Chapter 162: The Heir to the Dreadfort

The song ended, but the distinguished guests still had no intention of disembarking. The whole world fell into silence again. Everyone stared at the movement of the "Golden Hill", and Rick Bolton also looked at it coldly.

It had been too long, so long that most of the Bolton soldiers thought the guests were really negligent.

The interior of the ship was complicated enough, he comforted himself. It wasn't until the time it took to walk out of the most complex cabin had passed that he felt they had no intention of coming out.

There was no movement on the ship, nor any sound.

The oarsmen put away the oars, placed them in the resting position, and stared at the exit, waiting for the nobles to go ashore just like them.

The wind whistled in the wilderness. He heard the flags rolling, making a rustling sound with the rhythm. Under the cold and solemn appearance, he was also at a loss for a moment.

If this was a show of power, they had succeeded. But if they really wanted to offend the master of this place, the ones who would suffer would mostly be themselves.

"Maybe the ancestors' song scared them!" Deputy Captain Leo laughed in the awkward silence. "This group of soft-legged Southerners probably can't straighten their legs!"

Rick Bolton looked at Leo with some gratitude. If it weren't for him, he would still be lost in this strange atmosphere.

"Blow the horn!" Rick Bolton turned and ordered. Several attendants turned and repeated in a high voice.

"Horn!" The strong voice made people feel at ease.

"Woo..." The low horn sound penetrated his body again. He felt a strange tremor in his whole body.

It is worthy of being a military horn. The sound is low and carries a rare clarity, like a clue revealed in the fog.

I don't know if it was the horn sound that made people excited, or the sense of control of the commander that made people feel refreshed. After a commotion, he felt his back straightened more.

He admitted that the power to issue orders and be executed was more interesting than all the toys before, even if it was just a simple sound that had nothing to do with it.

When the first section of the horn ended, two generals wearing gold-red and gold-green armor stood up and walked down from the huge ship board, stepping on the red carpet he had prepared for them.

The guards wore Southern-style baked porcelain plate armor, holding shields and spears, guarding behind the two.

"You are the heir chosen by Duke Roose!" The middle-aged man wearing gold-red armor with golden hair and golden beard walked straight toward him. The identity of the visitor was obvious. The one walking at the front of the team with the lion emblem must be the general of the lion army named Tybert Lannister.

He felt that this Southerner had no enthusiasm or intention to approach.

"You must be Ser Tybert. I am the acting castellan of the Dreadfort, Rick Bolton." He couldn't say that he was the heir to Bolton. After answering Ser Tybert, he turned his eyes to the gold-green general standing beside him. The gold-green general was slightly shorter, but the expression revealed was no different from Tybert beside him. "I have seen Ser Gareth."

He nodded to Ser Gareth to show respect. The other party nodded lightly as a response.

The maester told him that if he felt it was okay, he could make a gesture of enthusiasm and gratitude. If he wanted to be better, he could make the other party feel like an old friend he hadn't seen for many years—this was obviously too difficult. So the maester instructed him that if he couldn't do it, he could smile gently—the weather was so cold, the maester must not know that pulling his mouth and smiling foolishly would freeze his tongue. The maester didn't understand that a smile that was too much or too fake would make allies worry that the war could not be won.

These reinforcements from afar didn't need to see how much the Boltons needed them, but that the Boltons could easily win without them. He didn't need to do things he wasn't good at for purposes that couldn't be achieved.

They were ordered to come, just like the thousands of soldiers they brought back. If they wanted to thank, they should thank the true master. It's a pity that the maester still didn't understand. The true master of the soldiers was either dead or regretting.

Cold and quiet politeness was enough. The carpet, military music, and welcoming formation he chose for them were enough to express.

"Looks pretty good." Ser Tybert revealed a bored smile, then shook slightly, as if adapting to the state of stepping on land. "But I have to tell you, Duke Bolton has already married a lady from the Frey family," he curled his lips, "As everyone knows, the Freys are famous for their production. Your status is precarious."

