The Heavens: The Magical World Begins with The Lord of the Rings

Chapter 231 Pledge of Allegiance and the Eagle's Nest City
"Lord Gao Yuan, the Royce family of the Gate of the Moon is willing to serve you." The new guardian of the canyon entrusted himself with a heavy responsibility before he officially took office, which made Sir Nestor Royce ecstatic. Promise and promise Gao Yuan, "I will definitely not disappoint you. During the period when you go to King's Landing to participate in the martial arts competition, I will take care of the affairs in the valley for you."

Earl Jon Royce on the side hesitated to speak, seeing that Gao Yuan's trip to King's Landing was a foregone conclusion, he would be suspected of committing a crime if he objected or raised objections at this moment.

"Since you insist on going to King's Landing City to support Lord Stark, the Royce family in Runestone City is willing to bring people to accompany you." Bronze Jon really didn't want to see Lord Jon Arryn's tragedy repeat itself on Gao Yuan, So he decided to personally take his family's cronies to King's Landing City to help Gao Yuan and Lord Stark.

"On the way to King's Landing to participate in the martial arts tournament, I will take my two sons to walk with you personally." Bronze John said, "It's time for these two children, Anda and Robert, to prove themselves in the martial arts tournament. .Now there is no war in the Seven Kingdoms, and tourneys are the only way they can win honor. I think they will not miss this opportunity."

"That would be great, Earl Jon." Gao Yuan nodded in agreement with Bronze Jon's request.

Originally, he wanted to take some soldiers from Gate of the Moon Castle and his territory to King's Landing.Now Earl Jon offered to him that he would take someone to King's Landing City to help him and Ed, which made him very gratified.Gao Yuan looked around at the canyon lords, he wanted to know who else was willing to show his loyalty to him at this moment.

But it is a pity that, except for Earl Jon Royce, no one in the study took the initiative to stand up and said that he would take someone to King's Landing with him.

This is not because they are unwilling to help Gao Yuan and Stark, but most of them think that they should not rush to express their views to Gao Yuan before Gao Yuan officially takes office.After all, there are still a small number of important town lords who really care about Gaoyuan, and those canyon lords who abide by their honor, care about the truth of the incident, and care about Gaoyuan's safety in King's Landing have already expressed their attitude to Gaoyuan, so there is no need to be hypocritical.

Bronze Jon turned around with open arms, facing the princes of the valley and said loudly: "My colleagues in the lords of the valley, it is time for us to make a decision. Should we choose to continue to obey the widow of Lord Jon, or to swear allegiance to Lord Gao Yuan?" !"

"Lady Lysa has been reluctant to choose her favorite husband-in-law among the many valley lords who are pursuing her. She may be enjoying the love game of being pursued, or she may still be immersed in the sorrow of Lord Jon's departure. Middle. Lady Lysa, who has no intention of governing the fief, is no longer worthy of our pursuit, and she has turned a deaf ear to the claims of our vassals."

"Duke Robert is still young now, and Lady Lysa's doting has even kept him from being weaned until now. He is not qualified for the position of guardian of the Eastland, nor can he perform his duties as the Duke of Eyrie."

"King Robert is right. The valley urgently needs a lord to stabilize the rule of the East. Lord Jon Arryn has passed away for several months, but we, the so-called lords of the valley, have not been able to find a suitable one. It's a big joke for someone to rule the canyon."

"Master Gaoyuan is here now!" Bronze Jon's voice gradually became louder, and his speech became more impassioned, "He was appointed by the king and entrusted by Lord Eddard Stark to investigate clearly Lord Jon Arryn's death; taking care of the poor orphans and widows of the Arryn family; helping the Arryns secure their rule in the Vale until Lord Robert came of age."

"Perhaps you still have some concerns and hesitation, but what I want to tell you is this: My colleagues in the canyon lords, now we have no choice in the Vale of Arryn. Only this man in front of us is worth following; Swear allegiance to him."

As soon as the words fell, Earl Jon Royce pulled out the long sword from his waist, knelt down on one knee in front of Gao Yuan and presented his saber.He began to swear allegiance to Gao Yuan, and his voice resounded almost throughout the entire castle: "Lord Gao Yuan, during your tenure as the guardian of the East Territory, the Royce family of Runestone City and I, Jon Royce, will serve you Send me out. Whether it is a triumph or an unfortunate defeat, my sword will belong to you, and I will never change from today on.”

