"Is this all there is?" Linde frowned, looking at the goods before him.
The goods Linde discovered were just some valuable items from the Far East, such as tea, silk, and porcelain. Although these items were indeed valuable, they didn't seem to warrant Littlefinger making a special trip to King's Landing, or even specifically finding Janos Slynt to provide extra protection for this batch of goods.Could he be deliberately using this batch of goods as bait to attract the attention of interested parties, while actually placing the valuable smuggled goods elsewhere? Sensing something was wrong, Linde's mind raced with possibilities as he cautiously sensed the surrounding movements, because if this batch of goods was bait, then there would definitely be a trap accompanying it, and a deadly one at that.However, no matter how he perceived it, he found nothing unusual inside or outside the warehouse, and the guards patrolling around the warehouse were not acting strangely either. The only thing in the entire warehouse that made him feel uncomfortable was the snoring of the few drunken guards.
"Looks like I guessed wrong." Linde, feeling that he was being a bit too cautious, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and then, looking at the goods in front of him, immediately realized the reason for his misjudgment.While the value of this shipment wouldn't be enough to make someone like Littlefinger risk the journey from the Vale to King's Landing, especially in these turbulent times, that doesn't mean it's worthless. In fact, if sold in King's Landing, it should fetch tens of thousands of gold dragons without a problem.If it were Littlefinger, the Master of Coin on the Iron Throne a decade or so later, he might be qualified to use tens of thousands of gold dragons as bait, but Littlefinger, who is currently just a customs officer in a port city, is clearly not qualified to make such a grand gesture. Therefore, this batch of goods should not be bait, and the smuggled goods that Littlefinger was specifically sent to King's Landing for should be hidden within this batch of goods.
Having figured this out, Lind carefully examined the goods again. This time, he didn't just take a cursory glance, but carefully checked every bag and box.Quickly, he noticed something amiss with a few of the silk-filled crates. They were the same size as the others, but weighed significantly more, undoubtedly indicating that they contained more than just silk.
Although the crates were locked, the primitive locks were quite simple for Linde. Back in White Village, he had anticipated encountering similar situations, so he retrained his lock-picking skills from his previous life, just in case.He, already prepared, pulled out two differently shaped pieces of metal and inserted them into different positions in the lock. Then, by pulling the metal pieces back and forth, he felt the position of the lock pins, adjusted the metal pieces little by little, and quickly opened the lock of a box.
Linde carefully removed the lock and placed it aside, then slowly opened the box lid, avoiding making too much noise.
After the box was successfully opened, Linde looked inside. He saw rolls of silk neatly placed inside. It seemed he had misjudged, but no expression of disappointment appeared on his face.He carefully took out the silks and placed them aside. Soon, all the silks in the box were removed. Then, he gently tapped the bottom of the box, and a smile appeared on his face after hearing the feedback.
Next, he searched around the bottom of the box and found a hidden clasp. He inserted his finger into the clasp and lifted the entire bottom of the box.
It turned out that there was another compartment under the bottom of the box. The compartment was filled with weeds for cushioning, and among the weeds were some very old-fashioned bronzes, silverware, and goldware."Is this the contraband Littlefinger valued? " Seeing these items, Linde felt a slight doubt in his heart. He really couldn't see the value of these things, but he didn't jump to conclusions, because he knew very well that due to his lack of knowledge and perspective, it was impossible to correctly judge the value of such items.With suspicion, Linde re-covered the partition, put the silk rolls back in their original positions, and restored everything to its original state. But he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he opened several other boxes that felt like they had the wrong weight. It wasn't until he opened the fourth box and saw the secret contents inside that he understood what these smuggled goods were.
Inside the fourth box were only two items: a cracked dragon egg and an exquisite dagger.When Linde saw these two items, what caught his attention first wasn't the cracked dragon egg with its scaly shell, but the exquisite dagger. From the dagger's strikingly unique bone handle and the steel material of its blade, Linde could almost determine that it was a Valyrian steel dagger with a dragon bone handle. This dagger was also very likely the catalyst that would ignite the War of the Five Kings more than a decade later.
