The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 574: The Wall – White Walker Attack

(Yesterday's debt and today's guaranteed update, 10,000 words.)

*

Robb Stark released a raven, which flew towards the Wall.

The Wall. Castle Black. The Maester's Tower.

The Maester's Tower was a dilapidated stone tower, its spire fallen, half of its body askew, bearing the charred black marks of lightning strikes.

Three stories high, the elderly Maester Aemon Targaryen, at the age of one hundred and two, had been the master of the Maester's Tower for nearly a century, experiencing several Lord Commanders of the Night's Watch. Inside the three-story tower were the rookery and library, two bedrooms, a healing room, and a surgical table, among other things.

A raven flew into the Maester's Tower and landed on the desk in Maester Aemon's study.

Maester Aemon stared blindly at the ceiling, his hearing as sharp as a normal person's eyes.

"Sam! Raven mail!" the old Maester called out, his voice not loud.

"Yes, Maester!" Samwell's voice came loudly from the library.

*

Maester Aemon once had two steward Night's Watchmen serving by his side, taking care of his daily life, sending and receiving letters, and feeding the ravens.

Now, the two stewards were gone, their fate unknown, replaced by a large fat man from the Riverlands: Samwell Tarly—the eldest son of Randyll Tarly, who had been killed by the Mountain.

The two stewards who had served Maester Aemon had disappeared. Perhaps they were killed by White Walkers, perhaps they froze to death, perhaps they were captured by wildlings, or perhaps they had escaped beyond the Wall, hiding in anonymity somewhere, afraid to reveal themselves.

To this day, any rangers who went out were still carrying out the military order to hunt down those two.

The matter began with the disappearance of First Ranger Benjen Stark in the Haunted Forest a year ago.

In order to find the rangers who had disappeared one after another in the Haunted Forest, First Ranger Benjen Stark led a small team to search for his brothers. Three months passed, and Benjen and his brothers themselves became missing persons.

This was a very ominous sign.

According to the synthesis of various information, the wildlings were moving south in large numbers, and Benjen Stark's disappearance was likely related to the frequent activities of the wildlings.

Lord Commander Mormont of the Wall then mobilized all the Night's Watch and launched the Night's Watch expedition, and the Maester's two stewards were also transferred away by Mormont.

Later, on the banks of the Thenn River, on the summit of the Fist of the First Men—the summit had a stone fortress built by the Night's Watch in the past, for the Night's Watch to camp and stay—at the summit camp of the Fist of the First Men, the Night's Watch encountered a White Walker raid and suffered heavy casualties, with most of the Night's Watch killed in battle.

A few Night's Watch who escaped the White Walker attack retreated to Craster's Keep under the leadership of Lord Commander Mormont. Due to many reasons such as cold, freezing, lack of food, White Walker attacks, and large-scale wildling invasions, a part of the Night's Watch became desperate. They were no longer loyal to the Night's Watch's duty. These people hoped to leave the Wall and become free men, so a mutiny occurred at Craster's Keep.

The old Maester's two stewards, Chett and Rast, participated in the mutiny. The rebellious Night's Watch gained the upper hand. They killed Craster, the master who had allowed them to stay, and then killed Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, committing unforgivable capital crimes and becoming the common enemy of the entire Night's Watch and any legion of the Seven Kingdoms.

Samwell Tarly also participated in that Night's Watch expedition. He encountered the White Walker raid at the Fist of the First Men, and then experienced the terrible and bloody mutiny at Craster's Keep. While escaping with Gilly, Craster's daughter, he encountered a White Walker. In a panic, Samwell drew out his only weapon—he had once fallen in the snow and found two bags of obsidian daggers buried by the First Men. At that time, he did not know what these obsidian daggers were for. He took a fancy to the sharp daggers made of black rock, so he carried one with him. It was with this obsidian dagger that Samwell killed a White Walker and finally escaped with Gilly.

Samwell Tarly, who returned to Castle Black, became the old Maester Aemon's new apprentice, and Gilly was taken in by Castle Black. Grand Maester Aemon treated her and took care of her.

