After Linde returned to the camp, he informed everyone of their subsequent actions.
Upon hearing this, everyone showed no fear; instead, they were extremely excited. From the moment they set out, they had been looking forward to making a name for themselves in this rebellion suppression war, and they didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly.
Daisy volunteered, "I've spent some time in Kalin Bay and am quite familiar with the terrain there. I can be a guide."
"Many of my men have also been to Kalin Bay; they are more suitable as guides," Scarface also stepped forward and offered.
"With locals as guides, are you saying you're more familiar with the terrain than the locals?" Jon retorted to the two.
Linde stopped the argument from continuing, saying, "Everything will be decided once we reach the location. Right now, what you need to do is pack your belongings, travel light. According to the old rules, tents, extra dry rations, and other temporary supplies can be left behind. Bring more feed for the horses; we'll be traveling continuously, so don't let the horses go hungry."
"Yes, Lord," everyone responded, then left their temporary tents to prepare as Linde instructed.
Nameria was also about to leave but was called back by Linde, who said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was planning to take you on a tour of King's Landing, but I didn't expect..."
"It's fine! I think fighting is more interesting," Nameria walked forward, lowered her head, and kissed Linde, then looked in the direction of King's Landing, frowning as she said, "Besides, there's nothing good to see in King's Landing; it smells too much. This place is too different from what I imagined."
Linde also nodded in agreement, not explaining that the smell was because the path Jaime took them on was right next to Flea Bottom, the impoverished area of King's Landing.
Although other areas of King's Landing were still relatively good now, judging by the municipal conditions he had seen along the way, in a few more years, other districts would probably be similar to Flea Bottom.
After nightfall, King's Landing sent over the prepared dry rations, and the person who delivered them was Varys.
"Jon Arryn might know about our affairs," Linde met Varys alone, and the first thing he said was his suspicion.
"Reason?" Varys asked simply.
So Linde recounted some details he had observed in the Red Keep courtyard.
"You're just based on Jon Arryn looking at you and me a few extra times, and you..." Varys was about to say that Linde was overthinking it, but he suddenly stopped, a suspicious look on his face, then seemed to recall something, and realized, "So that's it. You're right, Duke Arryn does know that you and I are connected."
Linde didn't ask for details about what happened to Varys but directly inquired, "What do we do now?" He paused, then abruptly added, "Should we get rid of Jon Arryn?"
Varys immediately shook his head and said, "No! If Duke Arryn dies, our King Robert will lose his restraint, and he will throw the entire Seven Kingdoms into chaos according to his own will." Then, he suddenly looked at Linde warily and said, "Were you testing me just now?"
"Not a test, just wanted to know what your ultimate goal is," Linde smiled and said.
"So, what did you find out from your test?" Varys asked with a smile.
Linde scrutinized Varys and said, "You hope for social stability and peace, and dislike war and conflict, so you choose to assist a monarch who can bring stability to society. Although the Mad King was mad, that was only towards the noble lords. For the common people, the Mad King could be considered a wise ruler, which is why you always supported him, until he planned to take all the people of King's Landing down with him. If I'm not mistaken, Jaime Lannister must have decided to commit regicide after listening to you, right?"
"I really suspect you're a wizard!" The smile on Varys's face gradually faded.
Linde then said, "King Robert doesn't suit your intentions?"
Varys was silent for a moment, then said, "He's not suitable to be a King; it would be better if Duke Arryn were King."
"I understand," Linde nodded, not continuing the topic, but instead turned back and asked, "What do we do now?"
"Do nothing," Varys said calmly. "Jon Arryn is a person who highly respects rules. Before obtaining conclusive evidence, he will not make any judgment on anything he suspects. Moreover, he also highly values political stability. As long as we do not do anything that harms House Baratheon, even if he has conclusive evidence of our association, he will not take any action against us."
Linde looked at Varys and said, "It seems you greatly admire Duke Arryn."
