Seagull Garden is a garden villa not far from the port area. Its name comes from being able to see the entire port and the seagulls lingering near the port from the villa's courtyard.
This villa is not the largest or most beautiful in the surrounding urban area, but it is the most heavily guarded. Not only are there dozens of people patrolling outside the villa, but there are also Golden Company warriors guarding inside.
At this moment, in the villa's garden courtyard, a middle-aged man dressed as a Maester was instructing a blue-haired child, about ten years old, in the extremely dry and unsuitable for ordinary people's study book, "The Four Kings."
Beside them, a middle-aged Septa from the Seven Gods Church was intently weaving clothes, though the Dornish scimitar at her waist looked somewhat out of place.
In the open space of the courtyard, a knight was practicing swordsmanship with his subordinates. His swordsmanship was exceptionally skilled, and he easily handled the encirclement of several subordinates.
The commotion from the knight's training always attracted the child's attention, making him involuntarily look over. And every time his attention strayed from the book, the Maester would not hesitate to pick up his teaching whip and harshly strike the child's back.
Although the clothes the child was wearing helped to reduce much of the whip's impact, it still caused him pain. However, even when he felt pain, he stubbornly endured it without making a sound.
On the balcony of the study on the second floor of the villa, behind the courtyard, a middle-aged man with graying temples overlooked the courtyard, observing the events unfolding within. When the Maester struck the child, he frowned but did not intervene.
"Jon, this matter is not part of our plan, and there's no way I can help you." A voice came from the study, followed by a warrior with a large nose and an ugly appearance walking out of the study, standing beside the middle-aged man, and saying, "You'd best not meddle in the affairs of Myr. Things there are too complicated. If you rashly intervene, you won't gain anything; instead, you'll get caught up in danger."
The person speaking was of no ordinary status. If any high-ranking official from Myr were here, they would surely recognize this person as Mis Toyn, the Commander of the Golden Company, currently hired by Myr to be responsible for Myr's city defense and security.
The Golden Company, founded by Bittersteel Aegor Rivers, is currently the largest mercenary company in the Free Trade City States. The entire company has ten thousand warriors alone, not including the support troops responsible for logistics.
As the leader of such a powerful military force, Mis Toyn was naturally a famous figure in the Free Trade City States, and his distinctive appearance, such as that ridiculously large nose, also made him very easy to recognize.
And the middle-aged man currently conversing with Mis Toyn was also a famous figure. This man was Jon Clinton, a loyalist of Targaryen pursued by the Iron Throne. However, compared to Mis Toyn, Jon Clinton's reputation was clearly much smaller. People remembered him entirely because he was the last King's Hand of the Targaryen Dynasty.
However, if anyone familiar with Mis Toyn and Jon Clinton were here and saw them conversing in such a calm tone, they would surely be greatly surprised, because outside rumors claimed that Jon Clinton had been expelled from Mis Toyn's Golden Company for stealing their treasure chest, and their relationship was like fire and water.
It was even rumored in Westeros that Jon Clinton, due to this incident, had completely lost his chance to retake Westeros, fell into despair, and drank himself to death.
But now, it seems those outside rumors were clearly not true. Their relationship was still very good, and Jon Clinton was living well, though years of travel had made him look very old.
"Is the situation in Myr really that chaotic?" After hearing Mis Toyn's words, Jon Clinton couldn't help but frown and ask.
Mis Toyn said with a serious expression, "It's more chaotic than you imagine. Before I came, I had already received orders from the Council of Governors. The Golden Company will no longer just guard the city walls but will participate in city patrols and guard duties. The armed Unsullied of the Governors have either been sent back to the barracks or are on the city walls. The Council of Governors no longer trusts those eunuchs. I'm worried those eunuchs will take desperate measures and do something irrational, so you'd best not harbor any thoughts of fishing in troubled waters. You should leave Myr as soon as possible."
Jon Clinton was clearly reluctant, as he had been planning this matter for a long time. If successful, they would have a large sum of money, which would help them better achieve their goals.
