Game of Thrones: Kings in the North

Chapter 158 Ed's Countermeasure

On a cold evening, Ser Jeremy Lake was very dirty, and he sent more than 400 cavalry with rangers and Winterfell scouts back to the Fist of the First Men, and ran into Old Bear and Bunyan head-on.

"Lord Mormont, there was a terrible battle on the upper reaches of the Milk River. Mance Rayder sent the beast of the skinchanger, and Harma the dog and the King of Bones. Fortunately, I commanded well and withstood the pressure. Lead the rangers and Winterfell scouts and break out."

Ed came over, and Kane, the soldier of Winterfell, told Ed all about the battle, so Ed knew that Sir Jeremy was lying, "Phelan was captured."

Sir Jeremy spread his hands, "I'm very sorry about Lord Ferran. As soon as he heard that Mance had found the Horn of Winter, he went crazy, saying that he must take the Horn and become a hero of the North." Yes. Young people are always unwilling to listen to persuasion, Master Ferran is greedy for merit, and he has paid the price for it."

"I'm afraid Ferran has died in the hands of the enemy at this time. He fell into the hands of Rattleshirt and Harma the Dog. That's what happened. May the gods be merciful and let his soul rest in peace."

Kane looked contemptuous, "Sir Jeremy, where is your soul? You liar, you are clearly the one who instigated Ferran to snatch the Horn of Winter. After he was captured, you abandoned those captured wanderers." The cavalry brothers and the Winterfell cavalry are only concerned about running for their lives!"

Sir Jeremy's face was as red as a carrot, and he said angrily: "Master Ed, what's the matter with this little soldier Kane? How can he spit blood? I'm a knight anointed with holy oil. Back then, in King's Landing In the Great Sept of Baylor, the archbishop personally anointed me with the holy oil, my body is bathed in rainbow light, and I am a brother of the night watchman, a black knight on the Great Wall of Impassable, how can I allow this little soldier to slander me?"

Ed sneered, "Sir Jeremy, don't worry, we won't wrong you. There are night watchman rangers and Winterfell cavalry in the scouts. I will investigate clearly."

Xiong Lao said: "Master Ed, defeat in the battlefield is a common thing. The enemy is now, and Mance has summoned such a shape-changer, so many beasts, and giants. We should unite. As for Ferran's defeat this time, As for the captives, Ferran himself, as the commander, undoubtedly has a great responsibility, and it is not appropriate to pursue it too much."

Bunyan echoed: "Jeremy may have given Ferran the wrong advice, but it was Ferran himself who adopted the advice. If Sir Jeremy was punished for giving advice, what would the other night watchman ranger guides think?" I'm afraid no Ranger brother would dare to advise the Commander in the North."

Damn Jeremy, damn Phelan even more.Ed stared at Jeremy, "You'd better pray for Phelan to return safely, otherwise, even if I let you off, Mrs. Ballerina in Barrentown will not let you off. Believe me, if Phelan dies , even if Ballet dissipates all the wealth, hiring Faceless will kill you to avenge Ferran."

Ballet is the Countess of Barrowton, and her natal family is the Rythwell family in the Streamland. She is a prominent noble in the northern border. It is obviously common for the nobles in the northern border to want to kill a night watchman. Sir Jeremy obviously Not willing to offend Barbaret, he began to be afraid.

"Ferran may not necessarily die. If we send troops to attack Mance's camp immediately, we may be able to rescue Ferran."

Some of the horsemen were wounded, and Robb and Jon immediately called the nurses to help the wounded.

Ed counted the dead, and Driftwood Hall heir Paulson Stern brought back the head of Joseph Claure.Both Paulesson and Joseph are Ed's adopted sons, and they have a close relationship.

Pauleson said sadly: "Lord Ed, a moa knocked Joseph off his horse, and then the dog-headed Harma cut off his head and stuck it in a gun. I snatched back the head, but I couldn't bring back the body."

Joseph is the eldest son of Donald Claure, Earl of Abyss Castle appointed by Ed, and the heir of Abyss Castle. Ed has always believed that Joseph will become an excellent lord in the future.Because Abyss Castle was attacked by the Rock King before, Joseph's parents, brothers and sisters were all killed by the Rock King. Joseph is actually the Earl of Abyss Castle.

