iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 528 King and King 4
The sound of horse hooves echoed, breaking the silence in the tunnel.

The old bear's face was like a rock carved by time, and deep worries were hidden in every wrinkle. After a long time, he slowly said: "Duke Ned, one hundred thousand wildlings from outside the wall suddenly came south without any warning. The meaning behind it is self-evident. This is enough to prove..."

Duke Eddard said solemnly: "Winter is coming."

His voice seemed to ring the alarm bell of fate.

Old Xiong nodded silently, and then remained silent for a while before he said, "Perhaps, we should seriously consider how to accommodate these savages who have fled."

Duke Ed's brows knitted together instantly, and he asked, "Increase the land?"

The old bear looked at the darkness ahead with deep eyes: "The new land is very vast, but because of the cold and barrenness, for a long time, even if we promised land, we could not attract people to settle here. My Lord Duke, I was thinking... as long as the new lords pay taxes to Castle Black, this may be an opportunity to change the embarrassing situation of the Night's Watch."

"Commander-in-Chief Geo."

Duke Eddard called out first, his voice a little stiff: "This is more likely to be a disaster for the entire North. The wildlings outside the Wall call themselves 'free folk'. They don't like being restricted by the Night's Watch. How can they hunt and farm peacefully on the land allocated by the Night's Watch? This will definitely bring endless turmoil and disaster to the North."

After a pause, Old Bear sighed deeply, his sigh full of helplessness and exhaustion: "Sorry, Lord Ned, I was a little impatient."

He rubbed his sparse white hair, his expression slightly painful: "When I think about the possibility that the Great Wall of Despair might collapse before my eyes, I always feel uneasy. If I had enough manpower..."

According to the ancient tradition of the Northerners, when faced with threats, they have always used knives and swords to speak, rather than being so restrained in dealing with these wildlings outside the Wall and negotiating with the tongue.

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

…………

With a heavy and harsh sound of "click, click, click", the huge and cold iron door at the end of the tunnel slowly rose up, and the wind blew wildly, bringing with it biting cold and fragments of ice and snow.

The direwolf flags rustled in the wind as Duke Eddard walked out of the tunnel of the Wall and looked out at the slate-gray 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 with such force that it seemed as if it would knock them away and sweep them away, making them disappear in the vast ice and snow.

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

The rangers outside the Great Wall had already reported the location of the camp of the King outside the Great Wall, which was not far away. Although the thick snow seriously affected the speed of the horses, they still saw many leather tents built on the edge of the forest in less than an hour.

Duke Ed and his entourage slowly stopped their horses, and from the opposite camp, a figure rode his horse at full speed.

The man was short and stocky, with a snow-white beard spreading across his broad chest and the heavy golden hoops on his arms sparkling.

He suddenly stopped not far away, his movements were quick and decisive, his eyes revealed undisguised contempt, and he looked at Ed and the others wantonly.

Then he shouted at the top of his voice: "Crows (the name of the Night's Watch by the Free Folk Beyond the Wall), I am Tormund, the Hornblower, the Icebreaker, the Husband of the Snow Bear, the Mead King of the Red Hall, the Father of All Creatures, and the Speaker of the Gods! Tell me your names!"

“It sounds pretty impressive.”

The old bear's grunts came from the side, and there was a hint of ridicule in his voice, which made Lord Eddard's mouth bend slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile. He actually liked the people of the Mormont family very much. They were all fearless and outstanding knights, except for... the former heir of Bear Island who fled after selling slaves and had no sense of honor. That person was a shame to the Mormont family and the North.

Old Bear glanced at Lord Eddard, his eyes swept across the black ringmail of the ranger on the man opposite him, cleared his throat, and responded loudly: "I am the 997th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jeor Mormont, and this is..."

As he spoke, he stretched one arm out to the side and raised his voice: "Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North, Eddard of House Stark!"

He raised his chin slightly, his old face revealing the majesty of the commander-in-chief of the Night's Watch: "As agreed, we come to meet the King Beyond the Wall!"

Tormund leaned forward and stared at the solemn Lord Eddard for a moment, grinning, "Are there any more kneelers besides the crows?"

After a pause, he glanced at them as if he was examining the goods, and spoke again: "The King Beyond the Wall told me that there are three envoys for the negotiation."

Old Bear tilted his head and said, "Fortunately, His Majesty Stannis did not come. With his temper, he would definitely not tolerate such an arrogant wildling."

Then, he turned his head, looked at the opposite side and said loudly: "We are here on behalf of the Wall and the North to negotiate with the King Beyond the Wall. Thank you for leading the way for us!"

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

Tormund turned his horse's head and headed towards the wildling camp. His rough voice floated on the wind: "Follow me!"

Eddard and the others followed Tormund into the tent area. Everywhere they looked, there were people of all kinds. Men were shouting something, women were busy with their work, and animals were moving freely among the crowd.

Bonfires burned in random places, latrines were randomly placed, children and goats wandered around, and sheep bleated in the bushes.

The horsehides were hung high up to dry, swaying slightly in the wind like tattered flags.

Duke Ed rode on his horse, moving slowly while observing his surroundings. The savages' camp was completely unplanned and in complete chaos and disorder, with no defensive facilities at all.

Many people stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Ed and his companions with curiosity or vigilance: children squatting by the fire, old women in dog carts, people with dyed faces, and wild warriors with claws, venomous snakes, and skulls painted on their shields.

The cold wind blew through the pine forest, causing sighs.

A snow bearskin 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 at a glance the King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder, standing outside the tent.

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

"Come in, both of you."

As I walked into the tent, a warm feeling hit me in the face. Apart from a few blazing braziers, there were almost no other decorations, making it look extremely simple.

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

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

(End of this chapter)