Ice and Fire: Conquering the World Starting from the Wall

Chapter 7 The Blood Oath of Thane

"My lord, we have never heard of such a clan in the north."

One of the Thane warriors raised a question, and Lynn recognized him as the annoying "conversation killer."

The others glared at him.

Lynn raised a finger to the sky and explained in a charlatan-like tone:

"My people live among distant stars, and I came from among the stars by ship, only to fall here."

A murmur arose from the crowd; they seemed to have truly believed it.

Lynn was puzzled, but remained calm.

After a detailed conversation, Lynn finally learned the whole story.

The Thane were threatened by the White Walkers and forced to abandon their homeland to follow Mance Raymond in attacking the Wall. However, when the last of their people were being evacuated, they saw a falling fireball.

Their canyon was located in the high mountains far north of Frostfang, very close to the Land of Everwinter. So Theron's leader, Stimagna, decided to lead a group to explore it.

As soon as the traces of the fire were seen, the ghouls discovered them, and then the following events occurred.

After learning that the falling fireball was Lynn's "Starship," the Thane people made almost no attempt to conceal their thoughts.

That is to make the noble and powerful "Star Child" their new Magna.

The White Walkers killed the Thern god in a few breaths, while Lynn avenged Magna in a single breath.

The Thane people only follow the strong.

A day later, Lynn followed the Thern people toward the iceberg range known as Frostfang.

To speed things up, they made a makeshift sled for Lynn, who then used a first-aid kit to stitch up their wounds and shared compressed biscuits and self-heating rice.

When the Thane people tasted it, they didn't make a fuss or treat it as a delicacy as Lynn had imagined; they simply thought it tasted pretty good.

The main reason is that the Thern people occupy the only good place in the North, a canyon rich in prey, where abundant geothermal resources can also provide some fruits and vegetables, so resources are not scarce.

In addition, they could mine copper and tin for making beautiful bronze weapons. The downside was that they were too close to the land of eternal winter, making them the first tribe outside the Wall to be attacked by the White Walkers.

They were fierce warriors, whose absolute obedience, fueled by their godlike faith in Magna, made them far more disciplined than the other free men. They were well-equipped, possessing bronze helmets and weapons, leather garments with bronze plates, and shields edged with copper.

They called themselves the last of the First Men, and had their own lords and laws.

Some people believe that the Thane are more civilized than other free peoples and closer to those south of the Wall, but Lynn disagrees after learning more about them; they are just as savage and fond of killing and plundering.

Furthermore, they are not truly free; they only claim so because they have nothing. The Thane people, on the other hand, know how to obey because they are relatively wealthy and have room to distribute resources.

When these so-called free people move to more habitable lands, class division will be inevitable.

Therefore, Lynn was not interested in being the leader of a group of barbarians; he longed for the prosperous free city-states, even though the slave owners there were very decadent, but the civilization there was relatively advanced.

If the area beyond the Great Wall was basically a primitive society, then the area south of the Great Wall was almost a feudal medieval society, while the free trade city-states across the Narrow Sea were a mix of slavery and nascent capitalism.

Unfortunately, he can't even get across the Wall right now, so he has no choice but to follow the Thane people. At least they will share food with him and make sure he doesn't starve.

After crossing another low hill, the scout at the front suddenly shouted.

Lynn looked up and saw a thin, winding black line in the distance, like a dying earthworm in the snow, slowly but steadily crawling forward.

Those were the last group of Thernians to migrate to Frostfang, numbering about five hundred.

So they sped up their pursuit, and when they encountered difficult terrain, the Thane people would take turns pulling Lynn's sled with ropes.

At this point, the external battery of Lynn's spacesuit had run out of power, so he removed it, making walking much easier.

The battery pack was originally intended to be thrown away, but a Thane quickly picked it up, claiming he would make it into a shield, which made the others very envious.

Then he got the title of "Star Shield".

After traveling for most of the day, they finally caught up with the tail end of the group.

An hour later, the head of the group stopped and began chopping wood, setting up tents, and using wheelbarrows and sheep carts to outline the campsite.

When Lynn entered the simple camp, he found that everyone was looking at him with awe. The team members who had come first to announce Stie's death had already told his people about Lynn's origins and deeds.

Some agreed, some doubted, but no one dared to refute it, because those who followed Stie were the strongest warriors, and Lynn was indeed wearing pale armor and had a demonic dragon wrapped around his shoulder, just as they said, except that the fire demon sword did not seem to be on fire.

As night fell, the Thane people lit numerous bonfires around their camp.

Lynn wondered if doing this would attract White Walkers.

Then the Thane explained that the Others and the dead fear sunlight and fire, and they rarely confront the living directly, but rather follow closely behind and slowly devour them; those who stray or fall behind never return.

If they don't light a campfire, they'll find dead bodies in their tents the next morning, or dead bodies will come looking for them.

No wonder they had to cut down so much wood before.

The largest tent was requisitioned, and several soldiers invited Lynn inside, along with two unfamiliar faces.

They sat around a stone stove with a whole deer on it. The young dragon huddled listlessly on the hot stone, its eyes fixed on the uncooked roasted venison, looking just like a big bat.

The people of Theon discussed the future of their tribe with great concern, occasionally casting their gazes toward the "Child of the Star."

Lynn then removed his helmet and gloves, both to cool himself and to make his work easier. He would occasionally use a small bronze knife provided by the Thane to cut off small pieces of charred venison to feed the young dragon, which seemed to prefer the charred taste.

The young "Star Shield" Nemo sat beside him, intently wrapping leather around the bare hilt of the Dark Sisters' sword. He promised that once they arrived at the camp, he would have the tribe's best craftsmen make new hilts and scabbards for Lynn, using the finest materials.

The square battery pack, weighing over ten kilograms, rested against his leg, already bound with straps. Lynn had told him it was best not to puncture it.

"Spear" Casa, who had shared a drink with Lynn, sat on his other side; a title common among the Freemen. He was the oldest, but didn't look more than forty, and considering the harsh environment could make people look older, he was probably only in his early thirties.

The two men stood on either side of each other, looking every bit like loyal guards.

The discussion continued until the deer were eaten down to bones, and because of the lack of supplies, even the bones were broken and sucked. At this point, Lynn had no choice but to respond.

He coughed lightly and then said, "I am not of your race, and if I were to become Magna, it would likely cause conflict."

Some people's eyes dimmed, while others clamored as if they wanted to devour the non-existent opponents alive.

Lynn raised her hand to stop them.

"You must choose your own Magna according to tradition, but if you are willing to follow me, then I promise to lead you."

Kasa's eyes lit up: "Like Stitch following Mans?"

"Star Shield" scoffed, "Mans is all talk and no action."

An unfamiliar face retorted, "But he defeated Magna three times."

Lynn felt a headache coming on, and he quickly said:

"I have no intention of challenging the authority of the King Beyond the Wall. Right now, the White Walkers are bringing a deadly chill, and crossing the Wall is the only option. Freemen must unite."

Everyone fell silent until Casa broke the silence:

"I will run for Magna and vow to follow the 'Star Child' forever."

Aside from the dead Styd, Kasa was the strongest warrior. He looked around at all the tribesmen present until they all nodded, then he drew his dagger, made a cut in his palm, and smeared the blood on his face.

"Free men do not kneel, but they swear an oath in blood."

"I swear by blood!"

Everyone shouted together.