No one cared about Hugh Wolf's death.
Harken and his men wouldn't speak of it, and Vidor wouldn't ask.
Anyway, with Hugh Wolf dead, all his property, his wife, and even his daughter would belong to Vidor.
To celebrate Jon's ascent to Hidden Fire Peak and his safe return, Vidor hosted a grand feast.
Vidor's feast wasn't lavish, just some boiled meat, wild vegetables, and fruit.
However, seated at the head of the table was Jon, with a moon painted on his forehead and a fierce dog on his body.
After returning from Hidden Fire Peak, the elders and representatives from other tribes looked at Jon with awe.
Such a formidable man had proven his strength and wisdom.
Entrusting the warriors of their tribes to him would surely be no problem.
So, everyone eagerly offered their sincerity.
Chief Chick was the first to stand up and say:
"My Mist People tribe will provide three hundred warriors to Lord Jon!"
"Our Howling Mountain tribe will provide two hundred and forty warriors to Lord Jon!"
"Our Blocked Stream tribe will provide four hundred warriors to Lord Jon!"
"..."
Soon, a group of Mountain Clans tribes that had not yet joined the Lannister gathered an army of over two thousand men for Jon.
Jon knew that these tribes frequently engaged in infighting, and it would take considerable effort to mold these two thousand men into a cohesive unit.
But that wasn't a big problem for him.
He just needed to establish clear rules, with rewards and punishments.
Then, with some 'team culture building,' he could initially make them into a unified force.
Of course, the most important thing was to lead them to victory.
No cohesion problem couldn't be solved by victory.
Or rather, victory could solve any problem!
Jon immediately took a large gulp of wine, stood up, and declared:
"I promise that every one of these warriors will wear armor like my men.
After the war is won, these armors will be their reward! I will also help you conquer other tribes!
But if any tribe's warriors disobey orders or retreat in battle, I will show no mercy!"
If it had been Jon who had just arrived in the Mountains of the Moon, he would never have said such words.
But now, with the identity of being the first person in a hundred years to reach Hidden Fire Peak, no one dared to say anything.
However, what surprised Jon was that Chief Chick, who liked to make things difficult for him, stepped forward.
His steps were firm, and his expression was serious, as if he had something weighing heavily on his mind.
Chief Chick stood in the middle of the hall, in front of everyone, and asked:
"Lord Jon, do you know why we are called the 'Mountain Clans'?"
'Lord? You?' Such words surprised not only Old Yorek but also Jon.
"Isn't it because we live on the mountains?" Old Yorek, slightly tipsy, interjected.
Chief Chick smiled. This time, he didn't dare to make Jon guess and directly stated the reason:
"Because we were driven to the mountains!"
In fact, neither the Targaryen nor the Andals, who worship the Seven Gods, were the original inhabitants of Westeros.
The natives of Westeros were called the 'First Men.'
According to legend, the First Men lived with giants and the Children of the Forest on this land.
But after the Andals, skilled in iron smelting, migrated to Westeros, they drove them out.
The Northmen were the 'purest' branch of the First Men.
They were not conquered but maintained their independence until Aegon the Conqueror arrived on the Black Dread.
"Lord Jon, life here is very difficult. Out of ten children born, not even one may grow to adulthood.
You must have noticed that we have almost no elders here; almost no one in the Mountains of the Moon has seen their grandfather.
If you can acquire territory in the future, please protect us."
After speaking, Chief Chick actually knelt directly before Jon.
"Please protect us, we are willing to pledge fealty to you as our liege lord."
After Chief Chick finished speaking, Vidor also stood up and prostrated himself at Jon's feet.
One by one, the tribal leaders and representatives followed suit.
Jon suddenly remembered that many of the tribes who followed the Lannister seemed to have settled directly in the Kingswood area.
Some who fared well even remained in King's Landing.
"Liege lord." Old Yorek looked at the tribesmen kneeling before Jon, then turned to Jon.
He wondered, could a bastard with no land or men become the liege lord of tens of thousands of people?
Looking at these tribal chiefs kneeling before him, Jon felt no great joy of acquiring power.
He had thought this alliance would be a 'one-time' transaction, never expecting them to propose such terms.
Jon pondered for a moment, then slowly rose and said:
"I, Jon Snow, if one day I acquire my own territory, I will accept your allegiance and loyalty, and provide you with protection."
'Someone is pledging fealty even before he has a fief?'
Old Yorek found this scene somewhat overturned his understanding.
However, he then recalled that on the way to the Mountains of the Moon, Jon had said he did not agree with the Riverlands nobles reclaiming lost territories.
Jon stated that this would lead to a dispersal of forces, allowing Tywin to defeat them one by one.
He also said a very philosophical thing: 'If you keep your land but lose your people, you lose both land and people.'
If viewed this way, then people are actually more important than land.
Only with people can one seek land and defend it.
It's just, where exactly was Jon's 'land'?
A map of the North and the Riverlands slowly unfolded in Old Yorek's mind, but after thinking it over several times, he couldn't find a place for Jon to settle down... Perhaps because of this 'liege lord-vassal' relationship, Jon's reorganization of the over two thousand tribal warriors went very smoothly.
There was just one thing that gave him a headache—Jon couldn't find qualified 'mid-level officers' at all.
The wars these clan warriors had experienced were all 'tribal conflicts,' fought without any strategy, basically just a chaotic charge forward.
Just as Jon had seen at the Battle of the Green Fork.
However, Tyrion used them as cannon fodder, as long as they could charge forward.
But Jon saw them as his future army, so he had to train them.
In the end, he could only 'pick the best of a bad lot,' selecting over twenty centurions.
Because the tribesmen revered martial prowess, these twenty-odd individuals were basically the most skilled fighters among the two thousand-plus men.
Relying on these men, Jon barely maintained the army's structure.
If he had six months, Jon was confident he could forge them into an army that met his standards.
In three months, Jon was confident he could turn them into an elite army that met Westeros standards.
But he didn't even have a month; he merely had them familiarize themselves with formations before leading the army away.
"After you return, move all the people in the tribe to the deep mountains," Vidor suggested to Chief Chick beside him, watching the mighty army depart like a river.
Chief Chick nodded.
In at most two months, the noble lords of the Vale would learn of their 'empty forces.'
Once the Vale soldiers came to sweep through, they would absolutely not be able to withstand them.
These clan tribes had essentially staked their lives and fortunes on Jon.