The dagger in Lynn's hand gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the grey-white sky.
Everyone's gaze followed Lynn's line of sight, falling on Gelan, Pypar, and the other new recruits.
The young men's faces instantly turned as white as snow.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
"Gelan."
Lynn's voice was calm, yet it carried an irresistible authority.
The burly boy, who had once tried to teach Jon a lesson with his fists, shuddered violently.
He looked up, meeting Lynn's unfathomably deep eyes.
"Do you recognize this dagger?"
Gelan's lips quivered.
He wanted to shake his head, to say he didn't recognize it.
But Lynn's gaze, like two sharp daggers, pierced through all his lies.
He knew that if he uttered a single "no."
The next second, the Valyrian steel sword named longclaw would mercilessly sever his head.
In the face of absolute strength and power, any wishful thinking was ridiculous.
"I... I..."
Gelan couldn't utter a complete word.
"Pypar."
Lynn turned to another tall, thin boy.
Pypar was even more distraught than Gelan.
His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees with a thud.
"My Lord! Lord Lynn! It has nothing to do with me!"
He cried out, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"It was... it was Ser Thorne! He forced us new recruits to do it!"
These words stirred up a thousand waves!
The entire courtyard instantly erupted in an uproar!
"You're talking nonsense!"
Alliser Thorne's eyes instantly turned red.
Like a mad beast, he lunged at Pypar, raising his foot to kick him.
"You lowly bastard! How dare you slander me!"
However, he hadn't even gotten close.
Two burly figures had already blocked his path.
It was Toren and Jason.
They stood like two iron towers, guarding Pypar from either side.
Their longswords were already drawn, their cold blades pointing directly at Thorne.
"Ser Thorne!"
Toren's voice was as sharp as the cold winds of the North.
"Please show some respect!"
"Here, Lord Lynn is currently conducting the interrogation!"
Thorne's steps halted abruptly.
He looked at the two longswords pointed at him, and at the undisguised killing intent in Toren and Jason's eyes.
A chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
Only then did he realize with horror.
Unbeknownst to him, the deserter he had always looked down upon had already acquired the power to easily crush him.
No!
He could probably have killed him long ago!
It was all his fault for constantly provoking Lynn... The hundred Northman Guards under Lynn's command obeyed his every order.
Even those unruly Night's Watch Rangers had been subdued by his single sword strike.
Even the Lord Commander had become his staunchest supporter!
And himself?
He was only left with a few equally unpopular good-for-nothings who could only cheer him on.
The tide has turned.
These four words were all that remained in Thorne's heart.
Perhaps... he had never truly had the upper hand... "Pypar, continue."
Lynn ignored Thorne's outburst; his voice remained calm.
Pypar knelt on the ground, his body trembling violently.
He glanced at the ashen-faced Thorne, then at the composed Lynn, finally summoning all his courage.
"It was... it was Ser Thorne."
"Ser Thorne was very harsh; he always humiliated us new recruits during training, and even resorted to physical violence."
"That night, Ser Thorne called us new recruits over."
Pypar's voice was tearful, as he recounted in broken sentences.
"He said... he said you were a dangerous person, a restless deserter, and that keeping you at Castle Black would eventually lead to trouble."
"He told us to go to... to your room... at night..."
"He said that if any one of us could kill you, he would make us official Night's Watch members, and even recommend us to become Rangers!"
"The one who died... we didn't know him, but at the time, he was possessed, and he... he agreed..."
"Thorne gave him silver stags right in front of us!"
Gelan also knelt, loudly explaining.
"It was Thorne! He forced us to do it!"
"He also said that after it was done, he would throw your body from the wall, let the ice beasts devour your corpse, and then blame everything on the wildlings!"
"He said he had already made arrangements, and it would be foolproof!"
"We wanted to tell the Lord Commander about this."
"But since Thorne only spoke of it, there was no concrete evidence, and he would only turn it back on us."
"And he was still the chief instructor for new recruits; if the accusation failed, he would surely retaliate against us even more..."
Mormont stood among the crowd, his face turning livid upon hearing this.
This Thorne was an absolute beast!
He dared to assassinate a colleague right under his nose.
He was utterly lawless!
The truth was revealed for all to see.
All the Night's Watch members looked at Alliser Thorne with disdain and anger.
Inciting new recruits to infighting.
Hiring assassins to kill a brother.
Framing the innocent.
Every single one of these actions violated the Night's Watch's most stringent iron laws!
Was this the conduct of a Night's Watch instructor, a so-called "Ser"?
This was even more despicable than the criminals they looked down upon!
"Thorne!"
Jeor Mormont's roar echoed throughout the courtyard.
The Old Bear's body trembled violently with rage.
He strode quickly to Thorne's front.
In his sharp eyes, a fury burned that was enough to incinerate a man to ashes.
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I... I didn't! They conspired to slander me!"
Thorne was still making his final struggles.
"Lord Commander! You can't believe the words of these bastards!"
"They're in league with Lynn!"
"Are they?"
Lynn sneered.
He pulled out a small coin purse from his bosom.
Then, he emptied the contents of the purse onto the snow.
Over a dozen shimmering silver stags were particularly dazzling in the sunlight.
"These were found on the assassin who was killed on the spot by my Guards."
Lynn's gaze turned to Bowen Marsh in the crowd.
"Master Marsh, I recall that all financial expenditures at Castle Black must pass through your hands, is that correct?"
The chubby architect paused, then nodded.
"Yes, Lord Lynn."
"Then I would like to ask."
Lynn pointed at the silver coins on the ground.
"Recently, has any Lord in the castle drawn such an extra expense from you?"