Spellcasting Gods

“You’ve been sitting here waiting for me?” James raised his hand to signal the soldiers to put away their hostility, and walked over alone.

Zhang Cheng nodded slightly: "That's right! I've been waiting for you for about two hours."

"What if I don't come?" James asked tentatively, adopting a nonchalant attitude.

"Heh, if you don't come, then I'll go find someone else. Like the Starks, Baratheons, Tyrells. Anyway, chaos will descend upon this land soon, and with my abilities, I can achieve my goals no matter which side I join." Zhang Cheng closed the book and shrugged indifferently.

Although his original plan was to use the Lannister family's power to gain power and status with minimal disruption to the existing storyline, he wouldn't mind finding another party if he couldn't communicate with them.

In any case, judging from the plot, whether it's the Starks, Baratheons, or Tyrells, they all have a chance to sit on the Iron Throne.

As for Nellys Targaryen, who was far away on the other side of the ocean, she was not even in his consideration.

The reason is simple: "Mother of Dragons" is, strictly speaking, a thorough idealist. Anyone with a little experience knows that the more idealistic a person is, the more difficult they are to get along with.

Zhang Cheng didn't want to stay with a woman who was both self-righteous and lacked experience and skill in ruling. Otherwise, no matter how beautiful she was, he would kill her within a few days.

James frowned instinctively and asked in a somewhat uncertain tone, "The chaos you're talking about, you don't mean war, do you?"

"What else could it be but war? Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, just a few hours ago I received some interesting news. Your brother Tyrion Lannister was kidnapped by Catelyn Tully, the wife of the new Hand of the King, on his way back to King's Landing. He's probably almost at the Eyrie by now. Just imagine, how will your father, Lord Tywin, react if something happens to him?" Zhang Cheng deliberately revealed Tyrion's whereabouts.

Judging by the timing, the news would reach King's Landing shortly after the martial arts tournament ended. He had simply moved the time forward a little, which shouldn't cause too much disruption to the plot, while also gaining the trust of the "Kingslayer".

"My brother has been kidnapped?! Are you sure?!" James's expression changed drastically.

Zhang Cheng answered without hesitation, "That's right! I swear on my honor that this news is absolutely true. You can go back and verify it for yourself."

"Damn it!" James cursed under his breath, then glared at me and demanded, "Tell me! What's your purpose in asking me out? It can't just be something as simple as revealing a piece of information, can it?"

“Of course not! I hope you can convey a message to Duke Tywin: if he needs help, he can send someone to me at any time. As long as there is sufficient reward, I am willing to eliminate any dangerous enemy for him.”

After saying this, Zhang Cheng ignored James and the surrounding soldiers, walking straight through the city gate and disappearing at the end of the street...

Chapter 0109 Dragon Egg

As the sun completely dipped below the horizon, the bustling city of King's Landing finally welcomed a relatively quiet night.

Except for a very few special service venues that operate overnight, most shops closed down. Only squads of soldiers patrolled the streets to deter criminals who liked to steal under the cover of darkness.

Of course, this is just a facade. For habitual offenders, the guards who keep going back and forth along the fixed route pose no threat at all. They can easily avoid them after observing for a while.

As a well-known "master thief," Kermit had memorized every patrol route and time of the "Golden Robes" so well that he didn't have to worry about being caught even with his eyes closed.

But today, he was unusually nervous, clutching the leather pouch tightly to his chest with both hands, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, and he would immediately hide in fright at the slightest disturbance.

Because the bag contained nothing but a priceless dragon egg, which he had just stolen from an overseas merchant. He planned to sell it for a good price and then retire from the business.

After all, being a thief is not a safe profession. If you fail even once, you will be caught. At best, you will have your hands chopped off; at worst, you will be beheaded and displayed to the public.

Carefully navigating the deserted alley, Kermit quickly slipped into a dilapidated and dirty old house.

The room was pitch black due to the dim lighting, and nothing could be seen clearly.

He drew the dagger he carried and asked in a low voice, "Is anyone there? I've brought what you wanted."

"Take the things out of your bag and put them on the table!" A figure suddenly appeared in the darkness, making the request in a slightly hoarse voice.

"No, no, no, buddy, that's not how you do business. Show me the money first, or you can forget about seeing the goods." Kermit shook his head frantically, trying to bargain.

He wasn't an idiot; he stayed close to the windows and doors, ready to flee with the dragon egg the moment he sensed something was wrong.

The shadowy figure hesitated for a moment, then immediately threw out the heavy bag it was carrying.

