-Chapter 192-

-Chapter 192-

-POV MC-

"Aegon, Aegon... AEGON!" said my uncle, grabbing my arm.

The sound of steel leaving its sheath froze him in place, realizing what he had done.

I raised my arm to stop my guards from drawing their swords.

"Sorry," Benjen said, raising his hands, aware of his mistake.

I shook my head to signal that I wasn't paying attention to it, and said, "It's nothing."

"What are you going to do?" my uncle asked.

I hesitated to talk to him about the situation at the Wall because I didn't want the whole world to know about the threat that was growing stronger with each passing day.

"I am your Hand, I need to know what you plan to do," my uncle insisted.

I took a few seconds to think before saying:

"This information must not be repeated to anyone."

"You have my word," Benjen said almost immediately.

I handed him the letter I had clenched in my fist and said while he read it:

"Greyguard has been attacked."

"I imagine if we've received this message, it means we've managed to hold the Wall," Benjen said, his brow furrowed as he analyzed the information in the letter.

"I'm not sure, but I imagine and hope that's the case," I said, uncertain of what awaited me there.

"I don't understand why you want to wage war on three different fronts when we're about to fight against death itself," Benjen said, still confused by my decision.

"During the Age of Heroes, the White Walkers were stopped without wildfire, without dragons, without the Wall, and especially without me. I don't see why we couldn't do it," I said, trying to justify my choice.

"The Age of Heroes is mysterious and mostly unknown to us; we don't know how our ancestors managed to repel the White Walkers," Benjen countered, tearing down my argument.

I nodded because he wasn't completely wrong and said:

"But we have our own weapons."

"Certainly, but that doesn't explain why you're engaging in a war against the three alliances of Essos," Benjen said, trying to dissuade me.

"I'm not engaging in a war against Essos; I'm going to show strength," I said, clarifying my intentions.

Seeing that Benjen was still not convinced, I added:

"We won't be able to hide for long the fact that the White Walkers are trying to breach the Wall to turn the entire continent into an army of the dead. And when that time comes, all our focus will need to be on the Wall because we don't know the full strength of the Night King."

"20,000 soldiers on the Wall is not enough," Benjen said, quickly grasping the magnitude of the problem.

"Yes, to repel the army of the dead without sacrificing a significant number of people, the Wall will need to be protected by a substantial army—an army of at least 100,000 soldiers," I said.

"Which will leave our colonies and the Empire vulnerable," Benjen added.

"I don't know when the final battle will take place, but if it comes soon, we'll be under too many attacks, and we'll lose some battles because we can't send dragons everywhere; we don't have enough dragonriders for that."

"So what should we do first?"

"First, we cancel all the debts we owe to the cities of Essos."

"All of them?!" Benjen asked, surprised.

"All of them. We won't pay back anything; that will be the price they pay for employing Euron Greyjoy against me and all the other pirates they've hired. Next, I want Daenerys to be ready to fight at any moment. She must be prepared to fly over the battlefields at sea and support the Imperial fleet. We're going to destroy all the pirate bases without delay, and we're going to prepare our fleet for war with all the cities of Essos."

"You're declaring wa..." Benjen began, scandalized, but I stopped him before he could finish his sentence by saying, "They won't dare fight us."

"Why not?" he asked, because in this scenario, we would be easier to defeat, and a world without dragons is preferable for those who don't have them or aren't protected by their wings.

"Because, in the meantime, I will have rallied an army that will attack from within their borders, and they will be caught in a pincer. All that will be left for them is negotiation or total war," I said, confident in my strategy.

"So you admit you're taking the risk of going to war with all the cities of Essos," Benjen said, irritated.

"I don't want them to stab me in the back," I said firmly.

"An imaginary knife for now," he said, because everything was just my speculation of a possible future.

"If they stab me from the front, the knife will no longer be imaginary because it will prove they can go all the way. Tormo Fregar was likely part of, and probably the instigator of, this assassination attempt and the alliances between the cities of Essos. If I don't show firmness and readiness, they'll keep gnawing at me like the rats they are," I said before turning away.

I had made my decision, whether it was good or bad, it was the Emperor's word, and it was final.

---

-POV Walton Steelshanks-

"How is this even possible?" said Tormund behind me, inspecting the body of Cregan, the second-in-command of Greyguard, who had changed.

His skin was pale, and the wound that should have been fatal was actually closed and so white it looked like ice had replaced it.

"When I woke up, I was like this," said Cregan Snow in front of me.

"Once the Emperor arrives, you must tell him everything without omitting anything."

"Very well."

"Where is my cousin Karlon?"

"The commander told me he had gone to join you, that you needed his advice."

'Advice from Karlon? Who would want advice from that fool?' I thought, trying to understand where that idiot had gone.

"I imagine, not knowing the urgency of your request, he rested at Mole's Town before continuing his journey to Dreadfort," said Cregan Snow, subtly hinting at what had happened.

A silence hung in the air before I realized that my cousin had simply used a trip to Dreadfort as an excuse to visit the brothel at Mole's Town.

'The Emperor must not find out,' I thought, worried about the punishment I might receive.