It's just that he hasn't been able to return from the battlefield. He thought that his family lived safely in Abyss Fort until his death.Ed didn't know if this was kindness or cruelty.

Ed put his hand on Pauleson's shoulder, "You did a good job, I will take Joseph's head back to Abyss Castle for burial."

Abyss Castle is the most majestic castle on Skagos Island. The castle is built on the basis of the obsidian mines dug by the Claure clan for thousands of years. It is located on the southwest side of Skagos Island and guards the mouth of the Abyss River. Casterly Rock number one.

After the Rock King killed Donald's family, he briefly occupied Abyss Fort. However, when the northern army triumphantly evacuated the Abyss Fort's treasury and granary last year, the castle was seriously short of food.Therefore, when the Ice Dragon Clan, Maple Leaf Clan, and Frost Clan's allied rock forces loyal to Winterfell surrounded the castle, the Rock King could only abandon the castle and escape into the mountains again.

Now Abyss Fort is temporarily controlled by the coalition forces of various tribes in the rock species.

The death of Joseph means that the Claure clan of Donald's line is extinct. The Claures who survive today are only the Rock King and his sons. The Rock King thinks that this way he can get his hands on Abyss Castle.

This time, Ed decided to directly send Winterfell's soldiers to take over Abyss Castle.The Stark family has an extra majestic castle.

Once the Stark family takes over Abyss Fort, Ed will send ravens and bachelors in Abyss Fort, so that the entire Skaggs Island can contact Winterfell through Abyss Fort.

In the future, Ed can make one of Bran or Rickon the Earl of Abyss Castle, and all tribes in the rock species will directly pay taxes to the Stark family of Abyss Castle, and the Stark family can strengthen their control over Skagos Island. rule.

Skagos Island, guarding Seal Bay, is the largest island in the North, about five times the size of Bear Island, and its subsidiary island to the east is also twice the size of Bear Island.Skagos Island is strategically located, allowing it to attack beyond the Great Wall to the north, and deter the Bolton family in the Lacrimal River Basin to the south, and strengthen the Stark family's control of the east coast of the north.

Since Ed's children were still young, Abyss Castle could only temporarily appoint a soldier of Winterfell as the acting castellan. Ed began to consider candidates for the acting castellan of Abyss Castle, and he thought of Kane.

Ed patted Kane on the shoulder, "Kane, Abyss Castle has no acting lord and has become a land of no man. You can read and write, and you also gave correct advice when Ferran was greedy. , you have proved your courage and resourcefulness, I have decided to appoint you as the acting city lord of Abyss Castle."

Kane was taken aback, "Lord Ed, the Rock King just captured the castle. If I go to Abyss Castle to act as the acting city lord, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for me. Maybe the rock species will eat me!"

Ed thought that Kane would be happy to get this appointment, he encouraged: "The Rock King is already a dog with a broken spine, and he and his men are a group of wandering bandits. Most of the rocks on Skagos Island All these tribes are loyal to Winterfell, and Abyss Castle is easy to defend and difficult to attack. You will send you [-] soldiers, and I will send you [-] soldiers from Houguan Town later. you."

"Your manpower will be very sufficient. The Abyss Castle is easy to defend and difficult to attack. You don't have to go to the mountains to fight against the King of Rocks. You just need to defend the castle."

Kane accepted Ed's mission. He selected [-] Winterfell guards, left the Fist of the First Men overnight, and headed towards Eastwatch, where they would take a boat to Skagos Island.

That night, Ed and Xiong Lao held a battle meeting.

Candles were flickering in the command room around the castle. On the table, Ed sat with Lord Greatjon Umber and Lord Rickard Karstark, and Robb sat on Ed's right.Elder Xiong, Bunyan, Jeremy Lake, and Sir Malado Locke, who was in charge of the luggage, and other Night Watch officials sat opposite the northern nobles.

Old Xiong looked at the map with a solemn expression.

"The Eastern Route Army was defeated by the Seal Skinner Davidin, the White Mask Morona, and the wild boar in the Skinchanger Polo District, and Jory Cassel was captured; the Western Route Army was blocked by giants and troglodytes on the Giant Ladder. No, the big wine barrel was captured; the scouts of the Central Route Army commanded by Ferran rushed in greedily, and fell into the hands of the King of Bones and the dog-headed Harma.

