Chapter 11
Skagos Island
POV Daeron
At the moment, the island was in a state of alarm as a large part of the warriors, the cannibals, saw that a huge number of ships were arriving, among which the most notable banner was that of House Stark.
Accordingly, everyone in Gorn's camp planning the uprising knew about the arrival of the army. After many hours of internal disputes, the wildlings decided that they would largely conduct battles in areas they knew better than the Northerners. Unfortunately for them, previous lords and kings from House Stark who had participated in suppressing and conquering the island had left behind much knowledge about it. For the most part, this information was useful since Skagos had not undergone major changes.
I was able to verify this through the eyes of Tun, and my own eyes on the island also increased in number. And not only through eyes but also through fangs and claws, having released most of my control over the ravens, I focused on the wolves and bears on the island.
With full control, when all my efforts were directed towards controlling the animals, I was able to manage 8 wolves and 3 bears. Now they were gradually approaching Gorn's camp, with my main target being Gorn himself because the dagger he used for sacrifices was always with him.
My attempts to steal with the paws of mice and rats were unsuccessful as if the dagger whispered of danger to him.
Skagos Coast
Two days later, the Northerners landed on the shores of Skagos and moved inland with great zeal, experiencing no resistance, as the wildlings set up an ambush much further from the coast. And when the first mens began to disappear, the Northerners understood the wildlings' plan, and meanwhile, I tried to help the people avoid many traps.
Two weeks later, rumors circulated among the Northerners about the aid of the Old Gods, as many saw that wolves and bears did not attack but tried to help them. This was largely a good omen as it greatly boosted the army's morale.
I could foresee major clashes through Tun by means of the War God's Blessing. In Tun's weakened state, I could smell the battle; it was like a mix of iron and smoke.
My premonition did not deceive me; the next day, part of the wildlings launched an attack against the Northerners. I did not know what Gorn had planned, as most of my strength went into saving the Northerners. But that madman definitely had something in mind, as only a third of Gorn's entire army moved against the Northerners and were predictably defeated without major losses for the Northerners.
My suspicion of a trick was also confirmed that night when Gorn with small detachments managed to severely harm the Northerners. And the rest of the suppression of the uprising continued in this manner since after the defeat of a third of his people, Gorn realized that in a direct confrontation, they would simply be overwhelmed.
So, he opted for guerrilla tactics, the battle of attrition lasted a good 4 weeks. But in the 5th week, Ruse Bolton managed to surprise a group of wildlings who attacked his squad, not waiting for permission from Eddard Stark. In his usual manner, he skinned a couple of wildlings and obtained information about their main gathering places.
After providing information about the wildling bases, there was a large-scale extermination of the enemies by the northerners. The Umbers were particularly zealous in destroying the wildlings because they had stolen a girl from this house, along with the First Flints, Wulls, and Liddles. The road south through the high mountain passes west of the Kingsroad is called "the wildling way": it's difficult, but poorly guarded, and the clans living there — the First Flints, Wulls, Liddles — suffer more from the wildlings than other inhabitants of the North. Having crossed the Wall, the wildlings raid the settlements of the "worshipers" — vassals of the Starks and other lords sworn to the Starks — capturing food, weapons, and women.
Uncle Stark turned a blind eye because he understood the grief these wildlings brought to his people. He often said that his main enemies were winter and the wildlings.
A month after the northerners arrived on Skagos, most of the wildlings were slaughtered, but they refused to surrender. Then, a month later, the final battle took place, and Gorn himself led the remnants of his army, still possessing arrogance and confidence, not in himself, but in his god.
"BROTHERS! TODAY WE WILL WIN FOR THE GLORY OF OUR GOD!!!" shouted this lunatic.
"FOR GRALL!!!" replied the crazed horde of people, convinced that their god would help them.
The northerners, however, maintained a grim determination, needing no words of encouragement as they knew what they were fighting for.
In a moment, the two armies charged against each other, I saw it all through Tuna and directed all the wolves and bears during this time my magical abilities had received a significant boost and I could now use 15 wolves and 10 bears. The wolves were killing wildlings en masse by biting through most of their arteries, while on the other hand, the bears literally tore people apart like a rag doll.
My main target was not these extras, my target was Gorn, who turned out to be easier to find than I thought. He had undergone some slight changes, growing a couple of dozen centimeters taller, his skin turning to a saturated red color, chopping people like cabbage. Around him already lay about 30 people and they tried to kill him by stabbing with spears, but he, losing all brakes, pushed forward. Spears stuck into his skin and muscles without stopping him from moving forward. And then I saw that the wounds on his body disappeared right before my eyes, but it made his gaze even crazier than usual. Many northerners kept their distance, filling him with arrows and spears.
