Over the next few days, Lynd and Nameria hosted the village chiefs and elders who had arrived after receiving notifications at the village camp.
Although their nominal lord was Earl Hylan Veil of Weil City, the person who now controlled the lifeline of their land was Lynd, and that nominal lord was naturally cast aside by them.
Facing Lynd's demand for their allegiance, they naturally dared not object, and one by one, they eagerly spoke their oaths of loyalty.
They also gladly accepted the taxes set by Lynd, because the taxes set by Weil City were much higher, and Lynd's taxes, in their eyes, were simply charitable.
In a few days, from the mouth of the Veil River to the mouth of the Red Guard River, all the villages and fishing villages along the coast of the entire Bone Bridge swore allegiance to Lynd as their lord, totaling forty-three villages and six fishing villages. Among these villages and fishing villages, nine villages and two fishing villages were established after Stonehelm invaded and occupied the territory.
These nine villages and fishing villages were a complete accident, because Roso didn't know the way, and the village boys who followed him as guides also got lost. In the end, they overshot their destination, only realizing they had gone too far when they reached the mouth of the Red Guard River, opposite Stonehelm.
Along the way, they read Lynd's lord's announcement to every village they encountered. Some village chiefs and elders in these villages were well aware that the land they cultivated belonged to others, and fearing that the lord of the land would drive them away, they came to swear allegiance out of guilt. As for Stonehelm, they temporarily kept it a secret, letting the lord of the land and the lord of Stonehelm negotiate.
Lynd didn't care about the petty thoughts of these common villagers. He also took the opportunity to learn about the situation on the Red Guard River side from these village chiefs and elders. At the same time, he sent them back to spread the word that Divine Chosen One Linde Terra had become the lord of Redsoil Watch and the Red Guard region, urging the village chiefs and elders who had not yet come to pledge allegiance to do so. Otherwise, if they waited until he came to them, the annual tax would be a different amount.
Also that night, the Wildling King led a dozen people to the outside of the village camp. Among these dozen people was a petite woman.
"I didn't expect you to take Bone Bridge so easily," the Wildling King said, with a hint more respect than the first time he met Lynd.
It was no wonder his attitude changed like this, because after hearing about how Lynd gained control of Bone Bridge, he had a new understanding of Lynd's power.
Although it had only been a few days, the Black Harbor Knights accompanying Lynd had already relayed what happened on Bone Bridge that day and the subsequent results back to Black Harbor. The bards in the Black Harbor town tavern had already compiled this content, along with the battle records of Lynd's knights annihilating hundreds of thousands of Weil City guard soldiers, into a song, and began to sing it. As for the tune, it was still the hunter of bears song.
Perhaps because of some similarities, some people were subtly comparing Lynd's demand for Bone Bridge from the Weil City lord to Duke Tywin's suppression of the Fair Isle lord with singers back then, believing that Divine Chosen One Linde Terra already possessed the same power as Duke Tywin back then, capable of achieving desired results without war, simply by speaking a few words.
"How many people have you brought this time?" Lynd asked directly, without beating around the bush with the Wildling King.
The Wildling King replied, "Fifty people, all the strongest warriors of the tribe."
Lynd frowned and said, "Is fifty people enough? Hylan Veil should also have many knights protecting him, right?"
The Wildling King said confidently, "It's enough. As long as you can lure away those guard soldiers outside, then my people can deal with the knights around him."
Lynd nodded, pointed to Rosso Brun beside him, and said, "In that case, I will have him lead people to cooperate with you. You and he can discuss the specific implementation method."
"Wait, not you personally…" The Wildling King was startled and quickly said.
"There's no need for me to personally handle such a matter; he is enough." Lynd said confidently, "If you don't believe in his strength, you can test it yourselves. I don't think anyone among you can defeat him in a one-on-one fight."
As soon as Lynd spoke, everyone was in an uproar, and someone immediately stepped forward to challenge Roso.
