-Chapter 217-

-Chapter 217-

-POV Lancel Lannister-

"DODGE, YOU IDIOT!" shouted a legionnaire, pushing me aside before driving his spear into a small ice spider.

‘A damn small spider over a meter tall,’ I thought as I stared at the monstrosity screeching in pain. Another legionnaire brutally pulled me up and shoved me forward.

"RUN!" he yelled, and I did as he said, too stunned by everything happening around me.

‘How can spiders grow to such sizes?’ I wondered, continuing to run straight ahead to keep up with the rest of the group.

‘Why did I agree to come here?’ I thought before remembering that, in reality, I had no choice.

‘Because of that bitch Cersei, I’m going to die in this godforsaken place without even…’

Distracted by the whirlwind of thoughts in my head, I reflexively plunged my sword into the belly of a spider that had appeared out of nowhere and lunged at me, hoping to take my life with it.

‘I killed one,’ I thought, only to be snapped back to reality as I felt the spider twitching, trying to bite my head off.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" I screamed, struggling to keep the spider at bay, jabbing my sword deeper into its body. But the harder I pushed, the closer it got.

As its head came within an inch of mine and I thought all hope was lost, the tip of a sword pierced through the back of the spider's skull, stopping just millimeters from my face.

‘By the Seven, I almost died this time,’ I thought, struggling to shove the spider’s lifeless body off me.

"Get up," Eddard Stark commanded, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet.

But I remained on the ground, staring at the corpse of a supernatural being I had only ever heard of in nursery tales meant to frighten children.

"This is no time for sniveling, Lancel. Your father is a man I respect. I saved you this time, but I won’t be able to do so again. Act like a man, stand up, and fight—or stay down and die. The choice is yours," he said harshly.

I nodded numbly, unable to argue and unwilling to upset him after he had just saved my life. Then I got up.

I moved to retrieve my sword from the spider’s belly, but Stark grabbed a spear from a fallen legionnaire and handed it to me.

"Don’t use your sword; it won’t kill them. This spear will do a better job."

I took the spear, and before I could say anything, he turned and ran back into the fray, forcing me to follow him.

‘I will not die here,’ I thought, chasing after him as my heart pounded violently in my chest.

---

-POV Samwell Tarly-

I watched my younger brother sobbing over our father’s corpse. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I said, "He wouldn’t want to see you shed tears."

"He’d probably want us to avenge him," Dickon muttered absentmindedly.

I nodded before replying, "But even that, he handled on his own."

Ser Rudolph had recounted our father’s final moments. Though he had been far away, he saw him charge at Vynassa Vhassar, taking her down with him.

‘First in battle,’ I thought, recalling our house’s words.

‘Words that guided his every step,’ I admitted, recognizing that, despite being a poor father, he had been an excellent Lord Tarly.

He embodied all the values of our house and had nearly succeeded in elevating our family to the ranks of the Great Houses.

‘This sacrifice might even push Aegon to grant hi… me the title of Duke,’ I thought, still struggling to grasp that he was gone forever.

"It’s time for us to get some rest. The fighting has ceased for hours now, but it’ll likely resume in the morning. We need to regain our strength," I said, placing a hand on my brother’s shoulder.

"I want to stay with him," Dickon replied, grief-stricken, his eyes never leaving our father’s body.

"Dickon…" I began softly, trying to reason with him.

Knock… Knock… Knock…

"Who is it?" I called, wondering who would disturb us at such an hour.

‘And especially at such a time,’ I thought.

"It’s me," Melisandre said from the other side of the door.

I frowned but walked over to let her in.

She was dressed as usual, in a red robe with a plunging neckline.

‘A trap for weak-willed men,’ I thought, raising an eyebrow at the priestess.

"What do you want?" I asked, my tone wary.

She smiled softly and said, "I’ve come to help."

Her tone might have sounded innocent to someone unfamiliar with her kind.

I frowned deeper and asked, "Explain yourself."

I had no patience for meaningless talk. I had other things to do.

