The Wall, a structure hailed as a miracle, has stood for a thousand years.
Its western half stretches straight, like a gleaming blade severing the earth.
Its eastern half, like a winding silver serpent, disappears into the sea.
The Wall, along with the Nights Watch, guards the northern gateway of the Seven Kingdoms, keeping out wildlings and the legendary Others.
Within Castle Black, which stands beside this icy Wall, a middle-aged man with a grizzled beard and an old man with white hair and beard sat facing each other.
The middle-aged man was Jeor Mormont, the current Lord Commander of the Nights Watch.
Hailing from Bear Island, he was burly, with a pet raven perched on his shoulder.
The old man sitting opposite him was named Aemon, a surviving Bloodline of the defunct Targaryen Dynasty.
He was so old that the new king had forgotten him.
However, this old man was old and blind, his eyes always staring blankly upwards, indeed posing no threat to the new king's position.
Standing beside the two was a young man of sixteen or seventeen.
He was somewhat corpulent, his belly almost touching the edge of the table, and he was reading a letter to the two.
"...Respected Maester Aemon, the moment I saw you, I felt a strong kinship, as if I had met a relative I had never known.
I do not possess your wisdom, perhaps because I have not yet sworn the oath of the Nights Watch.
As a son, I cannot ignore the news of my father being framed..."
When the Targaryen Dynasty was overthrown and annihilated more than ten years ago, Maester Aemon was heartbroken and wanted to do something.
But in the end, he decided to remain at the Wall, upholding the oath he had made.
The somewhat plump Nights Watch member read the letter in his hand, carefully observing the expressions of the two men.
Both their expressions were solemn.
His name was Sam, a good friend of the letter's owner.
Although his friend had indeed not taken the Nights Watch oath, in Westeros, a land that values honor, such an act was no different from desertion.
Once 'caught,' the chances of beheading were high.
Perhaps his status as the bastard of the Lord of Winterfell could give him some leeway, but who could say?
"...Respected Lord Commander Mormont,
Although my time at the Wall has not been long, I can feel your attention and expectations for me.
I don't want to say that I haven't sworn to become a true Nights Watch member yet.
I promise, one day I will return to fulfill my duty.
— Jon Snow, a bastard from Winterfell."
Sam finished reading the signature and looked at the two old men.
One was the Lord Commander, the most influential person on the Wall.
The other was the Maester of the Nights Watch, the most respected person on the Wall; their choices would determine his friend's fate.
Life,
or death.
Lord Commander Mormont snorted and said:
"I'll send Alliser and his men to bring this little bastard back! And send Corin too."
Hearing Mormont's decision, Sam's heart sank, and his lips twitched.
He wanted to plead for his good friend but lacked the courage.
The Lord Commander's anger was understandable; this old man, whose words and expressions were always cold, had been grooming his friend as an heir.
Jon's 'desertion' naturally made him furious.
Alliser was usually at odds with Jon, always looking for an opportunity to humiliate him.
Corin was a Ranger of the Nights Watch, often venturing beyond the Wall, accompanying the brutal wildlings.
If Jon was caught by them, he would likely lose half his Life Qi before even returning to the Wall.
Sam instinctively turned to look at the old Maester, hoping he could intercede for Jon.
But he dared not speak, and the old Maester couldn't see his meaningful glances.
After a moment, the old Maester pursed his thin lips and said:
"I will write to Winterfell."
Sam's head exploded; this meant they had even cut off Jon's retreat.
Mormont said nothing and got up to leave.
Now only Sam and the old Maester were left in the room.
"Maester Aemon..." Sam began weakly, but the old Maester interrupted him.
"Sam, just write that Jon has left the Nights Watch, and also hand over this letter he left to Winterfell."
...The King's Road was originally built during the Targaryen Dynasty.
Although called a great road, many parts of it would become muddy when it rained.
But there was at least a road connecting most parts of the Seven Kingdoms.
On this great road, a somewhat dark and thin young man was riding a horse southwards, white foam seeping from the horse's mouth.
The continuous gallop had pushed it close to its limit.
Behind the young man also followed a snow-white Direwolf.
He was Jon Snow, the deserter of the Nights Watch, though he was no longer the original Jon.
He knew that his father was actually his uncle, and his true father was Rhaegar, the former prince.
And he was not a bastard.
His real name was Aegon Targaryen.
But mentioning all that now was useless.
According to the original storyline, Jon hesitated about whether to go south to join the forces seeking revenge for Eddard only after swearing to become a Nights Watch member.
But as a Transmigration, he was determined to go south, so he found an opportunity, left a letter, and departed gracefully.
According to his understanding, as long as he didn't swear the oath, he couldn't be considered a true Nights Watch member.
At least morally, there was room for maneuver.
Subsequently, he chose his moment, left the Wall at night with a horse, and prepared to support the 'Young Wolf' who was about to raise an army to rescue his father.
However, 'the current Jon' knew that Eddard Stark could not be saved no matter what.
A few months later, he would die at the hands of 'King Joffrey'.
Moreover, the Westerlands army was already rampaging in the Riverlands; he, without a single soldier, couldn't possibly get through.
So Jon's current goal was to find a way for the Stark to emerge from this war unscathed.
According to the original storyline, the Young Wolf would perish in a conspiracy.
But before that, the Young Wolf still had many winning moves.
