Threat

"My lord, aren't we setting out yet?"

"Wait. I sent Gavin into town to buy something."

"But didn't he just go this morning?"

"He didn't bring enough money this morning, so he had to make another trip."

Samwell gave a casual excuse, then continued staring in the direction Gavin had left, his heart full of anticipation.

Todd sighed helplessly and turned to leave.

Once his back was to Samwell, a cold glint suddenly flashed through the bastard's eyes.

It was nearly evening when Gavin finally returned.

"My lord, I searched the entire market and only managed to buy the last two stalks of Ghost Grass. That damned peddler gouged me badly—I actually spent twenty Silver Stags!"

"As long as you got them." Samwell hurriedly took the Ghost Grass. He did not care much about the cost, instead asking, "Did you ask where this grass comes from?"

"I did. The peddler said Ghost Grass only grows in the Red Mountains, and it's quite rare, hard to find. He bought these from an adventurer. I specifically tracked down that adventurer. According to him, he got these stalks after killing a Wildling from the Wandering Crow Tribe."

"The Red Mountains... the Wandering Crow Tribe..." Samwell murmured the two names, forcefully suppressing the surging desire in his heart. Then he swung onto his horse and gave the order.

"Move out!"

The night was deep, and the camp of the expeditionary force was silent.

As Samwell slept, a chill touched his face, jolting him awake.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a figure standing inside his tent in the darkness!

"Shh—Lord Caesar, if you don't want this sword to accidentally slit your throat, don't make a sound."

Samwell took several deep breaths, trying hard to calm himself.

Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he finally made out the face before him—

It was Carter, Ser Todd's squire!

"Carter, what do you want?"

Carter gave a chuckle and said:

"Lord Caesar, I only want to discuss something with you."

"Go on."

"We're moving too slowly! At this rate, when will we ever reach the Red Mountains? So starting tomorrow, I hope you'll stop wasting time drilling those damned recruits. March swiftly to the Red Mountains. Once we get there, you won't need to worry about Wildlings or beasts. More than a hundred brothers will naturally keep you safe."

Samwell's expression darkened as he asked:

"Did Todd Flowers send you?"

Carter did not answer. Instead, he tapped Samwell's face with the flat of his sword.

"Lord Caesar, do you agree to my proposal or not?"

Samwell said coldly:

"Do you know what crime it is for a commoner to threaten a noble with a sword?"

"A noble? Heh. All I know is that you're worthless trash abandoned by your family."

"But I still have noble blood. I am also a frontier knight invested by Duke Mace. Do you dare kill me?"

"Ser Knight, have you forgotten? We're not in a castle now. We're out in the wilderness. Even if I killed you and claimed you were slain by Wildlings in the Red Mountains, would House Tarly really send someone to investigate?"

Samwell immediately fell silent.

After a moment, he seemed to have finally become afraid and said in a muffled voice:

"Fine. There will be no more training from tomorrow onward. We'll advance at full speed."

"Now that's more like it." Carter smiled and sheathed his sword. "I've seen these past few days that you're not as stupid as the rumors say. Then you should understand even better that we are the ones ensuring your safety out here. As for those recruits, heh, if things truly turn ugly, they can't withstand a single charge from us. So you'd best behave. That way, we can get along more harmoniously in the future."

Samwell lowered his head without speaking. In the darkness, his expression could not be seen.

Carter did not care. He bowed and said:

"Then, good night, respected Ser Knight."

With that, he turned and walked out of the tent.

Samwell remained sitting there motionlessly, unable to fall asleep again.

The next day, Samwell indeed did not conduct military drills. Early in the morning, he ordered the entire force to march south at full speed.

Though the recruits were baffled, they did not dare question his orders.

The third day was the same.

After three consecutive days like this, the expeditionary force's pace surged, and they reached the upper reaches of the Honeywine.

Late on the fourth night, everyone in camp had already gone to sleep.

Only Carter remained on watch with three soldiers under his command.

"My lord, at this pace, we'll reach our destination soon, right?"

"Mm. Another two or three weeks, more or less." Carter sat atop a large rock at the edge of camp with a blade of grass between his teeth. "If that cowardly fatso hadn't kept wasting time, we'd have been catching fish on the shores of the Summer Sea by now."

"Why did that fat knight suddenly stop drilling the recruits? Does he think more than a month of training is enough?" one of his men asked curiously, apparently unaware of the reason behind the change in the expeditionary force.

Carter curled his lip and did not reveal the truth.

He was not stupid enough to publicize the fact that he had threatened a noble with a sword.

"Why do you care so much? As long as we get there sooner..." Carter stopped halfway through his sentence.

His expression immediately turned grave.

"Did you hear that?"

"It sounded like something moved in the woods."

"Yeah, I heard it too."

"Go take a look."

Carter rose to his feet and led his men over.

The four entered the woods and followed the direction of the sound for some distance.

Then Carter suddenly stopped and said to one of his men:

"Jamie, go back alone first. If we haven't returned in ten minutes, wake Lord Todd immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Carter then continued onward with the other two men.

After pursuing it for a while longer, Carter stopped again and said warily:

"Stop chasing. I suspect they're deliberately luring us away."

"My lord, should we go back and wake Lord Todd?"

"No. It may just be bandits passing by. They saw our camp had too many people and didn't dare show themselves. Let's go back and stand watch first, see whether they'll—"

Before he could finish, the brush nearby shook violently, as though something had darted through it.

Carter reacted quickly and hurled his longsword.

Whoosh!

"Got it!" Carter clapped his hands confidently, relaxing. "Looks like it was a rabbit."

As he spoke, he walked over, intending to retrieve his sword and his prey.

But after only a few steps, Carter suddenly felt a tremendous force yank at his right foot!

Swish—

Before the two soldiers could react, they turned to see their officer already hanging upside down from a tree.

Only then did they snap out of it. They hurriedly drew the swords they had just sheathed, only to see more than a dozen figures emerge from the darkness and close in around them.

Carter struggled and shouted, "You two idiots, hurry and help me cut this rope!"

Before either man could move, a voice rang out from the darkness:

"Drop your weapons, or die!"

"Samwell Caesar!" Carter immediately recognized the familiar voice. "What do you want?"

Samwell walked up to Carter and smiled.

"I just want you to answer a question."

"What question?"

"I asked you this question four days ago." Samwell grabbed Carter by the hair and laid his sword against the man's throat. "What sentence should a commoner receive for threatening a noble with a sword?"

Feeling the coldness of the blade, Carter finally reined in his arrogance and prepared to yield first.

"My lord... I was only joking with you..."

"A joke? The laws of the kingdom are no joke!"

Seeing the undisguised killing intent in Samwell's eyes, Carter finally panicked.

At that moment, another voice came from the distance:

"Lord Caesar! Please show mercy!"

"Lord Todd!" Carter's heart leaped with joy at the familiar voice. "Save me!"

"Todd Flowers." Samwell smiled at the figure running toward him through the darkness, as though warmly greeting an old friend.

Yet at the same time, his right hand suddenly pulled down at an angle—

Slash!

The icy blade mercilessly cut through Carter's throat!