Bastard's Wild Imagination

House Frey had planned the encampment for the Northern army in advance. Combined with the authority Robb had already established with Jon's help, the army quickly gathered in an orderly fashion north of the Twins.

And House Frey, which controlled the vital waterways, could easily seal off any news.

There was no chance word of the army leaking out.

After leaving the Twins, Catelyn entered the central command tent and received the major Northern lords.

On the day Eddard and Catelyn married, the Northern lords had all sent wedding gifts.

And over the years, Catelyn had "diligently" borne Eddard a whole brood of sons and daughters.

Whenever the lords' children married or some other event occurred, Catelyn would send her regards. As a result, she had an excellent reputation.

Once everyone had gathered, Catelyn explained why she had joined the Northern army midway through its march.

"I was returning from the Eyrie and did not know Eddard had been framed. My lords all know that Lysa is my sister, and she handles many of the Vale's affairs on its behalf.

"I will write to Lysa and have the Vale's army join our alliance."

Catelyn laid out her plans in an orderly fashion.

The Northern lords present were all greatly encouraged.

"Good! The direwolf and the eagle will finally fight side by side again. Last time, we slew the evil dragon. This time, we'll surely skin this lion alive!" Greatjon said with a booming laugh, excitedly rubbing the hilt of his sword.

"The Westerlands may have many troops, but they can never outnumber the entire Seven Kingdoms put together. We will surely win in the end!" Rickard said spiritedly, his white beard draped over his chest gleaming almost blindingly.

"Then should we wait until the Vale's army has assembled before attacking together?"

At that moment, a discordant voice arose among the lords—Count Meiqi Saiwen.

He was a somewhat cautious man. Though his suggestion was not bad, it was immediately opposed.

"Count Severn, if we wait for the Vale men to gather their army, where will the honor of us Northerners be?" It was Lady Mormont of Bear Island who spoke.

The women of Bear Island were fierce as well, no worse than anyone in battle.

"Yes, Count Severn. At the very least, we must open the way for the allied army with our own strength!" the plump Lord Manderly said.

He looked mild-tempered and liked to stroke his large belly when he spoke.

It seemed that, because of his size, he could no longer ride a horse.

Then Robb spoke.

"We marched south this time not only to rescue my father. The people of the Riverlands are still suffering beneath the iron hooves of the Westerlands army. We cannot stand by and do nothing.

"Besides, it is unrealistic to keep the news sealed away for long. We must seize the time!"

After everything that had happened before, once Robb spoke, even the last traces of hesitation among the lords disappeared.

Seeing her son's performance, Catelyn nodded in satisfaction, unable to hide the smile in her eyes.

Through disciplining the lords and forging an alliance with the Twins, Robb had fully proven that he possessed all the qualities a qualified heir should have.

In short, Catelyn's assurance further stirred the Northern lords' high morale.

Everyone believed victory was already in their grasp.

Yet in a corner nearby, Jon watched it all coldly.

No one could have imagined the tremendous changes that would occur in the future.

Even if he wanted to warn them now, he had no way to do so.

After all, Robb had done well in the early stages.

He only had to keep an eye on Roose Bolton. As long as Roose did not betray them for opportunistic gain, the North could still preserve itself for the most part.

At the very least, its core elite forces could be saved.

That way, holding the Neck and Moat Cailin would not end in such a disastrous defeat.

Of course, if he could seize Roose Bolton's command earlier, Jon believed he might be able to change the course of the war at a critical moment...

When facing Old Walder just now, Robb had only briefly described the broad strategic direction.

Next came assigning personnel and clarifying their objectives.

Robb announced that he would gather all the Northern cavalry together. He would lead the troops in a surprise raid, while Roose Bolton would lead the main infantry force to tie down the enemy.

In other words, the more than twenty thousand Northern soldiers were now divided into "eastern and western armies."

The western army would be led by Robb to relieve Riverrun, or at least drive back Jaime.

The eastern army would be led by Roose Bolton to contain Tywin.

As commander of the eastern army, Roose Bolton naturally had to explain his battle plan to everyone.

Not only the lords, but even Robb had entrusted Winterfell's infantry to him. He had to be responsible for those men.

"Although infantry moves slowly, Tywin's army is closer to us.

"Tywin still does not know that we have marched south, so I have decided to attempt an attack. If it succeeds, we may be able to deal Tywin a heavy blow.

"If it fails, we will retreat and hold the north bank of the Green Fork. That will still achieve the goal of tying him down."

As they listened to Roose Bolton's plan, everyone nodded in agreement.

Roose Bolton was an experienced commander, and many gave him high praise.

If Jon had not known what would happen in the future, he would have agreed as well.

But in the end, Roose Bolton would first expose his position through overconfidence, then bite at the bait deliberately exposed by the Westerlands army, wasting an army of eight thousand men.

Jon would not allow that to happen.

If he could not gain control of the army, then there was no point talking about changing the fate of the North, or even the Seven Kingdoms.

He turned to Robb and said softly, "Robb, may I offer an opinion?"

