Three days had passed since the Ironborn invasion, and news came from Three Towers, Black Crown City, and Bandallon that the Ironborn fleet was sailing north.
Upon receiving the news, Velas no longer rested and ordered the entire team to board the ships.
To accommodate the thousands of people, the Rose Trading Company provided thirty large merchant ships and also rented ten merchant ships of the same specification from other shipping companies, while the Hightower sent ten warships for escort.
A fleet of fifty large ships was already quite large in Westeros; even the Manderly family in White Harbor or the Lannister family in Lannisport might not be able to assemble such a large fleet.
These large ships were different from the Ironborn pirate ships. For speed, the pirate ships were much smaller, shuttle-shaped, and primarily used triangular sails. Many were small longships converted from fishing boats, completely incomparable to these large ships in terms of size and capacity.
To deal with potential pirates, crossbows designed for medium and small ships were installed on all vessels. The bolts used by these crossbows were as thick as an arm, and sometimes a single shot could sink a small ship.
When the fleet departed, many people from Oldtown came to see them off, crowding the docks. However, they were not there to send off Velas, but Linde.
That one-against-a-hundred duel had made Linde the most respected person in Oldtown. Countless people worshipped Linde's strength, treating him as a legendary figure from ancient tales. Even some monks of the Seven Gods Church claimed that Linde was blessed by the Warrior of the Seven Gods.
The Bishop of the Starry Sept not only did not refute this but openly acknowledged in some public settings that Linde was blessed by the Warrior. He also stated that Linde had loyally guarded Velas during the silent prayer ritual on the night of the Ironborn invasion, not retreating even when surrounded by hundreds of Ironborn pirates. Thus, his loyal character was praised by the Seven Gods, who then bestowed upon him the Warrior's blessing.
Because of this, he, as a mere mortal, was able to perform the miracle of facing a thousand, slaying over seven hundred Ironborn pirates who had offended the Sept of the Seven, and protecting the holy site of the church from being destroyed by the barbaric Ironborn.
Therefore, the Bishop of the Starry Sept also granted Linde special qualifications, allowing Linde to complete the Holy Oil Ritual in the Starry Sept, and it was presided over by the Bishop of the Starry Sept.
Knighted by the King, anointed with holy oil by the Starry Sept Bishop, and undergoing a vigil ceremony in the Starry Sept—the number of knights in all of Westeros who had such an investiture experience was few and far between. Linde's knightly qualifications could be said to be impeccable.
Therefore, Linde also gained the title of 'Blessed by the Warrior' in Oldtown, and this title was recognized by the Starry Sept.
There were a large number of Seven Gods Church followers in Oldtown, and they consequently regarded Linde as the next saint of the Seven Gods Church, their admiration for him overflowing.
Linde was well aware that the Starry Sept was doing this to leverage the reputation he had built through his extraordinary martial prowess. By attributing Linde's immense power to the blessing of the Seven Gods, and with Linde receiving holy oil in the Starry Sept, binding him to the Starry Sept, it could greatly enhance the Starry Sept's prestige.
According to the Starry Sept Bishop's idea, as long as Linde continued to demonstrate his extraordinary strength to the world, the Starry Sept's reputation would grow, eventually even becoming a holy site for warriors, subtly leading the world to a consensus, such as any knight must come to the Starry Sept to receive holy oil to be worthy of being called a knight.
Linde had no objection to this. He could also gain the support of the Starry Sept, which would help him achieve some goals more smoothly.
For this, the Starry Sept spared no effort in promoting Linde's reputation as the Blessed by the Warrior. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for Linde to become an object of worship throughout Oldtown in a short period.
However, even for those who were not followers of the Seven Gods Church, Linde's real strength of one against a hundred, and the rumored strength of one against a thousand, were enough to inspire awe and reverence in anyone, such as the merchants from Essos.
