The tent's interior space was much larger than it appeared from the outside.
Thick animal hides insulated it from the wind and snow.
A massive brazier in the center blazed brightly, dispelling all the cold.
A strong, peculiar smell permeated the air.
The scent was a mix of charred roast meat, sour cheap ale, and the primal, wild smell of sweat.
The ground was covered with thick, unknown beast furs.
A dozen or so Free Folk, dressed in various ways and appearing to be tribal chiefs, sat around the brazier, laughing loudly, creating a warm and boisterous atmosphere.
A man of impossibly burly build, with a fiery red beard covering his face, was holding a huge horn cup and pouring its contents into his mouth.
He was Tormund.
And at the head of the table,
A man even taller, wearing crude armor made of bone and black iron, sat upright with a commanding presence.
He looked like the undisputed king of these Free Folk.
Lynn's gaze, however, did not linger on him.
He looked towards a man sitting in the corner, playing a lute.
The man wore ordinary black leather armor, had a plain appearance, and seemed unremarkable.
He kept his head down, his fingers plucking the strings.
The melody he played, however, carried a hint of Southern melancholy, completely out of place with the surroundings.
The singing stopped.
All eyes fell on Lynn, Jon, and Ygritte as they entered.
The previously noisy tent instantly fell silent.
A dozen pairs of eyes, filled with scrutiny and hostility.
"Ygritte!"
Tormund, the red-bearded giant holding the horn cup, stood up.
His eyes swept over Lynn and Jon, and he grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth.
"You little girl, you really brought a Crow back?"
"I thought the big Crow had taken you to make little Crows!"
His words drew a burst of laughter.
Ygritte's face flushed crimson, and she tightened her grip on her bow.
"Tormund! Show some respect! They are my guests!"
"Guests?"
Tormund's laughter grew louder.
He pointed at Lynn and Jon.
"Since when did we become friends with Crows?"
"They don't deserve to be our guests; they only deserve to be our targets!"
"Shut up, Tormund."
A calm voice spoke.
It wasn't the imposing "King" at the head, but the man playing the lute in the corner.
He set down his lute, stood up, and walked to the brazier.
He wasn't tall, nor was his build particularly burly.
But when he stood up, all the Free Folk in the tent naturally turned their gazes to him.
He was the true King of these Free Folk.
Mance Rayder.
"I heard from the captured Night's Watchmen that you are highly respected at Castle Black."
Mance Rayder scrutinized Lynn, his bright eyes carrying a wisdom that seemed to see into people's hearts.
"Tell me, what are you here for?"
Lynn was concise.
"Cooperation."
Mance Rayder was taken aback; they clearly hadn't expected Lynn to say that.
"Yet you are willing to trek through the Haunted Forest to personally meet me, a traitor."
"That is enough to prove your sincerity."
"But sincerity alone cannot make my hundred thousand people lay down their weapons."
Lynn got straight to the point.
"We both know that the true enemy is not each other."
"Winter is coming, and the dead are stirring; we don't have time for infighting."
"Well said!" Tormund slapped his thigh.
"So you Crows should open the gates and let us through!"
"Tormund!" Mance reprimanded.
He looked at Lynn and shook his head.
"You see, that's the problem."
"We want to survive, and you want to keep us outside the Wall."
"This is a conflict that has been irreconcilable for thousands of years."
"He's different!"
Ygritte suddenly exclaimed.
All eyes turned to Ygritte.
"He's not an ordinary Crow!"
Ygritte's chest heaved violently as she looked into Mance's eyes and spoke, word by word.
"I heard from those Night's Watchmen that he can foresee the future!"
"He knows the weaknesses of those things!"
"The Old Gods... yes... even the Old Gods are guiding him!"
She dared not mention the Night King and the Three-Eyed Raven, only expressing it in this vague way.
"Most importantly,"
Ygritte's voice carried a fervor she herself hadn't noticed.
"He has a dragon!"
"A dragon that can breathe fire, breathe ice, and knock down houses!"
"He could have flown here on his dragon and burned all of us to ashes!"
"But he didn't!"
"He chose to walk here on his own two feet, just like us!"
"I believe him! He's a good person!"
"A good person?"
Tormund sounded as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Ygritte, has this pretty boy made you stupid?"
"There are good people among the Crows?"
"I thought you were the smartest of the Free Folk."
"Didn't expect you to be even stupider than me."
Jon Snow's expression turned somewhat grim, his hand already on his sword hilt.
"I told you! He's different!"
Ygritte was so anxious she was almost in tears.
"Enough, I'll take it from here."
Lynn placed a hand on Ygritte's shoulder, pulling her behind him.
He looked at Mance Rayder, his gaze calm.