Samwell was the first Night's Watchman to kill a White Walker, and it was because of him that the Night's Watch learned about the key weapons to kill White Walkers: obsidian daggers and arrows forged by the Children of the Forest. The only pity was that Samwell only brought one obsidian dagger with him when he fled, and those two bags of precious obsidian daggers were still buried at the foot of the Fist of the First Men.

*

Samwell Tarly took the letter from the raven's leg. He looked at the wax seal on it: "Maester Aemon, it's a letter from Winterfell."

Samwell came from a noble family, was well-read in various books, and was a rare cultured person among the Night's Watch who knew many words.

"Is it written to Lord Eddard Stark?" Maester Aemon's blind eyes were white, gazing at the ceiling. This was his usual habit, as if he were listening to some mysterious sound.

"Yes, Maester."

"Take the letter to the Shieldhall. I think Lord Eddard Stark should be there."

"Yes, Maester."

Samwell was gentle in nature. After studying under Maester Aemon, he was like a fish in water, living a fulfilling life every day, although he was often awakened by nightmares at night, with shadows of White Walkers in his nightmares. In addition to the joy of reading and learning, Samwell's rest time was given to Craster's daughter Gilly. The girl Gilly was already pregnant. She was both Craster's daughter and his wife. The wildling Craster, who died in the mutiny, had nineteen wives, most of whom were his daughters.

Samwell came out of the Maester's Tower and walked on the snowy ground. Above his head was the magical Wall, which was almost invisible at the top, embedded in the gray sky.

*

The Wall, one of the nine wonders of the world. It spans the northern part of Westeros, more than a thousand miles long and more than two hundred meters high, as high as a seventy-story building in the world of Demon Mountains. It is entirely built of crystal-glowing ice and snow.

The Wall is the northernmost frontier of the Seven Kingdoms, separating the kingdom south of it from the wildling lands north of it, and is regarded by the people of the Seven Kingdoms as the dividing line between civilization and barbarism.

The Wall is guarded by the ancient and honorable legion—the Night's Watch. The original intention of building the Wall was not to defend against wildlings, but to protect the lands south of it from the invasion of White Walkers.

The Wall was built after the Long Night 8,000 years ago. The wall at that time was not thousands of miles long, nor was it as high as it is today. It was the Night's Watch craftsmen who, generation after generation, dug up huge ice blocks from the frozen rivers of the Haunted Forest and dragged them back to the Wall. After thousands of years of continuous reinforcement and construction, it reached its current scale and eventually became one of the nine wonders of the world.

Eight thousand years ago, when the First Men joined forces with the Children of the Forest to repel the White Walkers in the War for the Dawn, in order to resist the White Walkers from invading again and to protect the Seven Kingdoms, the legendary figure of the Age of Heroes, the King in the North—Brandon the Builder—built the Wall with the help of giants, and a human legion composed of allied forces from various ethnic groups on the continent, called the Night's Watch, swore to guard it for life.

Giants and the Children of the Forest are not humans, but humanoids. Giants are huge, with the shortest being more than three meters tall; while the Children of the Forest are very short, equivalent to human dwarves. Tyrion Lannister, the Imp, has the height of a Child of the Forest.

Giants and the Children of the Forest are both natives of this world of Westeros. Ten thousand years ago, they were invaded from across the Narrow Sea by a 'long arm' connecting the two continents. This was the arrival of the First Men. The First Men, who used iron weapons, achieved continuous victories. Giants and the Children of the Forest were forced to retreat to the icy and snowy north.

Eight thousand years ago, White Walkers invaded the world of humans and humanoids from the northernmost Land of Always Winter, slaughtering all life. This forced giants, the Children of the Forest, and the First Men to unite and fight the White Walkers.

The battle finally ended in victory. The White Walkers were driven into the no-man's land of the farthest Land of Always Winter, and the giants, the Children of the Forest, and the First Men also reached a reconciliation agreement. They made a peace agreement on the Isle of Faces in the middle of the Gods Eye in the Riverlands. To this day, there are rumors that there is still the last group of the Children of the Forest guarding the Isle of Faces.