So, as Velas's fleet gradually left the harbor, the hunter of bears song began to echo on the dock. The singing, initially chaotic, gradually became synchronized, and the sound spread further and further. Even from the ship, where only the Hightower's torch could be seen and not the Oldtown dock, the singing carried by the wind could still be vaguely heard.
"My Lord, Linde Terra's prestige is a bit too high, this…" One of Velas's advisors looked at the Glory, which was sailing alongside Velas's flagship, and couldn't help but worry.
Before the advisor could finish, Velas interrupted him, calmly looking at the advisor and saying, "Do your job diligently and don't speak ill of others. Your position can go further."
After speaking, he returned to his cabin to rest, supported by a servant, leaving the advisor standing awkwardly in place.
Linde on the Glory did not know what was happening on Velas's ship. As the captain of the guard, he should have stayed with Velas, but Gals and his knights were all crowded onto Velas's ship, ostensibly to protect Velas personally, forcing Linde to choose another ship.
Just then, a devoted follower of the Seven Gods who greatly admired Linde gifted him a large sailboat. Linde did not stand on ceremony and named this ship the Glory, choosing to travel on it.
Perhaps intentionally, Velas arranged for Miss Moroia to be on Linde's Glory, citing a lack of space on other ships.
Linde did not express any objection to this. In fact, even if Miss Moroia had planned to take another ship, he would have found a way to get her on his ship, because he needed to have a serious talk with Miss Moroia to avoid any negative impact this trouble might cause him.
"Miss Moroia, what exactly is your purpose?" Linde came to Miss Moroia's cabin and asked directly, facing Miss Moroia who was mixing some kind of medicine.
Miss Moroia stopped what she was doing, looked at Linde, and said, "I want to stay by your side."
Linde frowned. Although Miss Moroia's words sounded very ambiguous, Linde could feel that Miss Moroia probably didn't have that kind of thought.
Miss Moroia said with a touch of emotion, "I've spent too long alone in the Hightower. I want to travel outside, and you are just right. Because you and I are the same kind of people; in this world, we are both anomalies, and the only ones we can trust are you and I, who are also anomalies."
Linde was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't keep idlers around."
Miss Moroia thought seriously for a moment and said, "You probably don't have a maester advisor yet, do you? I think I'm qualified to be your maester advisor. My knowledge is no worse than any doctor at the Citadel. If I hadn't peeked at forbidden books back then, I should have become the first female doctor at the Citadel by now."
"Welcome aboard." Linde considered it for a moment, then nodded and extended his hand to Miss Moroia.
Miss Moroia also smiled and shook Linde's hand.
Although she tried her best to maintain her composure, Linde could feel that she was somewhat off, so he immediately released her hand.
"What's wrong with you?" Linde asked, puzzled.
When Linde released her hand, Miss Moroia's face quickly returned to normal, and she had to press her hand on the table to keep herself from falling.
Upon hearing Linde's question, she directly said:
Linde was stunned when he heard Miss Moroia's words and asked, "What do you mean by…"
"That kind." Miss Moroia gave a clear explanation.
Upon hearing this, Linde couldn't help but look at his hand. He never knew that merely shaking someone's hand could affect a person. This made him inwardly complain, "What kind of strange ability is this? The Hand of the Eagle?"
Miss Moroia's breathing had now calmed, and her body also returned to normal. She straightened up, but she took two steps back, putting some distance between herself and Linde. Then she looked Linde up and down and said, "Our Hightower family once intermarried with the Targaryen family, so our family's bloodline also contains true dragon blood."
As she spoke, Miss Moroia pointed to her silver-gold curly hair and purple eyes, saying, "In my generation, only Allerie and I have obvious Targaryen bloodline features. However, my situation is different from Allerie's; her features are just ordinary, but mine cause my body to undergo some strange changes. Whenever I touch something related to dragons and infused with magic, I can produce it."
Linde listened while thinking. He remembered having contact with Miss Moroia in the garden of Black Stone Fortress before, but at that time, he was wearing armor, which was why there was no reaction. Now that the armor was off, shaking Miss Moroia's hand just now immediately triggered the taboo in Miss Moroia's body.
