Chapter 513 Special Envoy

 Last Hearth is the castle of House Umber in the north. It is also the northernmost castle in the Seven Kingdoms, except for the Night's Watch castle on the Great Wall.

 “My lord can see you now, bastard.”

Facing the contemptuous name of the knight of the Umber family, Jon Snow was unmoved and just strode into the hall.

  In the past, he was extremely sensitive to the name of bastard, but since he learned his true life experience, Jon felt relieved.

What's more, the situation is urgent now, and he has no time to worry about such minutiae with the Amber family.

The walls, floor and ceiling in the hall are all made of thick wooden boards, depicting the icy and snowy scenery of the north. The most eye-catching one is a roaring brown-haired giant holding a silver broken chain and wearing a gray animal skin. , exuding a very oppressive atmosphere.

 This is the coat of arms of the Amber family.

On the high platform in the center of the hall, a tall, muscular old man sat on a chair. He had a ruddy face and a messy beard. He had a piece of dragon crystal stuffed in his left eye socket. He looked quite scary.

Jon knew that this man was the acting lord of the Last Hearth—

 Ser Morse "Crowfood" Umber.

Since the lord of this place, Earl Jon Umber, was leading the army in King's Landing at this time, Sir Morse, as the Earl's uncle, took charge of the affairs of the territory on his behalf.

 Jon has been with Duke Eddard since he was a child and knows the main members of the major families in the North.

 But at this moment, being stared at by Sir Morse’s strange eyes, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.

 “Illegitimate son,” Morse said, “did you defect?”

"Of course not." Jon immediately denied, and then asked, "Lord Morse, didn't you receive the raven from the Great Wall?"

"Raven?" Morse's cheeks twitched, "I hate ravens the most! That thing should be roasted!"

Jon was speechless for a while.

He knew that Morse once slept in the snow, and a crow thought he was dead and pecked out his left eye. Morse woke up on the spot, grabbed the crow, and bit off its head.

Hence the nickname "crow food".

“Lord Morse,” Jon explained patiently, “The Great Wall has collapsed and the White Walkers are about to move south. You must organize the people to move south as soon as possible...”

"What nonsense are you talking about, bastard!" Morse yelled, "The Great Wall has fallen? Are the White Walkers coming? Do you want us to move south? Haha, now that we are gone, the territory will be freed up for the wildlings, right?"

"It's not like this…"

"No shit!" Morse scolded, "Don't think I don't know what good things your kid has done. Humph! Finally, Hearth City is just south of the land grant, and they know you Night Watchers very well. Your kid once hooked up with A savage girl, right? Tell me! Are you fabricating rumors now to help the savages seize our territory?"

Jon suppressed his anger and said:

"Lord Morse, I know that your only daughter was kidnapped by wildlings thirty years ago, but you cannot let personal prejudice cloud your judgment. If you don't believe me, you can ask other brothers of the Night's Watch. They all I have seen the Great Wall collapse with my own eyes, and I have also seen the army of corpses spreading like a tide."

"I'll ask clearly." Morse waved his hand as if to ward off flies, gesturing for Jon to step back.

“Lord Morse, you’d better hurry up, the wights are right behind us.” Jon warned, and then left the hall.

 He knew that it would be too difficult to get these northern nobles to voluntarily give up their territories and move south.

Everyone has a sense of luck. Before they truly see the horror of the White Walkers, the nobles will definitely be reluctant to give up their foundation.

Jon returned to the camp outside the city with a heavy heart. When he heard that the gentlemen of the Umber family did not believe that the White Walkers were coming, everyone was furious.

 After some debate, everyone decided to ignore the lords in the castle and continue their journey south.

 Publish the news about the White Walkers heading south along the way. If the villagers along the way are willing to go, take them with you.

Although this effect is definitely not as good as the local lord personally issuing an order to move south, they have no other way at this time. They can save as many as they can.

Jon hesitated for a while, then called for a night watchman:

“Glen, you take everyone and continue south, I’ll stay and give you advice.”

"Okay," Grant said, "be careful. Crowfood Morse is a very grumpy old guy."

"I see."

Unexpectedly, after the team heading south set off again, it would actually deepen Sir Morse Amber's suspicion.