Facing the challenge, Roso stood expressionlessly opposite the challenger. Just as the wildling warrior reached out to draw his weapon, intending to attack Roso, Roso had already drawn the longsword from his waist and struck the opponent's cheek with the flat of the blade, directly knocking him to the ground.
At this moment, everyone could see that Roso was very strong, especially his incredibly fast sword draw. Everyone only saw a blur, and this was with the flat of the blade. If he had used the edge, that wildling warrior would probably have been decapitated.
No wildling warrior around could defeat him with just this quick sword technique. Even the Wildling King weighed it in his mind and found that even if he made a move, he might not be able to win against the opponent. Thus, the slight dissatisfaction that had arisen because Lynd would not personally act dissipated.
"Lord, how many people will you send to assist us?" the Wildling King asked again.
"Seven hundred of the best warriors," Lynd said.
Hearing this number, the Wildling King said no more. After all, the battle record of Lynd's cavalry was there: hundreds of them dealt with thousands of Weil City guard soldiers, with only a few casualties themselves. With more than seven hundred warriors assisting, even if Hylan Veil had over a thousand warriors protecting him, he wouldn't have to worry.
After entrusting the matter to Roso, Lynd turned and went to the tent prepared for the future Countess of Weil City.
At this time, Nameria's twin handmaidens were cleaning the woman and changing her clothes, while Nameria, Jon, and the maester who had just arrived from Black Harbor were examining the identification documents.
The maester meticulously examined all the documents line by line, paying particular attention to the maester's signature and seal on the birth record document.
After completing his examination, the maester nodded to Lynd and said, "Earl, there are no problems. All these documents are fine. As long as the archived documents at the Citadel match, the identity of this young lady of House Weir can be confirmed."
Jon also looked up from the pile of letters and said, "These letters also have no problems; they can prove that Earl Hylan Veil fostered her with this Ser Roman." He then hesitated slightly and added, "However, these letters should not be complete; some are missing in the middle. I just don't know if the missing ones are important."
Lynd recalled the scattered letters Glory had seen in the Wildling King's camp and said, "The missing ones are not important; their content has nothing to do with her."
After speaking, he told Jon to put away the documents and take the maester to rest.
"How did the talks go over there? Has the location been determined?" After the Black Harbor maester left, Nameria glanced towards the camp entrance and asked.
Lynd said in a deep voice, "I've already entrusted that matter to Roso. Neither you nor I are suitable to intervene directly."
Nameria nodded in agreement, then asked, "What about the prepared manpower? Are there enough people from the Savage Tribes?"
"There are enough," Lynd said with a smile.
At this moment, the tent flap opened, and the twin handmaidens were seen leading out a petite noble lady.
This noble lady had a beautiful face and an elegant demeanor, suggesting she had received an excellent education from her foster father in Yronwood.
Although her expression was timid and fearful, with her head constantly bowed, and coupled with her physique, she appeared somewhat delicate. However, a closer look at the distinct muscle lines on her exposed arms revealed that beneath her delicate exterior, she possessed the physique of a warrior.
Lynd did not expose her disguise, but instead asked directly, "Do you know who you are?"
"I do, Lord," the other party said in a deep voice, "I am Obena Weir, daughter of Hylan Veil, Lord of Weil City. My foster father was Harman Shade, captain of the guard in Yronwood."
"How were you captured by Wildling King Hamil?" Lynd asked again.
Obara Weir honestly replied, "Two years ago, when my foster father and I were on an outing near Yronwood, we were attacked by wildlings. My foster father was killed on the spot, and I was powerless to resist, so these wildlings took me into the mountains."
Although Obara spoke calmly, as if this incident had happened to someone else, Lynd could still sense her deep hatred for Wildling King Hamil.
Lynd did not continue to ask Obara about what happened in the Savage Tribes, but spoke frankly, "If there are no surprises, your father will pass away in these two days. At that time, I will send you back to Weil City to inherit your father's title and territory."
