In the heavy snow, two small sparks flashed in the darkness a thousand feet away. A second later, the sound of the explosions reached the ears of those on the wall, and the tide of wights that had suddenly surged toward the sea of fire collapsed in swathes like harvested leeks. In the end, not a single one managed to reach the wall and launch an attack.
Amid the thunderous cheers, for a brief moment, Aegor, like the ordinary soldiers, believed that this war, short in duration yet unprecedented in intensity and danger, was truly over.
...
But Melisandre's low voice quickly pulled him from his sweet illusion. "The Night King is dead, but the other White Walkers haven't vanished. Another aura, slightly weaker, suddenly appeared during that massive energy fluctuation, then quickly disappeared. Perhaps his power was absorbed by another White Walker. Use the Dragonglass Bombs quickly. Maybe we can take advantage of its weakness and destroy it before it takes shape."
The defenders immediately followed her suggestion. Amid the rumbling explosions, no new miracle occurred. The remaining wight army outside the wall, now reduced by more than half, receded into the darkness like a falling tide. Aegor even briefly considered tearing down the gate and charging out. Fortunately, the ongoing melee inside the wall quickly reminded him that things were far from over.
Putting aside his reckless ideas, Aegor ordered half of the wall defenders to remain on duty for watch and firefighting. The other half, after regrouping, rushed into the city to eliminate the enemies that had breached the defenses.
Thanks to the officer system built around Night's Watch logistics and security personnel, the well-prepared contingency plans, and the desperation of fighting with no retreat, the Gift Lands army, composed of Wildlings and Mountain Clans, demonstrated combat strength well beyond their usual capabilities. However, in the confusion, errors still occurred. Setting fires while retreating was part of the tactical plan, but many units treated this as an excuse, setting fires and withdrawing the moment they saw a wight. They relied on the dense buildings and deep layout of Crown Town's outer district to trade space for casualties. While this slightly reduced soldier casualties, it resulted in massive self-inflicted damage, even harming women and children who could not evacuate in time.
The former capital of the Gift now burned on every street. The scene resembled a city bombed by incendiaries. In such chaos, White Walker hunting squads led by skilled archers with Dragonsteel Arrows found it difficult to advance and engage. In the end, of the eight White Walkers that had entered Crown Town, only three were successfully killed. The remaining five used the confusion to break through the fire line, climb over the outer wall, and escape the death trap, even under the gaze of defenders armed with Dragonsteel Arrows, who could do nothing to stop them.
---
A great victory, but devastation everywhere.
The wights and White Walkers were either dead or had fled, leaving only a ruined battlefield for humanity to clean up.
According to initial post-battle reports, Crown Town's defenders had over seven hundred casualties, including more than ten Giants. Civilian deaths and disappearances exceeded a thousand. Alarmingly, the number of civilians burned to death by friendly fire was almost equal to those killed or injured by the wights and White Walkers. This blunder left a bitter taste. Thankfully, the industrial area, distant from the residential zone, had suffered little damage. And within the heavily fortified Crown Town Inner Keep, none of the key personnel had been seriously harmed, which was one of the few pieces of good news from the bloody battle.
Putting out fires, clearing remaining wights, and cleaning up the battlefield kept the surviving soldiers and civilians busy through the night. It wasn't until the third day, when the sun rose again through the thick clouds, that the defenders, under orders, carefully dismantled the barricades at the gates and began dealing with the tens of thousands of wight corpses scattered in the snowy mountains outside the wall—or more precisely, dead wights.
One thing made Aegor break into a cold sweat afterward. Lady Stark, who had learned a bit of swordplay and fancied herself capable, had insisted on helping to kill White Walkers before the battle. After Aegor firmly refused and locked her in the Inner Keep, she took matters into her own hands. Taking advantage of the busy comings and goings of messengers and dispatchers, and the fact that the wall's defenders were focused outward, she slipped out. She found Asha Greyjoy, whose restraints had been temporarily removed and who was left unattended, and freed her. The two, one large and one small, disguised themselves and joined the soldiers heading to the front lines, hoping to reach the wall and join the battle.
They got what they wished for. They encountered the wights that had broken into the city and were caught in a dangerous skirmish. It wasn't until the commanding officer led the group back to the Inner Keep that they realized the two had mixed into the ranks.
Fortunately, the strategy of having everyone swallow Dragonglass worked, severely limiting the White Walkers' ability to disrupt the outer city and shifting the battle's tide. Otherwise, if Asha had died, it would have been her own fault. But if anything had happened to Arya after the victory at Crown Town, Aegor would not have known how to face the Warden of the North.
