Game of Thrones: Holy Flame King

Chapter 512 A New Line of Defense
Before it became completely dark, the tide of corpses finally receded.

At least around Castle Black, these monsters that crawled out of the grave were either burned to ashes, or chopped to pieces and scattered in the snow.

But whether other parts of the Impassable Great Wall have been breached by the army of ghouls... Ed Stark, the commander-in-chief of the Night Watch who has just experienced a fierce battle, dare not think about this question.

Dragging his tired body, he directed his men to clean up the battlefield and rescue the wounded.

The white dragon swooped down from the sky and landed in front of him.

The fiery aura emanating from his body formed a warm shield within a radius of several hundred meters, blocking out the cold winter wind.

"Your Majesty." Seeing the king jumping off the dragon's back, Ed leaned over and saluted.

"You fought this battle very bravely, and the Night Watchman is indeed a strong shield protecting the kingdom." Samwell praised generously.

"Then what about us?" A crisp voice interrupted abruptly.

"The savage warriors are also very brave." Samwell smiled as he looked at Val who was walking over with a spear.

Val nodded in satisfaction, but then sighed and became sad:

"It's a pity that we only defended the Black Castle. The Great Wall of Despair is so long. I don't know what other places are like..."

After hearing this, everyone felt heavy.

"Perhaps things are not that bad." Sir Dennis said pretending to be relaxed, "The Great Wall has just collapsed, and those monsters are probably not prepared. The attack on Castle Black may be the biggest wave, and there may be only a few ghouls running elsewhere. Go south."

"Are you southerners so good at deceiving yourselves?" Val sneered unceremoniously, "Or do you think that wave just now was the full strength of the ghoul?"

Sir Dennis replied stiffly:
"At least we southerners will not go to other people's homes like beggars and ask for shelter, but still pretend to be masters."

"Okay, stop arguing." Ed stepped forward to smooth things over, "However, the corpses we killed just now were probably fifty or sixty thousand, so they should be considered the main force."

"Then you have greatly underestimated those monsters crawling out of the grave." Wa Er said, "The wave just now was a small forward at most. The real army of corpses has not arrived yet... Oh no, maybe it is Went south from other places, after all the Great Wall is so long.”

"Don't scare people there." Dennis said, "Those monsters have not been able to enter the Great Wall before, how big can they be? Or do you mean that hundreds of thousands of you savages have died?"

"There are indeed only a few hundred thousand living savages in total." Val's mouth turned up slightly as he said, "But what about the dead? Do you know how many people have died in the Land of Eternal Winter over the past thousands of years? Now, they are all here Called by the White Walkers, he rose from the grave."

These words directly silenced the night watchman.

They felt despair and shudders at the thought of the number of wildlings who had died in the Land of Everwinter over the millennia.

Samwell shook his head with a smile and said:
"Although the enemy should not be underestimated, there is no need to scare people like this. The dead thousands of years ago have long been turned into ashes, how can they crawl out of their graves again? Even considering the weakening of the cold climate on the rate of corruption, at most That means the corpses within the last two to three hundred years need to be worried.”

Only then did everyone heave a sigh of relief.

Val giggled:
"Caesar is still smart, no wonder he can become the king. Those other guys are too easy to deceive."

These words made the night watchmen glared at the wildling princess, but they couldn't find any words to refute.

"Of course, even so, we can't take it lightly." Samwell continued, "The number of ghouls should be on the order of a million. The group just now is really not the main force. And, have you noticed that, In the enemy team just now, there were only ghouls, but not a single ghost."

Ed nodded slightly and asked:
"Your Majesty, do you think the White Walkers didn't show up? Or did they avoid Castle Black on purpose?"

"It should be to avoid Castle Black on purpose." Val said, she looked at Caesar with her big bright eyes, "They are afraid of you."

Samwell nodded, but he was not proud, but his face was extremely solemn:
"White ghosts are intelligent creatures. I believe everyone should understand this. Compared with ghouls, they are the real source of this catastrophe. They are also the most terrifying enemies that we humans must face.

They did not show up at the Battle of Castle Black, so they must have gone south through other means.

