Chapter 247

Balrog

Terror Castle

Duke of Terror Castle

Actually, the only earl present at the conference hall of Huòwùdé Castle today was Vincent Slat. Supporters of the other earldoms, such as the Luòkè family, the Feilínte family, and the Lǎng family, had only their officers present.

Wénsēn Shǐlàtè

He saw Mò'ěrsīlǎng sitting upright in his seat, eyes on nose, nose on heart, as if today's proceedings were merely a formality; Hā'ěrfēilín té, meanwhile, stared nervously at the duke, as if earnestly waiting for the duke's speech, wanting to note every word the duke spoke.

Philint Family

There are two viscounts surnamed Bōdùn; the one closer to him is the Bōdùn of Ye Creek. Viscount Bā'ěrtǎsà Bōdùn occasionally glances at him, as if urging him to speak up and break this oppressive silence.

He might be the most suitable person for this, but he also saw Viscount Lāfūdé Bōdùn and his son Luójiā'ěr Bōdùn. With them present, he felt he had best remain a silent puppet; otherwise, whatever he said would provoke their mockery and rebuttal, as if he could never truly be the heir of the dread fort, and most importantly, his son should be that heir.

The Bōdùn of Yangtou Ridge are closely related to the current duke and himself, having branched off from the duke's main house only a few decades ago. They wish to have their bloodline flow back into the main branch of the Bōdùn family; everyone in this hall understands that, except for the officers of the Tílì'ě family who only wish to return south.

Baltasar Bolton Viscount

Similarly for Lafude Bolton Viscount.

Thus we will include:

Baltasar Bolton Viscount

Lafude Bolton Viscount

Luojia'er Bolton

The snow summoned by magic melted too quickly, and the heavy rain swiftly filled the dry gullies. The dam originally built to block the moat in order to take Huòwùdé Castle was abandoned after Huòwùdé Fort fell—perhaps the Hā'ěrfēilín té in charge of the dam thought the fort defended by the Bōdùn needed no such volume of water for defense, thus "forgetting" to reopen the dam—so the upstream backed‑up water did his work, the flood burst the dam, sweeping away the several hundred infantry stationed on the low ground who could not retreat in time; in that raging flood they were doomed not to survive.

Goat Head Ridge

Tyrell Family

Perhaps only demons would be glad; the Bōdùn soldiers who died by accident are destined to drift down the river into the black swamp to become its fodder. The sole comfort of these wrongfully dead Bōdùn soldiers is that their corpses mostly remain in Bōdùn territory, and the fortunate among them can still follow the swamp's crisscrossing river network to stop at the little dock beside their homes.

The old gods might perhaps help with this. But with the red monk present, that is largely a vain hope. Would the old gods still protect them despite all these provocations? He does not know; at least the old gods' wrath is not as fearsome as the duke's.

Black Swamp

He gazed doubtfully at the silent duke, feeling that the punishment had lasted long enough; to continue would only breed resentment.

Red Monk

Sir Ennis Frey

"Sir Innis Frey wrote that he had successfully crossed the White Blade River, taken the Snowstorm Crossing, and was ready to march south to attack Winterfell. Unfortunately, the witch's whipped‑up blizzard hindered their swift advance; in the snow they defeated the ambushes of the Xiao Lin, Tie clan, and Lake family soldiers, seized several small strongholds along the way, and, once the snow cleared, would immediately launch an attack or reprisal against Winterfell. Now the outside snow has cleared, I believe they will soon set out to continue south, thereby enabling me to retake the Grey Wolf Crossing."

Snowstorm Crossing

Winterfell

Wūnǚ

Xiao Lin Family

The lakeside family to the north of Winterfell, capable of providing defense, has been eliminated by the Freys; the defenses north of Winterfell are now completely breached, and he does not know, under these circumstances, what solution the she‑wolf could offer.

"We can leave some men at Huòwùdé Fort to guard the witch's army, then take elite troops north, pass through the Grey Wolf Crossing, and launch an attack on Winterfell from the east—hey, by then let the witch eat snow in the east of the river and this Huòwùdé valley! Ha, when she rushes back in panic to the city below, the witch may discover that her family's burial vaults are already stuffed with our excrement!" Viscount Lāfūdé Bōdùn rose from his seat and shouted loudly, as if the previous silence had completely vanished.

Gray Wolf Ford

He fully endorsed Viscount Lāfūdé's strategy, but he did not want to rise and echo it, not even by curling his lips in approval or mockery—not because he wished to trip him up or was envious, but because when the she‑wolf stands below the city, it is utterly impossible to see the interior burial vaults, and he would not allow his men to defecate in the Stark burial vaults—this foolish remark is as embarrassing as Viscount Lāfūdé himself. It is hard to imagine that such a person could also bear the surname Bōdùn.

Viscount of Snowstorm Hall

If two thousand Frey soldiers had already sneaked across the White Blade River, the Stark outposts along the way would be meaningless, merely becoming live targets for the Frey siege; the loss of other river crossings would also be only a matter of time, and they could march straight up via the nearest Grey Wolf Crossing to land and assault Winterfell—plus the river crossing, they would appear beneath Winterfell in ten days, making a battle with the she‑wolf's cavalry on this muddy ground utterly unnecessary.

The only thing Lǐkè Bōdùn fails to understand is how the Freys managed to sneak across the heavily guarded banks of the White Blade River. If they indeed could take Winterfell from the north, there is no doubt the Freys would be the chief merit of the northern war.

"Perhaps this is a reasonable strategy," Sir Māchès Luówǎn rose from the table, "but I still recall that we once sent a challenge to the she‑wolf? I have heard rumors that she herself came to the castle, taking Lady Huòwùdé with her while leaving a reply?"

"So what if there is a letter?" Luójiā'ěr Bōdùn rose to his feet, full of pride, "War is not child's play, nor a knightly joust; it must be conducted by the book, and of course combat should choose the best moment—now, the snow has stopped, the rain is falling, it is simply no time for fighting. Moreover, the witch has fought so many battles; when has she ever used honorable means? She never does anything but shameless ambushes—are we supposed to learn from your southern knights and fight a dull, by‑the‑numbers battle?"

The Tílì'ě family officers sat in their chairs, looking down on Luójiā'ěr Bōdùn with contempt, saying nothing until he sat down, face flushed.

"At least that bastard Stark daughter knows what a knight's pledge is," Sir Gàilüètè said after he had seated himself, "For the sake of victory and to be able to adjust strategy at any moment, our southern knights do not lightly give promises, but once they do, they keep them." He looked at the duke, "I mean no challenge to your strategy, but we are the Tílì'ě; as the leader of this force I must kindly remind you that an accepted challenge possesses divinity! Ah, this is essentially the northerners' war—fight as you wish."

"Sir Gàilüètè, I fully accept your view," the duke said with a slight smile, "therefore I do not intend to break my pledge." "To assure you of this, I must fulfill another pledge."

Láibīn Fēilín té

"My troops tolerate no negligence, especially not clumsiness. After long consideration, I believe you and your staff should pay the price for dereliction; I trust Lady Lāisān fēilín té will understand and agree that your deputy Láibīn fēilín té should assume the post of overall commander of the Widow's Watch troops."

Rick Bolton felt his heart being pinched, as if he had already heard this person's miserable screams on the skinning rack and in the blazing fire.

He expressed his doubts to the duke, but all he saw was the crimson-robed monk's radiant smile.