Chapter 138 Intertwined Fates

The light from the east shines relentlessly on the earth. This is about two hours after noon. The sun is blazing and white clouds hang high in the sky.

Ever since Bened Beilein executed eight knights and improved military discipline on the grounds of shaking the morale of the army, the knights of the Golden Company have not dared to stop.

They fully understand that this is a mission related to everyone's interests. Only by shedding blood and making sacrifices can the family have a glorious future.

In front of you is the Sarn River, and across the river is Sarnath, the "city of towers", where the High King of Sarol once made his capital.

After the Doom of Valyria, the city was destroyed at the hands of the Dothraki, who named it Vaes Kvor, meaning "City of Worms."

Daenerys sat on the horse and looked around. The Sarne River was shining brightly in the sun like a bunch of velvet, with flying stars splashing and meandering through the grassland. The water plants were rippling in the waves, rich and beautiful.

The Targaryen princess no longer traveled in a carriage. After entering the Dothraki Sea, she spent every day on horseback and always walked at the front of the team.

Her mount was a richly decorated silver pony, full of energy and sparkle, with hair as gray as the winter sea and a mane like silver smoke.

Governor Illyrio Mopatis claimed that the horse was a "bridal gift" given to her by Khal Mongol, describing it as the pride of all the Dothraki.

Daenerys knew clearly that this was not the truth, as her future husband never reached Pentos.

However, according to the Dothraki customs she understood, Khaleesi must ride a mount worthy of her status and follow Khal.

She is not good at riding horses, so she needs more practice, but the little silver pony seems to have a mental connection with the princess. Sometimes, she even feels that she can communicate with the pony.

The maid taught her equestrian skills, but the pony was her real teacher. He knew her mood and responded to her, as if it were an extension of her body.

The Dothraki were a harsh and ruthless people who would never name their horses or hounds, so Daenerys could only refer to her mount as "Little Silver" or "Her Little Silver." ".

She lowered her head and called softly. This name was more like describing the appearance of the horse. She touched the pony lightly with her knees, and it started to trot through the crowd.

With a slight exertion of both feet and a slight shake of the reins, the pony immediately responded and galloped forward very obediently, running along the Valyrian Avenue made of lava, towards Weiss Kver on the other side of the Saan River. go.

A team of knights closely guarded the Targaryen princess. In this situation, Daenerys gradually felt doubled confidence and unprecedented excitement. She even confidently controlled the horse to jump over the broken low wall. .

Bened Beilein, who was following her, had a happy smile on his face. A timid princess would not be favored by the Horse King, nor could she survive in Dothraki.

"That's the Palace of Thousand Rooms!"

Bened raised his riding whip, pointed at a large layer of ruins that were rising like a series of stairs, and said:

"According to legend, it is the residence of the High King of Salor. If the last High King Mazoro Alesiu had not been so impulsive and fell into the trap of the Dothraki, we should have entered this great city along those splendid buildings."

Daenerys showed an expression of fascination. She had read about the Palace of a Thousand Rooms in Lomas Longlegs' book "Man-Made Miracles". This famous traveler listed it among the nine most man-made buildings in the world. Miracle.

But she had also read "Battles and Sieges of the Bloody Century" written by Maester Joseth. The Eastern chapters and appendices of the book described in detail the fall of the Kingdom of Sarol.

Therefore, she disagreed with Bened's evaluation of High King Mazoro Alexiu, and couldn't help but retort:

"The unified Kingdom of Salor can be great, but most of the time it was just a loose political union. The fate of the last High King was not good. Although all kings were loyal to him according to law and tradition, he almost never held real power. "

"Their destruction actually arose from internal strife. Just like the current Dothraki Sea, the Salor people were equally proud and contentious, fighting endlessly. Only when they were about to perish, did they realize that their doom was coming, and the last supreme king was There was an opportunity to unite all the people for a final resistance, but they were unable to resist the Dothraki who were united for the first time. "

"Therefore, as long as my future husband can end the centuries of disputes on the grassland, he can restore the glory of the grassland kingdom and revive the glory of Dothraki after the doomsday catastrophe. When all Dothraki unite under his banner, they will The greatness of the world is inevitable. They will once again bring iron and fire into the west. This is also the best time for you to go home. "

Bened Beilein rode past the rows of weathered stone pillars on both sides of the road, looked at the unreadable words on them, and fell into deep thought.

