The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Gavin Westerling bowed slightly, his eyes sincere and polite: "Lord Eddard, did Commander Carter and Prime Minister Davos go to rescue people?"

Gavin had arrived at the Wall and, in a short time, displayed the demeanor of a great nobleman. However, rough men like the Hound and Carter felt that Gavin's politeness and etiquette were just his hypocrisy. Eddard Stark did not think so; he appreciated Gavin's adherence to noble etiquette.

Eddard Stark also nodded slightly, courteous: "Earl Gavin, about two hundred miles from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, there is a place called Hardhome, a large gathering place for the Free Folk. Hundreds of Free Folk and two Night's Watch scouting parties are besieged by wights in Hardhome."

"By the sea?" Gavin Westerling's Crag was by the sea. "Can the Others and wights wade through water?"

"No!"

"Then, as long as they break out of the castle, they can be rescued by ships at the seaside."

"Yes!"

"Lord Eddard, I can stay here to help you guard Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, but I want to know how many days we need to stay?"

*

Gavin Westerling did not flatly refuse as Davos had thought, but readily agreed to Eddard Stark's request to stay and garrison Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Of course, there were reasons unknown to outsiders. Eddard's previous invitation for Gavin to be a guest and now asking Gavin to help guard Eastwatch-by-the-Sea were completely different in meaning and nature. The former was a personal matter, while the latter was an official military matter.

However, Gavin wanted to clarify the time for guarding the city first. If the time was too long, he would still refuse.

Gavin himself and his guards were unwilling to stay at the Wall; it was too cold and the conditions were too harsh. From a business perspective, they were under the command of the Mountain, and the Mountain had not ordered them to assist the Wall in the event of an emergency. Gavin and his guards were stationed on Dragonstone.

Clegane's navy on Dragonstone was still conducting extensive conscription in places like Crackclaw Point, King's Landing, Dragonstone, and the Stormlands. Conscription sounds simple, but the first test is financial strength. The royal family of King's Landing was limited by financial resources, usually only having two thousand garrison troops, and only increasing to six thousand during wartime. Each additional soldier increases expenses.

But the Mountain seemed to have solved the money problem. His navy was frantically recruiting fishermen and mercenaries along the coast who knew how to swim, training them into naval soldiers. Earl Gavin had a lot of his own things to take care of.

The Clegane army, from the supreme commander the Mountain to the soldiers below, did not have the noble integrity to help guard the Wall. Their awareness was not high.

Of course, this large ship of obsidian daggers and ore was priceless and could not be measured by common sense.

*

"Earl Gavin, you will help me guard Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, for a minimum of one day and a maximum of five days."

"Oh?! A minimum of one day?!" Gavin's eyebrows rose slightly, which was quite beyond his expectations.

"Yes, Maester Denys has already sent a raven to Castle Black. Jon Snow will lead a cavalry to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to collect the obsidian weapons and ore. At the same time, there will be a mixed army of Northmen, Night's Watch, Shireen's army, and Free Folk to assist in garrisoning Eastwatch-by-the-Sea."

"How many people will come?"

"From what we can see now, the suddenly disappearing Others and wights have appeared in large numbers at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. I have already dispatched a thousand elites to assist Commander Carter."

Earl Gavin nodded slightly: "Lord Eddard, is it the Night's Watch rangers who can get here in one day?"

"Mixed cavalry, Earl. There are Night's Watch rangers, Free Folk cavalry, Her Majesty Shireen's cavalry, and Northmen cavalry. From Castle Black to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, more than four hundred miles, along the road under the Wall, the cavalry can travel day and night, while the wagon train will take four days, and the infantry five days."

"Since it's only a maximum of five days, we've decided to stay and help Lord Eddard guard the city." Gavin Westerling looked at the captain. "Captain, I'm sorry, we'll have to stay a few more days."

"...Uh, okay... During the time we stay, can we go up to the top of the Wall and take a look, Earl?" the captain said with a smile.