Sir Odin Wellers, who was timid and cautious, thin as a gray squirrel, said: "My lord Ed, with all due respect, our army has suffered setbacks across the board, and retreating to the Great Wall is the only reasonable choice."

Odin Wellers has always been the deputy of Xiong Lao, and his opinion is usually regarded as the opinion of Xiong Lao. Could it be that Xiong Lao is also willing to retreat?
Ed said indifferently: "We have encountered some setbacks, but please note that when Mance sent a large number of skinchangers to sneak attack, the wildlings also suffered heavy casualties, whether it was the Giant's Ladder on the western front, the Milk River in the middle, or In the ghost forest on the eastern front, the casualties of the savages exceeded our army."

"We all know that the wildlings have poor equipment and poor discipline. Now that Mance Rayder has brought out giants and skinchangers, our army has been caught off guard. However, I believe that these small setbacks cannot change our army's victory. general trend."

Sir Odin Wellers' eyes widened, "Master Ed, you are still eager to win? Excuse me, how can our army deal with giants? What should we use to deal with the savage snow bears, eagles, saber-toothed tigers and moas? The advantage of the border army and the rangers is the cavalry, but the mounts are afraid of beasts, which makes the cavalry unable to defeat the skinchangers, and continuing to march will only kill more brothers of the Night's Watch and the warriors of the north."

"I suggest retreating, retreating back to the Great Wall of Desperation, relying on the [-]-foot-high Great Wall of Desperation, and marching beyond the Great Wall at any time."

Elder Xiong cast a tentative look at Ed, "Lord Ed, I think Sir Odin Wellers' suggestion is not unreasonable. We didn't expect the wildlings to have skinchangers and giants to help out. We underestimated it." The strength of the savages. It may not be a better choice to retreat to the Great Wall."

"This time the Night Watchman Corps has sent a lot of Rangers. God knows how many Rangers will be buried in the ice and snow outside the Great Wall. The Night Watchman Corps is as old as the Great Wall, but it is declining day by day. We cannot afford too many casualties."

Ed quickly understood the plight of the Night Watch Corps. The number of the Night Watch Legion was less than a thousand. After Ed garrisoned the Great Wall, many nobles in the north exiled the prisoners directly to the fortress of Winterfell on the Great Wall. Not as before, give it to the night watchman.

With the loss of such a large source of troops in the northern border, it is even more problematic for the night watchmen to replenish their manpower.

The loss of 300 people in the northern border is not the same concept as the loss of 300 people in the Night Watch Corps. 300 people are nearly one-third of the Night Watch Corps' strength.

After some fighting, the wildlings were obviously more difficult to deal with than expected. The skinchangers, giants, and strange spirits appeared together. The Night Watchmen may suffer even more serious losses. The old bear and Sir Odin Wellers foresaw the danger, so Only then strongly advocated the withdrawal of the Great Wall of Desperation.

Ed couldn't help thinking of Thoren Smallwood, the Ranger sent out on patrol.Sauron is extremely contemptuous of the wildlings, and Ed doesn't like him. However, Sauron is the hawk among the night watchmen. He has always advocated taking the initiative to attack the wildlings and opposes all conservative tactics.

Thoron Smallwood was the kind of man who would rather fight to the last man than back down.If Sauron attends the meeting, there is a high probability that he will support the army to continue to attack the wildlings instead of withdrawing.

Ed raised his voice, "Lord Mormont, Ser Odin, I fully understand your concerns. What I want to tell you is that if our army retreats, Mance Rayder will definitely lead his army south to attack the Wall. Mance In my hand, I may have got the Horn of Winter, this goddamn horn can blow down the Great Wall of Desperation."

Odin Wellers shuddered, "The matter of the horn of winter may not be true. The Great Wall of Impassable has stood there for 8000 years, and it can be blown down with a single horn? It is probably Mance Rayder's conspiracy. Let out your mouth and tempt us to enter."

Ser Jeremy Lake agreed like a nodding goose. "Yes, the horn does look like Mance's bait."

Greatjon Umber stared at Jeremy with disdain, "You and Ferran are probably the first to get hooked?"

Odin Wellers said helplessly: "The march will cause heavy casualties."