"So Littlefinger got his hands on this dagger so early?" Linde wondered, feeling a mixture of doubt and curiosity. He wanted to take the dagger out of the box and examine it closely.Only, when his hand touched the dragon bone hilt of the dagger, a distinct burning sensation traveled from his fingers, spreading throughout his body.
At this moment, however, this mysterious burning sensation was not Linde's primary concern. He was more concerned that the energy bar beneath the Peacemaker, which was already more than three-quarters full, was flickering on and off like a breathing light under the influence of this burning sensation.The sudden turn of events left Linde somewhat at a loss, but he quickly calmed down and carefully examined what changes the burning sensation from the dragon bone dagger had brought to his golden finger's energy bar.
However, after a thorough examination, he was somewhat disappointed, because the burning sensation, apart from causing the energy bar to flicker incessantly, did not trigger any other reaction, and did not even manage to push the energy bar forward a bit.
Despite this, Linde didn't believe that the dragon bone's influence on the golden finger within him was so simple; he felt that he simply hadn't discovered it yet.Thinking of this, Linde placed his hand on the cracked dragon egg again. This time, the burning sensation didn't appear, but an icy chill transmitted from the point of contact to his hand.
This chill didn't spread throughout his body like the previous burning sensation, nor did it trigger any anomalies in his golden finger. Instead, it flowed through his body like a stream, gathering at his chest and then injecting into Glory, who was in the pouch on his chest. Glory, still asleep, seemed to sense the cold and stirred slightly before continuing to slumber.Although Linde conducted some training aimed at reducing Glory's wildness, whether it was due to the short training time or errors in his methods, Glory's wildness not only didn't diminish but actually intensified. Apart from showing affection towards him and obeying his commands, Glory would attack anyone who came even slightly close.
Furthermore, as Glory grew, its teeth became increasingly formidable. It could not only bite through the ropes that bound it but even snap the wooden bars of its cage. Therefore, to avoid accidents, Linde always kept Glory by his side, and this time was no exception.Fortunately, Glory was very obedient. When Linde ordered it not to move, it would really stay still, not making any unusual sounds even when fast asleep, and wouldn't cause Linde any trouble.
However, Linde didn't expect that bringing Glory along this time would lead to an unexpected gain.He didn't know what effect the absorption of that chill by Glory would have, what changes it would bring about, but he was very clear that this cracked dragon egg had undergone a transformation with the loss of that chill. The most obvious change was that the scale patterns on the dragon egg's shell had become dull and lackluster, and looked somewhat like stone, far less dazzling than it had just been.
"Could the rumors about albino Shadow Lynxes be true?"This couldn't help but trigger some associations in Linde's mind. He wondered if that chill might be the remnant dragon soul within the dragon egg, and the absorption of that chill by Glory Lynx seemed to align with the old tales of albino shadow lynxes devouring souls. Such a coincidence made it hard for him not to make connections.
However, now wasn't a good time to investigate whether Glory had undergone any changes. He closed the box's partition again, not taking the Valyrian steel dagger with the dragon bone hilt. After all, that dagger was too conspicuous, and taking it now would cause unnecessary trouble, especially attracting Littlefinger's attention, which would definitely be more harm than good.As for the dragon eggs, although there were changes, they were imperceptible. Linde didn't touch the other Valyrian antiques either, but put them all back in their original places, and quietly left the warehouse the way he came, the whole process was silent and didn't alarm anyone.
After leaving the warehouse, Linde, wanting to check Glory's body for any problems as soon as possible, didn't linger on the road, but walked along the slums along the city wall towards the Lion Gate.Although going directly through the arena would be a shorter route, it was already packed with people. Refugees and the poor from the surrounding slums had also gathered there to watch the excitement. On the contrary, the slums where these people lived were much less crowded. The ground was dirty, but it would save a lot of time.
