Spellcasting Gods

Many people who are unaware of the facts believe that buildings with political significance and iconic status should be located in the very center of the city.

The truth is quite the opposite. The Red Keep is not in the center of King's Landing. Instead, it is built in an inconspicuous corner. To be precise, it cannot even be considered in the city. Instead, it stands alone on a cliff next to the moat, closely connected to the majestic city walls.

Standing at the highest point of the Red Castle, one can overlook the harbor below, as well as the densely packed residential areas, markets, and squares within the city. In particular, the busy commoners, who seem like ants, often bring the castle's owner an unparalleled sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

It is said that after its completion, the Targaryen family slaughtered all the workers and stonemasons involved in its construction and shooting to ensure that its internal secrets would not be known to the outside world. Now, no one knows what is hidden in the intricate underground passages.

At that moment, Zhang Cheng stood on the balcony of the king's bedroom, looking down at this backward city that blended medieval and Renaissance styles, and asked without turning his head, "Your Majesty, you just said you had a gift for me?"

"Hahaha! That's right! But this gift is a little special; I didn't put it in my room. Please wait a moment, I'll have someone bring it up right away." With that, Joffrey winked at the guard standing at the door.

Without saying a word, the latter immediately turned around and left the room. About seven or eight minutes later, he dragged a little guy who was less than 1.3 meters tall, with dark chestnut skin and big ears, back in.

Although it emitted an unpleasant odor due to its long-term imprisonment in the dungeon, its golden eyes and eerie three fingers proved that it was not a human being in the ordinary sense.

"Oh? A living child of the forest?! Your gift is quite a surprise." Zhang Cheng recognized the other's race almost instantly, his eyes revealing a chilling desire to study it.

Without a doubt, a living child of the forest could help him solve countless questions and problems.

For example, what exactly are the White Walkers, and what are the principles behind their frost magic?

For example, what are the shapeshifting and mind control spells used by the Children of the Forest?

It's important to understand that in the entire world of A Song of Ice and Fire, there are only two truly magical civilizations. One of them is the Valyrian civilization. He has already acquired the relevant knowledge and principles, and what he needs to do next is to slowly learn and understand until he can digest what belongs to him.

As for the other one, it is naturally the peculiar civilization created by the children of the forest.

Perhaps the magical systems these small people mastered were not as destructive and catastrophic as those of the Valyrians, but they were more flexible and versatile, bearing a striking resemblance to the druids of Azeroth.

Zhang Cheng wanted to take this opportunity to uncover the mysteries of energy attributes.

According to the definition given by the magical kingdom of Dalaran, based on the form of energy existence and its unique characteristics, it can be mainly divided into the following types: pure and flawless positive energy, also known as holy energy; natural energy emitted by life itself; arcane energy with variability and powerful plasticity; shadow energy from distorted spacetime; negative energy born from pain and death, also known as death energy; and the last type is the terrifying fel energy used by the dark titan Sargeras and his Burning Legion.

Clearly, in Azeroth, these energies are not necessarily connected to each other, and apart from a lucky few, most spellcasters who accept one type of energy are never able to accept the second type for the rest of their lives.

In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, this understanding of the boundaries between different energies is completely shattered.

The Valyrians, with the knowledge they gained from the dragons and the energy from the crimson comet, created unique fire magic. The Children of the Forest, with the same energy, created nature magic similar to that of the Druids. The White Walkers of the North used frost magic that outsiders could not understand. The Rhoynar, who once posed a great threat to Valyria, developed water magic capable of withstanding dragonfire.

Zhang Cheng wanted to figure out whether the energy in the two worlds was fundamentally different, or whether the mages of Dalaran were limited by their fixed mindset and failed to realize that there was actually a hidden way of transforming energy into other energy.

If he can discover this transformation method, not only will his strength be greatly enhanced, but he will also come into contact with some more fundamental aspects of magic.

Joffrey, completely unaware of the other's fervent thirst for knowledge and power, pointed to the Child of the Forest lying on the ground and said, "I'm glad you like this little gift. You know, I lost six well-trained hounds and fourteen battle-hardened guards to catch it. Please be careful, it can transform into ferocious beasts such as wolves, bears, and tigers, and can also control vines and other plants to trip its opponents."

"Hehe, don't worry. His meager magic is utterly useless against me." Zhang Cheng said as he approached the captured Child of the Forest, smiling as he asked, "Tell me your name, little guy. I think you have a name, right?"

