Eagle of the Valley of Ice and Fire.

Chapter 327 The Golden Group

When the wreckage of the ship floated on the sea, Elwood Maydo and his loyal servant had already galloped out of the city gate with their handwritten envelopes and headed straight for the border military camps of Nightsong, Black Harbor and Harvest Hall.

The quartermaster counted the supplies on the ship, hard bread, pickled antelope meat from the East Continent, countless dried fish, and...
Gilbert Falling's heart sank as he saw the swords and shields floating in the salt water of the gate below the cliffs of Storm's End.

This is no ordinary merchant ship, Gilbert stroked a small flag that he had looted from the ship.

Iron spear and golden bones, the cold iron is below and the golden skull is above.

The Golden Group. Gilbert had certainly heard of this group of mercenaries from the East Continent.

He thought of the previous storm at Storm's End, which seemed to foreshadow the castle's uncertain future. The Narrow Sea seemed to be plucked up by the gods and then poured down, with heavy rain falling like arrows and spears.

Wind's Rest remained motionless.

"Are there any remaining prisoners?"

"They are all tied up in the prison, not one is missing, sir."

The sea was calm for nearly a week before the wreckage of the ship was discovered by scouts who were patrolling secretly.

Thanks to the fact that Bryce Cullen's frontier troops were too small to encircle Storm's End, they could only wait helplessly under the wall on the hill side, hoping to hold on until reinforcements from Artis Arryn or the Iron Throne arrived.

Otherwise, who knows who would be the first to get the news of the ship wreckage and the mercenaries in distress.

Most of the crew members on the ship were missing, probably killed by fish, but a few were lucky enough to be washed ashore by the waves and were lingering in the woods outside Storm's End, breathing hard, hanging on to their lives.

The soldiers of the Storm's End garrison captured them naked and put them in the prison of Storm's End. With just a meal and a basin of water, Gilbert learned the news of the landing of the Golden Group.

"how many people?"

The mercenary, tied to the iron plate and tortured to death by the tiny barbs on it, opened his mouth wide and his tongue trembled violently.

"I don't know, Commander, Deputy Commander, all the camps have been called up."

The hot iron swung slowly and steadily in front of the mercenary's chest. The cruel official of Storm's End had a smile on his face, which contrasted with the flickering candlelight in the prison cell.

The mercenary shuddered and almost blurted out: "Ten thousand troops, the entire Golden Group!"

In the past, if King Stannis's acting lord of Storm's End and his generals had heard that a powerful mercenary force had been hired by an unknown lord to invade Westeros, they would probably have panicked and lost their way.

Now, Storm's End is a dangerous city. After hearing the news of the mercenary group invading Westeros, I felt relieved and the pressure suddenly reduced a lot. Although it is difficult to explain the reason for this feeling, as far as the current situation is concerned, the more forces vying for Westeros, the better it will be for Storm's End to survive.

Gilbert's mind flashed with maps of Storm's End, Stormlands, and even King's Landing. He turned his head and looked towards the edge of the hills where the border troops were stationed. The plan quietly emerged from the deep ravine in his heart and gradually took shape.

Elwood Maydo's servant, "Uneven-Eyed" Dylan, a boy with uneven eyes, the son of a cook, has learned to read from a monk in the church for two years. He naturally cannot understand the obscure texts of the bachelors and the imaginative texts of the bards, but he has become proficient in the daily expressions and words of the common language, especially the letters that need to be read at the desk. It is enough for him to be an assistant in sorting them.

This boy was chosen by Elwood Meidou to be his personal attendant, responsible for delivering written orders and guarding the study.

This was a pleasant surprise for him.

Elwood was naturally secretive about his own thoughts, but he secretly visited the storage places of kerosene, alcohol, and pitch and rosin in Storm's End, and made many explorations in the grain storage areas, recording the locations and routes of the grain warehouses, so his thoughts were obvious.

The sea breeze blew on Gilbert's silver hair. This is the land of Storm's End, facing the sea, enduring its earth-shaking roaring waves, but also feeling the delicate tenderness in ordinary times.

