"Why are you sighing?"
Ygritte's voice was extremely low, like a kitten's paw scratching the tip of one's heart, carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Afraid I'll drain you dry and you won't be able to lift your sword tomorrow?"
Lynn opened his eyes. By the faint firelight of the fireplace, he saw her eyes shining astonishingly bright in the darkness.
"I'm afraid if you keep shoving, you'll push Arya off the bed."
"If Arya wakes up after falling and finds you here, do you think you'll be in trouble?"
Lynn said grumpily, pulling the blanket further toward the soundly sleeping Arya.
"Hmph, stingy."
Ygritte pouted, but honestly moved toward her side, leaving a small gap in the middle.
Silence returned to the room, leaving only the occasional faint crackle of charcoal in the fireplace and Arya's steady, deep breathing.
This tranquility did not last long.
Lynn felt Ygritte turn over beside him, facing him.
"Lynn."
"Hmm?"
"Tell me... do people die in war?"
This question, coming from the fearless Ygritte, surprised Lynn somewhat.
He turned his head and saw that her eyes lacked their usual playfulness and boldness, instead holding a mixture of confusion and fear.
This was the first time Lynn had seen such an expression on Ygritte's face.
"Of course they do."
"There's no war without casualties."
Lynn answered truthfully.
"Oh."
Ygritte fell silent.
She buried her face in the soft pillow, her voice muffled as it reached him.
"Before, I wasn't afraid of dying."
"Beyond The Wall, anyone who lives to my age is tough."
"If you go to sleep today, you don't know if you'll see the sun tomorrow."
"If you die, you die. Rotting in the snow, being eaten by beasts, that's just returning to nature."
"But now..."
Her voice carried a subtle tremble.
"I'm a little afraid now."
"I'm afraid if I die, I'll never see you again."
Lynn's heart felt as if it had been lightly struck by something.
He knew Ygritte's nature—like an eternal flame.
Passionate, direct, never concealing her loves or hates.
Now, she could even pick up a bow and arrow and shoot any enemy for him.
Yet, this very woman was now revealing her softest and most vulnerable side before him.
Because she had someone she cared about, she gained a weakness.
Because she had tasted warmth, she began to fear eternal cold.
Lynn reached out and gently held Ygritte's hand.
Her palm was slightly rough, bearing the calluses left by years of drawing a bow, but now it felt cold.
"You won't die."
Lynn's voice was soft, yet filled with undeniable certainty.
"I won't let you die."
Ygritte raised her head.
In the darkness, her eyes seemed slightly red.
"What guarantee do you have? Swords and blades have no eyes on the battlefield. Can you really protect me every moment?"
"I can."
Lynn sat up, taking care not to disturb the sleeping Arya.
He looked at Ygritte, his gaze becoming focused and mysterious.
"Give me your hand."
Ygritte didn't understand why, but she handed her hand over anyway.
Lynn held her wrist, and an extremely cold, strange energy slowly passed from his palm.
"Mmm!"
Ygritte let out a soft moan that stirred the imagination.
She subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but Lynn held onto her tightly.
"Don't move. Trust me."
Lynn's voice seemed to carry magic, instantly calming Ygritte's restless heart.
She gritted her teeth, allowing Lynn's Ice Magic to surge through her body.
She could clearly feel that the power wasn't harming her body; instead, it was like countless tiny tentacles, gently wrapping around every organ and every inch of her bones.
Finally, it settled deep within her heart, merging with her heartbeat.
The entire process only lasted about ten seconds.
When Lynn let go, Ygritte not only felt no weakness but felt an unprecedented surge of power filling her body.
"This... what is this?"
Ygritte gasped, looking at her hands in astonishment.
"A safety measure."
Lynn answered with a smile.
"I injected a portion of the magic into your body."
"Normally, it will lie dormant and won't affect you at all."
"But when you encounter a lethal danger,"
A smile curled at Lynn's lips.
"It will automatically activate, forming an indestructible armor of chilling ice on your body surface."
"It can't save you a hundred times, but saving you once or twice is enough."
"When it's used up, hurry back and find me to replenish it."
Ygritte stared blankly at Lynn, speechless for a moment.
She reached out and gently stroked Lynn's slightly pale cheek.
This man always managed to give her the deepest emotional impact in the most unexpected ways.
Lynn smiled, turned, and looked at the peacefully sleeping Arya.
He repeated the process, injecting another surge of Frost Power, more gently and carefully, into Arya's body.
He certainly didn't want Arya to suddenly wake up and discover Ygritte was also in the room!
Arya seemed to sense something in her sleep.
She wrinkled her delicate brow, turned over, and mumbled something indistinctly.
"Lynn... bastard..."
"Not there."
"Zang..."
Lynn:?
What "zang"?
What strange things was she dreaming about!
Lynn chuckled, kissing her smooth forehead lightly.
Only after finishing all that did he lie back down and let out a long sigh.
This move was something he had just developed from the abilities of Ice Magic. It seemed the uses of Ice Magic were far greater than he had imagined.
However, the consumption was not insignificant.
This ability was too abnormal.
But it was worth it.
His weakness was his women.
Now, he had fewer worries.
Silence returned to the room once more.
