After the Long Night disaster that ravaged the world eight thousand years ago receded, The Wall was erected in the northernmost part of the Seven Kingdoms.
It was built of ice and stone, hundreds of kilometers long and hundreds of meters high, and it is said that ancient spells and magic were woven into it.
From then on, The Night's Watch stood guard there.
The Wall became the greatest barrier for the Seven Kingdoms against the Wildlings and Others beyond the Wall.
As everyone knows.
The road from Winterfell to The Wall is not easy to travel.
It is over a thousand kilometers north of Winterfell, and the further north one goes, the colder and more desolate the land becomes, and the cold wind becomes more greedy for the warmth of living people.
Joffrey and his group of nine had been traveling north along the Kingsroad for twelve days.
At first there were only six people: Joffrey, Tyrion, two attendants, Jon, and Benjen Stark, the First Ranger of The Night's Watch.
Later, Yoren joined the group with two rapists.
Yoren was responsible for recruiting brothers for The Night's Watch in the Seven Kingdoms. The Night's Watch was now in extreme decline, and no good families would join voluntarily, so he had to collect criminals from all over the Seven Kingdoms who were willing to join The Night's Watch instead of facing punishment.
These two rapists came from the Fingers in The Vale. Not only were they dressed in rags and covered in dirt, but their every move was both stupid and cruel.
But these two were just ordinary recruits who had joined The Night's Watch through Yoren.
Jon felt even more fortunate after seeing them.
So The Night's Watch was really this bad. Fortunately, he had accepted His Highness's invitation, otherwise what hope would he have in life?
Although he hadn't seen The Wall yet, Jon had already deeply felt its "warmth".
King's Landing is truly better.
Jon couldn't help but look at the Crown Prince leisurely enjoying the scenery on the Giant Lion, feeling another wave of envy.
Joffrey hadn't suffered at all on the journey.
He had Rain as a mount, magic for warmth and hunting, people to serve him, snow-capped mountains and forests to admire, and he could chat with Tyrion to pass the time...
It was just that the group of big men was a bit of an eyesore.
He glanced at the rapists and completely gave up hope for the discipline and quality of The Night's Watch.
This was understandable. For thousands of years, there had been no invasion of Others or other monsters in The North, so much so that people now believed they were just ancient legends.
Without the Others, the only threat from beyond the Wall was the backward Wildlings.
And the massive Wall was enough to prevent large-scale crossings by the Wildlings. Those who managed to sneak across in scattered groups couldn't even get out of The North. It was conceivable that the Seven Kingdoms would naturally not support The Night's Watch as much as they did a thousand years ago.
An army without enough fresh blood and supplies would only gradually decay and even perish over time.
But Joffrey knew that it was not a myth. The Others and the Long Night would return, and The Night's Watch was about to face its true mission.
He knew he had to take it seriously.
Once he ascended the throne and the Seven Kingdoms were stable and developing again, The Night's Watch would be reborn in Fire under his hand, and criminals would have somewhere else to go.
Benjen tugged the reins, and the Plow Horse beneath him reluctantly approached the terrifying Giant Lion.
"We'll reach Castle Black in two more weeks. It's still not too late for Your Highness to change his mind. The brothers of The Night's Watch don't want empty condolences. Bread, strong wine, steel, manpower, what can you bestow?"
Perhaps because of his dislike for the Lannisters, Benjen had always been cold towards Joffrey.
Joffrey met Benjen's scrutinizing gaze, "The Others have long disappeared, and the Wildlings are nothing to fear. The Night's Watch should be grateful for the kingdom's support, not complain that things aren't good enough."
"Furthermore, I am still the Crown Prince of the Seven Kingdoms. Is my personal visit and condolences not worth mentioning?"
Benjen snorted, just about to say something more.
Joffrey raised his hand as a signal to be alert, "Interesting, a group of mice has come into the forest."
Everyone had already witnessed the Crown Prince's keen senses. They immediately drew their swords and looked towards the deep forest on the left side of the road, following the Crown Prince's gaze.
Amidst the subtle rustling sounds, shadows gradually appeared among the dense oak and evergreen trees.
Joffrey looked to the other side, "There are some here too."
Benjen pointed his sword tip to the right.
After dozens of quiet breaths, thirty or forty disheveled figures surrounded them.
Most of these figures were men, with messy and backward weapons: short knives, spears, bronze axes, notched longswords, crude wooden bows, standard Wildling attire.
Roar~
A snow bear, no smaller than Rain, carried a thin man with rolling eyes who blocked the road ahead. Its large eyes gleamed with an unusual light.
A Skinchanger!
The two rapists showed fear, and the short knives in the hands of the other two attendants also trembled.
Joffrey became more serious. Things didn't seem simple. It was normal for Wildlings to appear, but how could a Skinchanger and a snow bear cross The Wall?
Tyrion tried to communicate, "Free Folk, you have such power. Why do you engage in petty road robbery instead of living peacefully? It would be bad if you got injured."
A bald man burst into laughter.
"Halfman, you dwarf dare to say such things? With just a few of you, one breath would take care of you all. Who would get injured?"
Tyrion silently noted the face.
Joffrey noticed the bald man's dirty, stained clothes. Although worn and faded, it was still clear they had once been a black cloak.
Black. A deserter from The Night's Watch.
Joffrey looked them over one by one. At least seven or eight were wearing the black of The Night's Watch. Most of the others wore ragged, irregular leather clothing, shoes, and hats. A few pieces of clothing clearly had the characteristics of the Seven Kingdoms, obviously stolen from others.
Another bearded man said, "We only want your money. Lay down your weapons and we'll spare your lives."
No one believed such words.
Joffrey quickly calculated. Five archers, thirty-two men with weapons, a snow bear and its controller.
Their side's apparent strength was clearly inferior. They couldn't hope to pass safely through deterrence alone.
Then they would have to fight.
Joffrey shouted, "Don't attack! I am the heir of Winterfell. As long as you spare our lives, any amount of gold and silver is negotiable!"
The Wildlings were instantly attracted.
Joffrey immediately drew seven throwing knives and shot at the archers first!
With several swishes, the five archers almost simultaneously released the wooden bows in their hands and crashed heavily to the ground with throwing knives in their heads, falling into eternal sleep.
The Wildlings immediately exploded, "Kill them!!"
The battle began.
"Jon, Benjen, charge to the right!"
Rain carried Joffrey and Tyrion flashing into the forest on the right, tearing apart six or seven Wildlings along the way.
Under the Giant Lion's maw, a gap appeared in the encirclement.
Jon, Ghost, Benjen, and Yoren immediately followed.
The other few unlucky fellows who reacted slowly were almost instantly overwhelmed by the Wildlings, blood and flesh splattering.
Over a dozen Wildlings chased into the jungle for dozens of steps but still couldn't see anyone.
It seemed to be over.
Many spoils of war were left on the road: horses, wagons, food, and so on.
The Wildlings who had stopped on the road excitedly scrambled for them, and those who had chased into the jungle also hurried back to divide the spoils.
Aow~
The snow bear "crunched" and bit through a human head.
The Skinchanger opened his mouth.
"Chase! Find that lion."
Suppressing their anger and fear, the Wildlings re-entered the jungle.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------