Lilan Hode's Concerns

This time, Old York did not continue sleeping. Instead, he took on the risk-free task of digging up the riverbank.

This way, he might not earn any merit, but he would not be held accountable either.

At Jon's request, they set off almost immediately for the designated location to do some "earthworks."

Jon then set off with Lilan Hode and the remaining two hundred or so men.

Naturally, Tommen was brought along.

Though he was not very bright, he was still a heavily armored knight. Once he charged, he was no worse than anyone else.

Of course, Jon would not scout the enemy with just these men. His real trump card was still his cheat.

Only with it could he ensure the reconnaissance went flawlessly.

Jon directly spent his last few upgrade points on [Gods' Eye].

In an instant, the blue entry turned purple.

Jon's perception range increased dramatically as well.

Its diameter expanded from one or two kilometers to seven or eight.

Using the upgraded entry's ability, Jon surveyed the Northern army around them.

First was the Twins to the west. With the castle in the way, he could not determine how many men were inside.

But there were roughly over two hundred men patrolling the walls.

Then there was the northern side of the Northern army.

Roose Bolton claimed he had brought over 4,500 men from the Dreadfort, but Jon discovered that he actually had only a little over 3,700.

One had to know that Robb had not taken away Roose Bolton's cavalry, lest he be left without a single mounted soldier.

"Crafty old bastard!"

Jon grumbled inwardly, then turned his attention to the other forces in the camp.

For instance, House Blackwood and House Seaworth had also brought slightly fewer men than they claimed.

"Who said Northerners were honest? These Northerners are far too scheming."

But as Jon continued observing, he found that not everyone was like that.

For example, House Karstark's soldiers were not only at full strength, but even slightly over their stated numbers.

Perhaps because they did not count the auxiliary personnel.

House Umber, led by Greatjon, was the same.

Of course, that was simply a flaw of feudal-era armies.

Lords summoned their vassals, vassals summoned their knights, and knights summoned their soldiers.

According to the needs of the war, these soldiers were temporarily reorganized.

Their coordination with one another was actually quite poor.

There was no helping it. It was determined by the political structure of Westeros.

In the end, Jon estimated that within ten to five kilometers, he could judge the enemy's approximate numbers.

Within five kilometers, he could precisely grasp the enemy's numbers and condition.

A diameter of ten kilometers was wide enough for an army of twenty thousand to march through.

That was the confidence behind his acceptance of this mission and his willingness to split off troops to dig the riverbank.

There were still around ten days until the next upgrade points refreshed, and Jon planned to continue investing them into the [Gods' Eye] entry.

But for now, it was enough.

Soon, Jon's soldiers finished preparing, and he met up with Tommen and Lilan Hode.

"Ser Hode."

"Jon."

After meeting up, Lilan Hode studied Jon with his excessively green eyes, as though trying to find some "Targaryen" trait on him.

Fortunately, there was none.

Especially since the raven perched on horseback drew more attention than Jon himself.

"You know how to train ravens?" Lilan Hode began with the raven.

"I learned it from the commander-in-chief." Jon brushed it off casually, saying that his raven could find people, so they could use it to keep in contact.

Lilan Hode was greatly astonished by that.

After exchanging greetings, the two set off together.

Along the way, Lilan Hode spoke with Jon under the pretense of sharing his experience.

"If we encounter patrols, the best choice is still to avoid them. Do not engage them directly."

Listening to him, Jon felt that having a veteran at his side was rather reassuring.

His advice was very useful.

After all, ordinary people could not be sure whether the enemy patrol soldiers before them were the only ones. There might be others nearby.

If there were, their movements would be exposed.

The scouting mission would be ruined.

But that was not a problem for Jon.

As a "human radar," he could sense the surrounding situation better than the enemy could.

So wiping them out became his preferred choice instead.

As they talked along the way, Jon gradually determined that Lilan Hode bore him no ill will.

He simply wanted to sound him out and see whether Jon knew about his own origins.

Soon, two days after leaving the Twins, Jon discovered a small cavalry unit six or seven kilometers southwest of them.

But they were not patrolling. They were...

Through the information delivered by his cheat, Jon clearly sensed their state—

Excitement. Brutality.

Mixed among them were not only soldiers, but innocent Riverlands civilians.

They separated the men and women into two groups.

The men were locked in one house, while the women were locked in another.

The Westerlands soldiers waited excitedly outside, waiting for the comrades ahead of them to finish venting their lust so it would be their turn.

Their longswords and armor had become the scales and claws of demons.

The cries of the innocent became a melody from hell.

These men were raping and plundering without restraint.

Jon wanted to save them.

So he quickly used Skinchanging to summon Ghost.

