Chapter 40: Shock (Part 2)
The Stepstones, Cutthroat Isle Main Island, Dock Market Square
"Tell me, what will you do in the future?"
Garo, his muscles bulging, always spoke with the bold passion of a man of the sea, and this enthusiasm infected all the soldiers of The Chainbreakers.
"We will free all slaves, grant them liberty, and send all slave masters to the Seven Hells!"
"Good! Very spirited!"
The Chainbreakers' soldiers' answers greatly pleased Garo, so he immediately praised everyone.
"Good, you all completed your training well today. For tomorrow's qualifying training, I hope more of you succeed, because Lord Jon has already prepared to make a group of you God-Blessed Warriors!"
"Oh..."
"Hmm!"
Upon hearing Garo's words, The Chainbreakers below instantly became excited, but it was precisely this excitement that caused their discipline to loosen.
So, after Garo let out a displeased snort, The Chainbreakers soldiers all quieted down again.
"I told you this news because you performed well, but unfortunately, you little rascals can't handle praise. Alright, now all of you stand at attention until the fortress bell rings, then you may rest."
Garo's cold, hard words instantly poured a basin of cold water on the excited Chainbreakers, and as Garo spoke, everyone's faces fell.
"Lemon Boy, what does 'fortress bell' mean?"
Seeing everyone's apprehension, Rodrik, who had been watching the show from the side, quickly asked Lemon beside him.
"Lord Rodrik! Here, we use the fortress bell for timekeeping. It rings about 10 times a day, starting and ending with the appearance and disappearance of the sun."
Lemon looked at the soldiers undergoing training, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes. These soldiers had all been re-selected after the last war.
In Jon's words, the people he selected this time were the elite of the elite. Although there were only two hundred of them, Jon intended to train them into warriors capable of fighting ten men each.
Given the miraculous deeds that preceded this, many among The Chainbreakers believed Jon was not joking.
So, during the subsequent training, even if someone was injured, they still gritted their teeth and persevered.
And their perseverance was affirmed by Jon; in addition to receiving vulneraries, they had meat at every meal, prepared in various ways so that no two meals were alike.
After obtaining the 'Bloodraven's Legacy' and the remnants from Visenya Targaryen's secret chamber, Jon had become a parvenu.
Moreover, Jon was currently only using the treasures left by "Skullcap" Bill and his group; for a short time, Jon would not have to worry about money again.
"So you mean they'll be standing for a very long time?"
When Rodrik understood the implication, his heart was filled with shock. In his view, soldiers should not be trained this way.
This kind of physical punishment, in Rodrik's opinion, would only increase the conflict between leaders and soldiers.
Just as Rodrik was about to go and communicate with Garo, Garo directly left the square and walked towards Rodrik and his group.
"He... he doesn't need to stay there and watch them?"
Seeing this scene, Rodrik asked Lemon with some surprise.
In Rodrik's view, some conscripted commoners and mercenaries were as cunning as foxes; once unsupervised, they would become lax and chaotic, or even directly flee.
But what Rodrik hadn't expected was that after Garo left, the soldiers remained standing there, as if their feet were nailed to the ground.
"Woof..."
Just as Rodrik was about to ask Garo about how he usually trained these soldiers, a series of strange wolf howls came from the center of the road directly in front of them.
Immediately after, Rodrik was shocked by what he saw.
It was a giant white wolf, as massive as a cow, its entire body as white as the winter snows of the North. Its blood-red eyes looked somewhat terrifying.
But Rodrik felt a hint of familiarity from it. It rushed towards Rodrik and his group like a whirlwind.
"My Lord!"
"Clang..."
After Rodrik was tackled, the House Stark guards behind him, who had just reacted, quickly drew the longswords from their waists.
"Hahaha..."
"That tickles, Ghost, hahaha, stop, stop!"
But before the guards could react much, Rodrik's somewhat excited shouts came through.
"Ghost!?"
