Crossing a tributary of the Meadow River, Samwell and his party came across a tall limestone castle.

The mottled walls are covered in moss and creepers, silently telling of the weathers that this ancient castle has endured. On top of the hundred-foot-tall castle tower, a white flag flutters with a flock of black and orange butterflies fluttering on it.

This is the coat of arms of the Lords of Highland City, the Murendal family.

A short walk southwest beyond the city is the Crimson Mountains.

It is conceivable that if Samwell succeeds in establishing a territory in the Crimson Mountains in the future, the Murendal family will be his neighbors.

Therefore, in order to get along with his neighbors in advance, Samwell did not choose to go around the city, but sent Gavin to Highland City to send an official letter of visit.

"Samwell Caesar."

In the castle, Viscount Martin Mulendall pinched the letter of greeting handed over by Gavin, and a playful smile appeared on his face, "That pioneer knight canonized by a woman?" ”

Gavin leaned over slightly, and said in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant:

"Your Excellency, Lord Caesar is a pioneer knight canonized by Miss Margaery, daughter of the Duke of Mace, on behalf of her father, and an official vassal of the House of Tyrrell."

Viscount Martin pouted disdainfully: "So, he is indeed a knight canonized by a woman." ”

Gavin lowered his head and did not answer.

Viscount Martin snorted lightly, and then said lazily:

"Okay, let him in."

Gavin bowed and silently turned away.

Viscount Martin instructed the butler beside him:

"Let the kitchen prepare the dinner, it doesn't have to be too rich, it doesn't have to be decent."

"Yes, sir."

"Father, is this the eldest son of the Tully family?" It was Viscount Martin's eldest son, Mark Mulendale, who spoke.

The man was tall, with a beard, and on his shoulder sat a black and white monkey, intently breaking the nuts in his hand.

"That's right. Randolph Tully is a character, but it is a pity that he gave birth to such a waste son, and now he has finally made up his mind to abolish Samwell's inheritance, but he didn't expect it to be in such a way. Go to the Crimson Mountains to carve out ...... Hehe, it's really better to send him to the Great Wall of Desperation. ”

Mark shrugged and said, "If I had to choose, I would definitely choose to open up rather than go to the ghost place of the Great Wall of Despair." ”

Viscount Martin glanced at his son and said with a smile: "Do you also think that it is easy to open up?" ”

"Of course I know the difficulty of pioneering, but the Great Wall of Desperation is not obviously worse, the weather is cold, and I heard that there are strange ghosts that cannot be killed."

"Stranger?" Viscount Martin scoffed, "It's just a legend to deceive children. Thousands of years later, has anyone ever seen a stranger? As for the cold, it's summer now, and the Great Wall of Despair isn't much cold. ”

"But winter is coming sooner or later."

"Who knows. It's been a long time since this summer and there's no end in sight, and maybe even longer. It is only those northern barbarians who worship wood who keep shouting nervously, 'Winter is coming'. ”

Mark seemed to remember something, and suddenly said:

"Father, do you think this will be the eternal summer promised to the world by the seven gods, and there will be no more winter?"

"The seven gods say that when the sins of the world are over, eternal summer will come. So, do you think the sins of the world are now over? ”

Mark shook his head, dragging his cheeks deep in thought. The monkey on his shoulder also followed the example of his master and began to think about monkey life.

At this moment, neat footsteps sounded outside the castle.

Curious, Mark walked to the balcony and looked out to see a procession of about two hundred people walking into the castle through the drawbridge.

"Father! Come and see! ”

Hearing his son's shout, Viscount Martin walked out slowly: "What's the matter?" ”

Mark looked shocked and pointed to the pioneer team below and asked, "Are you sure this Samwell is a waste abandoned by the family?" ”

Viscount Martin was also stunned.

Because the more than 200 neat and well-equipped soldiers in front of him really shocked him.

I have to say that Samwell's military training for more than two months has been quite effective, and the more than 100 newly recruited soldiers are no longer much different from elite veterans, at least on the surface.

Of course, if you do it with real knives and guns, this group of recruits will definitely show their stuffing.

After all, they have not yet experienced the test of blood and fire.

But since Samwell has been piling up equipment and feeding them meat at any cost, these recruits are enough to scare the vast majority of them.

Therefore, in the eyes of Viscount Martin, this famous waste in the river bay actually led an elite army of more than two hundred people!

This is already an armed force that cannot be ignored.

You must know that the standing army of Highland City is only more than 300 people.

Of course, the Murendal family also had a dozen vassal knights, and a group of peasants were recruited, and Viscount Martin could even raise an army of 3,000 men at most.

I will definitely not be afraid of the 200-person pioneer team in front of me.

However, he is a dignified lord of Highland City, and on the other side, he is just a pioneer knight who doesn't even have a territory!

Such a comparison, even if it is won, makes Viscount Martin gloomy.

"Where did he get so many elite soldiers!" Viscount Martin gritted his teeth.

What was originally disdain and disdain for Samwell quickly turned into a jealousy and hatred that even he couldn't articulate.

Mark settled his mind and guessed, "Could it be that Count Landau gave it to him?" ”

"How many regular troops are there in Jiaoling? Can you give so much to a waste who has been removed from the family to open up? ”

Mark scratched his head, although he had never been to the Horn Tomb, he also knew that although the Tully family was stronger than the Mulendale family, it was impossible for them to have the luxury of giving so many elite soldiers to a waste to explore.

If these soldiers were to be buried in the Crimson Mountains, the Tully family would definitely lose their strength.

After thinking for a moment, Mark added, "Could it be the army that the Tyrells gave him?" ”

In his opinion, only the wealthy Duke of the High Court would be willing to hand over such an elite army to a waste to squander.

Viscount Martin rolled his eyes: "Duke Metz doesn't want to canonize this guy personally, will he be willing to send such an army to him to explore?" ”

When Mark heard this, he also felt that it made sense, and immediately began to scratch his ears and cheeks again.

The monkey on his shoulder seemed to sense his master's troubles, and began to jump up and down.

Viscount Martin stared at the pioneer team for a long time, and finally went downstairs without saying a word.

Mark hurriedly followed.

The father and son arrived at the gate of the castle, and the butler brought bread and salt with his attendants.

This is a sacred contract that has been passed down for thousands of years in Westeros - guest rights.

When a guest comes to the host's roof and accepts the bread and salt offered by the host, the guest's rights take effect immediately, and neither party may harm the other, and the old and new gods will not tolerate it.

Samwell picked up a small piece of bread, dipped it in some salt, put it in his mouth, and then touched his chest with one hand and bowed slightly to Viscount Martin, and said:

"Dear Lord Mulendal, thank you for your hospitality!"

Viscount Martin had a sincere smile on his face:

"Lord Caesar, welcome to Highland City!"