With the help of the giants' strength and the Children of the Forest's magic, the king of the First Men—Brandon Stark, the King in the North—built this world-famous Wall.

The Wall extends from the Great Canyon in the western mountains of Westeros to the Bay of Seals on the eastern coast of the continent. During its construction, it was given the ancient spells and magic of the green seers of the Children of the Forest, which can shield White Walkers and other magical creatures from passing through.

However, as people gradually forgot about the White Walkers of the Long Night over the past eight thousand years, the significance of the Wall and the Night's Watch in people's minds has also changed from defending against White Walker invasions to defending against wildlings from the north.

Time is an invisible hand that can turn many real events that happened in history into stories and legends, causing people to forget the truth. To this day, people have long forgotten the true purpose of the Wall, and White Walkers and wights have also become stories and legends. No one believes that there are White Walkers in this world anymore.

After the true purpose of the Wall was completely forgotten by people, the degree of importance attached to the Night's Watch also naturally decreased significantly, and the strength of the troops was severely reduced, which limited the daily maintenance of the Wall.

Of the 19 military fortresses built along the Wall, in the past, every military fortress was inhabited by soldiers, and the most valiant knights of the Seven Kingdoms were stationed here. But now, only the second military fortress Shadow Tower, which is close to the Great Canyon in the west, the central military fortress Castle Black, and the easternmost military fortress Eastwatch-by-the-Sea are still stationed with small teams of the Night's Watch. The remaining sixteen military fortresses have all been abandoned, overgrown with weeds and shrubs, and the roofs and courtyards are covered with皑皑 white snow.

In the past, the members of the Night's Watch were all regular troops with status and status. Becoming a member of the Night's Watch was the most glorious thing for the knights of the Seven Kingdoms. But now, the Wall has become a gray area for exiles from the Seven Kingdoms. The Night's Watch is composed of people of humble status such as exiles, death row prisoners, bastards, thieves, fraudsters, and robbers.

The top of the Wall is wide enough for twelve fully armed knights to ride side by side, while the bottom is even wider, like the base of a mountain.

Ancient spells are woven into the walls of the Wall to reinforce it and prevent White Walkers and wights from crossing. The Wall is as straight as a sword from Castle Black to the east to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, while it is as curved as a snake from the west to the Shadow Tower. Under the summer sun, a small amount of ice and snow sometimes melts on the side of the Wall, making it look like the Wall is crying from a distance.

The Wall does not have real gates, only some deep tunnels that run through the wall. These tunnels are blocked by iron gates locked by several heavy chains, and the side walls of the tunnels are also built with shooting holes and murder holes for defense. If a castle needs to be abandoned, or if the castle is in danger, the tunnels will be permanently blocked by craftsmen with ice, snow, and gravel. Of course, the easiest way is to inject water, which will quickly freeze into ice, thereby blocking the entire tunnel.

The Wall became one of the nine wonders of the world. This universally recognized reputation comes from the book "Man-Made Wonders" written by the famous traveler "Long Legs" Lomas. In the book, the Wall of Westeros, along with the Valyrian Road, the Titan of Braavos, the Long Bridge of Volantis, the triple walls of Qarth, the Three Bells of Norvos and the Palace of a Thousand Rooms of Sarnass, the pyramids of Ghis, and Harrenhal in the Riverlands, are listed as the "Nine Great Man-Made Wonders".

It is worth mentioning that the book mentions the Hightower of Oldtown, and that the world's tallest tower is also one of the man-made wonders praised in the book.

*

Eddard Stark was indeed in the Shieldhall.

On one wall of the Shieldhall, sword belts were densely hung, with long swords hanging on the sword belts. Next to each sword belt was a small round shield.

The Shieldhall is the place for military affairs, political affairs, elections, and meals in Castle Black. It is also where the Night's Watch puts its weapons, and the most convenient things to place are shields.

When the patrolling Night's Watchmen return, they may not take off their sword belts, but they will definitely put their shields in the Shieldhall. When eating and meeting, no ranger would carry a long sword. The hooks designed on the wall are for the convenience of the Night's Watch to hang their sword belts.