"Deadwood, my name is Deadwood..." The Child of the Forest gave the answer in a way that resembled singing.

His voice was so pleasant that a single sentence brought joy and happiness to everyone in the room.

Zhang Cheng nodded slightly: "Alright, Kumu. Tell me, why were you captured, and what about your people?"

The self-proclaimed Child of the Forest, known as the Deadwood, first glanced down at the chains on his hands with disgust, then looked at the smug Joffrey, before finally speaking slowly: "My people are all dead. I am the last survivor of my kind. The reason I appear in your human world is to deliver a warning according to an ancient covenant. Enemies from the frigid north have returned, and soon they will bring despair and death to this world, along with the harsh winter."

Without a doubt, the enemy he was referring to was the White Walkers beyond the Wall.

"How did you know?" Zhang Cheng asked, staring intently into the other person's eyes.

"A dream, I foresaw everything in a dream. Let me go, human, I need to pass this terrible news on to more people." Kumu clearly had no experience in dealing with people, and he didn't understand how miserable his future would be.

Chapter 0191 Malicious Instruction

Gazing into the Forest Child's pure, unadulterated eyes, Zhang Cheng chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, little one, I'm afraid I can't grant your request. You are simply too precious. Whether it's the knowledge in your mind or the magical abilities you possess, they are all of great research value to me. Simply put, from now on, you are my captive and the object of my research and study."

"Greed, desire, ambition... Human, I sense naked and undisguised malice from you. Whatever you want from me, I guarantee I will not let you have it." The withered tree raised its head and responded in a tone devoid of any emotion.

Clearly, he did not understand the true meaning of "learning" and "research".

"Haha! Don't be so sure. Believe me, you have no right to refuse in this matter. Alright, let's end our conversation here. You need to get a good night's sleep to prepare for the painful and desperate experiments to come." With that, Zhang Cheng pulled a bottle of liquid that shimmered with a purplish-red light from his waist pouch and forcibly forced the other man's mouth open, pouring it down his throat.

Despite the Forest Child's desperate resistance, as the liquid flowed down his throat into his digestive system, he fell into a dazed state within a minute or two, finally closing his eyes completely and collapsing to the ground with a thud, emitting a soft snore.

Joffrey nudged the little guy on the head and asked with interest, "What did you give it to drink?"

"It's nothing, just an inconspicuous sleeping pill. Anyone who drinks a little can completely forget their troubles and enter the sweetest dreamland. Moreover, in the dream, the user will quickly recover their physical strength and energy, and when they wake up again, they will even feel like they have been reborn." Zhang Cheng explained as he released Kumu from the steel shackles.

He could clearly sense that, for some unknown reason, the iron artifacts were continuously weakening the Forest Child's magical abilities and vitality.

No wonder our ancestors were able to fight the powerful children of the forest with their simple weapons and armor. It turns out that the children of the forest had a fatal weakness: they were afraid of iron objects.

If being bound by iron shackles alone would cause one to lose their abilities, what if they were pierced by a sharp sword?

The answer is obvious: the chances of survival are extremely slim.

Furthermore, the children of the forest do not reproduce in the same way as humans, whose numbers doubling as long as large-scale wars and plagues do not occur.

In essence, they are closer to intelligent life forms like tree people who evolved from plants than animals. Therefore, they cannot compare with humans in terms of either fertility rate or growth rate. In the end, they gradually became the losers in this cruel competition and were forced to withdraw from the stage of history.

Zhang Cheng sometimes finds it hard to understand why nature would create such a near-perfect and harmonious race, yet give them a fatal weakness. On the contrary, seemingly mediocre humans are often able to make use of various harsh environments at an extremely fast pace. Even if a devastating disaster occurs in the outside world, they can survive and rebuild civilization with their cockroach-like survival ability.

Just as he was feeling a little sorry for the Children of the Forest heading towards extinction, Joffrey, who could no longer contain his loneliness, stroked his beloved ring and urged impatiently, "Mason, it's yours now. You can take it back and study it slowly later. Now it's time to tell me, what should I do next to make the flames I release more powerful?"

"Don't rush, Your Majesty. You must understand that the most important thing in learning magic is to be patient. Given your understanding of fire magic, I think the next step is not to blindly increase its power, but to figure out the source of your own power," Zhang Cheng replied calmly, standing up with a smile.

He knew very well that the more magical knowledge he taught, the closer the king would be to death.

