After a busy day, Marco returned to the Main Keep early. Too much had happened today, causing his emotions to fluctuate. While the rebirth of the Children of the Forest was joyful, the appearance of the Night Lion cast a shadow over everything.
Moonshadow didn't return to the Griffin Keep with Marco tonight; instead, she stayed with Leaf and the others at the Fairy Tree. Only Moonstone, the little one, came back with Marco.
Both of his eyes had turned green, a sign of fully awakening "Green Vision." His ability to control animal companions now surpassed Henk's, making him the strongest shapeshifter on Skagos Island.
Marco had tried to persuade him many times, but this fellow was determined to become a "Green Seer" and showed no interest in Marco's suggestions, which left Marco feeling quite helpless.
Putting aside these chaotic thoughts, Marco tried to calm his mind. He needed to properly plan for the future. Fortunately, the Night Lion had only revealed some abilities and hadn't truly begun to interfere with reality, so his true opponent remained the White Walker army.
Marco leaned against the headboard, holding a quill and writing on paper. He always wrote to record things when he rested. This habit was somewhat like keeping a diary, something Marco had always done because when he calmed down, he would recall some memories from his previous life. He would then record them for future use.
The Griffin Keep was currently about 480 kilometers from Eastwatch and about 600 kilometers from Hardhome. After Marco summoned the Moonlight, he had been having Captain Charles and his crew search for suitable sea routes. Over the past six months, they had used the Moonlight, this magical ship, to chart a very complete map.
Two months ago, the Driftmark had sent some of their people to explore Skaen Island first. This was the naval base Marco had specifically chosen for the Griffin Keep. Skaen Island was located northwest of Skagos Island. The island's residents were also a remnant of the First Men, but long ago, when the Skagos Island rebellion occurred, the Rockseed had plundered the people on the island.
Later, the place slowly became a gathering point for smugglers. Some unscrupulous merchants from the North and the southern kingdoms often smuggled ironware and goods to sell beyond the Wall. However, they were more like pirates than merchants.
Captain Charles of the Moonlight, pretending to be a slave trader from Essos, took the opportunity to raid this small dock, seizing large quantities of ironware and stolen goods, as well as some slaves captured by the smugglers. After that, it became the first overseas base of the Main Keep.
In fact, even if the Three-Eyed Raven hadn't said anything, Marco had already prepared for the expedition. He had been transporting grain there while constructing the dock on Skaen Island.
After recording these things, Marco opened his data interface. He needed to compare it with the list to make good use of the existing resources and plan a general course of action.
Possessed City: Main Keep
Crest: Holy Sun
Motto: Light and Order
Owner: Marco Belleris
Hero Level: Level 6
Hero Skills: Basic Offense, Advanced Leadership, Diplomacy, Retribution, Finance... (omitted)
Special Abilities: Regal Demeanor, Knows All.
Owned Buildings: City Hall, Militia Barracks, Blacksmith, Fortress, Tavern, Marketplace, Archer Tower, Barracks, Griffin Tower... (omitted)
Building Level: Level 12
Owned Soldiers: Thugs 310, Archers 9, Infantry 3, Griffins 5, Priest 1, Unicorn 1, Archmage 1, Druid Elder 1, Mummy 1, Commoners... (omitted).
Owned Resources: Gold 19450, Wood 19, Ore 26, Crystal 7, Mercury 4, Gem 8, Sulfur 8.
Early the next morning, Marco took out the two plans he had written the previous night. One was to implement the Elite Soldier Strategy, converting the existing 300 Thugs into Infantry or Archers to flatten Hardhome with the powerful strength of 2nd and 3rd tier troops.
To be honest, Marco was quite tempted by this plan. However, carrying it out would mean he'd lose the tax-payer status of the Thugs, which was unacceptable for Marco, given his resource scarcity. Moreover, the folks beyond the Wall were too weak to even warrant using Level 3 soldiers.
The second plan was a bit crazy. It involved directly spending 18,000 resources to convert 900 Thug soldiers, bringing his total to 1,000. This would also net him an extra 1,000 gold each month. However, it would mean he couldn't implement his castle expansion plan. But overall, it was the most stable and cost-effective plan so far.
After considering everything, Marco decided to go with the second plan. Once he'd finalized it, Marco had Sas Ting and the others gather all the clan warriors in the Main Keep. He was going for a big move this time, choosing to convert 900 warriors directly. He was still a little apprehensive because converting system soldiers previously required wood and ore resources. He wasn't sure if the system would deplete all his resources this time.
However, after a flash of dazzling golden light, all 900 clan warriors were successfully converted into Thug soldiers. Including the 210 Thugs Marco already had, his number of Level 1 soldiers finally broke through to "1k."
In the game, whenever a hero's soldiers reached 1,000, the system displayed the number as 1k. In a way, this was already considered a large army, and the hero would also gain corresponding action effects in the game.
Then, Marco was surprised to find that the wood and ore resources hadn't decreased at all this time. The conversion of 900 soldiers hadn't cost him anything. He had been prepared for both resources to be completely depleted, but he didn't expect this result. However, the next "surprise" completely stunned Marco.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully having a team of over 1,000 people. In the future, converting soldiers will no longer incur any extra costs besides gold resources!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have exceeded 1,000 soldiers, completing the hidden quest, 'Thousands Upon Thousands' 1/2. You are specially rewarded with 5,000 gold resources. Keep up the good work, Host!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for continuous spending of over 20,000 gold resources. You are specially rewarded with 10,000 gold resources. Please continue to work hard; there will be more rewards in the future. Please stay tuned! (Recharge and cashback activity! What a familiar taste!)"
