After all this time spent building, Hardhome had changed again. This time, all the people had proper housing, and the dilapidated hall had been completely rebuilt, with the Griffin's Roost's "Holy Sun Banner" hanging above it.
The flag was white, with a golden circle embroidered in the center, surrounded by 16 symmetrical golden rays. These rays corresponded to the four cardinal directions, and in the adjacent positions, there were another 16 shorter golden rays.
Looking at the banner standing on the land beyond the Wall, Marco was filled with pride. This would be his bridgehead against the Others in the future and the beginning of his conquest of Westeros.
At this moment, Marco, under the protection of Sas Ting and his men, was strolling along the main road of Hardhome. He had transformed it into a strong fortress; all the houses were enclosed in small fortresses, covered with sharpened Obsidian.
Since the female demon Marco was dealt with, the place had gradually regained its vitality. Trees and blackthorn bushes had grown, and fish and shrimp had become more plentiful. Marco also planned to dig a network of connecting tunnels under the permafrost next summer when the weather improved.
It had to be said that the underground city in the distance had given Marco a lot of inspiration. But now was not the time. Marco hadn't carefully explored it, so the passage was sealed again. With not many people, Marco didn't have time to clear it out. Otherwise, it would be a very suitable place to live.
Along the way, the people were warmly greeting Marco. He was still wearing the Necromancer's mask, mainly because Marco didn't want to reveal his face to everyone too soon. Now was not the time for him to reveal his identity.
But it was precisely because of his attire that some wildlings had come to accept him more. Because in this place beyond the Wall, many wildling tribe leaders liked to wear strange clothes to show their strength and prestige. So in the eyes of many wildlings, Marco was a genuine "free folk" leader, and he didn't make people kneel down at every turn like those legendary southern lords.
Marco and his party arrived at the harbor. Today, the Moon had brought another shipment of supplies from Skagos. Marco wanted to understand the recent situation at Griffin's Roost. Ravens and swift hawks were only used in emergencies, and the sea was unpredictable, making that method unreliable. Therefore, for a while now, some files and intelligence from Griffin's Roost had been transported by sea.
Seeing Marco personally arrive, Charles hurried down from the ship. This time, they would continue transporting people back to Skagos. After this period of transport, Hardhome was left with mostly young and strong individuals. The people they were sending back this time were some of the wildlings rescued by Marco when he went to the Three-Eyed Raven.
The biting cold wind on the Shivering Sea added a few more lines of experience to the brow of this man who had spent his life at sea, and a few more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He was an excellent captain, and it could be said that he single-handedly supported Marco's naval and merchant ventures. This system-provided captain had truly been a great help to Marco.
"My Lord! I've brought everything you asked for. There are also some intelligence reports and files collected recently. There are some matters that Lord Caspar said he found difficult to decide, so he's leaving it to you to make the final call. Fortunately, these matters aren't too urgent, so he didn't send a raven!"
Charles said respectfully to Marco.
Marco was a little puzzled after hearing Charles' words, and he couldn't help but think about the problem Charles mentioned. In Marco's impression, Caspar could handle anything well. This was the first time Marco had encountered such a situation.
After a brief thought, Marco didn't dwell on the issue too much. He adjusted his mood, smiled, and patted Charles on the shoulder, saying:
"You've all worked hard! You should rest for a few days. We'll return together later! We'll depart after we've resolved matters here!"
"Yes! My Lord! You little shits! Get moving, quick, quick, quick! My Lord! He's watching you! Tam, that means you!"
Charles departed, and his shouting and yelling filled the Moon. The crew was in a flurry, and he even kicked a few of the slower ones.
In a short while, two boxes were brought out. Marco eagerly walked over and opened the first one, which contained scrolls and documents. The scrolls were magical spell scrolls from the Valyrian era, all given to Marco by Maester Aemon. After gaining the ability of "Elemental Vision", Marco had been wanting to study their operating principles. He had a feeling he would make a great breakthrough this time.
Thinking of this, Marco excitedly picked up a scroll. Just as he was about to open it and take a look, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
"My Lord! Lord Brynden requests your presence!"
Hearing this, Marco could only put down the scroll, and signaled Sas Ting and the others to find someone to move the boxes to his room. Then, they followed the messenger towards the hall.
At this time, many people had gathered in the hall of Hardhome. Brynden was sitting on the main seat, surrounded by the original tribal chiefs. These guys had been given the right to participate in politics by Marco, but they only had the right to advise and consult, and could not directly make decisions on matters in Hardhome.
In the center of the hall, a middle-aged man with a proud face was cursing at the original chiefs, using an ancient language. Some were angrily arguing with him, while others sat there with grim faces, and still others were secretly gloating, glancing at the people around them.
Brynden looked at him with some anger, his magic fluctuating, with signs of an impending outburst. However, he seemed to have suppressed his dissatisfaction and listened carefully to Wolf Fang's translation, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes, as if he had reached his limit of endurance.
As soon as Marco entered, he heard the man there yelling:
"You, kneel, not worthy, be, free folk! We, must fight, for freedom!"
Marco frowned upon hearing this, and went into the hall on his own. When Marco entered the hall, everyone stood up and saluted. The middle-aged man became even more agitated when he saw Marco, and said to him:
"Southerner! Leave, here, free folk, do not, kneel! Ah... hand!"
Marco didn't indulge him, and with a backhand, fired a Magic Arrow, directly blasting his raised right hand. He howled and fell to the ground, rolling desperately, seemingly in extreme pain, and blood flowed all over the floor. Marco immediately used a soul link to connect to this agonizing, wailing soul.
