Hearing Linde's bold words, Garlan and Fortimo were so shocked that they couldn't speak. They stared blankly at Linde, as if they were looking at some rare animal.
The rarity of Valyrian steel is self-evident. There are only a handful of weapons made of Valyrian steel on the entire continent of Westeros, such as Ice of House Stark, and Heartsbane of House Tarly.
But these are all weapons, and armor made of Valyrian steel has never been heard of, which made Garlan and Fortimo feel that Linde was completely delusional.Linde was well aware of the associations that his words would create in Garland and Fortimo's minds, and he was helpless to do anything about it.
If he wanted to fully utilize all of the Outcast Knight's extraordinary powers and swordsmanship, he had to use weapons and armor made of Valyrian steel, because just as ordinary obsidian could not withstand the power contained in dragon runes, ordinary steel could not be engraved with dragon runes either.Yesterday, after discovering that ordinary obsidian couldn't withstand the power of dragon runes when he tried to craft an obsidian dragon rune necklace, he had Raul, based on details from the exiled knight's memories, take some silver stags to the Dragonpit in King's Landing to buy some obsidian that had been scorched by dragonfire.
The result was that, except for a few pieces of obsidian that hadn't been scorched by dragonfire and shattered after being engraved with dragon runes, all the other obsidian that had been scorched by dragonfire successfully imprinted with the dragon runes without exception.And after he put on the necklace, the effect he felt was the same as the Lost Knight in his memory, the violent emotions in his mind were dissolved by the cool aura transmitted from the necklace, making his mind particularly clear.
The only downside is that these necklaces are consumables, and wearing them for a long time will gradually weaken the power of the necklace, so it is necessary to replace them with new necklaces from time to time. Fortunately, there are a large number of dragonflame obsidian in the dragon's lair, enough for him to use until the day he completely solves the side effects of this dragon communion ritual.Furthermore, after discovering that ordinary obsidian couldn't withstand the power of dragon runes, Linde couldn't help but wonder if ordinary steel would also be unable to withstand the power of dragon runes, just like obsidian.
So, he found some steel plates to test, and as he expected, the steel plates immediately shattered after the dragon runes were engraved on them. Moreover, it wasn't just shattering; the steel fragments even turned into powder as easily as crumbling soil.Clearly, the power of the dragon runes not only tore through the steel, but also destroyed the molecular structure within the steel, completely transforming these steel fragments into a different, fragile material.
To this end, Linde carefully recalled the process of manufacturing the armor again, and soon he discovered a mistaken perception caused by a fallacy in his thinking.
Although in his memory the materials used by the Lost Knights to forge armor and weapons were ordinary iron ore, the Lost Knights' ordinary iron ore and the ordinary iron ore of the A Song of Ice and Fire world were completely different things.The world of the Tarnished Knight is one where humans and gods coexist, a world brimming with magic and divine power. The iron ore of that world is born from endless magic, imbued with magical properties from the start. When forged into steel, the magic remains. This means the ordinary steel used by the Tarnished Knight is actually magical. In the entire world of Ice and Fire, besides the few steels forged from meteorites, only Valyrian steel possesses similar magical properties.
This is why Linde abandons ordinary steel and insists on using Valyrian steel to craft his Tarnished Knight armor and greatsword.However, the reason he used this to explain why he sold the cavalry quota was just as an excuse to cover up his real purpose in doing so.
"Are you crazy? You want to make armor and weapons out of Valyrian steel?" Fortemot was the first to recover from the shock and couldn't help but shout.
Lynd smiled, not continuing to explain, and he couldn't explain it either.Garlan had also recovered, and unlike Fortemord, he didn't find Linde's decision incomprehensible. Instead, he analyzed as if he were providing Linde with advice, "Twenty thousand gold dragons is indeed a bit too little to make Valyrian steel armor and weapons, but it might be enough to make just one Valyrian steel weapon. The problem is, where is there Valyrian steel now, and who can make weapons with Valyrian steel? As far as I know, all Valyrian steel craftsmanship sank into the sea along with Valyria."
