Chapter 289 Before the War

At the end of the sight, there are gray-blue giants carrying Chen Xue and steep mountains. The Red Kings Road becomes much clearer here, with clear branches and stems. Countless watchtowers stand tall on the tops of low hills that are within reach. There are dozens of them as far as the eye can see.

This does not look like a hasty preparation for war. It seems that the Bolton family has been planning for this war for a long time. When the army marched here, the curtain of this drama suddenly opened.

Eddard Stark's face was livid and he watched for a long time.

Daisy was behind the lord and could not guess what the Duke of Winterfell was thinking now, but she clearly remembered one thing. When she was a child, she attended a banquet in the Dreadfort with her mother. At that time, she did not have the impression of so many watchtowers in her mind.

It seems that there were only three beacon towers at that time, which were used to warn the wildlings going south.

At this time, the smoke from dozens of watchtowers was enough to cover the Weeping River, which had not yet completely frozen behind the hills. The sound of the frozen solid and the rushing river colliding was as tempting as a hammer smashing the armor of the Southern Knights, just like the sound of the waterfall that Daisy heard in the Branded City, the "boom" and the disturbing ice surface shattering intertwined.

The cliffs of the lonely mountain in the northwest reached deep into the sky, and the watchtowers and castles in the east were in a state of support.

The sound of horns came from afar, and several scouts rode their horses and whipped them, bypassing the front army and heading straight for him.

"Lord Eddard!" The scout shouted, "There are many slow-moving rafts on the Weeping River, and there are no less than a thousand troops on the other side of the river."

Eddard nodded, which was within his expectations. Roose Bolton's meticulous mind was not only reflected in his daily interactions with the lords around him, but he was also a calm commander. Even if he encountered an unexpected accident, he would not be impulsive and let his emotions act.

The north wind came suddenly, making the flagpole shake unsteadily, and the direwolf seemed to shiver in the wind.

"Cough! Cough!" Rorge Lacewell coughed violently. The Lonely Mountain was not like the stream land that was moistened by rain all year round. It was dry and cold here. If the sky turned dark, the Dreadfort would be in the long night.

"Sir," after a cough, Rorge rubbed his nose awkwardly, "The Wailing River is too narrow, a small raft can cross the river in a short time, Lord Manderly may not be able to help us get through here."

"No one asked them to fight in the Wailing River," Daisy looked at Rorge, feeling that Lacewell's second son was much stronger than the eldest son, at least he was a normal northerner, and did not act like he had a cold because of the cold weather, "The last river is much wider than this, and it is also easy to contact Umber and Karstark. Even if it fails, it can block Bolton's retreat and wait for an opportunity to ambush."

As he was talking, a few crisp horns came from the watchtower in front, and three cavalrymen galloped out from the hills surrounded by military towers.

"Let's see what Bolton wants to say to me?" Eddard gripped the hilt of his sword, with a vigilant look on his face. The shadow curtain cast by the watchtower covered them who came from afar, like human skin covering everyone.

Bolton's messengers, the one in the middle was as strong as a mountain lion, the one on the left kept rubbing his moleskin black gloves, and from the sound, it was known that they were newly made by the leatherworker in the city, and the rider on the right had dirty snow in his eyes and eyebrows, and a brown face in the white, which was extremely white even in the north where the sun was not bright, which reminded Daisy of the makeup on the faces of southern women.

"Lord Eddard, I want to negotiate with you on the orders of Lord Roose Bolton." Eddard thought it was the mountain lion in the middle who spoke, but he didn't expect it was the white-faced man next to him. There was a strange baby-like sound in his voice, and he even thought of Bran and Rickon.

This made his face even gloomier, "Tell Bolton to put down his sword, kneel down in front of me to confess his guilt, accept trial, and go to the Wall to serve, and I will spare his life."

As if he had expected it, the white-faced cavalryman didn't move much, but just bowed slightly, "Then please take care of these people for us, Lord Eddard."

Eddard frowned, not knowing what he meant.

The three of them turned their horses' heads and quickly turned into three black dots, disappearing into the hill.

"Woo woo woo!~" The messenger had just returned when the sobbing military trumpet sounded from behind the hill.

Rorge panted and drew his sword directly, "The skinners are coming!" he shouted loudly.

Daisy glanced at him and thought it was just a trick of the child to boost his courage, even though Rorge Lacewell was no longer young.

"Bolton wants to take advantage of our fatigue to launch a surprise attack." As soon as she opened her mouth, Ed turned around and ran straight to the army behind him, "Warriors of the North! The enemy's winter has arrived! Draw your swords and resist the attacks of the traitors!"

Daisy looked deeply at the crowded hill in front of her. It was impossible that Bolton had built so many fortifications just for a desperate struggle. This attack was not very meaningful.

She looked back at the soldiers around her, but they were indeed new here, and it was not easy to fight at the foot of the Lonely Mountain.

"Defensive formation!" She kicked the branches blocking her feet and jumped on the horse. "Scout troops, follow me!" She waved her meteor hammer, lightly clamped the horse's belly, and rode on the side of the army while shouting, "Bolton army attacks, hold the line! Hold the line!"

The high voice made many people excited, holding their weapons tightly and staring at the front nervously.

But what caught their eyes was not the army.

Daisy frowned, and Ed, who was still walking, turned his head and frowned even more.

Ragged men and women came in groups. At the narrow pass in the middle of the hill, Bolton's soldiers used spears to point at the backs of civilians, urging them to move forward.

"Old Gods." Daisy thought that this place was close to Lonely Mountain, and so many civilians were probably from the distant Long Lake Town.

If so, Daisy had already imagined the fate of the village being burned down by fire, and the Bolton cavalry holding swords and spears, burning, killing and looting.

"Damn it!" Eddard's cheeks were trembling with anger. The rear supply line was vast and could only be maintained by the Red King's Road, which had not completely disappeared. During the march, he was very careful and personally planned the route for logistics supply. He stayed up all night to draw it and kept in touch with the city of Horwood at all times. However, it was already barely enough to maintain thousands of troops and thousands of civilians who followed him. Now there were so many more.

"Is Roose Bolton deliberately provoking Lord Eddard?" Daisy frowned. This was not like Bolton's style. Although burning, killing and looting were very similar, deliberate provocation sounded very stupid. In the north, population is the biggest advantage, and the strength of the family is divided by this. If Bear Island was not short of population, it would not be a fantasy to rely on their martial arts to become the most powerful ally of Winterfell.

"Accept all civilians!" Eddard gritted his teeth. He then thought about why every time he took down the castle manor of a vassal of Bolton, he only got a piece of scorched wasteland. It turned out that it was waiting for him here.

This means that he can't get any support from the surrounding lords, and winter is coming soon. How can each family be willing to share food to help the civilians?

"Lord Eddard!" The second son of the Lacewell family shouted loudly.

"What's wrong?" Daisy stopped him and asked subconsciously.

"Lord Maron Manderly's letter, the last Hearth City and Kaho City have been taken by Bolton one after another, and there are countless camps along the coast of the End River. The White Harbor Fleet can't go deep into the End River"

In an instant, Daisy felt even colder.