"Lord Steward, look!" Ser Glendon exclaimed. "The giant ranks are in disarray! King Stannis is incredible—he personally led the charge and routed the mammoth cavalry!"
Before their eyes, the heavy cavalry was wiped out in a flash, and the massive banner bearing the fiery red heart quickly changed direction. A wedge-shaped formation of knights, mounted on armored warhorses, charged fearlessly toward the giants.
At the forefront rode Stannis himself, strikingly conspicuous. Clad in black armor and helm, a golden cloak embroidered with the flaming heart streamed behind him like a banner. In his hand, he wielded a longsword that radiated waves of red magical light, flashing like fire among the giants, turning the battlefield into a bloody storm.
The sword blazed fiercely, the flames at its tip flickering unpredictably—sometimes four or five feet long, sometimes over ten. Whenever it struck a giant, it ignited the coarse gray fur covering half their bodies.
The once-fearless giants seemed terrified by this flaming, eerily glowing magical sword.
Though none were directly slain by Stannis's blade, they lost their courage in an instant. Howling wildly, they fled in chaos, not a single one attempting to turn back and fight.
Fewer than five hundred cavalrymen were now chasing down a hundred mammoth riders and three hundred giant infantrymen, driving them into complete disarray.
"Bravo!" the Night's Watch shouted, blood boiling with excitement. Many cheered uncontrollably, as if they themselves were among the valiant knights pursuing the giants. Some even shouted heretical cries like, "Long live King Stannis!"
Ser Melisandre furrowed his brow in confusion. "Strange... why are the giants suddenly so ineffective? They had the nerve to charge at a fire-breathing dragon before—could they truly be afraid of that glowing red sword?"
Maester Parestan's face was grim. "That is Lightbringer—the legendary weapon used by Azor Ahai to end the Long Night.
There are also rumors that Stannis is the prophesied one, the reincarnation of Azor Ahai. I used to scoff at that notion, but now..."
Dany, however, eyed the red-robed woman riding beside Stannis with suspicion. True, Lightbringer glowed red and sent out bursts of flame two to three meters long, searing howls from the giants—but it was nothing like the scene of the Abbess of Annihilation wielding the Heaven-Reliant Sword, tearing into the Five Elements Banner with limbs flying everywhere.
"Don't you think Lightbringer is a little... weak?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Weak? It shoots out long bursts of magical fire! Even giants are fleeing! Dragonflame doesn't seem much stronger than this," Slint protested.
Dany cast him a meaningful glance—this man had clearly never witnessed real dragonfire—then turned and walked away from the battlements toward the meditating Drogon.
Ever since the meditation rune had been solidified in his mental sea, Drogon required far less food and would often immerse himself in the strange symbols of the soul sea whenever he had free time.
The moment the horns sounded, Ser Barristan, who had been sitting behind a wooden table in an open area of the camp waiting for the wildling tribes to arrive and sign the agreement, rose alertly and climbed atop the table to scan the horizon.
Like Dany, he immediately recognized the approaching scouts slowly advancing toward the wildling camp as a decoy.
It was a simple matter of logic—the Night's Watch had fewer than 800 members spread across Castle Black, Eastwatch, and the Shadow Tower. The 300 men at Castle Black would never have broken the queen's tacit understanding with the wildlings and provoked war on their own.
Thus, the approaching scouts must be from either the Shadow Tower or Eastwatch, and those two together had no more than 200 rangers.
Rangers weren't fools. Would fewer than a hundred of them dare attack a wildling camp?
Clearly, they were bait. A larger force was coming behind them—and that force was certainly not allied with the Targaryens.
In fact, no lord from the Seven Kingdoms could truly be called an ally of the queen.
That's why the White Knight immediately tried to pull Jon Snow away to escape. Since the enemy dared to attack the wildling camp directly, they must be confident in victory.
He knew one thing for certain: no matter how much the queen wanted to win over the wildlings, she would never intervene to protect them before an agreement was signed.
She had no grounds to do so.
To intervene now would violate the oath she swore to the Night's Watch: never to use the Wall as a battleground for the game of thrones. Any army stationed at the Wall—no matter their grudge with House Targaryen—would not face conflict initiated by her.
