"My Lord, Jon has left the camp."
"Understood."
The man reporting to Roose Bolton was "Bolin," a Dreadfort retainer.
He commanded the Dreadfort's elite archers.
Jon hadn't even come to see Roose before leaving this time, and Roose knew it was because of the Howland Reed situation.
From the moment Jon was sent by Robb to "assist" him, the two had been in an adversarial relationship.
Jon's martial prowess was monstrous, but the nearly four thousand Dreadfort troops under Roose's command were his real power base.
As long as he had these men, Jon couldn't make any waves.
Roose still maintained unparalleled influence over the Northern army.
As for Jon going to the Mountains of the Moon to recruit tribal wildlings, Roose didn't care in the slightest.
If those people could be recruited, the Valemen right next door would have done it long ago. Why would it fall to a nobody like Jon?
Just then, a letter drifted onto Roose Bolton's desk.
It was from his bastard son, Ramsay.
Oh?! Jon stopped Robb from claiming the crown?
Reading the contents, Roose leaned closer to the paper as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
A series of new plans formed in his mind.
Plans that could completely dismantle Jon's influence in the army.
---
Jon soon embarked on the journey to the Mountains of the Moon.
He brought ten Winterfell soldiers as a combat guarantee and ten mountain clan veterans as backup.
Although these veterans might lack the stamina and combat power of the young Winterfell soldiers, their arm strength was exceptional.
With Kuno—the Painted Dog tribal woman who had begged him to save the Fire Witch—as their guide, the group began their trek towards the Mountains of the Moon.
On the way, Old York enthusiastically recounted legends about dragons.
"The last dragon of the Targaryens, Morning, hatched in the Vale. Sadly, it didn't live long and died shortly after. That Aegon III, a King afraid of dragons... sigh—"
Old York sighed deeply, expressing great regret.
Jon knew the old man's favorite topic was Targaryen dragons.
He knew every dragon in Targaryen history like the back of his hand.
Jon figured news of Daenerys hatching dragons would reach Westeros before long.
The old guy would be thrilled then.
But for now, Jon wasn't interested in dragons.
Unless there was a full-grown dragon he could ride immediately, a dragon egg was of little use.
He started asking Kuno about the details of the Mountains of the Moon.
She indicated that at least a dozen tribes hadn't joined the Lannisters yet.
These tribes could provide a significant number of warriors for Jon.
At first, Jon was hopeful.
But the tragic scenes he saw along the way dampened his spirits.
Under Tywin's orders, the Westerlands army had ravaged the Riverlands inhumanely.
As far as the eye could see, crops near harvest were either burned to ash, leaving black scars on the earth, or trampled into ruin by hooves.
As for the villages, the Riverlands commoners had been forced to flee their homes to escape the calamity.
Abandoned corpses lay by the roadside.
Only stray dogs and cats roamed the empty houses.
Looking at these miserable sights, Jon reminded himself that he was different from the lords of Westeros.
They played the game of thrones for power and greed.
He was doing it to preserve humanity's strength for the coming fight against the White Walkers.
Not that he was particularly noble.
It was just that he could only enjoy life if the White Walkers were defeated.
After several days of travel, the Mountains of the Moon, which they had seen in the distance for days, were finally right in front of them.
As the barrier to the Vale, the Mountains of the Moon were taller and thicker than the Wall.
The endless green peaks formed a perilous maze, impossible for a large army to traverse.
The only entry point into the Vale was the Bloody Gate.
The Valemen only needed to close the Bloody Gate to be masters of their own domain.
If the Targaryens hadn't flown in on dragons to conquer them, the Vale would still have its own crown.
However, Jon's target wasn't the Bloody Gate, but the tribes living within those endless mountains.
After two more days in the mountains, Jon sensed a significant settlement through his [God's Eye View], numbering around three or four thousand people.
Kuno approached Jon.
"My Lord, ahead is my tribe, the Painted Dogs. Please allow me to go explain the situation to them."
"Alright," Jon agreed, then turned. "Old York, go with Kuno."
"Yes, my Lord."
Before long, Kuno and Old York returned with a squad of tribal warriors dressed in leather and roughspun cloth.
Dog-shaped tattoos were visible on their skin beneath their clothes.
"Why are there more tin men?" A lanky young warrior, clearly more agile than the others, spoke up.
He looked at Jon's group with a hint of disdain.
Especially when he saw the mountain clan veterans.
The Northern mountain clans and the Vale's high mountain clans treated the elderly differently.
The former had the elderly seek death voluntarily during food shortages.
The latter were driven out by their families.
In this young warrior's eyes, these old men should have handed their good equipment over to the young!
Kuno didn't explain much to him. Instead, she approached Jon.
"Hakon, this is Lord Jon. He is here to negotiate with the elders of our tribe."
The young warrior named Hakon approached Jon, squinting as he looked him up and down.
In fact, he had noticed from the start that Jon was the leader.
But he looked far too young.
Hakon knew the rules of the "Outsiders."
Regardless of age or skill, as long as someone's father had high status, the son would be respected too.
In his opinion, Outsiders were incredibly stupid.
Letting a boy who still smelled of milk lead them would only drive them into a ditch sooner or later.
"You are their... chief? No, in your words, a lord?"
"Close enough. They are indeed my warriors. I wish to speak with your elders," Jon replied with a faint smile, his habitual expression before a business negotiation.
"Just you?" Hakon laughed scornfully. "If you have something to say, say it to me."
"Hakon!" Kuno scolded quickly. "Lord Jon is our guest. Don't be so rude."
Seeing Kuno intervene, the young warrior reluctantly stepped aside.
It seemed being close to the "Fire Witch" gave Kuno some status.
Old York, seeing Hakon and the others trailing behind them, took the opportunity to ask Kuno:
"Why didn't you just tell him that we have your Fire Witch?"
Kuno frowned slightly and pursed her lips.
"Hakon has a fiery temper. He is the strongest warrior in our tribe. If I told them now, you might not even make it inside."
"Strongest?" Old York glanced back at Hakon with a trace of disdain.
If Hakon is so great, why didn't he go to war with the rest of you?
It turned out that when the Painted Dogs decided to send troops, Hakon had been out hunting and missed the departure.
Soon, the group arrived at the Painted Dog settlement, which was bustling with life.
It felt like a small mountain village to Jon.
The children all wore linen tunics and straw sandals, their faces marked by dried snot or tears.
Smaller toddlers ran around wearing practically nothing but sacks.
"The tin men are coming! The tin men are coming!"
Children shouted warnings, scattering like rabbits into the grass.
Soon, the whole tribe was in a commotion.
Fortunately, the unrest settled quickly. When Kuno was explaining things to Hakon earlier, they had already sent someone ahead to notify the tribe.
Moments later, two figures who were clearly elders walked out.
One elder, with white hair and a white beard that merged with his eyebrows, stood before Jon.
Just standing there, he radiated the aura of a ruler.
The other elder beside him, though seemingly of equal status, clearly lacked the same imposing presence.
The "dignified" elder looked at Jon and asked:
"Outsider, we have already sent warriors. Are you here to fulfill the promise?"
Jon stepped forward to reply:
"No, I am not with the group of tin men you met before. They are my enemies. Your Fire Witch is currently in my army. I have reached an agreement with her: starting today, you will join my army and serve me."
"What did you say?!" Hakon jumped out almost immediately.
"You stole our Fire Witch! By the gods of the mountains and the moon, I'll have your life!"