Thinking of this, Linde took off the Dragon Rune necklace made of dragon glass from his neck, handed it to Miss Moroia, and said, "You try it and see if this thing can make you react."
Miss Moroia looked at the Dragon Rune necklace with great curiosity. Although she didn't understand the meaning of the Dragon Rune, she vaguely felt that it should be similar to the mysterious forces on the Hightower. However, this Dragon Rune was now very visually apparent, unlike the Hightower where she could only vaguely sense some traces.
With curiosity, Miss Moroia reached out and touched the Dragon Rune necklace. Sure enough, her body reacted again. However, compared to directly holding Linde's hand just now, this feeling was much weaker, and it didn't give her the strong sensation of heat that other dragon-related magical items she had touched did. This one, instead, had a cooling sensation, making her feel very calm and soothed while experiencing it.
While Miss Moroia was immersed in this wonderful sensation, Linde moved the Dragon Rune necklace away from her hand, and the sudden interruption made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She also looked at Linde with a slight hint of dissatisfaction.
"I think you should change your clothes now." Linde pointed to Miss Moroia's feet.
Facing this situation, Miss Moroia did not show shyness or unease. She did not ask Linde to leave, but very generously, in front of Linde, took off all her clothes, standing naked before him. Then she simply wiped herself and put on a light, casual dress, tying her loose hair with a silver thread, which made her look much more capable.
"Does it look good?" Miss Moroia asked Linde.
"Just now, or now?" Linde counter-asked.
"Just now." Miss Moroia said.
Linde teased somewhat abruptly, "Everything else is great, just the chest is a bit small."
Miss Moroia didn't mind, instead nodding in agreement and saying, "No choice, it's a family trait. Hightower women don't have very large chests. But this size is already enough. My sister, your Duchess, doesn't have a large chest, but didn't she still bear four children?"
"The Duchess has wet nurses," Linde continued to joke.
"That's true, children can be raised by wet nurses. With that inflatable fish lord's appetite, Allerie's chest should be enough too." Miss Moroia put on a serious expression, speaking ambiguous words, "However, your body is so strong, your appetite must be considerable. My chest won't be enough for you to suck."
As she spoke, she deliberately unbuttoned the top of her dress and pulled at her lapels, exposing her fair chest. Perhaps it was due to the compression of her clothes, but her seemingly small breasts now appeared much larger.
In this game of who blushes first loses, even with experience from his previous life, Linde was still no match for Miss Moroia. Feeling his physiological characteristics begin to change, Linde decisively ended this provocative conversation, saying, "If there's nothing else, I'll leave for now."
After speaking, he turned and walked out of the cabin. As he exited and closed the cabin door, he heard Miss Moroia's triumphant laughter from inside.
"What a temptress," Linde calmed himself, looked back at the cabin, and muttered.
After returning to his cabin, Linde soothed the seasick Glory while reflecting on the gains from his conversation with Miss Moroia.
Having Miss Moroia, a former maester, as his maester advisor was undoubtedly the biggest gain.
Miss Moroia's value was not only reflected in her astonishing knowledge but also, more importantly, in her identity.
During his time in Oldtown, Linde could easily see that Earl Layton doted on his eldest daughter. Earl Layton had even hinted to Linde more than once that as long as Linde married Miss Moroia, he would immediately carve out a castle and village from his territory, making Linde a lord.
So, as long as Miss Moroia was by his side, Earl Layton would more or less provide him with economic and political support, which was equivalent to gaining a powerful lord as an external helper for free.
Secondly, through Miss Moroia's special constitution, Linde could now confirm the changes brought about by the Dragon Feast Ritual, which had also given him some dragon bloodline within his body.
Even if this bloodline was not the same as that of the Targaryen family, it could still play some role when facing dragons.
This made him wonder if he should also acquire a Dragon Egg and, when the Red Comet appeared a decade or so later, hatch a dragon to ride.
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