Whoosh!

A golden light instantly appeared.

Golden Dragon!

A whole bag containing hundreds of golden dragons!

Although Kermit had stolen quite a few valuable things, he had never seen so many golden dragons piled together.

Just as the petty thief instinctively reached for the money pouch, a sharp longsword was pressed against his throat. The cold touch made him shiver. He quickly opened the leather pouch he was holding and took out a gold and silver egg with spiral patterns, placing it on the table.

"Look, here's what you wanted. Take it now, and we're even."

"Wait a minute! How do I know if this egg is real?" The shadowy figure didn't withdraw his longsword; instead, he moved the tip forward and continued to question him.

"Come on! I'm just a thief. Stealing is my specialty, but determining authenticity is clearly beyond my scope of business," Kermit complained with a helpless expression.

Just as the shadowy figure was about to say something, a flash of silver light suddenly illuminated the darkness!

Before Kermit could even react to what had happened, his head was completely separated from his neck, and bright red blood gushed out like a fountain. Finally, the headless corpse fell to the ground with a thud, dead beyond any doubt.

"Sir! What is this...?" The shadowy figure finally emerged from the darkness, revealing Blanco's aged face.

"Ah, don't worry, I've already confirmed that the dragon egg is real. This little thief is useless now, so I'm getting rid of him to avoid future trouble." Zhang Cheng wiped the blood off his sword while picking up the dragon egg, feeling the surging life force contained within.

It must be said that although the dragons in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire have neither magic nor much supernatural power, and their only assets are their sturdy scales, sharp claws, and fire breath, they possess extremely high adaptability.

At least in Zhang Cheng's eyes, all he needed to do was make some modifications to the dragon egg, and he could obtain a magical dragon that could manipulate arcane energy.

"So what do we do next?" the old mercenary asked, picking up the money bag full of golden dragons.

Clearly, he was no stranger to the idea of ​​killing to cover up a crime, and he never showed any aversion to it. He even took the initiative to help clean up the scene.

Zhang Cheng glanced at the petty thief on the ground and replied with a smile, "It's simple. I'll burn this house down and cover everything with flames, while you take the money and recruit a group of mercenaries for me. Remember, I only want disciplined and capable men. If anyone dares to disobey my orders in battle or turns to run away, I will execute him without hesitation, understand?"

"Understood! Please leave it to me!" Blanco nodded, picked up the money bag, and disappeared into the vast night.

Not long after he left, the towering flames illuminated the entire "flea nest".

In an instant, everyone who was able to move rushed to join the firefighting efforts, carrying buckets and basins; otherwise, if the fire had spread, everyone would have been in danger.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhang Cheng returned to his residence without hindrance, locked himself in his room, and began preparing to modify the dragon egg.

As the story unfolds, Daenerys, far away on the other side of the ocean, is about to acquire her three dragons, which means that the mysterious energy will soon begin to return.

Filled with anticipation, he took out three bottles of well water and poured them all into the copper basin where the dragon egg was located.

In just a few seconds, the patterns on the surface of the dragon egg began to flicker, as if it were desperately resisting the invasion of arcane energy.

Unfortunately, its power was too weak. After struggling for about five minutes, it gave up resisting and allowed the arcane energy to flow into it continuously.

Eventually, the original gold and silver shell slowly transformed into a violet color, symbolizing arcane power, and began to emanate unusual energy fluctuations from within.

Zhang Cheng realized the time was right, so he immediately cut his finger with a knife, letting the blood drip onto the surface of the dragon egg, while chanting a broken incantation in a low voice to guide the entire ritual.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe a few minutes, maybe a few hours...

In short, the moment he completed the last step, he felt as if all the magic power in his body was instantly drained, and even a portion of his life force was taken away. He only managed to stay upright by holding onto the wall.

Unsurprisingly, a conspicuous symbol was printed on the surface of the dragon egg.

Through this symbol, Zhang Cheng closely linked his spirit with the unhatched dragon egg.

Although the dragon egg has not yet developed its own consciousness, once the hatchling emerges, he will be able to firmly control it. Unless one of them dies, the dragon will never be able to break free from the bondage of the contract.

In fact, many powerful forces on the continent of Azeroth had long since researched methods to control and enslave dragons, giants, and colossal elemental beings. Dalaran, as a magical kingdom, was no exception; it was just that the archmages of the Kirin Tor Council had not put their research findings into practice.