Linde smiled wryly. Garlan had completely hit the nail on the head regarding the difficulty of the matter, and he had no clue either.He knew that there was a blacksmith in King's Landing who understood Valyrian steel craftsmanship, and it was this blacksmith that Tywin Lannister had melt down Ice, the Stark's greatsword, more than a decade later, reforging it into the two Valyrian steel swords Widow's Wail and Oathkeeper, but he couldn't remember the blacksmith's name, and there were dozens of blacksmith shops in King's Landing, so he didn't know which one he worked in.
More importantly, that blacksmith should still be a young man now, and it is unknown whether he has mastered the Valyrian steel craftsmanship, so finding that blacksmith may not be useful.As for Valyrian steel, he did have a clue. He remembered that there was a city on the continent of Essos that possessed complete Valyrian steel crafting techniques. Perhaps that city had enough Valyrian steel to make armor, but he couldn't remember exactly which city it was.
Fortimo, unlike Galan, clearly didn't take Linde's decision seriously. He simply thought it was a rash decision made by Linde in a moment of hubris after winning the team melee championship, and that Linde would come to his senses after a while.What concerns him more now is Linde's betrayal of cavalry slots due to this decision, which clearly has a very bad influence on Linde.
So, in order to make Linde realize the severity of his wrong decision, he directly informed him: "The Duke knows about your selling cavalry slots to those guard warriors. Some people think your behavior is very bad and want to punish you severely."
Linde is not surprised by this. What he cares about is whether things are developing as he wished.Garlan, on the other hand, didn't show any signs of worry, but smiled and said, "Lord Fortimer, you don't need to make it sound so serious. Father won't punish Lynde. After all, Lynde has made no small contribution to House Tyrell."
"That's because King Robert's invitation arrived, and the Duke didn't punish him." Fortimer glanced at Garlan and said sternly to Lynde, "What you did was too much. If you aren't punished, it will be detrimental to House Tyrell's management of its subordinate armies."This time, Garland didn't refute Fortimo's words, but gave Linde a wry smile.
"Originally, Scholar Moras and Lord Roger wanted to take you to Highgarden for training. Although the Duke didn't agree at the time, he didn't object either, and it seemed likely he would agree." Fortimo sighed and said, "But now that's basically impossible. The Duke won't allow someone who privately sells cavalry qualifications to take charge of the Duke's Guard, or even let you join the Highgarden garrison. You'll most likely be sent out to the provinces to do some hard labor.""Actually, you don't need to worry. Even if it's a tough job, as long as you do it well, you can still have the opportunity to be transferred back to Highgarden." Garlan immediately comforted Lind a few words, to prevent him from being discouraged.
However, Garlan didn't know that this was actually the result Lind hoped to see. In fact, from the moment he had Scarface spread the word about him selling cavalry slots yesterday, he had been using this self-defiling behavior to give the Duke Tyrell's confidants an excuse to reject the decision to send him to Highgarden.
Although going to Highgarden seemed to promise him a bright future, that was definitely not what Lind wanted.Lynde's reputation rose too quickly, transforming him from a country boy into a figure of great renown in a short time, even the king had taken notice of him. This level of prestige had already aroused the jealousy of a group of powerful figures around Duke Tyrell.
Perhaps these nobles can't do anything to him now, but once they return to Highgarden, their home turf, they'll have plenty of ways to make him suffer.After all, the power games played by those nobles were not Linde's forte. With his current position, being too close to the center of power would only put him in an extremely passive state, like being burned by approaching a flame. Therefore, staying away from the center of power and accumulating strength was what he needed to do most now. Only when he possessed sufficient strength would he not be shaken at his core by some conspiracies and tricks.
"Lord Galan, do you know how the Duke will handle this matter?" Linde tried to glean some useful information from Galan.
However, Galan didn't know either and shook his head.However, Fortimo seemed to know something. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The cavalry will definitely expand, and your position as cavalry captain won't change. However, you'd better choose your people in advance. Whether or not they've bribed you, they must meet one requirement: they must be able to fight immediately, without needing additional training." He paused, then added, "Also, you'd better familiarize yourself with Teng Stone Town and its surrounding environment in advance."