The captain's first mate and others showed expectant expressions, wanting to go to the top of the Wall to take a look.

When Gavin arrived at the Wall, his first desire was also to go to the top of the Wall to take a look. Everyone who comes to the Wall has this feeling, and it's very strong.

The Wall, one of the nine wonders of the world! Almost an impossible feat of human engineering!

"Captain, you and your mercenaries and sailors can go to the top of the Wall, but you must obey the soldiers' commands," Eddard Stark said.

"Yes, Duke, we are very grateful!" The captain's expression when speaking to nobles was always very humble.

Humility is good for his business, and humility can also please the nobles.

Gavin Westerling's unexpected choice to stay and help Eddard Stark guard Eastwatch-by-the-Sea was not because of his noble character, but because Eddard Stark's eldest daughter, Sansa Stark, would be marrying his eldest son and heir, Raynald Westerling. The Mountain had secretly arranged everything and sent a raven to Earl Gavin.

Judging from Eddard Stark's expression, he probably didn't know that Sansa would be marrying the Westerling family's eldest son.

Raynald Westerling being able to marry the Duke's eldest daughter was already the best marriage, regardless of status, family status, or family strength. Gavin and his wife were very satisfied with Raynald's marriage.

Impeccable!

If he was unwilling to help Duke Eddard even for a day or night during this very difficult period for his future in-laws, the faces of both parties would never look good when they met again after Sansa and Raynald's marriage. This would affect the harmony of the two families in the future.

Eddard Stark was a true knight, and his integrity was known throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Gavin admired Eddard's character very much. The Westerling family's own ancient noble reputation was not inferior to the Stark family. But in terms of strength, the Westerling family was far inferior to the Stark family. If Jane hadn't married the Mountain, the gap between the Westerling family and the Stark family would only be greater.

Earl Gavin had a total of four children, and now three of his children had married into the highest-ranking ducal families in the Seven Kingdoms. He was very satisfied with his life and had no regrets. The eldest son, eldest daughter, and second daughter all performed very well. The eldest daughter, Jane, married Duke Mountain, the second daughter married Duke Tully of Riverrun, and the eldest son married the eldest daughter of the independent Stark family. Her brother was the King in the North, and her father was Duke Eddard. Could there be a more powerful marriage than this?

The ancient Westerling family was rising! Historically, the Westerling family had produced queens and Hand of the King.

Next was the time for Earl Gavin to fully maintain the family relationship of the marriage. The Westerling family was moving towards prosperity step by step.

*

On the sea, after the Eastwatch-by-the-Sea fleet left the port, Davos Seaworth suddenly ordered the entire army to sail west.

The messenger relayed the order, and Davos's flagship took the lead in changing course, heading west.

"Lord, Hardhome is to the north, we should go north." Ranger Centurion Steele Jaremy jumped to the bow of the ship, waving his flag and voicing his opposition.

"Ser Steele Jaremy, I am the supreme commander, you must obey orders," Davos Seaworth said sternly.

Davos's own guards turned around, and several warships closely followed the flagship, heading west.

Ser Steele Jaremy and a group of rangers were stunned. The destination was due north, but Davos ordered the fleet to sail west.

"I will not go west," Ser Steele Jaremy said decisively. "Men of the Night's Watch, follow me north."

"Ser, Prime Minister Davos Seaworth is a navigation expert, proficient in sea conditions, winds, currents, and naval warfare," another centurion, Temple Knott, stood up and said, "We should trust him and follow the flagship in unison."

After Carter left, the Eastwatch-by-the-Sea fleet had only two centurions with real power left: Steele and Temple.

"Centurion Temple Knott, now is the time for a tailwind, why go west? We must get to Hardhome as soon as possible. This is about saving people, not being deliberately mysterious. The sooner we arrive, the more people we can save," Ser Steele Jaremy said慨然.

