Chapter 477 The Horn of Winter

  In the hall of Castle Black, Ed Stark's voice echoed until it gradually disappeared.

   "The above are the king's orders," the commander-in-chief of the night watchman put away the letter, "so, please prepare, we will open the city gate and let the wildlings in..."

   "Wait a minute!" A voice suddenly sounded.

   Ed looked around, and saw Stannis Baratheon standing up slowly.

   "Lord Stannis, what's your opinion?"

   "Your king," Stannis raised an eyebrow, "how does he plan to house hundreds of thousands of wildlings?"

   "This, he didn't say clearly in the letter."

   "So there is no plan." Stannis curled his lips in disdain, "Once so many wildlings go south, what will happen if there is a conflict with the people of the Seven Kingdoms? Lord Ed, your northern border is the first to be affected."

"I am no longer the guardian of the northern border." Ed said, "As for your worries, I believe there will be a solution. Moreover, His Majesty has said that he will lead the Allied Forces of the Seven Nations to support the Great Wall. When the army arrives, I believe these savages will not dare stir up trouble."

   "The king wants to lead the army to the north? For what? Is it true that the legendary ghosts are coming?"

   "Yes." Jon Snow said, "I saw them with my own eyes on the Fist of the First Men! Believe me, the wildlings are not a threat, those White Walkers are."

   "Hehe, how credible is the words of an illegitimate child?"

   "He's still a chameleon."

   "And broke the oath."

  Faced with doubts, Jon almost blurted out his true life experience.

   But fortunately, Ed was the first to speak:

   "I believe him! If the White Walker is a lie, I will bear all the responsibilities!"

  The powerful words echoed in the hall, suppressing all voices of doubt.

   There is no doubt that the name Ed Stark still has considerable weight, especially among the night watchmen.

  Over the years, because the White Walkers never appeared, the southern nobles have long forgotten this almost exiled northern legion, and the Stark family has been silently supporting them.

   Seeing that Ed made such a promise, Stannis didn't say any more.

   Ed nodded slowly, and said: "Very good, since everyone has no objections, we need to send an envoy to negotiate with the savages."

   "I'll go!" Jon immediately applied.

  Ed took a deep look at him and did not refuse:

   "Okay, you go."

  Jon nodded, and then strode out under the gazes of all kinds of people.

  While waiting for the door to open, Ed chased after him and said:

   "If you want, I can disclose your real life experience."

   "No need, father." Jon said, "In the Great Wall, Targaryen may not be nobler than Snow, but it will cause more trouble. Moreover, I don't want people to respect me just because of my surname."

   Ed didn't speak any more, just patted him on the shoulder.

  The city gate slowly opened a thin crack, and the biting cold wind blew in, bringing snowflakes and ice particles, making people unable to open their eyes.

"Take care of yourself!"

"you too."

  Jon bid farewell to his father, turned around and walked into the snow without hesitation.

   Not long after leaving the Great Wall and walking north, Jon was discovered by patrolling wildlings.

  After explaining his purpose, he was taken into the tent of the king beyond the wall.

   "Meet you again, Crow." Mance Reid said flatly, "I really admire your courage. You dare to come to see me after betrayal."

   "I'm here to save you." Jon said.

   "Save us?" Mance raised his eyebrows, "How?"

   "His Majesty has agreed to let you enter the Great Wall."

   "Which Your Majesty?" Mance asked, "In recent years, the person sitting on your iron chair has changed too frequently."

   "It's His Majesty Caesar."

   "Caesar..." Mance fell into memory, "I remember that kid, when we met by the Trident River, he was just a baron."

   "You actually met Caesar?" Jon was quite surprised, even he himself had only heard of the legendary new king.

   "That's right, I met once, he is a very interesting guy. However, you agree to let us enter the Great Wall, there should be conditions?"

   "Yes, you are not allowed to take the initiative to attack the people of the Seven Kingdoms. All tribal leaders must swear allegiance to His Majesty Caesar and accept his arrangements..."

   "He wants us to kneel?" Mance interrupted.

   "Yes," Jon nodded, "if you want to enter the south of the Great Wall, you must give up the status of the so-called 'free people'."

   "Do you know why I defected from the Night Watch?" Mance asked back.

"Why?"

   "Because I'm tired of kneeling." Mance said coldly, "My people don't want to kneel either. We are born free people. If we don't have freedom, we might as well die."

   "Perhaps what you are about to face is more terrifying than death." Jon said, "You should have seen how the corpse stands up again. Stay north of the Great Wall, that is your fate."

   "Do you really think the Great Wall can stop us?" Mance smiled, pointing to a corner of the tent.

   A horn was placed there.

  The horn was huge, its curving lines fully eight feet long, and the opening so wide that he could fit it all the way down to his elbow. If it's from a bison, it's the biggest cow ever.

   At first he thought it was inlaid with bronze, but when he got closer he realized it was gold. Old gold, engraved with runes, faded to brown.

  Jon suddenly remembered an ancient legend, and his face suddenly changed:

   "Horn of Winter?"

   "Yes," Mance said, "this is the Horn of Winter. It is said that as long as it is blown, the Great Wall will collapse."

   "This is just a legend, no one has tried it..."

   "The White Walkers were once just legends." Mance reached out to stroke the curve of the horn, "but now, legends are becoming reality."

  Jon pursed his lips and said:

   "Why didn't you blow the horn before that, but kept sending troops to attack the Great Wall?"

"The horn sounded, and the Great Wall collapsed. Then, what else can humans rely on to stop the White Walkers?" Mance said, "Of course, I also underestimated you. Now the Night Watchmen have been reduced to less than a thousand people, but they are still better than you." I imagined it would be tougher to deal with.

  But I believe you can also understand that if it is a last resort, or the conditions you put forward are too excessive, I also have the last choice. "

  Jon didn't speak for a long while.

  Compared to how confident he was at the beginning, he now finally feels that things are a little tricky.

   "I know you can't make a decision," Mance said, "so, let Caesar come to see me in person. I believe he will give an acceptable condition."

  Jon glanced at the huge horn again, nodded and said in a muffled voice:

   "I will bring your request back, but I cannot guarantee that Caesar will be willing to see you."

   "He will." Mance smiled confidently, "We had a good chat last time, I believe he will not reject old friends."

  (end of this chapter)