Ice and Fire: Conquering the World Starting from the Wall

The "Guardian's Hall" was nominally built for Lynn to hold meetings and work, but in reality, Mans was usually busy here, and Lynn was rarely seen.

Today, Mans is still here, along with Kasa, Tormund, Jarl, as well as "Shieldbreaker" Solon, "Wanderer" Howd, and "Battle Witch" Morona.

They were arguing fiercely about whether to split up their forces when crossing the Great Wall.

Tormund and Jarl were on the same side, believing that splitting up the troops was a waste of resources, and that the metal nails used to secure the ropes and ladders were only enough for one group.

The remaining people believed that splitting up the forces would allow for more mistakes. If one group were discovered by the Night's Watch patrol, the entire operation wouldn't be ruined. If there weren't enough metal nails, they could use wooden or bone nails instead.

Casa remained silent, as he was only responsible for attacking Black Castle and didn't care about how to get past the ice wall.

Lynn knew the dangers of an amateur leading an expert, so he never participated in such discussions, letting them spit and curse at each other.

He walked to the makeshift fireplace, found a reasonably comfortable chair, sat down to warm himself by the fire, and Qi Xue knelt down at his feet, resting his head, covered in splinters, on his knees.

Mans was having a headache when he suddenly noticed Lynn had arrived, and the captured rangers were also brought in. He quickly stopped the noisy crowd.

"Who are these?" he asked. "Two crows?"

"That's right, that bastard killed Oriel."

The Bone King pointed at Jon Snow and cursed:

"He's still a damn wolf spirit."

"Then why did you bring it here? Just chop it up."

Mans said that on purpose.

"He's already switched sides!"

The Bone King was about to say that the Star Child should live, but the red-haired young spearwoman beat him to it. The Free People called this hair color "born of fire," a symbol of good fortune.

"He personally took down 'One-Handed' Colin!"

"The spearwoman, born of fire," said the woman.

"This kid?"

Upon hearing this, Mance couldn't help but look at the seemingly unremarkable Jon with suspicion.

"Crow, do you have a name?"

"My name is Jon Snow, from Castle Black, and I am Lord Commander Mormont's clerk, Your Majesty."

He didn't know whether he should kneel before the "King of the Frontier".

"Your Majesty?" Mans couldn't help but look around. "Look, he thinks I'm the king."

Most people laughed, except for the crows standing and lying down.

Mans sat at the rough, long table carved from a huge log, occupying the central position, looking like the person in charge here.

It's only natural that Jon Snow would think so.

"If you want to find a king to kneel before here, then I recommend the one by the fireplace."

He gestured with his chin for the young watchman to look to the side.

"He is the 'Son of the Stars,' the 'Dragon Tamer,' the 'Dragonborn,' the 'Slayer of the White Walkers,' the 'White King,' the 'Spirit of the Beasts,' the 'Lightbearer,' and the 'Guardian of all living beings in Westeros'—'Just' Lynn Morningstar."

Mans is indeed adept at remembering other people's titles, which may be related to his frequent cover songs composed by others.

Lynn thought to himself with amusement.

The bastard son of Winterfell was clearly at a loss; he turned to Lynn, seemingly about to kneel.

The dragon, exactly like the one in the legend, disturbed his thoughts.

The dragon, a symbol of conquerors, may be small now, but it will grow up someday.

Jon thought to himself.

Ygritte wasn't lying to me; the Wildlings really do have a "Dragon Tamer," and he's also a "Star Child," having killed a White Walker with the legendary "Lightbringer" of Azor Ahai...

Seeing Jon Snow in disarray, Lynn stroked his bleeding head and said to Mance:

"If I were you, I would first find someone to check 'Severed Palm's' wound; he looks like he's about to die."

Mans was a little surprised to hear this. He had thought that when the Spear Woman said that "he personally brought down 'Severed Hand'", she meant that she had killed Colin.

So he quickly went around the long table and went up to check on the people on the sled, and found that they were indeed his old brothers.

A "single palm" looks extremely tragic.

His left leg was torn to shreds by wild beasts, he had been struck by arrows in the abdomen and chest, and there was a horrible wound on his neck with the skin and flesh turned outwards, almost cutting his throat open.

"What's going on?"

Mans looked at the Bone King.

"We chased them for five days and five nights, killing two along the way. One of them tried to cover our retreat, while the other tried to escape to the Former People's Fist Peak."

