Seven City.
Galon led his team to inspect the dead city, his heart becoming even more alarmed by the devastation before him.
Euron's ruthlessness and cunning exceeded his expectations.
He doesn't seem to care about Seven City.
Creating fear, destruction, and killing are all a cover for his true purpose.
"In the story, he only appeared on the Iron Islands to attend the election of kings after he murdered Baron."
"And after seizing the Seastone throne, he immediately ordered the formation of a fleet to plot against the dragons and to contact Daenerys."
"But why is Euron now in the North?"
"To help Baron?"
Galon shook his head, rejecting the idea.
Euron is a ruthless murderer of his own family; he's not so kind as to help Balon fulfill his desire for revenge.
"Is it a dragon? Or something else?"
"Could it be that the dragon is in the North?"
Upon realizing this, Galon's expression changed, startled by his own guess.
"How could there be a dragon in the North?!"
"Besides, even Daenerys's dragons should have only just hatched. Euron isn't me; he can't possibly have a God's-eye view or be able to predict the future."
After a moment of calm reflection, Galon dismissed the unreliable speculation before him.
"Regardless of the circumstances, my top priority is to defeat the Ironborn in the North as soon as possible and then seize the Dragon Horn!"
"With the Red Comet descending, Daenerys must have already hatched the dragons; she doesn't have much time left!"
He looked up at the red comet high in the sky, made up his mind instantly, and immediately ordered the cavalry scouts to expand the search area.
"Send a team to the White River ferry to inquire about Mihawk and the others. If Euron is not found, have him come and meet me!"
"Also, disperse all cavalry, centered on Seven City, to track the Ironborn's retreat. I need to know where Euron went!"
At Galon's command, all the cavalrymen quickly drove out of the city.
But even by evening, Galon had waited for Mihawk to arrive with his men, yet they still hadn't found any trace of Euron.
"strangeness."
"There's no sign of Toren City, and no sign of the White River ferry. Where did he go?"
Inside the council chamber of Seven City, Galon pulled out a map and began analyzing it for the officers present.
"Could it be that he led his troops straight to Niutou Mountain, heading towards Kalin Bay?"
Ron pondered for a moment before saying, "Could it be that after he finished looting, he directly bypassed Torren and fled towards Rock Coast?"
The others thought about it and agreed that it was possible.
After all, the Ironborn have always been accustomed to looting and then leaving, never lingering in the Northern Territory.
But Galon knew that this raid on the Iron Islands was different from the usual one; he intended to completely conquer the North.
He shook his head and denied it, saying, "The Iron Islands' three armies have come out in force, not just to plunder one lot. Their goal has always been Winterfell!"
Galon looked up at Shanks, "Have the cavalry all returned?"
Shanks replied, "Two teams heading south haven't returned yet; the rest have already gone back!"
Galon thought for a moment and said, "Let's set up camp. We'll spend the night in Seven City. After we confirm Euron's location, we'll decide on our next plan!"
No one else had any objections.
"Clay, have all the bodies been collected?"
Galon then looked at Clay and asked.
"Not yet," Clay's voice was low and his face was pale, clearly disgusted by the corpses. "Currently, we've only gathered the corpses from the outer fortress and moved them to the west wall. We haven't had time to clean up the inner fortress yet!"
Galon frowned and ordered, "Dispose of those corpses as quickly as possible, and clean up the inner fortress tomorrow."
Clay nodded in agreement.
Seeing that the others had no problems, Galon waved for them to leave first, then stared at the map and pondered carefully.
"Should we send cavalry along the King's Road to pursue him towards Kalin Bay?" Euron is mostly an infantryman; if he really goes to Kalin Bay, the cavalry can definitely catch up.
He had a vague feeling that Euron would not leave the North so easily; he was most likely going to join up with Victalion.
"If they reunite, Winterfell will need to expend even more troops to defeat them!"
"Before Robb left, he authorized me to command a portion of the Northern army."
"Now is the time!"
A sharp glint flashed in Galon's eyes as he looked at Winterfell on the map and muttered to himself.
"However, to make it more legitimate, I need to put on a show in Sansa and Bran's names."
"This will also be a good opportunity to verify Bran's intentions!"
Galon didn't care how much damage Euron and Victarion would cause to the North after they joined forces.
What he cared about was the opportunity to control the northern army!
"Once I can control the Northern army, then it will be possible to take the Iron Islands."
"With the help of Asha, whom I captured, the Iron Islands will surely be mine!"
"By then, I will control two of the seven kingdoms, and a great undertaking will be within my grasp!"
Galon stared at the Iron Islands on the map for a long time, and a preliminary idea for a plan to invade and occupy the Iron Islands began to take shape.
Unbeknownst to them, night gradually rose, enveloping the ruined city of Seven.
Galon snapped out of his daze, put away the map, and went to arrange for the soldiers to eat and rest.
After arranging the soldiers on night watch, he patrolled around Seven City again before finally falling asleep despite the unpleasant smell.
Nothing happened that night.
The next morning, Galon had people help Clay clean up the corpses and wreckage in Seven City.
The morning passed quickly like that.
By noon, news finally arrived from the two cavalry squads that had been dispatched the day before.
"Sir, we tracked it all the way to Ox Horn Mountain, where we found traces of the Iron Seed."
"They slaughtered a village, and one of the surviving farmers said they headed south."
After hearing the report, Galon quickly opened the map and looked at the location of Horn Mountain on it.
About fifty kilometers south of Seven City, there is a mountain range that resembles a bull's head. King's Road runs between the two bull's horns and leads to Carlin Bay.
"They didn't travel by water, but by mountain path?"
"That doesn't make sense. Shouldn't the waterway be faster?"
Mihawk looked puzzled. He had spent most of yesterday watching the ferry crossing but hadn't seen a single person.
"Is Crow Eyes afraid we'll ambush them on the waterways?"
Ron's eyes darted around as he guessed, "Once we find out he's traveling by water, as long as the raven sends a message to White Harbor and blocks the ferry crossing in front of Carlin Bay, they won't be able to escape!"
Galon glanced at Ron in surprise and praised, "Not bad, your strategies have improved a lot lately!"
Ron scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "Having followed you for so long, you should have learned some real skills by now."
Galon smiled and then got back to the main topic.
"Whether he's afraid of our ambush or not, the situation is now quite clear."
"Crow's Eye must have gone to join the iron ore from Carin Bay."
"Once their two forces join together, it will be very difficult for us to defeat them with our current strength!"
He looked around at everyone and said solemnly, "We need more soldiers to fight the Ironborn!"
"Sir, what should we do?"
Clay, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "Should I recruit more farmers?"
"No need. Farmers can only pull wagons and transport supplies," Garon said to Clay. "I intend to return to Winterfell and, in the name of the Starks, summon the vassals of the North to fight for the Ironborn!"
Clay asked, "Then what about Seven City?"
"Seven City is no longer worth defending!" Galon patted Clay on the shoulder. "You take some men and come back to Winterfell with me. We need to gain a geographical advantage before the Ironborn can take any further action!"
Clay was unwilling to accept this.
But looking at the ruined castle, he knew that Galon was right.
Seeing that no one else had any objections, Galon gave the order.
"Gather everyone, we're returning to Winterfell!"
Soon, the troops assembled, and the group embarked on their return journey once again.
Meanwhile, at the eastern crossing of the Whiteblade River, Ramsay Snow was leading the Dreadfort's private army across the river.
They were only half a day's journey from Winterfell.