Chapter 161: Wolf Dream Confronts the Skinchanger

Eddard rode his horse past one burned-out Wildling village after another, frequently encountering raiding parties of the North and Rangers, who were escorting Wildling captives toward the Wall in the south.

The Wildlings all looked at Eddard with mournful eyes, cursing incessantly, though more often than not, their curses were directed at Mance Rayder, who had invited the Wolf King's wrath, rather than at Eddard.

Wildling raiding parties had once been a major threat to the Lords of the North and the Night's Watch, with Wildling Raiders climbing over the Wall to abduct women and children and steal property and grain in the Gift or the North.

Today, the raiding parties of the North and the Rangers run rampant Beyond the Wall, abducting even more Wildlings. It is likely that neither Mance Rayder nor the Wildlings expected retribution to come so quickly.

Most of these captives are the old, the weak, women, and children; they will be escorted through Castle Black and sent to Queenscrown for temporary settlement, as the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the Old Bear, refuses to accept any Wildling captives.

In the eyes of the Night's Watch, Wildlings are all useless mouths, and furthermore, the mortal enemies of the Night's Watch.

Eddard is willing to take in these Wildlings because of the threat of the Others, and even more so because the North needs labor. The North is vast and sparsely populated; for every additional Wildling, more manors can be opened and more workshops built.

Of course, grain is a major issue, but fortunately, Winterfell has ample stores, and Eddard has already ordered Lord Wyman of White Harbor to purchase large quantities of grain from King's Landing, Pentos, Braavos, and Gulltown; he believes the first shipment of grain ships has already arrived at the White Knife.

Except for those Wildling Warriors who attempt to resist, Eddard does not allow his soldiers to kill the innocent indiscriminately; in most cases, these Wildlings accept their fate of enslavement calmly.

Wildlings pride themselves on being Free Folk, but in reality, in the lawless, dog-eat-dog world Beyond the Wall, they still have to endure the bullying of local tyrants like the King-Beyond-the-Wall, The Weeper, and Varamyr; with tribes warring year-round, enslavement among them is common. They are a people born in the cold, and most have the courage to accept the fate of being captured.

At this moment, the Wildlings view Eddard as an invader, a bloodthirsty Wolf King, but once they reach the North, their lives will surely be much better than Beyond the Wall. Most Wildlings have never seen the Wall in their entire lives, and they dare not even dream of life south of the Wall; now, although the war has cost the Wildlings their homes, it has also opened the door to a new one.

As Eddard led his cavalry past the sixth village, he encountered scouts led by the Ranger Thoren Smallwood; this cavalry unit had originally been sent to scout the Haunted Forest.

Many were wounded, and Thoren Smallwood's horse was hung with heads. Eddard knew at a glance that this unit had just encountered a fierce battle.

Thoren Smallwood said proudly, "Lord Eddard, my brothers and I were besieged by the subordinates of Morna White Mask all the way; the enemy's numbers were too great. I lost six men, but the Wildlings lost over thirty. I captured some prisoners, asked for some information, and then executed them."

Eddard asked with concern, "Are you wounded?"

"A minor injury." Thoren Smallwood spat, "I am glad that Lord Eddard sent cavalry to burn the Wildling villages and abduct the Wildlings; this should have been done long ago. To deal with uncivilized savages, you must strike with a heavy hand; womanly kindness only nurtures future trouble."

Robb asked, "I heard that among the Wildling leaders who captured Jory Cassel is this Morona; have you managed to find out Jory Cassel's whereabouts from the captives?"

Thoren Smallwood replied, "I asked, but unfortunately, the versions given by different captives were all different. A Thenn captive said Jory Cassel was already dead, a spearwife said Jory Cassel was imprisoned in a cursed dungeon at Hardhome, and a captive from the Seal Tribe said Jory Cassel had been escorted to Mance Rayder's camp."

"I suspect these Wildlings are all just repeating rumors. If I hadn't encountered the skinchanger Borroq and his boar, I suspect I could have captured even more Wildlings."

Upon hearing of Borroq and his boar, the people around them immediately fell silent, and even the direwolves Grey Wind and Summer pricked up their ears.

Eddard leaned forward in his saddle, "You clashed with Borroq's boar?"

"Naturally; if I had only been fighting Wildlings wielding wooden clubs and stone hammers, how could I have lost six cavalrymen?" Thoren Smallwood said wearily, "Borroq's boar disemboweled my men, and I was nearly gored by the boar's tusks myself. I have never seen such a large boar; it is simply a monster escaped from hell. In front of the boar, we could only flee for our lives."

"There are too many boars in the forest; could Borroq summon an army of boars? Had I known I would suffer such a loss at the hands of a boar, I should have eaten more Boar Meat in the past."

Eddard pressed, "Where did Borroq and his boar appear?"

