On the training grounds, Shanks and a soldier nad Buggy faced one another with wooden swords in hand.
Both n carefully observed the other, searching for weaknesses.
However, Buggy's temperant was far more impatient, and before long, he lost his composure and charged forward with a swing of his sword.
Seeing this, Shanks imdiately stepped forward to parry.
The two exchanged blows for more than ten rounds before the outco was finally decided.
In the end, Shanks proved superior and knocked Buggy to the ground.
"First squad, Shanks wins!"
After helping Buggy back to his feet, Garon loudly announced once again,
"Second squad, begin!"
Jon Snow stepped forward to face a soldier around thirty years old who was missing a finger on his right hand.
The two fought fiercely for dozens of exchanges before Jon finally gained the upper hand and secured victory.
"Second squad, Jon Snow wins!"
"Next, the third squad begins."
…
Garon spent the entire afternoon selecting leaders for all sixty squads.
As dusk approached, he gathered everyone together once more to make his announcent.
"I will give all of you ten days to integrate with your squads."
"From today onward, each squad will alternate between five days of duty and five days of free training."
"In ten days, we will begin the selection of hundred-man captains, and the assessnt will be based on overall squad capability."
"Does anyone have objections?"
Silence filled the training ground.
After the afternoon's competition, the veteran soldiers had discovered that only five of their own had managed to win.
Every other squad leader position had been taken by mbers of the Steel Fist Group.
The excitent and confidence they possessed at noon had long since disappeared.
Seeing the veterans' morale sink visibly, Garon silently thought to himself,
"These n suffered too great a blow during today's selection."
"If they refuse to cooperate with the new captains, then the squads will still remain a chaotic ss."
"I need to restore their fighting spirit."
His eyes swept across the field before a thought suddenly ca to mind.
Garon clapped his hands sharply, drawing everyone's attention back toward him.
He then walked directly toward a soldier around twenty years old who had recently been eliminated.
"Do you have any objections to today's selection?"
The young soldier shook his head dejectedly without speaking.
"If you have no objections, then why do you look so dispirited?"
"Do you think that because you lost today, you will never receive another opportunity?"
The soldier lowered his head, not daring to et Garon's gaze.
"My lord… I just feel that opportunities like this may never co again."
"And perhaps my future will remain exactly the sa as it is now…"
Before he could finish speaking, Garon interrupted him in a firm and serious tone.
"Young n like you lose heart the mont you encounter a setback. How can you possibly accomplish anything great in the future?"
"You must rember that today's result belongs only to today. It does not decide your future."
Garon paused before sweeping his gaze across the crowd.
"When war cos, there will be countless opportunities for all of you to beco captains of ten-man squads or even hundred-man companies."
"I can even promise all of you right here and now."
"As long as you earn sufficient military rit, I will raise you into my landed retainers and subordinate nobles!"
Boom
The entire training ground erupted instantly.
Everyone stared at Garon in disbelief as excitent surged through their hearts like wildfire.
"Lord Garon, are you serious?!"
"Of course."
Whoosh
The veterans instantly beca excited once again.
Unable to suppress their emotions any longer, they began shouting loudly.
"We swear to serve Lord Garon until death!"
Garon smiled faintly.
Only after the cheers echoed several more tis did he finally announce the dismissal of the gathering.
As he watched the soldiers gradually leave the training field, he noticed several injured n limping away and turned toward Robert beside him.
"Uncle Robert, have the kitchens prepare more at tonight."
"And…"
After hesitating briefly, he continued,
"Bring two barrels of ale up from the cellar as well. Starting today, everyone can have a little to drink."
Robert nodded in agreent before suddenly asking curiously,
"Garon, where exactly did you learn these training thods?"
"Galbart certainly never taught such things."
Garon's heart skipped slightly, but he quickly smiled calmly.
"I rely pieced things together from books. I'm not even certain whether they'll truly be useful."
Walking beside him, Robert sighed emotionally.
"Using your thods, many of these soldiers may actually survive future battlefields."
"If Galbart could see this, he would certainly feel proud."
Garon also sighed softly at the ntion of his father.
Seeing this, Robert reached over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Alright, I'll head to the kitchens first and inform Big Ron."
"Garon, you should return to the inner keep."
Garon nodded and watched Robert leave.
He himself slowly walked toward the Hall of a Thousand Beasts.
At dinner, Robert vividly recounted everything that had happened on the training grounds that afternoon to Gavin and little Anya.
The two children beca extrely excited while listening.
Gavin even clung to Garon and begged to join the Steel Fist Group imdiately.
Looking at the six-year-old boy, Garon could neither laugh nor cry.
"Wait until you're older first."
He rubbed Gavin's head and encouraged him gently.
"I'll have soone begin teaching you basic swordsmanship."
"When you're older, you can train together with Laurence."
Gavin imdiately nodded obediently.
Seeing Garon encouraging Gavin in such a way put Sybell into an excellent mood, and she specifically allowed Garon an additional cup of wine during dinner.
After the al ended, Garon followed his usual routine by visiting the godswood to pray before returning to his bedroom to bathe and rest.
As he gradually sank into deep sleep, his consciousness awakened once more.
His skinchanger ability had activated again.
