-Chapter 191-

-Chapter 191-

-POV Cregan Snow-

“AAAAAh”

“aaaaaaah”

“Noooooon”

The screams around me were horrible.

Everyone was shocked by the wights who, just a moment ago, were still fighting to ensure their survival.

I was terrified by the wights myself, but I couldn’t falter.

I was their leader, their commander, the highest-ranking officer; I had to set the example.

So, I took all the terror I was feeling and turned it into anger and hatred, shouting:

“REGROUP AND SEND ALL THESE FUCKING CORPSES BACK TO HELL!”

“OUUUUUH!” they all shouted louder than ever, surely fueled by the fear and desire to survive in each of them.

I drove my spear into a wight’s abdomen, then raised my shield to avoid the sword of another wight that aimed for my head.

Then I plunged my spear with all my might into its eye, which pierced through its skull.

But when I tried to pull it out, I felt more resistance than usual.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to try again because the White Walker, whom I had been keeping an eye on, suddenly rushed toward me, his ice sword aiming to sever my arm.

I retrieved my steel sword and faced the next attack from the White Walker, all while glancing around for help out of the corner of my eye.

But what I saw chilled me to the bone: out of the 700 soldiers who had been standing just two minutes ago, more than half had been eliminated.

‘Fucking backstab attack,’ I thought, completely crushing any hope that my soldiers would help me take down the White Walker in front of me.

I saw an opening in the monster’s guard, and as I tried to strike it in the head with my sword, faster than any human, it defended itself by raising its sword.

The screeching sound our swords made as they clashed was horrible, then my sword vibrated for a moment before shattering into a thousand pieces.

I looked down at my breastplate and saw three pieces of my sword lodged in it, slightly piercing my skin and causing me to bleed profusely.

‘Damn it,’ I thought, feeling my strength leave me as I fell to my knees before the White Walker.

I took a deep breath before suddenly standing up, trying to drive what was left of my sword into the monster, who now looked at me coldly, without a smile, as if I were some sort of uninteresting parasite.

I only realized that its sword had impaled me when I felt my legs give way, preventing me from moving forward.

I pretended to look at my wound, but as quickly as my body allowed, I drove the dagger I had hidden behind my back into the White Walker’s armpit.

Surprised, it let out a piercing scream before disintegrating into icy dust.

I collapsed into the snow, still impaled by the ice sword, and looked up at the sky, praying that my soldiers would manage to overcome these damned corpses.

The last thing I heard before slipping into unconsciousness was the frantic voice of my second-in-command calling my name.

I smiled, happy to have succeeded in holding Greyguard.

---

-21st Day of the 12th Moon, Year 300 AC-

-POV Walton Steelshanks-

“Lord Walton, Lord Walton, let me through, I must speak to Lord Walton immediately!” someone shouted before being stopped by my close guard.

I frowned and threw the body of the wildling woman who lay beside me, exhausted from the night we had spent together.

I stepped out after quickly putting on a nightshirt, my sword in hand, a habit I hadn’t lost despite my new position.

A legionnaire was on his knees, two spears at his neck, furiously struggling against my guards.

I drew my sword and said, “What are you doing here, legionnaire? I could punish you for trying to break into the tent of your Legion’s commander.”

“Punish me as you see fit later, Lord…” said the legionnaire, clearly eager to deliver the message he was responsible for.

“Baron,” I said, interrupting him.

“Punish me as you see fit later, Baron Walton, but listen to what I have to say: the Wall has been attacked.”

Surprised, I signaled my men to let him up and said, “Continue, but if you’re telling me stories, you’ll die a horrible death, trust me on that.”

“The Wall was attacked about a day ago, on the night of the 19th to the 20th of this moon,” said the man, in whom I detected not a trace of deceit.

Detecting people’s intentions and lies had been part of my job in the service of Roose Bolton back in the day, and it still served me well every day.

I could sense the sincerity of his words, but he wasn’t telling me everything, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was bothering me about his account.

“You’re not telling me everything,” I said, suspicious.

Avoiding my gaze, he hesitated to speak and said:

“You wouldn’t believe me; you have to see it with your own eyes to accept it.”

“Tell me,” I ordered, in a more authoritative tone.

“We weren’t attacked by wildlings,” said the legionnaire evasively.

I felt a chilling sensation crawl up my neck before asking, “Was it the dead?”

The legionnaire looked me straight in the eye, surprised that I believed it and shocked that I knew, then he collapsed, crying all the tears he had, murmuring in a daze:

“They were all dead… then… then… they weren’t anymore… without Commander Snow, we would all have become walking corpses.”

“May the gods help us,” I said, letting out a deep sigh, looking at Tormund and the other wildling chiefs who had overheard the end of the legionnaire’s tale, drawn by the commotion he had caused when entering the camp.

