In the year 4 of the Bright Era, spring, the Vale, Moon Gate Keep.
To celebrate the establishment of Marco's rule, many new and old council members in the Vale's council held a unique "Vale Tournament" for him at Moon Gate Keep.
Tournaments have always been one of the most popular forms of entertainment on the Westeros Continent, similar to the arenas on the Essos Continent. Many commoners and nobles enjoy this kind of bloody sport.
To some extent, this activity promotes economic development and has a certain positive effect on appeasing the people. At the same time, it is also a way for nobles to show off their manpower and wealth.
Although Marco didn't need to maintain his rule in this way, he couldn't refuse the requests of his subordinates. Thus, after more than a month of preparation, the tournament arrived as scheduled.
At the same time, Marco also felt a hint of helplessness towards these people. In Marco's opinion, this kind of bloody activity was truly barbaric. Several outstanding heirs of the Targaryen Family had died in this activity in history.
In ancient Blue Star's Zhonghua Family, this kind of bloody activity had never been mainstream. Marco felt that poetry, opera, and dance were the things that a civilization should truly preserve. Killing and bloodshed would only leave them with the disgusting image of barbarians in the world.
At this moment, Marco was sitting on the same viewing platform with many male council members of the Vale. Moonshadow and the others were sitting with Lady Anya Waynwood. Their viewing platform was filled with noblewomen of the Vale.
Because of the large number of participants, the jousting field was divided into two areas. Marco happened to be in the middle, facing Moonshadow and the others across from the male nobles.
Moonshadow and her four fellow queens, as Marco's consorts, naturally became the center of attention when they were seated in the women's section. Maeve and Daenerys, thanks to the memories provided by the system, were able to communicate with them quite well.
However, Moonshadow, Nymph, and Mu seemed somewhat helpless. Facing the popular topics of the contemporary noblewomen, the three of them could only passively agree, their faces showing a hint of helplessness.
Sansa Stark was sitting beside them. She hadn't returned to The North, choosing instead to stay by Moonshadow's side, ostensibly to "learn."
The Stark Family children all possessed some degree of the warging ability. Sansa's goal was also to learn this special ability, and secondly, to climb into Marco's bed.
This Stark lady, who had been married once before, had become a qualified player under Littlefinger's tutelage. Having witnessed the immense power that came with power, this young lady was determined to strive for a high position.
Moreover, after Sansa learned that she could learn powerful abilities, her mind became even more active. Why did she want power? Ultimately, it was to protect herself.
Now that there was a more direct way to obtain power, Sansa naturally became more focused. And the source of all this was Marco. Although Littlefinger was detestable, some of his words were still helpful to Sansa. Becoming Marco's human queen would make everything easily attainable.
Actually, many of the Vale nobles had similar intentions. This tournament also served that purpose. Otherwise, the nobles of The North and the Manderly family of White Harbor wouldn't have bothered to travel all the way to the Vale to participate in it.
On either side of Marco sat Brynden Rivers (Bloodraven) and Aegon Targaryen. Although the three of them appeared to be watching the fierce jousting, they were actually communicating telepathically, their mouths moving slightly.
They seemed to be discussing something, but when anyone approached, they couldn't hear anything.
The actions of King's Landing naturally couldn't escape the notice of Marco's "Wolf Spirits". After learning part of King's Landing's plan, the relevant intelligence quickly reached Marco and his group.
Marco had now reassembled 3,000 Defenders and 2,000 Thugs. The crossbowmen had been built up to around 5,000. 1,000 Zealots and 700 Paladins had been successfully converted, but this time, it directly reduced Marco's gold resources to single digits.
Winterfell, the main city in the forest, after accumulating resources for a period of time, could finally provide some support to Marco. Various localized spellcasters were dispatched to join Marco's expeditionary force.
Their numbers were about 1,000 in total. Wind Speakers accounted for a large proportion of them, but this was already a significant improvement in Marco's eyes.
These spellcasters were all trained by Marco to work on future foundational projects, especially the Druids. They could be said to be the cornerstone of Marco's powerful empire. It was precisely because of the Druids' activity that The North had become a large granary.
Moreover, under the research of Marwin and the others, Marco's Rune Magic also began to be officially incorporated into the curriculum. Although Rune Magic couldn't compare to System Magic in terms of offensive power, its practicality was incredibly strong.