Rick Bolton smiled faintly. They didn't know about The Twins yet.

"According to rumors from Frey's officers, Duke Bolton tortured his Frey wife well when he was at The Twins. The whole castle could hear the lady's screams. I believe that before long, the Freys will send back a little cub, haha..."

That lady might also make other screams, but this had nothing to do with him. If the Southern officers only knew how to say this kind of rumor, it was too disappointing. Rick Bolton felt that if he were in such exquisite armor, he would never mention any Freys or any women.

"Before Duke Bolton re-designates an heir, the heir to the Dreadfort is me." If he really had such confidence, it would be good. "And before Duke Bolton returns to the North, the Dreadfort is ruled by me. According to the laws of the Iron Throne, the North is the same." This was also heart-wrenching, but they had better understand that in the North, the Boltons were the masters.

"Hmm, really not bad!" Ser Gareth Tyrell nodded. "Duke Bolton's good choice! It's a pity that the Freys are greedy and will never give up the North."

After the knight finished speaking, he strode past him and walked toward the horse prepared for him. The guards behind the knight followed their master, rudely pushed him away, and ran forward with a small running rhythm, one of whom rudely took the horse's reins from the servant, and the other lifted the knight's arm to support him on the horse.

The knight's armor decoration was no worse than the lion beside him, hollowed-out patterns, light and exquisite enough, but mostly couldn't prevent the cold air or rain in the North, he thought.

"This Northern steed is not bad!" Ser Gareth looked back at Rick Bolton. "This wilderness has a unique flavor, ha, completely different from the South! It's really uncomfortable not to ride a horse for so long. I'll be back soon!" He took the reins, turned the horse's head, patted the horse's belly with both feet, and galloped against the cold wind.

Rick Bolton was still restraining the anger caused by the guards' impoliteness and hadn't reacted yet, when the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground had already gone away.

This dashing performance made all his unhappiness disappear instantly. So he clapped his hands and laughed loudly, and the soldiers beside him laughed one after another.

The cold environment needs a little enthusiastic adjustment.

"Hey, since this is the case, how can I let this one be beautiful alone?" Ser Tybert took the horse whip from the guard beside him, pushed away the soldier who was preparing to support him, stepped on the saddle with one foot, jumped onto the horse, and chased after Ser Gareth.

"Reception is not that difficult!" Rick Bolton said to the deputy captain with a smile, and then stepped on his horse with one foot and sat on the saddle. "Blow the horn, prepare warhorses for the warriors of the two families, and follow me to guard!"

The war horn sounded again, and he felt that the sobbing and low horn sound had penetrated his body, scattering toward the vast ocean, and then spread throughout the ruined port.

The wind whistled in his ears, and the sound of hooves was rumbling.

Rick Bolton only felt the cold air pouring into his nasal cavity, freezing his entire face as if he had tasted a sour and astringent taste. When the warhorse stepped along the raised ancient city wall corner, crossed the raised mounds, and the trembling ebony trees sprinkled a handful of accumulated water to wet him, he began to regret that he didn't change into a thicker fox fur cloak from the guard when he got on the horse.

The guards rode warhorses to guard beside Ser Gareth, and then separated again, gradually widening the distance. Ser Tybert followed behind and was accelerating the horse speed to intend to keep up.

Seeing this, Rick Bolton had to spur the horse and accelerate.

The wind was stronger. He almost leaned on the horse's back, enduring the cold air taking away the heat from his body, and gradually approached the two knights from the South.

Ser Gareth stopped in front at this time, then dismounted, threw the reins aside, took off his helmet, threw it aside, bent his waist, combed his hair, and vomited loudly. Ser Tybert saw this and grinned, turning in circles beside the horse.

"Is this the north side of the Weeping River?" Ser Gareth let go of his hand, and the flattened messy hair scattered at will. In fact, he didn't have much hair left.

A sickly flush appeared on his face, and there was still a little filth on the beard at the corner of his mouth. He didn't care and wiped it with the leather armor on his arm, which made the beard messier.

