Open the gate.
This issue is the core of all contradictions.
Hatred has flowed in the blood of both sides, inside and outside The Wall, for thousands of years; it cannot be easily resolved by a single duel.
At least, this Wildling Tribe did not believe it.
Lynn did not answer immediately.
His gaze swept over every Wildling in the tent.
From their faces, some reverent, some suspicious, some full of anticipation, he saw their most primal desire.
They all wanted to survive.
They did not want to stay in that place beyond The Wall for another moment.
"Don't worry, in the Night's Watch now, besides the Lord Commander, my word carries the most weight."
"You absolutely don't need to worry about this."
A collective gasp echoed in the tent.
Even Mance Rayder was stunned.
The Night's Watch, the oldest organization in the Seven Kingdoms, only obeyed the commands of their Lord Commander and the laws of the kingdom.
How could someone who wasn't the Lord Commander command them?
"From today on, inside and outside The Wall, I am in charge."
Lynn scanned everyone, his dark eyes showing no hint of jest.
"You want land, you want food, you want warm hearths, you want your women and children to no longer die of hunger and cold."
"I can give you all of it."
"South of The Wall, that vast land called the Gifted Lands, will become your new home."
"You can herd, farm, and build your own villages there."
"Live there together, like all Northmen."
Lynn's words ignited a fervent hope in the hearts of all the Wildling Tribe leaders.
The Gifted Lands!
Though in the eyes of Southerners it was a barren, godforsaken place.
But that legendary fertile land was a dream for this Wildling Tribe, a place they had yearned to set foot on for generations!
"In exchange."
Lynn's tone grew cold.
"You must take up arms, become the first line of defense for the North, and guard The Wall alongside the Night's Watch."
"You do not have to kneel to any king or the King in the North, but you must swear an oath to me, an oath to all living beings."
"Your enemies are no longer the Night's Watch."
"But those monsters crawling out of the Land of Always Winter!"
"Anyone unwilling to follow the rules, who continues to burn, kill, and plunder in the North, I will personally twist off his head."
"My dragon will also burn his tribe, along with their tents, livestock, women, and children, to ashes."
A threat, a naked threat.
But accompanying it was the hope they had always dreamed of.
"I... I agree!"
Tormund was the first to break the silence.
His big face was flushed with excitement.
"Better than dealing with the dead!"
"I've wanted to see the South for a long time!"
"I've never seen a Southern woman in my life; are they as strong as us?"
His words immediately eased the tense atmosphere in the tent considerably.
"We'll listen to you!"
"That's right! As long as we can go to the Gifted Lands!"
"Mance, hurry up and agree, I can't stand it here for another day."
More and more Wildling Tribe leaders stood up, their eyes burning with fervent flames.
Mance Rayder looked at the almost out-of-control scene before him, at the young man who had single-handedly swayed the will of a hundred thousand Free Folk.
He knew that the old era of the Free Folk had ended... The procession returning to Castle Black appeared incredibly eerie.
At the very front was Lynn, riding a mammoth.
Behind him followed Jon Snow and the three dazed Rangers.
And after them were Mance Rayder, Tormund, Ygritte, and two dozen arrogant Wildling Tribe leaders.
On one side were the black-clad Crows, on the other their sworn enemies of a thousand years.
Now, they moved silently across the vast snowy plains like a clumsy, motley army.
"Hey, Snow boy!"
Tormund's loud voice was particularly jarring in the silent Snow.
He hooked an arm around Jon's shoulder and offered him a wineskin filled with strong liquor.
"Want a swig?"
"This is brewed from giant's milk; it's potent!"
Jon's body stiffened.
Smelling the pungent alcohol, he instinctively wanted to refuse.
"Drink it! Are you still a man or not?"
Tormund glared.
"I'm telling you, that Lynn kid is no fun at all, no jokes, unlike you, you look honest."
Jon glanced at Lynn walking ahead, then at Tormund's face, which clearly read, "If you don't drink, you're looking down on me."
In the end, he bit the bullet, took the wineskin, and took a small swig.
The spicy liquid instantly burned his throat, making him cough repeatedly.
"Hahaha! Useless Southerner!"
Tormund laughed triumphantly.
He snatched the wineskin back and gulped down more than half of it himself.
On the other side of the group, Ygritte followed Lynn's side like a little shadow, never leaving him.
"Are you really going to let us go to the Gifted Lands?"
She lowered her voice, her grey eyes glinting with a strange light.
"Mm."
Lynn looked straight ahead.
"Then where will you... you live?"
"Castle Black? Winterfell? Or King's Landing?"
"I don't know."
