Green: "..."
Green sighed, thinking to himself that ignorant and barbaric—that was the impression most people had of Crabclaw Point.
The descendants of the First Men were skilled in combat primarily due to long-term exposure to a chaotic and harsh living environment.
After the Andals arrived in Westeros with the Faith of the Seven, the lands of the First Men were reduced to only the harsh environments of the North and Crabclaw Point.
Though both were lands of the First Men's descendants, the vast North was much better off compared to Crabclaw Point.
Approximately 1,000 years ago, House Stark of Winterfell defeated their greatest rival, House Bolton of Dreadfort, forcing them to abandon their royal title and submit. House Stark largely completed the unification of the North, ending the region's chaotic situation.
In contrast, the descendants of the First Men on Crabclaw Point never ceased their internal strife, except when fighting external enemies.
Sometimes a hero would bring temporary peace to the chaotic Crabclaw Point, such as the legendary hero Clarence Clebber of the Kleber Family.
But once the hero died, everything returned to the original state of mutual slaughter.
During the War of the Usurper, the nobles of Crabclaw Point, being part of the losing faction, suffered heavy casualties.
After the war, Duke Jon and the Vale Nobles imposed a continuous blockade and suppression on Crabclaw Point for over a decade, making the fighting on Crabclaw Point even more bloody.
The weakened Crabclaw Point also, in a way, became Green's opportunity to end the chaos.
...
The magnanimous Green would not be angered by a few words between young girls.
Once Green's westward plan succeeded and he controlled the entire Crabclaw Point, the next stage would be to head west, out of Crabclaw Point.
Many nobles in the Crownlands had attempted to conquer Crabclaw Point, including House Mooton of Riverspring.
Riverspring's location was just right; Green suddenly felt today that Riverspring should be designated as the first target for his westward expansion.
Green's decision was due to the old feud between Crabclaw Point and House Mooton of Riverspring, and definitely not the trouble caused by the Muton family's young niece.
...
Outside the inn, at night.
Mondon Wei Shui was heartily eating a basin of meat.
Angai, leaning against a tree nearby, said weakly, "I can't drink; I feel like I can't even get my spirits up…"
Mondon Wei Shui chuckled foolishly.
Angai looked at Mondon: "Mondon, you don't seem to be affected at all. Don't you like to drink too?"
Angai paused as he spoke, then added, "It seems like everyone else is quite used to it?"
Mondon swallowed his food before replying, "This was set by the Lord. Everyone is forbidden from drinking during combat missions. Everyone was like you at first, but you get used to it."
Angai sat down beside Mondon and whispered, "Will there be a battle?"
Although his voice was low, it didn't hide the excitement in Angai's tone.
Angai yearned for battle; he had a dream of being knighted and needed to accumulate merits, the more the better.
Mondon's big head shook: "I'm not sure about that either."
Angai's tone became listless again: "Right, this is the Crownlands, and the Queen is here. Who would dare to attack us?"
Mondon comforted him with a simple smile, "Angai, drinking too much will still affect your fighting. When you're out here, no one knows what might happen, and enemies won't go easy on you just because you've had too much to drink."
Angai nodded slightly; as a born archer, he needed to be in a clear state.
"You're only uncomfortable because it's new. We're all used to it, and you'll get used to it quickly. There will be plenty of opportunities to drink in the future; staying alive is important."
Angai was comforted by Mondon.
Angai looked at the simple-minded Mondon: "Mondon, why do I suddenly feel like you know a lot?"
Mondon gave a foolish chuckle.
...
Inside the inn, Green arranged for Lannister's Red Cloaks to be responsible for the guards, while the Gold Cloaks and Cleber's Blue Cloaks were responsible for the perimeter alert outside the inn.
Green, having finished his patrol, was now sitting by the campfire outside the tent, looking up at the night sky.
Green heard footsteps.
Green's eyes moved slightly, and he saw Ser Jaime, now in silver armor, walking towards him.
Jaime's expression was not very good; he sat down sullenly on Green's other side.
Green nodded slightly, considering it a greeting. He was too lazy to speak because their personalities didn't match!
...
After a long while, Jaime cleared his throat.
Facing Jaime's familiar opening, Green rolled his eyes inwardly.
Jaime's voice held a hint of awkwardness: "Little Baron, care to chat?"
Green rolled his eyes inwardly again; when he needed something, it was 'Little Baron,' but otherwise, it was 'Little Savage'!
A smile appeared on Green's face: "Ser Jaime, your mood doesn't seem to be very good?"
As Green spoke, he gestured to a nearby attendant.
The attendant brought two empty cups, placed them, and then filled them with summer red.
Jaime raised his cup, took a sip of summer red, remained silent for a moment, then spoke: "You seem to know Cersei… the Queen… quite well?"
Who knows her better than you?
Green spread his hands: "Ser Jaime, what do you want to hear?"
Another silence ensued.
Jaime leaned back slightly, his gaze on the star-studded night sky: "I recalled my father's teachings. He told me that when I'm lost, I can listen to others' advice and then carefully consider if what they say makes sense."
Green's right hand lifted slightly, extending five fingers towards Jaime.
Consultation fee: 5 gold dragons, otherwise no discussion.
Jaime, as expected of a Lannister, his green eyes moved, and he immediately understood Green's meaning.
A Lannister lion would never show any unusual reaction just because someone was bargaining with him.
The handsome Jaime displayed a bright smile, untied the money pouch from his waist, and tossed it to Green: "Only more, not less."
Green caught the money pouch with ease.
Jaime misunderstood Green; there were at least 50 gold dragons in that money pouch.
This was a beautiful misunderstanding. Green, who had originally intended to simply brush him off, straightened his back.
...
Crabclaw Point, a dense forest in the northeastern part of Old Claypole.
A Survey Corps soldier's short sword was quietly placed against the neck of a wildling tribal sentry from behind.
The suddenly appearing short sword gleamed coldly, causing the wildling sentry to involuntarily tremble.
The Survey Corps soldier's other hand covered the wildling sentry's mouth, then swiftly and cleanly slit the wildling sentry's throat.
Late at night, the mountain forest was silent.
Whoosh!
This was the sound of an arrow cutting through the air.
Before he could react, the Survey Corps soldier was struck in the chest by an arrow, and with a thud, he fell straight to the ground, his eyes slowly losing their light.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The three Survey Corps soldiers silently following behind immediately fired arrows in the direction from which the arrow had come.
"The enemy is prepared. Go immediately and inform Ser Pello!"
"Yes! Death before dishonor!"
"Survey Corps, death before dishonor!"
The after-effects of heatstroke are a bit severe; my body feels weak, so I'll only do one update today.
I'm sorry, I'll make it up later!
I'll try to get back into shape quickly and stabilize the update time and quantity. It won't be long!
Also, I fell out of the top 100 list again today. Please give me your votes and recommendations!