Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 195: Ringol's Expedition (XVII) Betrayal
Leaving Harrenhal and heading north, crossing the Trident, you will reach the fork in the King's Road. After crossing the river, it branches out to the Bloody Gate, which is also the most important road in and out of the valley. The other main road goes all the way north, through the wet and muddy Neck, all the way to Winterfell.

While Ringol and the others were still watching the fight, no one noticed that the downed "Hyena" Kane quietly left the arena.

"Hyena, let me go, I was wrong!" Old James looked at the "Hyena" Kane who suddenly appeared in front of him in horror. "How could you, I clearly..."

"You ran away a long time ago, didn't you?" Cain casually turned his sword. "It's a pity that even if you took the fool's purse, you didn't catch the boat to cross the river." He glanced at Old James' waist: "You should have seen what was in the purse."

"You" Old James' heart was trembling now. He certainly knew what was in the purse. It was not money at all, but half a bag of stones. "You are not a hyena, who are you?"

"Do you know who that black-haired, green-eyed guy we're following is?"

Kane Mudd did not answer James' question, but drew the long sword from his waist. The long sword gently tapped the old knight's face. The old knight was a little confused, but more of a fear filled his heart. This was completely different from the Kane Mudd he knew.

He should have realized it.

"He's a prince and has nothing to do with us." Old James also hardened up at this time. He was just curious about who this person was. He could have hidden it from the eyes of an old hedge knight. You know, when that kid Albin was born, he and Kane Mudd were already partners. They were only apart during the Dance with the Dragons. "Who are you?"

"I'm a hyena." Kane smiled, "I'm Kane Mudd." He stepped on old James' chest, and his long sword moved horizontally, slowly moving to the old knight's throat. "So, aren't you curious about who that kid is?"

"Seven levels of hell!" Old James wanted to spit at the man viciously, but in the end he found that he couldn't spit at all: "Who he is has nothing to do with us? You can't be a hyena."

Kane Mulder shrugged indifferently. "At least I am Kane Mulder now, that's enough. Old Scar, do you want to live? Or rather, do you want to live as a lord, not a Heshan, or a wandering knight sleeping by the hedge?"

Kane Mudd retracted his sword and his foot, and old James immediately got up from the ground. He looked at his fallen warhorse with some lingering fear.

His only warhorse had passed away. Kane Mudd had killed his warhorse in a way that he could never have imagined.

He didn't even see how Kane made the move.

"What do you mean?" To be honest, James was indeed moved. Becoming a lord was his lifelong dream. He worked hard just to have a piece of land to live on, and preferably a castle.

"No hurry." Kane didn't answer his question directly. "Are you afraid of dragons?"

James was a little confused. What did this have to do with what they were discussing now? But he nodded obediently, indicating that he was indeed afraid of dragons.

"No wonder. After all, you witnessed the Battle of Red Fork River. Let's put it this way. That kid is the son of Prince Longzel Vareses, the master of Bronze Fury."

"Impossible!" Old James almost jumped up. How could that black-haired boy be the son of Prince Dragonzel Vareses? He was the almighty Dragon King, a god with silver hair and purple eyes. How could he give birth to a son with black hair and blue eyes? "Isn't he the illegitimate son of the Tully family?"

"Shh~" Kane quietly made a gesture to shut up. "It's simple, because you and I will die later." He said calmly.

Old James was even more confused. The mysterious guy who had just promised to give him land was now saying that they would all die.

How do the dead get land?

"James Hill and Kane Mudd will both die." Kane said, "and you will go to the South with a new identity and a new face to obtain a piece of land if you cooperate with us."

"You want to kill someone?" James immediately pointed at himself: "You mean us? Impossible, impossible, you have also seen that person." He thought about how to address Ringol, and finally accepted Kane's statement: "Prince, knowing his martial arts, ten, no, twenty of me are no match for him."

"Did I ever say I wanted to kill someone?" Kane smiled and patted the old knight's wrinkled face again: "He is my lord, how could I possibly kill him."

"Why are you telling me all this?" James was suddenly horrified. As an experienced old hedge knight, he knew very well that the more you know, the faster you die.

"Because Jaime Hill is going to die." Kane shook his head: "The interior of Westeros is too safe. His Royal Highness can't find a suitable opportunity to teach His Royal Highness Ringol a real lesson, so I can only find you."

"What about Albin?" Although James had an indescribable feeling when he heard the information that he was going to die, he still accepted it. Although he was left with a deep psychological trauma by Longzel, it was strange that he became one of the large group of people who admired Longzel after the Dance of the Blood Dragons, so he subconsciously still believed Kane's promise.

Prince Longzel's people would never lie to me.

"Albin? He's too young. A child who grew up in summer and peace can't possibly do what His Highness requires." Kane shook his head. "And that child is very important. My Mudd is a fake. As the ancient king family of the King of Rivers and Hills, the Mudd family has been completely destroyed. But the blood flowing in that child's veins is the blood of another river king."

Kane Mudd's mouth curled up into a strange arc: "When His Highness Ringol goes to the North, his blood will help His Highness."

"What you mean is..." James' hands trembled a little. He always felt that he had heard too many things that he shouldn't have heard.

"Albin Riverman, his real name is Albin Fairman." Kane Mudd said with a smile, "His childhood was not as he remembered. His father was a descendant of a former branch of the Fairman family. After the demise of the Fairman Dynasty, their family had long since become commoners and no longer had any status or anything else. But there is no doubt that his bloodline can be traced back to Benedict Fairman. If we only talk about bloodline, his bloodline is purer than that of Lucifer Fairman four hundred years ago."

Kane added, in a voice that only he could hear: "The blood of the kings of the First Men."

