Such a huge amount of bonds plunged Lynd into deep thought; it seemed he was not just thinking about whether the bonds would become Waste, but rather expanding his thoughts to other matters.
The blacksmith and Varys both waited for Lynd to recover from his contemplation, not daring to interrupt him.
After a long while, Lynd finally returned to normal, then looked at the blacksmith and said, "I will give you six thousand gold dragons, and you must repay this money to those you defrauded. This money is a loan to you, and one-tenth of your monthly wages will be deducted to repay this debt." Then, he pointed at the box in front of him and said, "As for these bonds, I will confiscate them as punishment for you. From now on, you will honestly teach blacksmith apprentices at Summerhall, and you must teach them without reservation. If you dare to cause any more trouble, I will kill you directly without anyone else needing to intervene, do you understand?"
Tob Mott nodded repeatedly, "Understood, understood!" Then he couldn't help but ask, "My monthly wages are..."
"Your wages will fluctuate between fifty silver stags and three gold dragons, depending on your performance. If your performance exceeds expectations, there will be additional rewards, usually more than double your monthly wages," Lynd replied. "If you have no objections, then sign a contract with me!"
"I am willing to sign a contract with you." Tob Mott knew very well that he had no other path to take now, and Lynd was his only lifeline. Moreover, the solution Lynd proposed was very good, as even without the six thousand gold dragon debt, he would still have to join Lynd's command for the rest of his life.
Soon, Tob Mott signed the contract, and Lynd also stated that he would send a dedicated person to supervise the repayment of the six thousand gold dragons to the creditors one by one. As for the insufficient portion, the blacksmith was to sell his blacksmith shop in King's Landing to cover the deficit, as he would no longer need it once he went to Summerhall.
After dealing with this matter, Lynd and Varys left the blacksmith shop.
On the way, Varys suddenly asked Lynd, "Lord Linde, what do you plan to do with these Tyrosh bonds?"
Lynd smiled, not directly answering, but instead said to Varys, "I want to meet your friend and discuss a business deal with him."
Varys was stunned, not understanding why Lynd suddenly wanted to meet that person. Although he was puzzled, he did not show it and did not refuse Lynd's request for a meeting. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Are you free? We can go see him now."
"Is he in King's Landing?" Lynd asked, surprised.
Varys explained, "Such a big event as the appearance of wights has also spread across Across the Narrow Sea, causing quite a stir. He is always very interested in such matters, so he secretly came over to see the wights. He only landed this morning."
"In that case, let's go see him now," Lynd commanded directly, without overthinking.
Upon hearing Lynd's decision, Varys did not directly lead Lynd to his friend's secret residence. Instead, he took Lynd to the Dragonpit, and then, through a secret tunnel within the Dragonpit, they arrived at the cellar filled with dragon bones beneath the Red Keep.
"My lord, please wait here for a moment. I will go and fetch him immediately." Varys left Lynd in the cellar and then hurried alone into another secret passage.
The surroundings became incredibly silent, and an inexplicable sense of gloom filled the entire cellar.
Lynd paid no attention to the gloomy atmosphere around him. Instead, he took a torch from the wall and walked to a pile of dragon bones.
Among these piles of dragon bones, only the bones of Vhagar, Balerion, and Vermithor, the three largest dragons, were real. The other dragon bones had already been replaced with fake ones by Varys. Some of the real dragon bones were stored in the cellar of Miracle Port, while another part had already been used by Lynd for the Dragon Feast Ritual.
Although Lynd had long known that Vhagar, Balerion, and Vermithor were the largest dragons and their bones would naturally be the largest, he never imagined that their bones would be so enormous. Each dragon's skull was comparable to a two-story building.
Taking Vhagar, the largest in size, as an example, when its mouth was open, a person could ride a horse directly through it. And if its mouth was opened to its widest, it could, as the legends say, swallow a mammoth whole.
"How were these skulls transported here in the first place?" Looking at these huge and complete dragon bones, and then at the door of the cellar entrance, a question couldn't help but arise in Lynd's mind.
However, he quickly dismissed this question, as his attention had already been drawn to the power contained within the dragon bones.