Earl Rickard knocked on the table with his fist, "Of course people will die in a war. The night watchmen should understand that the wildlings are attacking the Great Wall. Will the southern nobles ignore the night watchmen? We in the north can wait until the Great Wall falls before coming to help , Duke Eddard led an army outside the Great Wall to help the Night's Watch deal with the wildlings, and you are clamoring to withdraw your troops? At least you should destroy the damn Horn of Winter."

Sir Odin Wheelers stroked the gray squirrel coat of arms on his chest, "We retreated to the Great Wall, and there is still a chance to destroy the Horn of Winter. We can send ravens to inform the lords of the Seven Kingdoms of the Horn of Winter's threat , the lords from all over the world must actively participate in the battle. I have a nephew who serves as the captain of Miss Margaery Tyrell's personal guard in High Court, and through him, the Duke of High Court can be contacted."

Odin Wellers boasted that his nephew was the captain of Miss Margaery's guard in Highgarden, and the northern nobles and brothers of the Night's Watch were used to it.

Greatjon said disdainfully: "When the ravens fly to Highgarden and come back, the Horn of Winter will blow down the Great Wall long ago. Do you think Mance is a fool?"

Sir Malado stroked his beard, "The Horn of Winter is a fake."

Ed said sternly: "When we set off, people in the Seven Kingdoms, including the night watchmen who guarded the Great Wall, thought that the giants were extinct, and the skinchangers could not be real. What happened? The night watchmen and the northern army , in front of the skinchangers and giants, suffered a great loss."

"Of course the horn of winter may be fake, but if Mance has the real horn of winter, can you afford the price? It is recorded in history books that the ancient king beyond the Great Wall, Joman, blew the horn of winter." The horn awakened the sleeping giant. Now that Mance claims to have found the Horn of Winter, the giant who has not appeared for many years appears, is all this a coincidence?"

Old Bear, Odin Wellers, and Sir Malado Locke exchanged doubtful and shocked eyes. Almost every night watchman veteran has heard the story of Joman blowing the horn of winter and awakening the sleeping giant.

Ed stood up, and the shadow shrouded the Great Wall on the map.

"If you allow Mance to blow the horn, the Great Wall of Impassable may collapse, and the nineteen ancient and proud fortresses will be wiped out together with the night watchmen. You are the last night watchmen, and you will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history."

"My lords, open your eyes! The night watchman is a sharp sword in the dark, a guard on the Great Wall, the Great Wall is about to collapse, why are you hesitating?"

Elder Xiong looked at Eddard with admiration, "Master Eddard, you are right. Maester Aemon is not around, my old head actually did not foresee the danger of the Horn of Winter, and I almost made a big mistake. The Night's Watch Legion Isn't the existence of the Impassable Great Wall just to defend the kingdom?"

"I agree to continue the crusade against the wildling army. First, we must retake the Horn of Winter. Lord Ed, when shall we march to the upper reaches of the Milk River?"

Finally convinced Elder Xiong, "We will guard the Fist of the First Men."

Old Xiong, Bunyan, Sir Odin Wellers, and Sir Malador Locke exchanged doubtful glances. Old Xiong said, "Shouldn't we go snatch the Horn of Winter?"

Ed explained: "Go up the Milk River. The wildlings may cut off our retreat. God knows how many giants, skinchangers, and possibly White Walkers in the north. We held the Fist of the First Men. Mance wanted to go to the Great Wall. You can choose to go south and fight us."

Benyan frowned, "But what if Mance has been staying in the upper reaches of the Milk River?"

Ed showed a wolf-like smile, "I will turn the savage villages hundreds of leagues around the Fist of the First Men into scorched earth and take away every savage. Many savages Mance summoned lived on this land. At that time, the wildlings will complain that Mance has brought war, but they can't protect their homeland and compatriots, and Mance has no choice but to lead the army of wildlings south."

Besides, Ed believes that the White Walkers will go south in the land of eternal winter and attack the rear of the wildling army.Even in order to avoid the White Walkers, the wildling army will go south sooner or later.

The coalition forces of the Northern Territory and the Night Watchmen are equipped with obsidian weapons. The wildlings obviously lack the weapons and knowledge to deal with the aliens, and they will be more passive in the face of the aliens.

(End of this chapter)