In the snowstorm, thousands of campfires flickered and flickered outside the Great Wall, but the light was small and weak compared to the dark and cold scene.

Mance Red, the king of the Outer Barriers, sat in a bamboo basket and was staggered up the Great Wall.

"Lord Dennis Mellister," Mance said with a smile as he patted the snow off his body, "I didn't expect you to meet me." ”

"How can you be sure I'm here to greet you, not to kill you?" Sir Dennis looked gloomily at the former subordinate in front of him, and his right hand grasped the hilt of his sword.

"With my head, you can't go back to your king." Mance stepped forward with a smile and actually gave the other party a hug.

Dennis rudely shoves Mance away:

"Don't think we can laugh at it. The Night's Watch will not forget the traitors you once had, you wait, one day, I will cut off your head! ”

"I'm here for you."

Sir Dennis snorted coldly, and then led the King of the Outer Walls down the Great Wall and into Castle Black.

The Night's Watch men met along the way all watched with wary eyes at the Savage King, who had come from beyond the Wall.

Mance Rader ignored these glances, instead gazing at the castle in a wandering manner, as if a traveler returning to an old place was looking for memories of the past.

At the door of the library, Sir Dennis stopped and said:

"Go in, Your Majesty is waiting for you inside."

Mance thanked him and pushed the door in.

The air in the room was filled with the smell of old ash and rotting paper.

What catches your eye is the tall wooden bookshelves, the tops of which are submerged into darkness, and the shelves are piled high with leather-bound books and boxes of ancient scrolls.

Mance weaved his way through the narrow aisles, past rows of bookshelves, and found a young man sitting in a stone alcove.

"Samwell Caesar."

"Mance Red."

Mance looked at the face in his memory in front of him, and his tone was quite embarrassed:

"You're completely different from five years ago, and now you really look like a king."

Samwell smiled:

"And you, my friend, still don't have the slightest hint of a king."

Mance laughed when he heard this.

He did not have the appearance of a king, without a crown on his head, without a ring of gold on his arms, without a chain around his neck, and, in short, without any ornamentation. Wearing a cardigan and a leather jacket, the only thing striking above and below was a ragged black wool cloak with several long rips sewn up by faded red silk.

"I didn't wear a crown, and I didn't sit on a damn throne." "I am of humble origin," said Mance, in a flat tone, and there was no monk to anoint me with holy oil. I don't have a castle, and my queen wears animal skins and amber instead of silk and precious stones.

I am my own warrior, my own jeoper, my own piano player. Any king of the Cypriots does not rely on blood, and the freedmen do not follow the surname, nor do they care which brother is born first. They believe in the strong.

As I left the Shadow Tower, five men clamored to be the king of the Outer Fortress. Tormund was one and Magna the other, and now both of them were my men, and the other three had been slain by me, for they would rather resist than obey.

Then I became the king of the outside world. ”

"But now you're in Sene." Samwell said, "There can only be one king here." ”

"That's exactly why I insisted on seeing you in person." Mance took a few steps forward, sat down at the table, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it all.

"Good wine!" With a reassuring exclamation, he put the wooden wine glass back on the table with a thud, "Caesar, do you know why I defected from the Night's Watch in the first place? ”

Samwell shook his head.

Mance stood up, unbuckled his cloak, and spread it on the table:

"I'm here for this."

"A cloak?"

"A night watchman's black cloak." "Once, when we were out on patrol, we caught a reindeer and were skinning it, when the smell of blood attracted a nearby shadow bobcat.

After a fight, we managed to chase it away. But my cloak was also torn to shreds in the battle. The beast tore my arms and back apart.

The brothers, fearing that I would not make it back to the castle, carried me to a savage village. There was a girl in the village who knew how to heal and saved my life and sewed my cloak out of bright red silk.

You know what silk means to a savage girl, and I don't even know where she got this precious cloth from. But she gave me her greatest treasure.

