People discovered that these ghostly things staring with blue eyes in the dark, even after having their heads cut off, could still grab weapons and kill others.
Even fingers chopped off from their bodies could writhe on the ground, searching for the flesh and blood of the living nearby.
Only when they were completely hacked into pieces did they seem able to truly die.
Only when they were utterly destroyed did the trace of blue in their eyes finally disappear.
Yet even such a discovery cost more than a dozen lives before it was realized.
"Burn it! Burn it! Burn it!"
At some unknown moment, a shrill, piercing shout rang out, echoing across the battlefield of slaughter.
In the darkness of night, no one cared where the voice had come from; people simply followed any suggestion by instinct.
Hearing this, in the chaos someone knocked over a bonfire used for lighting and kicked the burning coals toward the monsters.
One unlucky corpse-ghost happened to be struck by the scattered embers.
The instant the flames touched the creature, its clothing ignited.
From the wounds on its body—where the blood had already congealed—lines of black liquid flowed out in a grotesque manner.
Then, as if it were extremely flammable fire oil, the moment sparks touched its body, it went up with a loud boom, turning into a living torch.
It was as though its flesh had turned into fire-wax, and its bones into dry kindling.
The monster, which had originally harbored extreme hatred toward the living, could no longer care about anyone else. Having become a burning torch, it knelt and ran about wildly, its limbs flailing madly as it tried to beat out the flames on its own body.
It feared the fire that could destroy it, yet the torch only burned ever more fiercely.
Seeing this, those who understood that fire was extraordinarily effective hurried toward the flames around them.
In the pitch-black night, those pairs of blue eyes all turned into moving bonfires that lit up the darkness, until they collapsed to the ground and could no longer rise.
By the time Tywin Lannister and Kevan Lannister, the two brothers, arrived, what they saw were clusters of burning torches scattered across the open ground, illuminating the terrified faces around them.
Seeing this, Tywin glanced at the longsword Longclaw in his hand, which had originally belonged to House Mormont.
After a moment's thought, he quietly put it away.
Once a solution to the problem had been found, the panic and chaos were brought under control.
Before long, everything gradually settled down.
After experiencing something so horrifying, although it was already the black hours before dawn, no one present had any desire to sleep.
Pairs of eyes, blank, helpless, and terrified, watched their injured companions wail in pain, and also watched the monsters burn down to ash.
But burning bonfires would eventually go out, darkness descended once more, and the sounds of anguished wailing still lingered in their ears.
"All those who died in the fighting are to be burned with fire. These corpses killed by corpse-ghosts will also rise again."
After making a round to ensure that these living dead had all been burned to ash, Tywin lifted his head to glance at the bright moon high in the sky, then turned and quietly gave Kevan an instruction.
He then looked toward the surrounding common soldiers who were still lost and fearful at heart, and added, "Gather the wounded and bandage them, but arrange people to patrol the night to 'ensure' safety. Take all the torches from the storehouses and make sure manpower is maintained without interruption."
Tywin placed extra emphasis on the word "ensure." Linking it with his previous sentence, Kevan naturally understood what his brother meant.
Kevan Lannister, who had also come over on patrol and heard about what had happened, nodded to indicate that he understood.
Seeing that Kevan had grasped his meaning, Tywin Lannister took a deep breath.
In the originally cold air, there lingered a strange odor.
Finding a raised platform, he stepped up onto it.
Looking at the soldiers before him, all of whom had been jolted awake from their sleep by this incident, Tywin Lannister spoke loudly, "This was an accident. What exactly happened will be explained after the investigation is completed. Until then, do not spread rumors—follow all orders and arrangements."
"Remain calm. What you are facing is not some invincible monster."
"Now everyone return to rest and settle back into your normal routine. I will have men stand watch through the night to ensure safety."
"Do not worry. We have already prepared supplies and made arrangements for what comes next. I promise you, we will not stay in this cursed place for much longer."
"We will leave immediately, then head south all the way, kill those who try to stop us, and return to the warm south."
Looking at the people present, Tywin Lannister spoke in a firm, forceful tone, his manner calm and resolute.
However, he did not say much more. After finishing these words, he stepped directly down from the platform.
At a time like this, the more one spoke, the more mistakes one made. Darkness only magnified the fear in people's hearts. Only if he, the leader, remained steady would everyone else follow and calm down.
So what he needed to do was stabilize the army's morale and prevent these men from forming groundless speculations.
As for the remaining matters, they could be dealt with gradually afterward.
After encountering something so bizarre, with many people having died, it was impossible for anyone to be without thoughts or fear.