"Until you no longer need my allegiance, I will be your loyal guardian; in your time of danger I will lay down my life to keep you safe; I solemnly swear to you by name."

Gao Yuan solemnly took his saber from the hand of Earl Jon Royce, and put the sword on Earl Jon Royce's shoulder: "Count Jon Royce, I hereby accept your allegiance and I assure you: you will always have a place by my hearth; you will drink and eat at my table, and I swear never to dishonor your loyalty and honor. By gods old and new In the name, I solemnly swear."

"Get up!" Gao Yuan lifted Earl Jon Royce, who was kneeling on one knee, from the ground, and returned the saber in his hand to him.

Standing up again, Bronze Jorn turned his head to look at the princes behind him, and saw his cousin Sir Nestor Royce first drew out the saber from his waist, followed by Horton Kneeling Lord Redford and Lady Anya Waywood.Lady Waywood had no sword at her side, so Sir Nestor lent her a short sword.

Seeing that the Earl of Redford and the Countess of Waywood had knelt down, the other canyon lords finally understood that it was the general trend for the canyon lords to swear allegiance to the new guardian of the canyon.In order not to be squeezed out of the center of power in the canyon by those lords who had sworn allegiance, those lords who were still wavering hastily chose to follow.

The oaths of the canyon lords echoed in the room one after another. The content of each lord's oath was different, but the original meaning of the oath did not change much.The smiling Gao Yuan accepted the oath of allegiance from the lords one by one, and gave the most basic response.

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A group of lords left the room after taking the oath to Gao Yuan, but they did not leave the castle, because they would go to Eagle's Nest City with Gao Yuan the next day.When Sir Barristan reads the king's appointment to Lady Lysa and Duke Robert in front of everyone, and after Gao Yuan formally succeeds to the position of Guardian of the East, he will speak to the Valley and everyone in the name of the new Guardian of the East. The lord makes a series of arrangements before they are allowed to leave.

Long before this secret talk started, Gao Yuan had ordered Mia Shidong to arrange rooms in the castle for the lords, and they will live in the Moon Gate Castle tonight.

When the dawn of the next day rose in the blue sky, Gao Yuan and the lords gathered in the upper courtyard of the castle early.When they finished gathering in the courtyard, more than a dozen mules were already there ready to go, and they would head to Eagle's Nest City under the leadership of Mia Stone, the illegitimate daughter.

A guard wearing a sky blue cloak opened the narrow back door leading to the back mountain for everyone.Outside the door is dense spruce and pine wood, and the stone wall on the edge of the cliff is like a huge bluestone city wall, but there are stone steps artificially built on the rock, extending infinitely upwards as if reaching the sky.

Gao Yuan, who was riding on the back of a mule, looked towards the gap between the mountains under his feet, where there was a bottomless abyss shrouded in clouds and mist.

"Some people feel more at ease with their eyes closed." Mia pulled the reins of the mule through the back door and walked into the forest. "When they feel scared or dizzy, they often hold the mule's fur tightly, so that It will make the mules feel very uncomfortable, and if one is not careful, the person on the back will be thrown off the cliff."

"I once hiked through snow-capped mountains on another continent, and the cliffs on those high mountains can only accommodate half of your little feet." Gao Yuan rode on the mule leisurely, disdainful He said with a glance, "This is just trying to scare me, you must have underestimated me too much, Miss Mia."

The girl playfully made a cute grimace: "Master Gao Yuan, if you passed here at night, you might not be so leisurely. Even if you light a torch, you can't see the stone steps at night clearly. If the weather is good, you can barely make it by the bright moon and stars, but if the weather is bad, you can only hope that you don't stumble."

Gao Yuan shook his head irrefutably: "Sir Nestor said that you can lead people to the Eagle's Nest City at night, it seems that you also have your own advantages."

"Master Gao Yuan, don't look down on people!" The girl pouted and pretended to be angry, "Anyone who has walked on these stone steps for 17 years would dare to pat his chest and guarantee that he can climb to the Eagle's Nest City at night."

"But no one dares to bring guests to do this." Gao Yuan felt that the girl was underestimating herself.