Lilan Hode, standing nearby, saw Jon and his wolf, then heard the other Winterfell soldiers whispering among themselves:

"At a time like this, he still has the mood to play with his wolf."

"Isn't that the truth? I thought following him on an independent mission would at least spare us from thankless, exhausting work."

"And he has people practice walking too, as if anyone doesn't know how to walk."

The soldiers behind Jon murmured with dissatisfaction.

Still, they would not go so far as to disobey Jon's orders.

Not to mention his relationship with Robb, his martial skill alone was not something to be trifled with.

Most of these soldiers had already resigned themselves to their bad luck, just like Old York.

But what Jon said next greatly surprised Lilan Hode and the soldiers.

"There's a unit of Westerlands cavalry in the village ahead. A few of you stay behind and watch them. I'll continue scouting deeper. If there are no other enemies nearby, I'll come back and kill them!"

Everyone was startled upon hearing that.

They stared at Jon's wolf in amazement. They had not expected a direwolf to be so intelligent that it could report military intelligence to its master.

At that moment, Lilan Hode stepped forward to stop him. "Jon, do you remember what I told you?"

"I remember, Ser Hode. But Ghost told me that those Westerlands soldiers are abusing innocent civilians."

"What?"

Lilan Hode stared at Ghost in disbelief, thinking, Are you a man wearing wolf skin?

How could it be so intelligent?

In the end, Jon said they could scout first and make sure there were no other enemies nearby before attacking.

Lilan Hode also sensed the "sense of justice" in Jon's heart. It was very much like Eddard's, and it greatly increased his goodwill toward him.

Before taking on this mission, Jon had signed a military pledge.

If the reconnaissance failed, he would be beheaded!

The fact that he was willing to risk that to save people meant he had a good heart.

Since that was the case, he would look after him more on the battlefield.

In the end, Lilan Hode agreed to Jon's suggestion.

Jon also used his raven to summon the other scouting parties nearby, ordering them to come and surround the Westerlands soldiers.

After passing the village, Jon and Lilan Hode continued their careful reconnaissance.

Through [Gods' Eye], Jon could not only see the enemy troops, but also the Riverlands that had been ravaged into a scene of utter devastation by the Westerlands army.

Tywin's ruthlessness was not only reflected in how he treated his enemies.

As long as it could avenge him against his enemies, he did not care about anyone else's opinion.

For example, he had The Mountain rape and murder Rhaegar's wife Elia, then dash their young son Aegon to death.

For example, he allowed his men to torture and murder Rhaegar's daughter Rhaenys...

As for letting The Mountain ravage the Riverlands, that went without saying.

Naturally, Tywin himself also enjoyed establishing his authority through slaughter.

If a man like that truly controlled the fate of the Seven Kingdoms, then when the Night King arrived in the future, it would be hard to say whether those oppressed commoners would choose to become wights or live under Tywin's rule.

After a rapid round of scouting, Jon confirmed that there were no more Lannister soldiers nearby and sent signals to the other scouting parties.

By then, the Westerlands soldiers who had finished venting their lust were roasting food over the fire with lingering satisfaction.

They had ravaged the Riverlands for months and had never encountered any meaningful resistance.

It was only natural that they had grown complacent.

They were feudal soldiers, after all. One should not imagine them to be overly disciplined.

Even modern armies found it difficult to remain clearheaded after a string of victories.

Little did they know that a brown-dyed direwolf had already fixed its gaze upon them.

The Northern soldiers around them were also quietly closing in.

"What do you intend to do?" Lilan Hode asked.

"I'll lead the charge. You command them."

Hearing the resolve in Jon's voice, Lilan Hode thought to himself:

Eddard, I will protect this child.

He then watched helplessly as Jon led more than a dozen Winterfell soldiers forward.

Ghost, dyed brown, shot forward like lightning and tore open a Westerlands soldier's throat.

As they scrambled to fight back, Jon had already charged out with two swords in hand.

The Westerlands soldiers who had still been eating moments ago rolled and crawled as they tried to retrieve the weapons they had set aside.

But it was too late. The moment Jon charged out, the surrounding soldiers all revealed themselves as well.

There was no unnecessary step such as calling for surrender. Under the assault of Jon's peerless martial skill, the Westerlands soldiers who had just been ravaging and indulging themselves had no strength to fight back at all.

Jon's killing speed also far exceeded Lilan Hode's imagination.

The swords in his hands seemed as though they were part of his body.

That made Lilan Hode think of that terrifying opponent—Arthur Dayne.

"You'd better never learn about your true origins."

That thought surfaced in Lilan Hode's mind.

In his view, Jon did not lack strategy, and at such a young age, he already possessed such skill.

If he learned his true identity, the Seven Kingdoms would likely face another terrifying war.