[T/N: Second chapter incoming in a few minutes]
Jon looked up at the information brought by Ramon, Astapor.
One of the three slave cities had attacked the coasts of Volantis. It wasn't a terrible attack, his men had stopped them.
"But an attack is an attack," the boy muttered.
For the slave cities to strike without a declaration was an act of war.
He cursed having taken Volantis. It was what he had feared, they had drawn too much attention by seizing the city.
'I knew this would happen. That's why I told Arya we shouldn't do it,' he thought, annoyed.
And he was very upset.
On the one hand, he understood that it had to be done, to protect Valyria.
'I should have appointed someone I trusted as a leader, not declared myself king,' he thought.
Technically, Talisa's father was the true leader of Volantis, but people called Jon the King of Volantis because of the conquest.
That had consequences.
A war with Astapor meant war with Yunkai and Meereen, the three slave cities.
Can I beat them? Do I have enough men? he wondered.
Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor had mercenaries and the Unsullied, the slave soldiers.
Jon sighed.
He had planned to take the Targaryens to Valyria, begin his household's constructions, and spend a few days with Raenerys in private, if he could.
Jon shook his head. He couldn't decide what to do.
"First things first," he muttered.
He would order Ramon to prepare the army to defend Volantis, take control of the oceans, and personally lead the war against the slave cities.
"I didn't expect it to be so soon, but it's time for Valyria to show its power," he murmured.
He looked out the window at the city.
"This is mine, and it will not be stolen from me."
Someone banged on the door.
"Come in," he ordered.
Ramon entered, dressed in the finest Volantene fabric.
"General," Jon greeted.
"Your Majesty," the former mercenary said with a smile.
He took a seat.
"Did you get the busty ex-slave you wanted?" Jon asked curiously, an amused smile on his face.
"That and two more," he admitted.
Jon raised an eyebrow.
"What? I'm a hero, right? Why wouldn't I get a reward?" the former mercenary defended himself.
Jon rolled his eyes.
"Don't look at me like that, I'll marry one," Ramon promised.
"And the others?" Jon asked.
The man shrugged.
"My wife will need help," he said very seriously, then laughed out loud.
"I imagine they know they're free to go?" the king asked.
"No slavery. I agree. I support it," Ramon told him.
Jon nodded.
"You need to improve the army. In a couple of days, I'll return to Valyria. Lord Maegyr will be in charge of all of Volantis," the boy informed him.
Ramon nodded.
"What about Astapor?" he asked.
"I'll take care of them, after Valyria and Volantis are safe. But we'll need you to control the seas around Volantis," Jon said.
Ramon nodded again.
"One more thing," Jon added.
Ramon looked at him more seriously when he noticed the boy's cold gaze.
"My family's enemies, House Lannister, without a doubt, are aware of what's happening. They'll have spies ready in Volantis. I need you to clean it up. I don't care how you do it, as long as it's quiet. I don't want a bad reputation... but I won't have Lion spies in my house either," he told him.
"I'll take care of it. But if it has to be quiet, it'll take time," Ramon promised.
[T/N: Reputation...if it wasn't for that I would have said to have the spies dragged to the front lines and impaled alive on spikes to put fear into the Lannister army and to permanently prevent more spies.]
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Sansa walked alongside Aegon through the markets of Volantis. She had leveled up a few hours ago and was now buying a couple of Volantene-style dresses, some jewelry, and tasting some of the region's fruits.
Poor Aegon was stuck carrying her purchases.
He looked depressed.
Raenerys and Ashara had come with her and were picking up things for themselves as well. Jon Connington, on the other hand, was smart enough to decline the invitation, using the excuse of preparing for his trip to Valyria.
'Traitor,' Aegon thought.
He had originally planned to train with the army in the meantime.
But then Sansa showed up at his house to invite Raenerys out shopping.
They were getting along well.
Aegon had heard that her younger brothers had been killed by a traitor and offered to accompany her.
Of course, Ashara was invited too, she wanted to get some clothes and maybe some exotic fruit. It was the month when ships from Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh arrived with rare imports.
Aegon didn't think it would be exhausting, and a few hours with Sansa seemed totally worth the sacrifice. The only thing he had to endure was his sister.
But how wrong he was.
He couldn't believe how much women could buy.
If he wasn't there, who would carry all this?
He knew the answer.
The military.
Her brother being king of the city gave her access to a full squad of soldiers. But he, being an idiot, had told them he was enough.
[T/N: moron]
As if that weren't enough.
The soldiers had even looked relieved afterward.
'They knew it,' he thought furiously.
And of course they did.
It had to be revenge.
He must've beaten some of them in combat, and this was their payback.
The boy sighed, exhausted.
He looked ahead and saw Sansa admiring some fabrics a merchant was selling.
