CHAPTER 175: THE ENEMY IS WEEPER’S ARMY

Chapter 175: The Enemy is Weeper’s Army

Beyond the Wall, True North

POV of Robb Stark

A commotion broke out in the room after that casual announcement, and it took a few moments for everyone to calm down.

Once that happened, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont asked, "And why did you not tell any of us about this?"

Lord Bolton shrugged, "They were sending warged animals after us." He said, "My own wargs have already hunted down a goat, a shadowcat, and a deer. Ygritte herself has killed an owl and a hawk who were scouting us out. Judging by how they had to send men to scout us, I don’t believe they have any more wargs left in their army."

"Army? What are you talking about?" Lord Jeor Mormont asked, "And why did you not think of informing any of us about this before?"

Lord Bolton yawned and said, "There was really no need. We’ll reach our destination by next evening. As for the army. Well, it’s just Weeper and the 13,000 people in his warband."

The tent erupted into shouts of shock and fear as the people heard who had been following them and the number of men they were.

Even his uncle Benjen Stark and Lord Commander Jeor Mormont looked pale at that.

"You’ve doomed us all." Harrion Karstark shouted before Dacey Mormont knocked him in the head and told him to act like a man, even though her own hands were shaking in fear.

After all, they were in the far North, in the frozen Wasteland, and they had no backup or a castle to fall back into. If they were cornered by Weeper’s army of 13,000, then they would no doubt be wiped out.

In addition, Lord Bolton looked not even a little bit worried, and that pissed them off even more.

"Lord Bolton. Have you brought us here to die?" Lord Commander Jeor Mormont asked seriously, his hand on the pommel of his sword.

Robb suddenly realized that he was in the midst of a situation that could break into a full-blown fight if anything went wrong. And he did not know which side he would pick.

Lord Bolton remained calm and still had that bored look on his face even as both Varko and Raksa put their hand on the pommels of their own swords in warning, managing to intimidate more than a few in the tent successfully.

Lord Bolton scoffed at the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, "Does it really look like I would go to such a great length to kill you. Rest assured, Lord Commander. If I wanted to kill you, then you would be dead by now."

The tension in the tent grew at that, but Lord Bolton seemed unaware of it all and simply yawned and stood up from his seat. "With that said, the situation is not as dire as you people are thinking." He said and took out a map, unrolling it on the table.

"The Weeper had 13,000 people in his army. That is true. But not all of them are warriors. Some of them are old people. Some are young. Some pregnant woman. Some were injured, and all that. In the end, we only have to fight about 8-10 thousand people. All of whom will have no armor, subpar weapons, and no training.

With our 4,000 fully armed men, even on even ground, we would not lose. But we’re not going to fight on even ground."

He took out a stick and pointed at a place on the large map. "This is where we are now." Then he pointed at another place on the map. "This is where Weeper and his army are now. A day and a half away from us." Then he pointed at another place on the map, marked with a cross made with black chalk. "And this is where we’ll be by next evening."

Everyone looked closely and noticed that it was a mountain, a fairly large one with a plateau at the top.

"This mountain might not be the Wall, Winterfell, or Dreadfort, but it is an excellent place to hold our ground. With a few trenches and a few palisades, it’ll become a decent enough fortification where we would be able to hold back even an army of 30,000 men. The land around it is also barren. So, while we’ll have enough food to last us for a month and a half, Weeper and his army will either have to attack or leave in search of food."

Then, he pointed back at where Weeper and his forces were. "Plus, it’s not like I’ve been doing nothing these past few days. Ever since I found out about Weeper, I’ve been using my wargs to harass their scouts, using the wolves to keep them awake at night, contaminating their water, destroying their food supplies, and much more. By the time that Weeper and his people reach us, they’ll be feverish and hungry, while we’ll be in a well-defended place. Any questions?"

There was silence in the tent.

No one knew what to say. It seemed Lord Bolton had everything covered.

Information. Lord Bolton was aware of the enemy’s location, numbers, equipment, and food supply.

Strategy. Lord Bolton had already found a defensible location for the battle, and without realizing it, they were already advancing there. They would arrive tomorrow night.

Preparation. Lord Bolton was sabotaging the enemy’s food and water supplies, harassing their scouts, and keeping them alert at night, preventing them from resting.

Frankly, Robb couldn’t think of anything else to do other than follow Lord Bolton’s plan and do as he was told.

Robb could understand things better now. The difference between him and Lord Bolton was not a small one. But now he realized that Lord Bolton was not just someone who was ahead of his peers.

Lord Bolton was someone who would put to shame many lords, generals, knights, and masterminds in the seven kingdoms. No one in this tent, not even the Night’s Watch’s Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, seemed anything but ordinary compared to Lord Bolton.

Perhaps Robb should change his target. Lord Bolton no longer seemed like a target for Robb to reach. His goal should be to pursue Lord Bolton as much as possible and learn as much from him as possible.

Although goals should be set high, it is also essential to know one’s own limits. Robb learned this in this moment, even if it left a sour taste in his mouth.

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Next Chapters’ Name:

Ch.176: Her Role in the Battle

Ch.177: The Enemy Was Pushed Back