The king on the Great Wall

"Go up the city wall!"

The only remaining ironborn climbed up the city wall in line, and soon found that the enemy did not attack blindly, but slowly approached the castle with torches while making uncoordinated roars, apparently intending to form an encirclement circle.Across the dense branches and leaves, it is impossible to see how many people came to attack, but at least a few thousand... Except for the main force from the north who broke through Carlin Bay and came back, no family can gather such a force.

The ironborn were full of fighting spirit and prepared to face a deadly battle, but when they climbed the city wall, they found that the enemy did not intend to give them a good time. Their blood was cold for a while, and they chattered: "They plan to surround Deepwood Castle!"

"A ram appears outside the north gate!"

"The wooden door can't stop the attack. Once they rush in...we can't deal with so many people."

"You can use the terrain in the castle to keep fighting."

"The terrain in the castle?" The person who spoke first scolded, "You pig brain, the Young Wolf Lord will definitely let the Glover family rush to the forefront. In terms of understanding the terrain of Deepwood Castle, you can still have them." How many!"

"We can hide in the fort on top of the hill."

"And then be burned to death? If they can set the watchtower on fire, they can set the whole Deepwood Castle on fire!" Another person turned to Asha: "My queen, the sea is five miles away, but it is useless for us to hold on to this here. The wooden castle? If we burn to death with dry feet, we won't even find our way to the Drowned God's Falling Water Palace!"

The third person responded: "That's right, we are ironborn, even if we die, we should die stepping on the sea water with our feet wet, listening to the sound of the waves behind us!"

"Captain! There are no enemies outside the south gate yet, we can break out from there!"

……

There are no enemies outside the south gate?Asha didn't believe that if Robb Stark was half as good at soldiers as they were rumored to be, he would have divided his forces to sweep the coastline and burn the longships, or at least to have interdicting forces on every possible route of retreat for her to prevent herself from boarding. Boat.

Asha understands that sticking to it is a dead end, and there may be traps waiting for her to break through.But the words of the last person just now strengthened her mind - she really wants to live, but if today is her own death day, she hopes that she can at least die with wet feet: "Well said, I changed my mind, put the dark Return the forest and the damn wooden urinal to the wolf cubs, we will not guard the city walls. Break out and retreat to the boat!"

……

The trumpeter blew three consecutive short notes, which was a signal to return to the ship. People on the city wall rushed down the steps and gathered in the courtyard, preparing to break out in a flurry of jumps... No one thought it was unreasonable I feel strange about the situation, or I may have noticed it, but I have no time to think: the shouts of "Long Live Winterfell" outside the city wall have been ringing for a long time, but no one has climbed onto the unguarded city wall.

There weren't enough horses, people had to be on foot, and of course none of those people included Asha Greyjoy, who mounted her sorrel mare and shouted to her men, "Open the South Gate!"

At the same moment as the south gate opened wide, there was a loud sound of a hammer hitting the wooden door from the direction of the north gate.Asha drew a hatchet from her shoulder strap and yelled at her brothers from her horse: "Absconding is out of the question, brothers, fight your way! Let's go home!"

"go home!"

"Long live Asha!"

The road outside the south gate was empty, which aggravated her doubts, but no matter what was waiting for her in front, the worst result would be death. She pinched the horse's belly with her legs and said, "Let's go!"

The people and horses rushed through the open space and fields at the gate of the city, and when they reached the opposite forest, they were already in disorder.Under the moonlight, the crops she trampled on when she attacked the city were now muddy due to neglect.Asha arranged for the riders to go to the front to explore the road and the rear respectively, urging those who were left alone to continue forward, and ensured that no one was left behind.Deepwood Motte lived up to its name, surrounded by tall soldier pines and gnarled old oaks, tall and gloomy in a forbidding density.The branches of the trees overlapped, swayed and creaked in the wind, and the high treetops seemed to be able to reach the moon.

The sooner the better, Asha thought urgently, this is Yankee territory, and even the trees seem to hate us in their hearts.There seemed to be pairs of eyes on the surrounding bark, staring at her back with chills.

The rider who explored the road ahead quickly reported that there were traces of people ahead of the road, which was most likely an ambush.