He ordered his men to clear away the wreckage of the ship anchored under the sea cliff, and then returned to the castle.

Beric Dondarrion rode away again.

Behind him were more than twenty riders, all of whom were among the best in Heigang, with first-rate archery, swordsmanship and riding skills.

However, the journey from the hills to the rain forest brought them great troubles, with wet mud, occasional collapse of broken rocks, and wild wolves and lynx approaching at night following the scent.

The bonfire was lit as the sun set, the attendants moved a few large stones for sitting, and a temporary tent was set up. Two cavalrymen returned from hunting a gray rabbit, and the "clattering" sound was as lively as if they were still in the military camp in the hills or the parade ground in Black Harbor City. He took off his sword and placed it on the stone beside him, feeling inexplicably depressed.

Further ahead is the territory of Crow's Nest, located between Griffin's Roost and Stonehelm. The westernmost end of the rainforest still belongs to the territory of the Hills.

Beric Dondarrion's destination was Stonehelm, and of course, it was also his duty to recruit lords and nobles who were willing to send troops to Storm's End along the way.

It's a good opportunity to ask what kind of force these so-called rainforest bandits are, which has caused Stonehelm City to be unwilling to take the risk of sending troops to reinforce the border areas.

The riders were silent, waiting for the servants to roast the rabbit.

Bailey knew what was going on. He stood up and cut off a small piece of meat with his sword. He touched the small bag hanging around his waist, which contained dried meat and water brought from the barracks, and walked towards the distant slope.

The servant put down the firewood and followed the lord.

Suddenly, the sound of his soldiers drinking and chatting happily could be heard behind him.

After all, it was not the days in King's Landing. Beric Dondarrion shook his head. He was familiar with only a few of these riders, and the others were very unfamiliar. Perhaps they were all from minor noble families, but he had no impression of them. They were not familiar with Beric either, so he could only refer to the superiors and subordinates to restrain his words and deeds.

He looked far ahead at the valley, and suddenly a dark shadow passed by. Berry reacted in time, stretched out his right arm, pushed the servant down, and threw himself backwards. When he turned his head, he found that a group of birds were rushing out of the woods, making bursts of sharp "cackle" sounds, and almost hit Berry in the face.

"Woo!~" A whimpering sound came from the valley. Beric Dondarrion leaned out half of his body vigilantly, put his big hand around the servant's head, and whispered hurriedly: "Let them put out the fire, quickly!"

The servant left in a hurry. Berry drew out the dagger, put it in his mouth, buried his body in the grass in front of the slope, and crouched low.

Listen quietly to the hurried footsteps, heavy breathing, and the conversations of the survivors.

"Sir Richard is dead!"

"Dead!"

"The Crow's Nest is gone, but my son is still inside, along with my wife. Gods, please forgive me."

Berry had already understood what was going on, and he seized the opportunity and jumped out.

"Damn mercenaries!" The man climbing the slope below hurriedly drew his sword and shouted loudly.

Berry raised his foot and stepped on the arm of the man who drew the sword. The arm suddenly became soft and the sword fell to the ground with a clang.

"you!"

Beric raised his dagger. "Don't worry, soldier of the Morrigan family. Tell me, I am Beric Dondarrion of Black Harbor. Tell me, what happened?"

The riders from Black Harbor City came around from both sides of the hillside, pointing their swords, lances and spears at the three fleeing soldiers.

"No, no, Lord Dondarrion! You must avenge Lord Richard! By the Seven Gods, the Stranger cannot come here so early."

"Did you see the face of the leader of that gang of bandits?" asked Beric Dondarrion.

The soldiers of Crow's Nest were slightly stunned. "Bandits? They are clearly regular soldiers. How can the bandits wear better armor than us?"

"The army?" Berry thought to himself that something was wrong.

"It was a huge crowd, and there was no warning. How could the two or three hundred of us in the city fight against the thousands of them? The city gates haven't been repaired for years. Gods, Crow's Nest has not seen blood for too long."

"What flags, what kind of weapons, what kind of pattern? Explain clearly."

"A silver steel gun with many golden skulls on top!"

(End of this chapter)