Chapter 182: Aftermath of Victory
Beyond the Wall, True North
POV of Robb Stark
"We won the battle yesterday." Lord Commander Jeor Mormont said, and the tent burst into cheers.
The Lord Commander patiently waited for the cheers to die down before he spoke once again. "But! The enemy still has about 9,000 men. 6,000 men, if you only count those who would fight us. Which means that they still outnumber us by about 2 to 1."
The cheerful mood died down at that as the younger generation was reminded that winning a single battle did not mean winning the war.
"We have the higher ground." Harrion Karstark said. "We don't need to fear them. They can come at us again, and we'll throw them back again."
The Lord Commander frowned at Harrion with a disappointed look. Even Robb could see that the Karstark heir had grown a bit overconfident with yesterday's victory.
Yes, they won a great battle. But that would not have been possible without the higher ground they had. And they would not have gained higher ground or found out about the upcoming army if Lord Bolton had not told them about it.
Had they fought the Weeper army in the open, Robb couldn't have predicted what the outcome of the battle would have been.
Yes, they had better weapons and armor than the Weeper's men, but their opponent's numbers were undeniable. And they were now in unfamiliar territory.
If a few things had gone wrong in the open field, the Weeper army could have capitalized and gained the upper hand.
No one was mentioning it now, but this whole victory could be put on Lord Bolton's feet. Without Lord Bolton, Robb very much doubted that they would have gained any victory, let alone a great one, against the Wildling forces.
Robb also hadn't failed to notice how the Wildlings were unable to take any ground from the Bolton forces when they managed to break through his own, even with his, Jon, and Ser Rodrik's constant efforts.
Lord Bolton's army was moving in a completely different way than any Robb had ever seen before.
Lord Bolton's archers were using a crossbow he had never heard of. If Robb was correct, he had heard Lord Bolton call them pump-action crossbows. These crossbows, which could shoot much faster than other crossbows, allowed Lord Bolton's army to inflict significant damage on enemy men before they could even approach them.
And when the enemy forces closed in, men with shields and spears would replace the archers, forming a wall of steel. They moved in such unison that Robb could not even begin to imagine how hard Lord Bolton's men had trained to achieve such harmony.
And Ygritte. Frankly, Robb considered Ygritte's success in this battle even greater than Varko's, the man considered the greatest warrior in the seven kingdoms.
Nearly every leader of the Widlings had been struck down by her arrows, and when someone important on their side was in danger, Ygritte's arrows had saved them.
Robb had witnessed many heirs escape death thanks to Ygritte's arrows. Robb and Jon were among them as well.
"We have higher ground now. But we can't stay here forever. You do realize that, don't you, boy?" Qhorin Halfhand asked, and the Karstark heir bristled at being called a boy.
"Lord Bolton told us that we have enough food to last us for one and a half months." Harrion Karstark said, and he held the urge to face palm himself at the Karstark heir's foolishness.
This is what happens when you put too much focus on the army and too little on logistics.
"Yes. But we need food to get back to the Wall." Qhroin pointed out with dwindling patience. "You Northmen don't know these lands as well as the wildlings. Foraging for food here is extremely challenging. And we need to start marching back home within 2 weeks if we don't want to die of hunger before we reach the Wall."
"We cannot fight the Wildlings in the open." His uncle Benjen said calmly, lowering any rising tempers in the main tent. "They still outnumber us, and a fight against them in the open will be very costly if not outright disastrous for us. Don't underestimate the Wildlings because of this one victory. Most men who do so don't live for long."
"Lord Bolton told us that the lands around here are barren, so the Weeper will have to leave sooner or later," Robb said, getting the attention of everyone in the room even as he tried to put the attention on the one man who might have a solution for this situation. "Once Weeper leaves, we can continue on our way."
"Continue where?" Galbart Glover asked. So far, the only thing I've seen is snow, snow, and even more snow. Where are we even going?"
After that question, everyone's gaze fell on Lord Bolton, who was again only lounging on his chair with his eyes closed. He looked like he had no concern for the future.
Frankly, Robb couldn't understand why Galbart Glover, Harrion Karstark, or the other heirs and lords lamented this much. They had joined the expedition willingly, yet they acted as if they were forced, lamenting every obstacle they encountered and blaming others, especially Lord Bolton.
Robb was different in this regard. His purpose in joining this expedition was to embark on an adventure north of the Wall with Lord Bolton, observing him and learning as much as possible from him while gaining experience.
After all, Lord Bolton hadn't invited any of them on this expedition, and in fact, he didn't seem particularly happy about their inclusion.
On an expedition in which he forced himself into it, constantly questioning things and blaming others for every problem they encountered was, Robb considered, dishonorable.
A man should stand by his decision and not blame anyone else for its consequences. This was what he had learned from his father.
He knew that the other lords and heirs had different expectations for this expedition. They wanted to return with many rewards and glory, like Lord Bolton's previous expedition.
But Lord Bolton had promised no such thing to anyone on this expedition. And now, when they couldn't achieve their dreams, many heirs and lords began to lament as if Lord Bolton were to blame for their dreams not coming true.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.183: New Plan
Ch.184: This Is Something That Must Be Done