 He summoned Jon angrily and asked:

"Illegitimate son, why did your people run away? Is it because they have a guilty conscience?"

Jon tried his best to explain, but the other party was so prejudiced that he couldn't listen at all.

As a result, Jon himself was imprisoned in the dungeon by Sir Morse.

However, retribution comes quickly.

That night, Jon in the dungeon heard fierce fighting sounds coming from outside.

 He knew that the army of corpses had finally arrived at the City of Last Hearth.

 At this time, Jon could do nothing but silently pray to the gods in the dark.

 The gods did not respond, as they had done so many times before.

 Fortunately, Sir Morse still spoke some sense and sent someone to release Jon.

When Jon was brought to the top of the city, he saw the snow outside was dark, all filled with the shadows of corpses.

Like black tides, beating against the city wall.

"Damn it!" Sir Morse was wearing armor and holding a sword, charging at the top of the city. After seeing Jon, he quickly asked, "Private...Jon, why can't you kill these monsters?"

"Fire," Jon said. "They're afraid of fire."

“Did you hear that?” Sir Morse shouted at his knights, “Go and prepare the kerosene!”

"yes!"

Jon sighed secretly and said:

“Lord Morse, you guys alone cannot stop the White Walkers. Moving south is the only way…”

"Boy!" Sir Morse roared with his beard and hair growing wildly, "If you are afraid, you can run away! Even if I die, I will die on the land of Last Hearth! Hurry! Where is the fire? You trash, what are you doing? Even slower than a sixty-year-old man like me!”

It has to be said that although Sir Morse is stubborn, he fights extremely bravely. Under his leadership, the Amber family's army broke out with extremely strong combat effectiveness and tenaciously resisted the attack of the ghoul army.

Pottles of kerosene were poured down from the top of the city and then ignited by rockets.

In an instant, the entire city was surrounded by a blazing sea of ​​fire.

Countless corpses were reduced to ashes in the flames.

 But unfortunately, fire oil is limited after all, but the corpses seem to be endless.

After the flames were extinguished, they continued to climb crazily towards the city, stepping on the bones of their companions.

The night was dark, the biting sea breeze blew billowing smoke, and the sounds of fighting on the battlefield filled the sky.

　　Despite the Amber family’s tenacious resistance, they were still unable to stop the army of zombies, and the North Gate and East Gate fell one after another.

 Ghouls flooded into the city like a tide, and fierce street fighting broke out.

 At this time, Sir Morse realized that the situation was over.

"Jon Snow." The acting Lord of the Last Hearth City was covered in blood, but he still held on to the sword tightly. "You can retreat with the Amber family."

 “Where are you, my lord?”

 “Someone must stay to break up the legacy.”

 Jon looked at the old knight with extremely complicated emotions in his heart.

"What's going on? It's my mother-in-law's fault now. Get the boys from the Amber family and get out!" Jon then calmed down, saluted Sir Morse, and then turned around and left.

Not far away, I heard the rough voice of Sir Morse again:

“Boys, remember to fight back! This is our territory!”

Jon couldn't help but turn around and take one last look.

 The wind and snow were raging, blinding his eyes.

 “Let’s go!”

 The southern gate opened, and Jon led a group of Amber family members to flee south.

I don’t know how long I have been running away, but the sky gradually turns white.

 Dawn has arrived.

Jon, who is familiar with the wights, knows that those monsters are particularly active in the dark, but they hate and fear light and warmth.

 After dawn, the ghouls will hibernate.

“Let’s take a rest.” Although he wanted to continue on his way, there were many old, weak, women and children in the team. If he didn’t take a rest, some of them might be left behind.

By this time they had arrived at the bank of Mojiang River.

 The river water, which was originally flowing endlessly, has now frozen into ice in the extremely cold climate.

 Fortunately, the wind and snow stopped temporarily, and people lit piles of bonfires by the river to keep warm and cook.

　　 Jon was resting against the trunk of a pine and cypress tree, but his eyes were a little confused.

 After crossing Mojiang, we arrived at the Dreadfort, which is the territory of the Bolton family.

 Compared to the Amber family, the Skinned Man family obviously hates and rejects Stark more.

What's more, he is a notorious Stark bastard.

Jon knew without even thinking that the same story would continue to happen.