Not waiting for him to kill a bunch more people, I sent against him three bears and four wolves. While he was busy for about 3 minutes with two bears, wolves bit off his calves, but that did not make him lose balance, instead, he became even more furious and started to hack the bears. The first bear before dying managed to tear off Gorn's right arm and now the one-armed "messiah" killed the second bear, unfortunately, I couldn't keep the second and third under control due to their instinct for self-preservation.
Then began the battle of exhaustion, wolves attacked Gorn and quickly retreated so that he couldn't strike back. At one moment when a wolf distracted Gorn, my partner saw that the dagger glowed red when Gorn was injured and realized that it needed to be removed quickly. In a moment when Gorn tried to strike back at the wolf, Tuna quickly dove and with one precise movement snatched the dagger from Gorn. At that moment, it was as if Gorn had been disconnected from the battery, and a few seconds later the "messiah" of the cannibals lay dead.
The dagger itself was captured and flown to me at great speed. Thanks to the speed of Tuna's flight, it arrived to me within 5 hours, quickly flying in and literally throwing the dagger onto my bed. Deciding not to risk it, I summoned a scramasax and with several thrusts cut the dagger into pieces, the first time when the chain of runes was broken I thought I heard "NOOO..." and the further disruptions heated the dagger fragments more and more. After a moment there was a red flash and I was thrown back by a powerful shockwave. The fragments didn't burn, but simply turned into dust and I immediately heard.
Task Completed
Kill the "God" Grall 1/1
Received: Increase each attribute by 1/1
Received Enhancement Ability "Supreme Predator Bird" 1/1
At that very moment, Tun froze in place and fell asleep, covering himself with some kind of shell, in which state he spent exactly 48 hours. Hiding him was not easy, but it was worth it. Tun was no longer an ordinary eagle but had become something else; first off, his usual color changed to dark blue plumage, he also doubled in size and gained an additional pair of wings. Moreover, his mind had significantly advanced, and he could now engage in mental dialogue not through emotions, but through "words"...
"Oh... How pleasant..." rustled in my head in the first moments after Tun woke up. Not immediately realizing that it was Tun, I began to look around, seeing this Tun tilted his head and said, "What's up?"
"Is that you?!" I almost shouted, but caught myself just in time.
"What me?" he said, this... ahem, bird, and looked at me with such a condescending glance that I actually wanted to make nuggets out of him. Seeing something in my gaze, he quickly removed that look and said, "Gurgle?"—alas, he could no longer feign foolishness.
"You're not a chicken..." I said with a twitching eyebrow.
Task Completed
Kill the "God" Gralla 1/1
Received: Increase each attribute by 1/1
Received Enhancement Ability "Supreme Predator Bird" 1/1
At that very moment, Tun froze in place and fell asleep, covering himself with some kind of shell, in which state he spent exactly 48 hours. Hiding him was not easy, but it was worth it. Tun was no longer an ordinary eagle but had become something else; first off, his usual color changed to dark blue plumage, he also doubled in size and gained an additional pair of wings. Moreover, his mind had significantly advanced, and he could now engage in mental dialogue not through emotions, but through "words"...
"Oh... How pleasant..." rustled in my head in the first moments after Tun woke up. Not immediately realizing that it was Tun, I began to look around, seeing this Tun tilted his head and said, "What's up?"
"Is that you?!" I almost shouted, but caught myself just in time.
"What me?" he said, this... ahem, bird, and looked at me with such a condescending glance that I actually wanted to make nuggets out of him. Seeing something in my gaze, he quickly removed that look and said, "Gurgle?"—alas, he could no longer feign foolishness.
"You're not a chicken..." I said with a twitching eyebrow.
Realizing that playing dumb was pointless, he told me everything that had happened to him, turning out that he was no longer just an eagle or a bird in general but a magical monster, more precisely a Thunderbird, because of which he had gained enhanced intelligence and the magical abilities of such birds. Tun's potential was now no less than that of the dragons of this world, and in some aspects even greater. According to his words, when he fully matures, he will gain the ability to summon monstrous storms and thunderstorms, and his control over lightning will also grow as he matures.
Our connection, which I received at our first encounter, had also grown and become easier for both of us. Before, I largely maintained the connection, but now a two-way channel had appeared, so to speak; Tun could now also independently adjust our connection, making it a rather nice analog of a telephone, only more intense because the emotions and thoughts transmitted through such a channel were purer.
And thanks to Tun becoming smarter, he quickly learned various tactics and strategies of combat. According to our plans, we will need to teach Tun not only how to best act against various opponents but also other skills, ranging from distinguishing between different human languages to understanding human biology.
However, all this would be implemented much later; today was already exhausting, so having finished my daily tasks, I went to sleep. Tun, preferring more spacious places, flew towards the Forest.