-Chapter 219-

-Chapter 219-

-POV Samwell Tarly-

‘This is a real slaughter,’ I thought, watching from afar the destruction caused by the dragons.

I didn’t have time to think further, as we reached the first enemies.

I slashed the head of a man as I swept past him.

Without giving him more attention, once my blade was freed from his body, I went in search of another prey.

I cut the heads of my enemies one after another, at first with determination.

But as time went on, an immense emptiness settled within me: we were only killing defenseless men, fleeing to save their lives.

‘They aren’t even trying to defend themselves,’ I thought, watching some of them attempt to cross the flames by the thousands.

DRAGON ROAR

The fugitives who had miraculously made it through the flames didn’t even have time to feel a shred of relief.

A torrent of flames, unleashed by Viserion, Prince Viserys’s dragon, incinerated them on the spot.

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-POV Benjen Stark-

‘Finally,’ I thought, decapitating a wight.

“Go ahead!” I ordered the surviving legionnaires, signaling them to cut the rope that still held the trap in place.

They obeyed without delay, and as soon as the rope was pulled, a recently improved mechanism caused the scythes attached to the Wall to slightly detach and mow down most of the wights attempting to climb it.

‘Perfect. Now we just need to douse them with Greyjoy’s fire,’ I thought, signaling the Lannister soldiers, who were trying, albeit clumsily, to be useful now that they had finally grasped the gravity of the threat we were facing.

“It’s ready; we can light the fire,” I said after a moment, signaling them to step back.

‘The last thing we need is for them to blow us up along with their barrels,’ I thought, accepting a bow from a soldier, lighting an arrow, and aiming downward.

‘Let’s hope this calms them down for the night,’ I thought as I released the arrow.

BOOOOOOOUM

An intense green glow spread, illuminating the dark night and revealing the enemy forces.

I was surprised to see that, unlike the last time, the army of the dead had grown in size by tens, stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions.

‘What the hell is this?’ I thought, unable to comprehend how this was possible.

After a few moments of reflection, I concluded that the enemy must have recalled all their troops to focus on a single point.

But one question still lingered in my mind…

‘Why now?’ I wondered, perplexed by this strategic movement, for just as they did, I could recall my men to defend…

CR…

I turned my eyes away as I felt the ice cracking beneath my feet, and what I saw froze my blood. I instantly understood what was about to happen.

“RUN!” I shouted, running with all my strength as I felt a part of the Wall begin to tremble.

RUMBLING NOISES

CRAAAACK

The moment I felt the Wall beneath my feet give way, I took as much momentum as I could and jumped just in time.

Below me, everything collapsed, but I managed to grab hold of a part of the Wall that was still stable.

“AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The screams of my men falling into the void chilled me to the bone, and it wasn’t until a few seconds later that I dared to glance behind me to observe the damage caused by the collapse.

‘How did they manage to create a breach in the Wall?’ I wondered, watching pieces of ice still crashing onto the barracks at its base.

‘No one could have survived that,’ I thought, silently praying that Robb and Ned, stationed further away, had not succumbed to the collapse.

‘It’s over. We’ve lost,’ I thought, looking down at the army of the dead, letting out piercing shrieks.

‘They’ve won. The Wall has fallen,’ I told myself, on the verge of giving up and letting go of the Wall to die.

‘I’m exhausted.’

“Lord Benjen!”

I raised an eyebrow, seeing young Lancel Lannister reaching out his hand to me.

After a moment of hesitation, I bit my cheek to regain my composure.

‘I must warn Aegon of the situation and organize the defense of the North. Not everything is lost,’ I thought, mustering all my strength to grab the young Lannister’s hand.

“Aaaaaah!” he screamed as he pulled me up with all his might, assisted by a few of his personal guards who had survived the night’s darkness.

Once I was back on the Wall, I took a few seconds to catch my breath, then immediately declared, “This is the moment.”

“The moment?” a man asked, looking down from the Wall at the army of the dead surging through the breach they had just created.

“The moment to show our strength and fight with all we’ve got. Follow me, RIGHT NOW!” I said, standing up and running straight ahead, shouting the last words to snap them out of their stupor.

