Chapter 151: March Into Iban

In the polar sea, which is often buffeted by storms, there is an island country that is famous far and wide.

It is covered with mountains and forests, rich in gold, iron and tin mines, while wood, amber and hundreds of furs can be found in the forests of the island. This is Iban.

The Iban people are short, fat, loud, agile, arrogant and violent. They are called "whalers" because these people often drive bloated whalers and venture into the waters of other countries to hunt.

Bern Sigwald is such a typical Iban man. His height is only over five feet, and he is considered a "tall man" in the entire Iban.

The unusually broad chest muscles and shoulders, the long hair covering his body, and the stubby lower limbs make him look like a bear walking upright.

Of course, his identity is not simple. Sigvald is an ancient family that has ruled and managed the river bend area west of Iban Island for generations. Bourne himself is also a member of the Thousand People Group, and the "Shadow Parliament" is composed of This body was elected and has served as the ruling body of Iban since the God-King was overthrown after the Doom of Valyria.

The river bend area of ​​the Sigvald family is sparsely populated, with some scattered Iban gathering places. Most of them stand alone on the top of the south-facing slope, with lush mountain forests above them, climbing up to the snow-covered mountains along the layers of green. Dingshi Ridge, with cultivated land and pastures going down, gradually drops to sea level.

Bourne's daily government affairs are very busy. He either has to direct his people to cut wood in the forest, or fish in the fast and cold river. Finally, he has to climb over the cliffs and steep slopes to the top of the mountain to look at the island to the west. A vast ocean without any trace.

After a busy day, he dragged his tired body back home, wrapped himself in a blanket and lay down. Just when he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly thought of something and sat up suddenly. .

"Lord Bourne, what's going on?" The attendant at the side quickly walked to his side and asked in a low voice: "Did you feel any discomfort when you were sleeping?"

"Forest, daytime." Bourne replied: "There's something not right about those merchants and sailors we met."

"Ah!" The entourage looked puzzled and gestured with his hands, saying, "Is there something wrong with their identity?"

Bourne's high and sloping brows were frowning, almost roaring, and shouted:

"They said they often go to Iban Port to trade, but why do they know nothing about the laws and traditions here."

As he spoke, he climbed up from the bed on his hands and knees, took off the ax hanging on the wall and the brown shield wrapped in animal skin, and walked angrily outside the house.

Although the Iban people are short and have many characteristics of ancient people, they have the same intelligence level as other races, and they are very wary and exclusive.

The Iban people living in forests and mountains are even more distrustful of strangers and foreigners. People from other islands and races will be subject to strict legal restrictions in the Iban Port and are absolutely prohibited from entering Iban gathering places.

The reasons for this situation are, in addition to protecting rich resources and some historical conflicts, the most important thing is that it is difficult for the Iban and other races to reproduce. If men of other races make Iban women pregnant, the result will inevitably be abnormal babies. Or stillbirth, the same goes for Iban men impregnating women from other areas, just like mules.

As Bourne rushed out of the room, the entire river bend area was soon boiling. The men tried hard to drive away sleep, holding axes and shields, and under the light of torches made of whale oil, their sunken eyes widened, Looking around.

But they failed to notice that behind the cliffs and rocks a few hundred feet away from them, short and thin black figures emerged from the sea and nimbly slipped onto the shore. After a subtle ripple, the ripples on the water gradually calmed down. , those figures like grass and trees sneaked into the jungle quietly.

That night, the Iban people did not find even a ghost. However, Bourne still insisted on his speculation. His prestige in the Riverbend area was very high. After that, all the people in the territory became cautious, but No suspicious traces were found, and the seven days passed without incident.

——

One day at dawn, the sky was still blue-grey, connected with the ocean in the distance. The only wind was blowing from the north. As the sky gradually turned brighter, a red sun shone on the mountains in the east, reflecting the bloody fire. of light.

There are many birds perching on the cliffs and stone walls covered with vines. They are all circling on the top of the mountain, as if there is a black cloud hanging in the sky all the time.

Bourne looked at the scene in front of him uneasily, his eyebrows furrowed. He turned back to the sleepy Iban soldier beside him and said:

"You go back and lie down first, and let a group of people guard me. If we hold on for a while longer, we must catch those bad guys who are trying to do something bad, otherwise we may attract deadly enemies."

The soldiers, who were already extremely trapped, had no extra thoughts. When everyone was preparing to pack their luggage and go down the mountain, a follower suddenly discovered a long boat rowing on the sea, heading towards Iban Island quickly.

"My lord, what is that?" He pointed to the sea level in the west and shouted: "Is that our whale ship?"

Bourne pushed his entourage away hard and waited for the scene in the distance without blinking. The sky was getting brighter and brighter, and the sun behind him gave off a strange light.

Suddenly, he began to shout, and countless black silhouettes appeared on the sea. They hoisted white sails, like sharks with open teeth, and sailed towards here.

"Enemy attack, it's an enemy attack!" Bourne's hoarse roar woke everyone up.

"This is too crazy!" The soldiers shouted in panic: "Blow the horn!"

At the same moment, they heard the sound of bowstrings bouncing, and dozens of arrows shot at them unexpectedly. One arrow pierced the throat of the trumpeter, and he fell forward and dropped the horn in his hand.

Another arrow hit Bourne's chest, causing his body to tremble. Fortunately, the chain mail under his animal skin cloak blocked the attack, and the rest of the arrows were nailed hard on the bodies and shields of the warriors.

Bourne then saw that there were many thin black shadows running around on the southern cliff, and they seemed to be preparing to draw their bows again.

"Wooden man!" He shouted in surprise: "Raise your shields!"

The warriors all bent down and raised their round shields desperately to protect Bourne in the center. Then, many arrows flew over. Although most of them were blocked by the shields, some warriors were hit by arrows and fell to the ground with screams.

One of the arrows was firmly nailed to the ground, but it was very accurate because it was only an inch away from Bourne's hand to pick up the horn.

At this moment, he understood that these wooden men must have obvious targets. The only possibility was that they did not let him blow the horn. The other party was in cahoots with the enemy on the longboat.

Bourne gritted his teeth and temporarily gave up picking up the horn. He looked out through the gap between the shields and immediately saw the wooden man who was drawing his bow and staring at the target. The other party was bathed in the sun and exuded the spirit of the legendary sharpshooter.

"Go forward and push them off the cliff." He did not hesitate and quickly gave orders to the warriors.

But at the same time, earth-shaking cheers rang out on the coast. He looked sideways and saw dozens of long ships had arrived and were rushing towards the beach.

The dark hull, like a long night, absorbed all the light, bringing all the darkness and coldness.

He felt black in front of his eyes, and a chill ran through his heart, making his heart almost stop beating.

This horrible chill reminded him of his old injuries, just like the time when the whaling ship capsized and mercilessly soaked his whole body in ice water.

The new volume opens, destroying a country first, announcing to the world, dragons dancing wildly, conquering Essos.

According to Martin, Iban Island is the same size as Iceland. If Westeros is imagined as Great Britain and the East Continent is imagined as the European continent, then Iban is like Finland, but without the Scandinavian Peninsula, and the ocean is all north of the Baltic Sea.

Also, the Iban people are short and have reproductive isolation, this, this, this, haha.