Varys nodded without concealment and said, "He is one of the most suitable people I have ever met to be King. His becoming King's Hand to King Robert is the luckiest thing for the people of the Seven Kingdoms."
After speaking, he seemed unwilling to continue the topic, handed Linde the intelligence information he had prepared regarding Kalin Bay, Sea Frontier City, Warwick, Shear Rock City, and Fairy City, and then prepared to leave.
But Linde called out to him again, asking, "Do you have a way to get those dragon bones from beneath the Red Keep and transport them to Tengshi Town?"
Varys was stunned, looking at Linde with some confusion, but he didn't ask for the specific reason. He just thought for a moment and said, "No problem, but I'll need to disguise them beforehand to avoid being discovered, so it might take longer."
Upon hearing this, Linde thought for a moment and said, "In that case, let's wait until I acquire my territory, then just send the dragon bones directly to my territory!"
"Territory?" Varys looked surprised and said, "You can already acquire territory?"
"Yes," Linde nodded and said, "The territory is probably located in the Dorne March, at the junction of Weil City, Black Harbor, and Stonehelm."
"That Tyrell family exclave?" Varys was very clear about the location of each lord's territory and quickly knew the location of the territory Linde was referring to. He also frowned and said, "That land is not peaceful. If you go there, you might need to deal with four lord families."
"Four?" Linde asked, confused, "Isn't it just the Weil family, the Dondarrion family, and the Swann family?"
Varys explained, "There's also House Morrigon of Crow's Nest; they occupy a portion of the Crimson Guard River Valley, and that land nominally belongs to House Tyrell."
Linde said confidently, "Crow's Nest? No problem, one more Crow's Nest won't cause much trouble."
In the past, Varys might have questioned the source of his confidence, but now, after seeing numerous battle reports about Linde clearing out the forces around Tengshi Town, he was certain that in a frontal battle, those four families combined might not even be a match for Linde, and he was also glad to have Linde as an ally.
After stating that he would gather all the intelligence on those four lord families as quickly as possible, Varys left the camp.
Linde didn't stay in the tent but walked around the camp, checking the army's preparations, then walked out of the camp alone to a small hill, looking at King's Landing.
At this moment, Glory emerged silently from the shadows of the bushes, came to Linde's side, lay down, and rested its head against Linde's arm. As Linde rubbed its head, it purred contentedly.
Although Linde appeared to be gazing at King's Landing at this moment, he was actually checking his Golden Finger.
Since acquiring the Lost Country Knight's legacy, the growth progress of the Golden Finger had become extremely slow, so slow that it hadn't even reached one-tenth of its progress in over a year. At this slow rate, even if it took another decade or so, the Golden Finger's progress bar might not be filled.
Therefore, Linde suspected that he might be using the wrong method, that he shouldn't just wait for the progress bar to fill on its own, and that there might be other ways to increase the speed.
Linde thought of the magic in this world, but quickly dismissed it, because he had encountered quite a few magic points before, from the Godswood in Highgarden, to the Hightower in Oldtown, and then to the Godgrace Mountains in Dorne. Those were all magic points with abnormal magic compared to the normal world, but none of them worked.
Afterward, he thought of Glory, wondering if Glory's absorption of Vengeful spirit energy could also boost the Golden Finger's progress, but after careful consideration, he also rejected this speculation.
Because Glory's two absorptions of Vengeful spirit energy had no effect on the Golden Finger's progress bar, and the power it transmitted to his body mostly helped him complete the absorption and fusion of the Dragon Feast Ritual.
Ultimately, Linde placed his hope for accelerating the progress bar on the Dragon Feast Ritual, feeling that since the Lost Country Knight's legacy came from the Golden Finger, then the Dragon Feast Ritual from the Lost Country Knight might be able to affect the progress bar.
Linde's renewed attention to the Golden Finger was entirely due to the appearance of figures like the Three-Eyed Raven and Qing Shou Jialesi, which gave him a sense of crisis.