‘Like sleeping,’ I thought, since I hadn’t closed my eyes while most of those who had fought earlier had.

She smiled again and said calmly, "I saw a dragon in the flames."

I rolled my eyes and replied, "If you came here just to irritate me, you’re succeeding. This isn’t the time for your nonsense."

She said nothing, but a hint of disdain flickered in her gaze, as if pitying my ignorance.

It irritated me further, and I moved to shut the door.

Just as I was about to close it fully, her serene voice called out, "Prince Viserys will arrive tonight to burn what’s left of the enemy camp."

I froze, frowning but saying nothing. I didn’t believe in her visions or so-called prophecies, but…

‘I’ve seen things reason can’t explain,’ I thought.

If I dismissed her words simply because they came from her "flames" and Prince Viserys did arrive, we might miss a decisive opportunity.

‘We could end the war tonight,’ I thought.

‘A total victory,’ I thought, daring to hope.

I closed my eyes for a moment to think, then reopened them.

Dickon, who had been standing by our father’s body, now waited for my command.

Without a word, he nodded, handed me Corvenin, and left the room.

Melisandre, watching Dickon leave, said, "You’ve made the right choice. The light is the only path."

"If you’ve lied, you’ll lose your head," I said coldly, refusing to engage in a pointless debate about our differing beliefs.

‘And about the human sacrifices she performed for her god,’ I thought silently.

---

-POV Benjen Stark-

"They’re here!" shouted one of my men.

I frowned and turned to see a hundred wights surrounding a White Walker.

‘That monster is the one we need to kill,’ I thought.

The White Walker, which had been indifferent until now, turned its gaze solely on me.

I could feel its focus, as though it sought me out specifically.

Pushing aside all unnecessary thoughts, I raised my voice and declared, "Listen, everyone! All we need to do is kill the White Walker. If we take it down, the blizzard will stop, and the thousands of wights scaling the Wall will fall with it."

"Understood!" shouted the men around me.

Without hesitation, I charged into the fray, cutting down the wights one by one with ease.

‘These are just puppets. The real challenge is him,’ I thought, my eyes fixed on the White Walker lurking behind its minions.

Distracted by my internal thoughts, I was thrown off balance by a wild axe swing from a wight.

I stumbled to the left, barely dodging the blow, then decapitated the wight with a clean strike, sending its head flying.

"Stay alert," said Ned, arriving at my side with his son.

I nodded and resumed my advance. Together, we quickly cut down most of the wights.

As we neared the White Walker, it conjured a spear of ice with startling speed.

A chilling wind grazed my cheek, followed by a cry of pain from one of my men.

"LOOK OUT!" I shouted as the White Walker prepared to strike again.

I didn’t turn to check on the fallen soldier.

I already knew he was dead.

The pain of losing a comrade was real, but there was no time to dwell on it.

‘We must be as cold and unfeeling as they are,’ I thought, steeling myself.

I raised my shield just in time to block another ice spear.

The force of the impact left my shield nearly shattered.

I discarded it and grabbed a spear from the ground, hurling it at the White Walker.

It dodged effortlessly and turned toward me with a mocking grin.

I hadn’t expected to harm it with that throw, only to divert its attention.

‘Now’s my chance,’ I thought, bringing my sword down in a powerful arc.

The White Walker sidestepped the attack with ease and slashed at my face with its sharp claws.

I managed to retreat just in time, raising my weapon defensively.

The White Walker’s ice sword came down, striking mine with a sharp, grating sound.

Despite the force behind its blow, much of its power dissipated on impact.

Seeing my opportunity, I countered with a sweeping slash, slicing through its torso.

‘Finally,’ I thought as the White Walker’s body shattered into countless tiny shards of ice.

I exhaled a small sigh of relief. But just as I was about to catch my breath, I heard a noise from the other side of the Wall.

I turned and saw them—tens of thousands of wights still climbing relentlessly.

‘This battle is far from over,’ I thought, gripping my sword tightly.