章節 2: What is strength?
I jolted awake as the carriage bumped over a rock or something. My fellow passenger, a scholar named William, smiled and said, "Hey, you are finally awake. It's almost midday now."
I groaned and replied, "Then wake me up tomorrow morning."
The coachman, Bob , laughed and said, "This one here can sleep through a bloody war, I reckon."
William joined in and jokingly said, "Are you dreaming of a young lass? Is that her dream keeping you asleep?
I sat up with a sigh and said, "Why are you old dudes interested in the romance of a boy only eight name days old? For that matter, why the hell would a 8 name day old boy think about love!"
Bob grinned, showing his black teeth, and replied, "My boy is eight name days old , and he already has a lass he likes. The lass likes him too."
I shivered and joked, "Do they even know what love is? They are just playing house. Maybe your boy will get dumped by her by the time she flowers."
William burst out laughing and barely breathed out, "With a face like old Bob's, his son will be lucky to get married ever."
Bob got pissed and yelled, "What's wrong with my face? This charming face can make any maiden swoon. I'm just loyal to my wife; that's why I never do anything."
This time I burst into laughter and said, "And I am the next king of Westeros, who rides the biggest dragon and is married to the princess!"
We kept bantering on our way as I relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. The world before civilization is beautiful. I don't want to go to cities, to be honest; the smell should be horrible.
William was laughing his ass off while Bob grumbled. I smiled looking at them, thinking it was nice to meet them. We have seen in the show that most peasants don't have a say about their lives. They get called to war and die for a lord who never gave two shits about them. But every single one of them has a life, a story. I guess I should not see them as fictional characters or NPC. I am here living in this world, and I am just like them.
Only if I become a strong enough lord can I have a say about my fate. If I get a lordship, I want to build a proper city with a good sewage system; I definitely don't want a black plague spreading . How did people in KingsLanding survive such a smell? Who knows. But that's a long way to go. I'm just an 8-year-old bastard with a few silvers and a sword to my name. I should have 20 years or so till shit goes south. Probably not a good idea to participate in that tragedy. I can just wait and reap the rewards after the war.
I met William and Bob while looking for a carriage that would take me to the Crownlands. From there, I might visit Kings Landing for a bit before choosing my destination. Bob is a humble coachman with a happy family. He has a boy at the same age as mine, so he offered me a discount while taking me to Crownlands. William, on the other hand, is a wandering scholar, traveling around to gain knowledge. He was heading to Kings Landing, so I tagged along, hoping to learn more about the houses and news.
He gave me a couple of books to read, which I happily accepted. Both of them were nice folks; thankfully, I didn't have to worry about safety. From William, I caught up with the latest news of Westeros and noble houses. After both of King Jaehaerys' sons died, a great council is being held to decide which of his grandchildren should be his new heir. The two candidates are Viserys and Rhaenys , the two oldest children of his two sons, Baelon and Aemon.
He was telling me how Westeros never had a queen, so Princess Rhaenys might not become one either. Viserys is the son of Prince Baelon, so he will be the next king possibly. He only has a daughter, so his younger brother Daemon will probably be his heir for now and become future king. Heh, if only you knew what was coming!
Then he spoke about the dragons that currently have riders and the ones at Dragonstone. I really wish I could claim Vermithor; that one is the strongest dragon currently other than Caraxes, as Vhagar is pretty old. But there has been no precedence of a bastard claiming a dragon. Any attempts have ended in swift death. So Dragonstone might not be my immediate destination if I wish to live.
I might go to Essos to try my luck, but that's very risky. One wrong step, and boom! You are a slave now! It would be best to become a squire, but it's a very slow process. I need to be a knight within 10 years at most. Because my end goal isn't just to be a knight; it is to become a powerful lord. I don't have the birthright, so even if I had armies, I would not be able to become king for long, just like Robert. If I am just a knight, that would limit my options for progress without chances to make achievements.
If dragons are gone, the thing that decides the future is armies. If I can become a lord and gather around 20,000–30,000 soldiers till war ends , I can get a better position and even climb into royalty by marriage, depending on who sits on the throne. I will need a wife from a noble house , but if I do that, in the future, the royal marriage path would be closed. My best option would be to keep grinding till I make it to the top, then look for marriage.
I'm also not interested in pure political marriage. Call me old-fashioned, but I would rather marry someone who loves me than a cold wife who treats me as a political tool.
