In the open space in front of the ruined camp, Linde completed his daily combat practice with Nameria. He handed the Knight's Greatsword in his hand to Bert and Raul, instructing them to oil it with a canvas and then return it to its scabbard.
"I want you to accompany me somewhere." Nameria took a towel from the Scholar, wiped the sweat from her head, and looked at Linde, who wasn't even panting. A hint of envy flashed in her eyes before she said in a deep voice.
Hearing such a familiar sentence, Linde was startled. In his previous life, a woman had also said this to him, but the aftermath of that sentence was not pleasant, one could even say it was very frustrating.
Seeing Linde's expression turn a little grim, Nameria asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem, Lord Linde?"
The moment he broke free from his memories, Linde couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to break up with your sweetheart, and I'm supposed to pretend to be your new boyfriend?"
This time, it was Nameria's turn for her face to turn grim. She glared at Linde with annoyance, as if Linde's words had brought her great insult. She even gripped her axe, ready to strike Linde at any moment to make him sober up.
Linde quickly explained, "I apologize, Countess, your words brought back some unpleasant memories."
Nameria eyed Linde with a strange look, not intending to press him about his unspeakable past. She returned to the main topic, saying, "I made an agreement with the leader over in the valley; I'm going to meet him."
Linde frowned upon hearing this, reminding her, "You shouldn't meet those people?"
"I've thought it through carefully. If the Iron Throne really intends to deal with me, even if I don't directly contact those people, their mere presence so close to Tengshi Town is already enough to serve as an excuse," Nameria said very seriously. "Instead of waiting for a disaster that might strike at any time, it's better to be proactive and deal with the things that could cause the disaster."
"Deal with them?" Linde hesitated for a moment, asking, "Are you trying to..."
Nameria knew Linde misunderstood, so she explained, "No, I just want them to leave."
Linde said, "If they wanted to leave, they would have left already. How will you convince them?"
Nameria tightened her grip on her Great Axe and said, "It's simple. Their mission is to protect me. I just need to prove that I no longer need protection."
Linde thought for a moment and said, "Since you think it's necessary to do this, as a companion, I won't say anything more. Glory and I will follow behind you then, helping you check if there are any unwelcome fellows hidden around."
"Thanks." Nameria nodded.
After nightfall, Nameria arrived outside the ruined camp. Linde also put on his cloak, led his horse, and walked out.
However, he couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Nameria. Usually, Nameria wore either leather armor or a simple robe, but now she was clad in exquisite full steel armor, with a white cape draped over her shoulders, looking majestic and heroic.
The only flaw was that the warhorse beneath her was somewhat small relative to her stature.
"Take mine!" Linde led his warhorse to Nameria's side and said.
Linde's warhorse was carefully selected and well-suited for his tall stature. Although it still looked a bit disproportionate with Nameria's figure, it was clearly much better than the scrawny horse Nameria was currently riding, which looked like it could collapse at any moment.
Nameria didn't stand on ceremony with Linde and switched to Linde's warhorse. Linde also didn't ride the scrawny horse but instead led another warhorse from the camp to ride.
Linde said with a smile, "With your build, perhaps only a Dothraki Sea horse would be suitable."
Nameria rolled her eyes at Linde, then squeezed her horse's flanks, urging it to gallop towards the nearby mountain.
Linde didn't follow immediately. Only after Nameria had gone some distance did he lead Glory to catch up.
Following Nameria, Linde crossed a hillside, bypassed a pooling lake, and passed through a dense forest, arriving near a relatively open forest clearing.
Nameria gestured to Linde behind her, then rode alone into the grassy clearing.
When Nameria appeared in the clearing, five cloaked warriors emerged from the woods and came before Nameria, bowing very solemnly to her.
Nameria did not refuse their bows, but after they bowed, she began to persuade these people.
Linde did not approach to listen to what they were saying. As soon as the conversation began, he dismounted, took the bow and arrows from his saddle, and, along with Glory, patrolled the surrounding dense forest.