Though Jon did not speak loudly, standing beside Robb still drew quite a few people's attention.

After what had happened before, Robb had already placed great expectations on his bastard brother.

Just as he was about to nod, Catelyn suddenly spoke from the side.

"Jon, this is a war council for the lords. You... you had better not interrupt, lest people think House Stark cannot even teach a child properly."

Her voice was not loud, but it landed in Jon's ears as clearly as an arrow.

Naturally, Robb beside him heard every word as well.

Robb found himself caught awkwardly in the middle.

But Jon's next move took Catelyn by surprise.

"Very well, my lady. Lord Robb, then I will share my opinion."

Catelyn: What did I just say again?

Ignoring Catelyn's strange look, Jon directly asked, "Lord Roose Bolton, I am merely a son who understands nothing and only wishes to rescue his father.

"I have some questions, and I hope you can answer them for me."

Jon directly invoked Eddard's name, leaving Catelyn unable to interrupt him.

"You may." Roose Bolton replied expressionlessly.

The others all turned their eyes toward Jon.

Everyone wanted to know what grand insight this bastard could possibly offer.

"Lord Bolton, you said we should be able to attack the Westerlands army by taking advantage of our intelligence edge, but what if we are discovered?

"Our army is mainly infantry and lacks cavalry. Once we fail, we could easily fall into a disadvantageous position.

"How do you intend to deal with that?"

Roose Bolton was a veteran commander, and the problem Jon raised was quite realistic.

Still, Roose Bolton had supporters. Count Severn, perhaps wishing to prove he was not "afraid of death," spoke up to defend him.

"People will die in war. There are wins and losses. We cannot refuse to attack simply because we fear failure, or people will see us as weak!"

"That's right! We absolutely cannot simply defend!"

Lady Mormont of Bear Island spoke again.

Jon realized she was simply a battle maniac with breasts.

Never mind her appearance—even her voice was almost exactly like a man's.

Though others had already spoken in his defense, Roose Bolton still said personally, "The lords are correct. Besides, I believe this attack has a high chance of success."

"Then will you place the soldiers of Dreadfort at the very front?"

Roose Bolton's expression became somewhat ugly at Jon's question.

Because Jon had "inadvertently" struck at his true intentions.

Even the lords who had not taken the matter seriously began to feel a stir in their hearts.

At that point, Catelyn rebuked him, "Jon! Enough! Before the war has even begun, are you trying to sow discord among the North's vassals?!"

Seeing Catelyn take a position, the others also began to question Jon's character.

Jon put on a flustered expression, bowed to Roose Bolton, and apologized. "My apologies, Lord Bolton. I did not think it through.

"I was mainly thinking of the soldiers the lords brought with them. Every one of them has a family behind him.

"I do not wish for them to be sacrificed for nothing."

Although the lords present truly did not care about the lives of common soldiers, they still had to express agreement with the proper words Jon had spoken.

Roose Bolton said, "Naturally, I will cherish the lives of the soldiers. But the battlefield is cruel, and not something we can control.

"If you have any good ideas, you may tell me. I will consider them carefully."

Roose Bolton's display once again won praise and approval from the others.

"Our Leech Lord isn't so bad after all," Greatjon muttered in a corner.

Rickard also stroked his beard as he nodded toward Roose Bolton.

Seeing that the time had finally come, Jon said, "I think perhaps we could dig an opening in the riverbank of the Green Fork and let the river fight in place of our soldiers. That would both trouble Tywin and weaken their advantage in caval—"

Before Jon could finish, he heard a burst of laughter.

"Use water instead of an army? What sort of person would even think of such a method?"

"A bastard's imagination truly is different." It was Count Severn again, deliberately using such a playful remark to mock Jon.

"If we fight, we fight openly and honorably. Why release water?" A certain battle maniac was even more dismissive of Jon's suggestion.

Faced with their ridicule, Jon paid it no mind.

No one took the suggestion of a bastard and greenhorn seriously.

After the meeting, they even treated Jon's "water attack strategy" as a joke.

Even Robb felt that Jon's line of thinking was somewhat beyond his understanding.

Still, he said that since Jon had an independent armed force, he could try the method as long as he obtained Roose Bolton's consent and did not interfere with Roose's battle plan.

At the same time, Robb had some doubts. Maybe he should stop bringing this bastard brother to future meetings.

He could just have him patrol outside with Theon.

Considering the strategic ability Jon had displayed beyond his martial skills, Roose Bolton did not stop him either, hoping to divert Jon's attention.

In the vast and sparsely populated North, no one seemed to take the power of water seriously.

But fortunately, although his plan was not valued, it was approved.

Jon believed that with the card of a water attack in hand, he might be able to reduce some of the Northern army's losses.

If it failed, he would not be punished.

But if it succeeded, his prestige within the army would rise greatly!

Roose Bolton would no longer be able to dominate everything by himself.

And those saved because of him would surely become his supporters.

If he wished to do anything in the future, he would have a foundation to build upon.