"Then..." Ygritte bit her lip.
"Can I come find you?"
Lynn paused, then turned to look at her.
Her fire-red hair was particularly striking against the white Snow.
On her usually stubborn face, there was now an expression of cautious anticipation.
Lynn simply raised his hand and tucked a strand of her red hair, blown by the cold wind, behind her ear.
"First, help your people rebuild their homes."
"When I return from Essos, I will come find you."
Ygritte's cheeks instantly flushed red like a ripe apple.
When the massive silhouette of Castle Black, like the end of the world, reappeared on the horizon, the group stopped.
Two long, urgent horn blasts pierced the tranquility of The Wall.
Signaling a Wildling Tribe attack.
The massive steel tunnel gate was tightly shut.
Above The Wall, countless black figures stirred, bows strung, glinting with cold light.
"Looks like your brothers aren't very welcoming to us."
Tormund spat, shouldering a huge bone axe.
The other Wildling Tribe leaders also gripped their weapons, and the atmosphere once again became tense.
Lynn ignored them, walking forward alone.
He looked up at the seven-hundred-foot-high ice wall and shouted loudly.
"Lord Commander Mormont, open the gate."
Finally.
Accompanied by a teeth-grating winch sound, the ice-sealed iron gate slowly rose.
At the end of the tunnel was the empty courtyard of Castle Black.
Lord Commander Jeor Mormont stood at the very front.
Behind him were Benjen Stark and hundreds of Night's Watch men, armed with longswords and ready for battle.
The two groups stood facing each other from dozens of meters apart.
Tension hung in the air.
Thousands of years of hatred seemed ready to explode at any moment.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
A radical Night's Watch officer pointed at Mance Rayder behind Lynn and shrieked.
"You actually brought this Night's Watch traitor into Castle Black?!"
"Fuck your Crow! He's not your damn traitor!"
Tormund immediately exploded, brandishing his bone axe and charging forward. "I've wanted to twist off your bastard head and use it as a chamber pot for a long time!"
"Silence!"
"All of you, shut up!"
Two angry shouts rang out simultaneously.
One came from Mance Rayder, the other from Lynn.
Lynn slowly walked to the center where the two groups were confronting each other.
He no longer released his terrifying ice power; he simply stood there quietly.
But everyone sensed that Lynn was suppressing his anger.
He stared intently at the troublemaking Night's Watch man.
"From today on, the war between the Night's Watch and the Free Folk is over."
Lynn's gaze swept from Lord Commander Mormont's face to Mance Rayder's face.
"You have only one common enemy."
"The Night King."
He raised his hand, pointing towards the endless Haunted Forest to the North.
"You can continue to slaughter each other here, using your blood and corpses to add new recruits to his Upcoming army of the dead."
"Or, lay down your hatred, take up arms, stand together, and fight to the death for all who are still alive."
Lynn lowered his hand, looking around at everyone.
"I give you a choice."
"But I won't give you much time."
"And, if anyone causes trouble again, don't blame me for being merciless!"
The entire courtyard was silent.
Lord Commander Mormont's weathered face showed shifting emotions.
He looked at Lynn, then at the fierce-eyed Wildling Tribe, and finally, he nodded heavily.
"Castle Black is willing to form an alliance with the Free Folk."
He turned and looked at some of the Night's Watch brothers behind him, who still harbored resentment and anger.
"As the Nine Hundred Ninety-Seventh Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, I command you."
"Lay down your weapons."
It was the same on Mance Rayder's side.
The atmosphere also eased considerably... A fragile peace was finally temporarily achieved.
The leaders of both sides decided to discuss the subsequent details in the Lord Commander's Tower.
Just as the crowd was preparing to move towards the Lord Commander's Tower, a clear female voice broke the oppressive atmosphere.
"Ser Lynn!"
Myrcella, holding up her skirt, ran out of the tower.
When she saw the Wildling Tribe, dressed in animal skins and with fierce faces, in the courtyard, her emerald eyes instantly filled with fear.
She stopped, terrified, her face pale.
"Roar--"
A low dragon roar came from above the courtyard.
A sky-darkening shadow enveloped the entire Castle Black.
Winter's massive body circled down.
Its three huge heads, six lava-like golden vertical pupils, stared intently at the "strangers" below.
A terrifying dragon's might, belonging to a top predator, descended with a crash!
All the Wildling Tribe in the courtyard.
Including the fearless Tormund.
At this moment, all felt their legs turn to jelly.
This was fear from the depths of their souls!
They could be unafraid of the Night's Watch's swords.
But in front of a living giant dragon, their meager courage was instantly crushed to dust!
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