Soon, he discovered an anomaly: more than twenty fully armed warriors were rushing into the dense forest with their weapons. Linde recognized the leader; he had seen him through Glory's eyes in the valley camp of that group before, and knew him to be a leader of the remaining Dragon family loyalists who had defected.
Seeing this, Linde picked up his bow and arrows, preparing to deal with them in the woods.
However, Glory leaned against his body with force, then directly transmitted a desire to hunt through their mental link.
"I'll leave it to you, but don't make too much noise." It was rare for Glory to be so proactive, so Linde didn't stop it. He nodded and said.
Glory shook its head excitedly, then with a 'whoosh,' it darted into the dense forest, disappearing from Linde's sight.
Linde did not stand still waiting for Glory to return, but continued to follow behind those people, ready to intervene and rectify the situation should Glory make any undue noise.
However, what surprised Linde was how deadly and stealthy Glory's hunting game was. Starting from the last person, the team of over twenty individuals disappeared one by one into the dark, dense forest. When the leader realized something was amiss, what awaited him was Glory, leaping forward, and its fanged maw.
In less than five minutes, over twenty people had vanished silently into the dense forest.
What surprised Linde even more was that when Glory returned, it wasn't until it reached the bushes beside him that his enhanced senses kicked in, allowing him to perceive Glory's return. He suspected that his ability to detect movement there was entirely because Glory intentionally let him know.
Before, Glory was absolutely incapable of achieving such a level of stealth. This ability to conceal itself was no longer something a normal Shadow Lynx could possess, because Linde could clearly feel that when Glory was hidden, some kind of power was generated around its body. This power was enhancing its stealth effect, such as blocking sound or allowing its body to be more perfectly hidden in the shadows, and so on.
Linde recalled that when Glory attacked its targets just now, there were a few times when it didn't achieve an instant kill. The targets that weren't dead also made some resistance movements, but these movements didn't make any sound, not even heard by others just a few steps ahead.
He suspected that this was a new ability that Glory's body had activated after absorbing the resentful spirit energy from the Tengshi Town ruins, just like how absorbing the resentful spirit energy from the dragon's lair previously gave it the ability to change its fur color.
Glory becoming stronger was undoubtedly greatly beneficial to Linde. Among other things, at least when raiding enemy camps at night in the future, he would have a significant advantage.
However, because he had already anticipated a great growth in Glory after it absorbed the resentful spirit energy, Linde didn't show too much excitement. After patting Glory's head approvingly, he took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Glory's mouth, then continued patrolling the dense forest.
About half an hour later, Linde had completed a circuit of the dense forest and returned to the area near the forest clearing.
At this moment, Nameria seemed to have persuaded the personal guards Prince Lewyn had sent to protect her before his death. The five captains of the personal guard now needed to support each other to stand steadily, and one of them, covered in blood, looked as if he might collapse and die at any moment.
After exchanging a few more words, the five personal guard captains bowed to Nameria again, then supported each other and limped away.
Nameria, however, remained standing in place, as if deep in thought.
Linde led Glory over and stood beside Nameria, saying nothing, waiting for Nameria to recover on her own.
After a while, Nameria suddenly said out of the blue, "The armor I'm wearing was refitted from the armor he used to wear in Dorne. I've always hated the Dornish patterns on it, so I've never worn it."
"If you don't like the patterns on it, I can have a craftsman modify it for you, but..." Linde looked at Nameria and said, "Is changing the patterns enough? Do you truly only dislike the patterns on it?"
Nameria frowned upon hearing this, not continuing the conversation with Linde. She then walked in front of Linde, sniffed his scent, and said, "Did you fight just now? Such a strong smell of blood?"
"Not me, it was Glory." Linde patted Glory's head and recounted what had happened in the dense forest.
After hearing this, Nameria carefully inquired about the appearance of the leader, then asked doubtfully, "The person you're referring to should be Baelien Storm, the bastard son of Lord Aamond Clinton, and Lord Jon Clinton's brother. He once impersonated Lord Jon Clinton to gain the trust of some of the remaining Dragon family loyalists, attacked some nobles in the Westerlands, and is considered a staunch supporter of the Dragon family. Could you be mistaken?"
