CHAPTER 169: NIGHT RAID

Chapter 169: Night Raid

130 Kilometers North of The Wall

POV of Robb Stark

Robb was woken out of his sleep at night by the continuous sniffing of his direwolf.

"Midnight." He grumbled and pushed his direwolf away. "What is it?" he asked as his direwolf, which started roaming around in the small tent, looked jittery and anxious.

"Jon..." He started, but noticed that Jon was already awake, and both he and his dire wolf were looking intently in the distance.

"Jon. What is it?" he asked slowly, but before Jon could reply, they heard shouting and yelling from the distance along with the sound of steel clashing against steel.

They both looked at each other, and then there was a shout from outside.

"Wake up, you bastards. We’re being ATTACKED! GET UP!"

In a flurry of motion, both of them reached for their weapons and went out of the tent to look at the situation outside, fearing the worst.

Thankfully, whoever attacked them had not really succeeded, as they had not even penetrated the outer perimeter of the camp.

"That’s... Lord Bolton’s camp isn’t it?" Jon asked, his eyes wide awake as he hurriedly put on his leather gambeson, while both Ser Rodrik Cassel and their Uncle Benjen Stark rallied their men, making him realize that he should have been the one rallying them instead.

This was his first battle, and Robb was already at a loss. Was this it? Would he freeze when the time came, and someone else would take over his duties?

Well, there was a reason why they were the veteran, and he was the inexperienced lad who had been told to give command to them if something went wrong.

Robb knew. He knew he was inexperienced, that he had never seen real combat before, that he wouldn’t make the best decisions in such situations, and that perhaps because of this, he would send men loyal to House Stark to their deaths.

However, being ineffective and seeing someone else do what he should have done hurt his pride.

When the time came, he would be a lord. His father was training him for that. And not just any lord. Lord of House Stark and Warden of the North. But how could he take on that responsibility when he could never act like a lord?

Still, he would never accomplish much if he didn’t act proactively.

So...

"To me. MEN! TO ME!" he shouted.

"TO ROBB STARK!!!" Jon shouted even more loudly than he, and even among the darkness, he was glad for Jon’s presence as well as Midnight and Snowric, who both stood quietly and on guard around them, searching for any attacker in the darkness who might have slipped through.

Truly, the day he got Midnight as a gift from Lord Bolton was the best day of his entire life.

Soon, a large number of men gathered around him, and even his uncle Benjen and Ser Rodrick Cassel brought the rest of the Stark men to deal with whoever had dared attack them.

In the distance, he could still hear the sounds of swords clashing, people roaring battle cries, and people crying in pain as they died. Around him, he could hear the Umbers and Night’s Watch commanders gather their men as well.

It was all too much to take for someone like him, who had never seen an actual battle.

Suddenly, there was a warmth on his right side, and he noticed Midnight rubbing his dark fur on his leg. And as if a fog had been lifted from his brain, everything suddenly became much clearer, and he was able to gain a better understanding of the situation.

"What should we do, Robb?" His Uncle Benjen asked, his own posture looking much more confident and unconcerned.

He wondered if it was due to years of experience in similar situations or if his uncle had already assessed the situation and deemed it safe enough.

’We must hurry forward and help Lord Bolton.’ That was Robb’s first thought, but he stopped himself from barking out a rush of orders.

Rushing forward without planning could prove costly. So Robb thought. What was the worst-case scenario?

They’d already been ambushed. But what if the front attack was a diversion? Falling into another ambush from behind while defending the front line was one of the worst-case scenarios for them.

So, he quickly issued the most sensible orders he could think of. Lord Bolton was already on the front lines fighting the enemy. He couldn’t leave him alone any longer.

"We don’t know the number of enemies or if they will only attack from one side." He said, making his voice as loud as possible for his men to hear, "Uncle Benjen, you’ll take half our men and guard our rear in case this is a diversion and protect us from anyone trying to sneak up on us."

His uncle nodded in silence, and he continued, "The other half with me. We’ll read about the situation first and then assist Lord Bolton if he needs our help. Or guard his flank if he doesn’t. LET’S GO!"

With that, they raised their swords and went in the direction where the sound of fighting had already slowed down a little.

He hoped that Domeric was alright.

He would never be able to forgive himself if he failed to protect his idol when he had the chance.

So Robb continued to run forward, with Jon and Midnight at his side and his men behind him.

With every step Robb took, his fear diminished and his courage grew.

As he approached the front lines, he was breaking out of the boyish shell he once was and taking one step closer to becoming a man.

Robb knew that if he survived the battle, he would be a different person. Perhaps not enough to become the man he idolized, but certainly one step closer to becoming him.

So, with the adrenaline boost, Robb raised his sword towards the horizon and began to run forward even faster, letting out the loudest shout he had ever made.

"CHARGE!"

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Next Chapters’ Name:

Ch.170: Aftermath of the Night Raid - I

Ch.171: Aftermath of the Night Raid - II