As he was sternly reprimanding the reckless girl, a scout burst through the door with a report.
"Commander, reporting. The rangers have completed initial reconnaissance. Judging from the tracks in the snow, the remaining enemy numbers are between ten and twenty thousand. They are currently moving south along the Kingsroad and are already more than a dozen miles away."
"What?" Aegor suppressed his shock. "They're moving south on the Kingsroad?"
"Ha!" Arya, who had been standing quietly as she was scolded, suddenly perked up. "You won't let me do the Night's Watch's job, but if the White Walkers are heading north, you can't stop me from protecting my home!"
"Silence!" Aegor snapped, glaring at her. He turned to the guards at the door. "Take Lady Stark away. Tell the Winterfell party that since they helped defend Crown Town last night, I'll overlook this. But if they can't keep better watch over their Lady, I'll send a formal complaint to their Lord."
Arya was dragged out, still shouting. Aegor calmed himself and turned back to the messenger. "Are you certain the dead are heading south on the Kingsroad?"
"The rangers tracked them for several miles. There were no signs of them turning back or changing course before I was sent back."
...
Damn it. This is a disaster.
After such a defeat, with even their leader killed, how could the White Walkers still have the nerve to continue heading south?
By logic, a stronger force that invades and then suffers a major defeat should retreat to its home ground to regroup and plan its next move. For the White Walkers, their home lies beyond the Wall. If they planned to retreat north, either through the Great Gorge or the frozen Bay of Seals, the Night's Watch would gladly let them leave without interference.
It wasn't that Aegor wanted to let the enemy escape, but the truth was, the Night's Watch had expended nearly all their strength and courage in this battle. They had won only by relying on the walls and sheer luck. They had no capacity to intercept the enemy in the open field and block their retreat. Optimistically, once the wounded enemy retreated beyond the Wall, they wouldn't be able to return in force any time soon. Even if they did return, they would be weakened. They would no longer be the main threat but rather a lingering menace that Crown Town could use to its advantage. Aegor could use the excuse that "some White Walkers remain" to keep demanding resources and troops, expanding military readiness, and strengthening their political position.
But perhaps the surviving White Walkers, ashamed to return north in disgrace, decided to continue pressing forward like fools. They were now plunging deeper into the North.
The danger lay in the fact that the wight army had no need for supplies. They feared no ambushes, and their advance was unaffected by the usual risks of deep incursion. By pure chance, they had struck Aegor—and the entire human side—where they were weakest.
---
The Night's Watch had indeed distributed some Dragonglass weapons to the Northern lords as thanks for their support, and taught them basic usage. But these were symbolic gifts, more like charms for peace of mind than tools of war. Barely enough to equip a castle's guard, let alone provide every resident with even one to swallow. The Night's Watch contingency plans had never extended to the houses loyal to House Stark.
The North was wholly unprepared for the White Walkers. If they met the enemy head-on in panic, they would be slaughtered, turned into wights, and used to replenish the enemy's forces. If the enemy regained strength through this, how many battles would the Night's Watch have to fight again?
"Send ravens to every house in the North. Notify all lords of our battle and the key to victory. Tell them to prepare lamp oil and pitch. Most importantly, tell them to rely on their castles and wait for reinforcements." Aegor turned to the ravenmaster. "The Wall has not fallen. The enemy has used a great deal of magic. Their power must be nearly spent. As long as no one throws themselves into the fire and gives the dead more numbers, when the Queen returns with her dragons and we march south to relieve them, we will win."
"My Lord, a raven arrived from Winterfell yesterday afternoon. You were too busy organizing the city's defenses to see it. Lord Stark has already issued a general call to arms. Most of the Northern armies have assembled and are marching toward the Wall."
What? Aegor's jaw dropped. He remembered the letter. He had seen it, but hadn't read it. Yesterday, when the massive wight army surrounded Crown Town, the pressure was overwhelming. In that desperate moment, how could he spare time to care about the North?
The northern section of the Kingsroad, recently rebuilt, offered excellent mobility for both sides. Now, a human army with no Wildfire, no bombs, and barely any Dragonsteel, armed with only a handful of Dragonglass weapons, was marching straight toward the remnants of the wight army.
Would the Gift watch as the allies were annihilated and the Northern lords turned into wights? Or grit their teeth and strike first, risking everything to end it now?
Aegor quickly realized he had no real choice. Chasing the enemy was dangerous, but it offered hope. If they let the enemy rampage through the North, raising tens or even hundreds of thousands more wights before turning back, then in the end, all would be lost.
(To be continued.)