At Firegrass Manor's training grounds, the gray-white Wolf Pack banner and the Free Army banner, depicting broken shackles, fluttered together. On the field, one man sparred against a group, while a dozen others cheered them on.
Gendry wore a black studded vest embroidered with the Wolf Pack Company's direwolf emblem. He was tall, agile, and powerful. His opponents were Longspear, Steel Fist, and several Unsullied. Longspear and Steel Fist attacked from the sides, with Gendry's Unsullied guard, wearing a spiked helmet, in the middle.
"Come on then!" Gendry waved his hand, urging them to unleash wilder, more brutal attacks.
The melodious song of steel rang out, and steel brought the storm.
Longspear and blunted swords followed. Gendry had to remain calm and firm to dodge every attack. Longspear's spearhead was vicious, darting out like a viper. The Unsullied, well-trained, launched their attacks in perfect unison.
Gendry used his oak shield to block the lethal blows aimed at his vital points. Other attacks struck his plate armor, but he pressed forward valiantly. The cooperation between Longspear, Steel Fist, and the Unsullied had slight flaws; their attack rhythms were, after all, different, and these opportunities were enough.
Gendry first seized Longspear's spearhead, then broke it, causing his opponent to involuntarily lean forward. Longspear raised his oak shield to block, but Gendry deftly knocked him down. Next came Steel Fist's whistling longsword. Gendry's plate armor withstood a chop, and his mace heavily struck his opponent's oak shield. After several heavy blows, the shield shattered, Steel Fist's faceplate was slightly deformed by the hammering, and he lowered his faceplate in surrender.
"Thud! Thud!" Finally, it was the group of Unsullied, whose front line had been steadily advancing. They were also formidable opponents in the sparring arena. The Unsullied did not feel searing pain like ordinary people; courage wine and brutal training made them fearless of death and able to endure corresponding pain.
Gendry fought fiercely against several Unsullied. Because the Unsullied's nerves were numb to pain, they were much harder to fight than ordinary warriors.
Gendry's agility, strength, and toughness, combined with his increasing ferocity in battle and seemingly endless stamina, eventually allowed him to gain the upper hand, defeating the Unsullied one by one.
Gendry stood victorious on the disheveled training grounds after multiple rounds of combat.
"[Bloodline: Storm's Blood (Activated, 40% Awakened)]", Gendry's Storm's Blood was slowly increasing, but reaching a bottleneck would make it slower and slower. Perhaps he still needed to spar with more formidable opponents.
His talent also remained unchanged, still the ancestral talent from House Baratheon. [Talent: Caste Resilience (Descendants of stags are tall and strong, blessed with many children, giving birth to black-haired, blue-eyed offspring). Storm's rage (When severely wounded or in a state of rage, more ferocious and powerful attacks will be unleashed)]
The benefits brought by Storm's Blood were multifaceted: one was the improvement of physique, strength, and speed. The other was the bloodrage, which provided an attack bonus when injured or enraged.
"Excellent work, Commander-in-Chief!"
"Long live the liberator!"
"That's the head wolf!" The surrounding people cheered.
Gendry smiled at everyone, helped up the Unsullied who were sprawled across the training ground from the intense combat, and together they walked towards the resting benches. Longspear and Steel Fist also rested nearby, looking disheveled. Compared to Longspear's quick jousting, this brutal team combat was more in line with the realities of war.
"The Commander-in-Chief is truly a born warrior!" The Handsome Man commented. "In the stories I've heard, perhaps only Duke Cregan was like you!"
"The Wolf of Winterfell? The Wolf's Hour Hand?" Gendry grew interested. Cregan was universally regarded as the most outstanding Duke Stark after the Conquest. He raised an army at eighteen to overthrow his uncle's regency, and in his twenties, he orchestrated the success of the Wolf's Hour.
"Yes, besides being shrewd, Duke Cregan was also the strongest swordsman of his time, as the Dragonrider said," The Handsome Man explained. "It's a pity the Duke's heir died in Dorne, leading to the long-term chaos in Winterfell later on. We all thought Wild Wolf Brandon could recreate Duke Cregan's glory, but we never expected the Wild Wolf to be burned alive by the Mad King!"
"Speaking of which, the Wild Wolf was much stronger than the current Lord Eddard; he was handsome and fierce, his swordsmanship was superb, and his temper was typical of the blood of the direwolf," Longspear interjected.
"Do you still miss the North?" Gendry asked a soul-searching question.
"The North is our homeland, but the Disputed Lands are our home now. After the Wolf Pack Company arrived, we no longer belonged to House Stark's vassals."
While they were chatting, Maester Qyburn appeared by the training grounds. Their distinguished guest seemed to have arrived.
Gendry's heart lightened. It seemed his plan had achieved some success. The men they sent out had been feigning negotiations with other Mercenaries, the Cat's Company and the Second Sons, about a joint attack on Myr, deliberately avoiding the Golden Company. The Golden Company had also received this information.
The Golden Company's visitor was a peculiar Volantene, Gorlys Edoryn, the Golden Company's treasurer and de facto second-in-command. He was gaunt, with oily, blood-red hair curling over his shoulders. A leopard skin was draped over one shoulder, and the golden armbands he wore were priceless, worth a lord's ransom.
"Welcome! Friend of the Golden Company!" The white-haired Old Maester was very enthusiastic.
But the Golden Company's envoy found the atmosphere strange; the Wolf Pack Company's Commander-in-Chief and other Commanders did not seem enthusiastic.
"I come with friendship. Our Captain wishes to cooperate with the Lord of the Wolf Pack!"
"How so?" Gendry looked at the Golden Company's treasurer.
"You want the Disputed Lands, and we want to return to Westeros. This is a win-win!"
"Hahaha!" Merry laughter erupted from the tent. Even with the current Wolf Pack Company and Free Army added to the Golden Company, they could not sustain an assault on Westeros's ruling order.
"Dear envoy, I must remind you! We have no ships, and not enough men!" The Handsome Man spoke up.
"Men!" the Golden Company's treasurer declared. "Our Golden Company numbers ten thousand strong, the largest Mercenaries. This includes five hundred knights—each knight with three horses and an attendant, and each attendant with a horse—besides, don't forget the Elephant. And you, Commander-in-Chief, can also gather over five thousand men!"
"We would need an entire pirate fleet to transport the army. And the Lords loyal to the iron throne are already well-rested and prepared," Gendry pointed out the madness of the plan.
"Charging into Westeros, that sea isn't particularly wide. If the fierce Maelys could return then, we can return too. We are not short on money," the Golden Company's treasurer said.
"You want Westeros? That's too difficult! During the Ninepenny Kings era, the combined forces of the Disputed Lands, Tyrosh, the Golden Company, and many other Copper Kings couldn't win the war!"
"The Commander-in-Chief's idea is correct, but we are not attacking now; it's a cooperation. We won't hinder your expansion, and you will support our landing in Westeros."
"No!" Gendry shook his head. "This plan is too risky. The wealthy The Reach, the Westerlands, and many other opponents."
"..." The Golden Company treasurer's expression began to sour. This was a fruitless attempt.
"However, there's a simpler option," Gendry suddenly offered him some hope.
"Myr has hired Mercenaries, the Cat's Company and the Second Sons, to attack us. The Golden Company can attack their rear. If you win, there's money, and it will deepen the Three Daughters' reliance on the Golden Company."
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