"Are you interested, Princess Sansa? They come straight from Lys," said the merchant.
The girl showed interest, to the prince's horror.
"Don't take just one, you must have a spare," he heard Raenerys say.
"Enough, Rae. Please," her brother pleaded.
The girl seemed to read his mind, because she turned to look at him, and Aegon paled when he saw the macabre smile on her face.
"We should go see some furniture too," the girl said, clearly provoking him.
Aegon stuttered as he listened to her.
Ashara raised an eyebrow.
"You asked for this, my prince. Several soldiers offered to accompany us," she reminded him.
"Is something wrong?" Sansa asked curiously.
"Nothing," Aegon replied with a smile.
She smiled at him, and for a moment, the prince forgot all about the weight he was carrying.
Rae frowned. Right now, she could be flirting with Jon, but instead she had to babysit Aegon. It wasn't that she disliked Sansa's invitation, but she knew perfectly well the girl had only asked her along to make sure her brother joined them.
She glanced at Aegon. If he thought he was getting off easy, he was dead wrong.
"Very well! Let's not wait any longer, furniture, here we come," the Targaryen princess declared with enthusiasm.
Aegon held back tears.
[T/N: At least you get to train while spending time with your princess get those gains dude.]
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Rickon was panting heavily as he looked around the white room. He had leveled up after the walkers attacked him. His uncle Benjen had escorted them for a few kilometers, but eventually had to break off, to draw the walkers away from them, and because he couldn't enter the place where Rickon's target was.
Something about the magic there prevented it.
His uncle was dead, brought back as a kind of specter by the Children of the Forest. The good thing was, he still fought for the living.
Rickon approached the console.
He had reached level 5, with 2 skill points, and was preparing to leave.
Rickon opened his eyes sharply, and saw five wights attacking Hodor and Ossa.
Without hesitation, he rushed in to support them.
[T/N: Just so you know, wights are a different name for Wraiths, basically the Norse word for specter or ghost.]
Bran watched his brother supporting Hodor. The wolves were tearing through as many wights as they could, but there were too many.
He had tested his new ability, but it hadn't worked. The sharp whistle he let out was powerful, it hurt the eardrums of everyone around him, including his allies. Unfortunately, the specters didn't feel pain.
That meant when they first arrived and Bran tried to use it, he ended up harming his own group, leaving them barely able to defend themselves.
The boy fired an arrow at a nearby wight.
He noticed Meera and Jojen fighting hard against several others.
Bran flew toward them, supporting Meera by attacking a wight just as it was about to strike her. She gave him a grateful look. Bran drew his sword, and the three of them stood in a tight circle, fighting off the wraiths from all sides.
He considered summoning a warship, but he was low on mana. And even then, warships could only distract the specters for a few seconds at most.
The boy swung his saber, slashing a wraith across the neck, a mortal wound for most creatures, but Bran had learned the hard way: only decapitation or fire could truly kill them.
He struck again, severing its head, and rushed toward the white room.
He glanced at the monitor, level 8, 1 skill point. Then he turned to leave.
Summer appeared in front of him, tearing a walker off his back.
Meanwhile, Rickon was targeting the vital points of the wraiths. Unlike Bran and the others, who had to decapitate the monsters, Rickon only needed a single strike.
Shaggydog joined him, and Ossa defended the giant as best he could with his spear.
But there were just too many.
"Over here!" a voice shouted.
Rickon turned toward the nearby mountain and saw a boy raise his hand.
"Rickon! Go over there!" he heard Bran call out.
Rickon and Ossa understood immediately. They shook off the walkers and ran toward the mountain. Meera and Bran followed. When a specter blocked their path, Rickon stabbed it in the left leg, and it reacted as though its heart had been torn out.
Suddenly, Rickon felt like he was somewhere else.
To his amazement, he arrived at the white room.
"Specters give a lot of points," he muttered, stepping toward the computer.
He reached the console.
{Name: Rickon Stark
Title: None
Skill Points: 3
Level: 6 (0/300)
Health: 600/600
Mana: 300/300
Attributes: Low
Skills:
Light Weapons Level: 2
Do you want to spend three skill points and raise the Light Weapons skill to Level: 3?
Yes/No}
He pressed yes.
{Light Weapons Level: 3
This level has two upgrades left.
Thunder Aura: Imbues the weapon with electricity and delivers an electric shock to whoever hits it. It lasts five minutes.
Cost: 40 mana}
The boy nodded and left the white room.
Bran cursed as he saw the walkers approaching, and suddenly, explosions tore them apart. He looked around and saw children, the Children of the Forest, attacking the walkers with incendiary stones.
Rickon picked one up. It lit up in his hand. He threw it, hitting a specter and causing it to explode in a burst of electric energy.
