Game of Thrones: Holy Flame King

Chapter 514 The Underground Giant
Sansa Stark left the room with a heavy heart.

In the garden, the snow was already deep, and the branches were bent, covering the statue with a white coat.

Winter in Winterfell is really beautiful. In this season, all the colors in the world are defeated, only black, white and gray.

White towers, white snowflakes, white statues, black shadows and black trees, and a gray sky forever.

A monotonous world, a pure world, just like the nature of the members of the Stark family.

Once Sansa hated this monotony so much, she wanted to escape in her dream, to go to the warm south, to the bustling court, to see the colorful world.

But when she wandered around in that world for a few years, she found that Winterfell was more suitable for her.

She was always a Stark.

But now, she was forced to leave again.

The raven brought news of the Great Wall, nightmare news.

How Sansa wished it was really a dream.

How could the impenetrable Great Wall that stood in the north for thousands of years suddenly collapse?
How could the White Walkers, who only exist in Old Nan's stories, really come to the world?
Sansa stepped into the snow in a daze, her boots making ankle-deep holes in the smooth white surface, but making no sound.

She walked through frosty bushes, slender black trees, and dilapidated towers... She looked at all these with incomparably nostalgic eyes, as if she wanted to imprint them in her mind forever.

Flying snowflakes, like a sympathizer's gentle kiss, slid across her face and melted due to body temperature.

Sansa sniffed, reached out to wipe the water marks on her cheeks, and was about to go back to pack her things.

But at this moment, a shadow appeared over Winterfell.

She looked up in astonishment, and saw the white dragon slowly descending.

"Your Majesty Caesar!"

Sansa's gloomy mood seems to be healed instantly. In the coming winter, only the dragon can give people warmth and hope. Of course, there is also the man who drives the dragon...

She lifted the hem of her skirt and ran out of the main castle until she came to the square panting.

"Good morning, Miss Sansa."

"Morning, good morning, Your Majesty." Sansa blushed and hurriedly saluted.

Then, with boundless anticipation, she asked again:

"Your Majesty, you are here to save Winterfell, right?"

Unfortunately, the man shook his head slowly:

"Sorry, Miss Sansa, I can't save Winterfell, at least not now. The White Walkers are coming fiercely, and Winterfell has no soldiers or food, and there is no dangerous terrain to resist the impact of the tide of ghouls. So, I'm here You were informed to evacuate."

The light in Sansa's eyes dimmed visibly:

"Even Your Majesty, you can't..."

Samwell looked at the girl who was about to cry, sighed, stepped forward and rubbed her head, and comforted her:
"The purpose of retracting the fist is to fight better. Our southward withdrawal this time is also for better counterattack in the future. Believe me, one day, we will eliminate the aliens and rebuild the northern border."

Sansa seemed to feel the strength from the man's palm, her face softened a bit:
"Well, I trust you, Your Majesty."

"Okay, now take me to see Mrs. Caitlin."

"Okay. Mother is summoning the family knights in the hall, please follow me."

Samwell followed Sansa into the main castle, and before entering the hall, he heard a fierce quarrel erupting inside.

"No! I will never leave Winterfell no matter what!"

"That's right! This is our hometown, our territory, the place we swore to protect."

"But the Great Wall has collapsed, and the White Walkers are moving south, so Ed has to decide..."

"Sorry, ma'am, I respect Lord Ed very much, but now he is no longer the Duke of Winterfell, and has no right to give us orders."

"What about my son Rickon Stark, who is now the Duke of Winterfell."

"Duke Rickon is underage."

"what about me?"

Everyone heard a loud voice outside the door, and when they turned their heads, they saw the young king appearing at the gate at some time.

Madam Caitlin was relieved, and hurried forward to salute:

"Your Majesty, I didn't expect you to come to Winterfell. Please forgive me for not being able to greet you in time."

"The situation is urgent, so you don't have to care about these things." Samwell waved his hand, and then walked through the crowd to the high platform.

Duke Rickon, who had been sitting on the weirwood throne, got up quickly.

Samwell smiled and nodded at him, but instead of sitting down, he turned to face the crowd and said loudly:

"I just came back from the Great Wall of Desperation, and no one knows the situation there better than me. The Great Wall collapsed, and the southward movement of the ghosts is unstoppable. After comprehensive consideration, I plan to build a new line of defense in the Neck. Therefore, the area north of the Neck is The southward relocation must be organized immediately."

