In front of the Tower of the Wailing, there was a small barracks, and in front of the small barracks stood over twenty Dreadfort soldiers. These soldiers were clearly elites, their armor sturdy and heavy, reflecting a metallic gleam in the sunlight.
Two of them, visibly officers, had armor adorned with a dark red glaze, which, from certain angles, looked as if it had just been drenched in fresh blood.
One of them stepped forward and said, "Lord Jon, you and Lady Arya may enter, but your guards cannot!"
The guards Jon brought were all from the 'Heavy Armor Camp,' and when they stood there, each looked like an iron tower, not lacking in killing intent compared to the Dreadfort soldiers.
Jon brought them not only to observe the defenses within the Tower of the Wailing but also to test the extent of Roose Bolton's vigilance towards him. He hadn't expected him to be so cautious.
He had originally planned to unite with the other lords, each bringing a few retainers to meet Roose Bolton, then suddenly launch an attack. It seemed this approach wouldn't work; he needed to think of other methods.
"It seems Tywin's heavy armored troops left quite an impression on our Lord Bolton," Jon quipped, then turned and said, "Alright, you all stay here."
Leaving the heavy armored guards behind, Jon entered the small barracks, which held about three to five hundred men. Just like his previous meeting with Roose Bolton, everyone there looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Laughter ceased, sparring stopped, and all eyes converged on Jon.
Arya also sensed the tense atmosphere and placed her hand on her sword hilt.
"Relax," Jon patted Arya's shoulder, and the two ascended the stairs together. Along the way, he casually counted and found that the Tower of the Wailing actually housed nearly a hundred soldiers.
It seemed Roose Bolton was truly exceedingly cautious, especially since, apart from his own direct soldiers, there wasn't a single lord in the army he could trust.
Those who constantly seek to harm others must also harbor paranoia.
The siblings continued upward. Jon was surprised to find Arya's stamina remarkably good; after climbing hundreds of steps, she was only breathing a little heavily, otherwise perfectly composed.
Soon, the two entered the Hundred Hearth Hall, where several guards also stood by the heavy oak door.
To close such an oak door would require at least seven or eight soldiers working together.
Passing through the door and entering the Hundred Hearth Hall, there were about twenty more soldiers inside!
With Jon's current martial prowess, he could at most handle ten people simultaneously, and with soldiers outside ready to provide support, a sudden uprising was simply unrealistic.
Suddenly, he noticed Polliver standing beside Roose Bolton, and realized the fellow's gaze towards him held a hint of disdain, making him wonder what he was plotting.
At this moment, Roose Bolton was seated on Harren the Blackheart's throne, waiting to receive the two. As a count, his status was above Jon and Arya.
The moment he saw Jon and Arya, he knew it had to be Arya; the two resembled each other too much.
"Excellent, Lady Arya. Thank the Gods that I see you safe and sound."
Arya greeted Roose Bolton with noble etiquette, and Roose Bolton returned a rare smile.
He then turned to Jon and said, "Jon, King Robb wants you to take some men to reinforce Ser Edmure. You can take Arya with you to Riverrun."
"Reinforce Edmure?" Jon immediately understood why Polliver had looked at him that way earlier.
He held the letter, approaching Jon like a dog showing off a piece of red meat.
Jon's expression didn't change as he took the letter. Instead, he smiled at Arya beside him and said,
"Arya, once I've settled the army, we can go to Riverrun together, and you'll be able to see Lady Catelyn then."
"Really!" Arya's eyes lit up. Compared to avenging Eddard, she naturally missed her mother.
Seeing Jon's reaction, Roose Bolton was somewhat surprised, but he merely assumed Jon had accepted his fate. In fact, he found it odd that Jon neither acknowledged King Robb's claim nor received his trust, yet still obeyed his orders.
He wondered what Jon gained by getting nothing good from start to finish.
"Jon, when you leave, I will also send Polliver to escort you. I will take care of things here."
"Then I thank Lord Bolton for his trouble," Jon maintained his smile.
After leaving the Tower of the Wailing, Jon continued to chat and laugh with Arya, not letting anyone detect anything amiss.
Originally, Robb had only named Jon his heir, to inherit the title of King in the North—or rather, the mess—when he was already somewhat desperate and felt the tide had turned against him.
But now the situation was completely different. Not only were the Iron Islands considering an alliance with the North, but Jon's achievements on the Eastern Front had also shifted the balance of power significantly in the North's favor.
