Bad News

As Theon directed the soldiers to clear the corpses, Robb, who was sprayed with blood all over his face due to his proximity to Roose, called out to him, "Bury the bodies and heads together! No need to display them on stakes."

"Alright, Robb, you should go wash your face first!"

Seeing Robb's appearance, Theon handed him the cloak he had just picked up and said.

Robb didn't answer Theon. He took the cloak and casually wiped the blood from his face with the inside lining.

Then he turned to the North lords in the stands, whose expressions varied, and said, "Roose Bolton, the sinner who disrupted the order of the North, has received his due punishment.

His bastard son, Ramsay Snow, has rendered meritorious service by reporting his father. I will write to His Majesty the King to request that Ramsay Bolton's name be legitimized and that he inherit the title of Count of Dreadfort.

Does anyone among the noble families of the North present have any objections?"

The North lords, seeing the bodies and blood being cleared by the soldiers on the high platform, all fell silent and raised no objections.

In fact, the noble representatives who came on behalf of their families had no right to object, and the lords who came in person had their heirs serving as high officials in Winterfell, making it even more impossible for them to object.

Seeing the silence, Robb, with blood still smeared on his face, gave a somewhat chilling smile and continued, "Everyone, all proceedings for today are concluded. Please return to Winterfell, present your evidence, and claim the goods belonging to your respective merchant caravans.

Oh, and these goods were transported from Dreadfort. Thousands of eyes watched, so there's no possibility of deception."

Upon hearing this, the noble representatives felt as if they had received a general amnesty. They hastily bowed to Robb and departed, preparing to return to Winterfell.

The lords from various regions, however, gathered around Robb to converse and strengthen their relationships.

Count Wyman was among them. However, when he asked Robb about the terms he didn't understand earlier, such as 'currency circulation' and 'stimulating domestic demand,'

he vaguely ended up treating the Myrrh ointment, which he had intended to sell to Winterfell at cost, as tuition fees and gifted it to Winterfell for free.

As Robb and the others continued their conversations, time gradually passed. Finally, before noon, all the noble lords set off to return to Winterfell.

Meanwhile, Robb, after cleaning himself up, joined all the soldiers in enjoying the lunch prepared by the logistics troops. Then, he began the post-battle distribution of rewards to the entire army.

Theon and the other five generals who participated in the battle could not have their military ranks immediately promoted. As for enfeoffing them with knightly lands, the war had not reached that scale. Therefore, Robb rewarded them with gold dragons based on their individual merits.

Owen, who led the spearmen in a desperate struggle to hold back the enemy's heavy cavalry, received a reward of twenty gold dragons. Theon, who was responsible for the overall command of the archers and the ordinary infantry facing the enemy, received fifteen gold dragons.

Little Jon, who led the lancers in fierce combat, received ten gold dragons, and Eddard, who led the light cavalry in coordinated attacks, received ten gold dragons.

Toren, who led the logistics troops in supply and cover missions, received five gold dragons. Trog, the commander of the village infantry, was transferred to Winterfell to serve as the infantry commander and was rewarded with three gold dragons.

Robb allocated three hundred gold dragons in advance from the spoils of war as rewards for Count Rickard and the Karstark cavalry. He also reclaimed the lost goods of his own merchant caravan.

Among the over three thousand Winterfell soldiers in the camp, excluding the archer infantry who had already received their rewards in Ironstone Town, the remaining cavalrymen each received one hundred silver stags.

Of course, each soldier's achievements in beheading enemies were cumulatively recorded by the military judge. Upon reaching the specified standard, their military rank would be promoted by one level.

As for the more than five hundred and thirty Winterfell soldiers who died in battle, their families would receive a death benefit of two hundred silver stags per person, and their names would be inscribed in the crypt of heroes.

The two thousand eight hundred village infantry soldiers who died in battle would each receive a death benefit of one hundred silver stags.

The death benefits that Robb distributed this time were not low; in fact, they could be considered very generous.

After all, during the later period of war and chaos in Westeros, prices soared, yet the bounty for The Hound's life was only one hundred silver stags.

The total expenditure for rewards and commendations this time, including the Karstark cavalry, amounted to two thousand one hundred gold dragons, which was barely a fraction of the gold dragons obtained from Dreadfort.

The long-standing foundation of Dreadfort was indeed extraordinary. It possessed over twelve thousand three hundred gold dragons alone, and its other various materials could be valued at several thousand gold dragons.

However, Robb believed that the most practical spoils of war from this battle were the warhorses and the numerous weapons and armor.

After all, gold dragons needed to be converted before they could be used in war, whereas warhorses and weapons/armor could be directly employed.

In the original story, Highgarden possessed immense wealth, with plenty of money and grain. Yet, the entire family was eventually wiped out, and countless gold dragons were taken by Cersei to repay debts to the Iron Bank.

With this batch of war materials, as long as Robb intensified his training of qualified soldiers, the elite forces of Winterfell could at least double.

Although Robb obtained a large number of spoils from the Bolton family through this war, compared to the hundreds of thousands or even millions of gold dragons in assets and liabilities of the southern regions.

The North was still too barren!

The environment of the North was neither suitable for slow farming nor did it offer much time for Robb to develop.

As the time for the War of the Five Kings drew nearer, he was actually extremely anxious, constantly searching for ways to rapidly enhance the combat effectiveness of his army.

However, the small items from ancient Hua Country that he thought of could occasionally produce miraculous effects, but they could not be relied upon.

By the time Robb finished handling matters in the military camp and returned to Winterfell, the sun was already beginning to set.

When they were still some distance from Winterfell, they saw Catelyn riding ahead with two guards.

Seeing the speed at which they were riding, Robb's heart sank. He immediately spurred his horse to meet them.

"Robb! Your father had a huge argument with the King and resigned as Hand of the King.

My sister Lysa, in my name, sent over a hundred knights from the Vale who forcibly took the Imp and Ser Rodrik back to Eyrie at the Crossroads Inn."

As Robb and Catelyn met and reined in their horses, Catelyn spoke anxiously, "This is news from a few days ago. I don't know what the situation is now! I'm very worried about Ned!"

"Mother, there's no use being so anxious now. Don't worry about Tyrion and Ser Rodrik for the moment.

As for Father's affairs... I'll handle it!

Let's head back to Winterfell first!"

Robb comforted Catelyn and then signaled for everyone to return to Winterfell.

Lysa Arryn had personally taken action, sending troops to abduct Tyrion and Ser Rodrik. This had already deviated completely from the original plot.

However, the mercenary Bronn should have followed them to the Eyrie as in the original story, and Tyrion should still have escaped danger unharmed, just like in the original story.

As for Father's side, the time until King Robert is killed by a boar is getting shorter and shorter.

I must start acting immediately!

Robb, riding his warhorse, had his mind racing. Once he confirmed his target, his eyes firm, he turned his head towards the south.

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