"Your Majesty, you seem very happy?"
It was a rather peculiar breakfast, and Lord Wyman Manderly couldn't help but look up again, his gaze strangely fixed on the King seated at the head of the table.
After enduring for a long time, Lord Wyman gritted his teeth and couldn't resist asking the curiosity in his heart.
From early morning when his butler invited the King to dine until now, with breakfast almost over, the smile on His Majesty's lips had never faded.
The butler had also told him that the King had been like this since he saw him in the morning.
This was completely inconsistent with the furious killing god from yesterday.
If yesterday's King was a bursting fire, then today he was a warm, gently flowing hot spring.
The same person, yet completely different, like heaven and earth.
Hearing Lord Wyman's words, Karl smiled, put down his knife and fork, and then put his hands back under the table.
"Yes, the weather is nice today."
Karl said, reaching out to rub the head of a large, golden-furred dog beneath him.
In response to his soothing touch, the large dog, burying its head in its food at his feet, let out comfortable grunts, its large tail wagging noisily.
Hearing this, Lord Wyman Manderly couldn't help but feel slightly startled, unconsciously turning his head to look out the window, his expression peculiar.
As winter drew closer, the weather in the North had been getting increasingly severe recently.
For example, the weather yesterday was decent, but from the latter half of last night, freezing rain had begun to fall over White Harbor.
According to the guards' report, the pile of heads on the dock yesterday had frozen over with a thin layer of ice.
As for the King's nonsensical words, Lord Wyman Manderly was also very sensible and did not expose them, instead his gaze involuntarily fell back on the large dog beneath Karl.
It was a dog whose back, even on all fours, reached almost to a person's waist.
Its large head was bigger than the pot used for stewing soup in the kitchen, and its thick paws could probably pin down a black bear with one swipe.
If it weren't for it panting with its tongue out and wanting to lick people in a very friendly manner when it saw them,
Lord Wyman would have thought it was a forest tiger the King had captured from somewhere.
According to the news from the butler, when King Karl came out of his room early in the morning, this large dog was already by his side.
No one knew where it came from, but everyone could see that the King was very fond of it.
It could be said that anyone with eyes in the entire New Castle could see that the King's happiness was directly related to this mysteriously appearing dog.
Does the King really like dogs?
People wondered, and the maidservants quietly discussed it in the kitchen.
"Hmm—, Your Majesty, does it have a name?"
Lord Wyman Manderly, being tactful, didn't dwell on how exactly the King thought the weather was good, but instead asked what the name of this large dog, which had already devoured an entire sheep from his kitchen, was.
A dragon, and a dog.
Both were big eaters.
Hearing this, it was Karl's turn to be a little stunned; he couldn't remember what this dog was called.
So he instinctively pulled up his game panel and switched to the [Team] section.
Besides his own character portrait and status attributes, there was also a dog icon below, looking exactly like the golden-furred dog at his feet.
Karl looked at the name displayed there—gougoJJ.
"———, its name is J."
"JJ?"
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"Of course not, Your Majesty, what a good name!"
Lord Wyman Manderly's polite praise diffused the slight awkwardness.
Karl thought he was a good person, and his raised eyebrows lowered.
As for the dog's name, well, sorry, when he bought this dog from the pet shop, he just casually typed two letters for its name. Should he tell Wyman that?
As for how JJ came from the game world to here, that's a story, and not a long one.
In short, after a… cough, several friendly exchanges with Erevi at the Dreadfort, he told Erevi about his current world.
Dimensional travel, for gods and mages, is no secret; it's a simple, common occurrence.
However, after Karl hinted at certain things, Erevi, who had initially been indifferent and uninterested, suddenly developed a subtle interest in what Karl was saying.
A crack had opened, which made Karl very happy.
If Karl remembered correctly, before the version update, all these characters were rigid NPCs. Although they still were, after the update,
there seemed to be some subtle differences.
In short, Erevi agreed to his "date."
So, to celebrate this happy and celebratory moment, Karl, during a moment of clarity, suddenly remembered that the mistress of the Dreadfort liked perfume.
Giving a woman a gift and fulfilling some "small" requests usually simplifies otherwise complex problems.
But now, if he wanted to make perfume, he lacked the necessary materials.
First, there were the bat glands, followed by those magical plant extracts.