"Power is blinding," Jon muttered to himself. However, this also gave Jon an idea: if he did something out of line next, Roose Bolton probably wouldn't be too vigilant.
So he took Arya to visit the other lords. Harrion, Meiqi Saiwen, and others all warmly welcomed Arya.
Jon was actually using Arya as a cover to sound out these individuals.
If they were willing to follow him to attack King's Landing, then there would be no need to risk a mutiny; he could just lead their men away. However, the results were not entirely satisfactory.
Currently, the House Karstark army in the Eastern Army still numbered around two thousand men.
Adding the militia who joined recently, that number would increase slightly.
When Jon arrived at Harrion's place, he didn't directly state his intentions but first plied him with a large amount of wine.
Finally, when Harrion was somewhat tipsy, Jon got the answer he wanted.
"Stark, Karstark, we are one family. Lord Eddard is also my kin. My kin was murdered, so of course I must seek revenge! Jon, I'm waiting for you to lead me into King's Landing!"
Confirming that Karstark would fight to the end gave Jon more confidence. If all else failed, his five thousand men plus Harrion's two thousand-plus could still put up a fight.
However, that number was still not safe enough.
Then he sought out Meici Severn.
This fellow's attitude was somewhat ambiguous.
"It would be best if we could take King's Landing. Then we could plunder it thoroughly, just like Tywin did back in the day.
But King's Landing isn't close to us, and there are so many Crownlands castles in between. The price we'd have to pay would likely be considerable. Honestly, I think if we just kill Tywin, that counts as avenging Lord Eddard. Of course, if King Robb orders us to take King's Landing, then I'll have nothing more to say! I will obey without question!
But Jon, since Robb is sending you to Riverrun, he probably wants to kill that old man Tywin first."
Meiqi Saiwen's attitude made Jon realize that this old fellow was only willing to fight when things were going well; he couldn't be relied upon for tough battles or uphill struggles.
Afterward, Jon also inquired with House Blackwood and Manderly Family. Their responses also carried a hint of war-weariness, which struck Jon as odd. Battles had been going quite smoothly since the war began, so why were they all suddenly homesick?
After some investigation, it turned out they all wanted to accumulate more provisions while autumn had just arrived and winter had not yet set in.
It must be said that the people of the North possessed a strong sense of foresight, but they all stated that if Robb demanded it, they would continue fighting, fulfilling their duty as vassals.
There was a prerequisite here—Robb's demand.
Jon naturally did not have that authority.
Although he had accumulated much prestige on the battlefield, it was not enough to command the lords to march onto unfamiliar lands and start a new war.
Not to mention these lords, even his own army consisted of a group of "temporary soldiers."
Although the number of five thousand seemed large, these men would all return home once the war ended.
Unless Jon could carve out a territory for himself, then it might be possible to retain some of them.
In a blink of an eye, seven or eight days had passed.
Jon knew he couldn't delay; he had to strike first.
"Jon, seven thousand men it is! Seven thousand men are better than doing nothing here!" Dondarrion tried to get Jon to move immediately.
"Seven thousand men is still a bit stretched. From what I know, the Imp, Tyrion, has doubled King's Landing's defenses to about ten thousand men.
Our enemies aren't just the King's Landing garrison. We already have an understanding with Tyrell; they will definitely participate in the war.
Then, Stannis and we will not only have to capture King's Landing but also hold it," Jon expressed his concerns.
The Red Keep, this royal castle, is completely separate from King's Landing's walls, and its defenses are no less formidable than Harrenhal's. Taking it would certainly require some effort, and we might have to defend against a siege while simultaneously attacking the Red Keep.
Seven thousand men is still too few. "What should we do then? Roose Bolton hasn't even left the Tower of the Wailing much during this time, and when he does, he's accompanied by a large retinue of guards," Thoros said worriedly. He knew Jon wanted to seize power, but the prerequisite for seizing power was to subdue the one in power, and clearly, Roose Bolton protected himself very well.
"If he won't come out, we'll go in!" Jon declared.
"But you'd need at least twenty men to go in to have a chance, and they'd need weapons! Roose Bolton won't let that many of us in," Dondarrion reminded again.
"Jon, this is a mutiny, are you really not afraid?" Thoros asked with a furrowed brow, full of concern.
"It's only a mutiny if it fails. If we succeed, we will be the heroes who set a chaotic nation back on track!"
Thoros and Dondarrion were both stunned. The young man's piercing gaze, sharp as a blade, shook their very souls.