At this moment, in the chieftain's hall of the King's Hall fortress, Mandis was talking to a man!
"Lord Kabo! This method you mentioned is truly amazing! I reckon that lord of Griffin Fortress is probably already burnt to a crisp in the Executioner's Valley!"
"Hmph! What magic! Wizards! Those are just things of legend. Even the Targaryen family fell. I figure he's just a minor noble who fled here. How could it be that magical?"
The man named Kabo said with an arrogant expression. In his opinion, Mark should be a minor noble who fled from somewhere.
He was just taking advantage of having soldiers to forcibly conquer the tribes on Skagos Island. He was also very fortunate that he returned early, otherwise, Skagos Island might have changed hands.
Kabo was a knight of the Bolton Family, and he had always been in charge of the trade on Skagos Island. He had always looked down on these Rock Tribesmen, only thinking of profiting for the family he served.
Half a year ago, he discovered an iron ore in the hands of a child from a certain tribe. After several investigations, he finally confirmed the location of the mine.
After he reported the situation, Roose Bolton attached great importance to this matter, so this great noble of The North wanted to subdue Skagos Island.
Kabo hadn't expected this to happen just a month after he'd left.
In the raven message, Mandis had only said that Skagos Island was on the verge of being conquered by some "wizard noble"!
After receiving the information, Kabo braved the cold wind and freezing rain to rush to Skagos Island. Upon learning that King's Hall was preparing to surrender, he encouraged Mandis to commit fratricide!
Just as the two were discussing how to handle Griffin Fortress, a warrior rushed in, panicked. He said to Mandis:
"It's bad! Lord Mandis! The 500 warriors left to clean up the remnants of the enemy have been defeated. Those who escaped said they only lost a few men in the valley! What do we do now?"
Mandis, however, appeared calm. "What's the panic? Gather the troops and prepare for battle. We'll be right there! Go!"
"Yes!"
At this moment, Mandis and Kabo exchanged glances, both filled with shock. They had devised several killing moves, all aimed at annihilating the lord of Griffin Fortress in one fell swoop.
Unexpectedly, after enduring fire attacks, assassinations, and ambushes, his subordinates hadn't collapsed. Instead, they had decisively defeated the forces he had sent.
This immediately threw the two men, who had just moments before been supremely confident, into a panic. After a few seconds of silence, they looked up and exchanged glances, a sinister smile playing at the corners of their mouths!
Outside the King's Hall castle at this moment, the chieftain, Ma Shengdan, was shouting at the soldiers on the city gates.
He loudly proclaimed Mandis's act of patricide, stating that he wouldn't hold the rebels accountable. Seeing the wavering expressions of the warriors behind the wooden gate, Ma Shengdan's lips curved into a smile!
Suddenly, he noticed smoke beginning to rise from various corners of the tribe, followed by flickering flames.
Ma Shengdan urgently ordered the warriors to open the gate and extinguish the fire, as he seemed to hear fighting coming from inside.
The massive wooden gate was quickly opened, and Ma Shengdan, leading his warriors, rushed forward with urgency.
Mark quickly stopped him, sending a portion of soldiers to join his team, and instructed him to have everyone in the tribe lay down their weapons in advance.
If they were still holding weapons, they were to be killed without mercy. Ma Shengdan was somewhat confused by this, but he still chose to follow Mark's instructions.
At this moment, Griffin Siwang and several falcons were patrolling the sky above the King's Hall fortress.
After Mark had taken Abyssal Fortress and Driftwood Hall, he had gathered all the Skinchangers under his command, forming a special unit.
Mark named them the Wolf Spirit Squad, and they were specifically tasked with scouting and reconnaissance. In the future, Mark would continue to train them and expand the size of this team!
As a Blue Star Person, he deeply understood the role that intelligence played in warfare. He knew why Varys, the "Spider," and Littlefinger Baelish could stir up trouble in Westeros.
It was all thanks to the intelligence resources they possessed, which allowed them to prepare in advance in many places, ensuring they obtained the greatest benefits.
The Skinchangers' role was to secretly investigate the enemy and gather intelligence. Few people would pay attention to the birds flying above their heads in their daily lives!
And that's exactly what Mandis and Kabo were doing. They ordered their remaining soldiers to loot and create chaos in the fortress, while the two of them quietly led their guards and prepared to escape to The North.
Just as they were preparing to board the ship, an eagle's screech suddenly came from overhead. They heard a "rip," and the sail of the small boat was torn open.
