In a clearing in the First Men Burial Mounds near the Kalin Bay swamp, hundreds of tents were densely pitched, each filled with sleeping people. Many others sat around bonfires outside the tents, while inside and outside the camp, squads of soldiers patrolled back and forth, wary of their surroundings.
Banners stood erected within the camp. Anyone familiar with heraldry would recognize these banners as representing the most renowned noble families of the North, such as the flayed men of House Bolton, the winter sun of House Karstark, the roaring giants of House Umber, and House Mormont of Bear Island, among others. Almost every major lord in the North had sent people to join this campaign to suppress the rebellion.
Originally, they had envisioned a smooth journey south, joining the royal army, easily resolving the Iron Islands rebellion, and returning home with fame and fortune. However, what they never expected was for tens of thousands of troops to be stuck in Kalin Bay, unable to move, leaving them feeling frustrated and helpless.
Inside the main tent of the camp, Eddard Stark, the Duke of the North, sat grim-faced in the main seat, listening to the report from White Harbor. The expressions of the surrounding Northern lords and nobles were also far from pleasant.
"So, Lord Manderly can only muster thirty-five ships now?" Duke Eddard confirmed after listening.
The envoy from White Harbor replied, "Yes."
Eddard questioned, "Why is that so much less than expected?"
The envoy answered, "Because someone leaked the news in advance that Lord Manderly was going to requisition ships, so many merchant ships left early."
"Leaked news? Who leaked the news?" Galbart Glover, Lord of Deepwood Motte, asked in a deep voice.
"It's unclear for now, but..." The envoy shook his head, looking troubled.
"But what?" Galbart Glover pressed.
The envoy lowered his head and said, "Those merchant ships left before Lord Eddard's order reached White Harbor."
Everyone present immediately understood that the envoy was implying the leak came from their side, and their expressions grew even uglier.
"Is that eel trying to shirk responsibility? He couldn't gather enough ships, yet he blames us for leaking the news. That damned old eel, he should be..." The short-tempered Rickard Karstark couldn't help but curse.
"Enough, Lord Karstark." Duke Eddard stopped the outspoken Karstark and said, "I believe Lord Manderly has done his best, and it's not impossible that the leak came from our side."
Rickard Karstark said no more, but his angry mood had not subsided.
Roose Bolton, the Earl of Dreadfort, appeared remarkably calm among the agitated crowd. He interjected, "How many people can thirty-five ships transport?"
The envoy answered truthfully, "If the holds are completely filled, one ship can transport sixty to seventy people. If you add the deck, transporting a hundred people shouldn't be a big problem."
"Only that many?" Roose Bolton frowned and said, "I heard some ships can carry hundreds of people without issue."
The envoy explained, "Lord Bolton, the ships you're referring to are large cargo ships and dedicated troop transports. Most of the ships Lord Manderly prepared are White Harbor's guard warships, which are much smaller than those."
"If one ship can only transport a hundred people at a time, then it would take at least ten trips to transport all our troops to King's Landing, which would likely take several months." Roose Bolton quickly calculated the time required for a southward journey by water, then turned to Eddard Stark and said, "Lord Eddard, we should still storm Kalin Bay."
Eddard Stark did not respond to Roose Bolton. He seemed to be lost in thought.
"My Lord, why don't you let me try!" Jorah Mormont stepped forward and said, "I can lead a small group of men to infiltrate Karling Bay Castle late at night and open the gates. Then, My Lord, you just need to lead your men to support from outside."
Galbart Glover, who had a good relationship with House Mormont, quickly said, "Are you crazy! There are thousands of Ironborn inside Kalin Bay. If you go in with a few men, you'll just be chopped into meat paste."
Jorah Mormont hastily argued, "I'm confident..."
"Enough, Earl Mormont, your suggestion is too dangerous. I cannot allow you to take such a risk." Duke Eddard stopped Jorah from continuing, then made a decision, saying, "I will contact Huo Lan and ask him to help find a path through the swamp. Without heavy baggage, traveling light, we should be able to go through the swamp..."
