Mormont knew what it meant for him to utter those words.
But he understood even more clearly what a giant dragon represented!
That was not an army, nor money, but an absolute power capable of rewriting the rules.
With a dragon, they would no longer fear the dead!
The words of Lord Commander Mormont were like a boulder smashing into a calm lake, stirring up monstrous waves in the courtyard of Castle Black, before plunging everything into a deathly silence.
Every member of the Nights Watch watched the scene before them with a nearly stunned gaze.
The lord commander had actually spoken such words in front of everyone!
Your will is my will? Your command is the supreme order of the Nights Watch?
This was no longer just delegating authority.
This was practically abdicating his position!
Alliser Thorne's body began to tremble violently.
He felt his knees weaken, barely able to stand steady.
He also understood what a giant dragon represented.
With a giant dragon, Linn could easily gather immense power.
He might even... covet the chair forged from swords!
He looked at Mormont, then at Linn, the last shred of arrogance in his eyes crushed, leaving only endless despair and madness.
It was over.
He knew he was completely finished.
Linn, the man he had always viewed as a thorn in his side, had at this moment become an existence he could never hope to reach.
He had become the uncrowned king of Castle Black, and even the entire Nights Watch!
"Lord Commander, you..."
Linn hadn't expected the Old Bear to be so resolute, speaking these words publicly.
"You deserve it."
Mormont waved his hand, interrupting Linn's attempts to decline.
"I am not yet senile. I know what I am saying, and I know what a giant dragon means."
Mormont turned around, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over everyone present, his voice carrying undeniable authority.
"From today forward, Commander Linn's status is equal to mine."
"Any who disobey, any who criticize, shall be treated as traitors!"
"Is that understood?"
After a brief silence, there was a response like a mountain roaring and a sea raging.
"As you command, Lord Commander!"
Except for a few officers whose expressions shifted uncertainly, most of the Nights Watch, especially the low-ranking soldiers and Rangers, let out deafening roars.
Their faces were filled with fervor.
In the face of the threat posed by wights and Others.
Rules, traditions—they were all damn bullshit!
They needed a leader who could guide them to survival!
And Linn was undoubtedly that man!
He could foresee the future, he could cleave Others with his sword, and he could even find the legendary dragon egg!
He was practically the savior sent by the old gods!
To follow him was to follow hope!
Watching the fervent scene before him, Linn's heart was also burning hot.
The Old Bear was gambling—gambling that Linn would fight the approaching Long Night for the sake of the North and the common people.
This was a huge gamble.
"Ser Thorne."
Linn's gaze suddenly fell upon the distraught man, who looked as if all the bones had been sucked out of him.
Thorne's body shuddered violently, as if he had been doused in ice water.
He lifted his head, meeting Linn's terrifyingly calm eyes.
"Just now, you seemed to have a lot of opinions about what I found?"
Linn's voice was not loud, yet it instantly cooled the fervent atmosphere in the courtyard.
Everyone's eyes focused on Thorne, filled with scrutiny and hostility.
No one was a fool; they all knew that Thorne had been targeting Linn, both overtly and covertly.
Thorne's face instantly turned ashen white.
He recalled the sarcastic and harsh mockery he had previously directed at Linn.
He knew that Linn was preparing to make a move against him!
He had thought Linn couldn't touch him.
But who could have imagined that Linn would find a dragon egg.
And Lord Commander Mormont's reaction had also exceeded his expectations.
Lord Commander Mormont was going to fully groom Linn!
Furthermore, he was treating Linn as his successor!
"Fake! This must be fake!"
"He is a liar! You have all been deceived by him!"
These words now felt like loud slaps, hitting him hard across the face.
"I... I didn't..."
Thorne's voice was trembling as he tried to argue.
"You didn't?"
Linn smiled, but there was no warmth in the expression.
"Are you saying that all of us misheard?"
Thorne's lips trembled, unable to utter a single word.
Linn walked toward him, step by step.
Each step was heavy and oppressive, as if stepping on Thorne's heart.
"Ser Thorne, you seem to have always disliked me."
"Since I returned to Castle Black."
"You insulted my birth, questioned my ability, called me a deserter and a traitor, and even..."
Linn stopped directly in front of Thorne.
As he spoke these words, his voice turned bone-chillingly cold.
"...sent people to assassinate me."
Boom!
This sentence made the entire courtyard erupt once more!
Assassination?
Ser Thorne had sent men to assassinate Lord Linn when he was in danger?
"You are lying!"
Thorne leaped up violently, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
He shrieked, "You are slandering me! When did I ever send someone to kill you?"
"Is that so?"
Linn waved his hand, and Toren immediately pulled a dagger from his robes.
It was a standard issue Nights Watch dagger, stained with blood that had dried and turned black.
"This dagger was found on the assassin who tried to sneak into my room late at night."
Linn's gaze slowly swept toward several recruits in the crowd.
Those recruits were Grenn and Pyp, among others, who Jon had previously disciplined and who had later sought trouble with him.
Under Linn's scrutiny, their faces instantly turned deathly pale.
"...I think they should recognize it."
Linn had made his decision.
Leaving Thorne alive would always be a disaster.
Before, he lacked the sufficient authority and excuse to move against him.
But now, things were different.
The appearance of the dragon egg, Mormont's full support, and the fervent admiration of the soldiers under him.
All of this gave Linn the confidence to eliminate this obstacle.
He needed to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.
He would use Thorne's blood to completely solidify his unshakeable position at Castle Black!
He wanted everyone to know.
There was only one outcome for those who opposed Linn.
That was death!