Chapter 0110 Marriage Alliance

Gazing at the dragon egg, Zhang Cheng pulled himself into a chair, took a small bottle of well water from his potion pouch, and slowly absorbed the pure arcane energy to replenish his mana. He muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "Now that the modification is complete, how can I get you to hatch? If I remember correctly, Nylis Targaryen seems to have used blood sacrifice and fire. Of course, it's also possible that she just happened to catch the cyclical return of the mysterious energy. Perhaps in a few days, I can try..."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a sudden, urgent knocking on the door behind him, followed by Blanco's voice coming through the crack in the door: "Sir! Something terrible has happened!"

"Oh? What happened?" Zhang Cheng grabbed a piece of cloth, covered the dragon egg with it, stood up, and opened the door.

The old mercenary stood excitedly at the door, explaining in a low voice, "It's Jaime Lannister! Just a few hours ago, he led his men to attack the Hand of the King, Eddard Stark, and has already escaped King's Landing."

"Heh, it seems he's verified the information I revealed. Now, all we have to do is wait for Robert to breathe his last, and no one can stop the chaos and war from descending. By the way, how's the mercenary recruitment going?" Zhang Cheng asked, stroking his chin.

“I have already recruited sixty skilled men! Within a month at most, I can assemble an army of three to four hundred for you. However, I must warn you that the cost of supporting them will not be low. Moreover, mercenaries are not knights; they have no loyalty whatsoever. They will only serve wealthy employers,” Blanco warned seriously.

Zhang Cheng shrugged dismissively: "Don't worry, it won't be long before Duke Tywin will foot the bill for this army. Now go and get some rest; I have an even more important task for you to handle later."

"As you wish." Blanco bowed and turned to walk towards his room.

He had a premonition that his ambition to serve his master was probably not just about acquiring a wealthy territory...

Time flies, and a few hours passed in the blink of an eye.

As the sun rises once again from the sea, the turbulent city of King's Landing welcomes a new day.

Perhaps to cover up the kingdom's fragmented state, or perhaps simply to save face, Robert the Cuckold not only did not end the tournament early, but also brought his "adopted son" and the Queen to the scene, as if nothing had happened.

However, judging from the chill in Cersei Lannister's eyes, her patience has probably reached its limit, and she's about to make her move against her rightful husband.

"Good morning, Sir Mason," Loras greeted as he ran over before the match began, as always.

"Good morning, Sir Loras," Zhang Cheng replied politely.

Although he had always disliked this "showy" pretty boy from the bottom of his heart, he couldn't show it too obviously, since the other party still had a lot of value to him.

Oblivious to his own shortcomings, Loras maintained what he considered a charming smile, flattering him with a slightly exaggerated tone: "Your performance yesterday was absolutely stunning! I swear, I've never seen anyone's swordsmanship so deadly and so beautiful in my life. The Mountain didn't even have a chance against you..."

“Excuse me, Sir, I’m a straightforward person, so please just say what you have to say.” Zhang Cheng really didn’t want to hear those cheesy and disgusting compliments, so he interrupted the other person.

As a pragmatist, he simply couldn't understand how empty a person's heart had to be to enjoy living in deception and lies.

“Alright, then I’ll get straight to the point. Are you engaged?” Loras asked tentatively, his beautiful golden eyes gleaming.

Zhang Cheng instantly realized what the other person meant and immediately shook his head in response, "No!"

“That would be wonderful! May I have the honor of introducing you to my cousin?” Loras said, turning around and glancing at the girl standing not far away.

She had long, flowing golden hair, delicate and charming features, and wore a light-colored, tight-fitting long dress that perfectly showcased her youthful and alluring figure.

It must be said that even the most discerning person would find it difficult to find any obvious flaws in her.

"How old is your cousin?" Zhang Cheng asked, somewhat uncertainly.

It's important to know that white people typically reach maturity earlier. Generally speaking, they may look seventeen or eighteen years old, but they may actually only be twelve or thirteen.

The famous Daenerys Targaryen was only thirteen years old when she married Khal Drogo.

"Don't worry, Elo is fourteen years old and has already started menstruating. She is perfectly capable of bearing you children. In addition, as long as you agree to this marriage, the Tyrell family is willing to offer fifty thousand gold dragons and one of the richest territories in the Reach as a dowry."

After stating his terms, Loras kept quiet and patiently awaited a reply.

He believed that no one in the world could resist the double temptation of wealth and beauty, and he certainly didn't believe anyone would dare refuse a marriage alliance with the Tyrell family.

Zhang Cheng squinted, quickly recalling the aristocratic network he had been cramming on over the past few days, and soon figured out who Elo Tyrell was.