When he heard Daenerys's last words, he quickly bent down and bowed, and said very respectfully and sincerely:

"You are right, the Golden Company will fight for the princess and for Khal Mongo, at the expense of everything."

The Salor civilization was very brilliant, but there were many reasons for its demise. For example, the Dothraki were once just mercenaries of the King of Salor. They paid gold and the opportunity to burn, kill and loot to hire horse kings to attack the enemy. The city-state finally fed the young wolves.

The old knight can certainly understand what Princess Targaryen narrated, but he and the other party have different identities and experiences, and ultimately they have different views on the demise of the Kingdom of Salor.

Daenerys felt a strange empathy for the fate of the last High King. His father, the "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen II, was also the last king.

However, she would never let her future husband lose the crown like them. She was full of confidence in Mungo.

From the moment Viserys sold her, she had lost all hope in her brother, and all her reliance was transferred to the husband she had never met.

Perhaps it was just like the answer she got when she asked Harry Strickland, the leader of the Golden Group, that she fell in love with him like his subjects and ordinary women. This was a very complicated emotion. At this time, she was only ignorant and puzzled.

These thoughts passed through Daenerys' mind one by one. She shook her head slightly and focused all her attention. The road now turned north and began to descend rapidly.

Passing through the ruins of the collapsed and broken city walls, not far from the Sarn River, they found a spacious open space suitable for garrisoning. The grass here seemed to be low and neatly trimmed.

"Someone is camping there." Benede Berene suddenly urged his horse forward, stretched out his hand to grab Daenerys's reins, and ordered the other knights to stay alert, saying: "Don't rush over, their identities and numbers are unknown."

The group of people who were building the camp also found them, took a few steps forward, and then retreated, standing hesitantly, and did not come to meet.

Benede did not speak, nor did he make any dangerous moves. They sat on the horseback, keeping alert and silent.

Daenerys was a little nervous, and the fatigue she had acquired from the journey disappeared at this moment. She kept warning herself to stay calm, but the stories about robbers and looting kept emerging in her mind.

After a long time, there was a uniform sound of footsteps behind them. The mercenaries of the Golden Group lined up in neat formations, holding up military flags, and walked out of the ruins of the city one after another.

They lined up in the open space. To ensure the safety of the princess, the archers even took out arrows and stuck them in the ground so that they could be used at any time to deal with the enemy's attack.

Seeing the large force of the Golden Group appear, the group of people became obviously impatient and flustered. The two people standing in the middle of the crowd stared at the flag decorated with golden skulls again and again, and then whispered to each other for a while, and then one of the strong men walked over slowly alone.

The man stretched out his arms to indicate that he had no hostility. When he was about to approach the archer's range, he stopped and shouted loudly:

"Everyone in the Golden Group, may I ask if the intelligence officer Lansono Maer is in the formation?"

"Sir Marco Mandark?"

"Sergeant Lemon Bizz?"

He called out three famous figures in the Golden Group in succession. Seeing that no one answered, he was not anxious, raised his voice, and continued to shout loudly:

"I am Duncan, Duncan Jeffreys, a Tyroshi, serving Mrs. Vagaro of the Merchant House of Volantis."

The moment the strong man reported the names of the intelligence officer and the sergeant in succession, the warriors of the Golden Group had already relaxed their vigilance, but without the commander's order, they did not dare to move rashly.

Benede Berene did not loosen his sword handle until he heard the visitor introduce himself. He showed a friendly look and joked with a smile;

"Lady Vagaro of Volantis, the widow by the water, is the Dothraki Sea also the sea?"

