Chapter 71:
The North, the Kingsroad.
The blizzard continued, but this time the thick snow on the Kingsroad was no longer an obstacle.
An unprecedented "steel dragon" was speeding across the wasteland at astonishing velocity. It consisted of three massive "Winter-class" main battle tank prototypes. They were protected by thick Valyrian steel-ice crystal composite armor. Beneath the chassis were wide, heavy tracks. Every time they rolled forward, the frozen ground let out a dull groan.
Victor Pompey sat inside the command cupola of the lead tank, holding a specially supplied cigar. The internal combustion engine roared with a savage yet steady power — no longer the wheezing, leaky breath of a steam engine, but the wild force unique to the petroleum age.
"My lord, at this speed, we only need three days to cross the Neck and reach Moat Cailin," the Hound, Sandor Clegane, rode a modified heavy motorcycle alongside the tank. He patted the chainsaw sword hanging at his waist, his face full of fanaticism. "This iron bastard is really something. If we'd had these during the Battle of the Blackwater, I could have rammed Joffrey's gates straight into the bottom of the bay by myself!"
"This is just a chassis test, Sandor." Victor exhaled a smoke ring and looked behind him.
Following were several half-track trucks carrying carefully wrapped ice dragon bones and the deadly "Ice Dragon Core." In the center of the convoy, Sansa Stark sat inside a specially modified luxury armored command vehicle equipped with a constant-temperature system.
Due to her pregnancy and the second awakening of her bloodline, Sansa had become the "Ice Snow Goddess" in the eyes of the Northern lords. Her half-silver, half-flame-red hair shimmered with a metallic quality under the sunlight.
[System Notification: Host prestige in the North has reached its peak.]
[Family Assets Updated: Northern Oil Fields, Internal Combustion Engine Factory, Winter-class Tank Production Line.]
"After we return to King's Landing, the first thing I'll do is get Augustus a new cradle," Victor said, looking at the panel with a soft smile.
…
Two days later, the Riverlands, on the edge of the ruins of Harrenhal.
This was the necessary route back to King's Landing.
Once a cursed place, it had now become the largest military supply transfer station for the Pompey Federation in the Riverlands. But today, Victor's convoy was forced to slow down here.
"My lord, the road ahead is blocked by 'refugees'," the adjutant reported with a strange expression. "No — more accurately, a group of believers. They call themselves followers of the Lord of Light. Their leader is a red priestess."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
A red priestess.
He had thought Melisandre was already being put to good use in the North, but the system's previous prompt told him there was a more "pure" threat — or opportunity — near Harrenhal.
"Melisandre, a colleague of yours?" Victor asked the red priestess beside him.
Melisandre stepped out of the armored vehicle, narrowed her red eyes, and gazed at the sinister giant ruins in the distance.
"She is not my colleague, my lord. She is a disciple of Kinvara, a high priestess of the Temple of the Lord of Light. She is here to find the 'Prince That Was Promised'… or a bloodline capable of carrying the eternal flame."
Victor dismounted from the tank.
In front of the broken black stone archway, a figure stood silently.
She wore a deeper blood-red robe than Melisandre's, with a massive ruby that seemed to bleed at her throat. Unlike Melisandre's mature composure, this woman radiated an aggressive, bewitching, and fanatical aura.
She was Solokhun — the next deep攻略 target marked by the system.
[System Scan Initiated:]
[Target: Solokhun (High Priestess of the Red Temple).]
[Rating: 96.]
[Bloodline: Heir of Shadow and Flame (capable of communing with the underworld and summoning shadow assassins).]
[Status: Searching for the "Fated One."]
"Victor Pompey."
Solokhun spoke. Her voice was husky and magnetic, carrying a power that pierced the soul. She did not kneel. Instead, she approached with cat-like steps.
She stopped three steps in front of Victor, her nostrils flaring slightly as if smelling his scent.
"I smell the death of an ice dragon in your breath, and the lingering warmth of true dragon blood on your body. But what fascinates me most…"
She extended a finger as pale as white porcelain and pointed virtually at Victor's chest. "Is that steel-cold quality deep in your soul that does not belong to this world."
"Have you come to stop me from returning to King's Landing?" Victor asked, one hand in his pocket, his tone playful.
"No. I have come to join you."
Solokhun stared directly into Victor's violet eyes. The ruby at her collarbone flashed wildly. "Melisandre says you are a creator. But what I see is a mortal building a divine throne. I want to see what kind of 'Child of Light' would be born if bodies like ours — kissed by fire — were to unite."
The surrounding Steel Knights immediately looked awkward.
Are all women this direct these days?
Victor felt even more strongly the near-freezing gaze coming from Sansa through the armored vehicle's glass behind him.
"My ship tickets are very expensive, priestess," Victor said, stepping closer and feeling the abnormal heat radiating from her body.
"I have something you want."
Solokhun leaned in close to Victor's ear, her breath warm and fragrant. "Besides a child, I can also help you dismantle the trap that 'Rose' has set in King's Landing. In the face of shadow, money is nothing but yellowed waste paper."
Victor's eyes sharpened.
Margaery's "paper currency hegemony" moves in King's Landing — he did indeed need a means to penetrate and restrain it from the supernatural level.
"Welcome aboard."
Victor opened the door of the armored command vehicle, revealing a teasing smile. "However, the seating is a bit tight. You'll have to squeeze with my 'Mother of Winter'."
Solokhun glanced at Sansa, whose hair was half white, and the corners of her mouth curved into a provocative arc.
"The coexistence of ice and fire… that is exactly the truth I pursue."
…
The convoy continued south.
Inside the vehicle, Sansa and Solokhun sat on opposite sides.
One represented the divinity of extreme cold, the other the fanaticism of raging fire.
In the middle sat Victor, rubbing his temples.
The air was thick with the smell of sparks colliding.
[System Quest Updated:]
[New Target:攻略 Solokhun.]
[Requirement: Advance the plot slowly. Gain her preliminary recognition before reaching King's Landing.]
[Expected Reward: Magitech Technology Branch — [Shadow Drive System] (granting your submarines and tanks optical camouflage / stealth capability).]
Victor looked at the two women before him and, for the first time, felt that commanding troops in battle was actually much simpler than managing family relationships.
"Even the internal combustion engine doesn't have this much gunpowder smell."
He thought to himself with self-deprecating humor.
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