Now, the matter he had planned was coming to an end, and he was about to reap the rewards, but he had to give up due to the political struggles of Myr's high-ranking officials. This made it difficult for him to accept for a while.
However, he soon understood, after all, compared to funds, safety was the most important. If he got caught up in Myr's political struggles and something unexpected happened, all his years of effort would be in vain.
Mis Toyn then said, "After the Golden Company finishes its mercenary contract in Myr, it will also leave, probably heading to Volantis. If you have anything, you can find us in Volantis."
"Going to Volantis?" Jon Clinton was stunned, puzzled, "Why go to Volantis? Is there a big mission there?"
Mis Toyn shook his head and said, "Haven't you felt it yet? The influence of Summerhall has already infiltrated Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. It won't be long before they should make a move on the Disputed Lands."
"Are you referring to the Miracle Merchant Guild's infiltration? You're being overly sensitive," Jon Clinton said dismissively. "Not only Myr and Lys, but all Free Trade City States have the Miracle Merchant Guild, even Slaver's Bay has them. Is Summerhall also preparing to move on Slaver's Bay? Summerhall just took the Stepstones not long ago. They shouldn't rashly move on the Disputed Lands. Didn't the Godsworn just sign a trade agreement with Tyrosh recently? If they really wanted to move on the Disputed Lands, they should have directly attacked Tyrosh when they destroyed the Tyroshi fleet. At that time, Tyrosh should not have been able to stop Summerhall's army."
Although Jon Clinton was in exile, he never stopped paying attention to the political situation in Westeros. And as the most legendary figure in Westeros in the past decade, perhaps even since Aegon the Conqueror, the Lord of Summerhall, Godsworn Linde Terra, was naturally a key focus of his attention.
He had never seen a hunter of humble origins grow so quickly, completing in just ten years a path that other families would need over a thousand years to complete.
He had disguised himself as an ordinary person and had seen the wight at the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing, had seen giants at the Redemption Sanctuary, and had even seen the huge sea dragon at Miracle Port.
Through everything he had seen, Jon Clinton was absolutely certain that for Targaryen to return to power in Westeros, the Iron Throne was not the biggest threat; Summerhall was.
Therefore, he paid attention to any movement related to Summerhall.
When he learned that a rift had appeared in the relationship between Lynd and the Iron Throne, Jon Clinton considered drawing Lynd into his camp, but Dorne very clearly told them not to harbor any illusions. Before the Usurper Robert Baratheon was taken by the Stranger, Linde Terra would absolutely not betray Robert and join his camp.
Later, when Lynd led the Miracle Fleet to destroy the combined fleet of Tyrosh and the Pirate Alliance in one battle, achieving the feat of unifying the Stepstones, he felt an unprecedented threat, because he and Little Griff were in Tyrosh at the time, and he was very worried that Lynd would directly attack Tyrosh and affect him.
It was not until he received news that Lynd had negotiated a reconciliation with Tyrosh that he relaxed. He also learned through special channels that the Targaryen siblings had been given as a gift to Lynd by the Tyroshi people, and Lynd had not sent the siblings to the Iron Throne, but to Pentos. This made him feel that Lynd seemed less loyal to the House Baratheon, and perhaps there would truly be an opportunity in the future to draw Lynd into his camp.
When discussing with his allies, they had also considered what Lynd's next move would be. At that time, their conclusion was that Lynd would certainly move on the Three City States of the Disputed Lands, but not now, but in the future, at least after the Stepstones were completely stable, before taking the next step.
And from the news coming from Summerhall, it seemed Lynd had no immediate plans for external military action. Most of his troops had been recalled to the barracks, and his main energy seemed to be focused on the new castles and towns in the Borderlands.
It was precisely because of this that Jon appeared so dismissive when he heard Mis Toyn's speculation that Lynd would move on Myr and other places.
Mis Toyn did not further explain why he believed Lynd would soon move on the Three City States, as it was all based on his intuition, without any concrete evidence.