The five elements, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, could be transformed into different forms by those with a certain aptitude. The method of using this Rune Magic was similar to how the ancient Valyrian Sorcerers controlled black stone.
Marco also gathered nearly 4,000 troops from The North and The Vale this time. The troops from The North would move south from Moat Cailin, while the Vale's troops would fight alongside Marco and his forces.
Large quantities of food had been transported to Moat Cailin in advance and were guarded by the Crannogmen there. Numerous Wood Dancers and Druids built many wooden houses in the swamps of Moat Cailin for storing the expeditionary army's supplies.
After The Gods' Hall entered the Neck, the number of Druids and Wood Dancers here increased dramatically. Greywater Watch had become the second Winterfell of The North, a paradise for many old gods believers.
A large number of bison were tamed by the Wargs, along with the Mammoths, which were used as transportation. In addition, there were also Magic Transport Vehicles created by the mages and imps of Winterfell.
The Magic Transport Vehicles were currently only used for civilian purposes. The cost of military use was too high, and they didn't have much function anyway. Only about 10 Magic Transport Vehicles had been built.
"Long live..."
The earth-shattering shouts interrupted the three people who were still "discussing." Marco turned his head and saw that Lyn Corbray of Heart's Home had been knocked off his horse by a knight. The emblem on the knight's shield was the infamous "Flayed Man" emblem of The North.
Just when Marco thought the newcomer was Domeric Bolton, he saw Ramsay Snow's face under the helmet. This couldn't help but make Marco curious. After the Battle of White Harbor, Ramsay, due to his outstanding performance, was sent to Winterfell by Marco for study.
He didn't expect this kid to graduate so quickly. He didn't know how much he had learned. The "Red King" family had a long history, just like the Stark Family, and this might also carry some magical power.
Just now, Marco and the others hadn't been paying attention to the situation here. It wasn't until Ramsay had won the battle that they reacted. After seeing what happened, the three of them stood up and applauded Ramsay.
After Ramsay bowed to Marco, he used his spear to pick up the "Crown of Love and Beauty" and walked towards Sansa Stark. Sansa looked at him with a complex expression and gently took the spear and the crown.
Ramsay then made a very polite bow, looking like a graceful gentleman. However, his naturally villainous face was truly off-putting. It was estimated that except for his "Doghouse Girl," few people would genuinely like him.
Although the Stark Family and the Bolton Family both served Marco, this didn't mean they had let go of their grudges. In fact, these things were all deliberately orchestrated by Brynden Rivers (Bloodraven). Of course, Marco's indulgence was also a factor.
Brynden Rivers (Bloodraven) fostered three forces in The North and the Vale simultaneously. In The North, it was the Starks, Boltons, and Wildlings; in the Vale, it was the Royces, Graffsons, and Mountain Clans.
This placement of enemies and common enemies ensured that these factions would be unable to unite for a very long time, making it difficult for them to cause any significant trouble to Marco's fledgling Valyrian Empire.
Aegon looked at Ramsay with a complex expression after seeing the situation. He knew what this guy was thinking. Although he was still the former Jon Snow, his thoughts and ideals had begun to gradually change after he possessed a dragon and learned his true identity.
Aegon would not hand his sister over to a former enemy, but he couldn't find anyone in the Seven Kingdoms who was worthy of her.
Brynden couldn't let go of his beloved, and Marco had too many wives. For some reason, Aegon suddenly thought of a certain Dwarf.
After the jousting tournament, Marco personally awarded the prizes to the champions of the jousting and archery competitions. He presented two magic weapons he had crafted: a longsword and a bow. After upgrading the Mysterious Foundry, Marco's abilities had improved greatly.
These two items could now be considered heirlooms. Dragonsteel weapons were no longer just on par with Valyrian Steel; they had surpassed it.
Harlan Hunter of Longbow Hall was the champion of the archery competition. He was a young man of about sixteen with black curly hair. He was short, seemed a bit shy, and was incredibly muscular, brimming with explosive power.
There were rumors that he had poisoned his father and was planning to poison his two older brothers. This had led to a fierce conflict within the Hunter Family of Longbow Hall, nearly resulting in a fight.
The matter had caused quite a stir some time ago. Later, Marco discovered through investigation that "Littlefinger" had deliberately spread these rumors to incite infighting within their Hunter Family.
"Littlefinger" had always been like this, stirring up trouble and inciting those he couldn't control to kill each other, thereby achieving his desired goals.