Centurion Temple Knott no longer argued with him, but ordered the drums to beat for attack speed, and the warship quickly chased after Davos's flagship in front.

In the end, among the hesitant Night's Watch, three warships followed Centurion Temple Knott, and three warships followed Centurion Steele Jaremy.

The fleet had just left the port not far away when it split. This also shows that Shireen's army had very little prestige in the Night's Watch, and Davos Seaworth's title of Prime Minister was also ridiculed by the Night's Watch brothers in normal times. Especially after everyone had been drinking. In the post-Stannis era, the Baratheon remnants who escaped from Dragonstone had lost all credibility and could not see any hope. They relied entirely on Melisandre's Red God faith to support this remnant army that fantasized about reclaiming the Iron Throne.

On the coast, at the edge of the haunted forest, several pairs of blue eyes stared at the fleet splitting into two. The Others and wights both had ice-blue eyes.

The owner of one pair of eyes was wearing a Night's Watch cloak, a Night's Watch sword belt, and a Night's Watch small round shield on his back. He belonged to a Night's Watch soldier from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, a scout sent by Carter. He also had a Night's Watch horn hanging on his waist.

*

Three days later, Carter and the Hound's three ships arrived in the waters of Storrold's Point. This sea area was the border of the Bay of Seals. Further north was the famous Shivering Sea. The Shivering Sea was on the northwest side of the continent of Westeros, and the north side of the continent of Essos. This was an unknown vast sea area. No one knew how far the end of the sea was? What continents, countries, and races were at the end of the sea? Everyone was completely ignorant. No navigator from the two continents of Westeros and Essos had ever ventured deep into the Shivering Sea.

The three ships patiently waited until dusk before quietly approaching the coastline.

Hardhome was not far from the coast. The back wall was built on a cliff, and the sea-facing side had a pier that could barely dock. The peninsula was covered in white, with thick snow. The back mountain and back wall of Hardhome were steep, and the shady side had no snow, revealing black rocks.

The three ships quietly docked. The peninsula was quiet, without the sound of fighting as imagined.

The Hound felt a sense of unease.

The snow on the coast was thick, and the Others and wights could easily hide in the snow.

Every time the Hound felt uneasy, it always proved that something went wrong.

"Carter, maybe we should send out scouts first," the Hound said.

Bob Norrell snorted and jumped ashore: "Hound, the back mountain of Hardhome is the only place that hasn't been surrounded by wights."

"This is hundreds of meters away from the back mountain of the castle. Why didn't the Others cut off this place?"

"They don't have the wisdom to besiege a city."

"They do," the Hound said coldly. "Wights are dead people, but Others are magical creatures. They have life, language, and can think. They are intelligent creatures."

"Intelligent creatures?" Bob chuckled. "I admit that they are magical creatures with life and language, but after fighting them for so long, they are undoubtedly similar to wights and have no real intelligence."

"You're just a fool!" the Hound said contemptuously. "You're not even as good as a wight."

Bob choked! Then he said coldly: "Hound, if we can survive this time, I will duel you at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea."

"You're not worthy of me drawing my sword!" the Hound said coldly.

Bob's face flushed red, and the Hound approached him, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Don't fight, we're here to save people," Carter stepped between the two.

Bob swallowed his anger and decided to compromise: "Commander Carter, I know there is a small path that leads to the bottom of the back mountain of Hardhome."

"We know that too," Carter raised his head and looked at Hardhome, which squatted like a monster in the night. "But that's a dead end. We must enter the city from the other three sides."

"I know how to get up the cliff on the back mountain," Bob said.

"The castle is very quiet. Since it's a siege, why is it so quiet? It's not late at night now," the Hound interjected again, and what he said had no logical connection to what Bob said.

"Hound, the Others don't attack, so there won't be shouts and noises in the castle. Everyone is quietly defending behind the city walls. There is plenty of wildfire in the castle. The torches, buckets of pitch, and buckets of wildfire that we throw can easily repel the wights. Wights are afraid of fire, and they themselves are like wildfire, igniting with a single spark, Hound."