In addition to Eddard Stark, there were also Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Jon Snow, Stannis Baratheon's widow Selyse Florent, Stannis's heir to the throne Shireen Baratheon I, and Red Priestess Melisandre.

In troubled times, the continent of Westeros was originally one country, but now there are still five kings: King Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands—after Balon's death, the heir is Euron Greyjoy Crow's Eye. Although he is imprisoned in the Red Keep dungeon, he still bears the banner of the king.

King Robb Stark of the North. When he became king in Riverrun, it was a critical moment in the war. Becoming king largely united the hearts of the nobles in the North and the Riverlands, and Robb also gained the wholehearted support of the vassals who had no good feelings towards King's Landing. With the army united, the Westerlanders were killed and turned on their backs. Robb led his cavalry across the Westerlands, as if entering an uninhabited land. If Theon Greyjoy, Asha Greyjoy, and Roose Bolton's bastard Ramsay Snow had not occupied Torrhen's Square, Deepwood Motte, and the capital Winterfell in the North, the entire Westerlands would have been conquered by Robb.

Queen Shireen Baratheon, the defeated king driven out of Dragonstone by the Mountain, with the support of Stannis's last loyal subjects, followed the instructions of the Red God, transferred from Dragonstone to the Wall, landed at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, helped the Night's Watch defeat the wildling army, and moved into Queen's Gate, the military fortress next to Castle Black.

The vassals of the ten-year-old girl Queen Shireen are led by Prime Minister Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight, and Red Priestess Melisandre.

In addition, there is King Tommen Baratheon on the Iron Throne!

The fifth king was Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne, who had always retained his royal status.

Although the Martell family submitted to the Iron Throne, it was a true marriage of peace, not conquest. Dorne's taxation, administration, and military were all independent, and the Martell family had always retained the title and tradition of Prince, with sons being princes and daughters princesses, a de facto independence and political submission.

In addition, there was the Arryn family of the Vale, which had not sworn allegiance to the Iron Throne. Duke Robert Arryn was eight years old this year, and he was not loyal to the King in the North or the Iron Throne, and the Vale was in a state of disguised independence. Duke Robert Arryn was the highest lord in the Vale.

In the minds of Kevan and Cersei, they were pinning their hopes on Littlefinger Petyr Baelish, hoping that Littlefinger could marry Robert Arryn's mother, Lysa Tully, and then persuade Lysa Tully to pledge allegiance to the Iron Throne.

In the North, Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully were hoping to win back the heart of their sister Lysa, whose resentful father, Duke Hoster, had died. Eddard and Catelyn had put aside their resentment of Lysa and looked forward to the family reuniting in an alliance.

In the hearts of the Vale nobles, they were more willing to swear allegiance to the King in the North than to the Iron Throne.

The Vale, the Riverlands, the North, most of the nobles had no goodwill towards the Lannister family.

Cersei had worked hard to ruin the family's reputation. Her means of killing in the struggle with Eddard Stark over the right to inherit the throne were justified, but she ordered the massacre of all of Eddard's servants and guards, not even sparing the dog handlers, stablemen, horses, and hounds. She then humiliated and drove away the fearless Barristan Selmy, who was deeply respected by the nobles and commoners in the palace, and Joffrey I later sent people to hunt down the loyal Captain of the Kingsguard. These things caused the Lannister family's reputation to plummet.

Thinking about it carefully, was there anything stupid that Cersei wouldn't dare to do?!

Obviously not!

Cersei's series of actions severely damaged the reputation of the Lannisters and the royal family, which made it very easy for Robb Stark, Eddard Stark's heir, to be crowned King in Riverrun, gaining the allegiance of all the nobles in the North and Riverlands.

In the hearts of the people of the North and Riverlands, since the Iron Throne is occupied by a bastard, and the bastard's mother is a twisted, despicable, and morally depraved incestuous woman, then let's choose a king for ourselves!

*

Samwell Tarly handed the letter to Eddard Stark, who broke the wax seal, read the letter, closed it, and looked at Samwell with a strange look in his eyes.

Samwell immediately felt uneasy. He felt as if everyone's eyes were on him. He didn't know what the letter said, and the honest and simple-minded Samwell dropped the pleasantries and fled the Shield Hall.

