Lynn had Rodat first take fifty soldiers from the Xiaoqi Regiment down to clear out the scattered wights around the spiral staircase, opening up a temporary foothold.
Otherwise, if everyone rushed down at once, it would be far too crowded below, making combat inconvenient instead.
Very soon, faint sounds of hacking and killing echoed up from the lower hold.
Lynn waited above, anxious.
The fierce fighting beneath the staircase lasted for about half an hour.
During that time, injured soldiers were continuously helped back up onto the deck. Lynn kept stopping them, asking how the situation below was going.
It wasn't until he saw the tenth Xiaoqi Regiment soldier crawl up the stairs onto the deck that Lynn finally let out a breath of relief.
This time, the one coming up was no longer wounded.
The messenger soldier stepped onto the deck, walked up to Lynn, and saluted respectfully.
"My lord, Commander Rodat has cleared all the wights around the staircase. Over ten blue-eyed ones have been slain. The area below is temporarily safe—you may go down now."
Rodat was not lying.
Leading the remaining soldiers into the lower deck, Lynn immediately saw more than a dozen corpses lying haphazardly near the staircase. Most had their skulls smashed apart, or long gashes cut open from the abdomen.
Severed limbs and broken arms were scattered everywhere.
There were also two blue-eyed beings collapsed near the ship's portholes at the bottom, still twitching. Lamp oil had been poured over them, and the flames had charred their bodies black.
"My lord, the nearby area has been cleaned up. The rest are all inside an independent cabin ahead. The door is ajar. We can only see a mass of figures and pairs of blue eyes inside—we can't judge how many there are."
Seeing Lynn come down, Rodat hurried forward to report.
His shoulder had also been slashed open by a blue-eyed monster's sailor knife, leaving a vivid red wound. Under the torchlight, the edges of the injury already looked somewhat darkened.
The blue-eyed ones could also use weapons. Aside from their stiff movements, their fighting style wasn't much different from normal people.
The only difference was that they did not fear pain and did not bleed. Unless they suffered a fatal wound, even if they were cut down in battle, the Others could still resurrect them as wights.
Lynn nodded, his gaze following the firelight toward the independent cabin not far ahead.
He could vaguely make out several wooden bunks neatly arranged and nailed to the deck floor inside.
There were also discarded burlap bedding rolls strewn everywhere, tangled messily across the ground.
Lynn swept his eyes around and noticed scattered cargo crates at his feet.
Some of the broken wooden boxes had even spilled out wind-dried cured meat and fresh fruit.
This ship resembled a medieval sailing vessel with a two-deck structure. This lower level served as both the sailors' resting quarters and a storage area for supplies.
And the place where those blue-eyed monsters were gathered was likely the sailors' common sleeping room.
Everyone was waiting for Lynn's next command when Vayne suddenly broke the silence.
Looking at the wights lying truly dead on the ground, she said in surprise, "Why aren't these corpses wearing any clothes?"
Lynn noticed it as well. The wights that Rodat had just cut down or burned were all bare-chested.
That really didn't make sense.
When the Others resurrect corpses, it's usually not like this—unless these people had already been dressed this way before they died.
Everyone turned their gaze toward Vayne, and she immediately felt her face flush red.
Harry Kane spoke up at that moment, asking, "You seem very concerned about other people's clothing."
It was just a slip of the tongue. Vayne composed herself and said, "Yes, sir. On the seas of the North, it's impossible not to wear clothes. Even inside a stuffy ship's hold, they must wear sailors' uniforms. Otherwise, during a voyage, once the sea wind blows in, their hands and feet would freeze stiff very quickly."
Lynn cast their conversation aside and focused his gaze on the half-closed cabin door.
The wights inside were still gathered within, unmoved. The sounds of fighting outside hadn't drawn them out in the slightest.
This gave Lynn a strong sense of unease.
A cold glint flashed in Lynn's eyes. He turned his gaze and issued an order.
"Gather up the bedding on the ground. Light it with torches and throw it through that door. Drive those wights out. I want to see exactly what they're up to."