"Teng Stone Town?"Both Linde and Garland wore expressions of surprise, though the meaning behind their surprise was completely different. Linde was surprised because he had never heard of the town's name, while Garland was surprised because he knew about the town.
Seeming to feel he had revealed too much, Fortimo, after speaking, used the excuse of not wanting to disturb Linde's preparations for tonight's banquet and left the tent with Garland.After the two people left, Lind immediately turned around and dragged out the box containing Holly Scholar's books. He then found the book containing information about Tumbleton from among the many books. After quickly reading through it, he felt a trace of longing for this town he had never heard of.
Although Tumbleton is currently unknown, it left a strong mark on the history of Westeros, as it was fully involved in the Dance of the Dragons, a major event that affected the entire Westeros situation and the rise and fall of the Targaryen dynasty.During the Dance of the Dragons, two major battles that swayed the war took place at Stonehedge. The greens and the blacks gathered tens of thousands of soldiers to fight in the area. Two dragons, a prince, countless nobles and soldiers died here. The entire town was burned to ashes by dragonfire, and remains in ruins to this day.
It is said that the souls of those who died and the dragons still linger around Stonehedge, constantly emitting mournful screams, recounting everything that happened in that mad war.Furthermore, although Tumbleton is now a ruin, it still has an owner: it belongs to the Butterwell family, and the Butterwells are one of the poorest noble families in the Reach. Aside from their noble title, this family is no different from ordinary farmers.
Therefore, even though Tumbleton's geographical location is extremely advantageous, located on the upper reaches of the Mander, allowing for direct boat access to Highgarden, which is much faster than traveling by land, it has not been rebuilt after all these years and remains a ruin.What Fortimore said just now was likely hinting that Duke Tyrell intends to rebuild Stonebridge. As for the original lords of Stonebridge, the Bodley family, they might be moved elsewhere through a land swap, or some other form of cooperation that allows House Tyrell to control Stonebridge and the surrounding lands.
Regardless of the method, what Linde cares about is his position in this matter. If nothing unexpected happens, he should lead a troop of cavalry to garrison Stonebridge, overseeing the town's reconstruction while clearing out nearby bandits and restoring trade between the Reach and the North.Because Tumbleton is very close to King's Landing, only six leagues away, which is about three hundred kilometers, it is located on the edge of the Kingswood and only two or three leagues away from the Roseroad.
Although the road connecting to the Roseroad has been abandoned for many years, it could still be a good road if it were cleared and repaired, after all, it was built to the specifications of the Roseroad in the first place.Once the roads are clear, caravans from the north will be highly likely to transport goods directly to Tenstone Town, and then travel south along the Mander from Tenstone Town, directly to Highgarden. This would greatly save manpower and resources, and even reduce transportation time and potential dangers encountered during transportation.
As a result, the rebuilt Tenstone Town will inevitably become one of the most important commercial and military strongholds in the Reach.This was an opportunity for Lind, but becoming the lord of Tumbleton would likely be very difficult. Lind had no idea how to do it for the time being and could only wait for opportunities to arise as the situation changed in the future.
However, the most important thing for him now was to become a knight. He wondered if he had beaten Robert Baratheon too badly. Although Robert expressed his appreciation for Lind in the jousting arena yesterday, he did not directly knight him, which made Lind feel somewhat disappointed.But he wasn't discouraged by this, because for him, there were still many opportunities, such as the upcoming Iron Islands rebellion, which would be a great opportunity for him.
However, now that he had received an invitation to the Red Keep's banquet, Lindt vaguely felt that at this banquet, he might be able to cross this important threshold in his identity.
...
The fully completed English PDF of this fan-fic is now available on my Patreon shop.If you want to support my work and enjoy the entire story in one go, grab the PDF and binge-read it from start to finish without any breaks.
Patreon Shop:patreon.com /InkNovels
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)