"Oh yes, I forgot that you really shouldn't know so much. Don't worry, when you wake up with a new identity and inherit the land promised by the prince, you won't remember these things."

"Do I still have a chance to refuse?"

Kane shook his head: "Unfortunately, no."

James gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. Tell me, where is the land you promised me?"

"A small castle in Dunstonbury." Kane did not hide his price: "I will compensate you with a warhorse now. After you die, someone will send your territory a sum of gold royals sufficient to sustain your life. When you wake up, you will be a vassal of Earl Luca Strong."

Kane smiled and looked at the old knight in front of him: "Don't worry, don't worry, the castle has three villages and four mills under its jurisdiction, it is spacious enough."

The price instantly impressed James.

Isn't it just dying once? With Kane's guarantee, old James believed that he could fulfill his long-cherished wish.

"My lord, is there anything I need to do?" "We need someone to lead the way to the Neck." Cain said calmly, "The wildlings in the Vale have been killed miserably recently. Lord Joffrey Arryn has summoned an army to wipe out the wildlings in the Mountains of the Moon. This time, Lord Joffrey has taken ruthless action. He even sought help from Lord Joffrey Velaryon. These wildlings are having a hard time under the attacks of the iron cans and dragon flames, so some of them have fled to the Neck, and the people of the Vale are no pushovers either."

He looked at the old knight with a smile: "Do you understand what I mean?"

James understood what Kane meant instantly, but he couldn't help but shudder in his heart. The reason was simple. He had done something similar with the real Kane before. They had secretly colluded with the bandit knights in the West, led the caravan into an encirclement, and then killed people and robbed them, dividing the money, but they rarely did this.

It's not worth it after all.

This also illustrates one thing, that this fake Kane actually knows so many things.

Who is he?
“You don’t have to wonder who someone is.”

"Kane Mudd" suddenly grinned, his head gradually tilted down, his facial features gradually melted like mud, drops of flesh-colored liquid flowed on his face where no trace could be seen, but they could never fall down. His two eyeballs had no support and slid directly out of their eye sockets, with something bloody behind them.

“Someone can be anyone.”

The melting face suddenly shrank back as if a piece of mud was pinched, and the flesh-colored liquid flowed freely on the face, sometimes it was Albin, sometimes it was Reagon, sometimes it was Alarion, sometimes it was Jaime himself, sometimes it was a handsome young man, and finally it returned to Kane Mudd's face.

"You, you are..." The old knight immediately understood the identity of the fake Cain. As an old mercenary knight who had traveled all over the country for many years, Old James was familiar with the songs sung by various bards and legends from all over the place. Naturally, he learned from those big-mouthed guys about this organization that they could not afford to offend.

The Faceless One.

"So, don't say more, don't ask more, just go back." Kane said with a smile: "Lead the way for His Highness Lingol, I will cooperate with you."

"Yes Yes."

Old James didn't know whether to be scared or excited.

He could only pack up his clothes and ride the horse Kane brought.

Only Regen noticed that Jaime was missing, but when he saw old Jaime coming back exhausted with wine, he didn't ask any more questions. After all, they were just temporary companions, albeit loyal and dedicated.

But apart from that silly boy Albin, to be honest, Regen didn't really trust Kane and James.

As for Lingol, he didn't care whether these people were trustworthy or not. The only thing he cared about was whether these people could fulfill his requirements.

Kane and James can do a good job as guides, and he is never stingy with rewards. Although Albin is a bit impulsive, as is typical for young people, he has been a wandering knight for many years, so he actually does a lot of things quite well.

Merits will be rewarded.

There must be punishment for any offense.

This is Ringol's principle.

The tourney at Harrenhal came to a quick conclusion.

Ringol and his companions also set out on their journey again.

Just as they had been trekking for almost half a month, they arrived at the end of the King's Road at the Trident Plain.

Distant old town.

This once second largest city in Westeros has become dilapidated. Although it is no longer as clean and prosperous as it used to be, it is still the most important port in the Reach because of its special location at the mouth of the Mead River. Unfortunately, the royal stewards sent here by Jacaerys and Daemon were all trash and blood-sucking parasites. They enjoyed bribes from merchants and pirates, but did not run the city carefully.

So now the old town has become a paradise for merchants to engage in smuggling.

A merchant ship slowly left the port, loaded with grain, luxury goods, and wine produced in abundance in the River Bay, as well as several people.

A few guys with silver hair and purple eyes.

"Are you sure there is a Targaryen with dragons living on that island?"

An older, silver-haired man nodded, "I guarantee that there is a Targaryen stripped of his identity living on that island. Regardless, he has dragon blood flowing through his veins."

"And he has a dragon, although the dragon is not with him." A well-dressed guy said slowly.

"There is a green dragon in the dragon cave in King's Landing, which was hatched from his dragon egg, but the Targaryen of King's Landing denied his right to inherit the dragon."

"So why are we going there now?" The silver-haired young man with the highest status asked in confusion, "To provoke the silver dragon that's so close? If we're going for blood, then the people on this ship should be our daughters or sisters, not us men. If we're going for the dragon, what's so great about a guy without a dragon?"

"It's worth our while to win him over, and it's worth our while to tell him his story, sir."

A Targaryen without dragons is nothing, but a Targaryen who knows he deserves dragons is of immeasurable value.

This is the purpose of their trip to Gray Island.

"Sir, if he has ambitions, we will help him. Aren't the girls we brought enough? If he has no ambitions, we can also complete our plan." The silver-haired man said coldly.

"For the dragon's blood."

There will be another chapter later, I'm too busy posting three times this week.

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(End of this chapter)