No one here in the Giant's Lair is going to eat and drink to entertain the Northern Patrol Group, and even if there is, a group of nobles and soldiers are in a hurry to get there, and most of them have no intention of enjoying it. Less than a minute after Robb said goodbye to the leader of the giants, all the soldiers got on their horses, and the curtain came down on the weeks of inspection, and in the snow, the backs of hundreds of elite northerners who were about to rush to the battlefield soon disappeared into a white vast.

It seems that it should be a pity that he has made a series of preparations to deal with the patrol team, but he has never had the opportunity to play again, but in fact, Iger is happy for the first time that the work he has done has been wasted. Despite being an enemy of Euron Greyjoy, Egger couldn't help but thank the madman in his heart.

This invasion really came at a good time.

It turns out that emergencies aren't always bad.

......

On the other side, the grievances and dissatisfaction that Arya pretended to be a moment ago, who also saw the gang away, disappeared in an instant, revealing irrepressible joy like a change of face: Robb, who took over the burden of guarding the north, seemed to have changed as if he had changed a person, no longer spoiled and pampered in the past, and he was stricter than his parents all day long. The days with him can suffocate the girl.

Rather than go to the West Coast with him, she would certainly prefer to stay at the Wall, with Egg and Jon, who she likes more!

She turned and squeezed over to Egg, grabbing his arm—an unseemly gesture Arya would not dare to make in front of her parents.

"Master!"

"What's wrong?" Egg looked back at her, even though they had always been close to each other, there were still a few Winterfell soldiers who hadn't left, like that.

Arya mysteriously lowered her voice, "You go back and tell Sir Roderick that the snow is too great for a walk—let me stay at the Wall for a few more days." ”

What is there to do in this cold place?

Egg smiled helplessly, he could probably understand why Arya liked the Wall: in her mind, the Night's Watchman's territory was probably like the "grandparents' house" in her eyes when she was a child—it was fun, and she didn't have a parent, so she naturally wanted to stay on it.

Intellectually, at a time when he was about to take over as Commander-in-Chief of the Night's Watch and had a lot of work to do, Egg didn't want to leave such a troublesome girl at the Wall, but Arya had only helped a lot two days ago...... I promised to take her to see the trees if I had the chance. Men, you have to talk the talk.

"Your brother has entrusted you to Sir Rodric, will my words work?"

"It must work! Don't look at Sir Rodric's fierce face all day long, but he is a good talker. If you drink with him at night, brag about it, and talk about it when he gets drunk, he will definitely not object. ”

Well, even the means and process have been thought out for yourself?

Seeing that Egger was still hesitating, Arya shook his arm vigorously: "Hey, whoever said it would hurt me two days ago, don't talk and don't talk!"

"Okay, okay, I'll try— well, in public, convergence. Iger looked up at Rodric, and the old knight was coming over with a puzzled face, as if he wanted to hear what the two people were whispering, so he quickly waved his hand to break away from Arya, coughed and said, "Okay guys, the guardian of the north has left." The weather is so bad, let's hurry back to Icemark City and hide in the house to roast the fire!"

＊＊＊

Between heaven and earth, everyone has their place.

Robb hurried to Deepwoodburg to direct the war against the Iron People, and Iger needed to return to Castle Black as soon as possible to take his share of responsibility. After spending the last night in Icemark City, he also took his subordinates and rushed back to Castle Black without much delay.

Arya tries to convince Sir Rodric to allow her to stay at the Wall under the pretext that the snow is too strong, but unfortunately she says that the snow is getting worse day by day...... After barely reaching the Long Night Castle in the harsh weather, and staying for a day to see Arya enough of the glowing Heart Tree, the weather suddenly became so bad that it was no longer suitable for traveling—at least not for taking Miss Stark with him.

Unable to do so, Iger could only hide in the ancient fortress for another two days, hoping that the weather would improve.

The strength of the ravens was evident at such moments, and even in such weather, when no one dared to go out, the exchange of information between the various fortresses of the Great Wall remained uninterrupted with the support of the crows - the impact of Dennis Mellister's series of actions, including withdrawing from the election, was like a boulder falling into a small pond, and the entire Great Wall was swept away in an instant.

Unexpectedly, Egger was delayed by the blizzard for two days, and he became not only the first foreign commander-in-chief in the history of the Night's Watch, but also the first...... Commander-in-Chief who was not on the campaign site at the time of victory.

Sam sent the final vote from Castle Black: after being crammed with one or two hundred men in a row under Egger's arrangement, the total number of the Night's Watch reached a fifty-year high of 1,205. And on the last day of voting, the proportion of abstentions also set a record: 219, almost a fifth. Of the remaining 986 valid votes, Egger received 661 votes, a slim surplus of more than two-thirds, and finally ended the months-long election and was elected the 998th commander of the Night's Watch.

In the following detail, Iger learns why the election ended earlier than he expected: 3 of the 236 Night's Watch soldiers in the Shadow Tower, 5 supported Carter Pike, and the remaining 228 votes were cast for him.

