Changes in the Blood Wind

Robb's group first rendezvoused with the Winterfell soldiers who had stayed behind at Eastwatch Village to bury the villagers.

After waking up, Sam expressed his decision to join the Winterfell army, then followed Robb's group in silence.

By the time their party hurried back to Winterfell, it was nearly sunset.

When Robb led Jon, Theon, and Jory into the Great Hall, Eddard and Maester Luwin were already waiting for them.

As dusk approached, the Great Hall was dim to begin with, and many candles had already been lit early.

"...That's how it stands, Father."

After recounting the events of the past two days, Robb stood still, waiting for the most powerful man in the North to speak.

Eddard clasped his hands under his chin, pondered for a moment, then said, "Maester Luwin, send a raven to Roose Bolton with this information and tell him to give me an account."

"Jory, have someone place those heads at the crossroads outside Winterfell, with their crimes written beside them, so those who think of wrongdoing can see the consequences."

"Robb, handle the distribution of spoils and the compensation for the fallen soldiers."

Eddard issued his commands in one breath, and the three of them immediately bowed in reply.

"Yes, Father!"

"As you command, my lord!"

"I'll see to it at once!"

Watching his eldest son turn to leave, Eddard recalled the grim news Catelyn had told him yesterday. Gritting his teeth, he made a decision and said, "Robb, at dawn tomorrow, put on your training leather armor and come to the training ground."

"Yes, Father!"

Robb, about to leave, turned back in slight confusion to acknowledge the order, then went with Jon and Theon to the armory to remove their armor and store their weapons.

"Heh heh, Robb! I killed two enemies, so I should get a bigger share of the spoils, right?"

Theon casually tossed his still-bloodstained chainmail and longsword aside, grinning at Robb.

"Jon will handle the spoils distribution tomorrow. If you want more, talk to him. I'm heading to my room."

With his mind on Blood Wind, Robb cut Theon off with a single sentence, tossed his weapons and chainmail aside, and walked straight out.

The chainmail and weapons in the armory would be cleaned and maintained by the dedicated servants.

"Snow..."

Watching Robb's back disappear from the armory, Theon turned to see Jon's cold, silent face and waved his hand.

"Forget it, never mind.

Heh heh, once I have some money, I'll go find Rose to study human anatomy."

Jon completely ignored Theon. He tidied up his own weapons and chainmail, then thoughtfully stared in the direction Robb had left.

"Hey, little one, did you miss me?"

As soon as he returned to his room, Robb scooped up Blood Wind, who was sleeping in a pile of old clothes, and forcefully stroked his smooth wolf fur.

"Grr..."

Awakened by Robb's rough handling, Blood Wind let out a pitiful low growl in protest.

"Huh, you've grown a bit, haven't you?"

Feeling Blood Wind's weight, Robb held him up in front of his eyes to examine him.

The Blood Contract Points really are something—the one point of Constitution I added two days ago is clearly showing results now!

Seeing that Blood Wind had noticeably grown a size, Robb focused his mind, and the familiar blood mist rose up, sinking into Blood Wind's body.

[Constitution +1]...

After three blood-red prompts flashed before his eyes, no matter how much Robb tried to add Constitution, there was no further reaction.

He pondered for a moment, then tried adding points again.

[Speed +1], [Strength +1]

The other two attributes for Blood Wind worked without issue. Reality really was different from a game.

You couldn't dump all points into one stat!

After testing, Robb gained a bit more understanding of his Cheat, and he didn't continue adding points.

[Name: Blood Wind, Contractor: Robb Stark]

[Constitution: 5, Speed: 3, Strength: 2]

[Species: Warg Direwolf (6)]

[Blood Contract Points: 2]

After this round of point addition, Robb didn't feel tired, perhaps because he still had Blood Contract Points left.

Robb cuddled Blood Wind for a while, then set him back in the pile of old clothes. Finally freed, Blood Wind yawned and closed his eyes to sleep.

At dinner, Eddard didn't appear in the banquet hall, and Catelyn ate her food in gloomy silence.

Since she wasn't speaking first, Robb and the others didn't want to touch that sore spot. Throughout the entire dinner, it was Theon, the designated mood-setter, recounting how valiantly he had slain enemies.

Watching Arya and Brandon eagerly fire off all sorts of bizarre questions at Theon, leaving him speechless, Robb couldn't help but smile warmly.

But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Jon had been watching him the whole time.

Jon must have noticed that my personality and way of doing things are different from before!

That kid has a sharp nose for everything except love!

Robb's expression remained unchanged, but his mind quickly turned over the thought before dismissing it.

Because no matter how much Jon observed, he wouldn't conclude that Robb was a time traveler.

"Robb, your father's foster father, Lord Arryn, the Hand of the King, died of a fever. His Majesty the King has set out for Winterfell with the entire royal family."

Catelyn suddenly spoke, and the atmosphere at the table shifted instantly. Everyone fell silent, listening to her words.

"I still remember you as a wrinkled little thing when you were born at Riverrun, and now you've grown into a man.

You must be ready...

Ready to be a worthy lord, ready to protect your brothers and sisters."

"Mother, I promise I'll be ready!"

Seeing the sadness on Catelyn's face, Robb immediately spoke to comfort her.

"You all eat. I'm going back to my room."

With a look at her eldest son's earnest expression, Catelyn dropped the words and turned to leave the banquet hall.

"The king is coming to Winterfell! Will the Kingslayer come? Will the Imp come?"

"I heard the prince is very handsome. I wonder if it's true."

"Hmph, those soft Southerners coming to the North—I wonder if they'll be able to handle it. But Southern girls must be more charming than Northern girls, right?"

After Catelyn left, the banquet hall instantly buzzed with chatter.

Robb looked at his younger siblings, who had no idea how grim the future would be, shook his head, and continued eating.

The dinner, made up of meat, vegetables, and fruit, was far more nutritious than dry rations. After eating about one and a half portions, Robb gained 1 Blood Contract Point.

Northwest of the Dreadfort, between the elongated Long Lake and the barren Lone Mountain, lay a stretch of plains.

A company of a hundred cavalry was advancing at a leisurely pace, sweeping forward.

Roose Bolton, Count of the Dreadfort, was listening to a soldier's report delivered by raven.

"Alright, I understand. What about the other cavalry units?"

Of medium build, pale-faced, and with a scholarly appearance, Roose Bolton asked softly after hearing the news.

"They've all reached their designated positions. The net will close by noon tomorrow. Though these Wildlings are troublesome, with several hundred cavalry encircling and charging, we'll wipe them all out."

The reporting soldier answered promptly.

"And Ramsay? Since those deserting soldiers were wiped out by House Stark, why hasn't he returned yet?"

"Lord Ramsay has not sent back any news yet."

"Hmm. Have the cavalry unit in the southwest withdraw. The other units continue to close in."

"The southwest? That's the direction of House Stark... Understood!"

After issuing his orders, Roose stared coldly toward the southwest and murmured to himself, "I'll have 'the explanation' delivered right to your doorstep, Lord Eddard."