Just as Duke Eddard was stating his decision, a raven flew in from outside the tent, landing precisely on the table in front of Duke Eddard. It then dropped the note it held in its beak onto the table and cawed twice at Duke Eddard.
Everyone watched this scene in astonishment. A few realized something and looked at the raven with slight disgust. Although everyone believed in the Old Gods, they were still very resistant to supernatural powers, even believing there was something evil within them.
"Huo Lan?" Eddard seemed to have guessed the raven's identity and confirmed.
The raven nodded, then pecked at the note with its beak.
Eddard immediately picked up the note, unfolded it, and looked at it. A smile immediately appeared on his face as he said, "It seems we no longer need to find a way through Kalin Bay. Kalin Bay has already been recaptured."
Everyone was stunned by the news, and then a look of joy appeared on their faces. They then successively picked up the note to read it.
"Who is this Chosen One Linde?" Jon Umber, Lord of Last Hearth, couldn't help but ask in confusion after reading the contents of the note.
Not only Jon Umber, but most of the Northern lords were also very unfamiliar with Linde. Compared to news from the South, they were more concerned with matters in their own territories.
However, Roose Bolton, who enjoyed collecting intelligence from the South, was different. He knew a lot about Linde, so he took it upon himself to explain Linde's identity and his legendary experiences.
Everyone was shocked after hearing him, as it seemed too incredible to them, especially the feat of single-handedly slaying over seven hundred Iron Islands pirates in front of the Starry Sept plaza, which they believed deep down to be absolutely impossible.
Roose Bolton explained, "This feat has been certified by the Seven Gods Church, which claims he received the Warrior's blessing and is the Warrior's Chosen One, hence the title Chosen One."
"The Seven Gods Church, those corrupt fellows, if you give them money, they can even make you a saint," a Northern lord who believed in the Old Gods said with great disdain.
Everyone agreed.
Roose Bolton added, "The Citadel also certified this feat and recorded it in the Citadel's chronicles."
The tent instantly fell silent. Although they looked down on the clergy of the Seven Gods Church, they held the Maesters of the Citadel in high regard and knew that any feats recorded by the Maesters were definitely repeatedly confirmed and far more credible than those of the Seven Gods Church.
"No matter who this Chosen One is, it's not important to us. What's important is that Kalin Bay is now clear." Duke Eddard stood up, interrupting their discussion, and ordered, "Immediately blow the horn! The entire army will advance to Kalin Bay!"
As the Duke of the North's order was given, the lords of the Northern Allied Forces immediately returned to their respective armies, rousing the soldiers in their tents, preparing their gear, and setting off.
As soon as dawn broke, the Northern army entered the swamp, marching along the causeway towards Kalin Bay. By around noon, they had already arrived outside Kalin Bay Castle.
Upon arriving outside the castle, the Northern Allied Forces first saw a large number of Ironborn corpses discarded in the surrounding swamp, being devoured by countless lizard-lions.
Because the lizard-lions' attention was entirely focused on the corpses in the swamp, they paid no heed to the army on the causeway, making the army's march relatively safe. Only a few bold lizard-lions attempted to attack the procession on the causeway, but they were quickly driven back by startled soldiers.
Seeing so many Ironborn corpses casually discarded in the swamp, left for wild beasts to devour, Eddard Stark's face showed displeasure. In his view, such indiscriminate disposal of bodies was a highly dishonorable act; even enemies' bodies should be given due respect, such as being cremated.
However, for the rest of the North, this act of feeding Ironborn corpses to the swamp lizard-lions was quite satisfying. They watched with great enjoyment, even discussing how, after this war, the lizard-lions around Kalin Bay would likely become even fiercer and prefer eating humans, as once they'd eaten too much human flesh, other meats would taste bland.
The gates of Karling Bay Castle had been opened early. The Northern army marched directly into the central plaza of the castle. Linde's army, after briefly clearing the Ironborn corpses, had already left the castle and returned to the camp outside to rest, preparing to depart for Sea Frontier City once the Northern army took over.
Only Linde, Nameria, Huo Lan, and Daisy, along with a dozen soldiers, remained inside the castle, awaiting the arrival of the Northern forces.