In order to prevent more people from being harmed, and to prevent the army of ghouls from snowballing, two things are urgently needed. "

"Your Majesty, please tell me."

"First of all, people from the north must move south." Samwell said in a deep voice, "The closer the place of residence is to the Great Wall, the faster. I will go south personally and urge the lords along the way to organize the migration of their people."

Ed nodded and said:
"I remember that you suggested that the Northerners move south a long time ago, but at that time the Wall had not yet collapsed, and most people did not regard the White Walkers as a real threat."

"It can't be done now. The migration south used to be voluntary, but now it is mandatory." Samwell said, "As for the second thing, we must re-establish a new line of defense to stop the White Walkers and corpses. "

"Your Majesty, where do you think it is appropriate to set up a new line of defense?"

"Do you have any suggestions?" Samwell asked back.

"Mo Jiang may be able to stop the ghosts." Someone suggested.

Ed shook his head and retorted:

"The Mojiang River must be frozen in winter, and there is no way to stop the White Walkers. In fact, the entire northern border is sparsely populated, and there are no dangerous places blocked by big rivers and mountains. If you want to build a new line of defense, you can stop the White Walkers. I’m afraid... we can only go to the Neck.”

When he said this, there was an unconcealable pain in the eyes of the Lord Commander of the Night Watch.

Because the Neck is the dividing line between the north and the south, and it has always been the most important barrier for the independence of the north.

Back then, the Andals came across the sea, relied on more advanced smelting technology, defeated the ancestors, and occupied most of the land of Westeros, but failed to conquer the northern border.

The reason is because of the neck.

It is like the neck of Westeros, narrow and dangerous, covered by quicksand and swamps, making it extremely difficult to pass.

For thousands of years, the northerners only needed to deploy a few hundred elite archers in the Gulf of Cailin to prevent tens of thousands of southern armies from marching north.

If it weren't for the dragon's ability to fly and ignore the dangerous terrain on land, the Targaryen family would not be able to make the northerners bend their knees.

The White Walkers can't fly, let alone the Ghouls, so the Neck is indeed an excellent place to defend.

More importantly, the Neck is located at the southernmost point of the North, making it convenient for King's Landing to send troops to support.

Samwell hadn't dispatched an army north to the Great Wall because the supply line from King's Landing to the Great Wall was too long, so long that it was hopeless.

With the level of agriculture in Westeros, coupled with the impact of harsh winter, if it is really necessary to maintain a 20 army garrisoned on the Great Wall, the people in the South will starve to death longer than those who died in the hands of the White Walkers.

And if the defense is deployed at the neck, the logistical pressure will be greatly reduced immediately.

However, the biggest problem with this strategy is that the northern border is equivalent to being completely abandoned.

This is also the reason why Samwell did not take the initiative to propose this plan, but he did not expect that Ed Stark would be the first to help him speak out.

The North is the foundation of the Stark family, and it is Ed's favorite homeland.

Samwell couldn't imagine how much pain the other party was going through when he said these words.

However, as a rational monarch, he knew that at some point, he had to make difficult choices.

"Lord Ed is right." Samwell said, "Building a line of defense in the Neck is indeed the best choice. Of course, this also means that the plan for the northerners to move south must be completed as soon as possible."

Ai Deqiang suppressed the grief in his heart, and said:

"Your Majesty, I have arranged for Jon Snow to organize the migration of the northerners to the south, but I am worried that he is not fast enough, so if possible, please go to Winterfell yourself and let my son Rickon In the name of the Duke of Winterfell, officially issue the order to move south."

"Okay. I'll go right now."

Samwell was about to leave, but Ed stopped him again:
"Your Majesty, there is one more thing..."

"You said."

"Please come with me."

After Ed finished speaking, he walked towards the castle.

Samwell followed.

The two went up the spiral staircase to the third floor.

After exiting the stairs, Ed stopped in front of the door of the second room on the left.

Samwell saw that his hand was on the doorknob, but he didn't push it for a long time, as if there was something extremely terrifying behind the door.

"Master Ed, what's wrong with you?"