Rick Bolton hadn't answered yet, and he made a painful sound, bent down, and retched.

"Oh, it's really exciting," he wiped his mouth again, "I thought I was going to die on the ship. Hey, it's the air of the North that saved me. Grass, it's your horse that saved me."

"You are the most disgusting Tyrell I have ever seen." Ser Tybert Lannister rode on the horse, maintaining his demeanor, and mocked Gareth.

"You are as far away from the most disgusting Lannister I have ever seen as King's Landing or Casterly Rock is from here. Grass, it's not far from the Wall here, right?" He turned to look at the Bolton beside him. "Lannisters are not customers of the Wall."

"Continue north from here, cross a river named End River, and then pass through the territory of the Umber family to reach the Wall."

"The last city, the last river, what a hell of a place." He swallowed the cold air in big gulps, and then turned to Rick Bolton, staring into his eyes. "We have already stood at the edge of the world as you wished. Tell me, kid, what exactly have you been hiding from us?"

This is still far from the edge of the world!

Ser Gareth looked back at the guards behind Rick Bolton and nodded lightly. The guards over there deliberately kept a distance from the three of them. I think this was also the result of Ser Gareth's special explanation.

Rick Bolton felt that he couldn't say anything, even if he just pulled the corners of his mouth to smile faintly at them.

They will know what they should know, won't they? But he was not sure if he should listen to the stories of the South with a manic and excited mood after they finished running a circle.

"You have been hiding from us?" Ser Gareth sneered. "Lord Roose Bolton rushed us onto the ship, and I knew there was a problem. Heh heh, do you think that on the ship, on the high seas, you can't receive any news? There are other ships on the sea. Damn it, even the Braavosi know about it. You still want to hide it from us?"

"Isn't it?" Ser Tybert smiled and said, "Guess, how many barrels of wine did Ser Gareth buy from the Braavosi merchant ship?"

"Enough for the Lord to want to know the news after listening." Rick Bolton was forced into a corner by the two older guys, and he was almost out of breath. The cold wind was howling, and he surrendered unknowingly, which made him a little dissatisfied with himself. "There is a lot of news. I don't know which ones you are interested in?" The voice was a little distorted because of the cold, but it sounded like admitting defeat. "The King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder is gathering troops and preparing to attack the Wall. If the Wall is lost..."

"If the Wall is lost, the Stark's allies Karstark and Umber will suffer. This is Roose Bolton's words. However, we are not interested in the Wall." Ser Tybert urged him. "Damn it, we know more about the Wall than you do, kid!"

Lie.

"Most of the spies we planted in Winterfell have been cleared. The reinforcements brought from Skagos had an accident on the way, and there was no opportunity to open the city gates when we needed them."

"Save it, heir. Lord Roose Bolton has never thought about besieging Winterfell! Your spies and insiders can't play any role. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to buy so much grain and prepare to drag the Starks to death. Do you have any other methods?"

"Of course I have." He also knew Lord Roose Bolton's intention. "I also wanted to solve this problem through marriage. After all, I am not engaged yet... I once sent someone to propose to the Wolf Girl, but she said I was not qualified to talk to her. This road doesn't work, my Lord!" Rick Bolton almost wanted to laugh. He found that teasing these two anxious knights had an indescribable pleasure.

"I tell you, I'm not interested in which woman's hole your few things are going to be inserted into," he used his fist to resist his chest viciously, "You know what news we want."

Deputy Captain Leo saw this scene and immediately pushed away the guards of the Lannisters and Tyrells, approaching the position of the three. Rick Bolton signaled him to stop.

This was just a small dish, and he could eat it.

"The Wolf Girl got Moat Cailin from the Ironborn, and then led the cavalry all the way south, occupying The Twins. It is said that many Freys were hanged," this is Bolton's territory, not Tyrell's or Lannister's, "I can be sure that there is no one you care about in it."

The two looked at each other.

"Are you very interested in this Wolf Girl?" After a long silence, Ser Gareth said angrily.