The Xiaoqi Regiment soldiers followed the order. Very quickly, the interior was lit up by firelight.
Moments later, more than a dozen dark figures rushed out through the doorway, their eyes all glowing blue.
Lynn noticed that the last wight to emerge was an abnormally tall, long-haired blue-eyed figure.
Long hair. Blue eyes…
Lynn's heart jolted. He shouted, "It's an Other! Everyone, be careful!"
All at once, everyone raised their weapons and torches, becoming fully alert.
The long-haired Other stepped out last, flames raging behind him.
His chest rose and fell as he exhaled a breath of blue frost. Raising his hand, his long, sharp fingernails extended as he pointed directly at Lynn in the middle of the crowd.
Lynn narrowed his eyes, staring at the long-haired Other. The Other stared back at him.
In the next instant, from those deep, hollow eyes—empty like Death itself—Lynn seemed to understand something.
Shua!
Lynn drew the Valyrian steel dagger from his waist and commanded, "Kill them!"
Upon receiving the order, the Xiaoqi Regiment erupted with fierce roars.
"For Lord Lynn!"
"Demacia!"
"Kill!"
The Xiaoqi Regiment infantry raised their weapons and charged forward without hesitation toward the wight cluster ahead.
Under Harry Kane's urging, the archers also lit their fire arrows and drew their bows.
The long-haired Other gripped a sharp sword in his ashen-white hand, his expression utterly indifferent. More than a dozen wights surrounded him, equally expressionless.
As the roaring Xiaoqi soldiers closed in, just a step away—
Only then did the long-haired Other open his mouth full of fangs and let out a piercing shriek.
At once, the wights around him reacted to the sound, emitting strange whimpering noises as they drew their blades and rushed toward the oncoming Xiaoqi infantry.
The clash of blades against blades, limbs against limbs, echoed throughout the ironborn ship's hold.
Fire arrows streaked through the air. Steel rang against steel.
For a moment, the scene descended into chaos.
The gathered wights were scattered by the Xiaoqi Regiment's first charge. The Xiaoqi soldiers gained the upper hand, but couldn't finish them off—several wights that had been chopped down by blades and axes quickly stood back up.
Only flaming arrows could make these wights howl in pain.
However, once the fight devolved into close-quarters melee, the Xiaoqi archers could no longer shoot accurately. They drew their swords instead and plunged into the fray.
The wights were suppressed by the Xiaoqi Regiment's superior numbers, yet Lynn's men still couldn't completely put them down.
Wave after wave of slashes fell—yet wave after wave of enemies rose again.
Everyone knew that the key lay with that ferocious-faced, blue-and-white-cloaked, long-haired Other among the wight horde.
However, several attempts by the Xiaoqi Regiment to attack the Other were all blocked by the towering, powerfully built creature, as if it possessed inexhaustible strength.
In those repeated clashes, several Xiaoqi soldiers were even lost.
Under the long-haired Other's chanting, the fallen Xiaoqi soldiers instead became new wights.
Lynn recalled a sentence.
The Others are the dead, advancing toward every person in the living world. In a certain sense, they exist—live (or die)—solely to destroy.
Lynn knew he could hesitate no longer. He had to act himself, or if this stalemate continued, something terrible would happen.
Ding!
[Troop-Explosion System Activated]
Opening the Troop-Explosion System, he spent 200 points to exchange for two Valyrian steel blades.
After the battle began, the female swordsman Vayne had stayed in front of Lynn, guarding him. When she felt Lynn's hand rest on her shoulder, she turned back in surprise, only to see Lynn handing her a sheathed weapon.
Judging by the material of the hilt alone, it was another Valyrian weapon.
Vayne was stunned.
She had no idea how Lynn had produced such a thing as if by magic.
Almost reflexively, she accepted the steel blade, momentarily dazed.
When Lynn then handed an identical blade to Rodat, Vayne was completely dumbfounded.
Lynn, however, acted as if nothing were out of the ordinary. In a low voice, he said to the two of them,
"Kill all the wights. Take down that Other. Leave its head to me—I will behead it personally!"
...
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(End Chapter)