"Great," he sighed, and walked forward.
"The others will stop them as they come," said one of the forest children, leading them into a cave.
Bran said nothing.
He simply followed, as the forest girl guided him deeper inside.
The cave was damp, with white roots hanging from the walls. He noticed several of the Children of the Forest watching him with curiosity.
Their stares made him uneasy.
It felt as if they had been waiting for him, for centuries, maybe even millennia.
'I don't understand what I'm doing here,' he thought.
Not after all the adventures they'd had.
Bran didn't really understand why he had come.
What was expected of him?
What was he supposed to do?
They turned a corner and came upon a massive tree.
Bran stared, in both horror and awe.
An old man was embedded in the tree, quite literally connected to its roots, as if the roots were his veins and joints.
The branches didn't seem to harm him. Instead, it looked as though they were growing out of him.
"Brandon Stark," said the old man in a solemn voice.
"Are you the Three-Eyed Raven?" Bran asked.
"I am. I am the one who sees the world, with a thousand and one eyes. They call me the greenseer… or the Three-Eyed Raven," he replied.
"You called me. What do you want from me?" Bran asked.
"To teach you, Brandon. To teach you to become the next greenseer, the one who must stop death," the old man said.
"Death? You mean the Walkers? The Night King?" Bran asked.
"Death. Not of the night, but yes. Soon, everything will end… or everything will begin. It will depend on you, and your family," the being concluded.
[T/N: Ah, he has seen some of the past.]
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ned watched his daughter step off the boat.
She walked toward them through the harbor, her expression cold. Ned wondered if it was because of what had happened… or if the war in Volantis had changed her.
They had brought many ships, which meant more soldiers and more resources.
The food she had brought the last time had been divided between the army and the northern houses, so having more now was a relief, one less problem for him to solve.
He had already spoken with Wyman Manderly, the Lord of White Harbor, and together they had established a secret trade route that funneled supplies north. There was also a hidden passage to Volantis.
They had discovered it on Pyke, during the conquest of the Iron Islands.
Balon had kept a book of secret sea routes to various distant ports, including Volantis, and the Northerners had begun using them to move supplies undetected.
Of course, the fleet was still not ready. They couldn't send large ships yet, but a dozen small ones could carry food and weapons effectively.
Meanwhile, Catelyn had negotiated with the Mootons and Pipers, two Riverlands houses, for additional resources, and had secured a fair amount while Ned was in Essos.
But there was never enough food.
He watched again as his daughter drew closer.
Two men walked beside her.
Jon's summoned soldiers, no doubt.
The girl ran toward him and threw her arms around him.
Catelyn, standing at his side, embraced her too.
"Jon couldn't stop me," the girl said with a smile, "so he gave me soldiers."
Ned smiled.
He stepped forward and addressed the men.
"I'm Eddard Stark. Thank you for escorting my daughter," he said.
The soldiers bowed. Ned did the same.
"My lord, I have orders to obey your command," said one.
"I'm part of the trackers. My group's been ordered to hunt Theon Greyjoy. We'll head to Winterfell and pick up his trail," said the other.
Ned nodded.
He had seen the power of the trackers in Valyria, they would find Theon. And Ned would finally have his vengeance.
'House Greyjoy will know winter. The whole damn house will pay,' thought the Lord of the North, his fury rising anew.
It had been their mistake.
Letting honor blind them to common sense.
The Ironborn should've been crushed the moment they revealed themselves to Robert.
'Mercy... it was a mistake, my friend. You were right,' Ned thought, remembering his long-ago arguments with Robert and Jon Arryn.
But there would be no mercy. Not until Theon was found. Not until he was eliminated as the traitor he had become. Only then would Rickon and Bran know the peace they deserved.
Balon's fall had quieted Ned's rage.
But it hadn't extinguished it.
Not until he had his revenge.
His justice.
"Winter will come for you too, Theon," he promised under his breath.
"Very well, soldier. We'll head to Moat Cailin. I'll introduce you to your new captain," Ned informed them.
The soldiers nodded, and they were escorted into the town of White Harbor, where they would rest for the day before departing for Moat Cailin.
[T/N: Ok, this one was re-edited, so this is actually better than what the Patreon got when this first came out back in October last year, and its quality is up to the latest chapters of the book on Patreon.
Once all the books are finished I'll go back and edit all previous chapters for all the books up to this quality, and then we can start a new book, no systems again, this has been a lot.
As always, if you find a mistake, please point it out. If you can't wait for the next chapter, then check out my Patreon for some advanced chapters! For just $10, you can get access to over 300+ posts. That means you get to read up to chapter 89 from book two and have access to all my other works. You could also join the free membership. I always appreciate it. (*/ω＼*)
[patreon.com/PuddingLord]