Carter jumped ashore: "Hound, the Others won't keep attacking in the flames either. — Brothers, cheer up, let's go ashore."

"Hoo!" The brothers agreed softly and jumped ashore one after another.

The Hound silently checked the obsidian daggers and obsidian arrows he had brought. Bob had said that a large number of wights and more than a dozen Others were gathered here, so he must not be careless.

In the fishing village near Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, they had already learned the Others' ambush tactics: there were wights ambushing in the fishing boats, wights ambushing in the snow, and wights ambushing in the village. If the Hound hadn't been cautious, this team would have been wiped out.

The Hound was the last to go ashore, and Bob Norrell, who was walking in front, had already walked far away. He was agilely climbing on the increasingly difficult hillside, and soon led everyone onto a knee-deep snow path.

Carter and the brothers all knew that there was a road on the back mountain of Hardhome, but it only led to the bottom of the city wall of Hardhome, about a hundred meters away from the city wall on the cliff. There was no road on the vertical stone wall.

The Hound noticed that although the terrain of this back mountain was dangerous, the snow was very deep, and the Others and wights could easily ambush. At first glance, except for the sea behind him, everything was white. Sparse ironwood, sentinel trees, and oak trees stood straight towards the sky on the back mountain of Hardhome, pitch black, like spears piercing the night.

The foremost Bob suddenly staggered, as if he had stepped on something slippery and couldn't regain his balance. Only when Carter reached out to support him did he hear a gurgling sound in his throat. A transparent ice sword had pierced his left chest, right through his heart.

Carter was completely stunned.

No one was there, no wights or White Walkers. Abruptly, a narrow ice sword of the Others appeared in Bob's left chest.

While Carter was still in shock, a sudden force sent him flying. As he fell into the snow, he saw a semi-transparent ice spear pierce through the chest of his sworn brother. This brother had pushed him aside, taking the flying spear himself.

Carter was horrified. He heard his voice become sharp and high-pitched, like a whistle: "Attack! Attack!"

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Several short knives and embroidery needles stabbed upwards from the snow, piercing the lower abdomens of several brothers. The upward thrust avoided their armor and struck vital organs. Several brothers fell without even swinging their swords.

Suddenly, a dense clash of steel erupted. Countless black figures appeared in the silent, desolate snow, surrounding and hacking at the brothers. The sounds of clashing swords and screams rang out simultaneously, each scream marking a brother struck by a blade.

A flash of silver light came at him. Carter instinctively rolled away to dodge. With a soft thud, an ice spear pinned itself next to Carter's cheek, the flying snow blinding him. Then, he felt a simultaneous pain in his legs, abdomen, and arms. Several blades had pierced Carter's body. Carter heard his voice, shrill and distant, as if he were shouting: "Retreat! Retreat! Retreat to the ships!"

A spray of blood splattered on Carter's face, warm and fresh. It was the blood of his second-in-command, Stone Snake. Stone Snake fell beside Carter, a bloody hole in his throat gurgling with blood. His body convulsed, his eyes filled with terror. An obsidian dagger landed in front of Carter. He felt himself reach out to grab the obsidian dagger, but suddenly his wrist went cold. A sword came down, severing his left hand.

Carter heard his own scream. It was the first time he had heard his own scream. The sound was unfamiliar, confused, empty, and distant… But he was the commander of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the most ruthless pirate on the Sunset Sea. Although severely wounded, he was not yet dead. So, after the scream, Carter heard himself shout with all his might: "Run! Run, brothers! Run…" The shout ended abruptly as a blade came down, severing his neck. His head rolled away, eyes wide open…

Carter died with his eyes wide open!

…………

Walking at the back of the group was the Hound!

He was uneasy!