After hearing this series of prompts, Marco, who had just felt a little heartache, immediately cheered up. He had originally thought that he wouldn't be able to upgrade the Main Keep before leaving, but he didn't expect the system to suddenly return so many resources to him.
Now Marco could build a part of the structures he needed, but he had more important things to do, so he didn't immediately open the list to add buildings.
Instead, he summoned all of his subordinates to a meeting. What Marco needed to do now was to integrate his expeditionary force and arrange all the deployment work. Because Marco had planned it the previous night, he would officially launch the expedition beyond the Wall in a month.
Marco now had more than 1,000 melee infantry. As long as he had an archer unit for long-range suppression, he could basically guarantee the victory of this expedition.
And just in time, Marco had an archer unit composed of clan warriors. These warriors were all archer resources that Marco had carefully selected. After more than half a year, they finally broke through to a quantity of 500 people. Although the clan warriors couldn't reach the level of Loren Hawk-eye, they had a large number!
Marco had originally planned for them to go on the expedition, but now that he suddenly had 15,000 gold resources, Marco felt that he could add a new sequence of recruits. After upgrading the Archer Tower to a Crossbow Tower, he could train crossbowmen and crossbow soldiers, who were both extremely powerful in the Tier 2 troops.
At the same time, Marco also planned in his heart how to use this batch of resources. In the following period, Marco built the Headquarters and the Crossbow Tower. It is worth mentioning that after the Headquarters was built, the system activated a new feature of this building. The planting cycle of the crops in the system farm also changed to two harvests a year.
The crops in those three system farms had also undergone a tremendous change. They had all matured overnight, and Marco harvested a large amount of grain before this expedition began.
What made Marco happiest was the appearance of the second city wall. Due to the appearance of the Headquarters, Gryphon Keep expanded outwards again, this time incorporating a portion of the coastline.
Countless buildings and streets sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, instantly filling the newly appeared second area.
Early the next morning, the residents under Marco's command spontaneously gathered in the plaza in front of the Main Keep. Many of them unconsciously knelt towards the Main Keep, reciting sacred prayers. They knew that all of this was brought by Marco, that it was Marco, this "Holy Son," who had once again bestowed a miracle!
A month quickly passed. During this time, Marco had been experimenting with his new ability, "Enchantment."
The elven heroes of the forest faction all used their unique special skill, "Enchanted Arrow." This ability was extremely powerful and could inflict great damage on enemies. When he used to play the game, Marco's favorite thing was to use forest heroes to grind for "Enchanted Ballista." This thing was even harder to get than the elves' ultimate skill, "Forest's Blessing," but it was super powerful to use!
The weakened version of "Enchantment" that Marco obtained, although not as powerful as the original, could still help Marco accumulate a large amount of offensive magic, which could save him a lot of mana in battle.
While the benefits were many, using it was very taxing on the body. The daily limit of five uses made Marco feel a bit overwhelmed. Just as the system提示 said, using it too much would really lead to anemia.
Over the past month, Marco successfully created 20 enchanted obsidian projectiles. He enchanted them with the destructive magic "Thunderbolt," which is Marco's most powerful offensive spell to date, boasting formidable destructive power. Marco had tested it, and the ability could generate splash damage, not just targeting individuals.
Obsidian is the best magical medium in the world of Game of Thrones, but perhaps because it's so fragile, the success rate has remained low. Marco had experimented with copper items several times, but with no success. He planned to try again after he leveled up.
If the metal experiments succeeded, it would mean Marco could potentially replicate Valyrian Steel, or something even stronger. Thinking about how this world still used such magical items for close-quarters combat, Marco felt it was an insult to magical metals, a complete waste!
Although Marco had been using blood magic for a month, he found that his body had become significantly stronger over time. The power of the Valyrian Bloodline seemed to be growing bit by bit through this continuous consumption. At his limit, Marco could even use blood magic seven times.
With the use of blood magic, Marco's control over his body also grew stronger, and he could manipulate magic more freely. Many spells reached the point of instant casting. Previously, he would have to gather magical power, but now he could basically cast them at will.
Moreover, Moonshadow and the other magical units had become stronger under Marco's influence, especially Naksis. All his spells were now instant cast, no longer requiring a long time to gather power.
In this meeting, Marco finalized the personnel for the expedition. The Bear Knights were all staying behind. The entourage from the last expedition would all go with Marco, creating a formidable lineup!
This time, Marco would take 1,100 Thugs and 100 crossbowmen, which would be the main force of Marco's expedition. He also drew 500 people from the other two tribes to serve as a logistical support force. According to the information from the Three-Eyed Raven, Hardhome currently had around 30,000 troops, all from tribal clans that had fled the Shadow Forest.
Marco had prepared for a month, all to have the Gryphon Keep's fleet stand by here. Due to the large number of people, Marco could only transport them out in batches, first gathering on Skaen Island, and then setting off for Hardhome.
Fortunately, Marco now had four ships, so transportation wasn't too much of a hassle. Moreover, Henk and the others had sent back news yesterday. The Bolton family had compensated them with 100 gold dragons for this incident. The treasure chest Marco had left behind was also worth about 50 gold dragons. Under the Stark family's lead, White Harbor had secured three war galleys and two merchant ships for Henk and his people.
Henk and the others also, as per Marco's request, handed a portion of the gold dragons to the Stark family in advance. Then, they set off for the harbor in the village of Cod's End. White Harbor was expected to arrive at this small dock in three months to deliver the goods. Then, Henk and the others would take these five ships back to Skagos Island. Also coming with them would be some supplies and weapons sent by the Stark and Manderly families.
If Eddard Stark found out about Marco's actions a few years later, he might be so enraged that he'd resurrect as a ghost to seek revenge.