Mance Rayder stared in utter astonishment at the knight before him, who rode an unusually large armored warhorse, wore exquisitely crafted metal armor completely out of place, and had two Greatswords at his waist that looked more like decorations.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Based on his own experience, such a person should not appear Beyond the Wall, and dressed like that, he should have frozen to death shortly after leaving the Wall.
Yet, this person was truly standing before him, making him wonder if he was hallucinating due to excessive tension.
Benjen Stark introduced Lynd to his mentor and good friend, saying, "This is Earl of Summerhall, Lord Linde Terra, the Divine Godsworn.
He sent a group of prisoners to Mole's Town a few days ago, and this time he wanted to see Beyond the Wall, so he came with us Rangers."
"The Godsworn? Is he the Chosen of the Seven sung about in the songs?" Mance Rayder seemed to recall something, his face showing surprise as he confirmed.
Benjen nodded and said, "Yes, he is the protagonist sung about in your two favorite songs."
Mance Rayder stared blankly at Lynd, somewhat speechless.
And Lynd, upon hearing Benjen introduce the leader of this Ranger team, also showed a hint of surprise on his face, then, still on horseback, he surveyed the future King Beyond the Wall.
When he was at Black Castle, he hadn't seen Mance Rayder and assumed he had broken his oath and betrayed the Night's Watch.
Who would have thought he had been transferred to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea? It seemed to be a change caused by the increased numbers of the Night's Watch.
However, he also noticed that Mance Rayder's face showed a panicked expression after learning his identity, and he subtly gestured to his Ranger companions by the bonfire.
Those Rangers from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, upon seeing Mance Rayder's gesture, secretly moved their hands away from their weapons.
Seeing this, Lynd could confirm that Mance Rayder had likely already broken his oath and was now leading those who had broken their oaths with him to the Savage Tribes.
Lynd did not expose them.
Instead, he dismounted and walked up to the two, saying, "Brother Benjen, it seems you are very familiar with Brother Mance Rayder?"
"Yes." Benjen seemed very happy to introduce his friend to Lynd, saying, "When I joined the Night's Watch, it was Mance who taught me how to be a qualified Night's Watchman, and he saved me more than once during many patrols thereafter."
Lynd nodded, then turned and extended his hand to Mance, saying, "Since you are Brother Benjen's friend, you are also my friend, Brother Mance Rayder."
Although Lynd acted very normally, Mance Rayder always had a feeling that Lynd seemed to know about his affairs.
"Don't scare yourself, he definitely doesn't know anything.
I'm just feeling guilty." Mance Rayder quickly ran through his thoughts, then took a deep breath to calm himself.
Afterward, he very calmly shook hands with Lynd, and then, like an admirer, expressed his reverence for Lynd.
For him, there was nothing he could do now but hope that Benjen and this person in front of him had not noticed anything unusual about him and his men, because if this Godsworn possessed even a tenth of the combat power from the rumored stories, then he and his men would probably not even have a chance to fight back.
Benjen Stark did not notice anything unusual at all.
They were very happy to see Lynd and Mance shake hands, and then he pulled the two to the bonfire, unceremoniously taking a freshly roasted elk meat from the fire and cutting it for them.
The other Rangers also gathered in groups of three or five around the bonfire, taking out their dried rations and putting them on the fire to soften, sharing them with their companions.
They did not know that these companions from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea had been contemplating stabbing them just moments before.
Lynd took a piece of roasted meat handed to him by Benjen, dipped it in some spice powder he carried with him, and then handed it to Mance, saying, "This is spice powder shipped from across Across the Narrow Sea.
Dip roasted meat in a little, and it will become very delicious.
Try it."
Mance looked at the roasted meat Lynd offered, and the layer of green spice powder covering its surface, which looked somewhat like poison.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally took it and put it in his mouth.
However, his pained expression was quickly replaced by one of surprise, as the taste of the spiced roasted meat clearly amazed him.