If Marco hadn't appeared, few of the old nobles in the Vale would have escaped his clutches. With his wealth and influence, he was truly formidable at reading people's minds and sowing discord.
In the end, Marco personally intervened to mediate the family's internal strife. Fortunately, they had already reduced their forces beforehand; otherwise, it would have likely been a bloody internal conflict.
At the time, the "Wolf Fang" members, upon discovering the situation, immediately relayed the order to the garrison at Longbow Hall and the Gods' Hall. System soldiers quickly joined forces with the Gods' Hall to surround Longbow Hall and ordered the city guard soldiers to maintain order.
After Marco arrived, he used his magic control skills to find the traitor butler who had lost contact and learned the truth about the old Earl's death, which also led the three Hunter Family brothers to resolve their past grievances.
After the tournament, a unique grand banquet was held here, of course, this banquet was only for the upper class to attend.
However, to show his willingness to celebrate with the people, Marco specifically opened up two activity venues near Ironoak City, allowing the residents to arrange to participate in the celebration activities there.
Tonight's banquet was a buffet, with four rows of various delicacies arranged in the middle of the hall. This was also a way for Marco to demonstrate his egalitarian approach.
During the banquet, immediately after Marco finished speaking with Aegon, Ramsay and Harlan Hunter came over to him together. Harlan Hunter was the youngest in his family and had no inheritance rights. He always wanted to achieve great things, which was somewhat similar to Ramsay.
Under Domeric's education, Ramsay's personality and behavior had been corrected quite a bit, not being cultivated into a pervert like in his previous life by Roose Bolton. Both of them were arrogant and talented, and they became friends over time.
In fact, they both wanted to join Marco's army. Marco's four generals were all his direct subordinates brought from Skagos Island. Many people knew that as long as they entered their ranks, they could get closer to Marco's power center.
Many insightful people had already seen that the true core of the future Valyrian Empire was the army. This could be seen from Marco's arrangement of rotating troops stationed in various places. It was these armies that would truly help Marco rule in the future.
Therefore, starting from The North, the major nobles had been trying to find ways to insert people into Marco's army. But after a long time, they discovered that Marco's direct troops were truly like gods descending to the mortal world.
As long as they agreed to pledge loyalty to Marco, they would be infused with "divine power" and become very excellent soldiers. After a while, many people with ulterior motives gave up.
However, there were still many scions of noble families who stayed, becoming mid-level officers in Marco's army. Most of these people were illegitimate children, adopted sons, or second sons. These people all had a desire to prove themselves, so they were especially diligent in the army.
Moreover, once they become System Soldiers, their thoughts and ideas will be influenced by the system, turning them into loyal warriors for Marco. Coupled with the enhancement of morale skills, their loyalty can be said to have reached its peak.
Marco had always known about the requests of Ramsay and the others, but this time, Marco didn't choose to transform them into System Soldiers. Instead, he turned his attention to some interesting things he had newly discovered.
Marco's system market truly had everything. Two days ago, idly checking the situation in Winterfell and Griffin's Roost through the Recruitment Skill, he surprisingly found two special unit summoning scrolls in the market.
One was a summoning scroll for the "Crimson Crusaders", which could transform civilians into Crimson Crusaders. This was a hybrid unit combining Zealots and Crusaders, capable of autonomously using the magic "Wrathful Power" and possessing the "First Strike" characteristic.
The other one was even more impressive: the "Arcane Archer" from the seventh generation, possessing the "no archer penalty" characteristic of crossbowmen. Most importantly, they could use "Burst Arrows" three times a day, with power comparable to a beginner's "Magic Arrow".
These two newly appeared units couldn't be summoned through the castle system. They could only be trained directly by elite soldiers, and there was a chance of them appearing. The conversion rate for System Soldiers was 10%.
Therefore, Marco materialized these two scrolls from his hands and, while bluffing to Ramsay and the others, told them that these were scrolls from the Valyrian era, capable of instantly granting them immense power.
Out of their reverence for Marco's mysterious power, they both didn't hesitate and directly acted as Marco's "guinea pigs." So, Marco didn't avoid it and used the scrolls on the two of them in the hall.
After the transformation, the two of them couldn't wait to rush to the Gods' Hall and quickly tested their abilities. Then, they knelt before Marco, expressing their loyalty and gratitude.
Following that, Marco assigned Ramsay Snow a position as a centurion, based on his previous merits.