But Mis Toyn trusted his intuition greatly, as it had saved his life many times, so this time he also intended to follow his intuition.
"Where are you going next? Pentos?" Mis Toyn changed the subject and asked.
"No, to Braavos," Jon Clinton said in a deep voice. "I need to meet the Sealord of Braavos. I will likely stay in Braavos for a long time after this. If anything happens on your end, you can send someone to Braavos to notify me."
Mis Toyn nodded and asked again, "Do you need me to prepare mercenaries for you?"
Jon Clinton shook his head and said, "We're going by sea."
Mis Toyn was stunned, puzzled, "Are you crazy? Going by sea at this time? Don't you know how rampant the pirates in the Narrow Sea have been recently? The Stepstones have blocked all the pirates in the northern Narrow Sea, preventing them from going south. These pirates are venting their excess energy on merchant ships sailing in the Narrow Sea. Myr's ships have stopped, unwilling to take the risk, and are now going by land. Yet you are still going by sea. I truly suspect your brain has been eaten by Others?"
"Don't worry, we'll only sail along the coastline, and with the ship from Braavos to meet us, there will be no danger," Jon Clinton seemed unwilling to continue this topic, so he changed the subject and asked, "Have you received any news on how the Council of Governors in Myr plans to deal with those pirates?"
Mis Toyn stated what he knew, saying, "There's no specific plan, but someone suggested they wanted the Miracle Fleet of Summerhall..."
Before he could finish speaking, they both heard a commotion in the courtyard. They looked over, their faces turning pale with shock, and simultaneously drew their weapons, leaping directly from the second-floor balcony. They rolled a few times on the ground to break their fall, then quickly rushed into the courtyard.
They saw that in the courtyard, the Septa, Maester, and knight were protecting the child, and the surrounding Golden Company guards had also gathered there, surrounding an uninvited guest.
This uninvited guest wore ordinary mercenary leather armor, looking no different from mercenaries outside. The hood on his head obscured his face, making it impossible to see his features. However, from the fact that he showed no panic whatsoever after being surrounded, one could sense that he seemed to not care about his predicament at all.
Jon Clinton came to Little Griff's side, checked him, and after finding no abnormalities, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at the uninvited guest, who had somehow infiltrated, and without asking his intentions or what he was doing, he directly ordered the surrounding guards, "Kill him!"
However, just as the command was given, an invisible aura of power emanated from this uninvited guest, instantly enveloping the entire courtyard. Everyone's hearts were simultaneously filled with an inexplicable shock. This emotional shock even affected their bodies, making them stiff and unable to move freely, like wooden puppets.
At this moment, the person took off his hood, revealing a face that did not look particularly special, but this ordinary face carried an extremely powerful and majestic aura. And this majestic aura made Jon Clinton feel as if he was facing a king, and even a king's aura was far inferior to his.
Just as everyone was wondering who this person was, the knight Rolly Duckfield looked at the other party in shock and exclaimed, "Lord Linde!"
Hearing the knight Rolly Duckfield's exclamation, the others had not yet realized who he was addressing.
Conversely, Lynd also looked with some confusion at this unfamiliar knight who seemed somewhat familiar and had recognized him at a glance, and asked in a deep voice, "You know me?"
"Yes," Rolly Duckfield said with a slightly excited expression. "Back at Bitterbridge, you once guided my swordsmanship."
"Oh! So it's you, the blacksmith's son from Bitterbridge." Lynd showed a look of realization, and at the same time, he dispelled the Nameless King's shocking rune power, allowing those around him to return to normal.
At this moment, everyone present also realized who this seemingly ordinary but exceptionally distinguished mercenary was, because Rolly Duckfield had always claimed that his swordsmanship was taught by Godsworn Linde Terra, the reason being that Lynd had taught him swordsmanship for one night in Bitterbridge.
However, this claim had never been taken seriously by others, and they had not believed these words. But now, it seemed that what Rolly Duckfield said was true.
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