"Leave the main road and go west." Asha expected this, she thought about it for a while, and came up with an idea: "The wolves must think that we will go north to the nearest seaside, I bet, as long as it goes north There will always be an ambush waiting for us. But as long as we hold back the urge to flee back to the ship..."

Someone soon understood her thoughts: "Don't take the ready-made path, choose a random direction, if we don't even know where we will go, the wolves will never be able to stop us!"

-

Chapter 257

Relying on dozens of warhorns and thousands of torches without a single soldier, Iger recaptured Deepwood Castle, which had been occupied by the ironmen for several months.Except for a few wildlings who tripped over branches and scraped in the dark, no one was injured or injured.Correspondingly, they also did not destroy any enemies.

Iger is satisfied with the result.

Theoretically speaking, he doesn't need to care so much about the mountain clansman or the new land grant people: for every one of them killed in battle, Iger only needs to pay a "huge" pension of one gold dragon.Think of it in terms of spiritual victory - this gold dragon will just flow back and forth in the land grant and eventually return to the Night's Watch logistics department.

Iger's distress is not gold coins, but human life: the land grant is different from any other country or place in Westeros. Its current total population is less than [-]. Even if older children and women are included, the labor force It's only in the early [-]s, which looks like a lot, but as a small society, it can't afford any consumption.

This means: Although he manages the residents with the lowest average quality in the Seven Kingdoms, he has to cherish them more than any lord in the Seven Kingdoms... not just out of kindness.

He had to harden his heart and abandon a tribe to survive Mormont's death before, but after that, he would not do any meaningless bragging or meritorious deeds unless necessary.For Robb Stark, it was already a great help for the land-grant people to help recapture Deepwood Castle. On this basis, killing dozens of ironmen will not make this contribution much greater.

***

The fire of the watchtower stopped spreading after the wildfire burned out, and the light also changed from green to red. It was quickly extinguished after the new land-grant residents entered the city to participate in the firefighting, and the unexpected joy came immediately—because they ran too panicked , the Ironmen didn't even deal with the hostages.Mrs. Glover came out of the godswood with the help of her personal maid. The maester with a bruised nose and the butler with a missing leg were quickly dragged out of the cellar.

(No, maybe it wasn't too panic and forgot to deal with it, but the commander of the other side deliberately left them a way out, so that the besiegers would not chase after the escaped ironmen after retaking the intact castle and saving the living hostages Reluctant?)

If this is the case, then let them live, and I don't have any deep hatred with the Ironmen, Iger thought.

"Have you caught them...especially that... Asha Greyjoy?" Tears and insomnia made Sybena Glover's eyes red, and he saw that the commander of the rescue was not a member of the Stark family, It was a night watchman dressed in black who was slightly surprised, but did not intend to pursue the matter: "My son and daughter were taken back to the Iron Islands by them, and we must have hostages in exchange for the heir of Deepwood Motte! "

"Oh, ma'am..." Heather Amber, who led the team from Last Hearth and Iger to Deepwood Castle, spread his hands: "They have already fled into the wolf forest. I am not familiar with this forest, so it is not easy to chase."

"Gavin and Ina are in their hands!" was a mother's scream.

"If it's in the hands of those thieves who escaped from Deepwood Castle, I'll take them after me without saying a word." Hoser shrugged helplessly: "But you also said it, Siberna—they are in the Iron Islands, Even if you chase, you may not be able to catch up; even if you catch up, you may not be able to catch the sea monster's daughter alive; even if you can catch it alive, you may not be able to..."

Iger had originally planned to let the ironmen go, but now he had to change his mind after hearing Mrs. Glover's request.Just like the little brother who delivers food expects to be well received by customers, he now also hopes that the people he rescued will be completely satisfied-at this very moment, he really needs the gratitude of the people in the north so that he can lead his troops south to obtain best result.

Now that you are here, help to the end: "Stop talking, ma'am, I will personally lead someone to capture the prisoners for you."

Hoser turned his head suspiciously: "Iger, they won't be stupid enough to walk along the road."

"I just have a way. If Master Huother is tired, find a room to rest... Well, before that, search the castle to make sure there are no ironmen left to hide somewhere."