Yet when the chaotic and noisy crowd saw that Lord Tywin remained so composed, they could only suppress the panic in their hearts and return to their respective sleeping places.
After all, whether they could still fall asleep or not, they now had to wait until dawn.
Kevan also said little. After following behind Tywin for a few steps, he prepared to go find the relevant officers to arrange what came next.
His elder brother, Tywin Lannister, had already stabilized the army's morale. Now what he needed to do was to break down and arrange every matter in detail.
However, at this moment Tywin seemed to think of something and called out to Kevan Lannister, who was about to leave.
"Have people reopen the investigation into this incident from the very beginning, and at the same time take stock of what losses we have suffered."
Tywin lowered his voice, his gaze turning toward the tall towers in the night.
"And also question those who have served in the Night's Watch for many years, to see whether they know more—especially the blind maester called Aemon."
"I will handle it personally," Kevan noted it down.
But upon hearing this, Tywin Lannister shook his head.
"No. From now on, immediately close the gates of the Wall, assign men to stand guard, and forbid anyone from entering or leaving."
"And from this moment onward, do not waste time on anything beyond the Wall. We must now concentrate our main efforts on the upcoming contact with House Umber."
"The letters we send to King's Landing and to Winterfell will certainly not have much effect. At a time like this, no one will trust news coming out of the Night's Watch."
"But as long as we settle the House Umber investigation, we will be able to buy enough time."
Hearing his words, Kevan frowned slightly, wanting to say something.
However, under Tywin's gaze, he ultimately chose to remain silent.
He would not question his brother Tywin Lannister's judgment; he knew his brother must be right.
"I understand. Everything will proceed as we discussed during the day."
Seeing that he understood his meaning, Tywin nodded. His hand instinctively moved to the bear-headed pommel at his waist, and he turned and left the place.
Kevan likewise turned to attend to his duties.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. As dawn barely broke, those who had in fact not slept all night also began to emerge from wherever they had been staying.
Under the orders of the various captains, none of them spoke about what had happened the previous night.
Yet remembering what had occurred, people still unconsciously drew closer to the flames. These blazing things that gave off an orange-yellow glow were, for the moment, the only things that could bring them a sense of safety.
As the sky gradually brightened, Tywin also stepped out of his room.
He looked weary, his eyes tinged with gloom.
Upon leaving the room, he subconsciously raised his head to look toward the nearby eaves and the more distant sky, wanting to take a breath and ease his taut nerves.
Compared with the previous days, today's sky looked even grayer.
Moisture hung thick in the air, with gloom lingering overhead.
Everything before him gave off an atmosphere that made one desperately yearn for rain—stifling and humid, heavy as though something were pressing down on the chest.
Wait...
All of a sudden, Tywin Lannister realized that something was wrong.
But this was the far north, the Wall.
Words like stifling had never had anything to do with this place.
Sensing the strangeness around him, Tywin Lannister felt a sharp jolt of alarm in his heart and could not help but knit his brows.
He raised his hand, pulled off his glove, and exposed his skin to the air.
Compared with yesterday's cold, today's weather was warm—indeed, one could even say it was too warm.
Looking at the eaves where thawing ice dripped water, Tywin's expression grew ever heavier.
Looking at the Wall within his sight, watching the solid ice melt, "tears" pouring down like springs, one could not help but wonder whether this miracle forged of ice and snow was shrinking.
"Damn it!"
"Seven Hells—"
Cursing under his breath, Tywin loosened the cord fastening his cloak at the shoulder, raised his hand, and tossed the heavy cloak to a guard at his side.
He did not understand what was happening, but he knew he could not remain in this place any longer.
The Others, vanished for eight thousand years, had appeared before men once more, and the frozen northern extremity had welcomed an eerie warmth.
All of these signs stirred unease in Tywin Lannister's heart.
If they did not leave this place soon, he could already foresee what kind of rumors would run rampant through his army.
By then, let alone making a comeback—being able to escape alive would already be the gods' mercy.
Turning his head to look toward the towering spire within Castle Black, Tywin Lannister did not hesitate and strode straight toward it.
The guards hurried to follow. As he walked, he also subconsciously loosened his collar slightly.
The strange warmth that arrived at first light was not something only Tywin could feel.
Entering the Spear Tower, Tywin said nothing, climbed the steps, and went all the way up to a room at the top of the tower that was guarded by assigned personnel.
"My lord!"
Seeing his arrival, the guard responsible immediately saluted.
"Open the door."
Tywin's expression was calm, his voice indifferent.
The soldier did not think further and hastily opened it.
