A crude long spear came flying, and Pel dodged a barbarian's thrust, his sword flashing as he cut off the enemy's forearm.
Pel's movements didn't stop; he kicked the enemy down, then stepped forward and viciously stabbed the enemy's neck and chest three times.
With a whoosh, the sound of an arrow cutting through the air arrived.
Just as Pel was about to react, a pain shot through his side.
The barbarian's bone arrow pierced his leather armor but was stopped by the chainmail underneath.
Pel cursed under his breath, grabbed the still-trembling fletched arrow shaft, pulled it out of his leather armor, and flung it to the ground.
"Protect the Ser!"
"There are archers on the uphill to the west!"
"Archers, return fire!"
The moonlight was faint, and the slaughter continued.
A strong barbarian chieftain stared at Pel, gnashing his teeth, blood constantly overflowing from his mouth, his eyeballs gradually becoming bloodshot.
The short swords in the hands of the Survey Corps soldiers continuously stabbed the barbarian chieftain's abdomen.
In the past, it was always the barbarian tribes that were raided by the Survey Corps.
Tonight was the first time the Survey Corps had been ambushed by a barbarian tribe, which stirred an unknown anger in the steady Pel.
Pel coldly glanced at the barbarian chieftain's corpse lying on the ground.
The barbarian chieftain's intestines were spilling out, and his flesh was a bloody mess from the Survey Corps' stabs.
The deeper into the valley the tribes were, the fiercer they became.
Pel's old colleague and friend, Ser Mason, had been responsible for building new-style farms in Old Territory under Lord Green's orders.
Ser Mason's demand for food resources was growing, forcing Pel to accelerate the speed of conquering barbarian tribes.
As the Survey Corps delved deeper, the resistance from the valley barbarians grew stronger, and the Survey Corps' casualties gradually increased.
Every soldier in the Survey Corps was an elite carefully selected by Pel, almost all of them renowned local hunters.
He needed more chainmail and shields; the warlike Pel had also felt physically exhausted recently.
Pel felt that the Survey Corps needed to rest for a period of time.
Next time, the Survey Corps would bring them true fear.
At the camp, the summer night was filled with brilliant starlight.
Jaime retorted, "Using fear?"
Green shrugged, "The Targaryen dragons brought fear to the Seven Kingdoms, and the Targaryens gained the Iron Throne. If the Mad King had giant dragons, King Robert could only tightly grip his invincible warhammer and play smashing fish by the sea in the Stormlands."
Jaime originally wanted to laugh without reservation, but his smile was still forced.
Green's brown eyes flickered, and for the sake of the golden dragons, he took the initiative to say, "Ser Jaime, I prefer to put myself in others' shoes. What I mean is, what would I have done if I were in your place at that time?
King's Landing was about to fall, the Mad King was going to burn the entire city with Wildfire jars, and he also demanded your father's head.
I've thought about it many times, what I would choose, what else I could do, if I were in your shoes."
Jaime's body trembled slightly, and a never-before-seen light appeared in his eyes.
Green looked up at the night sky and sighed softly, "I've thought about it repeatedly, and the conclusion is almost the same every time, Ser Jaime."
Green leaned his body, his gaze shifting to Jaime, and he patted his arm, "Although you lost your honor, many people are alive because of you. Your choice wasn't too bad. Ser Jaime, be open-hearted and fear no rumors."
The quality Green most admired in Jaime Lannister was that Jaime didn't exploit others; this sounds simple but is incredibly rare and valuable.
Jaime suddenly felt Green's wisdom was a bit dazzling.
In his contemplation, after listening to Green's words, Jaime felt for a moment that Tyrion's idea seemed acceptable.
A tiny spark, fleeting.
No, absolutely not!
It was late, and Green was preparing to rest. He wouldn't care about Jaime's emotional changes; for him, this was just a transaction.
Before parting, Green suddenly said, "Ser Jaime, if you encounter a stubborn person, you can also ask them a question in return."
This was Green's gift.
Outside King's Landing, at Clebert Estate, the sky was clear and blue.
Inside the estate, there were many more stablehands, who were currently carefully tending to the horses.
Steward Rosser, having handled the affairs of the former owner Jeffries, was now sitting with Steward Surana in the gazebo at Clebert Estate.
Steward Surana was wearing a long dress, and a short sword was attached to the leather belt at her waist, which Rosser couldn't help but look at a few extra times.
Rosser's main role before was managing Jeffries in King's Landing; he had never been to Klaeb Territory.
Rosser had, however, heard much about the "fame" of the Kleber spear-wives from Jeffries.
Without seeing it with his own eyes, it was actually very hard to imagine that scene.
Surana proactively clarified Rosser's confusion: "This sword? The merchants in King's Landing are very cunning. Ever since I started carrying this, they've become much more honest."
Rosser smiled, "Ms. Surana, as long as the method works."
Surana didn't intend to continue the topic and said, "I thought I could relax for a while, but I didn't expect Lord Green to take you south."
Rosser nodded and said, "We'll be back soon."
"Then I'll wait for you to return. I'm already very certain that I'm not suited to dealing with merchants."
"Very well, Lady, then I shall depart immediately!"
On Crabclaw Point, in Whispering City, the red sun hung high in the sky.
The middle-aged, corpulent Steward Herschel, though constantly busy, had gained even more weight compared to before Green's departure.
After the Old Territory of Kleber was recovered, with the Mountain Barbarians continuously joining the new-style farms managed by Ser Mason, the population growth there had been steadily increasing.
Although the barbarian tribe conquest legions, mainly composed of the Survey Corps and Thorn Legion, could continuously plunder supplies, the current rate of plunder was a bit behind the rate of population growth.
Herschel needed to purchase a batch of grain in advance to stockpile, ready to support the Old Territory of Kleber at any time.
The newly built Mermaid Port had not yet attracted the interest of large merchant houses.
Those who came to Mermaid Port for trade were still small merchants, so larger-scale transactions still had to rely on Vale merchants.
The golden dragons that the Lord had so painstakingly acquired from King's Landing would probably all benefit the Vale grain merchants!
Herschel felt a pang of pain thinking about the 1,000 golden dragons he had just put into the storeroom.
After Miss Leanna Clayburgh married into Seagull Town a few years ago, although the Vale Noble lifted the trade blockade on Klaeb Territory, the prices for trade with Kleber were still high for Vale merchants.
Moreover, for a period, Klaeb Territory would not continue trading with Vale merchants, and thinking about this made Herschel's heart ache for the golden dragons in the storeroom again.
Steward Herschel was Green's absolute confidant; he naturally understood that Klaeb Territory could not stop the rate of converting barbarians into subjects, as this concerned the future of the territory.
Herschel believed that as long as they endured this period, everything would be fine; the wheat in the vast farmlands of the Old Territory would grow sooner or later.