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Chapter 271 The Revival of the Dragon Clan
Daenerys's chief strategist and commander-in-chief was murdered. This plunged Daenerys, and indeed all of Astabor, into grief. Of course, some were genuinely grieving, while others feigned sorrow.
Meanwhile, news of Lu Xuan's contributions to the city and to the Dragon Queen began to circulate throughout the city. From the initial Red Wasteland to Qarth, and then to Astapor, it was this unassuming yet extraordinary man who helped Daenerys build her empire. He could even be considered the core pillar of the Dragon Queen's empire. But now, that pillar had crumbled.
Behind this sorrow, rumors began to spread rapidly. In the shadows, some began to disseminate the idea that the Daenerys Empire was about to collapse.
"On this continent, all the slave owners want to kill you. But the assassin's target is me, which is very interesting. The price of a Faceless Man is not low. No matter who it is, if they hire a Faceless Man, they will definitely target their most important target. Therefore, the person behind the scenes ranks me above you in importance. This is quite interesting."
Many people know of Lu Xuan's dominant position within Daenerys's team. However, the vast majority are Daenerys's closest confidants. And even to these people, Daenerys is absolutely the most important person. It's highly unlikely that they would consider Lu Xuan to be the most important.
During his time by Daenerys's side, Lu Xuan consistently avoided any appearance of impropriety. Even with immense power, he never used it for personal matters. He always treated Daenerys with the utmost respect. Even during teaching sessions, he would sometimes beat her severely, leaving her bruised and battered. Yet, this still failed to convince outsiders that he was more important than Daenerys.
Unless someone clearly knows everything Lu Xuan has done, and has even conducted a detailed analysis, realizing that Lu Xuan is the most dangerous character, based on Lu Xuan's understanding of this world, those bloated slave owners don't have the brains for this. Even if some of them are truly intelligent, they couldn't possibly persuade others to pool their money to hire Faceless Men to kill Lu Xuan.
The entire incident is riddled with doubts. That's why Lu Xuan faked his death and distanced himself, analyzing the matter from an outsider's perspective.
"In other words, I now have an unknown enemy, secretly targeting me. But we don't know who they are?" Daenerys summarized the theme of the meeting.
“That’s right, and these people are different from those so-called children of harpies. They are more dangerous and have more abundant resources. But don’t worry, we’ll find out who they are soon.”
"What do you mean? You already have a lead?"
"No, I haven't guessed yet. But I'm sure they'll show up in front of you soon. Since they considered me their number one enemy, now that I'm dead, they'll definitely have another move. Hiring Faceless Men costs money, and a lot of money at that. They've spent so many resources to kill me, so they must have some kind of motive, or rather, they're eyeing some kind of benefit that will come from my disappearance. So, just wait and see. If nothing unexpected happens, they'll contact you soon."
The news that Lu Xuan was still alive was, of course, an absolute secret. In fact, only Daenerys, Barristan, Jorah, and Grey Worm knew that Lu Xuan was still alive. Even Daenerys' closest handmaids were unaware that Lu Xuan was currently residing in Daenerys's palace.
Lu Xuan continued to spar with Daenerys, and after more than a year of training, Daenerys's swordsmanship improved rapidly. In Barristan's words, "Even if I were twenty years younger, I could only manage a draw against His Majesty now."
This is without Daenerys using magic. If she were to use magical attacks, she could easily defeat a squad of mercenaries who were white or taller than a normal person.
Lu Xuan could sense that Daenerys's potential was far greater than this. It seemed that the Targaryen family's fortune of hundreds of years had all been concentrated on her alone.
“Very good, Dani. You are now a qualified warrior. The only thing you lack is a real kill.”
"I have a feeling that this day is not far away."
"I think so too. How are your dragons doing? Are they able to carry people now?"
"It's already good enough. Drogon has been able to carry me for hundreds of kilometers and then return safely. But if we want to go further, we'll have to wait until they grow a bit bigger. But it won't be long. I feel like they're growing faster and faster now."
"We must ensure their safety. They are the future of this era, and they are your future."
“I understand. Also, we just received news that the Lannisters have emerged victorious.”