‘We must reach Icemark as quickly as possible. From there, we can alert all the barracks to evacuate and retreat to Winterfell or Moat Cailin,’ I thought, without slowing down.

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-POV Samwell Tarly-

I walked through the smoking camp, silent, contemplating the countless bodies strewn as far as the eye could see.

I couldn’t truly rejoice in such a victory, as more than half of the enemy fighters had been forced into battle.

‘More than half of the slavers’ forces were slave-soldiers,’ I thought before hearing a faint voice rise from a pile of still-smoking corpses.

“Aa… a… aaa…” groaned a man, entirely burned beyond any hope of recovery.

I closed my eyes for a moment before drawing my new Valyrian steel sword and piercing the man’s head, ending his slow agony.

“We did what was necessary,” said Jonothor, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“I know… I just never want to have to do this again.”

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-POV MC-

“The admiral wishes to speak with you,” said a legionnaire, opening the door.

I nodded, motioning for him to let Aegor in.

A few moments later, the admiral appeared, entered, and saluted me before speaking, placing both hands behind his back:

“Your Majesty, my men are ready and await your orders.”

‘Always so impatient,’ I thought, not yet ready to grant him what he wanted from me.

“I know,” I said, pausing briefly before adding, “But we need to wait for the rest of our forces.”

“May I ask why?” he ventured, seemingly understanding the importance of respect this time.

‘He’s come a long way since the Summer Isles,’ I thought, adding internally, ‘Even if he didn’t have much to do there, considering I handled nearly everything myself.’

“I don’t want any surprises. We must leave them no chance,” I said, rising to walk toward the balcony, concealing the real reason for my hesitation.

‘Using so much magic in such a short period is exhausting,’ I admitted silently.

‘If it were up to me, I would have been in Pentos tonight. But I’ve pushed my body to its physical and, more importantly, magical limits,’ I thought, feeling my reserves slowly replenish.

‘I simply couldn’t join this battle myself. Otherwise, I might have passed out,’ I mused, frustrated by the realization that, despite years of feeling superior to everyone, I remained human—mortal like all the others, just with more power.

‘It would have been the dream of so many to see me collapse from exhaustion, revealing a weakness they could exploit,’ I thought, knowing that while I maintained certain defenses even while asleep, unconsciousness would leave me entirely vulnerable.

‘Even if no one seeks to take advantage of it, I refuse to put myself in such a position,’ I concluded.

“With you, they don’t stand a chance anyway,” Aegor quickly interjected, his flattery blatant.

I raised an eyebrow at his obvious attempt, then replied, “I appreciate your confidence, but in a battle, so many things can go wrong.”

Aegor said nothing, though he seemed unconvinced, so I added:

“Yes, it’s a battle we’re destined to win, but I don’t enjoy seeing my soldiers die because of a mistake I made.”

His eyes widened slightly, and he responded, “I understand. I apologize for my rudeness, Your Majesty.”

“It’s nothing; you’re learning,” I said, turning my gaze toward the ocean.

After a pause, I continued, “Once we’ve gathered our forces, we’ll head for Myr. After destroying Myr, we’ll march on Volantis. Once we’ve secured Volantis, I’ll travel alone to our colonies in the East.”

“Is there bad news from Dragon Bay?” Aegor asked.

‘That’s an understatement. It seems that scoundrel Euron is still alive and causing trouble with his new alliance,’ I thought, remaining silent for a moment before replying:

“We’ve already won. The world just needs to realize it,” I said, dismissing him with a gesture to leave me alone.

‘The fight draws closer,’ I thought, turning my gaze northward, feeling a knot form deep within me.

‘I just need a little time. One month will be enough to settle everything.’

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N.A : The end of Aegon Snow is approaching, and I must admit it’s a relief for me because I’m really struggling to move on from this story.

It’s my first story, and I think, subconsciously, I’m blocking myself from truly finishing it.

It took me 10 hours to write this chapter, and honestly, I’m still surprised I managed to get it done, as at the start, I was barely managing one line every 10 minutes.

Anyway, it’s almost 7 a.m. now. I’ll post this chapter and then head to bed.