Daenerys: Life-and-Death Containment by Luring the Enemy into the Sky
Drogon's right wing still oozed dark red blood, and with each flap, it brought forth a fine mist of blood. Daenerys lay on the dragon's neck, her fingertips clutching the reins tightly – she could clearly feel the dragon's body tensing. Viserion's ice breath had just grazed Drogon's tail, and a layer of ice instantly formed on the bronze scales, only to melt into water droplets from the residual heat of the dragonflame.
"Closer, lure him higher," Daenerys leaned in close to Drogon's ear, her voice resolute. Drogon seemed to understand, suddenly ascending, deliberately exposing his injured right wing to Viserion. As expected, the Ice Dragon roared and pursued, its ice claws aiming directly for Drogon's wound. Daenerys seized the opportunity to draw the dragonglass short-blade from her waist and fiercely stabbed it into Viserion's left-wing joint – where a crack from the previous chapter's dragonflame burn still remained. The ice scales shattered with a crunch, and a pale blue cold mist seeped from the wound.
The Night King sat on the Ice Dragon's back, his ice-blue pupils finally shifting from the ground battlefield, locking onto the provoking Drogon. He raised his hand to grip an ice spear, its tip gleaming with a cold light, but he suddenly paused before throwing it – Drogon suddenly dived, dragonflame directly threatening Viserion's head, forcing the Ice Dragon to turn and dodge. The Night King's attention was completely drawn to the sky.
Daenerys's peripheral vision swept towards the Winterfell crypts; a faint orange light flashed from the tunnel exit – that was Illyrio and Arya's signal. Her heart tightened, and she patted Drogon's neck: "Hold him for a moment longer, don't let him look down!" Drogon understood, suddenly flipping over and slamming his uninjured left wing into Viserion's abdomen. The Ice Dragon let out a painful roar, losing its balance in the air, and the Night King's ice spear also flew askew towards the ground, smashing into a group of wights and scattering ice shards.
Illyrio: Tactical Card Point for Tunnel Ambush
The ice mist at the tunnel exit had not yet dispersed, and Illyrio had already pulled Arya to lie behind the ice – the Night King's ice throne was thirty paces away, with several wight corpses scattered around it. The shadow of the Ice Dragon Viserion cast a huge shadow on the ground, perfectly concealing their figures.
"When Drogon's dragonflame illuminates the ice throne, we charge," Illyrio whispered, pulling out the last jar of dragonblood fire oil from his embrace, his fingertips caressing the rim – this was the last half-jar of dragonblood Daenerys had collected when she was injured on Dragonstone, and now it was the key to breaking the deadlock. He turned to look at Arya; her valyrian steel dagger was already unsheathed, its edge gleaming coldly in the faint light, but it had chipped slightly during the previous fight against the ice guard.
"If the ice armor is too thick, stab him three inches to the left of his heart – the location of the ice core on the murals," Illyrio reached out, pressing Arya's dagger into her palm, "Don't be afraid, the dragonblood will help you corrode the ice armor." No sooner had he spoken than Drogon's roar suddenly came from high above, and an orange-red dragonflame poured down like a waterfall, illuminating the Night King's ice throne, and also illuminating the spiral runes on the ice armor on his chest – identical to the "ice core seal rune" on the tunnel murals.
"Charge!" Illyrio rushed out first, the jar of dragonblood fire oil in his hand splashing directly onto the Night King's chest. The dark red dragonblood touched the ice armor, instantly emitting a "sizzling" corrosive sound, and the ice layer cracked like a spiderweb, with a pale blue ice core faintly pulsating behind the cracks. The Night King suddenly turned, his ice claws reaching for Illyrio, but Arya lunged from the side, her dagger aimed directly at the ice core – with a crisp "clang," the dagger was repelled by the cold air on the outer layer of the ice core, and the chip on its edge widened further.
"Again!" Seeing this, Illyrio immediately pounced, using his body to block the Night King's ice claws, and his dragonglass short-blade fiercely stabbed into the crack in the ice armor, prying the ice layer wider. The Night King roared, and his other ice claw reached for Illyrio's throat, but it was splashed on the wrist by Lyra, who had suddenly arrived with dragonblood fire oil. The ice armor instantly melted, revealing the dark blue ice bone underneath.