Everyone felt that Lord Eddard Stark's expression was strange.

Jon Snow, the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, who was sitting on Eddard's left, was a good friend of Samwell Tarly. The two were in the same batch of Night's Watch, trained together, and were scolded and humiliated by the instructors together. Samwell was timid and always bullied by the recruits and veterans, and Jon stood up for him. During the time that Eddard was captured by Cersei and imprisoned in the Red Keep's dungeon, Samwell Tarly enlightened Jon Snow and, with a few good friends, dissuaded Jon from leaving the team to seek revenge, and the two forged a deep friendship.

"Father, what happened?" Jon Snow asked. He noticed his father's strange look when he looked at Samwell.

Eddard Stark said slowly, "Jon, you and Sam are good friends, maybe it would be better for you to tell him about this."

"What is it? Father!"

"The Mountain is in the Crownlands, two days' ride from King's Landing, and killed Randyll Tarly and Dickon Tarly. The Mountain's wedge formation broke Randyll's half-moon formation, and Randyll's cavalry was completely wiped out."

Silence!

Deathly silence!

Jon Snow's eyes widened in disbelief!

The Onion Knight Davos Seaworth, standing behind Her Majesty Shireen Baratheon, had shock written all over his face.

The red-robed Melisandre, in her full red robe, tilted her head slightly, her eyes reflecting the color of the flames, staring at Eddard as if she had spied some secret.

Melisandre was dressed in a fiery red robe, beautiful, dignified, and charming.

But deep in the heart of Lady Melisandre, her confidence had been greatly diminished. Based on the guidance given by the Red God in the flames, she had traveled from the distant eastern continent of Essos to Westeros, found Stannis Baratheon of Dragonstone, and fully assisted him in ascending the throne. The prophecy in the flames told her that Stannis Baratheon was the one true king, but this one true king was killed by the Mountain at the port outside King's Landing.

The one true king cannot be killed, just as the one true god will show true miracles.

Stannis's death made Melisandre realize that she had misunderstood the prophecy of the flames, and that the one true king she had chosen was wrong, which plunged her into confusion. She still didn't know who the true king was who was destined in fate. The flames told her that the one true king was at the Wall, so, on Melisandre's suggestion, Her Majesty Shireen and Her Majesty the Queen Mother Selyse Florent finally led their legions to the North as if fleeing.

Melisandre was very sensitive to the Mountain's name. It was this man who had ruined Stannis, whom she had wholeheartedly believed to be the true king, shattered her dreams, and caused her to choose silence many times and spend more and more time by the flames.

This was the first time Melisandre had heard news about the Mountain after coming to the Wall, and the news came from the mouth of Lord Eddard Stark.

Shireen showed some unease when she heard the Mountain's name. It was the Mountain who killed her father, and it was also the Mountain who drove them out of the castle on Dragonstone. The cold of the Wall was like a knife, making it difficult for Her Majesty Shireen to fall asleep, and she quickly became thinner, her face pale.

Her Majesty Queen Mother Selyse Florent's face also became sharper.

After Stannis was defeated and died, Queen Selyse became more devout in her faith in the Red God and regarded Melisandre as a mentor in her life. She believed that the reason Stannis was defeated and died was because Stannis had listened to Davos's advice and had not allowed Melisandre to participate in the Battle of Blackwater. And Lord Prime Minister Davos had always regarded Melisandre as an evil witch.

Little Shireen led a legion that could not replenish its troops, and the warriors now numbered less than two thousand. Many southern warriors were not accustomed to the extreme cold of the North, and more and more warriors died of illness.

Selyse Florent said, "The long night is dark and full of terrors, and the Mountain has done many unrighteous things. The Red God will surely let the holy flames cleanse his sinful soul and dirty body."

Prime Minister Onion Knight Davos glanced at the Queen Mother. Selyse had obviously forgotten the terrible image of being frightened out of her wits by the Mountain on Dragonstone.

