Game of Thrones: The Bronze and Fire Lord.

Chapter 228 I, the Black-Hearted Capitalist, Meng

"It's that hammer."

The leaves are very dry.

The Children of the Forest possess a unique skill called the Hammer of the Sea.

It possesses the terrifying power to manipulate water elements and shatter a continent.

After the appearance of the Flame Hammer, she, who was south of the Neck Marsh, keenly sensed a similar aura.

The Hammer of Flame is very similar to the Hammer of Seawater.

The difference lies in the fact that one has a carrier and requires fire magic to activate, while the other is a forbidden spell used by the children of the forest, which mobilizes the water element.

Children of the Forest are clearly grass-type, naturally repelling fire elements.

They discovered the dangerous artifact, the Flame Hammer, and followed its scent to the valley to search for it.

They happened to have their eyes on Aemon, the wielder of the Flame Hammer.

"Your hammer is dangerous. This time, the fire magic was insufficient, and it only cracked a mountain. Next time, when the fire magic is fully accumulated, its destructive power will not be weaker than the Hammer of the Sea."

Ye Zi gave a serious warning.

The Children of the Forest used the Hammer of the Sea twice in history.

It shattered the Arm of Dorne, creating the Stone Steps Archipelago.

A tsunami triggered the flooding of the original Jingze, transforming it from a forest landscape into a swamp.

However, these two uses not only failed to help the Children of the Forest, but instead caused them to suffer even more casualties.

Therefore, the ancestors of the clan issued a clear warning.

The approximate translation is:
The Hammer of the Sea is against the natural order, so we have all been driven to settle in the borderlands. From now on, this forbidden spell is no longer allowed to be used.

"You have a very keen sense of smell."

Aemon chuckled, thinking that his guess was pretty much right.

It was indeed summoned by the Flame Hammer.

They then inquired about the other party's knowledge of the Bronze Sacred Tree.

Ye Zi said she didn't recognize it, but there were abstract paintings of the bronze sacred tree in the murals of the tribe.

The gist is that the Bronze Tree belongs to the pre-Heroic Age, in the ancient times before Westeros had any humans.

At that time, the continent of Westeros was shared by giants and the Children of the Forest.

The seeds of the Bronze Tree appeared once and were revered by giants as if they were gods.

This sparked a great war between giants and the children of the forest.

The Child of the Forest won, and the seed disappeared.

This incident became one of the countless clashes between the giants and the children of the forest over the years.

Later, for some unknown reason...

The giants' intelligence dwindled, transforming them from a superhuman race no less than the Children of the Forest into a bunch of big, dumb idiots.

Even their once-proud height has been shrinking with each generation.

The earliest giants averaged seven or eight meters tall, with the tallest exceeding ten meters.

The tallest giant Ye Zi has ever seen in the borderlands is no more than four meters tall, making him a dwarf among giants.

"Because you destroyed the seeds of the Bronze Sacred Tree?"

Imon narrowed his eyes slightly.

"No, you're talking nonsense!"

Ye Zi was very excited, jumping around like a squirrel.

The world is full of mysteries that no race can fathom.

Over the long years, these children of the forest have also lost many of their abilities.

Just like the old Sea Hammer, now even the Green Prophets are rare among the Children of the Forest, making it impossible to gather a large number of Green Prophets to use forbidden spells together.

"Magic Tide?"

Imon secretly grumbled to himself.

Magic clearly exists in this world, and the level of magical skill is quite high.

The clues can be seen from the dragons and the children of the forest.

The destructive power is already quite terrifying.

But this kind of magic, which is commonplace, has become extremely rare.

The Blood Dragon Dance was one of the main factors contributing to the extinction of dragons.

But an even more important factor is that the magical tide is receding.

Young dragons hatched at the end of the Blood Dragon Frenzy experience a significant drop in all their talent levels.

There were instances of infant mortality and deformities.

Until the intact dragon eggs turned into stone eggs, never to hatch another dragon.

The dragon was declared extinct.

Imon lowered his eyelids, concealing the glint in his eyes.

If the end of the Blood Dragon Dance corresponds to the ebb of the Magic Tide, then the thirty years before the Blood Dragon Dance can be called the last gasp of the Magic Tide.

A large number of dragon eggs hatched, and many outstanding young dragons emerged.

Typical examples include Syracuse, the Kagero siblings, Sea Smoke, and Tercelion from the fourth generation of dragons...

Gray Shadow doesn't count; he's a slacker.

Among the five generations of dragons, the hatching rate is even more frighteningly high.

The Syracuse dragon alone laid several clutches of dragon eggs, which hatched as Rhaenyra's child was born.

Even the younger Terserion laid at least one clutch of dragon eggs after reaching adulthood, hatching a young dragon named Mogul.

That's how she got the title "Blue Queen".

It is evident that the period from the eldest uncle's ascension to the end of the Blood Dragon Frenzy was a time of great dragon revelry.

Targaryen's elation turned to sorrow, as he unleashed a large number of dragons into internal strife.

The age of dragons has ended.