---

-22nd Day of the 12th Moon, Year 300 AC-

-POV MC-

“We can’t just do nothing,” Willas said in a calm tone, but with a firmness that was rare for him.

‘Surely due to the losses House Tyrell has been suffering since the start of these skirmishes,’ I thought.

“We absolutely must retaliate and show strength,” said Monfort Velaryon, backing up Willas Tyrell’s comment.

I nodded in agreement with them, but Tyrion spoke up, opposing my two previous advisors:

“No, we must remain neutral. If we show too much strength, we’ll only prove them right, that we want to invade their lands and expand the borders of the Empire of Westeros to Essos.”

“We are all part of the greatest empire in the known world. We don’t need to fear those bastards who think of themselves as dragon lords. These alliances aren’t based on any trust between the different parties anyway; they’re simply founded on the fear we all inspire in these people,” said Adrian Celtigar, whose Valyrian lineage and the history of his House mattered greatly to him and filled him with immense pride.

“But if we continue to scare them, we’ll inspire even greater alliances…” said Tyrion.

‘Although I don’t like negotiating, he’s not wrong. If I negotiate with them, their alliances will no longer be necessary, and they will naturally break apart because they don’t like each other,’ I thought.

“…Each of the three alliances, whether it’s Qarth with Ghis, the Free Alliance of Braavos, or the Valyrian Alliance, can rival the total strength of our naval forces, maybe even crush them. A larger alliance could isolate Westeros and cut off our access to Blackwater Bay and the Summer Isles.”

‘He’s right again; with Daenerys’s territory added to the Empire, it has sent a warning signal to all the cities, and they’re afraid I’ll do the same with their cities. By negotiating, I show good faith and take away any reason for them to form alliances,’ I told myself as I lightly tapped my finger on the table.

“My brother is right. Our strength lies in our ground troops, who can either resist an invasion or land and invade the continent. But without total domination of the seas, we must stay calm and negotiate with the cities of Essos,” said Cersei, to my great surprise, who had been invited to the council exceptionally to represent her uncle Kevan Lannister, who had returned to Casterly Rock to settle some affairs.

Tyrion seemed as surprised as I was, but he said nothing and simply nodded subtly at his sister, a gesture that could have gone unnoticed, but which I easily noticed with my heightened perception.

“I don’t agree. We could negotiate with them during the Targaryen kings’ time, but we are now an Empire with 4 dragons capable of fighting and 4 possible future dragonriders,” said Monford Velaryon.

“3 dragons and 3 possible dragonriders,” corrected Benjen.

“4 dragons and 4 dragonriders,” I corrected in turn, raising an eyebrow.

“I can give orders to Syrax if I push with my powers and have Rhaegal’s support.”

“You intend to give a dragon to Viserys’s children?” my uncle asked, surprised.

“All Targaryens have the right to a dragon egg.”

“But…”

“It’s a tradition,” said Maester Aemon, my ancestor whom I had tasked with the role of Grand Maester, smiling in my direction and staring into space.

Benjen sighed, not contradicting one of the people he respected most in his life, then said:

“Even with the rituals, we can only deploy 3 dragons since Prince Viserys left with Viserion. One dragon alone cannot compensate for the difference in naval strength between our fleets and an alliance.”

I nodded and said, “And I agree on that point, which is why we must negotiate with the cities of Essos to stop the raids on our goods and the ‘pirates’ from attacking merchant ships coming from Westeros.”

The door suddenly burst open, and I saw Ser Gerold Dayne, my Sword of the Morning, enter with Dawn at his waist, along with Loras Tyrell carrying Red Rain.

I had offered Loras the opportunity to wield that sword so that the imperial family would be safer under the guard of the Kingsguard.

‘It’s always better than letting this sword rest in a chest until one of my children is able to wield it without impaling themselves,’ I thought, extending my hand to receive the message Loras brought me.

---

Your Majesty,

I take the liberty of writing to you because you ordered me to inform you of any unusual situations on the Wall, and I believe the moment you… that we all feared has arrived.

The White Walkers have launched an assault on the Wall. I have not yet gone to the scene, but a legionnaire was sent by the commander of Greyguard to inform me of the situation.

Your loyal servant,

Walton

---

My heart skipped a beat, then I slammed my fist on the table.

I heard a crack form, but I paid no attention to it.

I swallowed hard before raising my eyes, my mentality changing entirely, and I said:

“Do not begin negotiations with the cities of Essos until my return, no matter our losses.”

Everyone frowned, not understanding what I was talking about, then I added as I stood up and walked out:

“Deploy all our naval forces in the Narrow Sea, and all lords with ships and men who know how to use them must be ready to raise their banners.”

“Aegon…” said Benjen, but I didn’t listen, I had something else to do.