"Of course, this is our main opponent. What's more, she has already shown her ability as an opponent." He had enough time to introduce the main battle to the two.

"Stop playing tricks. We need news about King's Landing." Ser Tybert said, "The Braavosi told us terrible news, but we can't confirm it."

Don't want to confirm? "The news about King's Landing is worrying. To tell you the truth, in my opinion, there is not a single good one." He paused, as if the surrounding mountain rocks and wilderness were waiting for his announcement, and the unknown birds perched beside were also blinking their eyes at him. "Extreme followers of the Seven rebelled, creating riots around the Crownlands and King's Landing. Lord Mace Tyrell, Randyll Tarly," and Ser Jaime Lannister, it is best not to mention this name, "are sending troops to clean up the rebel militant groups around." This was enough to make them doubt.

When he introduced everything that happened in King's Landing, both of them were silent. After a long time, they stood in place and looked at the wilderness, letting the cold wind freeze their faces stiff and red.

"Damn dwarf!" They cursed.

"The Wolf Girl led a large army south and you stayed in your bed and didn't move?" Ser Tybert said coldly. "If Bolton only has this ability, perhaps the Iron Throne should consider making peace with the Starks!"

Thinking beautifully. "Resurrect Eddard Stark or connect Robb Stark's head back?" Rick Bolton almost wanted to laugh again.

"Kid, you are not qualified to talk to the Wolf Girl, but the Warden of the West, Lord of Casterly Rock, has it. Since he has left the Kingsguard, for the sake of the Lannister inheritance, perhaps he will be willing to use his old two. The Wolf Girl is also unmarried. Maybe trying the Lannister's big stick will forget the father-brother hatred."

Ser Tybert began to be aggressive. If the two wanted to win the respect of the Boltons, they could have achieved their goal long ago. If they wanted to vent their anger, the duration of this anger was already long enough. And if they wanted to make the Boltons feel threatened, then no matter what they said, they couldn't do it.

There was no sister to fuck, and the Kingslayer finally remembered that there were other women in the world. Rick Bolton wanted to mock, but combined with the rumors of bad connections, it might damage the reputation of the current King. He finally didn't say the thoughts in his heart, and there was no need to completely anger the Lannisters.

Rick Bolton blushed. After a lot of "no, no", he changed to other words. "It's a pity that he wasn't captured. If he was caught by the Wolf Girl, maybe the Wolf Girl would remember to use his old two." It was mostly to make Lord Tywin's family extinct rather than continuing the species for him.

"Kid, you are not qualified to talk to the Wolf Girl, but the Warden of the West and Duke of Casterly Rock does. Since he has now left the Kingsguard, for the sake of the Lannister legacy, perhaps he would be willing to use his cock. The Wolf Girl is also unmarried; perhaps after trying the Lannister's big stick, she will forget the hatred of her father and brothers."

"You watched the Wolf Girl lead a large army south and didn't move, watched the Wolf Girl capture Longcreek and continue to hibernate, watched the Wolf Girl send the raven with the news of splitting Barrowton to the whole world, and still did nothing!" Ser Gareth caught the words in time and turned the topic back again. "Bolton had the territory east of the White Knife and still lost to the Starks. Now there is only half of the east left. Why do you win?"

"I guess Lord Tywin and Lord Mace didn't send you here for tourism. Of course, even if Lord Tywin does nothing, we can still defeat the Starks."

"Defeat the Starks, rely on a kid like you who is still wet behind the ears?" Ser Tybert said viciously.

This is like a quarrel, but this is not a place to talk about military strategy, nor is it a place to explore plans.

Rick Bolton was a little anxious.

"We have a way to solve the east, and we will not give up the west." It is wishful thinking for the Wolf Girl to capture Longcreek and want to integrate the Riverlands. It is whimsical to think that arranging three heirs for Barrowton can split it. However, in the overall situation, she has always been the one who takes the initiative. "The plan to break the situation needs all the lords to formulate together."