If history continues unchanged, it will be more than two hundred years later that a red comet, symbolizing the rising tide of magic, will streak across the sky.

Daenerys Targaryen, the "Mother of Dragons," hatched three young dragons in the Red Wasteland, and the dragons briefly reappeared on the stage of history.

Whether they can ultimately reproduce remains to be seen.

"Tsk, the pressure is suddenly a bit overwhelming."

Imon rubbed his temples to clear his head.

He just wants to figure out one thing right now.

As everyone knows: Dragons = Fire Magic

Does a greater number of dragons mean more magic remains after the magic tide recedes?

If he stops the Blood Dragon's rampage and, on top of what already exists, hatches even more dragons.

By maintaining a certain "fault tolerance" in the base number of magic spells, can we guarantee that dragons won't die for no reason if they don't fight amongst themselves?

Or what if the dragon egg hatches deformed, or even fails to hatch at all?
This is a very important issue.

A dragon is about two hundred years old, and if it is kept in good condition, it may live even longer.

Take Arax, the youngest member of the family, as an example.

It doesn't die in an accident and can live peacefully until the arrival of the red comet.

In this way, the ebb tide of the magical tide has passed.

Thinking of this, Imont asked Ye Zi.

Ye Zi looked bewildered and said in a daze, "The magic I can sense is very active, especially the fire magic. The natural magic of the Children of the Forest is being suppressed."

Very well, she doesn't understand what magical tides are.

They understand nothing about economics.

"Since you can't help, let's settle the score."

Aemon straightened up and placed his hand on the hilt of Lady Empty's sword.

The first thing after asking the question.

Forget your roots!!
"What accounts are you talking about!?"

Ye Zi's pupils contracted, and she instinctively leaned back, baring her teeth in a menacing manner while reaching her paws into the bag at her waist.

Swish!
Amon swung his sword, catching her completely off guard.

The strap of the handbag was cut off, and it fell straight down.

With a flick of the tip of Imon's sword, it landed lightly in his hand.

"give me back!"

Ye Zi shouted and lunged forward.

"Behave yourself, you squirrel man."

With one hand, Eamon easily pressed down on her forehead, while with the other he opened her patched-up handbag and rummaged through it.

A few wild berries, an ear of corn grown in the valley, a specimen book sewn together with green leaves and hemp fibers...

He was so poor that he was urinating blood.

"I feel a little sorry for you."

Imon shook his head as he watched.

Turning the bag over to the bottom, I pulled out a pumpkin the size of a baby's fist?
"Wait, what is this thing?"

Eamon's expression changed as he sensed a magical aura emanating from the lush green pumpkin.

A timely notification sound came from the panel:

"An item containing natural magic has been discovered. Should we extract its magic?"

Imon agreed without hesitation.

"Drawing mana, gaining mana essence +3, +3..."

There were five small green pumpkins scattered around, which provided His Highness with 15 points of magic essence.

"Give it back to me, give it back to me."

Leaf waved its claws, its mentality collapsing at one point.

"Here you go." After drawing his magic, Imon tossed her the tattered handbag.

It's obviously something she picked up from who-knows-where, and she uses it like a precious treasure.

Ye Zi hugged the bag tightly to her chest and pulled out a small green pumpkin with her paw.

Randomly, even the light brown faces turned a few shades whiter.

"It's unusable!"

The leaf paused, then continued to examine the other small green pumpkins.

That was a weapon created by the Children of the Forest using magic. When activated and thrown, it could produce a certain degree of explosion.

Now they're all invalid.

The leaf lowered its head, witnessing once again the cruelty of the human world.

The first time was when Aemon threw his Fiery Hammer and smashed it against Lonely Mountain in a fit of rage.

She had nowhere to hide and almost fell into the lava.

Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?

Aemon rested his hands on his sword, a smile on his face.

Ye Zi raised her head and bared her teeth fiercely.

The Children of the Forest are humanoid beings, fundamentally different from humans.

For example, their hands only have three fingers, and their thumbs are shaped like claws.

Living in the wild, they naturally possess a wildness within them.

Swish!
Aemon hoisted Lady of the Empty City onto her neck, his smile vanishing: "If you don't behave, I'll ride a dragon to the borderlands and burn your Children of the Forest's lair to the ground with a single burst of dragonfire."

The leaves froze instantly.

But he quickly reacted angrily, saying, "You can't find our place. You're a cunning human, trying to deceive me."

They all live beyond the Great Wall.

The world is vast, and no one can find them.

"You want to give it a try?"

With an air of certainty, Imon said calmly, "The land beyond the Great Wall is covered in snow, and there are very few places where one can survive."

This is a lie!

First, the Great Wall is protected by magic, so dragons will not easily cross it.

Secondly, he wasn't confident he could find a group of squirrel-men hiding in the shadows.

However, he acted convincingly, as if he really wanted to find it and would definitely find it.

The inexperienced Ye Zi was deeply shocked. After calming down, she timidly said, "I apologize to you. I shouldn't have spied on you and used mental magic on you."

"sorry."

As she spoke, Ye Zi slowly squatted down...