"The final winner? Ha! I'm not surprised that an old fox like Tywin Lannister can have the last laugh. But he will definitely not be the final winner. Just wait and see. No matter the era, people who use intrigue and power politics to the extreme will always end up getting themselves into trouble. That scene will be very interesting."
After discussing the situation in Westeros for a while, Lu Xuan rose to take his leave. Even though the fire in Daenerys's eyes was practically igniting him, he still rose and politely excused himself.
Back in his room, Lu Xuan lay on his bed. His consciousness had entered his own mental world.
"That girl, she wants you to stay."
"I know."
"Then why did you leave? In my opinion, by human standards, she is very beautiful, enough to arouse the reproductive impulse of the opposite sex."
"...I know, but in my eyes, she's just a little girl. You should be able to sense that I've also gone through a long period of time. For me, desire still exists, but I've been able to control it on my own. Her current desires stem from the awakening of her bloodline, a side effect, not her true feelings."
"But in my opinion, she wouldn't care."
"Perhaps. But she is the queen, and a queen should know better than me how to restrain herself. If you want to see the dragons revive, she must first become a true queen. Only then will she have enough resources to revive the dragons."
The one communicating with Lu Xuan was the ancient dragon soul. Lu Xuan had made a deal with it. It imparted all the magic and spells of the dragon race to Lu Xuan. In exchange, Lu Xuan would help it revive the dragon race.
"To be honest, even I don't have much confidence in reviving the dragon race. But for some reason, I feel that you might actually succeed."
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Chapter 272 The True Colors Are Revealed
Three months after Lu Xuan's death, Daenerys's palace welcomed a group of special envoys.
When Lu Xuan received this message, he finally understood where the problem lay. He had overlooked the existence of a peculiar force in this world: the Iron Treasury.
Looking at the overall market situation in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, one can see a problem: the world's economic situation is extremely distorted. Whether it's the Seven Kingdoms or the free city-states of Essos, they are all in the same boat. Essos has hundreds of banks of all sizes, but all of them combined cannot compare to the Iron Treasury.
The Iron Bank issued massive loans, and the entire Westeros royal family relied on these loans for survival. Basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter were in utter chaos. Whether in Westeros or Essos, wars and internal strife were constant.
And in all these struggles, the shadow of the Iron Treasury can be vaguely seen. They are just like the arms dealers of the past. They instigate wars, then lend money to both sides, and ultimately, no matter who wins, they will all face enormous debt repayment pressure.
If you dare to renege on your debts, they will immediately support another opponent and start over. Regardless of who wins, the ultimate power rests in the hands of the Iron Bank. In this world, all the great merchants and nobles have some connection to the Iron Bank. Except for Daenerys, who, under Lu Xuan's tutelage, is completely different from this world.
In fact, the Iron Bank noticed Daenerys as soon as she began to emerge. They seemed to have some kind of assessment mechanism that judged Daenerys to be an unparalleled major client. A client with both potential and immense ambition is exactly what the Iron Bank desires.
Given the corrupt state of Westeros, the Iron Bank's ability to repay loans to the Westeros royal family was pessimistic. They devised several countermeasures, one of which involved Stannis Baratheon. They agreed to provide a large loan, but on the condition that Baratheon acknowledge Robert I's borrowing and repay the loan upon ascending the throne.
However, the two stags' repeated defeats made them feel that their gamble was about to fail. So they began looking for a new candidate. Daenerys was one of them. She had four dragons, occupied an extremely wealthy city, and commanded a legion of twelve thousand Unsullied, plus ten thousand soldiers undergoing training.
To be honest, according to the Iron Bank's calculations, twelve thousand Unsullied alone are enough to contend for the Iron Throne in Westeros. If they were to add their support, hire a few renowned mercenaries, purchase sufficient warships, and launch an expedition to Westeros, it wouldn't be a problem.
Ironically, they waited and waited, but Daenerys remained completely silent. She showed no intention of borrowing money from the Iron Bank. She had easily crushed the threat posed by the Sons of the Harpy and defeated the combined forces of Yunkai and Meereen through her own strength.