Mrs. Glover looked at Iger with grateful eyes: "That's great, who is this lord?"

"Chief logistics officer of the Night Watch, Iger West, ma'am." Iger bowed towards the other party and gestured: "But please remember, the Night Watch is impartial... It is not the Night Watch Legion that will help you get back Deepwood Castle, but a group of people." Enthusiastic gifts to local people passing by."

……

Not all women were Margaery Tyrell, and Sibena Glover clearly failed to understand the difference, but Heather Umber would explain it to her.However, in the final analysis, this matter must eventually be unified with Robb Stark, and it is too early to discuss it now.

Iger threw down the two northern nobles with strange expressions, and walked towards his subordinates: "Which direction did the ironmen flee?"

"They went south for a while, and went west for a while. The escape route was irregular. It was probably because they were afraid that someone would chase us."

"Tell Aurel, work hard, and keep an eye on those people." Iger nodded: "The rest of the people rest on the spot, drink saliva, and take a nap... The commander is eyeing the people under him, what? Don't move, Deepwood Castle is not our spoils! After confirming the escape direction of the Ironborn, take the road to catch up to them!"

"Yes, sir!"

***

The high tower of Deepwood Motte disappeared from sight, and the yelling and horn sounds of the northern army gradually subsided. Asha led more than 100 subordinates to the south, west, and southwest, adjusting their direction every time they walked.The wolf boy took back the castle, and she didn't tear up the ticket herself, she thought, maybe they won't kill them all.

She felt that she hadn't escaped the pursuit, yes, but what she didn't know was that not only could she not get rid of her tail by leaving the road and walking through the forest, but it made it more difficult for her side to escape - because it was not any "person" who was chasing them , but an eagle hundreds of feet overhead.

After Iger let the savages into the customs, he forcibly recruited all the shapechangers among the people outside the Great Wall, and put them under house arrest in Houguan Town, including their people and "pets".

These people with special abilities who can communicate with animals, control wild beasts, and have unpredictable abilities are quite awe-inspiring when they pretend to be gods and ghosts outside the Great Wall... But after passing through the Great Wall, they discovered that not only are the night watchmen not afraid of them, but they also seem to know their abilities like the back of their hands , coupled with witnessing or hearing about Melisandre's magical power, and most of the pets are locked in cages in Houguan Town under strict supervision... I have made a few times and heard that there is no bird. After hearing the deeds of Sir Buckwell who slaughtered a tribe in half a day, how dare he not be honest and obedient.

This time the land-grant sent troops to the south, Iger brought two of them who could control the birds, and had the advantage of the era of aerial reconnaissance. Unless this small group of ironmen had wings, they would not be able to fly out of the palm of the night watchman. .

……

After walking through the forest in the middle of the night and fleeing in a hurry, the ironmen's physical strength gradually reached its limit, and the weaker ones couldn't hold it anymore: "How far do we have to go?"

If this continues, some people will be left behind. Asha reluctantly succumbed to the facts, but did not intend to stop: "Then slow down, but keep walking until you reach the beach or the sun comes out."

A shameful rout, but with the obsession with "going home", the Ironborn gritted their teeth and moved on.Not walking along the road not only means that the feet are uneven, but even the trees are more dense. The forest blocks the light of the moon and the stars, and the ground under the feet is dark and muddy.People or horses were tripped over or stepped into pits, but after a while one broke its front leg, and the rider on it had a bruised nose and face, but had to slit its throat to stop it from neighing.

With no advantage on horseback, all riders went to the ground.

"We need to light some torches."

"Tell the Yankees where we are?" Asha swore, beginning to suspect that abandoning the city had been a mistake.She took off her helmet, stroked back her sweaty hair, and painted plums to quench the thirst of the exhausted crew members: "Come on, Black Wind is waiting for us by the sea!"

-

Chapter 258 This has no honor!

The salty sea breeze hit their faces, which lifted the ironborn's spirits.Not long after smelling this familiar smell, the sound of waves beating against the beach and reefs also came to my ears.After walking through the woods in the middle of the night, the crew who fled from the city arrived at the seaside.