Then Marco said to Brynden:
"Brynden! Don't worry too much. He's not a messenger at all. His purpose is to gather information. Their goal from the beginning has been to eliminate us. I am a conqueror, not a compromiser. For such a villain who comes to our door, don't bother with so much, just throw him out!"
Marco then turned his gaze to all the former tribal leaders present, his tone unfriendly.
"If some of you still prefer the old 'free and easy' lifestyle, I can give you a chance now. You can take this guy and leave to join that 'army' outside. If you've made up your mind, then go! Remember, this is the last chance. Next time, if anyone does this again, he's your fate!"
After Marco finished speaking, he signaled Na to go and bandage the unlucky fellow's wounds. Since the "female demon incident," Na was completely convinced by Marco. Coupled with the recent divine revelation from the Old Gods, she swore to serve Marco with her life.
A while ago, several Forest Witches with dream-prophecy abilities secretly made their way to Hardhome. Marco integrated them, forming a medical team and having them teach the female wildlings some basic medical knowledge. These Forest Witches from Westeros were another group with medical skills. To prevent a technological monopoly by the Citadel in the future, Marco had been gathering people with special skills. Although the Forest Witches were a bit mystical, their herbal medicine techniques were genuine. Properly integrating them would be an invaluable asset!
But this guy's mouth still wouldn't shut. Even with his hand gone, he was still cursing, so the old witch backhanded him, and his face swelled up. In a short while, even his tongue went numb. This bizarre situation directly frightened him into standing still. It turned out the old witch had added some anesthetic to the wound-dressing potion, which could both relieve the pain and shut the unlucky guy up!
Marco then ordered his men to throw him out. At the same time, he used a soul link to order a Warg to follow him. There were too many things happening in the territory recently, and the Wolf Spirit Squad's focus had been on the territory and the sea, so they were caught off guard by the enemy.
Through the soul link, Marco had already learned some things about the guy and also knew some basic information about the army outside. This wildling army belonged to the newly appointed King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder.
The person leading them was a guy who called himself the King of Bones. Their mission was to subdue Hardhome and gather the tens of thousands of people here into the army that would attack the Wall to the south.
After more than an hour, seeing that the people in the hall still hadn't reacted, Marco spoke.
"It seems you've made your choice. Then, let's go out together and meet the army of the King-Beyond-the-Wall!"
Marco had consolidated a force of 800 thugs, and then added 100 crossbowmen. At this moment, a series of assembly horns sounded in Hardhome. Many wildling warriors gathered around the hall, armed. After the consolidation was complete, the group marched out the door in a mighty procession.
At the second wooden wall, there was now an additional wooden support structure for people to stand on. This was specially designed by the craftsmen at Marco's request, to make it easier for the archers to inflict damage on the enemy from a high position.
The wildling warriors were already standing on it, placing their quivers. These wildling warriors that Marco had subdued were all under the unified command and management of Wolf Fang. These guys were okay in a favorable fight, but their combat effectiveness was really lacking, so Marco didn't pay too much attention to them. He only used these guys as militiamen and logistical troops.
Under the leadership of Lauren Hawk-Eye, the crossbowmen climbed up the wooden wall in turn, lined up, and loaded their crossbows. The thug soldiers marched in formation outside the city, and behind the second wall, the wildling warriors also formed ranks, holding bows and arrows, with arrows stuck in the ground beside their feet, ready to support the front lines at any time.
Marco and his party followed behind the team, a large group blocking the doorway, gazing at the wildling army that was gradually approaching in the distance. At this moment, several eagle screeches came from the sky. Marco looked up and found that there were about 7 or 8 eagles, and their flying posture was very unique, not at all like they were going to hunt. It looked like they were the enemy's Wargs.
Meanwhile, in the very center of Mance Rayder's army, a few Wargs had broken their "white-eyed" mode, chattering with a guy wearing a wild boar skull, discussing the troop deployment of Hardhome.
The warg Varamyr sneered.
"Hmph! The King of Bones, with the ten thousand or so men we have, attacking like this is a guaranteed death sentence. Those red-armored soldiers at the gate look like regular troops from the south. My men aren't going to follow you to their deaths!"
"That's right!"…
The chieftains of several tribes, riding giant boars, echoed his words. Various animals gathered around them; they also seemed to be wargs, but their mounts weren't as imposing as Varamyr's snow bear. Furthermore, this force seemed to have been assembled hastily, and these chieftains had no intention of attacking Hardhome with the King of Bones.
"Hmph! I knew I couldn't rely on you cowardly wolf spirits. I will take this place myself and make that southerner who dares to invade our free folk's territory a decoration on my scepter! Bah! Attack!"
The King of Bones, wearing a boar skull, barked out his command, ordering his soldiers to attack.
Marco just smiled. In the astonished gazes of the wildlings around him, he used "Summon Elementals." A fire elemental, its body wreathed in dark red flames, suddenly appeared at the city gate.
Then, Marco used the light magic "Teleport" on the fire elemental. In the next second, the fire elemental appeared in the center of the attacking force.
A wildling warrior charged too aggressively and plunged headfirst into the body of a fire elemental. Before the wildling warrior could react, he was engulfed in flames.
The fire elemental ignored the unlucky fellow, immediately unleashing a flamethrower attack, igniting the wildling warriors around it. Their fur cloaks served as excellent fuel, and they howled as they transformed into burning human torches.