Unfortunately, I am a night watchman, and I vow not to marry a wife or have children.

When I got back to the Wall, they brought me a brand new black cloak, not worn, no scratches, and certainly no red silk.

The night watchman must wear black.

But I want to keep this old cloak on my body.

Sir Dennis Mellister rebuked me harshly and threatened to burn my old cloak.

So I fled.

Go to a place where desire is no longer a sin and people are free to choose the color of their cloak. ”

"It's a very moving story." Samwell commented, "But I want to tell you that in the seven kingdoms south of the Great Wall, people can also kiss their beloved girls and choose their favorite cloak color. ”

"But they still have to kneel." "That's what you want us to do, isn't it?" Bow down to you. ”

"Yes." Samwell nodded frankly.

Mance shook his head firmly:

"Caesar, we freedmen will never kneel to anyone!"

"Mance, I don't really like people kneeling at me, but that's the rule within the Wall." Samwell said earnestly, "You savages are used to being careless, not kneeling, not paying taxes, not obeying the law, and taking whatever you want."

If I indulge you in recklessness within the Great Wall, how shall I account to the people of the Seven Kingdoms? ”

"Your laws may not be for us," Mans said, "and if we need them, we will make them ourselves." And I will restrain them so that they will not disturb your people. ”

"Mance Red, can you really restrain hundreds of thousands of wildlings?"

"I can take them south to the desperate Great Wall, and naturally I can restrain them to obey the rules within the Great Wall."

"Don't overestimate yourself, Mance Rader." Samwell said, "Even I can't guarantee that all the people of the Seven Kingdoms will obey my orders. But because of the law, if they sin, I can punish them according to the law.

What about you? Your Majesty, King of the Outer Fortress, if your people have sinned within the Great Wall, can I punish them? ”

"Freemen have different customs, and some things may seem sinful to you, but ......"

"I know." Samwell interrupted, "I heard that you savages want to marry a wife, so you go and knock out the girl you like and take it home, don't you?" ”

"It's a custom." Mance admitted, "Only those who can steal girls are eligible to marry." ”

"You can't do that inside the Great Wall."

Mance said with a calm face: "I will set a few rules for them. ”

"I've set it up for you." Samwell said, "First, the wildlings who enter the Great Wall can voluntarily become the subjects of the Seven Kingdoms,"

"There's no problem with that." Mance nodded, "If any of them really want to kneel, I won't stop them." ”

"Second," Samwell continued, "savages who do not wish to be my people are confined to a few fixed areas, and are not allowed to go out. ”

Hearing this, Mance immediately protested:

"You can't restrict our freedom!"

"This is our land," Samwell said coldly, "since you are unwilling to obey our laws, to kneel, or to pay taxes, of course you can only stay in the area we have demarcated." And, when the winter is over, those of you who do not wish to kneel must leave at once and return to the north of the Great Wall. ”

"Where's the zone?"

"Wolf Forest." Samwell said, "You can only stay in the Wolf Grove. ”

Mance Rader certainly knew about the Wolf Grove.

This is a forest in the northwest of the northern border, and it occupies a large area by the cold ice bay, but it cannot support hundreds of thousands of people.

He was well aware that Caesar was forcing the savages into submission in this way.

"What if we don't agree?"

"Then stay north of the Great Wall, and don't come to my territory!"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly tensed.

The eyes of the two crossed in the air, as if there was a flash of fire.

"Caesar, did the Night's Watch forget to warn you?" "If you don't let us into the Wall......"

"You're going to blow the trumpet of winter and let the Great Wall collapse?" Samwell said.

"I don't want to do it either, but if I have to," Mans's tone became cold, "we won't hesitate." ”

Samwell smiled slightly, seemingly unconcerned about such a threat.

Mance frowned:

"Caesar, you don't want to kill me, do you? Before I came here, I told my queen Dana that if I could not return safely today, she would blow the trumpet of winter herself at dawn tomorrow! ”

"You think I won't dare to kill you like this?"