The pursuers did not show up for a long time, and they broke their initial determination to rest several times along the way, but each time they sat for more than ten minutes before being urged by Asha to move on.When the soles of the shoes finally got rid of the moss and fallen leaves and stepped on the ground, the dense forest above their heads was also left behind. Half of the people fell directly to the ground, collapsed into a ball, and refused to stand up again.

The black sea surface was covered with white rippling waves under the cold wind, and it was clearly identifiable under the moonlight. This was not any of the agreed boarding and evacuation locations. Of course, there was no sign of the ship that Asha had promised.Intuition told her that she should lead the crew to continue searching along the coastline all night until she found the ship... But her reason whispered in her ears: If no one chased after fleeing all night, then Robb Stark must have let her go .

Looking at the loyal subordinates who were exhausted all over the place, she really couldn't bear to push them any longer.

In any case, they reached the sea.Although I don't really believe in that stuff, but if it is easier to find the Drowned God's Flowing Water Palace after dying with wet feet, then at least...they don't have to worry about getting lost after death.

Close to the beach, the ground was wet and cold, so she randomly found a piece of exposed rock protruding from the ground. Asha sat on it and untied the leather armor on her body, slightly loosened the tight straps on the chest vest, and rested in the same way. stand up.

Droopy-eyed Dale used his legendary ability to sleep while paddling, snoring as soon as he fell down; those with better physical strength sat around together, passing each other a little cider and food brought out when they abandoned the city, The riders tended the rest of the horses; her cousin, Quinton Greyjoy, sent a few men up the trees to watch.

After filling their stomachs a bit, most of those who didn't fall directly also found a place to lie down, and some sharpened their swords and axes.The other of the only two women in the party - Hogan's red-haired daughter pulling a man into the woods who was too energetic to take a break - this scene made the man who had thoughts of Asha also give birth. The idea of ​​"maybe the last shot in life".As the leader, the latter didn't have such a mood and intention at the moment. After kicking the man who tried to pull her away, he gave up on the matter.

***

They had escaped from Deepwood Motte in one piece, with no loss, but now, Asha knew, it was time to think about what to do next.

Leaving aside the long-term future, we have to find a boat now.

After being defeated by Uncle Euron at the Kingsmoot, there were still four ships left that followed Asha and sailed back to the North with her to return to Deepwood Motte.She ordered the left-behind crew to park them by the fishing village just north of Deepwood Castle—just in case, she told her subordinates in advance to keep half of the ships on patrol in the sea at all times, once the wolf cubs' counterattack army appeared by the sea , Immediately hoisted the sails and headed for Hailong Cape.

The question now before the Kraken's Daughter was that she did not know whether the Northern forces attacking Deepwood had swept the coast beforehand.

No, that is the best situation. All four boats will be waiting by the sea a few miles to the northeast, two on the shore and two in the sea.As long as she walks east along the coast for half a day, she can bring all her brothers back to the ship intact, leave the northern border that has become dangerous after Robb Stark returns, and think slowly at sea One step to go.

If it has already been mopped up, it will be more troublesome: Hailongjiao is tens of miles away from here, and if you are exhausted from driving all night and dare not take the main road, whether you can reach it in a day is a big problem.In case the patrol team in charge of sweeping the coastline gets entangled during the period... With less than two hundred people under him, there is absolutely no possibility of getting out smoothly.

It is said that the army led by Robb Stark to the south was [-], and the losses in the war were not heavy... But the number of people who attacked Deepwood Castle last night was estimated to be less than [-], and the remaining [-] are most likely was sent to the sea.Think about it again: this night, there were no pursuers. Is it possible that there are mopping-up teams all over the coast, and I am surrounded and have no way to escape, so I don't need to chase?

Asha really wanted to go straight to Sea Dragon Cape, far away from Deepwood Motte...but she didn't dare to take the risk: to get to the first joint location, you need to go several leagues to the northeast, and to go to Sea Dragon Point, you need to go west several dozen leagues .If you arrive at the first joint and find that the ship has left, it is just a matter of turning back to the west and walking more than ten leagues; It's a dilemma.

To the east, or to the west?

This is a problem.

Confused in a daze, Asha was so exhausted that she fell asleep.