On the white snow, the brothers in front suddenly fell one after another, as if struck by dark magic. In the blink of an eye, many wights appeared. They were densely packed, emerging from the snow and slaughtering the unsuspecting Night's Watch men. Most of the brothers fell before they could even draw their swords. The agile brothers drew their longswords and fought with the wights, but each one faced at least three wights. A longsword striking a wight's body brought no pain; they were already dead. Even if their heads were cut off, their limbs would still move, but they would lose direction and purpose.

Warriors fell one after another. Commander Carter's shout echoed through the night sky, drowning out the sound of the tide, but it was to no avail. As if in the blink of an eye, this elite Eastwatch ranger company was completely annihilated. Carter's shout was also short and abrupt, suddenly rising and suddenly ending…

So many wights! Several White Walkers stood on high ground, their icy blue eyes gleaming. They were directing the slaughter.

The Hound turned and ran!

He carried a longsword, an obsidian dagger, a bow, and a bag of obsidian arrows. He was well-prepared, especially with the bow and arrows. But no amount of weapons could help. The wights had launched a surprise attack in the snow, outnumbering the rangers several times over. The sudden attack caught the ranger brothers off guard. The White Walkers could also throw ice spears and ice swords, killing humans like arrows.

The Hound heard the wind whistling past his ears. He felt like he was flying. He realized he was running wildly towards the sea. Behind him, hundreds of wights were chasing him. Suddenly, the Hound abruptly turned, darting diagonally into the haunted forest. On the bows of three ships stood three White Walkers, each holding a longsword and with icy blue eyes. Each White Walker was tall and imposing, no less so than the Hound.

The three ships had already been taken over by the White Walkers. The brothers on board must have all been killed.

It wasn't the wights who seized the ships, but the White Walker generals who took action. To seize the ships, three White Walkers had appeared at once, which was shocking.

White Walkers rarely participated in combat, usually the wights charged and fought in the front.

The Hound ran wildly diagonally. The White Walkers on the ships didn't chase him. They coldly watched him, as if watching a cornered rat.

In the snow ahead, many wights suddenly stood up, one by one, slowly rising…

The Hound stopped abruptly: "Damn White Walkers!" He cursed through gritted teeth.

Black wights rose from the snow, from behind trees, from under rocks, one by one, row by row, team by team, continuously and endlessly appearing, not knowing how many there were… It was as if this entire peninsula was infested with wights.

The Hound had no way forward. Even with ten times his speed and strength, he couldn't break through this sea of wights.

Behind him, hundreds of wights were rushing towards him.

On the high ground of several protruding rocks, several White Walkers coldly watched this human. They held ice swords in their hands, ice swords were stuck in their backs, they wore frost armor, their eyes were icy blue, and they were without emotion.

The Hound looked towards the sea. Three ships gently swayed in the water. Three White Walkers stood on the bows of the ships. Behind them, more black wights appeared. They were the Night's Watch brothers responsible for guarding the ships. They still wore the Night's Watch black cloaks, but their eyes had turned into terrifying icy blue.

The Hound was trapped in a desperate situation!

He threw down his longsword, took out his bow and arrow, aimed at a White Walker on a high rock, and shot an arrow with a whoosh. The White Walker's ice spear drew a silver light, and with a light clang, knocked the arrow away. This filled the Hound's heart with despair.

On three sides, densely packed wights swarmed up. There were probably thousands or hundreds of them.

The Hound's heart turned to ashes. He threw down his bow and arrows, no longer making futile struggles. He drew the short knife from his thigh with a whoosh, aimed it at his heart, and stabbed down hard: "If I'm going to die, I'll do it myself!" The word 'I' comes from the Mountain.

Clang!

With a loud sound, the short knife broke, and the plate armor on his chest only had a small dent, remaining undamaged.

The Hound was stunned. The armor was undamaged, it had broken his sharp short knife!

