-Chapter 205-

-Chapter 205-

-6th day of the 4th moon of the year 301 AC-

-POV Benjen Stark-

"Commander!" shouted the two legionnaires guarding the elevator.

I nodded and said, "Do not be afraid, we are well prepared."

"Yes, Commander," the two legionnaires replied, though I could sense the fear emanating from them.

I nodded again, then stepped into the elevator and watched the ground drift further and further away as I was lifted to the top of the Wall.

'It's getting colder; the White Walkers' assault will soon begin,' I thought.

I had been at the Wall for barely three weeks, yet I already knew the telltale signs of the White Walkers approach.

‘The sudden drop in temperature, the falling night, and the sudden onset of a blizzard,’ I mentally noted, listing every sign indicating the arrival of these demons.

"Commander," said one of my captains, awaiting me at the top with an imperial military salute.

I nodded to the man and asked, "What did Tormund’s skinchanger say?"

"He said the army would arrive in less than a quarter of an hour," he replied, placing his hands over his face as the blizzard suddenly intensified.

'Perhaps it will be even sooner,' I thought, feeling a chill of fear creeping into my stomach.

I took a deep breath and then shouted for him to hear me:

"Prepare the wildfire pots and the catapults!"

"We won’t be able to aim properly!"

"It doesn’t matter; they must number in the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, so let’s not make the mistake of underestimating them."

"We must use every weapon at our disposal; it will also help us see better."

"But we’ve been using wildfire pots for two full weeks, and it hasn’t stopped them… They even managed to extinguish the wildfire last time," said the captain, hoping I would change tactics, but I did not.

'Ever since I arrived, the only place they keep attacking is Fort Nox,' I thought, not understanding their persistent attacks on the Wall.

'All I know is that since we started using wildfire pots, the assaults have become less difficult to counter; the other forts haven’t faced any more attacks, and I even managed to kill one of those ice demons thanks to it,' I thought, studying the sword that Aegon had lent me.

'Dark Sister, the legendary sword once wielded by the Rogue Prince Daemon Targaryen, Aemon the Dragonknight, and lost alongside the legendary Hand of the King Brynden Rivers, the Black Bastard.'

ROAR OF THE NIGHT KING

"They’re coming!" cried a man, causing brief panic before it turned into frenzy as everyone gave their best to ready our defenses as quickly as possible.

"There’s already one up here!" shouted a man, warning everyone of the danger.

Surprised by their speed, I turned around and saw the creature, a human silhouette with a pale, gaunt face that haunted my nightmares.

'Another one,' I thought, meeting its icy stare that sought to freeze my very soul.

I quickly drew my sword and shouted, "Formation!"

Several dozen legionnaires immediately attempted to surround it, but it did not wait and charged forward with a clear objective.

'Me,' I thought, raising my guard, bracing for a devastating sword strike. But instead, it delivered a punch to my liver that knocked the breath out of me and sent me flying two meters away.

The world spun violently around me as I tried to get back up, my mouth open, gasping for air.

"Protect the commander!" yelled a soldier, placing a shield in front of me to block the fatal blow the emotionless demon was about to deliver.

The blow was so powerful that even with his perfect defensive stance, the soldier was thrown a meter away from me.

Inspired by his bravery, everyone rushed at the White Walker, hoping to kill it. Aegon had promised anyone who killed a White Walker a title of Imperial Knight, 10,000 gold dragons, a manor, and a small estate in the Riverlands.

'Why am I thinking of that at a time like this?' I thought, pulling myself together and taking advantage of the moment when it impaled a legionnaire to try and pierce it with my sword.

With inhuman agility, it dodged my attack and withdrew its sword from my soldier’s body, ready to impale me on its ice blade.

Just when I thought it was over for me, a soldier plunged his dragonglass spear into its leg.

Unlike the time I had shattered a White Walker with my Valyrian steel sword, this time its leg smoked for an instant before gradually crumbling, forcing it to kneel.

'Perfect,' I thought, wasting no time as I decapitated the White Walker in a single swift motion; its body turned to dust in the blizzard.

'We only lost one man,' I thought to myself, relieved.

As long as we keep launching wildfire pots below, the wights won’t be able to climb the Wall, and we’ll only have to deal with the attacks of the…

Just as I thought we had won, a gigantic ice spider appeared at the top of the Wall and impaled the soldier who had saved my life by spearing the White Walker with his dragonglass lance.

And as if that wasn’t enough, dozens of smaller spiders followed, rushing at my men.

'Damn'

I dodged a leg of the giant spider before slicing it clean off, making it scream in pain—a high-pitched sound that reminded me of the roars of the White Walkers.

I rolled to the ground, dodging another attack, and grabbed a shield, barely blocking the next blow before cutting off another of its legs.

A legionnaire threw a spear that pierced one of its eyes, causing it to arch back in pain. I took advantage of its distraction and drove Dark Sister deep into its abdomen until it stopped moving, its now-lifeless body crushing me beneath it.

'The night is going to be long,' I thought as I tried to free myself.

---

-7th day of the 4th moon of the year 301 AC-

-POV MC-

"Are you really going to let them deal with this alone?" Daenerys asked, reading over my shoulder the message from Benjen, once again urging me to swiftly end the war with the Free Cities so we could focus all our forces on the real threat.

