Chapter 150: The Secret of the Undead

The direwolf Night did not bite Craster's wrist with full force; it only tore a gash, otherwise the direwolf could have easily bitten Craster's wrist off.

The guard Dawson used iron chains to lock Craster's hands; this wildling, who sacrificed his own sons to the Cold God, had become Eddard's prisoner.

Because of Craster's beating, Gilly was still sobbing; Jon untied his own cloak to cover Gilly, and Helen and several of Craster's wives comforted Gilly together.

In Craster's keep, Eddard sat on Craster's old wooden chair.

Usually, Craster was the absolute emperor of the household; only he could sit on the chair, while his wives could only work like livestock.

"Fanny, Nella, Daya, Mary, you stinking bitches, hurry up and take the kitchen knives to save me!" Craster roared at his dozen or so wives. These wives looked at the chained Craster, then at the fully armored and sword-equipped Dawson, Jon, Theon, Robb, and Domeric standing to the side, and no one moved.

Eddard noticed that these wives of Craster ranged from those in their forties to those only in their teens; their clothes were tattered, and many were bruised and swollen. Clearly, Craster often beat these wives, and Eddard estimated that many of them wished Craster were dead.

Craster cursed his wives, cursed the Northmen, cursed Mance Rayder for provoking the Northmen, and finally, he began to curse the Night's Watch.

Craster cursed at Mormont, Benjen, and Thoren Smallwood standing to the side: "You damn crows, the Rangers have been guests under my eaves for years, and you actually collude with the heartless Eddard to attack me!"

The Old Bear said apologetically: "Craster, actually, we of the Night's Watch haven't treated you poorly over the years. If you can't afford to raise your sons, you could have handed the boys over to the Night's Watch; we have always turned no boys away. You sacrifice living people to the Cold God and commit such cruel and bloodthirsty acts; even if we are old friends, I cannot help you."

Benjen nodded, "Not to mention those are your own biological sons; you throw your own biological sons into the ice and snow to feed the terrible Undead, this is an act of kinslaying."

Eddard said indifferently: "The gods curse the kinslayer; I will never allow such a thing to happen. Craster, you deserve your punishment."

Spittle flying, Craster roared at Eddard: "Wolf King, what do you know? The Cold God will eventually use ice, snow, and the Undead to wipe out all the fireworks and life in the human world. You look all proper, commanding a few thousand cavalry, thinking you can stop the great Cold God? May the Undead feast on your blood and marrow!"

Greatjon Umber, whose physique was as sturdy as a giant, punched Craster until his face bled: "Lord Eddard, Craster actually worships the Cold God so much, why don't we strip this old bastard naked and throw him into the snow to offer him to the Cold God."

Lord Rickard Karstark said angrily: "Offer him to the Cold God? Greatjon, has water entered your brain? We are men who worship the Old Gods!"

Greatjon showed an apologetic smile: "I was just excited and misspoke. We should offer Craster to the Old Gods, find a weirwood, blood-sacrifice to the Heart Tree, and honor the Old Gods!"

Thoren Smallwood shivered: "My lords, as a southerner, hearing this makes my hair stand on end and gives me goosebumps all over. Is the barbaric custom of blood-sacrificing to the Heart Tree still practiced in the North?"

Greatjon said in a rough voice: "Actually, everyone is a civilized person; blood-sacrificing to the Heart Tree is rare in the North now. However, this is Beyond the Wall, the law ends at the Wall, this is a lawless land. Since this Craster can use children to sacrifice to the Cold God, why can't we blood-sacrifice to the Heart Tree?"

Craster showed a sinister smile: "Eddard, you say I am a kinslayer; my father was a Stark of the Barrowlands, my mother was a wildling, I have the blood of the Starks flowing in me; if you kill me, you are also a kinslayer."

"You are a bastard, who knows if your father was a Stark?" Eddard feigned ease, letting a trace of chill seep into his voice: "I ask you a question; if you don't answer honestly, I will burn you to death, let you feel the pain of flames consuming your body, and let you never see your Cold God after you die."

There was a clear look of fear in Craster's eyes: "Are you, by any chance, a follower of the Red God, the Lord of Light R'hllor? The Red God is the mortal enemy of the Cold God; they are staging an eternal war, using blood, flames, and frost to write A Song of Ice and Fire. But the Red God will eventually be defeated by the Cold God, and the ice storm will extinguish all flames in the human world."

The Red God R'hllor has many followers on the continent of Essos east of the Narrow Sea; the Free Cities of Pentos, Braavos, Lys, and Volantis all have magnificent temples of the Lord of Light, but the Lord of Light has few followers in Westeros and limited influence.

