"Are you really leaving?" Gerry, the leader of the Tree People Savage Tribes, stood at the entrance of the canyon, looking at Lord Linde, who was already packed and ready, and said, "Stay! Lord Linde, you will be respected here like a god."
Lord Linde smiled and retorted, "Gerry, let me ask you, if you had endless delicacies and countless money in the South, tens of thousands of people willing to die for you, and countless people serving you in the center of your territory, would you rather stay in the cold North Beyond the Wall, or return to the South?"
"I said nothing," Gerry's face was as unpleasant as if he had been constipated for days, he muttered, then turned and hurried back into the canyon.
"He meant no harm, he just doesn't know your standing in the Southern kingdoms," Mance Rayder stepped forward to explain for Gerry.
"I know, and I like the people here very much," Lord Linde looked at the tribal chiefs and warriors waving goodbye to him at the canyon entrance and waved back.
Although it had only been two days, after he displayed his formidable strength in the camp, single-handedly challenging all the tribal warriors, he had already become the most respected person among all the Savage Tribes, especially the Tree People, who had witnessed him perform miraculous feats, regarded him as a god.
"After Varamyr the Sixskins' tribe arrived, no other Savage Tribes have come. It seems they are the last tribes to seek refuge. The others have either gone to Hardhome or are hiding in other places. I hope they can escape the Others' pursuit," Mance Rayder said with some sorrow, but then he changed the subject and asked, "Was what happened to Varamyr that day your doing?"
"Not me, it was Glory," Lord Linde shook his head, pointing to Glory, without further explanation. Then he pointed to the melting stream appearing in the distance and said, "You don't have to worry too much. The Others probably won't move south again for a while. Haven't you noticed the weather is getting warmer?"
Hearing Lord Linde's words, Mance Rayder was stunned. He turned to look in the direction Lord Linde was pointing, a pensive expression on his face. Soon, the worry between his brows lightened considerably. Everyone knew that the Others appeared with cold and blizzards; once the weather warmed, they would inevitably move north to colder places.
Lord Linde reached out and patted Mance Rayder's shoulder, saying, "The people in the Savage Tribes probably haven't noticed this yet. You should make good use of this time to increase your prestige among the savages. After all, you are a sworn brother of the Night's Watch, and they won't trust and respect you so easily."
Lord Linde's words plunged Mance Rayder into thought, and Lord Linde did not continue talking to him. He swung onto his horse, pulled the reins, and rode Black Wind out of the mountains, with Glory and the Stone Giants following closely behind, quickly disappearing behind a hillside.
Although the crossing point of the Milkwater River was very close to the Shadow Tower on the Wall, taking at most half a day to reach, Lord Linde now had twenty-six Stone Giants with him, and he was not very familiar with the Night's Watch of the Shadow Tower. If he brought the Giants over rashly, it might cause some unnecessary misunderstandings. So, he chose to take a detour and return to the South through the Black Castle's passage.
Two days later, Lord Linde led the Giants to the outside of the Wall. Perhaps because the Giants were too conspicuous, the people in the watchtowers on the Wall only saw the Giants and immediately raised the alarm.
Lord Linde also heard the alarm bells, so he had the Stone Giants wait at the edge of the forest, while he rode Black Wind to the entrance of the passage below the Wall.
"Lord… Lord Linde?" The Night's Watch guarding inside the gate of the entrance barrier saw Lord Linde through the cracks, all of them both surprised and delighted.
"Those Giants are my subordinates. Now I need to take them to the South. Go tell Commander Jeor Mormont to approve their passage, to avoid any misunderstandings," Lord Linde told the Night's Watch.
Hearing that the legendary Giants had been subdued by Lord Linde and became his subordinates, several Night's Watch members showed shocked expressions, but quickly returned to normal. After all, Lord Linde could even defeat the legendary Others and wights Beyond the Wall, let alone Giants.
So, they quickly ran back through the passage to inform Commander Jeor Mormont of Lord Linde's return.
Lord Linde did not wait at the gate but turned his horse around and returned to the Giants.
After about twenty minutes, the passage gate slowly opened, and Commander Jeor Mormont emerged from the passage leading the high-ranking members of the Night's Watch. Lord Linde also led the Giants to meet them.
"Commander Jeor, your grand welcome with your team truly flatters me!" Lord Linde joked as he approached the Commander of the Night's Watch.
