Coming to King's Landing again, Linde felt like he was back for the martial arts tournament; outside the city of King's Landing, there were tents everywhere, with banners of various lords and nobles flying over the camps, and soldiers with different equipment walking around the camps.
"House Estermont of Greenstone, House Selmy of Harvest Hall, House Wylde of Rain House..." Daisy looked at the banners fluttering over the camps, discerning which families had answered King Robert's call, "They are all lords from the Stormlands. Not a single family from the closer Crownlands has sent anyone. What are they trying to do?"
"I don't think it's that no one was sent; it's more like they couldn't send anyone," Jon, who was standing nearby, also looked at the surrounding camps and whispered, "Many rumors spread during the Great Frost Disaster, and King Robert couldn't catch the rumor-mongers, so he could only point the finger at the Crownlands nobles, who were once the Dragon family's most loyal supporters. Now the lords of the Crownlands have been weakened to the point where they are not even as good as ordinary nobles. How could they possibly send troops to answer the summons?"
Hearing their conversation, Linde turned around, looked at them, and said in a deep voice, "Both of you shut up. Don't discuss these irrelevant matters. We are here to fight, not to chat."
Daisy and Jon both instinctively flinched, saying no more.
Silent marching could be said to be a characteristic of Linde's army. Compared to other armies where people chattered incessantly whether walking or setting up camp, Linde's army was as if everyone had their tongues cut out; they spoke little and focused on their tasks, which created an invisible aura of power around the entire contingent, making everyone who saw them feel an inexplicable sense of awe.
Before approaching King's Landing, this army of several thousand cavalrymen was already very eye-catching. However, most people, upon seeing the swallowtail banners in their hands, looked bewildered because they didn't recognize which family the sword emblem on the banner belonged to. It wasn't until they saw the two unusually tall warhorses, fully clad in leather armor, and the giant beast resembling a Shadow Lynx next to the warhorses, that they immediately understood the identity of the arrivals.
Since that martial arts tournament, Linde's reputation had not diminished after leaving King's Landing; instead, it had steadily grown. The revival of Tengshi Town, the opening of the Mander River shipping route, the miraculous feat of defeating a thousand in Oldtown, his identity as a Chosen One of the Warrior—all these became the most discussed topics in the streets and alleys of King's Landing.
The hunter of bears song in the taverns was even changed to the Chosen One's song, with over thirty versions of the lyrics. For any minstrel, not knowing other songs wasn't a big problem, but if they couldn't sing the Chosen One's song, they would definitely be considered a terrible singer and be kicked out of the tavern.
It was precisely because Linde had such a great reputation in King's Landing that his contingent, upon arriving outside the Lion Gate of King's Landing, was already blocked by the crowds of onlookers and soldiers from other lords' retinues.
At this moment, a team of Gold Cloaks rushed out from behind the crowd. They used whips to drive away those blocking the road, clearing a path, and then approached Linde's contingent.
Seeing the arrivals, Linde dismounted and walked to the front of his contingent, bowing to the leader of the Gold Cloaks: "Jaime, long time no see."
The person leading this team of Gold Cloaks was Jaime Lannister. He looked at Linde with a complex expression, then at Linde's subordinates around him, and couldn't help but sigh, "Yes, it has been a long time. When I first saw you, you weren't even a knight, but now you are already..." He paused, not continuing, then looked around and said, "This is not the place to talk. His Majesty the King has prepared a camp location for you and Earl Nameria near the Dragon Gate. Follow me!"
With that, Jaime turned to instruct the Gold Cloaks to disperse the onlookers, then led Linde's contingent along a small path outside the city wall, Around ing around to a large open space between the Dragon Gate and the Old Gate.
After Linde instructed his subordinates to set up camp, Jaime said to him and Nameria, "You and Earl Nameria should come with me to see His Majesty the King now! He has learned of your arrival and is eager to see you."
Linde and Nameria looked at each other, then tidied their attire and followed Jaime into the city.