Thoren Smallwood jerked his head to point at the dense jungle in the distance, "Less than six leagues to the southeast. Lord Eddard, if I were you, I would not go out of my way to provoke the boar; anyone is prey in front of that goddamn boar."

"I have two direwolves." Eddard revealed a wolf-like smile, "Who is the prey remains to be seen! Thoren, many of your men are wounded; return to the Fist of the First Men immediately and let the nurses tend to your wounds."

Thoren Smallwood left with his cavalry unit, and Domeric rode up to Eddard's side, "Lord Eddard, challenging a skinchanger's boar in the forest is too dangerous."

Theon sneered, "Domeric, a single boar has scared you? I don't know how many boars I've hunted in the Wolfswood!"

Domeric glared at Theon with disgust, "Can the boars of the Wolfswood compare to Borroq's boar? Borroq's boar can bite off a warhorse's head in one snap."

Theon wore his usual cynical smile, "We have direwolves; what are you afraid of?"

Domeric was somewhat angry, "What if Grey Wind and Summer are bitten by the boar? What if there are other skinchangers around Borroq?"

Eddard agreed with Domeric's point; he did not want to risk the direwolves being injured to challenge a boar of such massive size.

A thorough plan must be devised.

At night, Eddard ordered the unit to camp in an abandoned village, and Robb watched as the direwolves Grey Wind and Summer disappeared into the forest under the cover of night.

"Father, we must bring the direwolves back; Borroq's boar is nearby, and they might be hunted by the boar."

Eddard smiled, "Robb, rest assured; in the jungle at night, the direwolves' vision and sense of smell are superior to the boar's. Summer and Grey Wind will return safely."

No matter how powerful a skinchanger Borroq might be, a pig is a pig; even if Borroq's boar is a behemoth, it is ultimately not a carnivore and cannot possess a stronger sense of smell, hearing, and vision than a direwolf.

After Eddard fell asleep in his tent, the Wolf Dream soon descended, and his soul attached itself to the direwolf Grey Wind.

Eddard found himself running in the jungle, his pitch-black fur blending into the night; stepping on fallen leaves and soft mud, he smelled the scent of pine needles, tree sap, and humus; the Winter Rose beneath the sentinel tree stood proud against the frost, and a part of his heart reminded him of his sister who had died many years ago.

His she-wolf mate had hunted a fawn in the distance; he smelled the scent of fresh blood and rushed over to share the venison feast with her; afterward, he ran with the she-wolf, and seeing her black-and-white fur, Eddard fantasized in his heart that this she-wolf was Catelyn.

Eddard's mission was to find the boar, so he stretched his wolf legs and ran through the jungle, with the she-wolf following at his side; under the direwolf's sense of smell, the forest's scents were so vivid—he smelled the scent of mushrooms, the scent of rabbits, the scent of squirrels, and the scent of dead human corpses.

As well as the scent of humans—the stench of thousands of humans gathered together.

The direwolves Grey Wind and Summer moved like ghosts, following the scent until they quietly reached the Wildling camp; behind a hill, hundreds of Wildling tents were crowded together like weeds; the Wildlings had not lit any fires, clearly worried that the light would attract an enemy attack.

Two Wildlings stood guard with stone knives, but human vision is poor at night, and they could not see the two direwolves hiding behind the woods at all.

Eddard, attached to Grey Wind, saw the boar at a glance; it was massive, like a small hill, estimated to be over three thousand pounds. The boar was sleeping, its snoring like thunder. Borroq lay on the boar's belly, seemingly asleep as well.

The two guards were not worth mentioning; a clean strike from Grey Wind and Summer could tear out Borroq's throat and eliminate this skinchanger. Grey Wind and Summer looked at each other.

Just as the direwolves were about to take action, Borroq suddenly sat up, and the boar woke up instantly.

Borroq cursed as he climbed onto the boar, and the boar charged toward the direwolves Grey Wind and Summer with the force of an earthquake.

The entire Wildling camp was awakened by the rumbling footsteps of the boar, and Morna White Mask walked out of her tent.

"Borroq, what is going on?"

Borroq rode on the boar's back, "That damned direwolf is the enemy's skinchanger; I felt it, and I am going to kill it."

Morna White Mask was shocked, "If that is true, the enemy has already discovered our camp; you should stay to protect the camp."

Borroq ignored Morona; his eyes were only on the direwolves.

Grey Wind sprinted toward the south of the forest, with Borroq riding the boar in pursuit behind him. Summer circled around and returned to the outside of the Wildling camp.

Several leagues away, Eddard woke up in his tent, drenched in sweat; he blew his horn, and the cavalrymen in the camp, who had been sleeping in their armor, woke from their slumber.

"There is a Wildling camp several leagues to the southeast. Attack immediately!"

