Hearing the teeth-grinding sound that even the howling north wind could not suppress, Dany shrugged. "My words may sound harsh, but they are words of gold.
If even I am not confident I can kill the White Walker King, then all you can do is add thirty more wight dragons and thirty wight wyvern riders to his ranks, which is completely useless."
"We're flying in the air. As long as we stay above 400 meters, even dragon-scorpions can't hit a single scale on a wyvern. Against the White Walker King, we cannot lose!" a knight beside Second Stag shouted loudly.
Mm. After Second Stag fell to the ground, several knights immediately rushed over to protect him.
"I don't talk to reserve wights," Dany waved her hand. "Carry on with your foolishness. I'm leaving."
"Reserve wights!" That knight beside Second Stag mimicked his leader, glaring furiously and grinding his teeth. "Don't look down on us. We are—"
Black's wings suddenly beat hard, and the violent air current knocked the knight staggering. Whatever he was about to say was cut off.
Dany truly had no interest in trading words with a nobody.
"Skree—" The black dragon swept up a veil-like curtain of snow from the ground, leapt into the sky, and flew west toward Castle Black.
If she had encountered Second Stag elsewhere, Dany might have taken the opportunity to retaliate.
She had not forgotten that not long ago he had burned her fake nephew and had even thrown a Valyrian steel dagger at her once.
But once the Wall collapsed, Second Stag rushed over in a panic to provide aid, whether he was fulfilling the duty of the legitimate king of the Seven Kingdoms or had been brainwashed by the Red Priestess into believing that with a single red sword he could resolve the White Walker King as foretold in prophecy.
At least his actions could be considered responsible and dutiful.
Mm. Just like Dany herself at this moment. Hadn't she rushed over immediately after receiving the news as well?
Along the more than one hundred kilometers to Castle Black, the integrity of the Wall grew better and better. Although the surface ice layer was cracked with gaps large enough to bury Second Stag, it had not fallen away. The rock structure within the Wall remained solid.
They passed several Night's Watch castles in succession. All were empty, but on the walkway atop the Wall there were large numbers of migrants.
The Night's Watch from each castle was heading toward Castle Black along the Wall.
Dany did not linger and flew straight for Castle Black.
"Woooo—"
"The Dragon Queen is here!"
"Queen Daenerys has come to save the Wall!"
Castle Black was unexpectedly lively, even brightly lit, filled with the sound of voices and excitement.
From the outer walls on the ground, to the towers in the courtyard, and all the way up to the top of the Wall, large areas were lit with oil lamps and torches, with black-clad figures standing beneath the flames.
Not only members of the Night's Watch were present, but also many northern civilians and flamboyantly dressed women.
After Black circled half a round above the castle, he was spotted by the Night's Watch. Horns were blown, and the entire castle plunged into an atmosphere of frenzy and joy.
It was as if they had been holding their breath underwater to the point of suffocation, finally grasped a life-saving rope, and surfaced to gulp down air.
People poured out from the castle, the tunnels, the stables, and the watchtowers, all rushing forward.
The Wall north of Castle Black was also covered in cracks, with traces of massive slabs of thick ice having fallen.
Dany had Little White land on the Wall to watch the surroundings, while Black carried her down onto the outer wall.
Mm. The very wall she had once ordered giants and wildling captives to build, forming a semicircle around the Castle Black complex.
"Your Majesty, you've finally arrived!" Commander Eddison's eyes were red, and he was so emotional that he looked on the verge of tears.
Those who came with him to welcome the Dragon Queen included one-armed Donal, red-nosed Perestan, Bowen Marsh with a head like a red pomegranate, and more than twenty noble knights of various ages.
Sir Eddison, now over fifty, looked even older than the last time they met. His body was still lean and sturdy, but his once thick black-and-white hair had turned completely white and thinned significantly.
"Have the White Walkers attacked you?" After exchanging a few words with the senior officers of the Night's Watch, Dany asked directly.
The moment the question left her mouth, she already knew the answer. The face of the Wall was covered with the filth of battle, bloodstains, the stench of burned corpses, and the black scorch marks of burning oil.
"Fortunately, you helped us build this wall," Eddison said, patting the battlements with a complicated expression. "Last night, the wights surged in like a tide. Without this wall, Castle Black would probably have fallen in a single wave, just like the other castles."
Now promoted to ranger captain, Gren grinned broadly. "And the dragonglass blades, those wooden dragonglass knives that look like oars, are incredibly effective. One horizontal swing clears out a whole swath. They're perfect for defending a city.
I alone killed nearly fifty wights. If swinging the dragonglass blade weren't so exhausting, I could have killed even more.
Those dead things have no weapons and no armor. They're actually not that hard to deal with, just like scarecrows waiting to be harvested."
Perestan said regretfully, "If the Wall hadn't collapsed, and all fifteen thousand members of the Night's Watch were equipped with dragonglass blades, the White Walkers would never have been able to step even half a pace into the North."
Bowen Marsh glanced around and said, "The Wall isn't a place for conversation. Let's go to the hall."
The main hall of Castle Black served both as a meeting chamber and as the Night's Watch's dining hall.
In past years, due to limited manpower, the Night's Watch lacked the energy to clear the ten-meter-thick snow in the courtyard. They would abandon the surface buildings and retreat underground into the tunnels to wait out the winter.
But this winter, everyone knew the Long Night was approaching. All were on guard against the White Walkers. To enable rapid deployment and daily training, the courtyard snow was cleared every day, and the above-ground buildings were not abandoned.
In fact, they could not abandon it either, because the number of the Night's Watch was now more than ten times that of previous years, and the worm tunnels could not accommodate so many people.
