Sword and Magic and Taxi

King Beyond the Wall Mance Rayder looks ordinary. Apart from his long legs and strong physique, he is just a middle-aged man of medium height. The red and black tattered cloak was flying in the wind, as was the gray-brown hair. He stood at the edge of the forest, staring at Zhao Mai and Jon with sharp eyes.

Jon saw several acquaintances around him. When he was still working as an undercover agent in the wildling camp, these people had taken care of him. Dog-headed Ha Ma stood on the right side of Mance Rayder with his back hunched, his eyes narrowed into thin slits, and a fierce light flashing. Varamir, the Six-Shaped Man, stood on the other side of the King Beyond the Wall. He was accompanied by a black shadow lynx and two lean gray wolves.

Jon Snow, you are either very brave or very stupid. Mance Rayder said: You actually came back to us wearing a black cloak!

What else could a Night's Watch wear? Jon replied calmly, standing silently.

Harma and Varamyr murmured: Kill him, throw the body back, and let the Night's Watch send someone else to speak! Or feed it to the wolves! He is not worthy of trust.

Mance Rayder raised his left palm to signal them both to shut up. Then he looked at Zhao Mai: You must be Mike the Dragon Roar. Your voice is loud enough. I wonder if you can blow the horn?

It depends on what kind of horn it is. Zhao Mai replied.

The horn that can bring down the Great Wall. Mance Rayder struck preemptively, and then he stretched out his hand in a gesture of invitation: Come, come and have a look in my tent.

They arrived at the tent area without saying anything. This is a typical savage camp, with campfires and urinals placed as you wish, and children, dogs, goats and pigs running around together. Women were gathering horse hides and hanging them to dry. Others were cooking horsemeat, a mixture of bones, entrails and chunks of flesh that rose above the boiling water in gray foam.

This is an unplanned, unordered, undefended three-no camp, full of men, women and animals. If there is a cavalry, they can take away the pot here. Unfortunately, Jon thought, the Night's Watch has no cavalry.

They walked through. Except for the person with injured eyes who was still busy minding his own business, everyone else stopped and stared at them. They are all looking at my black clothes, Jon thought to himself. Such black clothes have killed countless of their relatives, friends and children over thousands of years. Jon tried hard to maintain his appearance. He now represented the Night's Watch. So far, the Night's Watch had not lost a battle against the wildlings, not even once. He must look accordingly.

Mance set up his tent at a slightly higher place, at least to avoid the dirt flowing across the ground. As he walked, he said to Jon: When you saw our camp, you must have thought that this place is not very good. Your Castle Black is not very good either. Through the eyes of an eagle, we can see clearly. We know that your manpower is How few, even with reinforcements, there are not enough 150 people. We know that the number of your supplies is shrinking. Without the stairs, you can't transport much by relying on iron cages. Except for the Black Castle, the entire Great Wall is empty. It's a loophole. We all know this, and you now know that we know it. He opened the door: Please come in, the others are waiting outside.

What, even me? said Tormund.

Especially you. Always talkative.

It's warm in the house. Mance's wife, who was about to give birth, was inside the camp, and her sister was taking care of her. Zhao Mai looked at their situation, stretched out his right hand, and used his psychic powers to condense a potion full of natural force. For pregnant women, it can make childbirth go more smoothly.

This works great, I used it to revive Ygritte, Jon said.

Mance looked at the potion with doubtful eyes, slowly stretched out his hand to pick it up, and threw it to his wife: Dana, I don't think the problem is big, but you have to make the final decision.

Dana's face was pale and she was sweating profusely: I can bear the pain. Through this pain, our children will be strong enough to survive this winter.

A free woman, Mance said. He walked to the corner of the tent, where many weapons were piled, including daggers, swords, javelins, axes, longbows and many arrows. Mance lifted up a gray cloth, and underneath lay a huge black horn.

Wow, so beautiful! Zhao Maidu sighed. The curved lines of the horn are as long as two and a half meters. The opening can be used to put the forearm up and straighten the hand easily. The horn's opening and mouthpiece are inlaid with gold. Runes were engraved on the ancient gold, which had gradually faded to brown due to age.

This is the Horn of Winter. Qiaoman, the King Beyond the Wall, once blew this horn and awakened the giants in the underground. Mance said.

That time, he awakened the giants to fight against the Night King and his White Walker wife. That time he joined forces with the Night's Watch and the Stark family in the north. Jon said: If this is that horn, then It came at the right time.”

You are not a Stark, you are a Snow. But you are indeed a Night's Watch. Mance said: This horn can also make the Great Wall fall, remember this.

Ygritte said you were looking for it but couldn't find it, Jon said.

Do you think you are the only crow who can lie? Mance said: I have also been a night watchman, and I know how confusing the oath is. I have never completely believed you, and my trust needs to be earned.

Jon asked: Are you really sure this is Qiaoman's horn? Why not use it? You sent out battering rams, giants, and countless people to sacrifice their lives, but as long as you blow it, won't all problems be solved?

He can't blow. Zhao Mai said: Maybe he can make a sound, but he can't wake up the giant and can't blow down the Great Wall. You have no real magic power.

And you do, don't you? Mance asked.