Upon hearing this, Obara suddenly lifted her head, which had been bowed until then, and stared at Lynd, wide-eyed and shocked.
"When you inherit the territory, I hope you can sign an offensive and defensive alliance with me," Lynd continued. "Of course, you can also choose not to sign the alliance. I won't do anything to you, but I hope you don't provoke me. Just be a good Countess of Weil City. Understand, Miss Obara?"
"Understood, Lord," Obara Weir quickly nodded in agreement. Then she looked at Lynd and Nameria beside him and asked, "I still don't know your identity, Lord…"
"I am Earl Linde Terra of Summerhall, and this land of Redsoil Watch is also my territory," Lynd introduced himself, then pointed to Nameria and said, "She is Countess Na Melilia Fudeli of Tengshi Town."
Clearly, Obara had been completely isolated from the outside world during her two years of captivity, knowing nothing about Lynd, the most legendary figure in the Seven Kingdoms today. Instead, upon hearing Nameria's mention of Tengshi Town, a strange look appeared on her face, as her education evidently taught her that Tengshi Town was a territory that had declined to the extreme.
Obara looked at Lynd, who was wearing fallen knight armor, and suddenly made a bold decision, saying, "Lord, I hope to form a marriage alliance with you, so that your territory and my future territory can become one."
Lynd was stunned and looked at Obara. He quickly realized that her desire for a marriage alliance was likely due to the insecurity caused by two years of captivity. She feared that he would suddenly change his mind and imprison her again, so she wanted to seek a layer of protection through marriage.
Just as Lynd was about to refuse her, Nameria, who had also seen through Obara's thoughts, spoke first, saying, "Earl Lynd will not marry you, and you don't have to worry that we will go back on our word. In your eyes, Weil City may be a giant, but in our eyes, Weil City is insignificant."
Obara did not give up because of this. She had already seen the relationship between Lynd and Nameria, so she no longer hoped for a marriage alliance with Lynd, but instead sought a compromise, saying, "I am also willing to marry a knight under Lord Linde, to forge a closer alliance."
Clearly, Obara had been terrified during her two years of captivity, and verbal promises were no longer enough to reassure her, so she was eager to find someone to rely on.
Lynd frowned upon hearing this, about to refute the suggestion, but Nameria nodded in agreement, saying, "That's also a good choice." She then pointed to the people around and said, "Everyone standing here is considered Lynd's close confidant. Choose for yourself! As long as they agree, we'll arrange your marriage."
Hearing Nameria's words, Obara breathed a sigh of relief. She then looked at the people around, her eyes lingering on Jon for a moment. From Jon's performance just now, he was undoubtedly the closest of Lynd's many subordinates. Choosing Jon would undoubtedly be a very good insurance.
But for some reason, Obara did not choose Jon. Her gaze quickly shifted to Rossos, who was beside Jon, and then she pointed to Rossos and said, "I choose him."
Rossos was completely stunned. He had never expected to be chosen. After all, among Lynd's many subordinate knights around, his appearance could definitely only be described as ordinary, and due to years of wandering life, he looked much older than his actual age. By no means did he look like a suitable husband candidate to be chosen by a future Countess.
Caught off guard, Rossos stood frozen in place, speechless for a long time, until Nameria asked him if he was willing to marry Obara. Only then did he recover, and without any hesitation, he nodded and said, "Willing, of course I am willing."
Any normal person would not refuse this matter. After all, for a low-ranking knight like Rossos, this was definitely an opportunity to soar. Moreover, Rossos had always been waiting for such an opportunity; he just hadn't expected it to come so quickly, appearing only a year after he began following Lynd.
Seeing Rossos agree, Lynd said no more and instructed Jon, "Have Black Harbor send a septon over. They can get married in the camp these next two days."
"No need for such trouble," Nameria said, pointing to Lynd. "You forgot, you are Chosen of the Seven. You also have the right to officiate a marriage."
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