"We are not afraid of ordinary wights. Night's Watchmen wielding dragonglass weapons deal with wights as easily as fully armored knights cutting down peasant soldiers holding hoes.
But hidden among the wights are the Others. When the Others deal with the Night's Watch, it is just as easy as knights slaughtering peasants.
If Stannis had not arrived in time, Black Castle would likely have suffered catastrophic casualties," said Ser Alliser with a complicated expression.
"He personally fought the Others?" Dany asked in surprise.
"No, but he has thirty winged dragons that can drop wildfire bombs and fire oil bombs."
After that, the Night's Watchmen spoke one after another, describing from every angle the battle against the Others from midnight last night until noon today.
More than fifty thousand wights besieged Black Castle, with at least ten Others hidden among them.
Truly, the dead surged like a tide, endless and boundless.
However, Black Castle is the headquarters of the Night's Watch, with over three thousand Watch soldiers stationed there, including more than two hundred knights.
If it had been fifty thousand zombies, the Night's Watch would certainly have collapsed. But wights are not zombies. Being scratched or bitten by a wight is no different from being scratched or bitten by an ordinary mad human.
Well, wights do not carry any virus.
If the Night's Watch had not possessed dragonglass weapons, ordinary blades would have been useless, and the wights would still be leaping about alive. Black Castle would have fallen long ago.
But the Night's Watch had prepared for the coming of the Others for one or two years. At the very least, each man carried a dragon-tooth dagger or a dragonglass spear. Cutting down a wight with a single strike felt even more satisfying than a knight hacking at a farmer with a regular sword.
Therefore, even with sneak attacks from the Others throwing ice swords, the Night's Watch held their lines steady and relied on the fifteen-meter-high wall to block wave after wave of wight assaults.
Then the Others personally entered the battle and began charging the wall.
In fact, before the Second Stag arrived, the Night's Watch had already taken down three Others. Or rather, those three Others attempted to cross the wall and were overwhelmed and killed by the Watch.
By the time the Watch held out until morning, the Second Stag led thirty winged dragons to reinforce the Wall. He dropped only two waves of fire oil bombs, and it was not even clear whether any Others hidden within the wight masses were destroyed.
At that point, roughly thirty-five thousand wights remained, and they all withdrew.
Dany asked in confusion, "Winged dragon bombardment may be extremely effective at clearing lesser troops, but wights do not fear death, and the Others do not fear attrition. There was no need for them to retreat so early."
"Perhaps they saw no hope of victory. They are not fools, and they would not waste their forces for nothing," said the Second Stag's uncle.
Dany glanced at the Old Green Turtle and asked, "Count Estermont, do you think the Others would lack troops?"
"Perhaps they do not lack them, but there is no need to waste them," the old man replied firmly.
Dany swept her gaze around the room and asked, "I just looked over from Eastwatch. It was completely empty, without a single Other in sight.
Do you know how many wights crossed the Wall in total? And where their main force is now?"
"We do not know. The last raven we received from Eastwatch carried a single line written in hurried handwriting: 'The Others are attacking, endless and boundless, stay on high alert.'
'Endless and boundless' is just a description. Perhaps only the King of the Others knows exactly how many dead there are.
In my view, the fifty thousand wights that besieged Black Castle last night were already endless and boundless," said Maester Pyrest with a bitter smile.
"His Majesty Stannis has taken his winged dragon riders to search for the main force of the Others. When he returns, we will know the specifics!" the Old Green Turtle said cheerfully.
"I fear you will be disappointed," Dany said, shaking her head.
Stannis did indeed return disappointed.
Three hours after Dany landed at Black Castle, the Second Stag returned to the top of the Wall with his winged dragon riders, keeping far away from Little White, as the winged dragons dared not approach it.
"I went to Eastwatch and did not find the King of the Others," said the Second Stag in the main hall of Black Castle, glancing sideways at Dany, "unless Daenerys herself is the King of the Others."
At the head of the hall stood a long table, with Dany and the two kings standing side by side and seated together.
However, the Dragon Queen possessed true dragons, and her reputation, power, and prestige at the Wall all surpassed those of the Second Stag. As a result, the overall commander placed her seat at the very center, with the Second Stag seated to her right.
The others were arranged according to rank, from near to far, forming four rows.
Before Dany could speak, Commander Alliser, a loyal retainer of House Dragon, erupted in anger. "Your Majesty Stannis, the Others have already crossed the Wall, and the Seven Kingdoms stand on the brink of destruction. What is the point of still playing these schemes and power games?"
"Yes, we should now firmly uphold Her Majesty Daenerys's 'United Front Against the Others'!" Red Pomegranate added.
A red-eyed black raven flew in silently and landed at a skylight near the roof. No one noticed it except Dany.
"She really is burning the Wall!" the Second Stag said with a livid expression.
Even the Second Stag's uncle could not stand it anymore and advised him, "Your Majesty, the Dragon Queen is testing the magical arrays within the Wall. You do not understand magic, so you may not realize this."
The Second Stag glared at the Old Green Turtle. "I do not understand it. Do you?"
The Old Green Turtle nodded. "The Dragon Queen demonstrated it for us. A dragon's magic can repair the cracks in the Wall."
"We all saw it. Her Majesty Daenerys can indeed activate the spell arrays within the Wall," the knights and lords said, nodding one after another.
Well, before the Second Stag returned, Dany had already cleared herself of the 'crime' of burning the Wall.
Glancing at the Second Stag, who was once again glaring and grinding his teeth, Dany asked, "Earlier, fifty thousand wights besieged Black Castle, and more than thirty thousand withdrew at noon today. With your thirty winged dragons, did you really fail to track the retreating Others back to their main force?"
(End of Chapter)
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