……

In the dream, the 2 soldiers sent by Robb Stark to clean up the coast had already burned all four of her ships in the sea, and without knowing it, she led her brothers eastward to the north of Deepwood Castle. The boat was not seen on the shore, and they rushed back to Hailongjiao, but there was still no sign of rescue.After running around like headless chickens for a few days on the most desolate peninsula even in the northern border, they were finally overtaken by the northern border army who arrived at a leisurely pace... 100 people are like a muddy tide He rushed over and drowned more than [-] ironmen in an instant, and was captured alive. After being tortured and humiliated, he was tied to the stake and burned alive.

……

Asha woke up and looked around. There was no flame burning her, but the sky above her head became a little brighter—the stars gradually began to fade away, and the night was about to pass.

"Slackers, get up!" She jumped off the rock she was leaning on, and kicked Cole, who was lying not far away and tried to pull her behind the rock to do business before falling asleep: "If you don't want to go home, go ahead." Sleep! Otherwise, wake up quickly, eat something, wash your face with sea water, and it's time to go!"

The quiet open-air rest camp gradually recovered. Although it only rested for more than an hour, the crushing depression and exhaustion had subsided for the most part.Complaining loudly, the ironborn sat up one after another, stretched their waists, sorted out their simple belongings, and prepared to continue their journey of escape.

"Speed!" Asha flicked her horsewhip, making a crisp sound in the air, urging loudly: "When I'm not ready to ride the horse, I'll catch up with the horse's hoof print later!"

A crew member tidied up the salt-stained mail armor on his body, picked up the weapon and hung it on his waist, but the next moment his hands stopped, and he looked up into the distance: "What is that?!"

Asha looked in the direction the speaker was looking, and under the gradually whitening sky, the surroundings were still pitch black—because she was on the west coast, the sun would not rise from the sea at dawn, and the light from the east day passed through the wolf forest. Covered, there was not much left when it fell on the ground... The daughter of the sea monster took a closer look, but saw nothing in the blackness, and was about to turn around and scold her startled subordinates when a small stone moved in her vision. moved.

She woke up completely at once, and then took a closer look, where there was something dark, it was a whole row of people, looking around, there were all directions, they were surrounding them, and she had no way to go!

***

(Damn, the sneak attack was unsuccessful.) Iger frowned angrily.

When the land-grants he led rested in Deepwood Motte for an hour, and then calmly followed the road to the southwest to catch up with the ironborn who had fled to the seaside after a long time of detours, the skinchanger told him: the enemy Already lying down to rest on the shore, and not enough sentries were deployed.

Therefore, Iger planned to catch the Ironmen by surprise and minimize casualties.

After finally mobilizing 2000 people into an encirclement circle, they quietly approached the sleeping enemy. When there were two or three hundred meters left, the enemy woke up.Looking at the noisy and chaotic enemies, Iger was annoyed to find that it was not his own side that alarmed them, but the opposite side who happened to wake up.

That's bad luck... But whatever the hell, there's always going to be some casualties in a war.

"Blow the horn and kill, remember, men don't care, women should be captured alive... a hundred silver stags will be rewarded to whoever captures Balon Greyjoy's daughter!"

"Yes, sir!"

……

If Asha Greyjoy knew that she was only worth a hundred silver stags in the eyes of the enemies in front of her, she might faint with anger, but seeing at least a few thousand enemies rushing up densely, she was already angry It was enough: "Which son of a bitch put a whistle! The enemy didn't notice it so close?"

"I...I...couldn't bear it any longer and fell asleep."

"Can't hold on? Won't you call someone to change shifts! Forget it, it doesn't matter, assemble! Ironborn, the ground under our feet is soaked in sea water, and we will die here. The Drowned God's palace of flowing water is right in front of us!"

"Flowing Water Palace!"

The ironmen were already prepared to continue fleeing, but hope turned into murderous intent in an instant. Since there is no possibility of escape, they can only risk their lives!

"The dead don't die!"

"It will definitely rise again!"

"It's more powerful!"

"kill!"

More than 100 ironmen with red eyes and holding their weapons rushed towards the west of the encirclement like a rainbow.Judging from this posture, there is a great possibility that a single charge will cut through the enemy's formation, but the first thing to meet them is not the swords of the opponents, but a rain of arrows shot tens of meters away.