"Ding! Congratulations, host, on a glorious victory. You have gained experience..."
"Ding! The hero has leveled up. Please select an appropriate ability:
1. Speed Energy: The hero automatically masters the group spell 'Rapid Response.' This becomes an advanced magic effect when the player masters advanced Light Magic.
2. Recruitment: Increases the number of soldiers trained. Upgrades: Infantry +3, Priests +2, Knights +1.
3. Beginner Destruction Magic: Allows the hero to learn 3rd-tier destruction magic and increases its power.
4. Beginner Light Magic: Allows the hero to learn 3rd-tier Light Magic and increases its power.
Marko, now level 6, clicked on the 'Beginner Light Magic' skill. He decided to start with Light Magic in order to learn 'Guardian Angel' later on.
Currently, what Marko needed most was Light Magic. Because his level was too low, summoning magic and destruction magic, which consumed a lot of mana, were simply beyond Marko's capabilities.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, for learning basic Light Magic. The 'Vitality Regeneration' magic scroll has been automatically converted into a magic skill. You can now equip new treasures."
"Ding! Congratulations, host, for learning basic Light Magic. You are rewarded with a level 3 Light Magic, 'Righteous Force'. I hope the host will continue to work hard!"
"Righteous Force, consumes 6 mana.
Enhances friendly units, increasing their attack power.
Basic: Target creature attack +10%.
Beginner: Target creature attack +20%.
Intermediate: Target creature attack +30%.
Advanced: Target creature attack +40%."
Seven days had passed since the battle at the Fist of the First Men. Marko and his group had returned to Castle.
They had left in a hurry last time, leaving behind a lot of supplies. Marko had left them here, as no wildlings dared to come near Castle, so the items were safe.
Fortunately, they had enough people this time. Marko took everything they could carry, even dismantling the wooden beams of the houses. Now, there was truly nothing left.
Then, Marko ordered the structures to be burned down. Castle's daughters and wives stared blankly at the burning buildings.
A few of the younger ones started to cry. Old Fani saw this and stormed over, slapping them and yelling:
"You sluts! Are you missing him? If you are, jump into the fire right now! Don't forget who feeds you and clothes you! If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"
A few days prior, after Red-Haired Red's tribe had joined them, some young men had tried to exercise the custom of "Stealing Women," targeting Castle's daughters and wives.
However, before they could leave the camp, Red-Haired Red, having received the news, stopped them.
Henk had already told Red-Haired Red that these women belonged to Marko, ordering him to keep his people in line.
After witnessing the amazing magic of Marko's people, Red-Haired Red was completely submissive in his heart, and also grateful for his choice!
In the north and west, the wildling tribes had been experiencing frequent chaos for over a year, with many cave dwellers fleeing the deep mountains.
Rumors of the White Walkers' return were also spreading, and then the Red Hall was breached by them.
Red-Haired Red, with no other choice, led his tribe to seek help from the Thenn. Unexpectedly, they encountered Leaf's group on the way. After a brief exchange, Red-Haired Red joined Leaf's group, until they met Marko.
And right now! Marko, who had just chosen his skills, turned his head towards Leaf, who was also riding a Shadow Lynx. This big cat had followed the one Moonshadow was riding.
It had been trailing the group from behind. Marko discovered it a few days ago and instructed Leaf to make it a companion, so it could eventually pair with Moonshadow's.
Marko looked at Leaf, who was secretly sizing him up, and felt very strange. He turned his head and asked:
"Leaf, is there something strange about me? What's wrong?"
Leaf's eyes flickered with worry when she heard Marko's words. She paused, then said:
"Marko! You! Are you a god? Why do I feel so many godly powers within you? But you are clearly human!"
"This… I can't explain it to you! Because I don't know where the power within me comes from! Perhaps it's the work of some great god!"
"Is that so? Perhaps the Green Seer was right, the future has changed!"
After hearing Marko's words, Leaf lowered her head and thought for a moment before murmuring to herself.