There was silence in the hall for a second, but then the pot exploded.

"Your Majesty, you are going to give up the entire Northern Territory!"

"Your Majesty, why don't you build a new line of defense in Winterfell?"

"Your Majesty, I think we can deploy defenses along the White Knife River!"

……

"Shut up!" Samwell said loudly.

Seeing that the king was angry, the hall was silent.

"I'm not discussing with you." Samwell said coldly, "This is an order, whether you want it or not, you must implement it. Anyone who violates the order will be punished as treason!"

Everyone looked at the king with a pale golden light in his eyes, and felt a powerful and oppressive aura rushing towards them, making them afraid to say anything.

After a moment of silence, Mrs. Catelyn led her son Rickon forward, leaned over to the king, and said:

"Your Majesty, the Stark family will obey your orders unconditionally!"

With the Duke of Winterfell's statement, the rest of the nobles had no choice but to suppress all kinds of thoughts in their hearts and express their willingness to obey.

Samwell nodded in satisfaction and said:

"Let's all prepare, and mobilize the people to go south as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Samwell looked at Mrs. Caitlin again, and said:

"And Rickon, in the name of the Duke of Winterfell, will issue an order to move south to the entire northern territory. I will also sign the document."

"Okay, Your Majesty."

Lady Caitlin took her son's hand and led the king to the study, where she began to write letters to the lords in the north.

After finishing, she said with a little worry:
"Your Majesty, although the order to move south is issued in the name of you and the Duke, I am worried that some northern lords may not be willing to abandon their territories and go south."

"I have also sent a special envoy." Samwell said, "Jon Snow, he will take my saber to urge every northern lord to move south. Anyone who does not obey the order will be killed!"

Upon hearing the illegitimate child's name, Madam Caitlin's face changed slightly.

But she also knew the severity and didn't say much.

Samwell asked:

"Madam, when I came to Winterfell last time, I visited the underground tomb and found that there was a collapse inside. I wonder if it has been repaired?"

"Not yet, Your Majesty." Madam Caitlin said, "The collapse under the tomb is more serious than expected. They have been cleaning for half a month and still haven't been able to clear the tunnel."

Samwell asked again:
"Have you checked the tomb?"

"Your Majesty, why do you ask this? Kings of the North are buried in the tomb, and we will not disturb their rest for no reason."

Samwell smiled, didn't bother with this question any more, and turned to say:

"I was entrusted by Ed Stark to come to Winterfell. In addition to issuing an order to move south in the name of Duke Rickon, I also promised to take Ed's wife and children to King's Landing. So, pack up as soon as possible and leave with me. .” Madam Caitlin hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Your Majesty, please take Rickon, Sansa and Arya with you, and I will stay and wait for Ed."

Samwell frowned and said:

"Your husband is leading the Night Watchmen to retreat southward, and may face the pursuit of the ghoul army along the way, and may not necessarily pass through Winterfell..."

"He will definitely." Madam Caitlin said, "And someone must stay in Winterfell to take charge of the overall situation. Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will evacuate before the army of ghouls arrives."

"Okay, be careful yourself." Samwell didn't persuade any more, "Get your children ready as soon as possible, and I'll wait for them outside the castle."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Before leaving the study, Samwell suddenly remembered something, and asked again:
"By the way, is the old nanny from the Stark family still there?"

Madam Catelyn froze for a moment, although she wondered why the king would suddenly care about a maid of the Stark family, she still said truthfully:
"Sorry, Your Majesty, she just passed away a week ago."

Samwell nodded and walked out of the room.

It was snowing heavily outside the house, and the castle was full of people in a hurry.

As soon as the news of the southward move spread, panic and sadness also spread.

Samwell avoided the crowd and came to the tomb again.

The spiral staircase in the ground is filled with lingering darkness, and there seems to be a chill that can penetrate into the depths of the soul, growing from the deep underground.

This time without the company of the Stark family, Samwell no longer cared about etiquette, came to a tomb, and lifted the coffin lid.

Through the scattered smoke, Samwell saw a white bone lying quietly in the acupuncture point.