"Sorry, Your Majesty. This is the room of my... illegitimate son, Jon Snow." He finally pushed the door open.

Samwell walked in with a trace of doubt, and first felt a biting chill coming to his face.

It seems that this is the source of the harsh winter.

There were countless fine pieces of ice scattered on the wooden floor of the room, and Ed Stark froze in place after seeing these pieces of ice.

Samwell also saw a black cloak spread out by the bedside, with some dark-colored weapons on it, including spear points, arrows, and daggers...

He went forward to take out a piece to check, only to find that they were all dragonglass weapons.

"Your Majesty," Eddard finally spoke, his tone was painful and hoarse, "Jon Snow told me that when he followed Lord Commander Mormont on his expedition, he found some former Night Watchmen on the Fist of the First Men A relic of the Dragonglass weapon, and a horn..."

As he spoke, Ed took out a black horn from his pocket and handed it to the king.

Samwell took it. The tentacles of the horn were cold. I don't know what kind of material it was made of. The edge was inlaid with bronze, full of simple and simple temperament.

But other than that, there's nothing miraculous about it.

It seems to be an ordinary old horn.

"Said Jon," continued Eddard, "on the day the Wall fell, Robb came back to Castle Black from the south, and went into his room without a word, found this horn, blew it... and The Great Wall fell."

"So this is the real Horn of Winter?" Samwell showed a thoughtful expression.

"Yes." Ed nodded, and forced his gaze away from the shattered ice on the ground, "If what Jon said is true, if Robb really blew down the Great Wall..."

"I believe Robb didn't mean it," said Samwell.

Ed nodded:
"Jon also said that Robb behaved very strangely that night, as if... he was a completely different person."

"White ghosts have the ability to manipulate corpses, so it may not be impossible to manipulate living people." Samwell said, but inexplicably thought of the tombs in the underground vaults of Winterfell, where the former King of Winter was buried.

There are also those long-lost swords that are said to be able to suppress the spirits in the tomb.

"Your majesty, your magnanimity frightens me." Eddard said, "But the Stark family has made a big mistake. This is irrefutable. Moreover, Robb's incident reminded me that my other Son, Bran, he...he seems to have become a different person since he returned from beyond the wall."

Samwell stroked the surface of the Horn of Winter, thinking about how to explain it to the poor old father.

Ed took the initiative to say:
"Your Majesty, when you think about it carefully, Bran is also involved in this matter. He was the one who helped you find the so-called Horn of Winter, making you think that the real threat has been resolved..."

"He may not be deceiving on purpose." Although Samwell also doubted Bran in his heart, he still comforted him, "Bran may also have been deceived by Mance Rayder, thinking that the one in the other party's hands is the real Winter's Spear. Horn. In this regard, all of us have been deceived by Mance."

To be honest, compared to Mance's huge and oppressive horn, this real guy in front of him looks ordinary, even if he is thrown in the snow, no one will take a second look.

"I believe Your Majesty, you will have your own judgment." Ed didn't say much.

After all, this matter involves his two sons.

No matter what they did, it was always his most beloved child.

Samwell put away the Horn of Winter, stepped forward and patted Ed Stark on the shoulder, saying:

"Lord Eddard, I have never doubted the loyalty of your country, nor the honor of the Stark family. The Great Wall has collapsed, and mankind is facing an unprecedented crisis. At this moment, the Seven Kingdoms need warriors like you. .

Therefore, you don’t have to blame yourself too much, and don’t get discouraged because of this. My trust in you is as firm as ever.

The position of the commander-in-chief of the Night Watch belongs to you, and I hope you can continue to lead this army to fight on the front line.

As for the collapse of the Great Wall, you don't have to worry about it anymore.I'll look into everything. "

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty." Ed said solemnly, feeling a little better.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally said:

"I know it's a bit selfish to say this. But I still hope that when you leave Winterfell, you can bring my wife and children with you..."

"I will." Samwell promised, "The white dragons are still spacious on their backs, and I will take them to King's Landing together."

After speaking, he patted Ed's shoulder again, and then strode away.

(End of this chapter)