The reason is simple: the Tyrell family proposed the marriage alliance in order to influence, or even control, the young king through their most proficient means, thereby expanding their power and influence.

According to the original plot, Olenna Redwyn only knew that Joffrey was irritable and cruel, but she decisively decided to poison him and change her marriage partner.

Currently, Joffrey is not only still irritable and cruel, but he also possesses powerful fire magic, making him a huge threat to the Queen of Thorns. She would never waste the effort she put into training Margaery on such a guy.

However, Zhang Cheng did not intend to interfere with the Tyrell family's secret operations. He only intended to use Joffrey to tell everyone that he had enough knowledge and ability to make an ordinary person extraordinary, and enough power to change someone's fate.

Once the fragile balance is broken, everything he has demonstrated will become a valuable political asset, making him a sought-after figure by all sides.

"The source of power?" Joffrey, clearly unaware that he was already halfway to his death, frowned and began to ponder deeply.

“Yes! The source of power. Think about it, why were dragons and magic so popular for a period of time, then slowly disappeared, and only recently have they suddenly sprung up like mushrooms after rain? Is this just a coincidence?” Zhang Cheng did not give a direct answer, but instead raised a series of questions.

"You mean... there's some kind of magical force behind all these incredible things?" Joffrey seemed to realize something, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Zhang Cheng nodded slightly: "Yes! Do you remember that crimson comet that streaked across the sky not long ago?"

Based on my research and observations, all the magic in the world, as well as the mysterious energy that dragons rely on for survival, originates from this.

In other words, when a comet passes through our world, it brings a large amount of magical energy, so its appearance will trigger the flourishing of magic and dragons.

However, as time goes by, the energy permeating the air diminishes, and magic gradually fades from people's sight, becoming a story that only exists in legends.

Many people believe that the appearance of dragons is a sign of the revival of magic, but in fact, the crimson comet is the source of all magical power.

Your Majesty, you are very fortunate to have caught the perfect opportunity to learn magic.

Close your eyes and feel the energy permeating the air. Try to absorb and control it, and you will understand the source of your power.

Once you understand the essence of magic, you will naturally know how to increase the power of fire spells…

Chapter 0192 The Queen of Thorns

Just as Zhang Cheng was using Joffrey as a test subject to experiment on his still-developing theories and various magical techniques with uncertain long-term effects, in another room of the Red Keep, Olenna Redwyn was sitting in a chair, listening to a young maid's report, with Elo and Margaery sitting beside her.

Joffrey will probably never know that the servant who usually made his bed was actually a spy planted by the Tyrell family in the court, responsible for monitoring his every move, especially the part about teaching magic, which he never missed.

After all, a young king who is irritable, easily angered, uncontrollable, and prone to killing to vent his anger is already a headache enough. Now, with the addition of fire magic that can kill at any time, any noble with a brain would be more careful, let alone the cunning and clever "Thorn Queen".

Even Olenna Redwin couldn't understand Zhang Cheng's motives or what he hoped to gain from them. She simply sat silently, waiting for the maid to finish recounting all the details, before finally raising her chin and asking in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Are you sure Joffrey unleashed a more powerful flame?"

“Yes! I saw His Majesty the King melt a steel breastplate into molten iron with his own eyes. Before that, his flames could only turn metal red-hot, not melt it. They also mentioned something about the source of magical power, but I didn’t hear it clearly because of the distance and the low volume of their voices,” the maid replied cautiously.

"Alright, I understand. You may leave now. Remember, keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone, especially about magical knowledge. It must be kept absolutely secret, understand?" Olenna Redwin instructed expressionlessly.

"Please rest assured, after leaving this room, I will forget everything I saw and heard." The maid nodded hurriedly, then got up and quickly disappeared into the dark, narrow passage.

Once she was completely out of sight, Margaret couldn't wait to speak up: "Grandmother, don't you think he's using the King to show us his power?"

"Oh? Why would you think that?" Olena Redwin's wrinkled face broke into a smile.

As an elderly woman who has been immersed in power struggles for decades, she enjoys seeing her granddaughter come to her own conclusions through thinking, no matter how naive or ridiculous those conclusions may be.

“Isn’t it obvious? You and Duke Tywin gave him a hard time at the royal council, and the next thing you know, he started teaching Joffrey even more powerful magic. If this isn’t a demonstration, then what is? Does he really intend to pledge allegiance to our King?” Margaret’s eyes revealed undisguised contempt and disdain for her future husband.