As for the Cold God, this ominous god has even fewer followers.

Even people living in Winterfell and White Harbor often cannot pronounce the name of the Lord of Light R'hllor; to the people of Westeros, this is just a strange god from a foreign land.

Craster, who lived in the wild lands Beyond the Wall, this wildling who smelled of animal skins and was covered in lice, actually knew the Lord of Light R'hllor, and when he spoke of the Cold God, his phrasing was very much like a priest or a Septa, which made Eddard feel very strange.

"Who told you about the war between the Red God and the Cold God?"

Craster said proudly: "I am a man who respects the gods; I would rather die than submit! I will not tell you."

Eddard snapped his fingers, and the direwolf Night immediately pounced on Craster; this time, the direwolf's sharp teeth sliced a gash on Craster's neck, and blood began to flow.

"Damn beast!" Craster cursed; in front of the direwolf, Craster instantly softened: "I'll talk! It was the necromancer of the Bat Tribe who taught me how to sacrifice living people."

"Night!" The direwolf Night then let go of Craster; Craster sat on the ground, having wet his pants in fear, and the surrounding hard mud was damp.

The Bat Tribe? This was the first time Eddard had heard this name: "Where do they live?"

It was Benjen who answered: "The Bat Tribe lives in the Land of Always Winter north of the Frostfangs; it is said that whether it is the Thenn, the Night Runners, the Hardfoot, or the Cave Dwellers, all fear the Bat Tribe, and Rangers rarely patrol the territory of the Bat Tribe."

Robb asked ignorantly: "Why?"

Thoren Smallwood shuddered: "Because there is no return."

Eddard turned to Craster: "What is the name of this necromancer of the Bat Tribe?"

Craster lowered his voice as if it were a curse: "Ogbeta."

The necromancer Ogbeta was clearly a new threat; Eddard wondered if this necromancer could use dry bones to summon skeleton warriors.

If that were the case, then the necromancer's ability was clearly not inferior to the Undead, and the place with the least shortage Beyond the Wall was graves, cemeteries, and corpses.

Constrained by the level of medical care, the average life expectancy of wildlings is very low; many wildlings are killed by beasts in the wilderness, and the infant mortality rate of wildling children is also shockingly high, so much so that in wildling custom, children cannot be named before the age of two, saying it is unlucky, but in reality, it is because few children live to the age of two.

If Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, joined forces with the necromancer Ogbeta, that would be a disaster. Wildlings suffer heavy casualties in front of the Undead, and it is unlikely that Mance Rayder would cooperate with the Undead, but that might not be the case for a necromancer. There are many skinchangers around Mance Rayder, and there is no shortage of Forest Witches; it would not be strange for a necromancer to appear in the hall of the King-Beyond-the-Wall.

"Where is this necromancer Ogbeta now?" Eddard questioned Craster.

Craster shook his head: "I don't know; the last time he visited me was three years ago; he often wanders the Frozen Shore, the Frostfangs, or the Haunted Forest, and his whereabouts are uncertain."

Jon Snow frowned: "So, you put those sons in the ice and snow, and it was Ogbeta who took these infants away, right?"

A beast-like smile bloomed on Craster's face: "Silly boy, the ones who come to take the god's offerings are not the necromancer, but the Undead. They always arrive when it is cold, or rather, the earth becomes cold because of their arrival. They are tall and graceful, their skin is pale and beautiful, and their eyes are as blue as sapphires."

"No weapon in the human world can hurt the Undead in the slightest; they are invincible beings, and the Undead are merely servants of the gods, just as you bastards are servants of King Robert on the Iron Throne. You are all damn fools like Mance Rayder, actually dreaming of fighting the Undead."

Eddard brandished the Obsidian Dagger: "Craster, we have already found a way to deal with the Undead; obsidian is the nemesis of the Undead. I don't care if the enemy is the Undead or a necromancer; if they dare to provoke the North, I will kill them regardless!"

Craster said disdainfully: "You are a madman, a fool! You will be crying soon, hehe!"

Eddard waved his hand: "Take Craster back to the ice cell at Castle Black."

The Winterfell personal guards took Craster away; Helen pointed to the dozen or so women to the side: "Lord Eddard, what should be done with these wives of Craster?"

Eddard looked at these women: "Craster is willing to cooperate with us; I will set him free in the future, but he must live in the North and cannot return Beyond the Wall. If you are willing to follow Craster, I respect your choice."

A wildling woman who still had charm said: "Great Wolf King, Craster only beats his wives every day and even sacrifices our sons to the Cold God; we hate him to death. We don't care about Craster's life or death, but we request the Great Wolf King to take us in."