No one dared to question the orders of Duke Eddard, and the Knights mounted their horses one after another.

Robb, who had just woken from his sleep, yawned and said, "Father, we were all sleeping; how did you know there was an enemy camp several leagues away?"

Domeric and Theon also crowded around, both of them very curious.

How should he explain it to the children? Eddard smiled mysteriously, "As a commander, one must know astronomy and geography. I observed the celestial phenomena at night and saw a wandering star strike the Ice Dragon constellation to the southeast, so I concluded there was an enemy in that direction."

The Direwolf Nightstar led Borroq and his boar toward the south; the boar's speed could not keep up with the Direwolf, so Nightstar and Sunshine took turns luring the enemy. Borroq was furious, and he grew further and further away from the Wildlings' camp.

In the Wildlings' camp, Morna White Mask blew her horn.

"The enemy has likely discovered our camp; we must relocate immediately."

A Hardfoot complained, "In the middle of the night, that pig Borroq is making so much noise we can't sleep, and you, you White Mask bitch, are shouting non-stop—are we ever going to get any sleep?"

Even when the leader issued orders, the Free Folk were difficult to command; lax discipline had always plagued the Wildlings' combat effectiveness.

A Wildling draped in seal skin said, "Where is the enemy? Are you having a nightmare?"

No sooner had the Wildling finished speaking than a Lance pierced through his back. North cavalry charged in from all directions, torches flew, and many tents caught fire instantly.

Morna White Mask mounted her horse and ordered the Free Folk to fight back. Cowards fled in terror, disappearing into the night. The brave ones brandished wooden clubs, rusted Lances, and pitted Longswords, launching a desperate charge against the heavy North cavalry.

The Wildlings initially tried to resist, until the Direwolf Sunshine appeared like a ghost; it bit off the arm of a Thenn and tore open the throat of a Seal Tribe Warrior. Blood and death made the Wildlings tremble, and they began to rout.

Morna struck down one cavalryman and cut down a second, but her third enemy was Domeric.

The Longsword in Domeric's hand darted out like a venomous snake; years of swordsmanship and horsemanship training had made Domeric an excellent cavalryman, and many believed Domeric was destined to become the champion of the Tourney.

Morna was no match for Domeric at all; the Longsword in her hand was quickly knocked away, and she fell from her horse. By the time she stood up, Domeric's Longsword was already pressed against her chest, and the Direwolf Sunshine stood to the side, baring its crimson fangs.

Eddard dismounted, "Morna, you are my captive. I ask you, where is my Captain of the Guard, Jory Cassel?"

Morna sighed, "Mance ordered us that if we captured enemy nobles or commanders, we must send them to Mance's camp. We handed Jory Cassel over to Mole's Mother; she is the Wildling leader of the northern forest. I expect Jory Cassel has already been sent to Mance's camp."

Eddard said, "How many more Wildling camps are there in this vicinity?"

Morna said proudly, "I would rather die than betray the Free Folk; they are my people."

Eddard admired her, "I respect your choice."

Morna spat out a mouthful of blood, "If that pig Borroq hadn't insisted on chasing the wolf, I might not have lost."

Eddard smirked, "Don't worry, Borroq will be reunited with you soon."

Borroq rode his boar, chasing the Direwolf Yexing; after several hours, he still could not catch up. The boar's strength was far superior to the Direwolf's, but the boar's speed and agility were far inferior to the Direwolf's.

"Damn wolf pup, I will skin you alive!"

Dawn arrived, and the forest was covered in dew, as if the gods had passed by and scattered pearls.

Borroq chased after it, cursing. Yexing jumped over a small stream and rushed beneath a Weirwood Heart Tree. Eddard Stark was under the Heart Tree, cleaning the blood off his Valyrian Steel Sword Ice.

Borroq recognized the Ice-River Wolf Emblem on Eddard's chest, "You are of House Stark? You look a lot like Benjen; could it be that you are the legendary Wolf King Eddard?"

Eddard smiled, "That is me."

Borroq revealed a sinister smile, "This Direwolf is yours? So, the Wolf King Eddard is also a skinchanger? A Warg. It's just a pity that you and your Direwolf must both die, because you have encountered me."

The boar let out a roar, and Borroq spurred the boar, charging toward Eddard.

Five meters away from Eddard, the boar and Borroq fell into a pit, screaming repeatedly; Borroq got a mouthful of dirt.

Eddard mimicked Borroq's tone, "It's just a pity that you have no brains, because you have encountered the Wolf King Eddard."

Borroq cursed, "Despicable fellow, you actually used a trap. If you have the guts, come out and fight one-on-one! Boar versus Direwolf."

Eddard sneered, "We are at war; you want me to fight a boar one-on-one? Do you think I am Robert Baratheon?"

"Now I give you two choices: either surrender or die."

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(End of chapter)