"Westerlands?" Linde thought for a moment, then chuckled, "I suppose the Westerlands nobles that this Lord Baelien Storm attacked wouldn't all be those who were unfriendly with Duke Tywin, would they?"
Nameria was startled, a thoughtful expression on her face. She quickly understood some crucial points and couldn't help but say, "To use such a method to deal with one's opponents, isn't Duke Tywin afraid of being seen through?"
"Who could see through it? Didn't you also think I was mistaken just now? And who would have thought that a staunch Dragon family supporter would actually be Duke Tywin's man?" Linde mounted his horse and said, "And even if someone did see through it, who would believe them? Could they produce convincing evidence to question Duke Tywin?"
Nameria also swung herself onto her horse and couldn't help but curse, "That's truly dirty."
"Dirty? This isn't dirty at all. This is true noble wisdom. To obtain what you desire without resorting to any force, what could be more pleasing than that?" Linde looked at Nameria and said in a deep voice, "This is what you should be learning from."
"No thanks, I can't learn these things." Nameria shook her head, pulled the reins, and urged her warhorse to return the way they came. At the same time, she said to Linde, who was riding beside her, "They will leave tonight. They didn't tell me the exact departure route. But I guess they probably won't pass through The Reach to Dorne."
"Why?" Linde asked doubtfully.
Nameria shook her head and said, "I don't know, just a hunch."
By the time Linde and Nameria returned to the ruined camp, it was completely dark. The guards at the camp entrance couldn't help but show ambiguous smiles when they saw the two riding side-by-side out of the woods ahead.
Linde was too lazy to explain. When they arrived at the camp entrance, Linde offered to give the warhorse to Nameria. Nameria did not refuse, but said that when she found a good horse in the future, she would also give one to Linde.
Linde, back at the camp, hadn't even had time to rest when Scarface rushed in to report. The scout he had sent to monitor the people in the valley reported that those people had already packed their belongings and begun to move.
After Linde indicated that he already knew, Scarface added, "Sir, did those people leave some things behind?"
"What things?" Linde asked.
"Some weapons, equipment, and money," Scarface replied.
Linde thought for a moment and said, "Transport all those things to Countess Nameria and ask her how to deal with them."
Upon hearing this, Scarface withdrew, then gathered his men and rushed to the valley to transport the items.
Not long after Scarface left, Raul came to find Linde again.
"Is something wrong?" Linde frowned and asked, "Is there a problem with the camp construction?"
"No," Raul shook his head, then hesitated and said, "There's one thing you might not have noticed, Sir, but I think I should mention it, as it might affect the morale of the team."
"What's so important?" Linde asked, puzzled.
Raul hesitated slightly, then said vaguely, "The barracks are all men, with only a few female cooks. These men are full of energy, and they have some money."
Linde was stunned for a long time, realizing what Raul wanted to say, and couldn't help but laugh, "You're not suggesting I find them prostitutes, are you? Even if I wanted to, where would I find them now? And how many prostitutes would be willing to risk being robbed by bandits to come to this remote place, Tengshi Town?"
"Actually, you don't necessarily have to specifically find prostitutes. There are already some here." Raul cautiously suggested, "You could discuss it with the Countess, to let some of the people from Tengshi Town..."
"Are you crazy!" Linde stared at Raul with wide eyes and said, "You're telling me to go talk to the Countess about something like this? I don't know if she'll cleave me in half, but if she finds out it was your terrible idea, then you're definitely dead, and I absolutely won't stop her."
Raul shrank his neck and said awkwardly, "Actually, it's fine if you don't say anything. Some people below have already done this."
Linde's expression immediately became serious, and he said, "Both parties are willing?"
"Yes, they are willing," Raul quickly responded.
Linde thought for a moment and said, "Pass my words down and tell those who can't control themselves that what they do is their own business, but one thing must be remembered: both parties must be willing, no coercion, and pay enough money. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I will not be lenient with them."
"Yes, Sir." Raul, sweating on his forehead, quickly exited Linde's room.
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