Then she rode her Shadow Lynx to the back of Marko and walked alongside Moonshadow.
The two, like little girls of the Children of the Forest, began to chat, occasionally glancing at Marko, which made him feel uncomfortable.
To ease the awkward atmosphere, Marko had to ride his horse to the back of the group, where Red-Haired Red and his people were.
Marko had prepared quite a few horses for this journey, and he was riding the warhorse the system had provided.
Seeing Marko come to the rear of the group, Red-Haired Red hurried to meet him, and Marko dismounted to greet him.
Sas Ting and his two companions followed closely behind. Marko then invited Red-Haired Red to walk with him.
Red-Haired Red looked to be about forty years old, with four sons and two daughters. He was also a very powerful warrior.
Red hair in the world of the wildlings signified life and light, so he had been blessed with advantages from a young age, and grew up to become the leader of his tribe.
His tribe was also one of the best in the Red Hall. Because they often traded with the Giants and nomadic tribes, his tribe had always been quite prosperous.
Marko asked him, "Can you talk to me about the situation in the North? I remember you said you were from the Red Hall, right?"
"Yes, Marko!"
Red-Haired Red respectfully addressed Marko.
The Red Hall was the largest settlement north of the Haunted Forest, home to over thirty tribes of varying sizes.
The Red Hall was a favorite gathering place for the wildlings, who led a nomadic life, as they could trade goods and iron there.
The Red Hall had a permanent population of about 50,000, which changed constantly every year.
Half a year ago, the nomadic tribes to the north and the cave dwellers to the west began to flee south. Red-Haired Red had just realized the problem when the Red Hall was attacked by White Walkers.
Fortunately, the warriors of the wildling tribes discovered the White Walkers' fear of fire, and they burned the Red Hall's buildings, buying everyone time to escape.
Marko learned from Red-Haired Red that most of the wildling tribes gathered in the Red Hall had fled into the Haunted Forest, many of them under the leadership of "Giantsbane" Tormund.
After getting the information he needed, Marko bid farewell to Red-Haired Red. Before leaving, Marko told him that as long as they were obedient, he would ensure they had a better life.
Furthermore, they could live in the South in the future. Marko was getting more and more skilled at this "painting a bigger picture" tactic!
The long and tedious journey passed day by day. Fortunately, during this time, Marko and his group were no longer attacked by White Walkers.
Seeing the distant The Wall, Marko gave a knowing smile. He had sent a raven to Old Bear three days prior.
Moreover, Marko mentioned in the letter that he would be leading some newly subdued subordinates through The Wall. Although Marko didn't explicitly say who they were, Old Bear and the others basically guessed what kind of people he was bringing back.
Old Bear hadn't received a reply from Castle for a long time and knew that the guy was probably in a bad way, which he could only regret!
Since it was nearing evening, Marko chose to camp in the woods. The group was too complex; if they encountered Night's Watch warriors with deep-seated hatred for the wildlings, it was hard to guarantee that no trouble would arise. Marko still planned to rely on the Night's Watch to hold off the wildlings heading south!
Also, Castle Black needed time to prepare, and Marko didn't want to cause them too much trouble; after all, they were still quite respectful of Marko!
That night, Marko, asleep, found himself in his consciousness world again, and the Three-Eyed Raven was already waiting for him.
Each time the Three-Eyed Raven came here, it only dared to stay in one place, never daring to make any unnecessary movements.
It seemed to be very afraid of something in Marko's consciousness world, which Marko was not surprised by. In fact, he even felt a little schadenfreude!
"I believe you already know what happened at the Red Hall! I'm here to talk to you about this matter. This time, they've sent out the Night King. That guy is very troublesome!
Before you appeared, I was already prepared to face my fate! Now, we have plenty of time and opportunities to deal with them!"
The Three-Eyed Raven said expressionlessly, as if nothing could move him.