Jon's minimum goal was to make Robb control his urges and retreat safely to the North, so that with the strength of the entire North supporting the Nights Watch, the Nights Watch's situation would not be so difficult.
At that time, twenty to thirty thousand troops would guard the hundred-foot-high Wall.
As long as Dragon Mom didn't intervene, Jon really couldn't imagine how the Night King would get through.
Of course, if the Night King had other tricks, they would deal with it then; it would be much better than letting the pitiful few men on the Wall confront the countless army of Others.
'No matter what, the Nights Watch cannot save the Seven Kingdoms. To fight the Others, I must participate in this game of power!'
Jon thought silently, looking at the Direwolf beside him.
Just then, Ghost, the Direwolf, suddenly pricked up its ears and looked back.
Caution gleamed in its scarlet eyes.
Jon also felt something was wrong, so he looked back, only to see a dozen riders in black clothes rapidly approaching him.
'My pursuers are here.'
A bitter smile appeared on Jon's somewhat dark and thin face, and the cold reality pulled him back from his fantasy.
He raised his whip, urging the tired warhorse beneath him.
This horse had been traveling for three consecutive days, only eating weeds along the way.
And the cavalry behind him had two horses per person; catching up to him was only a matter of time.
The surrounding terrain was flat, and to shake off the pursuers... Jon turned to look around, realizing there was only one choice—Wolfswood.
"Ghost! We're going into the woods!"
Receiving Jon's command, the Direwolf, whose body length almost exceeded that of an adult, transformed into a white blur, rushing quickly towards the Wolfswood.
The cavalry behind, seeing Jon heading towards the Wolfswood, all accelerated to catch up.
"This little bastard!"
One of the Rangers, who looked like an officer, pursued most fiercely.
It was as if he wasn't chasing a Nights Watch deserter, but a naked noble Young Miss.
His name was Alliser, the new recruit master of the Nights Watch.
Just as Sam had feared, Alliser and Jon were very much at odds when they were at the Wall.
He loved to give people nicknames, such as calling Jon 'Lord Jon' or 'My Lord'.
Jon, currently a bastard, could not be called a Lord or a knight.
Such nicknames were clearly sarcastic.
When Alliser learned that the Lord Commander had given him the task of capturing Jon, he was overjoyed.
He swore that once he caught Jon, he would humiliate him greatly.
Even if he was lucky enough not to be beheaded, he would never be able to hold his head high again.
When the pursuers reached the edge of the vast Wolfswood, Alliser turned to a man as silent as a city wall and said:
"Ser Corin, how about you take a few men and block that boy up ahead?"
Corin tugged on his reins and spoke somewhat indifferently:
"No need."
After speaking, he rode his horse and plunged into the jungle.
Rangers always traveled alone, traversing the vast lands beyond the Wall as if it were routine; catching someone in the Wolfswood was nothing to him.
Seeing the Ranger leave, Alliser's expression changed, and he spoke without looking back:
"Stupid... Pypar, take your friend and 'invite' our Lord Jon back.
If you two fail to bring him back, then his fate will only be beheading."
As soon as he finished speaking, two young Nights Watch recruits rode out from the ranks.
The young man named Pypar was slender, while the recruit accompanying him was tall.
However, his height gave people the impression of a big oaf.
The big man was named Grenn; because of his size, Alliser had given him the nickname 'Dumb Ox'.
Because the nickname Dumb Ox was used so often, he even forgot Grenn's real name.
However, the two said nothing and rushed headlong into the Wolfswood.
Alliser knew that as Jon's good friends, and after his scare, they would certainly search for Jon with all their heart.
But to be safe, he still sent another person to follow them.
Among the men he brought this time were many new recruits; he was not generally well-liked, so he could use Jon to establish his authority.
He turned to the people behind him and said:
"If we catch that deserter this time, that's fine, but if we don't, you'll be on continuous Nights Watch patrol for a month!"
Beyond the Wall was already cold, and the Wall itself was even more so; at night, the cold wind on the Wall's battlements almost pierced to the bone.
The Nights Watch members always patrolled and stood guard in shifts; a month of continuous duty would surely lead to illness.
Seeing Alliser say this, most people fearfully shrank their necks.
Of course, a small number of people showed ill will and resentment in their eyes.
But they all did as he said.
Alliser was also of noble birth and had a knack for dealing with runaway peasants and Soldiers.
At this time, the most appropriate action was containment, not pursuit.
He believed that Jon could not escape no matter what.
And things were developing in the direction he hoped.
The shouts rising and falling in the Wolfswood startled all the birds and beasts into hiding.
"Jon! Come back with us!"
"Jon! Come back with us! At least you won't be beheaded!"
"Come back, Jon, as long as you come back, Lord Commander will not kill you!"
"..."
In the woods, Jon listened to the 'surrender' voices rising and falling, and the pressure in his heart slowly accumulated.
The warhorse beneath him stumbled and fell to the ground, panting heavily.
Looking at the warhorse, its head pressed to the ground, eyes closed, Jon sighed.
"I had planned to use it on the battlefield, but it seems now is not the time to save it."
As his thoughts turned, lines of characters of different colors appeared before his eyes:
[Swordplay]: Blue
[Archery]: Green
[Horsemanship]: Green
[Gods Perspective]: Green
[Warging]: Green
Remaining upgrade count: 1