Ygritte's breath caught.
The Old Bear, Mormont, and Benjen Stark were likewise stunned into silence by Lynn's shocking words.
They had already known Lynn seemed to be considering this.
But now that he had said it outright, they could not help worrying.
Peace talks with the Wildlings?
Giving the Free Folk a way to survive?
After a thousand years of slaughter, they and the Wildlings were sworn enemies.
How could hatred be resolved so easily?
Had Benjen not asked Mormont to spare Ygritte, she would probably have been flayed to death already!
"Lynn, do you know what you're saying?"
Jeor Mormont asked tentatively.
The raven he kept beside him seemed to sense his unease and let out several harsh caws.
"I know perfectly well, Lord Commander."
Lynn's gaze shifted from Ygritte to Mormont's face, which was filled with shock and bewilderment.
"Our true enemies aren't the Wildlings coming south to survive."
"They're the monsters that can turn the dead into puppets and forge swords from ice."
"The Long Night is coming. We can't afford to fight among ourselves."
Granted, the Night's King had been quiet lately and had not attacked the Night's Watch.
But caution was always wise.
A fragile understanding with the Night's King today could become betrayal tomorrow. No alliance lasted forever.
Lynn decided to change his policy toward the Wildlings from this moment on.
First, the Wildlings were gathering an army of a hundred thousand, while he was heading to Essos. Bringing them under his command was the best choice, lest they overwhelm the thousand men of the Night's Watch.
Second, there was the threat from King's Landing.
If Ned proved incapable, Robb and the North's eighty thousand soldiers, combined with the Wildlings' hundred thousand, would be enough to face any faction.
Third, with him heading to