He braced himself on the ground with one hand and offered the worn-out shoulder bag with the other.

Children of the Forest retain the habits of wild beasts.

Squatting down on all fours and offering up something precious signifies submission.

"I don't like your stuff."

Imon refused without hesitation, his expression so cold it was like ice crystals.

"Besides the knowledge in my head, I have nothing to give you in return."

Ye Zi thought for a moment, then quickly said, "The knowledge in my head belongs to the children of the forest, and I can't give it back to you."

Being extremely stingy is an example of this.

"If you have nothing to compensate, then stay and work for me to pay off your debts."

A sly glint appeared in Imon's eyes.

"work to earn a living?"

Leaf froze; the word didn't exist in the mind of the Child of the Forest.

"Your little pumpkin is nice. Make it and give it back to me."

Imon was straightforward.

"no!"

Ye Zi was very excited and said, "Fireflies are difficult to make, and only those who have mastered natural magic can use them."

"Say it again."

Amon's eyes turned cold.

The leaves calmed down and wilted: "How many do you want?"

"Then we'll have to settle the score properly."

Aemon put away Lady Void and began to calculate, "To capture you, I used the invaluable Flame Hammer. The magic power consumed by that treasure each time it is used is simply a bottomless pit."

Ye Zi's heart skipped a beat after hearing this.

She in front couldn't understand, but the bottomless pit did.

"For example."

Aemon said in a serious tone, "Your little pumpkin costs three gold dragons, while my Flame Hammer costs ten thousand gold dragons per use."

He paused, then asked in detail, "How long does it take you to make a small pumpkin?"

"Three days."

The leaves were filled with fear.

"The efficiency is terrible!"

Aemon gave him a cold look: "Aren't you the Green Prophet? Why can't you make three a day? Have you even been training properly?"

Ye Zi's eyes welled up with tears after what she was told.

"Forget it. I won't bother with you."

Imon waved his hand and continued calculating: "One small pumpkin is worth three golden dragons, one hundred pumpkins are worth three hundred golden dragons, and one thousand pumpkins are worth three thousand golden dragons."

"And so on, the 3,334 dragons are worth more than 10,000 gold dragons."

"I feel sorry for you, so I'll give you three thousand to be worth ten thousand gold dragons. If it's not enough, I'll wipe it off for you."

As they talked, they gave him a look that said, "I'm doing this for your own good, and you're getting a great deal."

"Really?"

Ye Zi counted on her six fingers, but she couldn't possibly count them all.

"of course."

Imon patted his chest and assured him.

One firefly can draw 3 points of magic essence, and 3,000 fireflies equal 9000 points of magic essence.

The Flame Hammer cost a little over eight thousand, but he still made a profit of over nine hundred.

But so what?
His Highness the Prince did not hold her accountable for the spying and the psychological impact, even though she almost killed her father.

She should be extremely grateful and thank her properly.

"Thank you."

Ye Zi bowed sincerely.

"You're welcome."

Aemon smiled slightly, a smile as beautiful as his conscience.

"But I still need to travel, and it will take many years to make three thousand fireflies."

"Leaf said weakly."

Aemon did a quick mental calculation and realized that it would take 24 years and six months to repay the debt, so he generously said, "You can stay in the valley, pay off your debt, and then I'll give you some travel funds."

After struggling for a while, Ye Zi finally gave in and said, "Fine."

Children of the Forest, along with giants and dragons, are long-lived species, with lifespans often starting at a hundred years.

Working for over twenty years to pay off debts is not unacceptable.

In some worlds, people don't live past a hundred, yet they still accumulate decades of mortgage and car loan debt at a young age...

"Let me make this clear from the start: without my permission, you are not allowed to approach Lonely Mountain again."

Having become a creditor, Aemon immediately put on a show of rudeness: "Especially this dragon's nest, you are absolutely not allowed to enter."

The bronze sacred tree is one of the most precious of his many secrets.

The inherently evil child of the forest is forbidden to approach the Bronze Sacred Tree.

Ye Zi took out a firefly, rubbed it as she said, "I understand, I will find a place to stay in the wild."

She looks so pitiful.

Aemon wasn't a bad person, and said, "I can find you a place to stay for the long term."

"No, the children of the forest do not live in human stone houses."

The leaves gently shook their heads.

Eamon sneered, "Do you know Green Ridge? There's a century-old tree there. I'll build you a treehouse in it."

Green Ridge is a quarry located in a river valley.

It was once an outpost for the Royce family.

Before the Age of Heroes, they belonged to the children of the forest who had not yet been driven away by the First Men.

"Good good!"

Ye Zi, well-versed in history, nodded with bright, sparkling eyes.

This can be considered a return to our ancestral homeland.

"You stay here for now, I'll come find you later."

After agreeing to the terms, Imon got up and left.

The Child of the Forest hasn't appeared in public for many years, so let's not frighten Uncle and the others.

Moreover, he did not want the Children of the Forest to approach his Valley City.

After settling the chaotic dragons and resolving the grudges and entanglements with Damon and his uncle, they can then exploit this squirrel-man.

(End of this chapter)