‘So, the ice spiders exist in this version of the White Walkers,’ I thought, not yet knowing the full extent of their forces but slowly deciphering their power through each battle.

‘This is the second time he’s brushed with death; if this continues, he won’t make it,’ I thought, gripping the message tighter, wanting with all my heart to help him, but…

‘It’s not the time yet. We managed to buy two months; once the situation clears, we’ll descend upon them like a tsunami, an unstoppable wave,’ I thought.

‘But we must strike simultaneously, or it will never happen.’

"You know very well I would already be there if I had the choice," I said with a sigh, for beyond the realm, I had sent Benjen, the only family member who had never abandoned or betrayed me.

Daenerys said harshly, "But you’re not there, even though you have the choice. You’re choosing not to go."

Her words went in one ear and out the other like the wind, as I knew she was merely trying to provoke me, to wound my pride and touch my ego to get me to change my plans.

‘I won’t sacrifice the Empire’s future. I won’t sacrifice the unity and prosperity I’ve brought by stepping back now without knowing what could come of this war.’

‘I first need to bring all my enemies to their knees and destroy their fleets, armies, and key infrastructures to secure a break of 10, 20, even 50 years before they can even hope to return to their former strength.’

"You could have at least listened to what the ambassadors from Braavos, Lorath, and Norvos had to say. This war isn’t important; only the great war matters," she said in a near-pleading tone.

‘She’s too influenced by Melisandre and Kinvara; she spends too much time with them,’ I thought, noting the Red Priestesses' influence over Daenerys.

"I already know what they want," I replied firmly.

"The same as us, I presume," Daenerys replied quickly.

I shook my head because she was implying they wanted peace or a truce, but I knew that was false. Tormo Fregar knew I intended to kill him, and he would do everything he could to stick the biggest knife in my back before I could reach him.

"They don’t want the same thing as us, Dany. What they want is the exact opposite," I said, looking at her, trying to make her understand.

"They came hoping to find a solution to bring peace to all lands," she responded, hoping to believe in them.

'She’s reverting to the naive girl she’s always been just because she’s not dealing with slavers,’ I thought, watching my beautiful wife, who still believed in oaths and goodwill.

'This is how she lost to Cersei. She doesn’t get into the minds of these kinds of people; to her, oaths still mean something,’ I thought, closing my eyes, weary of this overly idealized view.

"You know that’s false; they will betray us," I said, trying one last time to make her see reason.

"You can’t be certain," she replied, her tone not entirely convinced.

"Of course I can," I said, explaining my perspective. "For now, we are in a position of strength..."

She suddenly interrupted me, pointing to the message I was still holding:

"In a position of strength? That’s what you call a position of strength? We’ve been lucky to hold this long."

I frowned, annoyed, and replied, "If I concentrate all my forces at the Wall now and wage an all-out war against the Night King, I can’t know how long it will take me to destroy him and his entire army."

"You are stronger than him," she said with conviction.

I raised an eyebrow, for while she had seen my powers, she didn’t know my limits, and most importantly…

‘No one knows the true power of this Night King,’ I thought, knowing deep down that defeating the Night King would not be as easy as everyone seemed to think.

"That’s your opinion, but I know I have a massive disadvantage. Unlike him, I get exhausted."

Her eyes widened at this obvious fact she had overlooked, and I nodded, continuing:

"I am not a god, Dany. I still need to sleep, eat, and recharge, especially when using my physical and magical abilities to their maximum."

She tried to object, "I…" but I hadn’t finished.

"He and his army of the dead don’t have that problem. There will inevitably be losses, and I can’t defeat this army alone. I won’t even try until I’ve resolved this crisis," I said, definitively closing the debate.

A few moments passed in silence before she finally lowered her gaze and murmured:

"Leaf said that without the Wall, we’re all doomed. They can’t hold it forever, especially without a dragon to help."

‘If I send a dragon other than mine, I might end up strengthening the enemy. Let’s continue as we are for now,’ I thought, realizing the dangers of such a move.

I took Dany’s hands in mine and said:

"They will have to hold it, anyway. That’s why I made sure Ned returned to the North to rally his banners."

She looked up at me, and I continued my explanation:

"Once the army of the North and the Lannisters come as reinforcements, we can easily hold the Wall, even for years if necessary."

"But at what cost in lives?" she asked, worried.

"As many as it takes to protect the Empire’s 40 million citizens," I replied firmly, knowing that was the price of defending our people.

Daenerys shook her head before sitting down, her belly now showing slightly.

I placed a hand on her belly and said, "I know what I’m doing, and I’m doing it for us."

She murmured softly, "Honestly, sometimes I have doubts."

'I can see that,' I thought, preferring to stay silent because I knew her doubts were largely due to the pregnancy, the stress, and the frustration of not being able to fight even though she had a dragon capable of combat.

"I know, but I repeat, I know what I’m doing. I just need a little more time. In a few days, everything will fall into place," I said confidently. The situation had seemed stalled for several moons, but…

'It will soon clear up with the arrival of my third fleet,’ I thought, having received a message from Bryan.

'The counter-attack will begin in 10 days.'