The Iron Throne of Ice and Fire

Ta da da da da, the sound of horse hooves echoed, breaking the dead silence in the tunnel.

Old Xiong's face was like a rock carved by time, with deep worries hidden in every wrinkle. After a long time, he slowly spoke: "Duke Ned, a hundred thousand wild men outside the Great Wall suddenly went south without warning. Behind them The meaning is self-evident, which is enough to prove..."

Duke Eddard said in a deep voice: "Winter is coming."

His voice sounded like a warning bell to fate.

Old Xiong nodded silently, and after another silence for a while, he said, "Perhaps we should carefully consider how to resettle these savages who have fled."

Duke Ed's brows instantly tightened, and he asked, "Growing land?"

Mr. Xiong looked at the dim front with deep eyes: "The land is very vast, but because of the cold and barrenness, for a long time, even if we promised land, we have been unable to attract people to settle here. Your Excellency, I am thinking... as long as the new land is The lords pay taxes to Castle Black. This may be an opportunity to change the embarrassing situation of the Night's Watch. "

"Commander Geo."

Duke Ed called out first, his voice slightly stiff: "This is more likely to be a disaster for the entire Northern Territory. The savages outside the Great Wall call themselves 'free people'. They don't like to be restrained by the Night Watch. How can they be here?" Hunting and farming peacefully on the land allocated by the Night Watch will definitely bring endless turmoil and disaster to the North. "

After a pause, Mr. Xiong sighed deeply. His sigh was full of helplessness and exhaustion: "I'm sorry, Duke Ned, I'm a little impatient."

He rubbed his sparse white hair, with a slightly painful expression on his face: "When I think about the possibility of the Great Wall collapsing in front of my eyes, I feel uneasy. If I had enough manpower..."

According to the ancient tradition of the northerners, when faced with threats, they have always spoken with knives and swords, instead of being so restrained in dealing with these wild people outside the wall and negotiating with their tongues.

After a pause, Duke Ed's voice came over: "If the news of the White Walkers is confirmed, out of honor, we have no reason to refuse to protect their old and weak, but we must also carefully weigh the risks involved."

…………

With the heavy and piercing sound of "kaka kaka", the huge and cold iron door at the end of the tunnel slowly rose, and the wind blew wildly, carrying biting cold and debris of ice and snow.

The direwolf flag whistled in the wind. Duke Eddard walked out of the tunnel of the Great Wall and looked at the slate-grey sky. The sun was just a faint bright spot behind the clouds.

The wind swirled wildly along the Great Wall, and the air currents spread out in all directions. The force was so strong that it seemed to knock them away and sweep them away, disappearing into the vast ice and snow.

Their figures seemed extremely small in this ice and snow. This place seemed like another world, a corner forgotten by the old and new gods.

The rangers outside the wall had already reported the location of the King's camp before, and the distance was not too far. Although the thick snow seriously affected the speed of the horses, they still saw many leather tents set up on the edge of the forest in less than an hour.

Duke Ed and his entourage slowly stopped their horses, and from the camp opposite, a figure galloped over on horseback.

The figure of the visitor was thick and short, with a snow-white beard scattered on his broad chest, and the thick gold hoops on his arms sparkled.

He stopped suddenly not far away, his movements were crisp and clear, his eyes showed undisguised contempt, and he looked at Ed and the others wantonly.

Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Crows (the name of the Night's Watch by the free people beyond the Wall), I am the trumpeter, the icebreaker, the husband of the snow bear, the king of mead in the red hall, the father of all living things, and the leader of all living things." Spokesperson of the Gods - Tormund! Tell me your names!"

"It sounds quite impressive."

Old Bear's purring came from the side, and there was a hint of ridicule in his voice, which made Duke Ed's mouth slightly curved, revealing a subtle smile.

He actually likes the people of the Mormont family. They are all fearless and outstanding knights, except... the one who escaped after selling slaves - the former heir of Bear Island without any honor. That person is Mormont. A disgrace to House Ermon and the North.

The old bear glanced at Duke Eddard, then glanced at the black ring armor of the ranger on the man opposite him. He cleared his throat and responded loudly: "I am the 997th Commander-in-Chief of the Night's Watch, Jeor Mormont. This is..."

As he spoke, he stretched one arm forcefully to the side and raised his voice at the same time: "Duke of Winterfell, Warden of the North, Eddard of House Stark!"

He raised his chin slightly, his old face showing the majesty of the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch: "As agreed, we come to meet the King Beyond the Wall!"

Tormund leaned forward and looked closely at the serious-looking Duke Eddard for a while, grinning: "In addition to the crows, are there also kneeling people (the name of the free people beyond the wall for those south of the Great Wall)?" ?”

After a pause, he glanced at them as if inspecting the goods, and said again: "The King Beyond the Wall told me that there are three negotiators."

Mr. Xiong first turned his head and said: "Fortunately, His Majesty Stannis did not come. With his temper, he will definitely not be able to tolerate such an arrogant savage."

Then, he turned his head, looked across and said loudly: "We are here on behalf of the Great Wall and the Northern Territory to negotiate with the King Beyond the Wall. Please help us lead the way!"

"Negotiation? Great, Mance wants to negotiate with you, that's right!"

Tormund turned his horse's head in the direction of the wildling camp, and his rough voice floated in the wind: "Follow me!"

Ed and his team followed Tormund into the tent area. Wherever they looked, there were people of all kinds. Men were shouting loudly, women were busy with their work, and animals were moving freely among the crowd.

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The bonfires were burning irregularly everywhere, toilets were randomly distributed everywhere, children and goats were wandering around, and sheep were bleating in the bushes.

The horse skins were hung high to dry, swaying slightly in the wind, like a piece of tattered flags.

Duke Ed rode on his horse, moving slowly while observing the surroundings. The wildling camp had no plan at all. It was a completely chaotic scene, and there was no defense facility.

Many people stopped what they were doing, turned their heads, and looked at Ed and his team with curiosity or vigilance. Children squatting by the fire, old women in dog carts, people with dyed faces, wildling soldiers with claws, venomous snakes and skulls painted on their shields, etc.

The cold wind blew through the pine forest, making it sigh.

A snow bear skin tent was built on a pile of rocks at the edge of the forest. Eddard, Old Bear and others jumped off their horses here, and then they recognized the King Beyond the Wall standing outside the tent at a glance—Mance Rayder.

His red and black tattered cloak fluttered in the wind. Without greeting, he opened the door of the tent directly.

"Come in, both of you."

Walking into the tent, a warm feeling came over me. There were almost no other decorations except for a few blazing braziers, which made it look extremely simple.

Daggers, short swords, a bow, a bag of arrows, a bronze-tipped spear, and a... black horn were randomly placed on the ground.

Mance Rayder, the King of Kings, seemed to have noticed the gaze of Duke Eddard. He paused, raised his head slightly, and took the initiative to introduce: "Yes, this is the Horn of Winter, Eddard Stark."