*

When the Mountain attacked Dragonstone, Melisandre's Red God could not save anyone. Queen Selyse disguised herself as a peasant fisherwoman and slipped through on a small boat. Under the Mountain's greatsword, the Red God's prophecies did not show any effectiveness. Melisandre had not seen any premonitions of the Mountain's night attack in the flames.

Afterwards, Melisandre said that she had not had any royal blood sacrificed to the Red God for a long time, so she had not been able to understand the prophecies in the flames.

During the War of the Five Kings, many families who swore allegiance to Storm's End supported Renly Baratheon's claim to the throne and built a considerable army to help him seize the Iron Throne. Melisandre obtained the power of royal blood from Stannis and gave birth to a shadow assassin, killing Renly.

After Renly's death, Cortnay Penrose, the acting castellan of Storm's End, refused to surrender. This time, Davos Seaworth smuggled Melisandre into the castle to prevent the spells on the walls from interfering with her magic, and he had the good fortune to witness the entire process of Melisandre giving birth to a shadow assassin.

After the acting castellan Penrose was killed by the shadow assassin, Storm's End surrendered to Stannis. Before attacking King's Landing, Stannis burned down the godswood of Storm's End to sacrifice to the Lord of Light.

Although Davos had witnessed Melisandre's magical powers, he was still very wary and hostile towards Melisandre, believing that Melisandre's magic was not the right path, but evil. Even though he himself was a former smuggler and pirate.

Davos said, "Your Majesty Shireen, Your Majesty Queen Mother Selyse, Imperial Preceptor Melisandre, Lord Eddard, the Mountain's slaying of Randyll Tarly will surely antagonize the Tyrell family; he also attacked King's Landing at night and fought with Lord Tywin Lannister of the Lannister family and captured the Duke alive, which makes it impossible for his relationship with Prime Minister Kevan to be good; the Mountain also relied on his evil deeds to kill Prince Oberyn of Dorne in a trial by combat, and he has offended all the powerful dignitaries of King's Landing; Lord Robb's letter came at the right time, the Mountain has no allies, everyone wants to put him to death, which is actually an opportunity for us to send assassins to assassinate the Mountain."

Davos did not recognize Robb's claim to the throne, so he always referred to Robb as Lord when speaking.

Davos believed that the Mountain's killing of Randyll Tarly was their best opportunity, but Eddard's eyes were calm and he did not respond enthusiastically!

The Mountain's killing of Prince Oberyn, capturing Duke Tywin, slaying His Majesty Stannis, and killing the famous general Randyll Tarly had indeed antagonized him with the major nobles. But Eddard had his own secret: the Mountain had done great favors to the North.

The Mountain was Eddard's savior; the Red Wedding at the Twins was a great victory thanks to the Mountain's advance warning, and the Mountain was secretly the savior of the entire North and the Stark family; in addition, Sansa Stark was also rescued from the maiden's chamber in the Red Keep by the Mountain and was already engaged to Ser Reynard Westerling. The person who married Tyrion Lannister was not Sansa herself, but Sansa's handmaiden.

Letting Eddard Stark participate in the plot to assassinate the Mountain was something Eddard Stark had no interest in.

"Lord Seaworth, our deathsworn are not assassins," Eddard said.

"Call for the Stranger," Selyse Florent said shrilly.

"The Stranger is not proficient in assassination," Eddard denied. "The real assassins are across the Narrow Sea, the Faceless Men in the House of Black and White on the Isle of Braavos. If we ask them to take action, there will be no mistakes."

"The Faceless Men?" Davos shrugged. "We can't afford that commission." King Shireen, whom Davos served, had inherited a huge debt from the Iron Bank of Braavos from his father.

"Why must we assassinate the Mountain?" Jon said, "Isn't it good to let the Mountain wreak havoc in the dynasty controlled by Cersei in the South? A Mountain fighting internally within Kevan's territory, killing famous generals and great nobles, is a trouble for the Iron Throne, not a benefit."

Because of his relationship with his father and sister, Jon had no goodwill towards the Iron Throne. His favorite sister, Arya Stark, was still missing, all thanks to Cersei.

Jon Snow hated Cersei!