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, one of the knights with a golden armband who was relatively close to him turned his head and whispered:

"There is no big merchant in the Free Trade City who does not have contact with the Dothraki. I know Duncan Jeffreys. He has orange shaggy hair and beard. The voice of the visitor is very similar, but his hair and beard are too neat and clean, so I am a little afraid to recognize him."

"Please let him come in a little closer. Duncan's face is There is a huge scar, which was left when the slaves were freed. "

Beneid nodded in agreement, and the knight bowed and saluted, rode forward, and shouted loudly:

"Duncan, I am Toman Peake of the Peake family, my brother is Leswell Peake, and our other brother met you in the Perfume Garden in Rees. "

"The commander standing in front of you now is the Golden Corps Sergeant, Sir Bened Berlain, please come forward. "

Duncan Jeffreys had been waiting for the Golden Corps to respond. When he saw a knight running out of the formation, he stared at him with wide eyes. After hearing the other party's shouting, he walked forward with a smile on his face.

When he followed Toman Peake into the army, he saw the silver-haired girl next to the old knight at a glance.

At this time, the south wind blew over the hillock covered with green grass. Duncan felt that he heard the sound of the waves of the ocean in the distance and the calls of various seabirds. He felt that his every breath and all his actions were surrounded by an air that was not affected by time, making people never forget this dreamlike situation.

‘Silver-gold hair, eyes like amethyst, is she the beautiful Targaryen princess in the legend? My brothers’ words are credible, she is the most beautiful woman in the world. ’

Many thoughts flashed through Duncan’s mind, and he woke up instantly, feeling that he was honored to meet this noble princess.

This is different from the feelings of people who are greedy for beauty and full of lust. He is happy to meet such a person.

Moreover, this is the third legendary figure he has met besides the "Widow by the Water".

At this time, Toman Peake tapped his shoulder with his whip, turned his head and winked at him, led him to Bened Berleon, and said: "Commander, this is Duncan Jeffreys."

Duncan quickly retracted his mind and focused all his attention on the old knight, but apart from the neatly trimmed gray hair and beard, he could not find any characteristics from the other party.

He did not think that the other party's serious expression was disdain and indifference to others. He smiled calmly and bowed to salute;

"Hello, Sir Bened Berleon."

The old knight bowed in return very seriously, his eyes were as sharp and shining as the tip of a gun under the sun, staring at the eyes of the orange-haired strong man, and said:

"Duncan Jeffreys of Tyrosh, this is Princess Daenerys Targaryen."

Duncan stepped forward to salute with a normal expression, and Daenerys immediately turned her eyes away from the scar on the other party's face and hurriedly apologized for her impolite behavior.

Her poetic and pleasant voice made it impossible for people to feel resentful, not to mention that the princess welcomed his arrival according to court etiquette.

"Duncan from Volantis, son of Lady Vagaro!"

Beneid Berene spoke again, but his tone was very low:

"Please let us have a good talk."

"As far as I know, Lady Vagaro controls the waterway and has many businesses, but I have never heard of her dealings with the Dothraki. What is your purpose here?"

Harry Strickland, the leader of the Golden Group, did not tell Bened that he had received help from the "Widow of the Waterside". That was his deepest secret.

At the same time, out of concern for Daenerys, the old knight's words seemed inexplicably cold, questioning, and very impolite.

Duncan was not angry, he was once a slave and suffered even more humiliation.

Even though he is now free and still the son of the "Widow by the Water", there are still freemen and nobles who look down on him everywhere. These people dare not hurt him physically, but they always insult him verbally.

Moreover, there is nothing to hide about the purpose of his trip. With a sincere smile on his face and a somewhat excited tone, he answered loudly:

"Lady Vagaro sent me to escort a great scholar to Vaes Dothrak to meet with Mongol Khal and stay to attend his coronation ceremony."

"Congratulations to the great Khal for winning the war. May he be healthy. He would rather face the sea of ​​blood than let the slaves of the world be enslaved by chains. He is a slave liberator. People like me are willing to support him as king."

I posted it a little late. The chapters may be longer in the future. If they are too short, I can't write much content.