring in astonishment at the magnificent city before him. He considered himself to have seen many famous cities, but the shock this one gave him was simply too much.
"That there's such a majestic and massive city hidden on the continent of Westeros is impossible. No family could build such a grand city in secret without being discovered! Could it really be true, as those fishermen say, that it descended from the sky!"
Gode thought, somewhat incredulously. Four months ago, while preparing to trade with the Karstark Family in the North, Gode was caught in a storm. His fleet was forced to take shelter from the wind on a small island in the Shivering Sea.
There, he encountered an Ibbenese whaling crew returning from Skagos Island. The short, dark-skinned Ibbenese captain told him the legends of Griffon Fortress.
At first, Gode didn't believe it. But the Ibbenese captain kept presenting him with various ceramic artifacts, and eventually, even a griffon feather.
The main reason Gode decided to come to Skagos Island was because he'd heard about magic. He believed griffons, like dragons, were mythical magical creatures. As a native of Essos, he had always believed in the existence of magic!
In his youth, he had been to Qarth, where he witnessed the fire magic of the Blue-Lipped Warlocks and the eerie blood magic of the Red Priests.
Griffons, like dragons, were creatures of legend. Anything related to magic on the continent of Essos represented endless wealth, which made Gode even more eager for the mysterious city.
He was curious if the city shrouded in a mysterious fog was truly as magical as they said, if it truly held the legendary magical creatures. After making up his mind, Gode's fleet sailed majestically to Seal Bay.
He spent a month searching, but he couldn't find any trace of Griffon Fortress. Just as the captain had said, it was easy to get lost; the mist was always there. Gode searched for a long time without results, and he was anxious but dared not venture onto the island. Fortunately, with the guidance of some fishermen, his fleet arrived at King's Hall.
Gode was quite lucky. Here, he met Mashendan, who was in King's Hall on business. At first, Mashendan thought he was there for trade and specifically received him.
It was only later that he found out this guy's intention was to go to Griffon Fortress. Mashendan refused without a second thought. What Mashendan didn't expect was how persistent this fellow would be.
Ever since Gode learned of Mashendan's identity, he had been pestering him, pulling out all the stops. It took him two months to win Mashendan over with his sincerity, eventually becoming friends.
Although Mashendan looked like a brute, he was quite meticulous. He secretly observed this guy, who called himself a "merchant," during this time. Only after confirming that there were no issues did he bring him back to Griffon Fortress.
"My Lord! We've arrived!"
The reminder from his accompanying guard brought Gode back to his senses. He had only brought four guards this time, leaving the rest behind at King's Hall.
The City Guard soldiers carefully inspected their belongings and confiscated their weapons. After confirming there were no hidden crossbows or other mechanisms, they allowed them into the main keep.
After entering the main keep, Gode and his party of five were led to the third floor by the maids and City Guard soldiers. At this time, a large number of people had already gathered in the Throne Room on the third floor, and the main people in charge from Mako's side were basically all present.
They were divided into two rows. The left row was Mako's system soldiers and the direct descendants of the Rockseed Clan. The other row consisted of some Wildling councilors, and of course, the Three-Eyed Crow and the Giant Mag were also among them. Leaf and some of the Children of the Forest served around the Three-Eyed Crow.
Mako's main keep was just large enough for the Giants to enter. Over time, Mag's intelligence had reached the level of a normal human. She had also learned the common tongue, and was now studying new knowledge with the Three-Eyed Crow and the others.
On the throne, Mako was dressed in a pale blue military uniform. His silver hair was casually scattered. Behind his throne, on two smaller thrones, sat Moonshadow and Maeve. Swan led the animal squad, obediently lying around the thrones, looking very orderly.
After entering the hall, Gode was completely stunned by the scene before him. The combination of Giants, Griffons, Shadow Lynxes, and Children of the Forest made his head spin, and his thoughts were in a whirl. However, he quickly calmed down.
At this moment, he finally saw Mako's true face. However, Mako's standard Valyrian appearance still made his thoughts momentarily stagnant.
But after thinking about it, he quickly reacted. Gode realized that all the magical scenes before him seemed to have an answer. After steadying his mind, he quickly bowed to Mako and said:
"My esteemed Lord! Greetings! I am Gode, a fur merchant from Braavos. Thank you for receiving me! Your appearance is as handsome and charming as the legendary Valyrian Dragonlords, and your two wives are as beautiful as the daughters of the Moon..."
"Alright! Gode from Braavos, I accept your praise. What race my women belong to is none of your business. Just state your purpose!"
Mako interrupted the still-babbling Gode. When he saw this guy, Mako subconsciously used Soul Link on him. The result was that this guy was just constantly praising the beauty and race of Moonshadow and the others. Mako, who could not detect any useful information, could only helplessly interrupt him.