"The Mountain has slain our King, the true King of the Seven Kingdoms," Davos looked at Lord Eddard. "Lord Eddard, we are at the Wall, the journey is far, the Mountain will surely not be prepared for us. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secretly send deathsworn to sneak into King's Landing to kill the Mountain, to avenge His Majesty Stannis and the people of the North. Even if we fail, the Mountain will not know that we did it. He will only vent his anger on other noble forces."

Davos was obsessed with avenging His Majesty Stannis.

He was a loyal smuggler Prime Minister!

His own sons in the army had all died in the Blackwater, all thanks to the Mountain!

Jon Snow said, "Ser Davos, the Others are in the haunted forest outside, and although the wildling army has been defeated, small groups of troops have been hunting our rangers. We need to concentrate all our forces to fight the Others and the wildlings. Winter is coming, Prime Minister!"

Melisandre stared at Jon, the young Lord Commander was dark-skinned and burly, and he had sternly rejected Melisandre's request to sacrifice Maester Aemon Targaryen to the Red God, and had added Night's Watch soldiers under the Maester's Tower, and asked his father for help, adding Northern soldiers to prevent Melisandre from forcibly arresting people.

The Night's Watch, after the ranging, had a total of only three hundred men in all three military fortresses, not a match for Melisandre.

Melisandre stared at Jon Snow, as if trying to read the secrets in Jon's heart.

Jon's longsword was at his waist, the longsword came from the former Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, the longsword was called 'Longclaw', a two-handed sword, a Valyrian steel sword that could kill wights and Others.

Eddard Stark said, "The most important thing for the Seven Kingdoms now is to unite to fight the Others. Any other things need to be put aside for now."

"Yes, the struggle for the Iron Throne is like a game for children. Our real threat comes from outside the Wall. Ser Davos, do you have any ideas on how to unite the Mountain to fight the Others?" Melisandre said slowly.

Her only purpose in coming to Westeros was to help people fight the Others. The Others came from the will of the Great Other, and the god Melisandre believed in was the Red God, the god of fire and shadows. The Red God and the Great Other, the two opposing gods, depended on the battles of their believers to win or lose.

Melisandre served Stannis in order to resist the Others! Only when the kingdom is united can we gather the strength of the whole country to fight the Others!

"Lady Melisandre, I can write a letter to the Mountain and try to persuade him to bring troops to the Wall to fight the Others!"

"Absolutely impossible!" Selyse said shrilly. Her shrill voice was very painful to the ears.

"We need to unite all the forces that can be united. If the Wall cannot be defended, it will threaten the lives of everyone on the continent of Westeros," Jon Snow said.

Woooooo!

Atop the Great Wall, a desolate and chilling horn sounded!

Everyone listened intently!

One blast of the horn meant brothers returning; two blasts meant wildlings attacking; three blasts meant the Others invading.

The echo of the first blast lingered, and everyone remained quiet and silent.

The second blast sounded, and everyone's expression turned grim, as the scattered wildlings had regrouped and attacked again.

But, would there be a third blast?

Everyone looked strange, remaining motionless in their original positions.

In the training yard, the Hound, who had been drinking in the corner, also sat up. He and the Brotherhood Without Banners had reached the Wall and become one of Jon Snow's most formidable reinforcement legions. The Northern army of Eddard Stark was not under Jon Snow's command.

The Brotherhood Without Banners' leader, Lord Beric Dondarrion, and the red priest Thoros of Myr were both away on official business, one patrolling the haunted forest outside the Wall, and the other stationed on top of the Wall. As for the Hound, he didn't submit to anyone's command. When his strength and sword were needed, he never lagged behind, but usually he did whatever he wanted, and no one provoked him, because everyone knew that this ugly fellow was very difficult to deal with.

The Hound was not happy at all; he had lost his purpose in life. His only goal in life was to kill the Mountain, but after experiencing some things, he realized that he could no longer bring himself to kill the Mountain. His heart had changed, which left him confused and lost. Only killing and strong alcohol could still make him feel alive.

Wooooooooooooooo!