But this time, Ygritte's heart could no longer be calm.
She lay on her side, her eyes fiercely fixed on Lynn in the darkness.
She looked at his slightly tired profile, and his lips that had turned pale because of her.
An irresistible impulse surged up from the deepest part of her heart.
She wanted him.
Now, immediately, right away.
She wanted to use her most passionate way to respond to everything this man had given her.
Ygritte bit her lip, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes.
Like a flexible beautiful snake, she silently slipped deep into the blanket.
Lynn was closing his eyes to rest and recover his energy when he suddenly felt a wriggling movement beneath the blanket.
Lynn's body instantly stiffened.
He abruptly opened his eyes and looked beside him.
Arya was still soundly asleep, her breathing steady.
But the blanket was piled up like a small hill.
"You..."
Just as Lynn was about to speak, his mouth was covered by a small hand reaching out from under the blanket.
Ygritte's voice, muffled from inside the blanket and carrying a suppressed laugh and indistinct nasal sound, reached him.
"Shh... Don't talk, and don't move."
"Your wife is asleep."
"You don't want your dear wife to find out, do you?"
Lynn didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This girl, her guts were too big!
Arya was sleeping right next to them!
She actually dared... However, before he could react, he completely lost control.
Lynn sucked in a cold breath, his body instinctively tensing up.
He felt like a small boat tossing and turning in a storm.
He could be swallowed at any moment by that gentle yet overwhelming giant wave.
He had to admit that Ygritte's technique was far more lethal than her archery.
She was like a hunter who knew her prey best, precisely mastering every reaction.
Sometimes gentle.
Sometimes urgent.
Sometimes wild.
Lynn could only grit his teeth, tightly gripping the bearskin blanket beneath him, desperately suppressing the low roar that was about to burst from his throat.
Thrilling.
Too damn thrilling.
On one side was the sleeping Arya, and on the other was Ygritte, doing whatever she pleased hidden beneath the blanket.
This tension of walking the line of discovery, mixed with the extreme pleasure surging through his body, made Lynn's mind go blank.
Just as things were escalating.
Arya suddenly moved beside him.
"Mmm..."
She let out a lazy nasal sound, rolled over, and restlessly draped one leg across Lynn.
Her leg happened to press down on that "small hill."
Lynn's body instantly froze, as if struck by lightning, unable to move.
Ygritte inside the blanket also stopped abruptly.
The whole world, including the world inside the blanket, seemed to have hit the pause button at that moment.
Arya seemed to sense that something was wrong.
Frowning, she groggily opened her eyes.
"Lynn... did you hear a noise..."
Her voice was thick with sleep, and her eyes hadn't fully focused yet.
"What noise? You must have misheard."
Lynn's heart nearly leaped out of his throat.
He dared not move, even forgetting to breathe.
"Lynn, your blanket... what's wrong... why is it so high?"
Arya blinked, seemingly trying to see more clearly.
"Arya, you're mistaken. My leg is a bit sore, I'm just propping it up to relax. Go back to sleep."
"Rest well. We have to travel tomorrow, Winterfell isn't close to here."
"Be good, listen to me."
Heavy sleepiness returned, and Arya merely mumbled vaguely.
"Alright..."
Then she snuggled her head into Lynn's arms and fell soundly back to sleep.
Phew... Lynn let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if he had just been pulled out of water; his back was drenched.
Ygritte inside the blanket also seemed to sigh in relief.
Immediately after, Ygritte... A long time later, all was calm.
Ygritte, like a cat that had stolen fish, crawled out from under the blanket contentedly, a hint of flush still on her face.
She glanced at Arya, sleeping like a little pig, then looked at Lynn, who was sprawled on the bed with slightly unfocused eyes, and flashed the smug smile of a victor.
"Lynn, your little body isn't up to par, are you already done after just a few moves?"
Lynn clenched his fist.
Forget it. This time... it was just poor form... Moreover, with Arya right beside them, it wasn't appropriate to physically discipline Ygritte.
Ygritte chuckled softly, didn't linger any longer, silently climbed out of bed, got dressed, pushed open the door, and vanished into the darkness.
Lynn lay on the bed, savoring the two distinct yet equally intoxicating scents beside him, and the feeling of complete exhaustion deep within his body, displaying a helpless yet satisfied wry smile.
The war hasn't even started yet.
His body was about to be hollowed out by this lethal Ygritte.
Never mind, just consider it pre-war release... The next day, just as the sky was faintly brightening.
The mournful sound of horns echoed throughout the Gift.
Thirty thousand Elite Wildlings, fully armed, had assembled and were waiting for orders.
The fifteen-meter-tall Frost Giant stood like a silent Demon God at the very front of the formation, silently proclaiming the terror of this army.
Lynn rode upon Winter's back, with Arya sitting behind him, clutching his waist tightly.
He glanced at the black torrent of steel below, and then at the morning sun about to burst forth in the east.
"Move out!"
At his command, Winter let out an earth-shattering Dragon Roar and was the first to soar into the sky.
On the ground, the thirty thousand strong army began to move slowly.
Meanwhile, in the distant Land of Always Winter, the Night King slowly raised his head and looked towards The Wall in the south.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn luffy1898