In the eyes of ordinary people, these three dragons were just larger than other dragons, but in Lynd's eyes, these three dragons had undergone some kind of transformation. The magic within their bones had become somewhat different from that of other dragons.
The most obvious difference was that when Lynd touched other dragon bones, there was no abnormal reaction, but when he touched the bones of these three dragons, he could clearly feel the Dragon Feast Runes stirring, and he couldn't help but want to perform a Dragon Feast Ritual immediately.
Fortunately, his willpower was strong enough, and he held back, moving away from the dragon bones and just standing at a distance, looking at the dragon bones in the darkness.
At this moment, Lynd really wanted to summon Glory to his side, perhaps he could discern something through Glory's eyes.
Lynd did not wait too long before Varys led in a burly man dressed in servant's clothes.
Although this burly man looked no different from a low-ranking servant in the Red Keep, a closer look would reveal that his overall demeanor was extremely incongruous with his attire.
"This is my friend, Illyrio Mopatis." After arriving in front of Lynd, Varys wasted no words and immediately introduced the two: "This is the Chosen of the Seven, Earl of Summerhall, Lord Linde Terra."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Linde," Illyrio said, extending his hand to Lynd.
Lynd shook Illyrio's hand and said, "Magister Illyrio, I am also very pleased to meet you."
"I heard you wanted to meet me to discuss a big business deal?" Illyrio seemed to have grasped Lynd's personality and went straight to the point without any preamble.
"Yes," Lynd nodded and said, "I want you to acquire all of the five-year bonds issued by Tyrosh at the lowest possible price. After all, in the eyes of many, these bonds are no different from dust."
Upon hearing this, Illyrio's face showed surprise. He looked at Lynd and asked, "Lord Linde, do you know what Tyrosh bonds are?"
Lynd said in a deep voice, "Of course I know what they are. Varys has already explained it to me. Otherwise, why would I say that in the eyes of some people, such as in your eyes, Magister Illyrio, they are like waste paper?"
"Since that's the case, why do you still want me to help you acquire these bonds?" Illyrio looked at Lynd, puzzled.
Lynd did not answer the other party, but instead asked, "Lord Illyrio, does everyone who entrusts you with a task need to explain the reason in detail?"
"Of course not." Illyrio shook his head and said, "It's just that your identity is too special. Any small action can cause a major earthquake, and these major earthquakes might even greatly affect my business. Therefore, I must first understand your intentions, Lord Linde, so that I can help you without harming my own interests."
It was unclear whether Illyrio's reason was sufficiently convincing, or if Lynd had no intention of hiding his thoughts to begin with, but after a moment of consideration, he told Varys and Illyrio his ideas.
Lynd briefly explained his idea, saying, "I want to acquire all Tyrosh bonds at the lowest price, and then, when Tyrosh goes to war with other city-states, help Tyrosh win the war so they have no excuse to invalidate the bonds."
Illyrio frowned and said, "Even if Tyrosh wins the war, they will still find other excuses to invalidate the bonds, because they simply don't have enough money to redeem them."
"Are those excuses legitimate?" Lynd asked.
Illyrio shook his head and said, "Of course not legitimate excuses. They just need an excuse to renege on the bonds. Having the excuse of defeat is naturally good, but even if they don't, it doesn't matter; they can just fabricate one. Anyway, no one has the ability to resist their decision."
At this point, he suddenly realized something and looked at Lynd in surprise, saying, "Lord Linde, do you intend to make a move on Tyrosh?"
Lynd smiled and said, "It's not that I want to make a move on Tyrosh, but rather that Tyrosh shamelessly embezzled my gold dragons, and I am forced to go to war with Tyrosh."
"You are truly bold," Illyrio said to Lynd. "You should know that although the Three City States of Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr often go to war over the Disputed Lands, they never allow outsiders to interfere in their affairs. Once an external enemy attacks any one of the Three City States, they will inevitably unite to resist. With the strength of the Three City States, they are powerful enough to contend with the Iron Throne. The War of the Ninepenny Kings had the shadows of the Three City States behind it."
Lynd calmly said, "Of course I know the strength of the Three City States, but do the Three City States know my strength?"