Finally, we cornered them both in a narrow valley.

"The bastard shouted that he wanted to surrender, and 'One-Handed' wanted to kill him, so the two fought, and the bastard's wolf almost bit off 'One-Handed's leg."

"The Star Child wants to live!" the red-haired spearwoman interjected again. "'Severed Hand' is too powerful. We dare not hope to capture him alive, so I shot him with an arrow to save the other one."

Upon hearing this, Lynn suddenly remembered that she was the spearwoman who had been captured by Jon Snow, but now she had captured him instead.

The Bone King looked furious: "Ygritte, stop interrupting me! Mance is asking the Bone King!"

But the spearwoman was very unconvinced, and she shouted, "Free people can say whatever they want."

They are true free people.

Jon suddenly realized that while Ding Dongshi could lead them, he could not be above them.

"So it was the two of you who took down 'Severed Palm' together?"

Mans then turned to Ygritte and asked, but the spearwoman suddenly became somewhat hesitant.

"That sword wound on my neck was inflicted by Jon Snow."

She said somewhat shyly:

"If I hadn't shot 'Severed Palm' with an arrow, causing him to lose his balance, 'Severed Palm' would already be headless by now."

Mans nodded: "In that case, you actually saved 'Single Hand's' life."

Ygritte was stunned. She had saved the famous "One-Handed" Colin?

Mans ignored her and continued to question the Bone King.

How many of them are there?

"Five. We killed two on the way, caught this kid and 'Severed Palm,' and the other one went up the mountain. We couldn't track him on horseback."

But that crow had no horses or supplies; it wouldn't survive long.

Red's gaze met Jon's again:

"There are only five of you? Were there others hiding?"

Jon said, dumbfounded:

"No, there are four of us plus 'Severed Hand,' Colin alone is worth twenty of us."

The King of the Frontier laughed heartily.

"That's right, everyone says so. There's another question... why are the newbies in Black Castle following a group of Shadow Tower rangers?"

Jon finally remembered his mission and delivered the prepared speech:

"The Commander-in-Chief assigned me to train under the one-handed commander, so I joined the patrols."

Casa, still seated, frowned and said:

"You mean—patrols...the crows patrol Windwhistling Gorge?"

"Villages have been abandoned one after another," Jon said truthfully, "as if all the free people had suddenly vanished."

“Yes… gone,” Mance Rayder said. “It’s not just the free men who have disappeared. Who told you we were here, Jon Snow?”

Tormund snorted and said:

"No need to ask, it's definitely Caster. Otherwise, just think of me as a shy girl. I told you, Mance, that bastard should have had his head chopped off long ago. What he did is despicable even to animals!"

Mans glared at him angrily:

"Tormond, one day you'll have to learn to think before you speak. I know it's Caster, of course, but my purpose is to assess Jon Snow."

"Haha," Tormund spat, "Fine, I'll shut up!"

He grinned at Jon:

"Look, kid, that's why he can be the king of the frontier while I can't."

I can drink more, I'm better at fighting, I can sing louder than him, and I'm three times his size, but Mans is more cunning than me.

You know, he used to be a crow, ha ha, a cunning bird.

"I want to speak with this kid alone, Bone King."

Mance Reid stated bluntly:

"The rest of you, let's go! And take 'Severed Hand' to Mother Mole for treatment. We finally caught one alive, don't let him die."

Lynn was naturally not included in this "others", so Lyanna stayed as well.

"What, I'm leaving too?" Tormund asked.

"No, you're an exception," Mans said.

"Yeah, right! I'm not going to stay in an unpopular place."

Tormund stood up:

I think I should leave.

Kasa, Tormund, Jarl, Solon, Haud, and Morona walked out of the Guardian's Hall one by one, but the Bone King and his raiders did not move.

"What's wrong? Is there something else?"

Mans asked, puzzled.

Unexpectedly, even the Bone King became hesitant this time.

This is quite rare; we really did encounter a White Walker today.

Mans thought to himself.

"that......"

The Bone King hesitated and said:

"Varamir told me that the Star Child said that capturing a live Ranger would double the military merit."

In the past, raiders would steal what they wanted themselves; this was the first time they had ever asked someone for something. No wonder the Bone King was a little embarrassed.

Mans, on the other hand, had completely forgotten about this, as this seemed to be the first victory since the implementation of the merit-based military system.

He looked at Lynn.

