Ice and Fire: Conquering the World Starting from the Wall

On the sixteenth day, they finally made it to the rendezvous point after a difficult journey.

This is a canyon located in the middle of Frostfang, called Windwhisper Canyon.

Ahead of the procession, the Wind Sound Gorge had come to an end, and large plumes of smoke could be seen from afar. After they rounded a bend, the gorge suddenly opened up into an endless expanse of open space.

The first thing that appears is a long, V-shaped valley. At the end of the valley is an enormous blue and white wall that clings to the mountain, as if trying to push the two mountains apart.

It was a glacier thousands of feet high, and beneath its gleaming ice walls lay a majestic lake, its deep blue waters reflecting the brilliance of the surrounding snow-capped peaks.

"The Great Glacier, the source of the name Frostfang, is also the source of the Milk River," Nemo said from the side.

It really does look like a giant rabbit tooth.

Lynn made her own assessment in her mind.

The canyon was teeming with people, thousands upon thousands, some digging large pits in the half-frozen ground, others practicing combat drills.

Lynn saw a large group of cavalry charging at a shield wall. Their horses were of different sizes and the formation was not in formation. Even a layman could tell that they were a rabble.

Their camp was completely unplanned and disorganized, lacking both ditches and stakes.

Everywhere you look, there are mud-brick houses and animal-hide tents, like a face covered with a dense rash of pimples.

A cold wind blew by, and Lynn smelled the strong odors of goats, sheep, horses, pigs, and dogs, while black smoke rose like curling whiskers from the thousands of campfires.

Even so, Lynn still saw groups of all sizes gathering from all directions.

Across the lake, a mound was moving. Lynn stared at it intently and was shocked to discover that it was not soil, but a living creature—a slow-moving, hairy monster with a snake-like nose.

The thing riding it was also huge, but its shape was somewhat strange, with extremely thick legs and hips, not quite human-like.

They were giants and mammoths.

If the Thane hadn't been in such a hurry to find their tribal camp, Lynn would have loved to go around the lake to take a look.

The original group disbanded almost instantly. The Hardfoot People, the Cave Dwellers, and the Glacier Clan went to find their own people, while the Thern people headed straight for the lake. The Thern people who went first occupied the best spots on the lakeshore. The total number of people was about four thousand, and their camp was much more organized than that of the other clans.

Lynn saw a group of people approaching them from afar. Leading the group was a bald man, almost a miniature version of the deceased former "Magna" Stie, wearing the same bronze greaves and leather coat with bronze scales as his father.

"Where is Magna? Mans has been waiting for him for a long time."

The bald man asked in a deep voice.

"We encountered the White Demons," Kasa said, pulling Stie's broken sword, almost severed at the root, from the pack on his back. "Magna is dead."

When the news spread, almost all the people of Theon poured out of their tents.

To them, Magna was almost a god-like figure, and the fall of a god inevitably caused panic.

Lynn didn't quite understand the mystery, because when Stitch died, he didn't exhibit any extraordinary qualities other than appearing brave.

However, he shouldn't inquire about matters involving the succession of a clan leader.

When someone noticed Lynn's strange appearance, Kassa took the opportunity to loudly announce to everyone Lynn's origins, name, and title, as well as his heroic deeds of killing the White Walkers and avenging Magna.

Finally, he declared that "Son of the Stars" Lynn Chenxing would always be the most honored guest of the Theon people.

Sedon, son of Stie, showed little sadness. Following tradition, he respectfully presented Lynn with a bronze ingot to thank him for avenging his father.

These copper ingots were a form of hard currency in the metal-scarce border regions.

Then the Thane began to prepare intensively for the ceremony to elect the new Magna. Not only did they have a cruel system, but Lynn was also very surprised by their level of unity.

There was no drama of factions seizing power after the leader's death; they simply discussed the matter calmly and concluded that the ceremony, which originally lasted for more than ten days, would be shortened to less than three days.

That evening, the few remaining elders of the tribe gathered together; they were a combination of shamans and elders.

In front of everyone, the elders, by the light of the fire, mixed twelve kinds of herbs and mineral powders to make an ointment of indescribable color. They chanted incantations over the pottery jar containing the ointment all night long. The incantations were even more ancient than ancient language.

Those eligible to run for Magna gathered in the open space the next morning. They were Segon, son of the former Magnastard, "Star Spear" Kasa, and a man with scars on his face who was taller and stronger than any Thane Lynn had ever seen.

All three were recognized as the strongest warriors. Ignoring the bitter cold, they first stripped off their clothes and washed their bodies with snow, and then drank the thick ointment one by one.

Then, in less than a hundred heartbeats, all three lost consciousness.

People placed their naked bodies into the pits they had dug beforehand, then filled them with soil, burying them three feet deep. Although the soil wasn't compacted, it still didn't seem like they were being given a way out.

Lynn watched from afar and finally understood why the Thane people regarded Magna as a god.

“It takes extraordinary courage to run for Magna,” Nemo explained to Lynn. “Deaths are common, and sometimes it takes several rounds of selection before someone is chosen by the gods.”

Lynn asked him what would happen if no one dared to run for office.

Nemo proudly declared, "A strong warrior would not refuse such an honor."

Lynn had originally wanted to ask if she would have had to go through this process if she had agreed to be their Magna, but considering that she needed to maintain her image, she chose to remain silent.

If Lynn were really put in charge, he probably wouldn't even be able to get past the hurdle of being stripped naked and rubbed with snow.

Then came the waiting. Whoever broke through the earth first would be the new Magna. It is said that Stydid was reborn from the earth on the ninth day and was the most favored Magna in recorded history.

According to the original ritual, if no one climbs out on their own, it will take ten days to dig out the person or the body before proceeding to the next round.

However, the situation is now special. The threat of the White Walkers and the impending attack on the Wall make the Thane people desperately need Magna's leadership. Therefore, the elders have shortened the time limit to three days, which will also increase the survival rate of the candidates and avoid losing too many strong warriors in this critical moment.

Half a day passed, and there was still no movement at the location of the burial pit. The Thern people lit a grand bonfire around the site, and hundreds of people gathered together to dance a war dance, trying to awaken the sleeping heroes.

Lynn shook his head and returned to the fur tent that had been assigned to him, feeling that the scene was both absurd and shocking.

It's likely that the ointment could induce a state of suspended animation; otherwise, there's no way to explain how someone could crawl out after being stripped naked and buried in frozen soil.

At that moment, Nemo led a one-eyed woman with gray hair into the tent.

Although she was blind in one eye, her facial features still revealed that she had been quite beautiful in her youth, and her clothing and accessories also had a different feel to them, being more exquisite and neat than those of other Theon people.

"Kuna, our best craftswoman."