Not being able to take the initiative to launch an attack was because he was constrained, but he didn't want to throw the reasons and responsibilities back to his staff. He didn't need to let the Tyrells and Lannisters see the Boltons' jokes, but he couldn't guarantee that the two knights would notice anything. How much weight does a young boy from the same clan who was promoted without roots have? Based on their status and their own experiences, they should understand it again.

"Formulate? Are you talking about Duke Roose Bolton? He didn't return to the North, and we don't need to listen to the opinions of you or the cowards under his command. Any Northern family that refuses to submit to the Iron Throne, we can launch an attack on them, heh heh, let Roose Bolton's strategy go to hell!"

"You?"

"If the Wolf Girl is still collecting her father's bones in Longcreek, I think she won't know that we have landed," Ser Tybert seemed to be completely familiar with the situation in the North and quickly made a strategic plan in his heart. He looked at Rick Bolton and talked eloquently, "Since she likes to go out and attack everywhere, I will help you clear the enemies in the east. Winter is here, and our army also needs a castle to spend the winter. We will cross the so-called last river, raid the last fireplace, cut off the channel to the Wall, and divide the Stark's reinforcements at the Wall between the Wall and the last river. If we can mobilize the Wolf Girl's army to go north to reinforce, I think you should know what to do!"

Can ambush, can pursue, can take advantage of the situation to suppress Winterfell. This was just one of his many plans to take the initiative. He nodded slowly, recognizing this method.

"Two thousand people are enough to sweep Karhold and the Last Hearth. Since Jon Umber and Harion Karstark are both alive, let them urge the Wolf Girl to march north to take back their castle!"

Rick Bolton originally thought he had to spend his tongue to persuade them to stay in the North instead of taking a ship back to the South, but the development of things was far beyond his expectations. Is this a little reward after many bad news?

"Hornwood is the northern gateway to White Harbor. To conquer the North, you have to take White Harbor. To take White Harbor, occupying the northern passage Hornwood is a good move. Lannister chooses the two main cities in the North, and we Tyrells choose the two cities in the South. We will head to Hornwood. At... which are the castles in front of Hornwood? We will garrison there!"

"Ancient Wood Castle, Gray Wood Castle, and Sun Mountain City. Sun Mountain City is large enough and guards the Mountain Shadow Ferry that crosses the White Knife in the east, adjacent to Hornwood." These were already familiar in his heart.

"Maybe we can also sneak across the White Knife and relax our muscles on the Stark's land. If the Wolf Girl likes to go out and attack everywhere so much, Winterfell must be equally empty. If we can seize the opportunity, perhaps we can capture Winterfell in one go." Ser Gareth pulled the cloak on his body and wrapped his body tightly. "Roose Bolton won't stay in Gulltown for too long if he knows these news."

"So, the specific strategy, we can..."

"We like the move of Duke Roose Bolton killing the two Stark cubs the most. If we can kill the Wolf Girl in the same way, perhaps we don't need any strategy. Now, we can return to the camp. Damn it, it's so cold here!"

"I have prepared everything for the two lords." Rick Bolton relaxed.

"And my soldiers." He rubbed his hands through his gloves. "After resting, we will immediately march to the last river! These small sea ships can go upstream from the estuary of the End River. We will try to cross the river at the ferry. If there is no opportunity at the ferry, we will force the river with these ships! Damn Karstark! Damn Umber!" ===== CHAPTER 163 =====

"So, for the specific strategy, we can further..."

"We like the move Roose Bolton used to kill the two Stark pups the most. If we can kill the Wolf Girl in the same way, perhaps we won't need any strategy. Now, we can return to the camp. Damn, it's so fucking cold here!"

"I have prepared everything for the two Lords." Rickard Bolton relaxed.

"And my soldiers." He rubbed his hands through his gloves. "After resting, we will immediately march toward the last river! These small sea boats can go upstream from the mouth of the End River. We will try to cross the river at the ferry. If there is no chance at the ferry, we will use these boats to force a crossing! Damn Karstark! Damn Umber!"