Then they saw a griffin-like monster tear through their sail. The large sail, over four meters long, fell down and covered several guards.
Griffin Siwang screeched and dove, pushing several of them into the sea, which scared Mandis, who quickly threw himself to the ground.
He immediately ordered the remaining soldiers to attack. Because he was trusted by Roose Bolton, he had received many weapons upon his return, including several military crossbows.
The threat of arrows kept the griffin from attacking them for a while. Kabo then directed the remaining warriors to get into the boat and prepare to row.
At that moment, a shower of arrows suddenly fell from the sky. Several unlucky fellows were instantly hit by arrows and fell onto the boat, screaming.
Seeing the dense archers not far away, Kabo and the others resignedly dropped their weapons and raised their hands high.
Henk, the Crowl Clan chief from Abyssal Fortress, led his men to quickly surround them and captured all the soldiers.
Henk looked at the captured Mandis, his eyes ice-cold. He bared his teeth and said, "You! I remember you. You were the one who set the fire to burn us, right? Heh heh! If the Lord hadn't ordered us not to eat people anymore, I'd have already ripped you open!"
After speaking, he licked Mandis's face, as if savoring his taste and texture. The disgusting action startled Mandis.
He remembered then that the people in Abyssal Fortress were cannibals. Watching the several warriors around him staring and swallowing, Mandis instantly lost his usual composure and began to curse loudly, hoping to die quickly.
Henk gave a cruel laugh and had his men escort them back to the fortress hall, which was now filled with many Griffin Fortress warriors.
Ma Shengdan, the Magga Clan chieftain, was directing his men to clean the hall, where fresh blood still remained from the recent chaos.
Mark sat on the throne, currently collecting his task rewards. He appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he was overjoyed.
Hero Level: 3
Hero Skills: Beginner Attack, Advanced Leadership, Diplomacy... (omitted)
Special Abilities: Kingly Demeanor, Knowledge of All Things.
Owned Buildings: Town Hall, Militia Barracks, Blacksmith, Fortress, Tavern, Market, Archer Tower.
Building Level: 7
Troops: Thugs 190, Archers 9, Infantry 3, Griffin 1, Priest 1, Unicorn 1, Populace 22,113 (Special).
Resources: Gold 2000, Wood 30, Ore 35, Crystal 0, Mercury 0, Gem 0, Sulfur 0.
Quest Log: 1. King's Hall... (Completed) Rewards (Gold 2000, Treasure Chest x1)
"Ding! Congratulations on completing the hidden quest (New Arrival), fully controlling a territory that belongs solely to you. Reward: Elemental Wristband (Allows the hero to cast elemental summoning magic. After casting, the elemental creature's duration parameter is +4, with the specific time being the hero's mana/minute)."
"Ding! Because you've obtained a territory that belongs solely to you, the King's Demeanor skill has leveled up. Heroes contribute 250 gold every 15 days, and training costs are reduced by 2% for each hero level gained."
"Ding! Congratulations on achieving a glorious victory! You are awarded 3000 experience points. Because this battle took place three times, a comprehensive reward will be given!"
Ding! Your hero has leveled up. Please select the corresponding ability:
1. War Maniac: Increases the combat effectiveness of soldiers.
2. Recruitment Skill: Increases the number of soldiers trained. 1st-tier units +3, 2nd-tier units +2, 3rd-tier units +1. (Affected by world rules, this is changed to providing units upon local soldier promotion: 1st-tier units 100, 2nd-tier units 50, 3rd-tier units 10.)
3. Beginner Summoning Magic: Allows the hero to learn 3rd-tier summoning magic and increases its power.
4. Archery: Increases the damage output of ranged units by 20%.
Mark immediately clicked on the War Maniac skill. This would significantly boost the combat effectiveness of his soldiers.
Just as Mark was considering whether to experiment with elemental summoning, Henk entered with Mandis and Kabo.
At this moment, the two of them were trembling and dared not speak. Along the way, Henk had been using the common tongue to describe how he would eat them.
Henk also told them that he would spare their lives, first eating their limbs and roasting them in front of them. After walking these 200 meters, Mandis had already wet himself twice.
Mark looked at the two of them and said, "Tell me! Who sent you to ambush me..."
The two of them dropped to their knees with a thud, and said in unison:
"My Lord! What do you want to know? We'll tell you, please don't eat us!"
After shouting, the two of them began to kowtow repeatedly.
Mark then looked at Henk with some blame, and Henk said helplessly:
"My Lord! I was just trying to scare them, but, can you give them to me after you kill them?"