In the days that followed, the Herrenburg Army also rested here.
But Roman wasn't eating for free in Winterfell; he began commanding the soldiers to start patrolling and maintaining order in the surrounding towns.
At first, everyone thought it was just a simple patrol. This was Winterfell, the heart of the North—what could possibly go wrong?
As it turned out, the bandits gave the Harrenhal soldiers an eye-opener the very next day. They witnessed a group of bandits charging in, grabbing items from the market, and fleeing.
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If this were Harrenhal and bandits dared to charge into a town, the cavalry would have smashed their heads in before they could even blink.
After requesting permission from Eddard, the Harrenhal cavalry took their permit and pursued the bandits around the outskirts of Winterfell.
The Harrenhal soldiers already had extensive experience in bandit suppression, and now with the addition of Fili's ravens, the bandits of Winterfell had never seen such a ruthless army.
Ravens and scouts worked together to quickly sweep the surrounding environment and track the bandits' trails, followed by rapid strikes from the Light Cavalry.
In just three days, Harrenhal's Light Cavalry had wiped out all banditry except for those in the Wolfswood, bringing peace to Winterfell.
The people of the North encountered such an army for the first time—highly disciplined and well-behaved. They didn't cause trouble, didn't steal, and didn't even visit the brothels.
Having finished their rest, the soldiers performed their final tasks, and Roman prepared to head for the Wall.
Upon departure, the people of Winterfell and the surrounding areas who had been helped by the Herrenburg Army all came to see them off.
Amidst Eddard's concern, Roman took a map of the North.
"Ser Roman, remember to avoid those dangerous areas during your march. The road to the Wall is not easy to travel."
With the help of the local Northerners, Roman easily avoided various threats along the way.
However, the Kings Road had to pass through the Wolfswood here. The entire army remained cautious, fearing an ambush from the forest's beasts or bandits.
The Wolfswood truly lived up to its reputation as the largest forest in the North; the primeval forest was as vast as a sea, and Fili's ravens were unable to conduct aerial reconnaissance.
At this time, Roman's White Flame Vision came in handy; no matter how many obstacles there were, the sparks of life could not be hidden.
Along the way, Roman encountered many wild beasts. These creatures were not afraid of humans at all and even tried to attack the caravan.
Roman naturally responded in kind. Every time he saw a beast approaching, he would draw his specially made 200-pound recurve bow and take them out with a single arrow.
This bow was co-developed by Scholar Tom and a bowyer, and Roman was the only one who could use it.
Although Roman could draw bows with even higher draw weights, the materials had reached their limit; increasing it further would likely cause the bow to snap or hit him.
Roman looked at the bow in his hand; he had to admit Scholar Tom was truly impressive for creating a 200-pound recurve bow in the high-humidity environment of Westeros.
One could only say it was truly a magical world; the materials were simply different.
Harrenhal's arrowheads were also different from those of other regions. Other lords' arrowheads were just a tip with a metal cap.
These were Socketed Arrowheads; once they hit a hard object, the arrow shaft would absorb all the kinetic energy and often snap immediately.
Harrenhal's were Tang-style Arrowheads, with a long, thin metal strip at the base inserted into the shaft. Combined with the "Reinforced Shaft Wrapping" technique, they were extremely strong.
Although the production was tedious, with the help of Hydraulic Lathes, Harrenhal's production speed for arrows far exceeded that of other nobles.
Some specially made Armor-piercing Arrowheads even had metal strips 20cm long at the base—you could call them steel needles without issue—more than enough to deal with Westeros's plate armor.
After a period of trekking, the group arrived at Long Lake.
This was an extremely long and narrow lake located to the west of the Lonely Mountain.
Everyone stopped to rest and replenish their water, while Roman stood on high ground looking out, his White Flame Vision taking in the surrounding environment at a glance.
While everyone was still admiring the scenery of the North, Fili suddenly pulled Roman:
"Lord Roman, there is a woman covered in blood running out of the woods!"
"Did she encounter bandits?"
Fili shook her head, indicating that the ravens only saw her alone.
No matter the situation, Roman had to go and check.