Bat glands were simple; just go into a bat cave, and the Bat King would be happy to provide some insignificant help.
As for lotus essence or night essence, both of these had to be purchased at Greyport.
In this port city, near a tavern called the Wet Maiden, there was a mysterious shop run by a woman from the East who worshipped the same god as Erevi.
Here, one could buy many magical items: regular magic potions, and storage chests made with ancient technology that could connect to each other and had vast internal spaces.
Even souls.
Souls simply contained in glass bottles. Of course, the most important thing Karl needed to buy was for making that magical perfume with special effects.
Thinking he needed to give the witch a gift to please her, Karl immediately stopped lingering in bed. Early in the morning, he went to the bat cave to request some bat glands, then traveled to Greyport via a Waystone.
Then he discovered a dog he had tied up by the Waystone.
He had forgotten about this pet he bought from a merchant who was both a pet store owner and a slave trader. He used to keep it by his side while leveling up, but then he tied it up here at some point and forgot about it.
Due to the game's development, there weren't many quests in Greyport. The most important quest involved the mother of the guardian elf of the sacred spring, who was also Karl's mother-in-law.
An elegant female elf with beautiful silver hair, still full of charm.
Hmm~.
Yes.
Exactly as you imagined.
So Karl hadn't been here for a long time.
Fortunately, although creatures in this world eat, they never experience hunger, and dog JJ was lively and energetic, wagging its tail happily and barking when it saw Karl.
Then Karl casually untied its leash, brought it back to his side, and added it to his party.
Then, when Karl finished all his tasks, made and delivered the perfume, and concluded another battle with the Dark Elf Witch, he lay in bed, saved his game, and exited this world.
When he reopened his eyes and returned to the real world, he suddenly realized that the dog, which he had accidentally forgotten again, had also followed him into reality.
Seeing this, Karl immediately understood what was happening.
An uncontrollable surge of ecstasy instantly filled his heart.
After excitedly rubbing the dog's head for a while, Karl calmed down to think.
First, it seemed there was a glimmer of hope for how to bring characters from the game world into this world, a method he had long sought without success.
He had never imagined that this seemingly dispensable party function in his game was actually the real way to bring creatures across.
Because in the game, this function was indeed dispensable, essentially existing only to serve the plot.
Moreover, during plot progression, even if he teamed up with others, he could only follow the story and couldn't go anywhere else.
And then, most importantly, it wasn't that Karl hadn't thought about whether the party function could allow him to bring people out of the game world.
Because he had tried, and it didn't work.
The process was still like completing a quest; even if he saved and left the game world during a quest, he would still be alone.
And after completing the plot, he had no way to team up with others again.
So Karl later forgot about this matter, or rather, passed on it.
But he never expected that by accidentally bringing the dog with him last night, when he returned to the real world, dog JJ had actually followed him.
"Flowers planted with care may not bloom, but willows casually inserted may grow into shade."
"Mountains and rivers block the way, seeming to have no path, but then willows and flowers appear, leading to another village."
At this moment, Karl's mood could only be described by these two poems, highlighting the humor of the situation.
"What's the reason?"
While rubbing the dog's head, Karl began to analyze the core factors for this success.
"Is it freedom?"
"Or, does the team need to be initiated by me, and the other party must also agree? Or does the other party subjectively wish to follow?"
"The dog certainly meets all these criteria."
"If my guess is correct, then I must try again, and in the game world, besides the dog, there is one other person—no, I should say a succubus—whom I can actively invite to join my team."
Just as Karl was pondering what exactly needed to be done to meet all the conditions, Lord Wyman Manderly's butler came to invite the King to dine.
After exchanging slightly awkward smiles, the people at the table settled down to eat again.
However, just as Karl finished his meal and picked up a silk coin to wipe his mouth, Karl suddenly spoke, "Lord, I heard you requested aid from the armies of the Vale, is that right?"
Karl looked up at Wyman Manderly, as if asking casually.
Seeing the King finish his meal, Wyman Manderly and his family also concluded theirs at the appropriate time, stopping their actions.
"Yes, Your Majesty, the Knights of the Vale are the closest reinforcements."
Wyman Manderly had no shame about this. There were other lords who could provide support, but none of them were strong enough to be of much use, so it was better to directly ask the Knights of the Vale for help and solve the problem once and for all.
