Upon hearing Prince Linde's so-called way out, Stannis and the surrounding vassals of Dragonstone all turned incredibly pale.
Because everyone knew what kind of people most of the Nights Watch were. Although some knights and mercenaries had joined the Nights Watch due to some actions by Lynd and Willas in recent years, the vast majority of the Nights Watch were still criminals, and the so-called Commander of the Nights Watch was just the leader of a group of criminals.
Stannis and the others felt that Lynd was insulting them.
However, Lynd ignored the anger on their faces and continued, "Commander Jeor Mormont of the Nights Watch was assassinated by traitors within the Nights Watch not long ago, and a new Commander has not been chosen. Because those people are not good enough, they cannot lead the Nights Watch to fight against the Savage Tribes Beyond the Wall, and even less against the Others who are about to march south. Therefore, the new Commander of the Nights Watch must be a capable and responsible person to hold the Wall's defense line. When I left the Wall, I temporarily appointed Samwell Tarly as the acting Commander. He is a capable person, but his character is not strong enough. He can barely handle some affairs now, but the Savage Tribes' offensive has been a bit fierce recently, and he is clearly not suitable to be a wartime Commander. So I need to quickly choose a suitable person to be the Commander of the Nights Watch. Stannis, you are the most suitable person among all those I have chosen to become the Commander of the Nights Watch."
"The people you chose?" After listening to Lynd's narration, Stannis's original anger subsided, and he then asked Lynd, "Who did you choose who is qualified to be the Commander of the Nights Watch?"
Lynd replied, "Tywin Lannister, Blackfish Brynden Tully, Bronze Yohn Royce, and myself."
"And yourself?" Stannis was stunned, asking in confusion, "Why would it be yourself?"
Lynd said casually, "Why can't it be me? Resisting the Others' southward march is a very important matter. I will definitely go to the Wall during the great war. I cannot be absent from this battle that will surely go down in history and become a legend. So it is not impossible for me to become the Commander of the Nights Watch and lead the Nights Watch against the Others."
"If that's the case, why don't you become the Commander of the Nights Watch?" Stannis questioned.
"Because I have more important things to do," Lynd said very seriously. "The Others' southward march is just one of the disasters we face. When the true disaster arrives, even the Wall cannot stop it. I must prepare in advance for that unavoidable disaster."
Stannis frowned and asked, "What disaster can even the Wall not stop?"
"the Long Night and Eternal Winter, the Long Night and Eternal Winter will appear soon. The extreme cold from the North will sweep south across the Wall, and everything will be covered in ice and snow." It was not Lynd who answered, but Melisandre, who stood beside him. She walked to Stannis and said, "Your Majesty, do you remember the Lord of Light's revelation I spoke of? You are destined to become Azor Ahai and resist the minions of the Eternal Winter God. Now a change has appeared. Becoming the Commander of the Nights Watch is your destiny. This is a predetermined destiny."
Stannis hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Melisandre and Lynd, joking, "You just mentioned a change, and he appeared. Are you two in cahoots?"
Lynd was startled by the remark and looked at Melisandre with some surprise.
"These are all revelations from my Lord." Melisandre explained in a mysterious manner, clearly implying that even Lynd's actions were within the Lord of Light's control.
Stannis turned his head and asked his vassals behind him, "What about you? What do you think of this way out Prince Linde has offered?"
"We will surely follow Your Majesty."
Most of Dragonstone's vassals expressed their allegiance to Stannis, but there were only a few noble knights from Stormlands, and Salladhor Saan was clearly not among them.
"I am willing to fight for Your Majesty until death, no matter who the opponent is," Ser Davos Seaworth said, puffing out his chest.
A hint of disappointment appeared in Stannis's eyes. He was not disappointed because less than half of the people were willing to follow him, but because of their answers, which were not what he wanted. He wished to hear those who followed him refute him, and loudly tell him that they were willing to die to defend Dragonstone Castle.
The answers his vassals gave now undoubtedly showed that they had been terrified by Lynd and had no intention of opposing him. They had already accepted Lynd's proposal from the bottom of their hearts.
Only Ser Davos Seaworth, who came from a very low status, gave the answer he wanted to hear, but unfortunately, there was only one Ser Davos Seaworth.
After his disappointment, Stannis turned to Lynd and said in a deep voice, "You think you can take my Dragonstone with just a word or two? That's too easy!"
"What if I exchange it for Storms End?" Lynd smiled.
"What?" Stannis was stunned, not understanding what Lynd meant.
Lynd explained, "I will adopt Shireen as my foster daughter. When she grows up, I will give Storms End to her and let her become the Duke of Storm's End, Protector of the Stormlands. What do you think?"
Stannis was completely frozen in place, his expression indescribable.
Undoubtedly, Storms End was Stannis's eternal knot. In that war, he achieved great military exploits, helping Robert defend Storms End and tying up The Reach's army, while Renly was just a crying little brat.
After the war, he, who should have been the Duke of Storm's End and Protector of the Stormlands, became the Duke of Dragonstone. The Baratheon ancestral Storms End and Stormlands were given to Renly, that little guy who did nothing in the war. How could he not resent it?
Perhaps the happiest thing for him was hearing that Robert, the guy who had brought him more than a decade of humiliation, was stabbed to death by a wild boar. He would still feel sad upon hearing Renly's death, but upon hearing Robert's death, he rarely drank a bottle of wine.
It was precisely because of this that he had such a strong reaction after hearing the conditions Lynd offered.
"Are you serious?" Stannis came back to his senses and confirmed seriously.
"I wouldn't joke about something like this," Lynd said deeply.
Stannis thought for a moment, then instructed Ser Davos Seaworth beside him, "Go! Bring Shireen over."
Davos heard this, immediately turned and walked quickly back into the castle. Not long after, he was seen leading a little girl out of the castle.
Following them out were Shireen's mother, Selyse Florent, a group of servants, and a jester clown with different colored patterns tattooed on his face, Patchface.
Lynd scanned the group of people, his gaze finally resting on Patchface.
Even without using his special vision, Lynd could still feel the mysterious power with a strong smell of seawater emanating from Patchface. He was not some kind of favored one of the gods, but rather he possessed the power of some ancient being, just like Willas to Garth the Gardener. And this power also kept his body vital, meaning in some sense, he was very similar to a wight, or more accurately, to an Other.
When the group approached, the usually lively Patchface became very timid, hiding completely behind Shireen to avoid Lynd's gaze. However, Shireen's small body could not hide his plump figure, making the scene look quite comical.
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