Yes, I think I can really blow it. Zhao Mai nodded: This is indeed a powerful magic weapon. There is basically no doubt about summoning giants, but I really can't see any runes that say, It can destroy the Great Wall.

The Great Wall was built by giants, the Children of the Forest, and Brandon the Builder. Giants can destroy it. Mance said: I just need to know that this horn is real. Even if you don't help, I can always find it. Someone who can blow it.”

People are tough enough, but White Walkers can. Zhao Mai said: If you can't cross the Great Wall and White Walkers come, you will trade this horn for a chance to live, right?

Mance looked pale and nodded slowly and heavily: That is seeking skin from a tiger, but I can't just watch my people become corpses; I can't watch them have no peace after death. If I fail at the Great Wall, I can only survive in failure. He rubbed his hand along the curve of the giant trumpet: We free people need a place that can withstand winter and the god of winter, and we know that the only thing that can do this is the Great Wall. How could I use it in case of emergency? Besides, I didn’t expect you old, weak, sick and disabled people to be so tenacious! However, don’t think you can stop us. We can keep attacking and then draw out 10,000 people. Twenty thousand people climbed up from various places, and even took boats to cross the dangerous Storm Glacier to bypass the Great Wall and attack Eastwatch. I have lived in the Shadow Tower for twenty years, my milk teeth, my human teeth, my The dentures were all obtained in the Shadow Tower. I know everything there, so don’t think that I can’t attack it. Moreover, I can do all of these things at the same time.”

Then why didn't you do this? Jon never thought about this, not when he was defending from the Great Wall. But at the moment he asked the question, he had already thought of the answer.

Yes, I will win in the end, but I will also bleed. My people have shed enough blood, and we can no longer bear the White Walkers. The previous kings beyond the wall all wanted the warm land in the south. They They are the wolves and bears of the north. I am different. I am just a rabbit running away with my tail between my legs. I want to hide behind the Great Wall. Some of my men are determined to blow the horn.

But... once the Great Wall falls, Dana said, what else can stop the White Walkers? This is what we are worried about.

A wise queen. Zhao Mai said, Your children will be equally smart.

Mance smiled softly and said: Night's Watch, I want you to open the gate and let us pass. If you do, I will hand over the horn, and the Wall will stand forever until the end of the world.

It sounds easy, just open the city gate and let them pass. Then what? Tens of thousands of savages have come to the north, many of them cannibal tribes. What will they do? Sack the North, steal the daughters of White Harbor, steal the wives of Deepwood Motte, kill all the sons of Winterfell? You say you are the king beyond the wall, can you control your subjects? Jon asked: If I let your people pass, do you have the ability to restrain them to maintain the peace of the kingdom and abide by the law?

Law? From Winterfell or King's Landing? Mance smiled bitterly: If we need laws, we will make them ourselves. We are free people, you keep your own decrees and taxes, we only hand over the horn, Not freedom. We will not kneel.

What if we refuse? Jon always had to know what Mance Rayder was up to.

If you refuse, I will ask Tormund to blow the Horn of Winter in three days. If he can't, then I will let every wildling try, even the White Walkers. Don't even think about trying to destroy the horn, it is indestructible , even the stainless steel sword can’t leave any scratches.”

If you don't abide by the law, it will only cause chaos in the North, and everyone will have no power to defend the Great Wall! Jon said: Without the support of the North, how long do you think you can hide behind the wall? You Do you want your people to continue fighting against the knights of the Seven Kingdoms and shed more blood?

We are free people and cannot kneel down. Mance looked at Jon and said, You know us.

Are you considered free citizens? Zhao Mai laughed. He knew that if this continued, Mance Rayder and Jon would definitely break up. In addition to consensus, they also need to have an appropriate course of action.

In the original normal world, the two sides did not reach an agreement. Stannis Baratheon came over, defeated and dispersed the wildlings, captured some of them, forced them to kneel, and then took some of the wildlings with him. Arrived south of the Great Wall. But now, there is still no news about Stannis, so Zhao Mai must find a way to make up for this gap immediately. He does have an idea, but he has to try to see if it can be realized.

So he said: You are not free. You are just refugees who have been driven away from your home. You have to take refuge in other people's homes. What is the custom in the north? When you are under the roof of your master, you must abide by the master's rules. Isn't this the case?

Mance frowned. He wanted to refute, but he really couldn't ignore this sacred tradition. Even Jon Raven followed the wildlings' habits when he arrived in wildling territory. He had been a Night Watchman and knew that when the Night Watch Rangers were in Custer's Fortress, they had to abide by this rule even if they couldn't stand Custer's behavior. Even the old bear Mormont was the same. Anyone who does not comply will be cursed and die, without exception.

You say you never kneel down, but that's not the case. Zhao Mai said: You will kneel down in front of the weirwood trees, and you will kneel down to the ancient gods. So, do you want to see the children of the forest, or build a city? Where is Brandon? Can you kneel down to the ancient gods and the earliest ancestors? I can arrange it.

Then, he changed the topic: If you think it's not enough, think that the power of the Ice God is the most powerful, and are willing to kneel to the White Walkers, I can also arrange it. Don't say that you don't kneel, and don't say that you are really free. , be realistic, let us follow the rules of the North that everyone can agree with.