Chapter 39

Langnü listed names after the battle, intending to knight meritorious warriors, but the list was too long and she was too busy; she felt knighthood required solemnity, so she refused to knight them all at once, and the warriors naturally would not accept knighthood from anyone else—thus, though the title lay before them, they could not actually don it.

According to her own rule, she would only knight one person per day; Ruika calculated that if it came to him, it would be several months later.

But in a few months his age would exceed fourteen, making it hard for him to become the youngest person (male) in Northern history to win a knighthood. Thinking that he could not share the male-female list with Langnü, he felt regret.

He was also troubled.

The list has been published, and everyone has started calling each other "sir", so perhaps the time I become a knight can be counted from when the list was announced?

He very much wanted to find Langnü alone, to ask her to spare a minute to knight him, but he hesitated for a long time and could not bring himself to speak. Would Langnü think him vain?

"In the name of the warrior, I demand you be brave." Look, that's the first line, simple enough—just say seven lines and you're done. We who follow the old gods of the North need neither anoint with holy oil nor keep vigil in a shrine; it's quick and convenient.

Ruika rode on the oriole, looking gloomily at the jubilant column.

They had concluded the hunting operation in the Riverlands, but still regrettably let the biggest fish get away; if the She-wolf could also capture Jaime Lannister in this battle, Ricca thought, he could also shout 'Queen of the North' at the She-wolf! Hehe, a few clueless warriors, after the battle, actually couldn't control themselves, shouting 'Queen of the North' at the patrolling She-wolf, and as a result the She-wolf stripped off their pants and gave each three lashes. 'I almost took King's Landing; you should call me Queen of the Seven Kingdoms!' she said.

Ricca knows that now someone is secretly gossiping that the She-wolf doesn't want to crown Bran Stark as King of the North because she herself wants to become Queen of the North, so she only wants to arrange her brother as Duke of Winterfell; as for the Warden of the North, that's just a smokescreen.

Hearing such talk, as the She-wolf's attendant Ricca should have immediately rebuked them, but Ricca actually found it quite reasonable, momentarily forgetting to refute; by the time he reacted, they had already started chatting about other happy things, and Ricca felt frustrated that he always reacted too slowly, thus always missing opportunities.

The hunting operation was extremely successful, almost annihilating the Kingslayer's army brought from King's Landing; the captured supplies and fodder were countless, enough to sustain their orderly return to Winterfell. Now in the army, everyone wears armor, and even the heavy cavalry equipment, Ricca theoretically received a set—Winterfell will uniformly conduct redemption. Besides this larger income, according to the She-wolf's distribution standard, he will also receive a share of the gold from Riverrun.

According to the agreement, all of Riverrun's income in silver will be left to Brynden Tully (in fact, the She-wolf thoughtfully exchanged some gold for silver to facilitate the soldiers' small payments), to serve as funds for him to recruit soldiers, repair the castle, and purchase supplies; all of the gold, half of the grain, and half of the bow and crossbow weapons will be the army's spoils.

One tenth of the spoils is rewarded to soldiers who distinguished themselves in multiple battles, one tenth is distributed to the families of the dead, one tenth is given as an extra reward to disabled soldiers, and the remaining two tenths go to all soldiers who participated in the battle, with even temporarily joined mercenary knights receiving a share—this has left many northerners greatly dissatisfied. Ricca doesn't know how the remaining fifty percent is allocated, but he himself can obtain two of those shares; if Lawrence Snow's calculation is correct, he could receive at least a hundred gold dragons—heh, enough to cover a knight's daily expenses.

Ricca knows the value of what they have gained, but after a night, especially after looking at the order of the knighthood list, he has lost his previous enthusiasm; his good mood is like being obscured by the fog ahead.

After the battle, several days straight were heavy fog; Ricca heard rumors in the army that the gods had saved the Kingslayer, otherwise there wouldn't be such heavy fog after the battle. He followed the main force walking in the thick fog, where even a few horses ahead became indistinct. He could hear the soldiers around him chatting happily, but he had no inclination to speak. George Keiso repeatedly tried to strike up a conversation with him, but Ricca brushed him off impatiently, so he kept his distance from George, found Lawrence Snow—whose mood had been consistently good—and hung around him, shouting and joking.

Now Lawrence Snow is also a knight.

He is the second person in the troop to be knighted; the She-wolf's act rewards his strategic contribution in the raid-on-camp battle. In Ricca's view, this person is likely to succeed Baelor Tawha and inherit Lady Huowude's title—no wonder he is so pleased. Perhaps he also thinks he has a chance to marry the She-wolf.

Not long into the heavy fog, droplets of water condensed on his hair, eyebrows, and little mustache. The previous few days had also been heavy fog, and they had waited in place for it to lift, but in order not to delay their return to the North, they set out early today despite the fog.

The oriole beneath him also greatly dislikes this weather, constantly snorting as it steps on the thin, muddy ground; it looks to be in as bad a mood as he is.