Lynn was practicing stringing his longbow with tools when he heard this and stopped what he was doing.

He thought for a moment, then slowly said:

"I just heard you say that one 'single palm' is worth twenty..."

"Mans doesn't deny that either, so you can have 44 military merits."

The raiders were stunned.

Although they guessed that a severed hand might be "valuable," they didn't expect it to be worth this much.

Out of caution, the raiders huddled together in front of Lynn and started counting on their fingers, but unfortunately, they couldn't figure it out after a long time.

Seeing that if they delayed any longer, the "severed palm" might be beyond saving, Lynn said:

"A severed hand is worth twenty, doubling that makes forty. Jon Snow, who is alive, is worth two, plus the two you killed during the pursuit."

"Alright, hurry up and take 'Severed Palm' to get treatment. If he dies, the price won't be this high."

The raiders cheered, loudly praising "Just Lynn," and happily carried the wounded away, afraid that if they lingered even a second longer, this golden nugget would die, which would be extremely bad.

Only Ygritte lagged behind, seemingly unconcerned about military merit.

"Jon Snow captured me and ordered his severed hand to kill me, but I told him that the 'Star Child' and Mance would take him in, so he released me."

"'Severed Hand' tried to kill him, but instead, he chopped off his own neck. He genuinely wanted to join us. I... I don't want military merit anymore. I just want him to live. He saved my life."

Ygritte, born of fire, was eager to prove Jon Snow.

"Mance, Jon Snow is different from other crows!"

She concluded.

Mans was momentarily at a loss for words; this woman with the spear seemed to be going a little too far with her freedom.

Seeing this, Lynn advised:

"Go claim your share of the credit from Var; I'll make sure he doesn't die today."

Var is the sister of Mans' wife.

She was beautiful and dangerous, and had a brilliant mind, so Lynn put her in charge of verifying and distributing military merits.

"Also, tell the Bone King to make sure that the rewards are distributed fairly and that everyone who has contributed is satisfied."

If anyone is dissatisfied with the result, let them come to me.

Ygritte left satisfied, placing a sword with a wolf's head carved on its hilt on the long table before she departed.

Lynn wasn't bothered by the reward of 44 heads given away at once.

Because raider groups are not part of the regular army, they, like the undisciplined clan soldiers, cannot earn territory and fiefdoms through accumulating military merits. They can only enjoy material rewards, which are one-time only.

Unlike the Seren who obey orders and participate in training, a single head can be exchanged for a fixed "allowance" every year, which can even be inherited.

This is the only way to ensure they fight desperately on the battlefield and avoid being defeated and scattered when they encounter setbacks.

Of course, when other clans saw that the Thane people were living a life of luxury and had stable businesses, some of them would naturally be willing to join and become obedient soldiers. This is the benchmark effect.

But Mans had some reservations about Lynn's excessive generosity; the freemen weren't exactly wealthy these days, so Lynn told him the story of "buying a horse's bones with a thousand pieces of gold":

Once upon a time, there was a king who wanted to use a thousand golden dragons to buy a fine horse that could run a thousand miles in a day, but he failed to buy one for three consecutive years.

At this time, a servant volunteered to find a horse. Three months later, he spent five hundred gold dragons to buy back the bones of a dead horse.

The king was furious: "I demanded a live horse! How could you spend such a fortune to buy back dead horse bones?"

The servant replied, "If you are willing to spend a lot of money to buy even the bones of a dead horse, everyone in the world will think that you truly cherish fine horses, and soon fine horses will come to you on their own."

Sure enough, in less than a year, many fine horses came to us on their own initiative.

Before Mance could even offer his opinion, Jon Snow quickly interjected:

"Morning... Lord Morning Star,"

He pronounced the surname somewhat awkwardly, and at the same time, he inexplicably thought of the gardener family in the Bend.

"This story undoubtedly contains profound political wisdom. It may seem like an unnecessary expense, but it was actually made to gain greater fame and rewards."

Buying a horse with a thousand gold dragons is obviously nonsense, and a horse that can run a thousand miles a day is even more absurd.

But Jon was eager to prove himself and gain trust, so he had to rack his brains to find some nice words to praise him.

If his black-clad brothers heard this, they would undoubtedly laugh at him as a cowardly sycophant who grovels before the savages.

But that's not the case.

Jon thought to himself: I am acting under orders. The "severed hand" ordered me to beg for mercy, just like Ygritte did when she begged him.