Gao Yuan's praise made the girl very useful, and Mia Shidong showed a bright smile on her face: "Michelle said that I have owl-like eyes."

"That Michelle Redford from Earl Redford's family?" Countess Waywood looked at Earl Holden Redford who was hanging at the end of the line with a strange expression, and she asked curiously, "Son, you What's the relationship with him?"

"He is my love." Mia didn't realize that the person she was chatting with had been replaced by Mrs. Anya, "Michelle Redford, he is Sir Lynn Corbray's attendant. Wait a few years We'll be married when he's knighted."

Mia's tone reminded Gao Yuan of Sansa Stark, and the voices of both were full of longing for happiness; naive romantic fantasy of love and carefree.Gao Yuan couldn't help shaking his head secretly when he heard this, and seeing the girl's innocent back, a feeling of sadness couldn't help rushing into his heart.

Mrs. Anya is probably in the same mood as Gao Yuan at the moment, the wrinkles on her forehead are almost completely superimposed.They all know that the Redford family is a family with a long history in the canyon, and they have the blood of the ancestors in their bodies.

Mia might be able to become that Michelle's lover, but Earl Holden Redford would never allow his son to marry an illegitimate daughter.Even though everyone knows that she is the illegitimate daughter of King Robert Baratheon, but an illegitimate daughter is an illegitimate daughter. As long as King Robert does not recognize her as a direct relative, then she and the boy named Michelle It will never be possible.

The ending of this love has already been expected by Gao Yuan. Earl Holden will arrange a suitable marriage for the boy. It may be the daughter of the Corbray family, the Royce family or the Waywood family, or even a daughter from outside the canyon. Other famous families.The love between the two is destined to end without a problem, even if Michelle Redford has slept with this girl, or even conceived another illegitimate child, it will not change anything.

"Mia, have you already slept with him?" Gao Yuan, who was sitting on the mule's back, thought about how to change the girl's tragic fate, "I'm asking you how far you have developed?"

Mia Shidong shrank her head shyly when she heard the words, even though her back was facing Gao Yuan now, she still felt her cheeks were hot.Her whisper was as small as a mosquito: "Not yet if he wants it. I don't think I would mind."

This is not the first time Gao Yuan has faced a girl with a brain in love, but when he heard Mia Shidong's answer, he began to hesitate for a while, whether he really wanted to break up this pair of idiots and resentful women, or whether he wanted to break up the couple. Get rid of this pair of evil feelings.

The process of going up the mountain is much easier than Gao Yuan originally imagined, perhaps because it is daytime.The forest on the Yabi was very close to them, and the canopy of the trees stretched over their heads and covered the mountain road.The fresh mountain wind brushed their faces, and the turquoise roof above their heads began to rustle, even the morning sun was covered by it.

The mules walked steadily on the tree-lined path among the mountains, and the mountain breeze in the deep ridge was as refreshing as the cool breeze in summer.Walking through the winding and rugged mountain road, crossing the steep and steep mountain pass, a magnificent iron gate standing on the mountain road suddenly appeared in front of Gao Yuan and the others.

"Dangerous Rock Fortress is here." Mia happily jumped off the mule and announced to Gao Yuan that among the team heading to Eagle's Nest City this time, only he came here for the first time, and the others had already passed by without knowing it. How many times have you been this way.

The top of the solid bluestone wall is full of spikes, and two semi-circular towers surround the main castle.The gate of the city opened slowly amid Mia's shouts, and the knight in charge of commanding the fortress was a big and thick guy.He kindly called out Mia's name, and warmly welcomed everyone from Gaoyuan into the fortress.

The mules that had brought them up were exhausted, so they replaced them with new ones.After resting for a while, the team set off again. This time they were going to a higher altitude area, and the mountain road they traveled was more difficult and dangerous than before.Not only is the path steeper, but even the stone steps under their feet are full of potholes. Even if people step on it, they will sprain their feet if they are not careful, let alone mules.

As the altitude gradually rose, Gao Yuan and others soon felt the changes brought about by the altitude rise.The originally dense forest gradually became thinner; the breeze blowing through the valley also became a strong wind.The mountain road under their feet continued to twist and spiral upwards, so they could always see the dangerous rock fortress they had just rested on.