Illyrio couldn't help but recall the Stone Giant he had seen outside the city walls of King's Landing during the day, through the camp's wooden palisade. He also thought of Lynd's various legends and past achievements. He couldn't help but have the illusion that if Lynd truly went to war with Tyrosh, perhaps the ultimate victor would be Lynd.
"Why do you need to consider so much? No matter how the matter ultimately succeeds or fails, it will be beneficial to you," Illyrio reminded his good friend.
Illyrio also immediately realized that he had indeed overthought things. Just as Illyrio said, if Lynd won the war, then he would gain a powerful ally in the Free City States Alliance. Even if Lynd lost, he would still be able to make a fortune by knowing in advance that the war would break out.
Having understood this point, Illyrio did not continue to think further. He nodded and said, "I accept this commission. I will help you acquire enough bonds at the lowest possible price, not exceeding ten thousand gold dragons."
Lynd added, "Additionally, you also need to help me gather intelligence on the Stepstones, Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys."
"Intelligence on the Stepstones?" Illyrio and Illyrio were both stunned.
They could understand collecting intelligence on Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys. After all, if Tyrosh wanted to find someone to cooperate in a war drama, they would naturally only be able to find Myr and Lys. Collecting their intelligence and knowing their movements in advance would allow them to send troops in time to participate in the war and help Tyrosh win.
But the request to also collect intelligence on the Stepstones made them somewhat puzzled.
Both of them thought in unison, "Does he also intend to take the Stepstones before going to war with Tyrosh?"
Just as the two had thought, Lynd then said, "If I really have to go to war with Tyrosh five years from now, then the Stepstones naturally cannot be controlled by others. This concerns my connection with my territory. If it were cut off, then I would truly be isolated, so I must take the Stepstones."
"Lord Linde, in all the years the Stepstones have existed, no one person or kingdom has ever been able to conquer the entire Stepstones," Illyrio analyzed for Lynd. "Even the Kingdom of the Three Daughters back then only occupied a portion of the Stepstones; most of the islands were not under their control. Even Daemon Targaryen, who rode a dragon, did not fully conquer the Stepstones. To this day, the Free City States Alliance, Dorne, the Iron Throne, and countless pirates all control some islands. It's the most chaotic place I've ever seen. With your power, you might be able to conquer one or two islands, but it would probably be very difficult for you to conquer the entire Stepstones."
Lynd paid no attention to Illyrio's analysis and said, "You don't need to say anything more. I am very clear about the situation in the Stepstones, and I know what I am doing. You only need to help me gather intelligence, preferably information on who controls each island, which powerful pirates control which waters, and so on. The more detailed, the better."
Illyrio already understood that Lynd's mind was made up and his persuasion would be ineffective. He then looked at Illyrio, saw that he had no intention of speaking, and nodded in agreement.
The two then discussed trade matters, such as spices, jewels, and so on, but Lynd placed more emphasis on the slave trade.
"You want to buy slaves?" Upon hearing Lynd's trade request, not only was Illyrio stunned, but even Illyrio's face showed surprise.
It should be known that the Seven Kingdoms strictly prohibited slavery, mainly because the faith of the Seven explicitly forbade it. However, Lynd, as the Chosen One, now wanted to trade slaves, which naturally surprised them.
"Don't worry, I am not buying slaves to exploit them or enjoy them. I want to buy these slaves to make them free people in my territory," Lynd explained. "But I have requirements for the slaves I buy. They must be skilled in various crafts, and ideally, have forging techniques. Additionally, if you can find educated scholars, doctors who understand healing, or even sorcerers, that would also be acceptable. In short, the slaves I want are not those who serve people, but those who must possess a special skill. Lord Illyrio, do you understand?"
Illyrio's expression showed understanding. He nodded and said, "I understand. I will quickly find slaves that meet your conditions and send them to your territory."
Lynd emphasized, "Do not send them to King's Landing. Send them directly to Miracle Port; the docks there should already be built."
Illyrio indicated that he understood.
Although Lynd did not discuss the price of the slaves from beginning to end, Illyrio knew very well that this was a long-term business, and Lynd would absolutely not let him suffer a loss.
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