In Ricca's view, there's absolutely no need to push forward in the heavy fog; everyone walks extremely slowly and stays very close together to keep steady in the mud and not lose formation in the fog, and Ricca thinks the oriole's big eyes might be filled entirely with the rear end of the horse ahead.

Ricca walked along the great road of the Riverlands, believing that the army here had no equal.

Approaching midday, the thick fog only slowly lifted, leaving a gray sky with just a tiny gap letting through blue. Looking westward, Ricca amazingly discovered that the great lake there actually reflected sunlight toward them, appearing sparkling like a huge mirror on the ground; Ricca knew this was the famed Gods Eye.

Countless heroes and mighty figures, emperors and generals throughout the ages have once seen such a sight here!

Legend says the ancients and the children of the forest signed a pact here, ending the Dawn Era and ushering in the Age of Heroes for Westeros. Ricca still remembers countless magical tales that took place here; it is said that legendary creatures still inhabit the island in the lake!

The history that most captivates Ricca is that during the Blood Dragon Dance, Prince Edmund and Prince Damon once rode dragons above this lake, engaging in dragon combat. Ho, Vagarhar, ha, Clark Xu.

If the stories he heard since childhood are correct, House Targaryen's Valyrian steel sword 'Dark Sister' would have been lost in this lake due to Prince Damon's death. But when he told this speculation to Lawrence Snow, he laughed loudly, telling him that Dark Sister had already been fished out of the lake; otherwise, later dragon knights like Edmund Targaryen and the bloody crow of the Riverlands couldn't possibly have worn it in battle.

Ricca knew he made sense; he had never known that dragon knights had also used that sword in battle. How could a bastard know so much? The look of the Deepforest Earl suggests he doesn't understand as well.

Lawrence Snow also told him that to find Dark Sister, one must go beyond the Wall, for the Bloody Crow had taken the sword to the Wall and then disappeared during a scouting beyond the border; thus, Dark Sister is likely lost somewhere beyond the Wall.

Thinking of this, Ricca felt even more regretful.

On the slow return journey, it took them two days to make it back to Harrenhal.

On the castle walls hung the corpses of Ser Gregor Clegane's men, one and all, they were utterly wicked. Moreover, one was said to have died in the kingslayer's army, failing to gather here, which is a small regret.

Ricca still remembered how easy it was to seize this castle; thinking of that, he couldn't help but laugh.

In the battle at Riverrun, they seized a great many Lannister banners; when they raised those banners outside the city, the Mountain's men obediently opened the gate for them, and they thought they were Lannister stragglers from the front line.

The gate opened, and he followed the she-wolf on horseback, calmly and slowly entering. When the she-wolf revealed her identity to them, Ricca saw the desperate expressions of the Mountain's men; then, under their gaze, each one voluntarily threw down his weapons, hung his head in dejection, and willingly slipped into the ropes prepared for them.

Ricca expected them to curse and had readied himself to kick them at any moment, but this little preparation went unused; aside from a few who wept and wiped their tears, the rest died as silently as quail before death. Thinking of this, Ricca found it amusing.

They must have heard of the she-wolf's bloody tactics and dared not provoke her, fearing that speaking more would only worsen their fate; each vied to thrust his head into the noose.

Lawrence Snow actually said they died with great courage. Ricca really wanted to laugh out loud, feeling that these people were nothing but pure cowards in beast pelts, and he could find no one more spineless than them.

Not crying out, he thought, was hardly a virtue of theirs.

After entering Harrenhal, it was actually the rescued prisoners who cried more.

Led by the heir of White Harbor, Wyman Manderly, he wept the most. During his long captivity he had lost many teeth, his whole appearance resembling a savage living in hell. Ricca thought that if they had arrived any later, he would have died.

He is the heir of White Harbor; if, as the Blackfish said, this expedition south from the Riverlands had him as its main objective, then even the kingslayer's great army was merely an added bonus.

Besides Wyman, they also rescued other nobles, including his cousins Ser Marlon Manderly and Ser Tristan Manderly; from the Stark family, Ser Brandon Stark, Ronan Stark, and Brandon Stark; from the Flint line of House Flint, Bronn Flint, Jorah Flint, and Rodrik Flint; from Seagard, Ser Haywood Stark; from House Glover, Ser Charlton Glover; from Bear Island, Andrew Mormont; and some lesser nobles like the Pools—if not for their rescue, they would have rotted away here unremembered.

After rescuing these prisoners, the she-wolf proclaimed that they were the heroes of the North.

Thus, after entering the city, they began to boil water and cook food, preparing bathwater and tasty meals for the prisoners.

How delicious the food was, Ricca did not know; at the time, the surprise mission was urgent, so he and the she-wolf only stayed awhile before departing. Before leaving, she urgently appointed the Deepforest Earl as acting castellan, then quickly led the bulk of the army southward.

Ricca couldn't help but scratch his head; in this castle, it seemed they had done nothing but kill and save.