Because there were no outsiders around, she didn't put on her usual gentle, tactful, and friendly mask; instead, she appeared sharp-tongued and mean.

However, considering that the "Queen of Thorns" has a similar personality, it is not surprising that she has the same personality as others, given that she was influenced by her from a young age. At least Elo did not show even the slightest surprise.

Gazing into her beloved granddaughter's captivating eyes, Olenna Redwin suddenly smiled without warning, gently stroking the girl's beautiful face as she laughed: "No, my dear Margaret, although I'm not entirely sure of his intentions, I can assure you it's definitely not as simple as a show of force. Think carefully about what I taught you before: under what circumstances is a show of force typically used? It's an action taken by the relatively weaker party against the stronger party. Do you think Mason is the weaker party right now? Someone who possesses unimaginable magical power and controls a terrifying dragon—can he be weak?"

“You mean… he’s now more powerful than all of us and the Lannisters combined?” Margaery’s mouth gaped open in surprise.

“Of course, child, in a way, he already has the ability to overturn the table. You know, the Targaryen family conquered this continent with just three dragons. Do you think Mason is incapable of doing that? When Tywin learned of the dragon's appearance, his first reaction was to secretly eliminate it to prevent future troubles, but do you know why he didn't take action?” To help her granddaughter understand the current situation, Olenna Redwin asked a series of questions.

Margaery lowered her head and pondered for a moment before quickly replying, "It's fear! Lord Tywin fears the power Mason wields! He fears that if the operation fails, the Lannisters will lose the army necessary to maintain their power, just like Stannis did at the Battle of Blackwater."

Olenna Redwyn nodded slightly. "Yes, child, but that's only half the story. The other half is the worry about Daenerys's threat. You must understand that she is a true descendant of the Mad King, and the last pure-blooded Targaryen. Add to that three dragons that are growing larger every day, and if I were Tywin, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night either. That's why he quickly changed his tune, believing we should use Mason against Daenerys; at least Mason won't seek revenge for the Lannisters' past misdeeds."

"And what about you? What are your plans?" Margaret leaned forward, looking directly into her grandmother's eyes.

She could sense that a huge conspiracy was brewing within her grandmother's frail body.

“Me? Hahahaha! My plan is simple: following the ancient tradition of House Tyrell, if we encounter an enemy we cannot defeat, we offer the most beautiful rose in exchange for their mercy and forgiveness, then merge with them, becoming a part of them.” Olenna Redwyn said, lifting the girl's pointed chin. “And you, my sweetheart, you are now House Tyrell’s most beautiful rose.”

“But…but I’m about to marry Joffrey!” Margaret blinked hard, clearly not understanding the strong implication in her grandmother’s words.

“No, child, let’s not even talk about whether that fool Joffrey will survive until the end of the wedding. Whoever you marry won’t stop you from getting close to Mason and making him madly infatuated with you. Believe me, for men, beauty is often just the first step in arousing their interest. Many times, a unique identity and an unethical affair are the keys to awakening the beast of desire within them. Just think, who can resist conquering a young and beautiful queen, and what man can resist getting the queen pregnant with his child and putting her on the throne?” Olenna Redwin crossed her arms and spoke her plan in an Arctic voice.

Upon hearing this, young Margaret felt her heart pounding. She instinctively gripped the hem of her skirt, turned around, glanced at her younger sister in the distance, and asked, "What about Elo?"

"Elo will be a gentle, considerate, and virtuous wife who never pries into her husband's private affairs. She will cooperate with you to complete the mission of conquering Mason's emotional world..."

Chapter 0193 The Way of Survival

"Life goes on" is an ancient motto of House Tyrell, which also explains the family's way of life.

Unlike the Stark family's unwavering resilience and the Lannister family's arrogance, the Tyrell family has never been known for its military prowess, nor would they fight to the bitter end for the sake of "principles" or "dignity."

To be precise, they have never won a single major victory since records began. The only war that could be considered a victory can be traced back to the time when the Gardeners' family ruled the River Bend.

At that time, Osmond Tyrell united forty houses and finally defeated the House of Baeck and House of Manderley, who were vying for the throne of Highgarden, and installed Mene Gardener VI as king, restoring the broken Reach Kingdom to unity.

It was precisely because of this hard-won victory that the Tyrell family married the youngest daughter of Men Gardener VI, successfully integrating the bloodline of "Bluehand" Garth into their family, thereby gaining so-called "legitimate" inheritance and rule.