Sir Mellister not only withdrew from the election, but also caused a large number of abstentions in Castle Black, reducing the number of valid votes and lowering the threshold for election...... He also sent 96.6% of the votes to the Shadow Tower, a high-profile demonstration of his strong control over the fortress he commanded, and at the same time, it was equivalent to directly announcing that he had reached an agreement with Egger.

In the face of this extremely powerful vote, even Iger had to admit that the commander's influence on the fortress may be far more than he expected.

This signal, which could hardly be clearer, finally shattered the hesitation and wait-and-see mentality of those in Castle Black who hesitated to neutralize after learning of Dennis's withdrawal from the election. On the third day of the election, on the day of the election, when the winners were decided, the Night's Watch elected the next commander for themselves.

Relying on decisive shelter and timely return, accompanied by continuous internal infiltration and external actions, all means are in battle, and many friends and supporters are helping...... Eventually, after a daring adventure, Iger West, the Night's Watch of the Traveler, has been in this world for nearly three years, and stands at the starting point of countless heroes and protagonists of the story: finally having a territory that is under his control, both de jure and de facto.

In this case, even if the storm shows signs of abating, the new commander-in-chief cannot wait. Despite Arya's sprinkling and rolling, Egg left her behind in the Nighthold...... With his cronies, he braved the wind and snow and rushed back to Castle Black first.

......

At the Night's Watch headquarters, the gates of the fortress opened for the new High Governor, and Iger and his retinue slowly made their way through the doorway, back to a place that was all too familiar, but could no longer be seen in the eyes of the past.

Whether they wanted to be or not, the officials and soldiers of all levels of Castle Black, especially Egger's supporters, gathered in the courtyard to welcome the new commander-in-chief.

Melisandre smiled incomprehensibly at the back of the crowd, her red robe conspicuous, but Egger noticed something else: Carter Pike and the East China Sea Lookouts hadn't left, and the atmosphere was a little too solemn. Even close friends like Jon Snow and Samwell Tully didn't have a smile on their faces.

"What's going on, all with a straight face?" Egg rolled over and dismounted, walked over to his supporters, and asked Jon who was the leader.

"Maester Aemon passed away last night, and Sam, who was caring for him, only found out this morning. ”

Jon was still calm when he answered, but Sam looked like he was about to cry in the next second: "I really didn't expect Master Aemon to talk to me the day before yesterday...... He persevered until the end of the campaign, but he never had the opportunity to give even a single piece of advice to the 998th commander in person. ”

Iger was immediately stunned.

The accelerated weakening of Aemon's body has long been indicated, and he has lived for more than 100 years, and he has indeed reached the age when he dies can be called "the end of his life". It's just that Iger didn't expect that the first page of his story as the 998th commander would start in this way.

If there were anyone he really admired in the Night's Watch, no matter how the list was narrowed down, Maester Amonis would definitely occupy one of them...... He is not only a scholar of the past and the present, but also a medical teacher to everyone in Castle Black, and a benefactor of countless night watchmen, including himself. The death of such an old man is undoubtedly a great loss to the Night's Watch - this is not official.

Himself, because he accompanied Arya to see the tree, and mistakenly saw the last time Master Aemon?

A strong regret swept over his heart, he looked around, and for a moment suddenly lost the mood to take over as the commander-in-chief as originally planned, and after frowning for a few seconds, he decided to put his matter back and show respect for this respectable old man first.

After a few seconds of silence, he turned and announced in a loud voice: "Disperse first! An hour later, the funeral of Maester Aemon will be held here, and then I have something to say to everyone, and at the same time announce my first orders as commander-in-chief!"

......

The crowd dispersed, and Egger walked with Jon Sam and the others to the tower where they lived.

"Did Master Aemon have anything to say to me before he died?"

"Yes...... He wants you to take over without any reprisals against your opponents, and at the same time proposes to minimize changes in the top ranks of the corps...... If you really need to make a change, he has also prepared a shortlist for reference. ”

These things have long been agreed with Dennis Mellister. Egger waved his hand: "Keep the list, I know it in my heart, is there anything else?"

"I didn't ...... Without. Sam sniffed, wept and said, "What should I do next, I ...... There's still a lot I haven't learned. ”

"Groping for yourself, or asking for a discussion together, there are always more ways than difficulties!" said Egger sharply, first scaring away the weakness on the fat man's face, and then slowing down his tone again: "Give you the first task: write a letter to the school, and ask them to either send someone as infallible as Master Aemon's to replace them, or recognize your status as a bachelor." Before that, you take it first. Then write a letter to Tokai Wang, ordering them to cooperate fully with the unloading of the iron vault, and to summon Jaime back to me by the way!Well, that's it for now, and we'll talk about it for another night—Jon, get someone to keep an eye on the firewood preparations, and we'll see you at the funeral later. ”

——