"Advance! Advance! Advance!"
The resounding war song echoed across the war-torn Riverlands, somewhat dispelling the despair from this ravaged land.
Beasts foraging for food fled far away, with only a flock of crows following behind, having caught the scent of decaying flesh.
The Mountain's body had been preserved with lime, and his organs had even been specially removed and his blood drained.
As the weather grew colder, this method could preserve him for a considerable period.
Martin had a horse-drawn cross made, and his massive body was nailed to it.
This cruel demon was the most significant trophy of this battle. From a distance, some watching commoners would gather.
Without even needing soldiers to introduce him, The Mountain's enormous physique would be recognized.
Jon's army marched and sang, and soon returned to the Northern Army camp, their singing naturally reaching Roose Bolton's ears from afar.
His face, pale and bloodless, was as grim as if it were about to freeze over.
As the commander, he now not only had to accept the fact that Jon's prestige far surpassed his own, but also had to personally congratulate Jon and his army, which was akin to eating excrement with a smile.
Meanwhile, a group of nobles from the army had already gone ahead to welcome Jon.
Among them, Meiqi Saiwen and Harrion were undoubtedly the most excited, galloping wildly through the camp, so much so that their attendants could barely keep up.
When Harrion saw the unusually large body nailed to the cross, he immediately recognized the man who had left him with such a terrifying impression.
The terrifyingimpact force displayed by The Mountain and his heavy armored troops in the Battle of Green Fork still haunted his dreams to this day.
At this time, The Mountain appeared very gaunt because his internal organs had been removed and his body preserved, but the empty flesh still looked burly supported by the massive skeleton.
"It really is The Mountain," Harrion muttered, then suddenly noticed a clear fatal wound on the corpse's neck.
He looked around and, seeing a soldier who looked like a Northerner, asked, "Oi ~ you! Who killed The Mountain?"
"My Lord, Lord Jon killed The Mountain with his own hands."
"Jon?!" Harrion nodded, finding it somewhat incredible, but upon reflection, deemed it very reasonable; if not Jon, no one in the North could have killed him.
At this moment, Meiqi Saiwen also rushed over, exclaiming repeatedly as he looked at The Mountain's corpse.
Suddenly, he noticed two banners flying in the middle of the procession: Jon's black banner with a white wolf and House Darry's peasant banner.
However, the two banners were not marching side-by-side; the peasant banner was clearly one position behind the white wolf banner.
"It seems House Darry has already handed its soldiers over to Jon," Meiqi Saiwen remarked to Harrion.
At the beginning of Jon's march, both Meiqi Saiwen and Harrion had proposed to assist Jon, but he refused, citing that he did not want to be feared by Roose Bolton.
However, at that time, neither of them believed House Darry would encounter any danger in retaking their castle, unexpectedly running into The Mountain.
"If you encounter danger on the battlefield, the gods may not come to save you, but Jon will," a voice simultaneously entered Harrion and Meiqi Saiwen's ears.
Approvingly, they turned to see a bald noble in blue armor, who looked somewhat familiar.
Ah, this person was indeed 'Wendel Mandele,' the brother of the fallen Willas Mandele.
Both were corpulent and skilled archers, but compared to the always cheerful Willas, Wendel was more taciturn.
"Look! It's the heavy armored troops!" Wendel's eyesight was excellent, and he raised a hand to alert the two.
They suddenly saw a group of heavy infantry and heavy cavalry in heavy armor beneath the two banners, and there were four or five hundred such armored soldiers!
All the soldiers' armor was painted white, looking like gleaming blades. It was that group of heavy armored soldiers who had, like a warhammer, shattered Harrion's defensive line that day.
'Did Jon actually annihilate such a powerful enemy?!'
Harrion couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, while Meici Severn beside him excitedly pointed at the soldiers and shouted, "Heavy armored soldiers! They're heavy armored soldiers! My goodness!"
Everyone understood that Jon's victory in this battle not only eliminated the heavy armored troops, who posed the greatest threat to them, but also elevated him to the one with the most authority in the army.
Both his prestige and strength were no less than Roose Bolton's; in fact, combining the two, he far surpassed him.
"Lord Bolton has arrived."
"The Duke of Dreadfort, Lord Roose Bolton has arrived—"
Meiqi Saiwen, Harrion, and the other nobles turned their heads to see Roose Bolton approaching them, surrounded by a group of knights.
As he drew closer, none of them showed any intention of making way.
"The Commander-in-Chief has arrived, don't you know to make way?" Polliver, who had been sent to Darry City to assist Martin in retaking the lost lands, reprimanded.
However, he was quickly met with Wendel's sarcasm: "Commander-in-Chief? Is that the Commander-in-Chief who abandoned us and fled when things went south?"
"What did you say!"
"Nothing, we just aren't willing to entrust our backs to someone who would abandon us at any moment."
Amidst the sarcastic remarks from the crowd, Polliver immediately drew his sword.
The others also didn't back down, seemingly ready for a fight right there, but Roose Bolton raised a hand to prevent a skirmish.
He knew that if such a thing happened, it would only make him appear even more unqualified and incapable of leading the army.
He turned slightly to Polliver and said, "Later, go to Jon's camp and tell him I need to speak with him."
"My Lord, should we..." Polliver made a gesture hinting at murder, but received a look of disdain from Bolton.
In his opinion, the best method was, of course, to use someone else to kill; if he killed Jon here, would Robb let him off? What he actually wanted to discuss was the attack on Harrenhal.
This was also an order that had come from Riverrun not long ago.
At this moment, Jon finally returned to his camp amidst the cheers and congratulations of the nobles and soldiers, and Harrion and Meiqi Saiwen finally got the chance to congratulate him in person.
"Tywin, that old bastard, must be absolutely furious right now!" Harrion exclaimed loudly.
"Exactly! Jon's victory this time is like a hunter severing the lion's claws; he'll never rise again! Hahaha!"
Wendel, from White Harbor, was also a man of culture, praising Jon's bravery and warm-heartedness from a more nuanced perspective.
"Jon, now our Manderly Family still has two thousand soldiers. I hope they can be placed under your command; only you can ensure more people return alive!" Wendel once again proposed that Jon take control of the military power.
"Yes, Jon, if you ask me, if Robb, I mean His Majesty, had let you lead us back then, Tywin would probably have been nailed to a cross like The Mountain by now," Meiqi Saiwen echoed from the side.
Jon smiled and said nothing. If Robb had really let him lead the army back then, these lords would have had to obey him too.
"Sirs, I was just lucky, and besides, Lord Bolton's command was not greatly flawed; the choices he made prove him to be a competent commander!"
"But we need an excellent Commander-in-Chief!"
"Right!"
Around Jon, the nobles spoke one after another, just like those who had pushed Robb onto the throne in Riverrun.
"Everyone, listen to me!"
At this moment, Harrion suddenly stepped forward and said:
"Roose Bolton? Bah!"
Harrion spat heavily on the ground, and this simple action drew cheers from the others.
"In my heart, there is only one person whose orders I would willingly follow, and that is Jon Snow! Lord Eddard's son!"
"Exactly!" Meiqi Saiwen also stood up and said, "Facts have proven that only with Stark blood leading us can we achieve victory!"
"Right—"
As for Jon, he looked at the scene before him, as if dreaming of Riverrun again.