"The Mountain, you've screwed me over." The Hound then remembered that this armor was a set issued to him by the army when he was a soldier in the Mountain's army, but he had never known that this armor was so fine. He was extremely skilled with the sword and had great strength. In battle, he was rarely struck in the armor, and even if he was struck, it was only a slight scratch, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

Today, in a moment of desperation to commit suicide, the armor's defense had actually broken the short knife!

The Mountain!

It's the Mountain!

It must have been the Mountain who secretly instructed the master armorer Tobho Mott to carefully forge this armor for him, and then the legion, under the guise of issuing new armor to the soldiers to replace damaged armor, had him put on the armor specially forged for him by the Mountain. If the Hound had known that the Mountain had specially asked a master armorer to forge the best armor for him, the Hound would not have wanted it, let alone worn it.

He had his own pride!

A wight arrived and slashed down hard with a sword. The Hound instinctively sidestepped. As he rolled, he grabbed the longsword on the ground, knelt on one knee, and slashed horizontally, cutting off the wight's legs. Most of the wights had crawled out of their graves, and their bodies were already decaying. A small number of fresh wights had also been killed in battles with wights, and their bodies had many serious injuries. This would reduce the defensive capabilities of their bodies.

Behind him, two wights pounced, stabbing at the kneeling Hound with their swords. The Hound didn't parry, but spun and slashed, cutting the two wights in half at the same time as he dodged. This display of power astonished the Hound himself. When had he become so strong? Only the Mountain could effortlessly kill two people with one strike.

More wights pounced. Their swordsmanship was mediocre and full of defensive loopholes, but they had the advantage in numbers. Clang, clang, clang, the Hound was struck several times by swords, but they only left small scratches on the armor. The wights were fearless and felt no pain, but their strength was also limited.

The Hound cursed the Mountain loudly, wielding his longsword like a whirlwind. He no longer had time to think about suicide. The Hound fought and retreated, like an angry wolf. As long as the swords weren't aimed at his vulnerable spots, he ignored them. Whenever a sword struck his armor, his longsword would whirl like a silver light, and the wight's head would fly off.

To kill a wight, the first way was fire, and the second was to cut off its head.

There were too many wights, densely packed. The Hound couldn't free up a hand to light a fire. He gripped his sword with both hands, wielding the two-handed sword like a whirlwind of lightning. The wights fell one after another, unable to trap this vicious dog. The Hound broke through the encirclement and rushed towards the three ships.

His armor finally couldn't withstand so many strikes and began to show gaps and deep scratches. This armor, carefully crafted by a master, had withstood hundreds of slashes and was nearing the point of damage and collapse. Despite this, the armor still provided the Hound with powerful protection.

The Hound's physical strength was also nearing the point of collapse. On the verge of physical and mental exhaustion, the Hound once again thought of the Mountain. If it were the Mountain, he would definitely be able to kill several times more wights, and he would definitely be able to kill several White Walkers as well.

The Mountain!

The Mountain!

The Mountain!

If there was a next life, the Hound vowed never to be his brother again!

*

On the bow of the ship, the three White Walkers stood motionless, coldly watching this human who had broken through layers of wights and ran wildly towards them.

This human was very strong, having killed and knocked down hundreds of wights, breaking through the heavy encirclement. Every time they saw him being submerged by the tide of wights, he would always reappear after a while, like a reef in the sea. Once the tide receded, the reef was still there.

The strongest human, killing him would make him the strongest wight.

A strange syllable sounded on the bow of the ship. It was one of the White Walkers on the bow who had made a unique sound. The entire coast, countless wights suddenly became completely silent. They stood still, unmoving, as if carved from wood. Only their icy blue eyes still shone brightly, making them terrifying.

The Hound also stopped. He looked at the densely packed wights who had suddenly stopped moving, looked at the White Walkers on the high rocks, and looked at the three White Walkers on the bow of the ship. The one in the center was taller, holding an ice spear, carrying an ice sword on his back, wearing frost armor, and his face was also made of frost, full of wrinkles, each wrinkle formed by frozen frost. This White Walker was likely the leader of the White Walkers.