The Soul Link could only detect the other person's current thoughts. If the target wasn't thinking about anything else, it couldn't glean any useful information.
When Maeve heard Mako's words, a blush crept onto her face. Her golden eyes glanced at Mako with a hint of embarrassment, seemingly chiding him.
Upon hearing Mako's words, Gode's pupils shrank. He didn't have time to be amazed by Mako's mysteriousness. He quickly composed himself and said to Mako:
"I'm sorry, Lord! I...cough! I heard that you had legendary magical beasts here, so I wanted to buy a griffon from you! I..."
"Screech!"
Swan understood Gode's words and let out a loud cry in his direction. Moonshadow gently scratched its head, calming it down.
"That's impossible! Griffons are my warriors, not commodities. However, if you become my subordinate, you might be able to try and tame one as your companion!"
Mako rejected Gode's proposal without hesitation, but he did point the merchant towards a path.
"Lord! I! I!..."
Mako interrupted the stammering Gode again and said to him:
"I happen to be short one Minister of Commerce, and I think you're quite capable. I also know you're worried about your family, but I don't think that's a problem. So, I hope you'll seize this opportunity! You have three days to consider it!"
Then Mako summoned four City Guard soldiers and had them escort Gode out. Gode's head was still spinning; he realized he hadn't even gotten to use the long speech he'd prepared.
In Gode's opinion, as long as the price was right, there was nothing money couldn't buy. But Mako's direct approach left him unable to use his skills.
After seeing Gode and the others out, Mako turned his gaze back to the throne. He first asked Bloodyhand Blackrock:
"Bloodyhand! Have we finished harvesting the first batch of grain? How is the population census coming along?"
Bloodyhand Blackrock stepped out of the ranks and bowed to Mako before replying:
"My Lord! We can finish harvesting all of our grain today. As for the population, the commoners here in Griffon Fortress have reached around 100,000. The warriors are eager for glory and land; as long as you give the order, we will eliminate all enemies!"
Mako nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this, smiling as he said:
"What I want is land and population, not for you to kill and set fires. For me, the lives of the warriors are the most important. The most important thing for us right now is to improve the combat effectiveness of the warriors. There are many battles waiting for them in the future!"
"Yes! My Lord!"
Then Mako asked Godric and the others:
"How is the training of the troops going? Is it going well?"
Sas Ting stepped forward first and replied to Mako, "My Lord! The training of the infantry formations is somewhat difficult. The commoners come from different tribes, and none of them are willing to submit to the others. Fortunately, we have a few councilors, and they are willing to accept training, but the progress is a bit slow!"
Then Godric and the others also stepped forward one by one and reported their respective training situations to Mako. In fact, in the final analysis, the problems they encountered were almost the same. The root cause was that the quality of these native warriors was too poor, making training difficult!
Mako encouraged them, acknowledging their efforts. These issues couldn't be solved overnight; change would come gradually. Fortunately, there was still some time before the "War of the Five Kings," giving Mako ample opportunity to train the soldiers.
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Next, Mako turned his attention to Henk and the others. Mako's "Wolf Fang Squad" already numbered over 200, and the number was steadily growing.
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Henk had handed over the City Guard duties to Mans. His primary task now was training the newly awakened Wargs, with Wolf Fang and Valamir assisting. Due to the influence of the Griffon Fortress's Mana Fountain, commoners with First Men bloodlines were continuously awakening Warg abilities.
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Furthermore, Mako didn't need these Wargs to become extraordinarily powerful. He only required them to be able to control small birds and cats.
\n\n
At the beginning of the year, Mako's "Wolf Spirit Squad" had already begun their intelligence operations. Currently, Mako had established three relatively stable intelligence points in Winterfell, Last Hearth, and Karhold.
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However, the people of this world were very insular. Many hadn't left their hometowns in their entire lives, making it easy for intelligence agents to be exposed if a leak occurred.
\n\n
Therefore, Mako adopted the method of opening a chain of taverns, which allowed him to gather more intelligence and give his agents a legitimate cover.
\n\n
But this was the first time Mako had undertaken intelligence gathering, and much of it was still theoretical. Therefore, he had only established these three points for the time being, as building a complete intelligence network would take a long time.
Mako didn't like fighting battles without preparation. Planting hidden pieces now would yield greater rewards in the future. Raw power could indeed flatten everything, but Mako's goal was to change and rule this world, so he could only execute his plan step by step.
What Mako needed now was to continuously accumulate power and await the chaos in Westeros. He also planned to get a piece of the pie in those major events.
Many hidden giants in the TV series hadn't extended their reach. Mako couldn't help but keep an eye on them, especially after the Bolton siege. Mako understood that he couldn't rely solely on his past life's memories to judge certain matters; doing so could very well lead to disaster.
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