"You have recovered the lost ancient Glory and responsibility for us in the Night's Watch; no matter how grand the welcoming ceremony, it would not be excessive," Commander Jeor Mormont said, then led all the high-ranking Night's Watch members in a sword salute to Lord Linde, and recited the Night's Watch oath.
"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no Glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the Wall. I am the fire that warms against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and my Glory to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."
Everyone recited the Night's Watch oath aloud towards Lord Linde, their expressions solemn, just as they had sworn when they first became Night's Watch members.
Seeing this, Lord Linde also dismounted and bowed in return to the Night's Watch members.
For the Night's Watch, the appearance of wights undoubtedly proved that the responsibility and Glory of the Night's Watch were no longer legends, and the Night's Watch was no longer a dumping ground for various criminals, but true warriors fighting for human safety. This was undoubtedly a rebirth for the high-ranking members of the Night's Watch, which made them immensely grateful to Lord Linde, who had defeated the Others and brought back the wights.
After the solemn salute, the high-ranking Night's Watch members led Lord Linde into the passage. The Stone Giants following behind had to crawl on the ground and wriggle through the passage. Fortunately, the passage was very wide, enough for the Stone Giants to pass through.
When passing through the middle section of the Wall, the Dragon Rune reacted abnormally again, but this time the reaction was much weaker than the first. Lord Linde was still able to check the winter horn and Dragon Egg in his backpack.
As he expected, the blood vessel-like patterns on the Dragon Egg's surface glowed faintly red, and some small branches extended outwards, like capillaries. Although the winter horn showed no movement, Lord Linde could feel the power contained within it resonating faintly with the magic in the Wall.
Soon, the dark passage was traversed, and all abnormal movements ceased as they exited the passage.
At this time, all the Night's Watch at Black Castle, whether they believed in the Old Gods or the Seven, cheered loudly, "Godsworn, Godsworn!"
Clearly, the Chosen of the Seven, the savior legend, had begun to take root in people's hearts, starting to replace the legend of Azor Ahai's smoke and salt. After all, the legend of smoke and salt was just a legend, but the Godsworn of the Seven had already killed the Others and brought back wights. Comparing the two, it was naturally clear which was superior.
However, the cheers of the Night's Watch abruptly stopped as the Giants emerged from the passage. It was the first time they had seen Giants as tall as the Wall, and the sheer physical presence was enough to make even battle-hardened warriors feel inexplicably suffocated.
Lord Linde arranged the Stone Giants in the open space outside Black Castle and asked the Quartermaster of the Night's Watch to provide enough food for the Giants. Of course, it was not free; Lord Linde also provided enough money.
After a brief wash, Lord Linde was called by Commander Jeor Mormont to Maester Aemon's study. Also in the room were the Commanders of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and Shadow Tower, and other high-ranking Night's Watch members.
"Did you find it?" Maester Aemon asked impatiently upon seeing Lord Linde enter.
"I found it," Lord Linde took the winter horn out of his backpack and placed it on Maester Aemon's desk.
Everyone looked at the bronze horn with puzzled expressions. Old Bear Jeor Mormont couldn't help but mutter, "Is this the winter horn? It's a bit too small? Can this thing really make the Wall collapse?"
"An iron gate can be opened with a small key; this thing is the key to open the Wall," Lord Linde said calmly.
Maester Aemon reached out and stroked the surface of the bronze horn. When he touched the runes on it, he said, "These runes are very ancient First Men runes, perhaps even predating the First Men. I have seen similar runes in the Citadel."
"If we blow this thing now, will the Wall collapse?" the Eastwatch-by-the-Sea Commander asked nervously.
Lord Linde pointed to the crack on the horn and said, "This thing is damaged now. If it can be repaired, perhaps it could."
Hearing Lord Linde's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"This thing is too dangerous. We should destroy it now," someone suggested.
"No," Lord Linde shook his head, his expression serious, and said, "When I passed through the Wall's passage just now, I could feel that the winter horn has some connection with the magic inside the Wall. If the winter horn is directly destroyed, I cannot be sure whether the Wall will be affected."
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.
"Lord Linde, how do you plan to deal with this artifact?" Maester Aemon asked.
Lord Linde said in a deep voice, "I was entrusted by Lord Velas Tyrell to find the winter horn. Since it has been found, I naturally must take it to Highgarden and hand it over to Lord Velas."