The Hound realized that this White Walker wanted to fight him!

This made the Hound feel incredulous!

Was the White Walker's former self a human? His choice resembled the ancient way of humans: a duel!

There were rumors that the White Walker's king was the Night King, and that the Night King came from a Night's Watchman from the Wall.

Did these intelligent White Walkers also come from humans?!

The Hound strode towards the dock, twirling the longsword in his hand.

The White Walker threw the spear in his hand to his companion. He slowly drew the ice sword from his back, staring fixedly at the Hound.

The Hound walked faster and faster. As he walked, he used his left hand to draw the sharp obsidian dagger and cut the buckle of the armor. After throwing away the dozens of pounds of armor, his body felt so light. Finally, the Hound ran wildly, obsidian dagger in his left hand, longsword in his right hand, heading straight for the White Walker leader who had drawn the ice sword on the bow of the ship.

The White Walker didn't move, the ice sword hanging down, silver light flowing on the sword. This thin sword was very narrow and transparent, looking like it would break with a light touch, but it was harder than ordinary steel.

"Damn it, you want to turn me into a wight? I'll turn you into ice shavings first." The Hound cursed viciously, looked at the approaching bow of the ship, and with a whoosh, the obsidian dagger in the Hound's hand shot out, heading straight for the White Walker's face. The White Walker sidestepped, struck with his longsword, and with a clang, sparks flew out. The obsidian dagger was knocked away.

Whoosh!

A longsword was subsequently shot through the air. The Hound then threw the longsword in his hand!

The last all-out throw of his life!

The longsword broke through the air, making a whistling sound!

The White Walker was forced to take a big step back, dodging the longsword, but was also forced to retreat from the bow of the ship.

The Hound's speed didn't decrease. He took a deep breath, suddenly turned, and with a pounce, and with a loud splash, he jumped into the sea. The icy cold water suddenly engulfed him. The cold water felt like thousands of steel needles piercing his body, but he didn't care at all.

The White Walker stood on the bow of the ship, watching the Hound emerge from the water in the distance, and quickly drift away with the current. In the night sky, the Hound's laughter came: "Damn White Walkers, you wanted to turn me into a wight, but you fell for my trick. Haha, hahahaha, hahahaha…" The sound instantly reached a great distance.

The current was too fast!

The sea was turbulent and cold. Before losing consciousness, the Hound struggled to go into the rapids. As long as the corpse was washed away, the sea was vast, and even the White Walker King couldn't turn him into a wight.

*

One day later,

The coastline was as calm as ever, as if nothing had happened. White snow covered Storrold's Point.

In Hardhome, countless wights stood densely packed. Among the foremost ranks, one group of wights consisted of former Night's Watch rangers, while another comprised free folk warriors. More common people, slain and transformed into wights, filled the ranks behind them. At the very back of the horde shambled a gigantic ice bear, several meters tall with half its head missing, an ice wolf with bloodstains on its neck and decaying jaws revealing its teeth, a dead horse with several white bones protruding from its rotting black flesh, and a shadowcat with a short arrow embedded in its left eye…

Hardhome had fallen, but the distress signal had been sent. The Others were driving the wights, waiting patiently for successive waves of human armies to arrive.

The Night King was not in Hardhome; he was atop the Fist of the First Men, arranging a spiral ritual pattern pointing towards the Lands of Always Winter. He used the bloody, dismembered limbs of humans to lay out a mysterious symbol, offering it as a sacrifice to the cold gods of the eternal winter.

With the ritual complete, the Night King stood atop the Fist of the First Men, gazing eastward. In his ice-blue eyes, he saw the second wave of warships arriving at the docks…

The Night King was not a prophet, but he possessed a degree of precognition.

*

On the shoreline of Hardhome, four warships landed, led by Ser Steale Jeremy, a centurion.

"Steale, Commander Carter's three ships are here, but why are there no brothers guarding them?" asked Hosiah, a veteran Night's Watchman with thirty years of service.