Lynd handed the spice box in his hand to a drooling Benjen, telling him to evenly sprinkle the spices on the roasted meat, then turned to Mance Rayder and asked, "Brother Mance, I remember Eastwatch-by-the-Sea is on the easternmost side of the Wall, very far from here.
Is this also the patrol area for Eastwatch-by-the-Sea Rangers?"
Hearing Lynd's question, Benjen also showed a puzzled expression, because Eastwatch-by-the-Sea's patrol area extended from the Ghost Shadow Forest on the east side to Hardhome, and this area was not within the patrol range of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea Rangers.
Mance Rayder vaguely explained, "We were tracking a group of Savages and encountered a blizzard halfway, so we had to take shelter in White Tree Village."
"Savages? Are they the cannibalistic Savage Tribes from the Great Glacier?" Benjen immediately made a connection and eagerly asked.
Mance just froze for a moment and didn't answer, because he had just casually given a reason and had not expected it to cause such a big reaction from Benjen.
Then, Benjen told Mance about a cannibalistic Savage Tribes camp they had discovered not long ago.
Mance's expression also became serious, and he reverted to a Ranger's way of thinking, expressing the same doubts as Benjen had earlier.
In his opinion, unless something very dangerous had happened, the Savages from the cannibalistic tribes would not risk crossing Frostfang to come to the eastern forest, because for the Savages from the Great Glacier, the Ghost Shadow Forest, full of various spirits and monsters, was the most dangerous place.
"Perhaps the Others are chasing them," Lynd suddenly interjected with his conjecture.
Whether by coincidence or not, the surrounding cold wind instantly stopped, and at the same time, the Night's Watchmen around the bonfire also stopped talking and looked at Lynd.
The entire White Tree Village instantly became incredibly silent, with only the crackling sound of fire burning pine wood echoing here and there.
"Haha! Lord Linde, you are truly a joker!" Benjen suddenly burst into laughter, and the other people around also laughed heartily, seemingly taking Lynd's words as a joke.
Lynd didn't say much, just smiled, poked the bonfire with a wooden stick, then got up and walked towards the very prominent weirwood in White Tree Village.
White Tree Village still had villagers living in it.
They were Free Folk, and their relationship with the Night's Watch was neither good nor bad.
The Night's Watch could stay here, and they wouldn't attack the Night's Watch, nor would they talk to them.
Just like now, when the Night's Watch rested here, they kept their doors shut and didn't say a word to them.
The entire White Tree Village had four houses, all built around a weirwood.
This weirwood was very large, its canopy spreading out to cover the roofs of all the houses in White Tree Village.
However, this weirwood grew extremely ugly, its trunk twisted and gnarled as if affected by some force, forming a natural face.
Coupled with its pale bark and blood-red leaves, all of this made it look more like a terrifying ghost face.
Lynd walked to the ghost face of the weirwood and stared at it.
His eyes could see some residual magic on the weirwood, but it was unclear, so he summoned Glory back.
When Glory emerged from the woods, it caused panic among the Night's Watchmen from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
They all shouted and stood up, drawing their weapons, while the other Night's Watchmen from Black Castle watched their Night's Watch brothers make fools of themselves with smiles on their faces, and deliberately showed mocking glances in their eyes, as if ridiculing their fussiness, completely forgetting their own terrified reactions when they first saw Glory.
Mance Rayder was also startled by Glory, but he quickly recalled the content of the songs and immediately realized that this unusually large Shadow Lynx was the Holy Beast of the Seven from the songs.
He then told his subordinates about Glory's identity, telling them not to panic, and subtly hinting that they should not do anything abnormal due to panic.
Glory walked past the bonfire and came to Lynd's side, looking at the weirwood.
Lynd entered a state of shared vision.
Now, on the ghost face of the weirwood, he no longer saw a blurry mass of magic, but three indistinct blood-red eyes.
Although he wasn't sure if the Three-Eyed Raven was currently peering at him through the weirwood, he could infer from the state of these three eyes that the Three-Eyed Raven should not have fully recovered yet.