The third horn sounded, which meant that the Others were attacking. The Hound suddenly stood up from the snow. In his haste, he didn't drop his wineskin, but stuffed it into his arms, and then stumbled towards the black iron cage. Taking the black iron cage to the top of the Wall was the fastest way to reach his post.

There was also a zigzagging staircase to climb, but the Hound was now lightheaded and unsteady on his feet, and walking on the slippery stairs could easily break his neck.

Inside and outside of Castle Black, a dense series of military orders rang out. The Night's Watch, the centurions, the Northern generals, and the soldiers of Princess Shireen all took action. Everywhere, people were shouting to assemble, running, and relaying orders. Night's Watchmen were shouting, 'Raise the tunnel gate, quickly raise the tunnel gate!'

The gate to the tunnel at Castle Black could only be opened from the inside with a winch. Obviously, brothers patrolling outside wanted to enter the tunnel.

The Hound rushed to the black iron cage, squeezing in with a group of black-clad brothers. The black iron cage rose with creaking sounds, shaking every so often. The winch mechanism was old and needed to be repaired.

Eddard Stark mounted his warhorse and loudly called for the Northern soldiers to follow him out of the tunnel to meet the brothers outside the Wall. Ser Davos Seaworth led a team up the zigzagging stairs to garrison the top of the wall.

The Others attacked the Wall in the same way as the wildlings, by climbing it.

Inside the black iron cage, the Hound reeked of alcohol: 'Does three blasts of the horn mean that brothers are returning, wildlings are attacking, and the Others are chasing behind?'

The Night's Watch brothers all frowned. One stony-faced brother said, 'Hound, you're drunk. You'd better stay on the ground, or you might fall from the top of the Wall.'

'I won't die even if I fall. Do you dare to bet on that? A golden dragon,' the Hound roared, glaring.

'A hundred Hounds would die if they fell,' another Night's Watch brother couldn't help but shout.

'What are you yelling about, kid? A golden dragon, are you betting or not?'

'What? You want to jump down and try it out?'

'Dare to bet?' The Hound squinted at the young Night's Watch brother. 'I know you, kid. They call you a sissy.'

The Night's Watch brothers all laughed!

The young man immediately blushed!

His name was Toad, a Night's Watch brother who had trained with Jon and Samwell. He had a nasty nickname, given to him by the training officer, Ser Alliser Thorne.

Alliser Thorne gave every Night's Watch brother in Jon Snow's batch a humiliating nickname. Jon was directly called a bastard by Instructor Alliser.

'I'll bet you, but I don't have a golden dragon, Hound,' a wiry man said. 'Are you planning to jump off the Wall and then climb back up to prove you won't die?'

'Yes, woman,' the Hound's cruel tone was like ice.

'Okay, if you jump down and climb back up, I'll lose three silver stags to you.' This wiry man was called Ghran, also a friend Jon made during training. After Jon became Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Ghran, like Samwell, became one of Jon's capable assistants.

'After we repel the Others, I'll jump for you to see. But you have to lose a golden dragon to me, little woman.' The Hound brought the half of his face that was burned to Ghran's face.

'Okay, it's a deal!' Ghran said. 'After this battle is over, I'll ask Commander Jon to stop you from drinking so much alcohol.'

'If you dare to do that, I'll kill you!'

'Since you want to kill me, I'll definitely ask the Lord Commander to ban your alcohol.'

The Hound glared and moved closer to Ghran, his nose touching the top of Ghran's head: 'This little woman is not afraid of me, you really have guts!'

'I'm not even afraid of the Others, why would I be afraid of you, big guy? You're pressing down on me.' Ghran pushed hard, pushing the Hound away. The black iron cage shook, making creaking noises, as if the cage would fall in the next moment.

The brothers all grabbed the bars of the iron cage, and several recruits screamed in fright.

The Hound laughed loudly!

In the laughter, the shadow of the Mountain flashed before his eyes. That damn big guy, what is he doing now? Maybe I'll die in this battle against the Others? Damn it, this damn alcohol, it seems I really drank a bit too much!

Thanks to [Book Friend 20190527142214940], [Pure Domestic Love Me China], [Evangelion Unit-01] for the reward support, thank you, handshake!