"They've gone to Hardhome, I reckon. It's so cold here, but the castle has fireplaces and hot water."

"Impossible for not a single man to stay behind."

A young Night's Watchman laughed, "Hosiah, obviously the wights don't know about this dock. Even if they did, they wouldn't care about a few ships. The brothers must have been taken into the castle. Who the hell would want to spend several nights on these ships when there's a warm hearth and hot water not far away on shore, and most importantly, women."

The brothers shared knowing laughter.

"It's supposed to be a siege, but why can't we hear the sounds of a siege?"

"Hosiah, the wight siege is on the front side of the castle, not the back. There's no one here. The Others and wights aren't coming here to admire the sea view and the white snow." Centurion Steale changed the subject. "That bastard Davos hasn't arrived yet. He's heading west. I swear to gods, when we get back, I'll let that great navigator, honorable Hand, remarkable smuggler, and all-around pirate test the sharpness of my sword."

The brothers disembarked. They looked back at the sea, but the vast ocean showed no sign of Davos Seaworth's fleet.

"Steale, send out scouts to check on Hardhome," Hosiah said.

"Aye, we're all scouts!" Steale laughed. "Hosiah, the older you get, the less courage you have. It's daytime, and this coastline is wide open. There are no Others. We're Night's Watchmen; Night's Watchmen fear nothing!" Steale sang the last two sentences.

The brothers laughed easily.

Hosiah said, "Steale, I request to stay and guard the ships. The Commander's ships are here too; we need at least two brothers watching them."

"Alright, which coward wants to stay behind?" Steale roared with laughter.

"I'm not a coward, but I'll stay and watch the ships," said an elderly ranger. His forehead was covered in wrinkles. This ranger was called Cyril, and he had been stationed at the Wall for over forty-five years.

"Alright, Hosiah and Cyril, you two watch the ships. After we get into the castle, if any women want to come to the ships, I'll arrange it. You two want women, right?"

"And roasted meat, bread, and honey," Hosiah added, "As for women, no more than a silver stag, the younger the better."

"Then I'll find you a wildling virgin," Steale laughed.

The brothers laughed again.

The weather was fair, the sun was shining, and the sea was calm, but this place was close to the River Thenn's estuary, near the edge of the Lands of Always Winter, and the temperature was dropping sharply. The further north, the colder it became. Beyond the Thenn, everything froze, and breath turned to frost.

Steale led the way. He had secretly smuggled goods with Commander Carter to Hardhome several times. Well, secretly was a lie. It was an open secret. The brothers at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea all knew the Commander was personally involved in smuggling. The team was familiar with the road to Hardhome. After passing the back of the mountain and entering the side of Hardhome, they would need to be more careful.

Hosiah and Cyril stood on the bow, watching the group ascend the hillside. Then, they saw several brothers inexplicably fall, collapsing in the snow. More brothers fell, screaming. Suddenly, many black dots appeared in the snow. They were wights, one after another, emerging from the snow right beside the Night's Watch brothers, under their feet, all around them. Swords, clubs, spears, and axes fell. Most of the brothers were cut down before they could even draw their weapons. More wights appeared, hacking madly from atop the high rocks, and the snow was stained red with blood.

An Other appeared on a high rock.

Hosiah and Cyril stared in disbelief.

In the sunlight, in the gentle sea breeze, the brothers were slaughtered by countless wights that had crawled out of the ground…

"Go!" Hosiah said, but suddenly felt a chill in his back. A sharp, icy object pierced through his body, and a translucent, extremely thin sword tip protruded from his chest. Hosiah was horrified and incredulous. He looked at Cyril, and a sword tip also protruded from the old man's chest. The old man's eyes widened, and he looked down at the ice sword in front of him, his eyes full of terror.

In the distance, the shadows of Davos's warships appeared on the horizon, including large warships capable of carrying hundreds of people.