When Linde arrived at the exit of the slum road outside the Lion's Gate, preparing to turn towards the Tyrell family camp on Lion's Hill, he saw the Lion's Gate slightly ajar. Immediately afterwards, several Lannister soldiers in brownish-red iron armor carried a person out of the gate.After all, the Lannisters have gold mines, so the equipment and weapons for their soldiers far surpass those of other families.
Most of the lowest-ranking soldiers in other noble families, including his own Tyrell family, have to prepare their own equipment and weapons. Only special formations, such as the ten-man cavalry unit recently formed by Linde, can receive armor and weapons specially prepared by the Tyrell family.
The Tyrell family is slightly better, and can at least provide some clothing, but other families not only need to prepare their own weapons and equipment, but even their food.Compared to these noble families, the Lannister family's financial investment in their direct troops alone is staggering. They provide leather armor, iron armor, and steel armor depending on the troop's affiliation, and their weapons include iron-tipped spears, sharp iron swords, and so on. All of the equipment is paid for and forged by House Lannister, so the Lannister family's direct troops also appear more disciplined than the armies of other houses.It was precisely because of possessing such a powerful army that even King Robert Baratheon and the Hand of the King, Jon Arryn, who greatly disliked House Lannister, had no choice but to choose a marriage alliance with them.
Now, two Lannister soldiers in iron armor were risking violating the city gate restrictions, making the city guard open the gate, and carrying someone out. This made Lynde wonder who this person was.To know that only guards who are direct members of the Lannister family are qualified to wear iron armor in the Lannister family, which means that these two soldiers are from Jaime Lannister and Tyrion Lannister. As for why not Kevan Lannister, it is because Duke Tywin's brother is now in Casterly Rock and has not come to King's Landing.
Although the torches outside the Lion Gate were not very bright, Linde's extraordinary vision could still see that the two Lannister soldiers were carrying a girl, a naked girl.All they did was carry the girl to a garbage heap not far from the Lion's Gate, dump her in, mutter a few words, and then turn and leave.
The girl who had been thrown into the garbage heap didn't move, not even making any protective reflexes when she landed on the trash, looking as if she were already dead.After the Lannister soldiers left, some people in the surrounding slums crowded around the garbage heap, seemingly interested in the corpse. You have to know that even a corpse can fetch a good price in Flea Bottom in King's Landing.
Linde wasn't interested in why the Lannister soldiers would throw a girl's corpse outside the city, so he didn't join the crowd and was about to leave.But when he turned around, he saw the corpse's hand move. It seemed the girl was still alive. Some people from the slums had also witnessed this, but they didn't seem to want her to live. Someone picked up a stone from the ground, ready to smash it into the girl's head and finish her off.
If the girl had died, Linde might not have cared what happened to the corpse afterward, but now that she was still alive, his basic morals from his previous life wouldn't allow him to turn a blind eye.Moreover, and more importantly, as the Peace Envoy's combat experience fully integrated into him, he felt his personality becoming increasingly indifferent, especially towards life. The only way to counteract this side effect was to use his past life's thoughts and personality to dilute the changes in mindset brought about by the fusion. Therefore, saving this girl would also benefit him.
Almost as soon as he decided to save the girl, Linde quickly rushed towards the few ill-intentioned civilians, and before one of them could throw a stone at her, he unleashed a series of punches, knocking them to the ground.Afterward, he ignored the unconscious commoners and instead looked at the girl covered in wounds. He hesitated for a moment, then picked her up and walked towards the Tyrell family's camp.
...
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Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
"Game of Thrones: Political Life"
"Game of Thrones: Holy Flame"
"The Game of Thrones Upgrade System"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Game of Thrones: Godzilla vs. Dragons"
"Game of Thrones: Ruler of the Deep Seas "
"Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight"
"Game of Thrones: The Most Powerful Dragon Queen"
" Game of Thrones: From the Elden Lord to the Young Wolf"
"Game of Thrones: Rise of a Lord with the Army-Building System"
(End Chapter)