Because of the Battle of Green Fork, the Northern Army did not suffer the tragic defeat and losses that were originally expected.
Roose Bolton did not retreat his army all the way to The Twins, but instead camped near the riverbank.
He used the river as a defensive line to tie down Tywin.
On the banks of the Green Fork, Roose Bolton was conversing with several Riverlands nobles.
Among them, two were young men, and one was a boy less than ten years old.
The little boy was Lyman Darry, who had excitedly shouted during the 'Crowning of the King in the North' that day.
He was the only remaining male heir of House Darry.
As for the other two young men, they were his bastard cousins.
The one currently speaking with Roose Bolton was named Martyn Rivers.
The other, accompanying him, was named Mond Rivers.
Just as 'Snow' is the exclusive surname for bastards in the North, 'Rivers' is the exclusive surname for bastards in the Riverlands.
Although both of them were only bastards, they had no intention of seizing young Lyman's inheritance.
They only wanted to know how to recapture Darry Castle in a short amount of time!
Lyman's father was Lord Raymon, and Lord Raymon had treated these two nephews as his own sons.
But he died at the hands of the Mountain.
The Mountain was truly terrifying, and neither Martyn nor Mond dared to think about killing the Mountain to avenge Raymon.
At least, they didn't dare to think of accomplishing it with their own strength.
They only wanted to quickly reclaim Darry Castle to repay Raymon's kindness in raising them.
During such conversations, young Lyman couldn't get a word in.
He could only entrust the fate of his House to his two cousins.
"Lady Catelyn should be meeting Renly soon. If an alliance is formed, Tywin will face immense pressure from the south.
Even now, he is already on the verge of fighting a two-front war, so, Lord Bolton, I ask that you cooperate with us to recapture Darry Castle.
House Darry will forever be your most sincere friend."
Martyn looked at Roose Bolton and spoke earnestly, while Mond, beside him, winked at young Lyman.
"Lord Bolton, please help us," young Lyman pleaded, but both his tone and expression were childish and stiff.
This was Roose Bolton's first time receiving such respect from other nobles, and he felt a little flattered.
In fact, he also felt that Martyn was right; now should be Tywin's most panicked moment.
In the north, he was being heavily beaten by the combined forces of the North and the Riverlands.
In the south, the armies of Highgarden and Stormlands were steadily advancing.
Death's scythe was already raised overhead; for the Westerlands, there was nowhere to hide!
"Alright, we'll first scout the situation at Darry Castle, and then..."
Before Roose Bolton could finish speaking, a servant rushed over, looking somewhat flustered:
"Lord Bolton, an army is approaching from our east!"
"An army! Is it the enemy?"
Hearing that there might be a battle, Lyman Darry, whose head barely reached an adult's chest, asked excitedly.
He looked at his two cousins, but they signaled him not to ask foolish questions.
Lyman then looked at Roose Bolton, who naturally ignored the little boy.
"It's not clear yet, our men are still investigating."
"What is their military formation like?"
"Very orderly! They must be elites!"
"Order the entire army to be on alert!"
"Yes, Lord Bolton!"
The servant hurried away, and Martyn, from the side, asked:
"Lord Bolton, the east? Could the Vale have joined the war?"
"The Vale?"
Roose Bolton frowned in thought, believing it wasn't impossible.
King's Landing and the Crownlands were now in precarious danger, and Tywin was to their south.
An army appearing from the east would seem to only be an army from the Vale.
Roose Bolton didn't believe Jon could raise an army from the mountain clans in such a short time.
Even if he could, with the discipline of those wildlings, they definitely wouldn't march in an orderly fashion.
As an experienced Lord, he knew how to judge an army's combat effectiveness from its march.
As for Martyn and Mond, the brothers exchanged glances, seeing excitement in each other's eyes.
If an army from the Vale truly joined, their chances of reclaiming the castle would increase significantly.
At this moment, Jon and his army had already spotted the Northern Army's camp in the distance.
"Jon, how many people are there?"
Sola, disguised as a man, asked in surprise.
Perhaps knowing that a daughter would eventually leave, Vidor gave Sola his best bow and let her leave with Jon.
"Hmm, roughly twenty thousand people."
"Twenty thousand?"
It was clearly a bit difficult for Sola to grasp how many twenty thousand people were.
Although Harken, beside her, didn't ask similar questions, his astonished eyes and jaw that almost dropped to the ground revealed his true feelings.
He had originally thought that the two thousand strong army behind him was impressive enough.
But the massive army camp before him gave him a sense of danger.
That feeling was even stronger than the dangerous, dark caves and the perilous pools he had encountered.
If Harken and Sola felt this way, there was even less need to mention the tribal warriors.
The territories their tribes occupied were not even as large as this army camp before them.
Where had these people ever seen such a colossal camp, stretching for miles, with no end in sight?
And what astonished them even more was that this army actually 'occupied' an entire river!
No matter where, water was a very important resource.
The blood shed between clan tribes for water was as much as the water they fought over.
The rumors they had heard were that when the 'outsiders' fought a battle, an entire tribe's worth of people would die!
Some people even subconsciously believed that the 'outsiders' fought because they were fighting over water.
Otherwise, why would so many people die?
Thinking that they were about to participate in such a terrifying war, many people felt nervous.
Jon, of course, would not allow them to show fear.
The enemies he had to face were not just the Lannisters; there were also those within the Northern Army who were coveting his position.
As his strength expanded, Jon had to appear spirited and not lose face!
He turned to the tribal warrior officers who had been selected and promoted, and said:
"Everyone, prepare to sing the 'Song of Unity' that I taught you!"
"Yes, Lord Jon!"
Along the way, besides training them in marching commands, 'army cultural construction' was naturally indispensable for Jon.
Considering the grudges between the various tribes, 'Unity is Strength' was the first song Jon taught them to sing.
In addition, powerful and majestic military songs like 'Forward' and 'Our Tribe Towards the Sun' were also songs they all knew by heart.
The outstanding 'artistic flair' of the clan tribes was quite unexpected to Jon.
"This strength is iron! This strength is steel!"
"..."
"Forward! Forward! Forward!!!"
Soon, a military song, somewhat off-key but full of power, spread throughout the entire Northern Army camp.
Harrion, who was hacking at a dummy target with 'Gregor' written on it, turned his head to look east.
Lord Cerwyn, who was still calculating military provisions, was also drawn in.
When they learned that Jon had returned, they all put down what they were doing and rushed out of the camp.