By now, Garon had already beco accustod to wandering through the heart trees.
As usual, he drifted among the heart trees throughout the Wolfswood, occasionally listening to the prayers of the various clans.
Soon afterward, Garon arrived at Winterfell.
Because it was already late into the night, Winterfell's godswood was completely empty.
Finding nothing particularly interesting, Garon prepared to leave.
But at that very mont, the sound of flapping wings suddenly echoed through the godswood.
A raven descended from the darkness and landed nearby.
"The Three-Eyed Raven?"
Garon recognized it instantly.
It was precisely the strange raven he had encountered previously.
"What is it doing here?"
Curiosity imdiately surged within him, and he instinctively attempted to listen to the raven's thoughts.
However, as his consciousness focused upon the branch of the heart tree, instead of hearing thoughts, he suddenly felt an inexplicable pull.
"Hm?"
"What is this?"
Curious, Garon allowed his consciousness to touch that strange connection.
The next mont—
His perspective abruptly shifted.
He found himself floating in the sky.
"Where is this?"
The mont the question appeared in his mind, he saw a ten-year-old boy plumting rapidly downward through the sky ahead of him while a raven flew alongside him.
"Whoa!"
"I'm falling!"
The boy shouted desperately toward the raven beside him.
"Quickly, think of sothing!"
"There is a way," the raven replied while descending beside him.
"You must learn to fly."
"I can't fly! I can't, I can't…"
"How do you know unless you try?"
The raven and the boy continued conversing while Garon's consciousness hovered silently above them.
Yet neither the boy nor the raven noticed his existence at all, as though Garon were nothing more than part of the surrounding scenery.
Looking at the falling child before him, Garon softly muttered,
"Bran…"
"So this is Bran's dream."
"I can actually use the Three-Eyed Raven's thod to enter Bran's dream?"
In that instant, understanding dawned upon him.
This was yet another ability granted by the heart trees.
He could touch the magic of a greenseer.
"The power of the greenseers originates from the old gods and the heart trees."
"And I can directly possess the heart trees."
"Doesn't that an my authority surpasses theirs?"
Excitent surged through Garon's consciousness.
At that mont, the Three-Eyed Raven suddenly cried out to Bran,
"Look down!"
"I'm scared…"
Before Bran could finish speaking, the raven repeated,
"You must learn to fly. Look down!"
Bran instinctively lowered his gaze.
Instantly, he felt as though his entire body had lted away while the ground rushed upward toward him.
Below him stretched the whole world like a vivid painted tapestry.
Everything appeared incomparably clear.
Bran forgot his fear entirely.
Like an eagle soaring above the sky, he looked down upon Winterfell from above.
Everything within Winterfell beca exposed before Bran's eyes.
At that exact mont, Garon suddenly noticed Roger's figure within Winterfell and instantly rembered the letter he had ordered Roger to deliver.
"No."
"This absolutely cannot be discovered by Bran or the Three-Eyed Raven."
His consciousness imdiately beca active as he attempted to manipulate the heart tree to conceal Roger's presence.
The instant Garon ford that thought, Roger's figure vanished completely from Bran's dreamscape.
Neither Bran nor the Three-Eyed Raven noticed anything unusual.
"As expected…"
"My authority over the heart trees truly surpasses that of the greenseers."
Garon smiled triumphantly within his consciousness.
This ant he no longer needed to fear the Three-Eyed Raven secretly spying upon him in the future.
anwhile, Bran continued looking across Winterfell.
He saw Sansa within her chambers carefully sewing a cloak from bearskin.
He saw Robb discussing Winterfell's expenditures with Maester Luwin.
Then Bran looked eastward.
A sailboat was cutting through the waters of the White Knife while his mother stood aboard beside Ser Rodrik, staring silently into the distance.
Afterward, Bran looked south.
The blue-green waters of the Trident roared endlessly as his father rode sorrowfully beside King Robert.
Arya was chasing Nyria through the woods while Rickon cried helplessly as Shaggydog was restrained by the terrifying Hound.
Then Bran lifted his eyes farther still.
Across the Narrow Sea, a silver-haired girl lay entwined with a powerful Dothraki khal upon the grasslands.
He looked northward toward the Wall.
There, a dwarf stood Beyond the Wall urinating into the wilderness.
Finally, Bran looked westward.
He saw his bastard brother Jon happily drinking and boasting alongside the young n of Deepwood Motte, fully integrated among them.
And nearby, Garon, victor of the trial by combat, slept deeply within his chambers.
"Now you understand, don't you?"
The raven landed upon Bran's shoulder while gazing toward the sleeping Garon.
"Now you understand why you must survive."
"Why?"
Bran asked in confusion while still falling endlessly through the sky.
"Because winter is coming."
"Because you are destined to help him beco the new hope of this world."
"Bran Stark."
Bran looked bewildered.
Only then did he notice the third eye upon the raven.
"What should I do?"
"Now…"
"You must fly."
The raven spread its wings and cawed loudly at him.
Whoosh
The surrounding mist suddenly trembled and spun violently like a curtain being pulled aside.
A black-haired maid appeared before Bran's eyes, staring at him in shock.
Then her sharp scream rang out across the room.
"Master Bran has awakened!"
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