Ice and Fire: Conquering the World Starting from the Wall

As soon as Kuna entered the tent, she stared intently at the baby dragon dozing by the fire with her only remaining eye, until Nemo nudged her shoulder.

"Star Child Lynn, I will make you a new hilt and sheath."

Her voice was flat and monotone, like an icy breeze blowing across a long lake.

Lynn handed the Dark Sisters to her, and her expression changed slightly when she saw the layers of rough leather covering the hilt.

Undisguised disdain.

"It's very light," she commented. "A Valyrian steel sword, never seen north of the Wall."

The next sentence was spoken in the common language, which is rare among the Thane, and the word "Valeria" does not exist in the Old Language.

Kuna continued talking to herself:

"The counterweight at the tail is just right, so a lighter material needs to be chosen to avoid disrupting the original center of gravity. The scabbard can be made of swordfish skin, which is both light and tough; nothing is more suitable than that."

At this moment, Nemo suddenly said:

"You can get the swordbone fish skin from Hal of the Glacier Tribe. His family received a favor from the Star Child."

Hal is the minor leader of the Glacier Tribe who traveled with Lynn and the others. He has survived to this day thanks to the six sheep that Lynn begged for.

Kuna nodded, then took out a piece of thin string to measure Lynn's right hand, including the length of each finger and the width of his palm.

She was slightly stunned when she saw Lynn's hands, which were free of calluses and even quite delicate.

In her view, it was somewhat strange that a warrior who could kill a White Walker in a single breath would have no trace of long-term sword-wielding.

After Kuna left with the sword, Lynn asked curiously what a swordbone fish was.

"A rare fish found only in underground rivers beneath glaciers. It is long and thin like a sword, but has little meat. Glacier tribes catch them, skin them, and extract the bones to use as knives."

Nemo explains:

"The bones are too hard; they can only be used for cutting, not as weapons. Fish skin is very difficult to process; it's almost impossible to cut through, and even drilling holes is difficult. However, if we could find a suitable size, it would be perfect for making a scabbard. Unfortunately, our bronze swords can't be made long and slender, so we can't use them."

Lynn nodded and continued, "Kuna seems to be quite proficient in Common Tongue?"

Nemo grinned and said, "She was originally from south of the Wall. She was abducted by raiders many years ago, and she's said to be a noblewoman."

"A raider tried to rape her and lost his manhood forever. That's when Kuna's eyes were gouged out. Later, the raider sold her to us. Even though she was missing an eye, he got some good bronze in return. Unfortunately, no one can steal her."

The "stealing" Nemo refers to is a unique marriage practice among the savages. If a man takes a fancy to a woman, he will "steal" her in the dead of night. Even if the two are in love, the woman will still resist. If her family finds out, the situation will become worse. But if you are strong enough, you can always get what you want.

At this point, Nemo's tone became respectful:

"She nearly froze and starved to death, but she did not give in. In the end, it was the 'Spear Maker' Frivive who took her in. Frivive was the best spear maker. He promised that she would not have to fulfill the duties of a wife, but she would have to work in exchange for food and blankets."

Lynn felt very uncomfortable after hearing this. Although there were factors related to the environment and the times, the savages were still too barbaric.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but remind himself that he must uphold the bottom line of civilized people and not be easily assimilated by the environment in order to survive.

"It's strange, really."

Seeing that Lynn seemed quite interested, Nemo continued:

"Frivive couldn't steal her; instead, Kuna stole Frivive, which she called 'love.' They had several children later, but only their youngest daughter survived. Kuna gave her a southern name, 'Lyanna,' and she was truly a beauty."

He shrugged as he spoke:

"It's a pity that when Frivive died, he begged Magna to issue an order forbidding any man from stealing Lyanna unless Lyanna herself consented. The gods are my witness, this is utterly heretical. He himself was stolen by a woman, and he wanted his daughter to steal another man as well. Frivive must have been bewitched by Kuna's witchcraft."

"Looks like you're really keen to steal Lyanna?" Lynn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Every man wants it, including those who already have wives,” Nemo said eagerly and regretfully. “Unfortunately, Mag has given the order, and no one dares to disobey.”

"However, once we have the new Magna, the original orders will be invalid."

As soon as Nemo finished speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted outside, interspersed with a deep, monstrous roar.

Nemo's expression changed.

"Giants are coming!"

The giants lived in the mountains not far from Thern Canyon. They had no hatred for the Thern people, but they were definitely not friendly either.

Previously, the Thane people guarded the canyon, and the giants posed almost no threat. But now that they were on flat ground, even the bravest clans would find it difficult to withstand the charge of giants riding mammoths, so Nemo was a little nervous.

Lynn didn't think so. Since the King of the Frontier had finally unified all the free people, he shouldn't let them have conflicts at will, especially large-scale bloodshed.

Furthermore, he was eager to see a giant, so he asked Nemo to take him along. Nemo had already been thinking about this, so naturally he didn't refuse.

After assigning two people to guard the dragon in the tent, Lynn followed Nemo toward the chaos.

From a great distance, Lynn could see giants that were taller than two Thane people combined. Their bulging chests were similar to those of humans, their long arms hung down, and their lower bodies were half the width of their upper bodies.

The giants held weapons made of withered tree branches, some with broken branches attached to the ends, which they used as mallets. They looked extremely dangerous.

As Lynn approached, he discovered that the giant's legs were shorter than his arms, very thick, and he didn't wear shoes at all. His feet were broad, black, hard, and covered with calluses.

Because they have no necks, their heavy heads protrude forward from between their shoulder blades, their faces are flat and ferocious, their small, rat-like eyes are no bigger than beads and are almost invisible, sunken in their keratinized skin, but their noses seem to be very sensitive, sniffing as they walk.

They weren't wearing animal skins; they just had long, tangled hair covering their bodies, denser below the waist and sparser above. The stench emanating from them was suffocating even from a distance.

Not only did the giants arrive, but also a man wearing a tattered red and black cloak.

He was of medium build, with a pointed face, a pair of shrewd brown eyes, and long brown hair—though now mostly gray. He was unadorned, wearing only a simple wool sweater and leather jacket under his cloak.

He had neither a crown nor was he adorned with gold and jewels, but just by the fact that he walked ahead of everyone else, and even giants followed him closely, Lynn could tell that he was the legendary King Beyond the Wall: Mance Rayder.

Behind the King of the Frontier were several other people, the most eye-catching of whom was a man wearing a huge skull as a helmet and armor made of countless bones. Lynn even saw human bones among them.

Next was a woman as thick as a wooden barrel, her cheeks like two thick pieces of white flesh, covered with many pockmarks, and a spear in her hand with a dog's head still dripping blood stuck in it.

Next came a chubby man carrying a sharp, giant steel scythe. He had a full head of blond hair and a pair of watery eyes, and Lynn suspected that he might have some kind of condition that caused him to tear up in the wind.

The most ordinary-looking man was short but very burly, with a white beard and arms as thick as Lynn's thighs, adorned with heavy gold bands engraved with mysterious runes, and wearing black chainmail.