Snow Mountain was much smaller than Dangerous Rock, consisting of a fortified tower, a main keep of oak, and stables hidden behind low stone walls.The defensive stone walls were also made of some rough mountain stones, not even plastered.Although Snow Mountain Fort's defense seems crude, but if an enemy wants to attack Eagle's Nest City, then he has to attack step by step from Dangerous Rock Fortress.

At the same time, it has to bear the stormy arrows and falling rocks from Snow Mountain Fort. Its advantageous position occupied by the "Giant Gun" allows it to attack all the stone steps above Dangerous Rock Fort. The enemy is in front of it. Nothing to hide.It's hard to imagine how many corpses will be left here if the attacker wants to capture this kind of fortress.

It's no wonder that when Gao Yuan mentioned to the lords in Moon Gate Fort that he was going to lead people to guard the Eagle's Nest City and the three fortresses on the way, they all chose to give up arguing with him on this topic.Not to mention the 1000 people they brought back then, even if they go back and gather 5000 people, it may be difficult to capture the Eagle's Nest City.

The commander here is a pockmarked, impetuous young knight.He brought bread and cheese to the hungry Gao Yuan and his group. When he heard from Mia that Gao Yuan was the new guardian of the East Territory, his eyes changed, and he even quietly sent Gao Yuan a roast leg of lamb.

After Snow Mountain Fort, they no longer rode mules, because the strong wind above could no longer allow people to sit on the mules safely.The strong wind that blew from time to time echoed around them like the howling of wolves in the wilderness.

Long Sky Castle is located directly below the Eagle's Nest City. It is not so much a fortress as it is a crescent-shaped city wall built with rocks along the mountain wall below the Eagle's Nest City. The snow line of the "Giant's Spear" began here, and the walls of Changtian Castle, which had experienced vicissitudes, were now covered with frost.

After Mia Shidong greeted the guards with ease, the city gate slowly opened in front of them.Behind the city wall is a huge rock wall space similar to a cave, where the stables and barracks of Eagle's Nest City are located, and a large amount of supplies are stored in it.

Going into Changtian Castle, Gao Yuan looked up and looked directly above his head. With the bright sunlight shining in, he could see a huge dome, which was the cornerstone of the Eagle's Nest City, about 200 meters away from the ground.Looking up from below, it looks like a huge white honeycomb.

"The last section of the road is in a winding narrow passage. There is no fire lighting inside, but it will not be disturbed by wind and snow." Mia introduced to Gao Yuan, "There is a steep staircase in the narrow passage that can be climbed. It's like a ladder made of stone, and it's not a formal step. But it's not too difficult to walk, and you can climb to the top in about an hour."

"Of course, my lord, if you are worried that you don't have enough physical strength to support yourself to climb to the top of the stairs." When Mia Shidong said this, there was a smile in his eyes, "You can also choose to take a ride and be responsible for delivering bread, beer and Send the apples up to the basket in the Eyrie, and there are six large capstans with chains in the cellar of the Eyrie, which will allow you to reach the Eyrie comfortably."

Gao Yuan glared at the other party angrily, how could a real man say no!He glanced at the elderly Mrs. Anya, and Earl Beneda Belmore, who was almost unable to walk due to obesity.

"In my opinion, I'd better give the opportunity to ride the gondola to Earl Belmore and Mrs. Anya." Gao Yuan resolutely rejected Mia Shidong's "kindness", "Ms. Anya is old, and it's still us The only lady among them; the Earl of Belmore may not be able to climb the stairs because of his obesity."

When Gao Yuan finally climbed to the Eagle's Nest City, the sun in the west was about to set, and the clouds in the sky were once again dyed red.A knight with silver hair and a strong figure, wearing crescent falcon plate armor and a sky blue cloak, has been waiting for them here for a long time.He is Jon Arryn's former captain of the guards - Ser Vardis Egan.

Standing beside him was Maester Komon, thin and haggard, with thinning hair and a long neck.Gao Yuan learned from Bronze Jon that the bachelor who served Eyrie City is now deeply blaming himself for Lord Jon's death.

"My lords!" Sir Egan looked at Gao Yuan, who was wearing dark golden dragon scale armor. He probably didn't know at the moment that Gao Yuan was about to become his future lord, "I have already notified Lady Lysa of your arrival. She is already waiting for your arrival at the Moon Gate."

(End of this chapter)