Although the Iron Islands rebellion had occurred and caused great destruction along the Westernlands coastline, it did not affect the stability of King's Landing. For the people of King's Landing, the Iron Islands were simply too far away and too weak. They believed that once the army summoned by the King was assembled, they could easily resolve the problem of the Iron Islands, so compared to news from the Iron Islands, they were more concerned with what they would eat today.
Just as when he entered the outer district of Highgarden that day, when Linde entered King's Landing with Glory, Glory also caused quite a stir.
However, most of the people in King's Landing already knew that the Chosen One Linde had a giant beast with him, so it didn't cause panic like it did in Highgarden. Still, they kept their distance, no one daring to approach, which saved the Gold Cloaks the trouble of clearing a path.
Soon, the group arrived outside the Red Keep. After their identities were verified, Jaime did not lead Linde to the main hall but instead took a corridor around the main building, arriving at a courtyard on the seaside of the Red Keep.
Linde had Glory wait outside the courtyard, then followed Jaime into the courtyard.
"Haha! Look who it is! Our Chosen One." As soon as he entered the courtyard, King Robert's hearty laughter rang out. Then, King Robert emerged from a pavilion full of people, walking towards Linde with open arms. Before Linde could react, he forcefully embraced Linde.
Although he didn't know why, it was clear that King Robert genuinely admired Linde, expressing a closeness that far exceeded that for an ordinary foreign official, instead more like treating a friend.
After King Robert released him, Linde stepped back, removed his helmet, and bowed to Robert: "His Majesty the King."
Nameria also stepped forward to stand beside Linde, bowing to Robert together.
Robert looked at Nameria and exclaimed, "Earl Fudeli, you're damn tall, even taller than that Mountain fellow."
"Your Majesty, please mind your words," Hand of the King Jon Arryn, with his white hair, walked behind Robert and said in a deep voice.
"I know, I know. A King should have a King's etiquette. I know all this." Robert waved his hand impatiently, then said to Linde with some excitement, "A lot has happened to you over this past year. The news I've received isn't complete, so it would be more direct to hear it from you, the person involved."
Seeing Robert like this, Linde could vaguely guess why Robert was so kind to him. Clearly, he saw himself as an avatar, an avatar who wasn't sitting on the Iron Throne, but rather drinking, eating meat, fighting, and traveling outside.
The King's Hand, standing by, frowned and reminded again, "Your Majesty, what's more important now is to discuss the Iron Islands rebellion, not to listen to rumors and stories that can be heard casually in any tavern."
Although Jon Arryn's words seemed directed at Robert, Linde could feel a subtle hostility from the old man towards him, which greatly puzzled Linde. He quickly reviewed his memories, trying to find where he might have offended this powerful old man.
"I know, I know!" Although Robert was very displeased with Duke Arryn's restrictions, he also clearly knew that Duke Arryn was right. So, he turned and returned to the pavilion. However, after sitting down, he beckoned to Linde and Nameria, saying, "You two listen in too! And you can give some opinions too. The proposals I've heard these past two days are all the same, too boring."
"Your Majesty, this is the Small Council, it shouldn't..." Duke Arryn reminded Robert again.
Robert immediately interrupted Duke Arryn, saying somewhat angrily, "I am the King! Am I not even allowed to choose who observes the Small Council?"
Seeing this situation, Duke Arryn did not press further, and the atmosphere in the pavilion became somewhat tense.
Varys, as the Master of Whisperers, spoke at this moment, "Actually, His Majesty is right. The results of our discussions these past two days are all the same, yet we all feel they are unsuitable, but we don't know why. It might be better to let others join in; perhaps we can discover some issues we haven't noticed."
Hearing Varys's words, the others in the pavilion also nodded in agreement. At this point, Duke Arryn looked at Varys and then at Linde with a slightly profound gaze, noncommittally.
Although Duke Arryn's gaze towards Varys and Linde was very subtle and seemed casual, Linde clearly noticed his small gesture, and this small gesture made Linde realize that Duke Arryn's hostility towards him might be because he had discovered his secret connection with Varys.