Old Bear Jeor Mormont nodded and said, "Take it to Highgarden? That's good, much better than leaving it in the North. And it will be in Lord Velas's collection; he will certainly value the safety of this artifact."
Lord Linde put the horn back into his backpack and asked, "After Brother Benjen brought back the wights, how did you deal with them?"
"We followed your instructions at the time and had Benjen and a team of Rangers take the wights to King's Landing. This matter is crucial for us in the Night's Watch to regain our Glory, so we dispatched our most elite men to escort them," Commander Jeor Mormont replied with a serious expression, "When they passed through Mole's Town, they met Fortimo Klein and Ser Joel, who had not yet left. Both sers joined the escort team. A few days ago, they sent word that they had already passed Winterfell. After Lord Eddard Stark saw the wights, he personally led Winterfell's guards to escort the team to King's Landing. We believe with Lord Eddard's involvement, King should take the matters of the wights and Others more seriously."
Lord Linde nodded. He was somewhat surprised that Eddard Stark personally escorted the wight samples south, especially since in the history of the books in his previous life, Eddard Stark had never gone south again after suppressing the Iron Islands, until his next journey south where he eventually died, just like his father and brother.
"Lord Linde, were you with Mance Rayder, the oathbreaker, at the end? Where is he now?" the Commander of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea suddenly asked.
"He is with the Tree People savages now," Lord Linde replied.
All the Night's Watch members' expressions turned very ugly. The existence of an oathbreaker in the Night's Watch was already a huge scandal, but now this scandal had even occurred in front of Lord Linde, an outsider, which made all the high-ranking Night's Watch members present feel disgraced.
"This is exactly what I wanted to tell you," Lord Linde said to everyone with a serious expression, "When I left, the Tree People were hiding from the Others' pursuit in a secluded valley in Frostfang, along with other Savage Tribes from Ghost Shadow Forest and the eastern coast of Beyond the Wall. Their numbers are roughly around ten thousand."
Everyone sat up straighter upon hearing this.
"Additionally, some other Savage Tribes are also fleeing the Others' pursuit, choosing to seek refuge in Hardhome, numbering perhaps ten to twenty thousand," Lord Linde said earnestly, "This is only a small part; there are other tribes also hiding from the Others in various refuges, but still a large number of Savage Tribes have been captured by the Others. Some have become wights, and some have been transformed into Others."
"Good, those savages deserve to die!" A Night's Watch member couldn't help but exclaim loudly.
The vast majority of the Night's Watch present showed expressions of joy, with only a few, such as Old Bear Jeor Mormont and Maester Aemon, looking even more serious.
"Do you think this is a good thing?" Lord Linde looked at everyone and said, "Do you think it's a good thing that the enemies the Night's Watch has fought for years are being killed by the Others? Don't forget, after being killed by the Others, they will only become wights that are harder to deal with and more fearless of death. The number of enemies will not decrease."
"This is also a very important thing I want to tell you Night's Watch members," Lord Linde stood up, placed his hands on the hilt of his Greatsword, and solemnly scanned everyone in the room, saying, "I don't care how deep the feud between you Night's Watch and the savages is, but in front of an enemy like the Others, who hate all life, you must put aside all grudges. Everything must revolve around fighting the Others."
"I can tell you very seriously, when I saw a tide of hundreds of thousands of wights advancing towards me at the Fist of the First Men, led by hundreds of Others, I didn't think I would live to return south of the Wall. At that time, I was afraid." Lord Linde deliberately exaggerated the number of Others and wights, then acted out a fearful expression, before his expression turned solemn again, and he said, "Fortunately, the blizzard suddenly stopped. That was absolutely not a natural phenomenon, it was like a revelation given by the Seven. Afterwards, the Others retreated before my eyes, leading an endless stream of wights. At that moment, I knew what mission I bore and what I should do. Here, I also hope you all remember the true purpose of the Night's Watch, and do not let unnecessary hatred blind your minds. When you regain the Glory and responsibility of the Night's Watch, you must also remember who your true enemy is."
After hearing this, everyone's expressions became extremely serious, but they did not give Lord Linde a clear answer. Instead, everyone's faces showed signs of contemplation, clearly having taken Lord Linde's words to heart.'
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