Marko looked at him and asked, somewhat curiously:
"Actually, I've always wanted to ask you, what kind of being are you? Your ability to constantly change bodies is, in some ways, already in the realm of gods!"
The Three-Eyed Raven looked at Marko, a slight smile playing on his lips. He asked Marko, "I thought you'd never ask! So, in your opinion, what are gods?"
Seeing the Three-Eyed Raven's reaction, Marko couldn't help but inwardly curse the old man's pretentiousness. However, curious as he was, he could only answer, "The Dragon King doesn't believe in gods! Because we are the gods' incarnations!"
"Haha! I don't think you're a Dragon King. You seem more like some unknown entity, Marko! I'll call you that for now!
After spending so much time with you, I've realized you're not a descendant of the Dragon King family. You should be the incarnation of some god, you just don't know it!"
The Three-Eyed Raven said with an uncharacteristic laugh.
Marko noticed that the Three-Eyed Raven was a bit different tonight, completely unlike his usual calm demeanor. He seemed very excited, and Marko felt that his question had touched upon some memories within the Three-Eyed Raven.
Marko looked at the somewhat flustered Three-Eyed Raven and said calmly:
"In fact, no matter who I am, or what exists within me, it won't affect my goal of conquering the world and changing it! The world of iron and fire is too boring; only magic is the sole truth in this world!"
After hearing this, the Three-Eyed Raven looked at Marko with a complex expression and then said:
"Actually!..."
It turned out that this last green seer, over the long years, had continuously absorbed life energy, successfully upgrading to a more powerful existence.
The Three-Eyed Raven at that time was, in some sense, a deity. However, the Children of the Forest were too reliant on the weirwood trees and didn't think about changing, or rather, didn't want to change at all.
At that time, Westeros was filled with the Children of the Forest and Giants. Although there were occasional conflicts between them, the Children of the Forest had once held the upper hand, relying on the power of magic.
"It all stemmed from our battle with the First Men. Their terrifying numbers were simply unmatched by us. Once the weirwood trees were destroyed, we were unable to cast spells. At that time, our people were defeated repeatedly, completely unable to stop them, until I found that power!"
The Three-Eyed Raven said slowly to Marko, his voice filled with pain and regret.
It turned out that, cornered and desperate, the Three-Eyed Raven had found a stone that had fallen from the sky in a mysterious corner.
This stone was very strange, containing a cold and terrifying power. Some animal corpses around it were "revived" under its influence.
The Three-Eyed Raven stored this magical stone and continuously studied and explored its power patterns. After a while, the Three-Eyed Raven completely mastered this power.
He used Obsidian to store this power and taught the other Children of the Forest how to use it, but this power was extremely aggressive, and it was easy for the Children of the Forest to lose themselves if they were not careful.
However, in order to deal with humans, the Three-Eyed Raven still ordered it to be used on humans. The first White Walker was created by the Three-Eyed Raven himself.
At first, the White Walkers were obedient, but later the Three-Eyed Raven found that the stone had disappeared for some unknown reason.
After he realized what had happened, the wight uprising occurred, and all the intelligent races on the continent of Westeros suffered an unprecedented blow.
"Although everyone joined forces to repel the White Walkers, they've taken root in the Land of Always Winter, launching invasions periodically.
Eventually, I was also affected by this power, becoming this half-dead state, Marko! My soul is mixed with so many memories and emotions, and I'm afraid. I don't know when I'll lose control of myself and become an even more terrifying monster!
Taking over other people's bodies and consciousness everywhere! Controlling the thoughts of others. Sometimes, I suspect I am a White Walker, just without a physical body. If I become a White Walker, then there will be no power in this world that can stop me! Not even the gods!"
The Three-Eyed Raven sounded very pained when he said this, as if he had suppressed it for too long, and he blurted out all the words in his heart.
Marko felt strange when he was watching the show. Why would the Night King keep chasing Bran? Now it seems that the purpose of doing so was to turn him into a White Walker!