Arya seized the opportunity, flipped up, and poured all her strength into the dagger, aiming it at the crack in the ice core and stabbing down fiercely – with a "crunch," the pale blue ice core shattered, and cold air surged from the Night King's chest like a tide. The surrounding wights instantly froze, the blue light in their eyes gradually dimming. The Night King let out a deafening scream, staggering backward, and the ice throne also disintegrated into fragments under the impact of the cold air.
Bran: The Revelation of Hidden Dangers in Greensight Warning
The weirwood in the Godswood shook violently, and Bran's Greensight was like cloth torn by a gale – he saw the ice core in the Night King's chest shatter into seven pieces, the largest of which slid down the Night King's ice claws and hid in the crevices of Viserion's scales; he saw the Ice Dragon Viserion lose control in the air, its wings flapping wildly, crashing into the walls of Winterfell, raising a shower of rubble; he also saw a hint of madness flash in the Night King's eyes, reaching out to grab a White Walker Generals beside him, transforming him into a wisp of ice mist and absorbing it into his body, and the cold air of his body instantly strengthened by several points.
"The Night King is not dead! The ice core fragments are still there!" Bran suddenly opened his eyes, blood foam mixed with ice crystals overflowing from the corner of his mouth. Lyra quickly supported his wheelchair, but found that his fingers were clenching the branches of the weirwood, his knuckles white, "He is absorbing the power of the White Walkers... Quickly tell Illyrio and the others not to pursue! The ice core fragments will revive him!"
Lyra immediately ran towards the battlefield, but saw that the Night King had mounted the out-of-control Viserion and was flying towards the Wall, followed by the remaining White Walkers and wights. Illyrio was standing on the ruins of the ice throne, looking in the direction where the Night King had departed, holding a shattered ice core fragment in his hand – the fragment gradually melted in his palm, leaving a pale blue mark, and cold air spread from his fingertips up his arm.
"Don't touch it!" Bran's voice came from behind. Illyrio immediately threw the fragment to the ground and poured dragonblood fire oil over it. The fragment made a "sizzling" sound in the fire oil, and quickly turned into a puddle of ice water, but it left a pale blue mark on the ground, like a small ice trace, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Illyrio: Initial Control of the Post-Battle Situation
The green flames of the fire oil gradually extinguished, and Illyrio stood on the ruins of the ice throne, looking in the direction where the Night King had departed – Viserion's shadow had become a tiny dot, disappearing into the northern sky. Arya walked up to him, raising the dagger in her hand, the chip on its edge particularly prominent: "We were so close to killing him completely."
"At least we severely wounded him," Illyrio patted her shoulder, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield – the Unsullied and Northern Soldiers were clearing the stagnant wights, Grey Worm was directing soldiers to burn the wight corpses with dragonglass fire oil, and Daenerys, riding Drogon, was circling high above, dragonflame occasionally sweeping over the remaining wights in the distance, ensuring no stragglers escaped.
"Bran said the ice core fragments are still there, and the Night King will revive," Illyrio turned to look at Lyra, who had arrived, "We must collect all the ice core fragments as soon as possible; we cannot give it a chance." He bent down and picked up a piece of the ice throne from the ground, finding that the Night King's cold air still lingered on it. "Also, send people to scout towards the Wall to see where the Night King's remnants went – he won't just let this go."
Arya nodded, sheathing her dagger: "I'll take a small team to scout." But Illyrio stopped her, taking out the dragonblood crystal he had found in the tunnel from his embrace: "Take this; it can sense cold air, and if you encounter an ice core fragment, it will glow red." He paused, then added, "Be careful; although the Night King is severely wounded, his White Walker Generals are still active. Don't underestimate them."
Arya took the dragonblood crystal, clenching it in her palm, and turned to run north. Illyrio looked up at the sky; Daenerys, riding Drogon, slowly descended. Drogon's right wing was still bleeding, but he gently nudged Illyrio's arm with his head. "Did we win?" Daenerys's voice carried fatigue, but her eyes gleamed faintly.
"Not yet," Illyrio shook his head, his gaze directed towards the northern sky, "But we bought ourselves time – now, it's time to prepare for his counterattack." Sunlight streamed through the clouds onto the battlefield, illuminating the scattered wight corpses and ice shards, and also illuminating the determination in both their eyes – the decisive battle at Winterfell may have temporarily concluded, but the war against the cold god and the Night King had only just begun.