Two thousand soldiers marched in unison, singing a military song like a giant anaconda returning to its lair.
When two thousand people stepped together and sang the same song, even if their equipment was a bit lacking, the aura was enough to turn heads.
Led by Jon, the two thousand tribal warriors marched toward the camp designated for him.
"Gods, is this... is this really a wildling army?"
"Look at what they're wearing. If they aren't wildlings, what are they?"
"I'm not talking about equipment. I mean the vibe—the spirit, you know?"
"The spirit is indeed impressive. Just don't know how they'll fight."
Soldiers and nobles pointed and whispered.
At this time, Medger Cerwyn and Harrion Karstark also arrived at Jon's camp.
"Did Jon really raise an army from those wildlings? They actually look decent!" Before Jon left, Lord Cerwyn had thought it was a wasted effort.
But now, with the facts before him, Jon had surprised him once again.
"It seems Jon isn't just great at fighting; he has a talent for convincing others too," Harrion marveled beside him.
This army, with its high morale and unified spirit, was at least superior to the wildling auxiliaries in the Lannister army.
Jon seemed to have molded them together in a very short time.
Such an army could definitely be taken into battle.
And they looked capable of winning!
Both men were eager to see Jon and learn how he did it.
Many in the Northern army had started trying to imitate Jon's training methods recently.
Unfortunately, the results weren't great.
They wanted to ask Jon for advice.
Meanwhile, hearing that Jon had returned, Lyman Darry insisted on visiting Jon's camp.
Martyn and Munda tried to dissuade him, but to no avail.
Martyn and Munda didn't have much affection for Jon, who had stopped Robb from becoming King.
But they couldn't overrule Lyman; after all, Lyman was the current Earl of House Darry.
So the three of them came to Jon's camp.
"Wow, is this the wildling army? I think they look pretty good," Lyman said excitedly.
As for the brothers Martyn and Munda, although they didn't want to admit it verbally, they agreed with Lyman in their hearts.
Jon definitely had a knack for raising and training soldiers.
At least judging from things like military songs, it was clear he had ideas.
Currently, Jon's camp was a bit crowded with the addition of two thousand men.
Fortunately, arrangements had been made in advance.
Fitting these two thousand people in wasn't a problem.
The issue was feeding them.
Although Jon was their commander, he was responsible for their food, drink, and lodging.
After busy hours of settling everyone in, the sky darkened.
Sora brought a basin of clean water for Jon, but Jon waved his hand.
"I already washed my face."
"No, Jon. We walked such a long way; you can wash your feet."
"No need. We are in the army now; I must be the same as everyone else."
Jon's attitude surprised Sora. Her father, Victor, had instructed her to take good care of Jon.
Because he would be their future liege lord.
"Where is Hakon? I have announcements to make later."
Unexpectedly, at the mention of Hakon, Sora pouted and said:
"Hakon went to find those women."
"Those... oh~"
Jon suddenly remembered there were camp followers.
Jon was in charge of military discipline, so naturally, he wouldn't allow his men to pillage Riverlands women.
These women were there to make money.
Of course, some were desperate and hoped to trade their bodies for food.
Jon had intended to ban it completely, but the tradition of camp followers was deeply ingrained.
He couldn't spend his precious authority on this right now.
He could only restrain his own subordinates.
Besides, to some extent, it did provide a way for some poor souls to survive, so he turned a blind eye.
He would ban such things only when he built a "new model army" in the future.
Actually, it wasn't just prostitutes; peddlers and even small circus troupes would come to the camp to try their luck.
Of course, the circus performers had to be non-combatants like dwarfs.
Their area of activity was strictly limited too.
Jon chatted with Sora for a while longer, planning to arrange for her to meet their Fire Witch.
Suddenly, two familiar faces arrived—Medger Cerwyn and Harrion Karstark.
As soon as they entered, they loudly praised him:
"Hahaha, Jon! Who would have thought the wildlings you brought back actually look capable? Now the whole Northern army knows about you guys."
Hearing Harrion's words, Sora was unhappy.
Although she didn't want to marry any man from the tribe because of her mother, the tribe was still where she grew up. Hearing others speak ill of her people was hard to accept.
Seeing this, Jon spoke up:
"So... Sol, go get some tea."
To hide her identity as a woman, Sora used her younger brother's name.
She bowed and exited the tent, not forgetting to roll her eyes at Harrion before leaving.
"Sol? Did you bring him from the tribe too?" Medger Cerwyn asked.
"Mm," Jon nodded.
"Looks spirited enough, but the hips are a bit wide. If he were a woman, he'd definitely bear many sons," Cerwyn commented, watching Sora's retreating figure.
Jon quickly stopped him and asked about the Lannisters' recent movements.
"That old man Tywin knows he's done for. We've already recovered most of the Riverlands."
"Right. His best choice now is to flee back to the Westerlands, but Robb and the Riverlands army are waiting for him there too."
Both spoke of Tywin with relaxed tones.
Jon realized that complacency was spreading through the Northern army.
Then, the two revealed their true purpose: they wanted Jon to share his secrets of troop training.
Jon didn't refuse. He promised to compile his insights into written documents and share them when he had time.
His generosity surprised both Harrion and Cerwyn.
For a lord, the secrets of training troops were worth a fortune.
Yet Jon was willing to share them for free.
They decided Jon was a friend worth keeping.
Only Jon knew that his training methods had significant limitations for this era.
The Northern army was basically cobbled together temporarily.
And an army needed time to gel.
Using these training tips to further win over the two men was a very profitable deal for him.
Just as the three were chatting happily, Roose Bolton sent someone to find Jon, saying there were military matters to discuss.
"Be careful, Jon. Nothing good comes from that old man looking for you!" Harrion warned.
Cerwyn looked a bit unhappy because he was older than Roose Bolton.
But the two had slowly gotten used to this "conversational genius" Harrion.