At this moment, Jon suddenly regretted it——

 At the beginning, his father, Duke Ed, should have been allowed to go south in person, so as to persuade the northern princes to move south.

 But at this time, it was too late to say anything.

 He doesn’t even know if his father is still alive…

Just when Jon was at a loss, a shadow suddenly fell from the sky.

There were exclamations one after another in the camp:

"dragon!"

 “It’s Caesar’s dragon!”

 “The king has come to save us! We are saved!”

 …

 Jon's heart cheered up and he stood up quickly.

At this time, the white dragon slowly landed outside the camp, and the turbulent hot wind instantly dispelled the chill, and also dispelled the fear and uneasiness in people's hearts.

Samwell jumped down from the dragon's back and saw the members of the Umber family swarming towards him. They saluted him with tears in their eyes and asked him to rescue the Last Hearth City.

　　"Sorry, I just came from the Last Hearth, which has been occupied by wights..."

 The members of the Amber family were suddenly in despair.

"Don't worry, we will fight back in the future." Samwell comforted the members of the Amber family, and saw Jon Snow stepping forward.

"Your Majesty, how is Castle Black? My father..."

“Lord Ed is fine. In the battle at Castle Black, we temporarily repelled the zombies, but we cannot hold on there. Your father has already led everyone to retreat south.”

"That's good." Jon breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I didn't complete the task assigned by my father. The lords refused to believe the news about the collapse of the Great Wall and the invasion of the White Walkers from the south. I... I have a low status, so I also hope that you can choose a more prestigious person to urge the northern lords to move south."

 “I think you’re quite suitable,” said Samwell.

"But Your Majesty, I am just an illegitimate son with no power..."

"I can give you power." Samwell interrupted, "I will now appoint you as the Iron Throne's special envoy in the name of the King of the Seven Kingdoms, responsible for supervising the northern lords to organize the people to move south. Anyone who does not obey orders will be You have the right to kill me on the spot!"

 Speaking, Samwell also took off the giant sword from his back and handed it over:

“[Dawn] is temporarily on loan to you. From now on, you are my special envoy. Anyone who dares to question you can just draw his sword.”

 Jon looked at the giant sword in front of him and was stunned.

Although he has been stationed at the Great Wall, he has heard countless legendary stories about this giant sword.

Once the "Dawn Sword" of the Dane family, now Caesar wields an unstoppable magic sword that controls the seven kingdoms.

Even many people believe that it is the sword of the hero who led mankind to defeat the White Walkers 10,000 years ago—

ambassador of light.

Now, the White Walkers have come again, and many people believe that Caesar, holding [Dawn], will replicate the victory of Azor Ahai back then.

 Conquer the long night and return light to the world.

"Your Majesty, this sword... I really can't afford it." Jon said fearfully, "You are the only hero who can save the world, and you need this sword."

 Samwell laughed and said:

 “Saving the world never relies on a sword.”

 “Then what do you rely on?”

“It relies on warriors like you who are not afraid of sacrifice, it relies on the unity of the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, it relies on the unity of Westeros, and even the people of the world.

 Without these, a so-called hero and a legendary sword cannot end this catastrophe. "

Jon was silent for a while after hearing this, and something seemed to be surging in his chest.

Finally, under the encouraging gaze of the king, he knelt down on one knee, took the giant sword with both hands, and solemnly said loudly:

“I, Jon Snow, in the presence of the old and new gods, swear allegiance to the great King of the Seven Kingdoms, Caesar!

 From now on, I will fight for you until the last moment of my life! "

"I accept your allegiance." Samwell helped him up, patted his shoulder again, and said, "Go, take this sword with you, go to every northern castle, and pass on my orders. .”

 “Yes, Your Majesty!”

Jon clenched the hilt of the sword and felt a warm current spreading up from the sword and reaching deep into his heart.

 At this moment, he felt infinite confidence.

It seems that as long as you pull out this sword, you can smash all obstacles in front of you.

Samwell didn’t stay too long. After appointing Jon as his special envoy, Samwell rode on the dragon and headed south again.

 Jon also said goodbye to the Umber family and embarked on his own journey on horseback.

The wind and snow howled, shrouding the sky and the earth in a huge white curtain.

 (End of this chapter)