Our journey towards Crownlands was uneventful for most of the way. Sadly, as we approached near the kingswood, 5 bandits blocked our path. Bob and William were scared sh*tless as they immediately complied with the bandits to give away their stuff. I was dressed in old clothes, so they didn't check me. I thought we could get away safely after that, but thats when it happened.
One of the bandits stabbed Bob without warning. I watched horrified as Bob tried to question why as he fell down, choking on his own blood. I briefly remembered the laughs we shared and his stories about his family, who are waiting for him to return home. William yelled out and asked why they were doing this, but the other bandit stabbed him in the heart and grinned, "We are just helping you. You'll die before you reach Kingslanding, so you might as well die without struggle now." Then he looked at me and told the others, "Grab the kid; he might fetch some decent price if we sold him to Essos. A pretty dragon bastard should be worth a few gold coins." William, even as he bled out, called out to me weakly to run, but a bandit silenced him.
Something in me snapped as I heard those words. Seriously, why is this happening to me? I got thrown here without any cheat or help, then pissed myself , then I finally got some information and met a few decent folks. But now they are dead. Just a while ago, I was laughing and joking with them; that's how fragile life is in this world. Well, if I have to go down, I'm taking at least a couple of them . I pushed my sword out of the carriage as one of the bandits approached me.
Him and the rest looked at the thing that fell down, and in that moment I struck. I jumped and stabbed the one closest to me in the neck before he could react. He lets out a yelp as he falls down, attracting the others. I waste no time and throw one of my daggers to the one with the bow. He somehow got struck between his shoulder and neck as he let go of his bow and fell. The remaining bandits charged at me while I chose to rush to the one that is the closest. He was surprised and swung his sword, but I ducked beneath it and stabbed him in the balls.
The man let out a heartbreaking scream as he grabbed his crotch and fell down. I saw the other two shiver as they looked at me but still attacked. One of them swung his sword, which I dodged, but the leader kicked me strongly, which made me fly away and crush into carriage. I spit out a mouthful of blood as the bandit leader also let out a scream. I managed to stab him in his thigh as he kicked me. Smart heh?
The bandit leader leaned against a tree, clutching his bleeding thigh. His face was pale, but his eyes burned with fury. "You little bastard," he spat, pulling a dagger from his belt. "You'll regret this."
Even I didn't know how I managed to take out 3 of them and injure one despite me being an 8-year-old kid. Maybe because they were mere bandits without any training? But my luck seems to have run out as the other bandit cautiously approached me. I struggled to grab my sword, which was within reach. That guy kicked me so hard, it would have killed any kid. But I don't accept dying like this. I grabbed my sword and waited.
The bandit sneered as he stepped closer, his own blade raised high, glinting in the dim light filtering through the trees. He licked his lips, as if savoring the kill to come, and his voice was a low growl. "You got guts, kid," he said. "But guts won't save you."
I could feel every breath tearing through my chest, the sharp sting of pain in my ribs making it hard to think straight. But something deeper than pain kept me going—a fire born of anger and desperation. My hand gripped the hilt of my sword tighter as I waited for him to make his move.
The bandit lunged, his blade arcing downward with deadly precision. I twisted my body, rolling to the side just in time. The sword struck the ground where I had been lying, sending a spray of dirt into the air. Using the momentum, I surged forward, driving the tip of my blade into his calf.
The man howled in pain and staggered back, his balance thrown off. I scrambled to my feet, my vision swimming but my resolve sharper than ever. I didn't give him time to recover. With a burst of speed I didn't know I had, I thrust my sword , aiming for his chest. The guy managed to slash and hit my sword, but his sword broke upon contact. We both got unlucky as his broken sword's shard sliced me near my left eye, which I instinctively closed. I'm not sure if I'm blinded , but my thrust managed to pierce his chest as he looked at me with shock before falling down. I also let go of my sword as I lost all strength.
In that moment, the only thought that came to my mind was, I'm weak. If I had strength , I could beat my enemies and win. Because I'm weak, I'm out here dying like just another unfortunate peasant.
But the moment was cut short as I heard a loud, drawn-out growl and the flapping of wings. I managed to open my one good eye and looked at the giant red dragon swooping down on top of the bandit leader who tried to flee. With my last moments of consciousness, I barely managed to see a gorgeous, mature woman with silver hair jumping down from the saddle and walking towards me. As she approached me, I thought to myself, 'So that is real strength.' I gripped my sword and closed my eyes, darkness enveloping me.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票