Since that time he personally came to King's Landing to retrieve the Valyrian steel armor and Greatsword, Linde and Varys had communicated almost monthly afterward. The content of their letters was mostly about the forging of the Valyrian steel armor and various intelligence from different regions.
Additionally, on several occasions, Varys had asked Linde for help in dealing with a few merchant convoys passing through the Rose Road.
These merchant convoys were all from the continent of Essos, transporting weapons, and although the recipient was uncertain, the location was in the Crownlands.
Although his contact with Varys was somewhat frequent, it was extremely secretive. Usually, Varys's little birds would place letters on his subordinates sent to King's Landing midway, and he had never written a letter to Varys. Logically, no one should have noticed.
However, upon careful thought, there are always exceptions. Since Jon Arryn has now discovered it, then a mistake must have occurred somewhere. There's no need to ponder the reason further; now, he should consider remedial measures.
Although numerous thoughts flashed through his mind, Linde showed no unusual behavior. Upon seeing Robert beckon, he and Nameria walked into the pavilion, then stood beside Barristan the Bold and the other Kingsguard, quietly listening.
Among the important ministers of the Small Council, besides Varys, there were Grand Maester Pycelle, Master of Coin Damon Estermont, Master of Laws Howard Tully, and Master of Ships Stannis Baratheon.
The several individuals holding the highest power in the Seven Kingdoms continued their previous discussion topic, which was whether Stannis's Dragonstone fleet should be sent out as naval support.
Stannis, as the commander of the Baratheon fleet, was sitting here entirely because his fleet was practically useless. If his fleet were to be deployed from Dragonstone to quell the rebellion in the Iron Islands, it would likely need to cross half of Westeros's southern coastline, taking several months to reach the Iron Islands.
That is why fleets from Arbor and Oldtown were to be dispatched to provide naval support to the Iron Throne.
However, some were concerned that the fleets from these two places alone would not be sufficient to completely deal with the Iron Islands' fleet, arguing that the Dragonstone fleet should indeed be sent out. This would also serve to demonstrate the strength of the royal fleet to the various lords.
Thus, the ministers argued, each holding their own opinion, for a long time without reaching a conclusion, making Linde and Nameria, who were observing, feel drowsy.
At this moment, perhaps feeling that Linde was too relaxed standing by, or for some other reason, Robert suddenly asked Linde, "Bear Hunter, do you think the royal fleet should be sent out to suppress the rebellion?"
Linde's somewhat muddled mind quickly cleared. Looking at the gazes focused on him, he quickly recalled the situation he understood in his mind and, without any pretense, directly said, "I believe there is absolutely no need to discuss this topic. Discussing this topic is simply talking nonsense."
Hearing Linde's unceremonious words, everyone's faces showed different expressions. Most were surprised and astonished, but there were also those like Varys who were waiting to watch the show.
"Why?" Robert, however, perked up, sat up straight, and asked with interest.
Linde directly stated his thoughts, saying, "Duke Tyrell has already dispatched the fleets from Arbor and Oldtown for support. The fleets from these two places are sufficient to deal with the Iron Islands' fleet. Even if they aren't, they are enough to tie them down. There's no need to spend more time sending the royal fleet from Dragonstone to the west coast. If you truly want the lords to see the strength of the royal fleet, you can have the royal fleet make an appearance in Blackwater Bay when the lords are assembled."
After hearing this, no one expressed support or disapproval; each adopted a profound and inscrutable expression.
"Then what do you think is most important now?" Jon Arryn asked, "Is it supporting the Westernlands?"
"I also don't believe that supporting the Westernlands is important now," Linde shook his head and said, "After the attack, the Westernlands have been fully mobilized. With Duke Tywin's ability, it's impossible for the Iron Islands to continue rampaging unchecked along the Westernlands coastline. Therefore, I don't think the Westernlands are the key to support right now." Saying this, without waiting for others to ask, he directly stated his answer: "I believe the place most in need of support, and which must be supported as quickly as possible, is Sea Frontier City."
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