Gilly said excitedly: "I can cook, I can mend clothes, and I can feed animals. Lord Eddard, I can do many things."

Helen smiled wickedly: "Duke Eddard, such a sweet little girl, if I were you, I would definitely take her as a Salt Wife; she still has a child in her belly, you don't even need to go to bed to become a father."

Eddard said seriously: "I will not take these women as Salt Wives, but I can take them in. Send someone to take them to Castle Black."

The Old Bear immediately stepped forward: "Duke Eddard, these wildling women staying at Castle Black, isn't this tempting the brothers of the Night's Watch to commit errors? The brothers go to the Mole's Town brothel to dig for treasure, and everyone can pretend not to care, but if these wildling women live at Castle Black, the Night's Watch vow to take no wife and father no children will truly become a joke."

Eddard was speechless. The Night's Watch always complained about a shortage of manpower; the wandering Crows like Yoren and Conway, who were responsible for recruiting manpower for the Night's Watch legion, often passed through Winterfell and were very familiar with Eddard. Yoren, Conway, and others went to all parts of the Seven Kingdoms to recruit manpower, and they liked boys the most; after all, boys could live much longer than white-haired old men.

The Night's Watch themselves refused to reproduce, guarding their precious honor, and the number of the Night's Watch became fewer and fewer. In fact, the business in Mole's Town was very good; the brothers of the Night's Watch often visited brothels; after all, this was a man's need. At Eastwatch and south of Westbridge, there were also brothels in nearby villages and towns. Visiting brothels was a violation of the vow, but no one cared.

If the Night's Watch lifted the vow and could bring their families, it is estimated that the Night's Watch would surely be prosperous! After all, the Night's Watch is one of the few organizations where commoners can rely on personal ability to obtain high status and change their destiny.

Since the Old Bear did not allow Eddard to settle Craster's wives at Castle Black, Eddard had to send a team of soldiers to send these wives of Craster to Queenscrown to be settled.

Before leaving, Gilly said softly to Eddard: "Lord Eddard, you saved me; I am willing to be your maid forever."

Eddard smiled and said, "Gilly, you go to Queenscrown to live first, take good care of yourself, and when the army returns in triumph, I will take you back to Winterfell."

After Craster and his wives left, Thoren Smallwood, Othell Yarwyck, Jarmen Buckwell, Black Jack Bulwer, and Kedge Whiteye, these veteran Rangers, gathered together.

The cautious and timid Ser Othell Yarwyck, with his head of gray hair, said softly, "Craster sacrifices his sons to the Great Other; it seems the matter of the White Walkers is true. We should retreat the army quickly, retreat back to The Wall."

Thoren Smallwood feigned ease, "It is nothing but the words of a madman, not to be believed. Craster is a bastard of a Ranger and a Wildling woman; such tainted blood is destined to be mad. No one will believe the matter of the White Walkers, right?"

Anyone could see that Thoren Smallwood's voice was trembling; he was afraid.

"Who can say for sure?" the Old Bear leaned in, "Almost all the Wildlings have spoken of the White Walkers; it seems the White Walkers have truly returned to the world of men. My lords, do not forget, our Night's Watch was built precisely to oppose the White Walkers, and The Wall was also built for the White Walkers. Eight thousand years ago, the Night's Watch defeated the White Walkers and saved all of humanity."

"Eight thousand years have passed, and the Night's Watch has actually forgotten its true mission, thinking our enemy is the Wildlings; this is a mistake. The true enemy is the White Walkers. Fortunately, Duke Eddard has already prepared enough Obsidian Daggers and arrowheads. We are the shield that guards the realms of men; even if we encounter the White Walkers, you must hold the line for me!"

The soldiers of the North emptied Craster's cellar; the grain, sausages, bread, ale, and berries that Craster had painstakingly accumulated all fell into the hands of the Northern Army.

By the standards of a Wildling, Craster's food reserves could be considered abundant. This was because he dealt with Rangers year-round; the Rangers would give him some farm tools or even axes. Beyond the Wall, iron tools are very valuable; these things can easily be traded for a large pile of food Beyond the Wall.

Eddard and the Old Bear led the army away from Craster's Keep. The eagle overhead still looked down from high in the sky. People had already grown accustomed to the gaze of the skinchanger's eagle. The eagle was far beyond range, and no one would draw a bow and arrow to attempt to shoot down the eagle anymore.

Thanks to "Physical Persuasion" for the monthly ticket, thank you for the support!

(End of this chapter)