I turned to my second-in-command, Jorah, a loyal young man whom I had raised to the same position I held when I served Lord Bolton, and I said, "Find him and..."

DRAGON ROAR

'DAMN, DAMN, DAMN,' I thought.

"Bring me that traitor in chains. If he resists, I authorize you to bring me only his head," I said, not caring about the surprised looks at my cruelty.

'It's my head or his, and I'm not getting beheaded for his stupidity,' I thought as I quickly went to greet the Emperor.

'Let's hope he's in a merciful mood,' I thought.

---

-POV MC-

"What a damned region, it's freezing cold here," said Sandor as he clumsily descended from Rhaegal, using his wings as stairs.

'I'm glad I continued the growth rituals because, even though it's magically exhausting, it now allows me to use a saddle capable of carrying my guards with me and not always have to be constantly on guard,' I thought as I looked at Jaime, Sandor, and Loras, who were accompanying me.

One of the reasons I brought them with me was that I wanted them to witness what the world ignores, or prefers to ignore, so they could sleep comfortably.

I didn't know exactly what we would find, but if we ever encountered a White Walker or wights, Jaime and Loras's presence would ensure that the Great Houses of Westeros, at least House Tyrell and House Lannister through them, could no longer doubt my word.

'Even though I assured her of the real existence of White Walkers and wights, she still doesn't completely believe me.'

As soon as I set foot on the ground, the gates of Greyguard, which had been well renovated, opened, and I saw a small company of men riding out to reach us quickly.

I easily recognized Walton at their head and Tormund not far behind.

'What are they doing together?' I wondered.

The galloping horses quickly covered the hundred meters that separated us from the entrance to the fortress, and Walton knelt as soon as he dismounted.

"It's a pleasure to see you in good health, Your Imperial Majesty," said Walton, head bowed.

I nodded and responded, gesturing for him to rise, as did his men, who had also dismounted and knelt in the meantime. The only one still standing was Tormund, whom I didn't embarrass because it wasn't an official occasion:

"I'm glad to see you in good health as well, but I imagine you know that's not why I'm here."

"Forgive me, I brought a horse for you, Your Majesty, but I didn't know you would be accompanied," said Walton before signaling three men to mount their companions' horses so that Sandor, Jaime, and Loras could ride alongside me.

I appreciated the gesture, but something was off in his demeanor. It seemed like he was deliberately trying to please me, which was unusual for him—obedient, yes, but not a sycophant to the point of being... obsequious.

I said nothing and mounted the horse that had been brought to me, nodding to Tormund, who returned the gesture before I spurred my horse forward. I couldn't wait to see the damage and find out what had happened.

It only took a few moments to enter the fortress of Greyguard, which seemed... deserted.

"Who's in charge here?" I asked, looking at the small group of what seemed to be the surviving officers in the courtyard.

"That would be me, Your Majesty," said a pale man, clearly suffering, as he stepped forward to meet me.

I looked at his shoulder pads depicting a dragon's head in silver, indicating that he was the lieutenant and acting commander of this fortress. I understood that he wasn't the real commander, who was likely dead during the battle, so I asked him:

"How many men survived?"

"Around 215 people survived the battle, but 43 men died from their injuries, so in total, 172 people are currently alive," said the lieutenant, whose name I still didn't know.

"How many White Walkers attacked Greyguard fortress?" I asked.

"Just one," he said, lowering his head.

"Are you telling me we lost 800 men in a single night, with the dragonglass weapons and wildfire pots I supplied to the Wall, against the assault of a single White Walker?" I asked, surprised by the loss ratio.

'800 to 1, that's unacceptable,' I thought.

"Your Majesty, we did our best, but we didn't have the opportunity to fight with the weapons you provided us, at least not at first, because 200 legionnaires sacrificed themselves so the rest of the barracks could arm themselves with dragonglass weapons from the armory."

"You were already supposed to be carrying dragonglass weapons!" I said harshly, which made him bow his head again to avoid my gaze.

He hesitated for a second, then glanced in Walton's direction, who looked like he was about to have a heart attack at any moment, which irritated me greatly because I had just lost an entire cohort, and they continued to keep their little secrets.

"Do you have something to tell me, Walton?" I asked the person in question.

"I faithfully relayed your orders and instructions, but it seems some of my subordinates decided to act on their own," he said, backed into a corner.

"And...?" I prompted him to continue because I felt there was more to this story than simple disobedience.

"And it appears the commander deserted his post to visit the brothel at Mole's Town when the Walkers attacked," he said, completely throwing the captain he had appointed as the commander of Greyguard under the bus.

"The White Walker, there was only one assailant who could have been defeated if everyone had been properly prepared and equipped as I ordered you," I said in a strong and authoritative tone.

"I did everything you asked of me and served you faithfully, but I trusted the wrong people. I ask for your forgiveness," he said in a tone that reflected more fear than humility because he knew better than anyone how I punished such acts, which some might even call treason.

'This is not the time to punish him,' I thought, suppressing my anger.

"We're both in the same situation," I said before walking past everyone, furious at what I had just learned.