In the open space in front of the ruined camp, Lynd completed his daily combat practice with Nymeria. He handed the Knight's Greatsword in his hand to Bert and Raul, instructing them to oil it with a canvas and then return it to its scabbard.
"I want you to accompany me somewhere." Nymeria took a towel from the Maester, wiped the sweat from her head, and looked at Lynd, who wasn't even panting. A hint of envy flashed in her eyes before she said in a deep voice.
Hearing such a familiar sentence, Lynd was startled. In his previous life, a woman had also said this to him, but the aftermath of that sentence was not pleasant, one could even say it was very frustrating.
Seeing Lynd's expression turn a little grim, Nymeria asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem, Lynd?"
The moment he broke free from his memories, Lynd couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to break up with your sweetheart, and I'm supposed to pretend to be your new boyfriend?"
This time, it was Nymeria's turn for her face to turn grim. She glared at Lynd with annoyance, as if Lynd's words had brought her great insult. She even gripped her axe, ready to strike Lynd at any moment to make him sober up.
Lynd quickly explained, "I apologize, Lady, your words brought back some unpleasant memories."
Nymeria eyed Lynd with a strange look, not intending to press him about his unspeakable past. She returned to the main topic, saying, "I made an agreement with the leader over in the valley; I'm going to meet him."
Lynd frowned upon hearing this, reminding her, "You shouldn't meet those people?"
"I've thought it through carefully. If the Iron Throne really intends to deal with me, even if I don't directly contact those people, their mere presence so close to Tumbleton is already enough to serve as an excuse," Nymeria said very seriously. "Instead of waiting for a disaster that might strike at any time, it's better to be proactive and deal with the things that could cause the disaster."
"Deal with them?" Lynd hesitated for a moment, asking, "Are you trying to..."
Nymeria knew Lynd misunderstood, so she explained, "No, I just want them to leave."
Lynd said, "If they wanted to leave, they would have left already. How will you convince them?"
Nymeria tightened her grip on her Great Axe and said, "It's simple. Their mission is to protect me. I just need to prove that I no longer need protection."
Lynd thought for a moment and said, "Since you think it's necessary to do this, as a companion, I won't say anything more. Honor and I will follow behind you then, helping you check if there are any unwelcome fellows hidden around."
"Thanks." Nymeria nodded.
After nightfall, Nymeria arrived outside the ruined camp. Lynd also put on his cloak, led his horse, and walked out.
However, he couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Nymeria. Usually, Nymeria wore either leather armor or a simple robe, but now she was clad in exquisite full steel armor, with a white cape draped over her shoulders, looking majestic and heroic.
The only flaw was that the warhorse beneath her was somewhat small relative to her stature.
"Take mine!" Lynd led his warhorse to Nymeria's side and said.
Lynd's warhorse was carefully selected and well-suited for his tall stature. Although it still looked a bit disproportionate with Nymeria's figure, it was clearly much better than the scrawny horse Nymeria was currently riding, which looked like it could collapse at any moment.
Nymeria didn't stand on ceremony with Lynd and switched to Lynd's warhorse. Lynd also didn't ride the scrawny horse but instead led another warhorse from the camp to ride.
Lynd said with a smile, "With your build, perhaps only a Dothraki Sea horse would be suitable."
Nymeria rolled her eyes at Lynd, then squeezed her horse's flanks, urging it to gallop towards the nearby mountain.
Lynd didn't follow immediately. Only after Nymeria had gone some distance did he lead Honor to catch up.
Following Nymeria, Lynd crossed a hillside, bypassed a pooling lake, and passed through a dense forest, arriving near a relatively open forest clearing.
Nymeria gestured to Lynd behind her, then rode alone into the grassy clearing.
When Nymeria appeared in the clearing, five cloaked warriors emerged from the woods and came before Nymeria, bowing very solemnly to her.
Nymeria did not refuse their bows, but after they bowed, she began to persuade these people.
Lynd did not approach to listen to what they were saying. As soon as the conversation began, he dismounted, took the bow and arrows from his saddle, and, along with Honor, patrolled the surrounding dense forest.