As soon as he entered the room, Tywin saw Benjen Stark standing by the window, head lowered as he looked out over Castle Black.
By another open window stood a raven as well, tilting its head as it looked toward Tywin Lannister entering the room.
Hearing the door open, Benjen Stark turned to look over. When he saw that it was Tywin Lannister, a trace of gravity also appeared on his face.
He quickly asked, "I've heard about what you encountered last night. Were those things real?"
As Benjen Stark's words fell, the several people being held in this room also turned their gaze toward this lion from the Westerlands.
The disturbance the previous night had not been small, but those who had been confined had no idea what had actually happened.
At first they had thought that the northern lords had sent troops, but the chaos had not lasted long before it subsided, leaving the night with nothing but clusters of newly added burning fires.
Soon after Castle Black had returned to calm once more, Kevan Lannister arrived with men to see them, and questioned them about several matters.
Only then did these men of the Night's Watch learn the cause of the earlier chaos.
After learning what had happened, Benjen and the others did not sleep through the night either. Out of the Night's Watch's duty and vows, they could not help but be concerned about those corpses said to have risen again.
Seeing that he had not yet had time to speak before Benjen Stark was the first to question him, Tywin Lannister paused slightly, then nodded indifferently.
"Yes. It was all real, and last night one corpse-ghost even broke into my room and attempted to assassinate me."
Tywin did not conceal what had happened, since he would still need these men of the Night's Watch afterward.
After encountering such events and thinking it through over the course of a night, he had no choice but to alter his original plans.
As Tywin spoke, he walked into the room and came to Benjen Stark's side, his gaze equally grave and deep.
"Burn it!" The raven flapped its wings and shouted hoarsely at the sight of him. "Burn it! Burn it!"
Benjen took some corn from his robes and handed it to the raven that had once been the pet of the 997th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the Commander of Castle Black and supreme commander, Jeor Mormont.
Seeing the corn, the raven stopped shouting "burn it" and instead began crying, "Corn, corn."
"Was it last night?"
Hearing the raven cry out "burn it," Tywin Lannister seemed to recall something.
"What?" Benjen Stark did not know the details of what had happened the night before and asked instinctively.
Looking at the raven, Tywin's eyes shifted slightly, but he still said, "When those ghostly things attacked my soldiers last night, they found that no matter what they did, they could not kill those blue-eyed monsters."
"Until a voice from somewhere unknown guided them to use fire to destroy those corpse-ghosts."
"Afterward, the people investigating told me that someone had been shouting to use fire against them."
"It seems it was this one that saved my soldiers."
Looking at the raven lowering its head to pick up and eat the corn, Tywin Lannister's tone could not help but grow complicated.
Hearing Tywin's words, Benjen Stark could not help but show a look of surprise.
However, after hearing Tywin Lannister's statement, he paused to ponder, then chose not to pursue the matter further.
Tywin Lannister had betrayed and killed Lord Commander Jeor Mormont for his own ambition, yet his raven had saved these men.
This caused Benjen Stark, who had initially been filled with anger, to have a complicated change of heart.
Watching the raven focus on eating, Benjen Stark thought for a moment, then turned to face Tywin Lannister.
The Night's Watch's chief ranger's gaze was no longer sharp but had become serious and solemn.
"We must tell the Kingdom," Benjen Stark said, his voice grave. "Tywin Lannister, I hope you can abandon your ambition. This is a matter concerning all of humanity."
The disaster that had returned after eight thousand years, Benjen Stark knew exactly what he had to do.
His oath told him there was no other choice.
Thus, when speaking these words to Tywin, his tone unwittingly carried a trace of pleading.
They were now the last hope of the Night's Watch, and under this burden, he had to set everything else aside.
However, Tywin showed no emotion at his advice. He simply said coldly, "Do you think that even if you tell the Seven Kingdoms what happened here, they will believe you?"
"They will just think it's a lie, an excuse."
"Benjen Stark, don't tell me you're unaware of that."
Tywin's cold and calm voice echoed in the room, which had been turned into a prison, shattering their illusions.
As he spoke, Tywin Lannister turned his gaze to the other people in the room.
Among them was the now-blind old maester Aemon, and the Night's Watch's chief blacksmith, Othell Yarwyck.
The most stubborn, those who would not bow before him, were these individuals who held the firmest beliefs.
"The nobles will not believe in a story that only exists from thousands of years ago. They will think this is yet another of my crafty lies."
"So the only ones who can truly believe are me!"
"Until now, only I have truly believed this, because I have lived through it myself, and I even killed two of those corpse-ghosts with my own hands."
"So, I need you to support me!"
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---