"According to their reply, they are approximately two days' journey from us. Do you think I should reply to Lord Yohn Royce of Runestone, who is leading them?"
"Our request for aid caused them to deviate from the King's Road. Returning to the King's Road would allow them to reach Winterfell faster to support the war there."
Wyman Manderly was well aware of the current situation in the North. Since White Harbor was resolved, the remaining matters would be easy to handle.
Facing a massive army and the King's dragon, he couldn't imagine Balon Greyjoy having any room left to struggle.
Therefore, he believed that the situation at Winterfell was more important now.
However, regarding Lord Wyman's suggestion, Karl merely pursed his lips, his hand unconsciously stroking JJ's head.
"Yohn Royce is personally leading them—," Karl thought seriously for a moment, then suddenly paused slightly, as if he had thought of something.
"No, you don't need to reply. I will go directly later."
Saying this, Karl didn't linger, standing up directly and striding out of the Merman's Palace.
Noticing Karl's movement, the large dog JJ, still gobbling on the ground, swallowed the last bite of sheep's brain and quickly got up to follow.
Facing the King's sudden action, the Manderly family was momentarily stunned. Then Lord Merman quickly rose and chased after him, "Your Majesty, are you leaving now?"
"Won't you rest a bit longer? I have already gathered the army of White Harbor, and we will soon sail to Winterfell. Although I am too fat to ride a horse, my two sons will express the loyalty of House Manderly to the House Stark on my behalf."
Wyman Manderly thought he had been a poor host and quickly explained.
Karl, who had already decided to leave, paused at his words.
"You gathered the army of White Harbor?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"That's good," Karl nodded, "A contingent of Vale cavalry will arrive in White Harbor later. You will lead the way; I need you to capture the Dreadfort of House House Bolton for me."
Karl's tone was completely devoid of emotion, as if he were merely discussing how the bacon from earlier was perfectly crispy, and the honey-soaked bread was very sweet.
But it was precisely these words, like thunder in the calm, that instantly stunned everyone from House Manderly.
"Your Majesty, you, you want to attack the Dreadfort?"
"Why?"
Although he didn't want to ask, Wyman Manderly had to.
At such a critical moment, the King suddenly declared war on an important noble house in the North without any warning.
And this noble house had done nothing.
To his question, Karl merely smiled faintly, "Because I had already warned Robb Stark before he was captured by Balon Greyjoy, and if it's just dealing with a rebel army formed by southerners, I can't think of any reason why Robb Stark would fail."
"If it were you, Lord, where do you think the problem would lie?"
"House Karstark? Or House House Bolton?"
Previously, Karl had not considered the issue of Roose Bolton either.
After all, no matter what, Roose Bolton would never betray.
Lord Leech was not a fool, nor was he someone who acted on emotion.
Unless he saw the North collapsing and House House Bolton having the ability to take over, he would absolutely be the most loyal person to Stark rule.
In the original work, he was cold, cunning, calculating, and very shrewd, knowing exactly what he was doing.
Coupled with his direct, overwhelming move of sending the Vale army to stabilize the situation for the North's stability, Karl didn't think anything would go wrong in the North with his arrangements.
And this also led him not to think too much, even neglecting the North, and instead focusing entirely on preparing for future matters.
It wasn't until just now that Karl suddenly realized he seemed to have fallen into a small cognitive bias.
Sometimes, standing on a certain side doesn't necessarily mean openly declaring it. A seemingly loyal subject by your side might not actually be loyal.
What fundamentally drives people's actions, in the end, is self-interest.
And if the downfall of House Umber, the heavy damage to House Karstark, and further setbacks for the Warden of the North, the House Stark, would benefit someone.
Considering the problem from the perspective of the beneficiaries instantly cleared Karl's mind.
And most importantly, he didn't need proof, nor did he need a reason.
Winter is coming, and thoroughly cleaning up the North would be entirely beneficial for what he was about to do.
Conveniently, he now had a very good excuse.
Facing the King's speculation, Wyman Manderly's already somewhat tense face gradually changed.
Wyman Manderly was usually amiable and had a booming laugh.
It was precisely because of these qualities that his subjects playfully called him "Lord Merman."
However, even though Wyman Manderly might appear foolish due to his size and build, it didn't prevent him from actually being very shrewd.
Karl only hinted, and he immediately understood the crux of the problem.
"Your Majesty, I will personally lead the army!"
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