Although Linde's current strength could be said to be unrivaled in the world, and no matter how powerful a warrior was, they could not contend with him, this unrivaled status was only relative to humans. In the world of Ice and Fire, there were too many mysterious beings, and the power of these mysterious existences was unfathomable. Once he became their enemy, Linde had no confidence in surviving at the hands of these mysterious beings.
Not to mention those mysterious beings, just dragons alone would be enough to give Linde a hard time. Although the Lost Country Knight's legacy contained methods for slaying dragons, such as using Dragon Runes to create hurricanes and ice to bind dragons to the ground, and then using Thunder Dragon Runes to pierce dragon scales and deliver a fatal blow.
But Linde knew very well that if he used the same Dragon Runes in this world, it would probably be difficult to produce the same power as in his inherited memories, after all, the magic concentration difference between the two worlds was too great.
Therefore, Linde could only place his hope back on the Golden Finger, expecting to gain even greater power once the Golden Finger's progress was full.
Linde could now feel that the effects of the Dragon Feast Ritual were almost completely integrated and absorbed by him, which was why he sought out Varys to prepare the dragon bones first, so that he could perform the Dragon Feast Ritual when the time was right.
Just as Linde's team arrived suddenly, their departure was also very sudden. They disappeared from the camp outside the city before dawn, leaving only a logistics team to cooperate with the Gold Cloaks sent by King's Landing to guard the supplies.
The noble lords who had intended to befriend Linde due to his reputation didn't even have time to greet him. Everyone was curious about where Linde had led his men, and some well-informed people felt it might be related to Linde's meeting with King Robert at the Red Keep after his arrival in King's Landing.
Ten days later, The Reach support troops led by Randyll Tarly also arrived outside King's Landing and intended to meet Linde, the legendary figure of The Reach.
However, to his surprise, Linde had immediately led his men away from King's Landing shortly after arriving, and their whereabouts were still unknown.
Initially, Randyll Tarly was somewhat displeased, believing Linde's unauthorized departure was a sign of being spoiled by favor. But when he learned that Linde's departure was related to King Robert, his displeasure slightly diminished. However, his first impression of Linde remained poor, because in his view, even if Linde had received an assignment from King Robert and was off to do something, he should have informed him, the commander of The Reach forces, instead of him having to learn about the movements of his subordinate army through others.
However, Randyll Tarly was not someone who let personal feelings interfere with public duty. He quickly put Linde's matter aside and began to participate in the relief efforts for the Westerlands and the suppression of the Iron Throne rebellion.
As a renowned general of the Seven Kingdoms, and the one who had defeated King Robert on the battlefield, King Robert held no resentment or dissatisfaction towards Randyll Tarly, only respect. He even specially added a seat for him on the Small Council, allowing him to participate in the meetings throughout.
Actually, there was nothing left for Randyll Tarly to decide by participating in the meetings, because the Small Council had already discussed and arranged all matters during this period. The only thing Randyll Tarly needed to do was understand the entire rebellion suppression plan and how his Reach army would conduct its battles.
Overall, The Reach's army only needed to be responsible for two things: one was to cooperate with the Westerlands army in clearing out the Ironborn bandits roaming within the Westerlands, and the second was to serve as a support team for the forces directly attacking the Iron Islands.
As for the troops attacking the Iron Islands, they were to be handled by the armies of the Stormlands, the Vale, the Riverlands, and the North.
Upon learning that his army was merely doing odd jobs, Randyll Tarly felt somewhat displeased, but he said nothing, as in his eyes, obedience to orders was a fundamental quality of a soldier.
However, as he left the meeting hall, he couldn't help but ask about Linde's whereabouts out of curiosity.
King Robert's answer was that Linde had gone on a secret mission and not to ask further, and the other important ministers of the Small Council also remained silent.
This made Randyll Tarly even more curious about what kind of mission Linde was on, given its mysterious nature.
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