On this trip Beyond the Wall, Lynd had no intention of getting involved with the Three-Eyed Raven.
As long as the other party didn't provoke him, he didn't need to cross them.
As for the grievances between him and Velas, they could resolve it themselves.
Therefore, Lynd merely bowed to this weirwood, made no move to harm it, and then, taking Glory with him, turned and left.
After Lynd left, several crows hidden in the dense branches of the weirwood emerged and flew quickly into the distance.
Seeing Lynd bow to the weirwood, which represented the Old Gods, Mance Rayder couldn't help but feel a little surprised, because in his understanding, Lynd represented the Seven.
While the monks of the Seven would not treat the Old Gods as enemies to be fought and killed, they would absolutely not make a gesture like bowing to the Old Gods.
Lynd's action just now could be completely regarded as blasphemy.
Mance Rayder couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Lord Linde, as the Chosen of the Seven, why would you bow to the weirwood of the Old Gods?"
"Why can't the Chosen of the Seven bow to a weirwood?" Lynd retorted, "Are there any related prohibitions in the scriptures of the Seven that you have read?"
Mance was stunned, not knowing how to answer.
In fact, he believed in the Old Gods, let alone reading the scriptures of the Seven, he had never even been to a sept to hear a monk tell stories from the scriptures of the Seven, so how would he know any prohibitions.
Afterward, he thought for a moment and then asked, "Earl, I have heard about your deeds in the South, such as how you subdued the Savage Tribes in your territory, granted them the status of commoners, and allowed them to live like everyone else.
Is this method of handling truly suitable for those Savage Tribes?"
"Then how do you want me to deal with them, kill them all?" Lynd clearly understood Mance Rayder's thoughts, but he deliberately twisted the other party's meaning, saying, "Although you Rangers and the Savage Tribes have fought for thousands of years and have deep-seated grudges, they are also human, just like us.
Constantly thinking of annihilating others is truly a bit excessive."
Benjen, who was nearby, also nodded repeatedly, indicating that Mance Rayder's approach was a bit too much.
"No, no, I didn't mean that!" Mance Rayder quickly shook his head and explained, "I just wanted to say, Earl, that by doing this, you are turning a once free tribe into your servants, to be controlled by you for generations, and to pay taxes to you for generations, this…"
At this point, Mance Rayder suddenly stopped, because he realized he had said something wrong.
Benjen Stark looked at his mentor and good friend with a strange expression and said, "Mance, it seems that the last incident had quite an impact on you.
You're starting to have Free Folk ideas.
If it weren't for the black cloak you're still wearing, I'd almost think I was sitting in front of a tribal Savage."
"That incident did affect me, but it wasn't a bad thing.
At least it allowed me to think about problems from another perspective," Mance Rayder admitted straightforwardly, without concealing anything.
"You can say these things here, but don't ever say them when you go back to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, otherwise, something will happen," Benjen said very seriously.
Mance Rayder smiled and did not respond, because he could not go back to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea anymore.
Mance then tentatively asked, "Where are you patrolling next?"
Benjen, without any suspicion, revealed his plan, saying, "We're going back to Kraste's keep, and then use that as a base to patrol the surrounding areas to see what we can find.
What about you? What are you planning to do? Continue tracking your target, or go back to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea?"
Mance Rayder thought for a moment and said, "I will take my men further north to see the Fist of the First Men.
If I don't find anything there, I might go check out Horned River."
Benjen said with concern, "Going that far? That's Savage territory, it's too dangerous."
Lynd interjected at this point, saying, "Brother Benjen, you don't have to worry.
I also need to go to the Fist of the First Men, so I can go with Brother Mance.
Please believe that my ability is sufficient to protect Brother Mance and his safety."
Benjen also showed a look of realization and said, "That's right, Lord Linde, you also seem to be going north, so you can go with Mance."
Upon hearing this, Mance Rayder had no choice but to force a smile on his face.
Then he curiously asked Lynd, "Lord Linde, what do you want to do up north?"
Lynd smiled and replied, "I want to find the legendary winter horn!"
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