Soon, he discovered an anomaly: more than twenty fully armed warriors were rushing into the dense forest with their weapons. Lynd recognized the leader; he had seen him through Honor's eyes in the valley camp of that group before, and knew him to be a leader of the remaining Dragon family loyalists who had defected.
Seeing this, Lynd picked up his bow and arrows, preparing to deal with them in the woods.
However, Honor leaned against his body with force, then directly transmitted a desire to hunt through their mental link.
"I'll leave it to you, but don't make too much noise." It was rare for Honor to be so proactive, so Lynd didn't stop it. He nodded and said.
Honor shook its head excitedly, then with a 'whoosh,' it darted into the dense forest, disappearing from Lynd's sight.
Lynd did not stand still waiting for Honor to return, but continued to follow behind those people, ready to intervene and rectify the situation should Honor make any undue noise.
However, what surprised Lynd was how deadly and stealthy Honor's hunting game was. Starting from the last person, the team of over twenty individuals disappeared one by one into the dark, dense forest. When the leader realized something was amiss, what awaited him was Honor, leaping forward, and its fanged maw.
In less than five minutes, over twenty people had vanished silently into the dense forest.
What surprised Lynd even more was that when Honor returned, it wasn't until it reached the bushes beside him that his enhanced senses kicked in, allowing him to perceive Honor's return. He suspected that his ability to detect movement there was entirely because Honor intentionally let him know.
Before, Honor was absolutely incapable of achieving such a level of stealth. This ability to conceal itself was no longer something a normal Shadowcat could possess, because Lynd could clearly feel that when Honor was hidden, some kind of power was generated around its body. This power was enhancing its stealth effect, such as blocking sound or allowing its body to be more perfectly hidden in the shadows, and so on.
Lynd recalled that when Honor attacked its targets just now, there were a few times when it didn't achieve an instant kill. The targets that weren't dead also made some resistance movements, but these movements didn't make any sound, not even heard by others just a few steps ahead.
He suspected that this was a new ability that Honor's body had activated after absorbing the resentful spirit energy from the Tumbleton ruins, just like how absorbing the resentful spirit energy from the dragon's lair previously gave it the ability to change its fur color.
Honor becoming stronger was undoubtedly greatly beneficial to Lynd. Among other things, at least when raiding enemy camps at night in the future, he would have a significant advantage.
However, because he had already anticipated a great growth in Honor after it absorbed the resentful spirit energy, Lynd didn't show too much excitement. After patting Honor's head approvingly, he took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Honor's mouth, then continued patrolling the dense forest.
About half an hour later, Lynd had completed a circuit of the dense forest and returned to the area near the forest clearing.
At this moment, Nymeria seemed to have persuaded the personal guards Prince Lewyn had sent to protect her before his death. The five captains of the personal guard now needed to support each other to stand steadily, and one of them, covered in blood, looked as if he might collapse and die at any moment.
After exchanging a few more words, the five personal guard captains bowed to Nymeria again, then supported each other and limped away.
Nymeria, however, remained standing in place, as if deep in thought.
Lynd led Honor over and stood beside Nymeria, saying nothing, waiting for Nymeria to recover on her own.
After a while, Nymeria suddenly said out of the blue, "The armor I'm wearing was refitted from the armor he used to wear in Dorne. I've always hated the Dornish patterns on it, so I've never worn it."
"If you don't like the patterns on it, I can have a craftsman modify it for you, but..." Lynd looked at Nymeria and said, "Is changing the patterns enough? Do you truly only dislike the patterns on it?"
Nymeria frowned upon hearing this, not continuing the conversation with Lynd. She then walked in front of Lynd, sniffed his scent, and said, "Did you fight just now? Such a strong smell of blood?"
"Not me, it was Honor." Lynd patted Honor's head and recounted what had happened in the dense forest.
After hearing this, Nymeria carefully inquired about the appearance of the leader, then asked doubtfully, "The person you're referring to should be Baelien Storm, the bastard son of Lord Armond Connington, and Lord Jon Connington's brother. He once impersonated Lord Jon Connington to gain the trust of some of the remaining Dragon family loyalists, attacked some nobles in the Westerlands, and is considered a staunch supporter of the Dragon family. Could you be mistaken?"