Mance's brow furrowed even tighter, and he couldn't understand the cold killing intent in the eyes of the king in front of him.

But the next moment, he heard an incomprehensible incantation coming out of Caesar's mouth.

The light in the room dimmed instantly, and the whole space seemed to tremble.

"Caesar! You-" Mance thought the other party was really going to do something to him, and immediately jumped to his feet, while drawing the long sword at his waist and assuming a defensive posture.

He had heard of the legendary king's horrific exploits, and he was terrified, but he would not be strained.

"Don't be nervous, my friend." The king's voice came again, but it sounded strange.

The fading light began to light up, and Mance Rader was finally able to see things again.

But what he saw in front of him scared the king of the outside world.

Because, in front of him stood another king of the outside world!

"You, you...... How...... Sorcery! Looking at the identical self in front of him, Mance couldn't keep calm at all, and a fine cold sweat oozed from his forehead.

"yes, witchcraft." Samwell laughed, his Adam's apple squirming slightly, and he uttered Mance Red's voice, "Do you think that if I go to your camp like this, your dear queen will blow the trumpet of winter?" ”

Mance's face changed for a while, and finally he said:

"Well, you've won, Caesar. I agree with your conditions. ”

Samwell smiled slightly, but shook his head and said:

"I'm sorry, Mance, but your previous actions have caused me to lose trust in you. So, I think it's better to borrow your identity to get back the Winter Horn first. It's too dangerous for it to remain in the hands of you savages. ”

Hearing this, Mance's face suddenly changed.

He is also a decisive person, and immediately flies to the other "self" in front of him.

But he clearly underestimated the difference in strength between himself and his opponent.

Samwell raised his hand slightly, pinched the tip of Mance's sword, and then twisted it casually, and the entire steel longsword was reduced to countless pieces.

"You'll be a guest at Castle Black for a few days now." Samwell easily restrained Mance Red, "I'll take care of your people." ”

With that, he strode out.

Outside, Eddard Stark and the others were not the slightest surprised to see "Mance Red" come out, apparently having been informed in advance.

"Arrange it, I'm going out of the Great Wall."

"Your Majesty, do you need me to send someone with you?"

"No, I don't. Even if the matter is revealed, those savages will not be able to keep me. ”

"Yes."

Soon, Samwell was out of the Wall through the gondola.

Not long to the north, a group of wild men came up to him, and the man at the head shouted:

"How's the talk with the Southerners, Chief Mance?"

"An agreement has been reached." Samwell didn't want to talk too much, so as not to show his stuff, and walked briskly towards the camp, "Let's talk about it when we go back." ”

After walking a few miles, the group entered the tent area.

It was a typical savage camp, with campfires and urinals stretched out in a haphazard manner, children and goats roaming around, no planning, no order, no defense, and full of men, women, and animals.

Children crouching by the fire, old women in dog carts, cavemen with stained faces, warriors with shields painted with claws, vipers and skulls, and giants, seven or eight times the height of ordinary people.

When they saw the king of the outside world, they all stopped their busyness and turned their heads to salute.

But no one knelt.

Samwell didn't squint as he made his way to the tall tent in the center.

It was warm in the tent, and there was a fire under the smoke vent, and there was a woman with a big belly by the fire, and a beautiful blonde girl beside her.

Samwell immediately guessed that it was Mance Red's queen Dana who was pregnant, and that the blonde girl was her sister Val.

But all his attention was on a large black horn in the tent.

"Mance, has the king of the south agreed to our terms?" Queen Dana asked.

"Hmm." Samwell nodded casually, but his body walked towards the horn of winter.

But before he could touch the trumpet, he heard a low whimpering trumpet.

Woowoooooo

Samwell was startled, and when he realized that it was the sound of a horn from outside the tent, he heard Dana exclaim:

"It's the scout's horn! Mance, there's an enemy coming! ”

Two chapters in one

(End of chapter)