He glanced back at the tombstone and found that this should be the last Duke of Winterfell—Rickard Stark.

Samwell put down the coffin lid, and continued to move forward, inspecting one grave after another.

The former Lords of the North were all lying in the tomb without exception, until the "king of the knees" Toren Stark.

That is, the last king of winter in history.

His tomb is empty.

If Samwell realized something, he continued to check several tombs, and found that the tombs from King Torun were also empty.

"So, only Stark who is the king can transform into a dead body?" Samwell rubbed his chin and said to himself.

After experiencing so many things, Samwell has been convinced that the Stark family has some inexplicable connection with the White Walkers.

But what kind of secret is hidden in it is still unknown.

This secret probably dates back to the distant Dawn Era, back to the war between the ancestors and the Andals.

It's a pity that there are no documentary historical materials at all about that era, only vague and even misleading legends.

Samwell could only try to piece together a vague picture based on what he had seen and heard, plus some guesses.

While thinking, he continued to move forward along the tunnel.

While walking, randomly select a few tombs to open.

Sure enough, as he had guessed, the tombs of the older Starks, who had once been called kings, had been empty for a long time, without any remains.

It seems that he has left here long ago and went to wander in the world.

After walking for a short time, the road ahead was blocked by collapsed boulders.

The collapse of this kind of underground passage is extremely difficult to clean up, and the craftsmen of Winterfell can only smash the boulders blocking the front, and then move them out bit by bit.

This speed is naturally very slow.

Samwell looked at the boulder in front of him, hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and put his hands on the stone wall, and began to exert force.

Kaka-

The boulder began to shake.

But even if Samwell's strength is far beyond ordinary people, it is almost impossible to move the boulder.

Although the exposed part of the boulder is not large, it is likely to be a corner part of an underground rock formation.

If you want to move it, it is tantamount to going against the whole earth.

However, Samwell did not give up easily.

His eyes gradually turned golden, his body gradually swelled, and his exaggerated muscle lines gradually became prominent on the surface of his clothes.

boom! boom! boom!
As the spiritual attribute transformed into the strength attribute, Samwell's heart began to beat violently, and blood surged throughout his body like a surging tide.

Click!

A series of cobweb-like cracks densely covered the boulder.

boom!
In the next second, the boulder exploded under the terrifying power of Samwell.

But he didn't stop, and continued to move forward.

boom!boom!boom!
The boulders were smashed into countless pieces under Samwell's beating, and the ground trembled with his footsteps.

As Samwell continued to move deeper into the ground, the biting chill gradually subsided, and a warmth that came from nowhere began to permeate the air.

Like the breath of spring.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Samwell suddenly stopped.

He reached out to his pocket, and took out the horn inlaid with strange bronze patterns——

Blow down the horn of the Great Wall,

The legendary Horn of Winter.

For some reason, as he continued to move deeper into the ground, the horn gradually emitted a wave of witchcraft.

Until then, Samwell was finally able to feel its unusualness.

He caressed the bronze ornamentation on the horn, and a golden fire shone in his eyes.

At this moment, Samwell could feel the horn's inexplicable and strong temptation to him, tempting him to blow it.

But Samwell certainly wouldn't do that.

Whether it is the horn of the dragon or the horn of winter, it seems that sacrifices are required to be blown.

He doesn't want to be a sacrifice.

As time passed, the sorcerous fluctuations emanating from the Horn of Winter became more and more intense.

At the same time, the temperature of the ground is getting higher and higher.

Later, Samwell felt as if he had returned to midsummer.

Seeing that the temperature is still rising, Samwell is preparing to go back temporarily in order to avoid being roasted.

But the moment he turned around, the Horn of Winter suddenly lit up with a red light.

The scene in front of Samwell's eyes was blurred for a while, and his sight was blocked by countless layers of rocks, going down, down, and down...

In the seemingly endless underground abyss, he saw a giant.

Not the so-called "giants" who are only three or four people tall outside the Great Wall, but real giants!
In front of it, Samwell was as small as a bug.

If it woke up and crawled out of the ground, perhaps the entire Winterfell would collapse in an earthquake.

But fortunately, it closed its eyes and made no sound.

I don't know if it's dead,

Still fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)