"Two squads of cavalry, follow me!"
As soon as he spoke, 100 Light Cavalry quickly gathered under the lead of their captain and then rapidly advanced toward the destination.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the site.
Just after crossing the hill, they saw a pack of The Hound chasing and biting a woman covered in blood.
Barking and screams were continuous.
Roman's expression darkened; this familiar scene reminded him of the The Bastard of Bolton.
"Why is this happening near Long Lake? Is it the work of the The Bastard of Bolton?"
Despite his doubts, Roman did not stop. He spurred his horse forward and pinned The Hound to the ground with several arrows.
One vicious dog saw things were going south and turned to flee.
The soldiers wanted to pursue, but Roman stopped them.
"Let it find its master; we will just follow behind."
"Fili, you and the remaining cavalry treat the wounded here, then return to the main force."
Fili and the Medics immediately dismounted to treat the wounds, while Roman took a squad to give chase.
That The Hound was chased by the cavalry from behind and, in its panic, ran into a mountain hollow.
At this moment, a young man with long hair and a mouth like a worm was eating roasted meat and chatting and laughing with his companions.
This person was Roose Bolton's bastard, Rams Snow.
"My lord, that girl you brought earlier was really moist! She was just too weak, died by the middle of the night."
"Yeah, I originally wanted to keep her for a while, but when I came back from taking a piss, she was already in the dog's belly."
Rams didn't care at all: "The girl who escaped this time is even better, she has spirit. We'll have some fun once we find her."
"But my lord, you sent The Hound; will we still get to play?" an Attendant asked in confusion.
"That depends on her ability. If she can survive The Hound's mouth, I'll be merciful and give her a shot."
As soon as he said this, the men burst into cruel laughter.
However, in the next second, a massive dragon roar came.
"So you're saying you're the one who set the dogs on people?!"
Rams and his men looked back to see Roman riding a white horse on the ridge, looking down at them.
Roman glanced around, and after confirming no one was missing, he galloped in front of Rams, dismounted, and pulled out his war hammer.
Rams's soldiers looked at Roman's burly physique and massive war hammer, instinctively taking a step back.
"Who are you?!" Rams barked.
"Who I am isn't important. What's important is that The Hound in your arms was just killing someone."
A soldier stood in front of Rams: "Do you know who you're talking to? Lord Rams will cut out your tongue!"
Roman knew he had found the right person. He feigned surprise: "Rams?!"
Then Roman pointed his finger and said sarcastically:
"Look who it is! So, it's the Bolton family bastard~"
Hearing this, Rams's soldiers showed expressions of malicious joy, because Rams hated it most when people called him a bastard.
In the Dreadfort, those who said such things didn't even have a whole corpse left.
Sure enough, Rams's fleshy lips trembled, and he said venomously: "I will flay your skin, I'll..."
But before the bastard could finish, the Harrenhal cavalry had rushed out from all directions, surrounding Rams and his men.
Rams and his group instantly stood frozen in place, trembling like dogs with broken spines.
Roman didn't want to say much more. White Flame ignited from both hands, simultaneously lighting up the war hammer.
He stepped forward fiercely and, in the blink of an eye, arrived in front of them, sending the person in the very front flying along with his shield with a casual swing of the hammer.
Then, following the momentum, he swung the war hammer behind him and brought it down in a cleaving strike, smashing another soldier's head into his chest.
The other soldiers saw their companions turn into two pieces of mangled meat within seconds and instantly lost the courage to resist, kneeling on the ground one after another to beg for mercy.
Roman crushed their heads as if kicking stray dogs to death, and with an upward swing, he sent the last soldier who tried to resist flying.
Rams didn't even have time to react before his Attendants were slaughtered by Roman.
Faced with absolute violence, a look of terror finally appeared on his face.
But before Rams could speak, Roman swung a fist at his right cheek, shattering half of Rams's teeth and his jawbone.
The "The Bastard of Bolton" fainted instantly.
Roman waved to the cavalry beside him: "Watch him. Don't let him die so easily."
Roman had plenty of methods he hadn't used on Rams yet.
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