Upon seeing Eddard Stark leading the Northern lords enter Karling Bay Castle plaza and dismount, Huo Lan brought Linde and his group before Eddard Stark and the others.
"Duke, this is Chosen One Linde Terra, and this is Na Melilia Fudeli of Tengshi Town..." Huo Lan introduced Linde and Nameria to Eddard Stark.
"Daisy? What are you doing here?" At this moment, Jorah Mormont, standing among the lords, couldn't help but step forward and ask in surprise upon seeing Daisy standing beside Linde.
Everyone was immediately drawn by Jorah Mormont's exclamation and saw Daisy. Several of the lords were not unfamiliar with Daisy; they or their sons had been her suitors. To southerners, Daisy was a crude woman, but to northerners, Daisy was definitely a good woman most suitable to be a wife.
Unfortunately, Daisy did not take to any of her suitors and later used adult travels as an excuse to go south, disappointing many.
They just hadn't expected to see Daisy again under such circumstances, and seeing her wearing exquisite armor, she seemed to be doing quite well now.
"I am now the captain of Lord Linde's Fifth Cavalry, and in this battle to retake Kalin Bay, I killed eleven Ironborn," Daisy said proudly, looking at everyone.
Hearing Daisy's words, everyone came back to their senses and looked at Linde, who was wearing fallen knight armor, standing nearby.
Eddard Stark's gaze lingered for a moment on the winged dragon on Linde's helmet, then he walked up to Linde and extended his hand, saying, "Thank you, Sir Linde, for recapturing Kalin Bay. Otherwise, we would have had to storm Kalin Bay, and the losses would have been great."
"The King's command, I could not refuse," Linde replied politely, shaking his hand, then asked, "Shouldn't you have taken a ship from White Harbor to bypass Kalin Bay? Why would you need to storm Kalin Bay again?"
Duke Eddard paused, then asked, "How did Lord Linde know we were going to bypass Kalin Bay and take a ship from White Harbor?"
Linde explained, "Before coming to Kalin Bay, Lord Huo Lan and I discussed Duke Eddard's next move at Greywater Watch."
Duke Eddard's face showed understanding. At the same time, he realized that the departure of those merchant ships from White Harbor might not have been a leak, but rather clever people deducing their decision to bypass Kalin Bay, causing them to leave White Harbor early to avoid their ships being conscripted.
As they were speaking, Jon Umber, Earl of the North, suddenly blurted out to Nameria, "A woman! A woman leading soldiers! Have all the men in the South died? How could they let a woman lead soldiers?"
As Jon Umber's words fell, the Northern lords and the soldiers behind them burst into laughter. Eddard Stark's face turned very ugly. He was about to reprimand his lords, but Linde stopped him.
Linde turned to Nameria, whose face showed anger, and asked with a smile, "Shall I leave it to you to handle?"
"Yes, leave it to me to handle." Nameria nodded, then took her great axe and walked to an open space, turning to face the Northerners. She said, "A bunch of guys who have been stuck for over ten days with no way to go south! Come on! Let me see if you Northerners can be called men!"
With Nameria's provocation, the faces of the Northern lords and knights, who had been mocked, turned somewhat ugly. At the same time, Duke Eddard did not intervene due to Linde's actions, so Jon Umber, who had first provoked Nameria, stepped forward and accepted Nameria's challenge.
However, to everyone's surprise, Jon Umber merely drew his longsword and launched a single attack at Nameria, only to be sent flying, man and weapon, by Nameria. This was just with the flat of the axe; if it had been the axe blade, Jon Umber would likely have been cut in half.
Everyone was stunned by this scene, because they knew how strong Jon Umber was in the North. Not many lords present could directly confront Jon Umber, yet such a powerful Northern warrior couldn't even last one move against Nameria. This left all the Northern lords and knights in disbelief.
"Northern men!" Nameria swept her gaze over everyone with disdain, then turned and returned to Linde's side.
Linde then said, "Duke, I am now setting off to reinforce Sea Frontier City, but I am short on manpower. I may need you to provide some assistance. The skill of this lord just now was quite good; he was able to take a move from Nameria without getting hurt. Please assign this lord to me!"
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