These guards all knew about the House Stark children's Direwolves, but this enormous white wolf now was completely different from the Ghost they remembered!
"By the old gods! What on earth did Jon feed Ghost? How could it grow so big?"
Watching Ghost still playfully wrestling with Rodrik, this question arose in the minds of the guards.
"Woof..."
The still excited Ghost was a bit much for Rodrik to handle. After pushing Ghost away, Rodrik's beard and the ring of white hair below his bald spot were completely tangled.
"Alright, alright, child, spare this old man! Quickly take me to your master. If I keep playing with you, my old bones will shatter."
Ghost tilted its head and let out a questioning whine, somewhat intentionally acting cute, but at the moment, it wasn't quite aware of how terrifying its appearance truly was.
After being helped up by Garo and Lemon, Rodrik quickly tidied his clothes and attire. Although he was only an unlanded vassal of House Stark, as a noble, he still had to maintain proper etiquette and appearance.
Putting aside his desire to discuss training ideas with Garo, Rodrik was led by Ghost and Lemon towards the Pirate Fortress.
As the House Stark guards and Rodrik traversed the Dock Market, they took in everything the market had to offer.
Many houses here were undergoing expansion, with numerous stones and timber casually piled on both sides of the road. Large cauldrons were boiling a gelatinous substance with a peculiar smell.
This substance seemed to produce an even better effect than lime. Rodrik could see some people, who looked similar to soldiers, applying this adhesive to rubble and wood.
Along the way, Rodrik had seen far too many things. Full of questions, he wished he could immediately run to Jon, grab his collar, and ask him if he had received divine revelation.
As they ascended the steps towards the Pirate Fortress, Rodrik could clearly see that a fierce battle had once taken place here.
Although The Chainbreakers' soldiers had cleaned the area, some remnants of flesh and blood in the cracks of the bricks and stones could not be completely removed.
Soon, led by Lemon and the others, Rodrik and his party finally met Jon in the second-floor hall of the Pirate Fortress, where he was inspecting something near several buckets.
"Lord Jon, I apologize for disturbing you. This is the person I brought who matched our signal, this is..."
Since Lemon wasn't entirely clear about the relationship between Jon and Rodrik, he instinctively wanted to introduce Rodrik.
"Lord Rodrik! Long time no see!"
Before Lemon could finish speaking, Jon had already greeted Rodrik.
"Hahaha..."
"Hahaha... Jon!"
Looking at Jon's familiar face, Rodrik immediately extended his hand for a big hug, and Jon, using the original body's memories, chatted warmly with him.
After greeting each of the Winterfell guards behind Rodrik, Rodrik also put away the trace of doubt in his heart.
Jon's demeanor was exactly the same as when they had spent time together before. Therefore, Rodrik was certain that the person in front of him was indeed the bastard of Winterfell, Jon Snow!
"Jon! I can't believe that in just a few months, you've become a lord, and such a capable one at that. If Lord Eddard knew, I imagine he would be greatly impressed by you too."
Rodrik's praise was truly heartfelt. Although Rodrik's House Cassel was just an ordinary noble family, he knew very well that for a bastard to make a name for himself on this continent,
he had to achieve great deeds, and it would require several times more effort than ordinary people to even have a chance of success.
Jon's current achievements were already far, far better than those of the last heirs of some minor families.
"Long time no see, Lord Rodrik. You're still as strong as ever. You must be very tired from your journey!"
After inviting Rodrik to sit down, Jon was the first to speak these words.
"I will order the kitchen to prepare a grand welcome banquet tonight for my old friends and teacher."
"My old bones can still hold up. This is a good opportunity to hand everything over to you at once!"
Jon's arrangements gave Rodrik the illusion of facing his superior, but Rodrik was still very clear about his true mission.
Their main purpose in coming to The Stepstones this time was to deliver supplies to Jon and his group, and he also wanted to get these supplies sorted out as soon as possible so he could return to Eddard Stark's side sooner.
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