"Westerlands?" Lynd thought for a moment, then chuckled, "I suppose the Westerlands nobles that this Lord Baelien Storm attacked wouldn't all be those who were unfriendly with Lord Tywin, would they?"
Nymeria was startled, a thoughtful expression on her face. She quickly understood some crucial points and couldn't help but say, "To use such a method to deal with one's opponents, isn't Lord Tywin afraid of being seen through?"
"Who could see through it? Didn't you also think I was mistaken just now? And who would have thought that a staunch Dragon family supporter would actually be Lord Tywin's man?" Lynd mounted his horse and said, "And even if someone did see through it, who would believe them? Could they produce convincing evidence to question Lord Tywin?"
Nymeria also swung herself onto her horse and couldn't help but curse, "That's truly dirty."
"Dirty? This isn't dirty at all. This is true noble wisdom. To obtain what you desire without resorting to any force, what could be more pleasing than that?" Lynd looked at Nymeria and said in a deep voice, "This is what you should be learning from."
"No thanks, I don't wanna learn these things." Nymeria shook her head, pulled the reins, and urged her warhorse to return the way they came. At the same time, she said to Lynd, who was riding beside her, "They will leave tonight. They didn't tell me the exact departure route. But I guess they probably won't pass through The Reach to Dorne."
"Why?" Lynd asked doubtfully.
Nymeria shook her head and said, "I don't know, just a hunch."
By the time Lynd and Nymeria returned to the ruined camp, it was completely dark. The guards at the camp entrance couldn't help but show ambiguous smiles when they saw the two riding side-by-side out of the woods ahead.
Lynd was too lazy to explain. When they arrived at the camp entrance, Lynd offered to give the warhorse to Nymeria. Nymeria did not refuse, but said that when she found a good horse in the future, she would also give one to Lynd.
Lynd, back at the camp, hadn't even had time to rest when Scarface rushed in to report. The scout he had sent to monitor the people in the valley reported that those people had already packed their belongings and begun to move.
After Lynd indicated that he already knew, Scarface added, "Ser, did those people leave some things behind?"
"What things?" Lynd asked.
"Some weapons, equipment, and money," Scarface replied.
Lynd thought for a moment and said, "Transport all those things to LadyNymeria and ask her how to deal with them."
Upon hearing this, Scarface withdrew, then gathered his men and rushed to the valley to transport the items.
Not long after Scarface left, Raul came to find Lynd again.
"Is something wrong?" Lynd frowned and asked, "Is there a problem with the camp construction?"
"No," Raul shook his head, then hesitated and said, "There's one thing you might not have noticed, Ser, but I think I should mention it, as it might affect the morale of the team."
"What's so important?" Lynd asked, puzzled.
Raul hesitated slightly, then said vaguely, "The barracks are all men, with only a few female cooks. These men are full of energy, and they have some money."
Lynd was stunned for a long time, realizing what Raul wanted to say, and couldn't help but laugh, "You're not suggesting I find them prostitutes, are you? Even if I wanted to, where would I find them now? And how many prostitutes would be willing to risk being robbed by bandits to come to this remote place, Tumbleton?"
"Actually, you don't necessarily have to specifically find prostitutes. There are already some here." Raul cautiously suggested, "You could discuss it with the Lady, to let some of the people from Tumbleton..."
"Are you crazy!" Lynd stared at Raul with wide eyes and said, "You're telling me to go talk to the Lady about something like this? I don't know if she'll cleave me in half, but if she finds out it was your terrible idea, then you're definitely dead, and I absolutely won't stop her."
Raul shrank his neck and said awkwardly, "Actually, it's fine if you don't say anything. Some people below have already done this."
Lynd's expression immediately became serious, and he said, "Both parties are willing?"
"Yes, they are willing," Raul quickly responded.
Lynd thought for a moment and said, "Pass my words down and tell those who can't control themselves that what they do is their own business, but one thing must be remembered: both parties must be willing, no coercion, and pay enough money. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I will not be lenient with them."
"Yes, Sir." Raul, sweating on his forehead, quickly exited Lynd's room.
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