"I didn't come here to beg you."
"But to give you a choice."
"A choice to survive."
"I can have the North accept you."
"Ned Stark and I are on good terms, and this is Jon Snow, Ned's bastard son; he can confirm that everything I say is true."
"I promise here that I can give you land, give you food, so that your women and children no longer have to endure hunger and cold."
"You will also no longer endlessly fight the Night's Watch."
"You only need to do one thing."
"I want you to be willing to take up arms and fight alongside us, and fight for the living."
"Ha!"
Tormund scoffed.
"That sounds even better than Mance's singing!"
"Let us lay down our weapons, walk into your cage, and then wait to be slaughtered like sheep?"
"We, the Free Folk, will never kneel to the people of the South!"
"Including your damned King!"
"Never kneel!"
The Free Folk chiefs in the tent roared in unison.
The sound waves almost overturned the tent.
"Who said you had to kneel?"
Lynn retorted.
His voice cut through all the roars.
"I said we fight side by side, as allies."
"Not one side being the slave of the other!"
"Of course, you can also choose to refuse."
Lynn's gaze swept over everyone present.
"You can lead your people to charge that seven-hundred-foot-high ice wall."
"Use the bodies of your people to fill the hatred between us."
"And then what?"
"Even if you miraculously break through the Wall, what will you gain?"
"An empty North?"
"Or the people and armies of the Seven Kingdoms, turned into an army of the dead by the Others?"
"By then, you will face endless wights, and the Night King."
Lynn's words gradually replaced the Free Folk's anger with solemnity.
Mance Rayder's eyes also changed.
He had always thought those things were just mindless monsters.
A King?
A more powerful dead man?
The dead man who took the babies?
This Night's Watchman seemed to know much more than he had imagined.
"You are right."
Mance finally spoke, looking deeply at Lynn.
"I believe you."
"I have also seen the dead with my own eyes."
"I believe you truly want to cooperate with us."
"But..."
He changed his tone.
"My people won't believe you."
"They only believe what they see."
"They won't believe a Crow's promise, even if you really ride a dragon."
"Unless..."
Mance glanced at the Free Folk chiefs from various tribes around him.
"You can prove that you are one of us."
"How do you want me to prove it?" Lynn asked.
"It's simple."
Before Mance could speak, Tormund next to him interjected.
His large face was full of defiant smiles.
"The rules of the North!"
"We, the Free Folk beyond the Wall, never believe empty words."
"We only believe in fists!"
He slammed the horn cup in his hand heavily on the ground, pointing at Lynn's nose.
"A fight!"
"You! And me!"
"Right here!"
"If you can survive my hands, I will be the first to acknowledge you as an ally!"
"If you lose..."
Tormund grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth.
"Then I'll keep your pretty head as my new drinking cup!"
The atmosphere in the tent instantly dropped to freezing point.
Jon Snow's heart was in his throat.
Tormund, Giantbane.
This guy's bravery was famous throughout the lands beyond the Wall!
Many Night's Watch brothers had died by his hand!
He knew Lynn was skilled with a sword.
But bare-handed, facing this Tormund, the chances of winning were probably slim!
Just when everyone thought Lynn would refuse such an unreasonable request.
Lynn smiled instead.
"Just survive?"
"You underestimate me too much."
Lynn took off his heavy bearskin cloak and casually tossed it to Ygritte behind him.
He walked towards Tormund, flexing his wrists.
A cold flame ignited in his dark eyes.
"What if I win?"
"If you can win against me?"
Tormund pounded his chest, making dull thudding sounds.
"If you can win against me, from now on, I, Tormund, will be at your command!"
"If you say east, I go east, and if I go back on my word, then I'm your pet!"
"Good."
Lynn liked straightforward people like this.
He strode up to Tormund.
"Come on, let me see how hard Giantbane's fists really are."
Tormund also adopted an attacking stance.
The moment his words fell, Lynn's gaze suddenly turned sharp!
He didn't retreat, but fiercely took a step forward, punching Tormund in the chest!
Although his unarmed combat skill was only proficient, the immense strength was enough to compensate for any technique!
Tormund had no time to react!
He only felt an indescribable force violently impact his chest!
Bang—!
A muffled, extreme thud!
Tormund's body was actually knocked off his feet and sent flying backward!
His massive body successively knocked over two Free Folk chiefs, finally crashing heavily against a tent pole.
The entire tent shook violently from the impact.
"Cough... damn it... someone help me up..."
Tormund's weak voice came through.
The entire place was dead silent.
All the Free Folk stared at the scene, their minds blank.
No one even bothered with Tormund, who was lying on the ground like a corpse.
Tormund... was taken down in one move?
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn luffy1898