"If you aren't fools, you'll realize that those attackers are not Targaryen men."
Barristan shouted to Mance and the wildling leaders, "These men come with ill intent. If you trust me—if you trust Queen Daenerys—come with me to the new camp at once.
On behalf of Her Majesty, I promise we will not take advantage of the situation to force you into signing the Tripartite Lease Agreement.
We simply wish to act as hosts, giving Her Majesty a legitimate reason to protect you from the other lords of the Seven Kingdoms."
"The attackers are rangers. You broke your oath and ambushed us. We will no longer trust the crows or the Mother of Dragons!" a wildling shouted.
The skinchanger Varamyr Sixskins glared viciously at the old knight, speaking in a sinister tone. "They lured us into letting down our guard with these negotiations. These two fools are just sacrificial pawns. Mance, let me kill them."
Barristan laughed in disbelief and stared intently at the grim-faced King-Beyond-the-Wall. "Mance, that skinchanger may not understand—but surely you know who I am?
You think the Commander of the Kingsguard is being thrown away just to ambush you?
Do you think Her Majesty's dragons are for show? Or do you believe dragons kill more slowly than blades?"
"She won't stop them?" Mance's grim expression wasn't because he believed the skinchanger, but because he had read the queen's stance from Barristan's reaction.
"If you sign the agreement now—"
Mance raised a hand to interrupt. "We'll take that as a threat. It will only make the Free Folk resent the agreement even more."
"I know," the old knight replied bitterly, shaking his head. "That's why I never planned to mention it before. But you understand the current politics of the Seven Kingdoms—if the queen helps the Free Folk fight off the lords who've come to defend the Wall, no more soldiers, no more wheat, not a single coin will come to the Wall again."
The wildlings beyond the Wall have never been the true reason for His Majesty to come to the Wall. The White Walkers are our real enemy. We need the Seven Kingdoms to unite as one to face them together.
That's also why His Majesty has always shown great tolerance toward the Free Folk—you are an important force in the fight against the White Walkers."
"I understand."
Mance let out a slow breath. As he fastened his leather armor, chainmail, and raven-winged helm, he shouted, "Harma, mount the raiders and form a cavalry unit. Tormund, organize three spear lines with your son. Wun Wun, blow the horn and summon the giants. Varamyr, lie in wait in the woods and use your animal companions to tear apart any bastards who break into our camp. Snow, you lead the—"
At last, he turned back to the white knight already mounted and ready to depart. "My wife is about to give birth. Please take her to the new camp and have Maester Aemon look after her."
After a brief pause, Mance pointed at the crude wooden palisade at the edge of the camp and gave a bitter smile. "I've been trying to figure out how to deter a dragon flying in the sky, but things like chevaux de frise and watchtowers, meant for cavalry, are useless against them. We're in real trouble now.
Ser Barristan, take as many women and children from the camp as you can!"
"Val! Val!" Mance shouted toward his white bear-hide tent.
A tall, golden-haired woman clad in furs pushed aside the flap and emerged. Mance called loudly, "Val, we don't have chevaux de frise in the camp, and cavalry might break through. Work with Ser Barristan and Jon Snow to take Danna and the women and children to the new camp."
At first, Val and Jon rode through the camp shouting, but very few wildlings responded by heading toward the new camp. Only when the first cavalry squad burst into the camp and set tents ablaze with flaming arrows did panic take hold—men, women, the elderly, and children fled in a frenzy.
Most of them ran blindly, crashing into the woods or into enemy horses on the battlefield. When some people were seen running toward the Wall, a crowd quickly followed in that direction.
The new camp beneath the Wall lay directly opposite the wildling camp, with just under 600 meters between their outer fences. Even a child could cover that distance in two minutes.
By the time Stannis had driven the giants deep into the forest, the new camp was already packed with people.
The new camp had been established as a temporary settlement for "migrants." Once the number of Free Folk reached 5,000, they began moving eastward toward Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. The camp had been prepared for a maximum of 5,000 people.
And many wildlings were also herding sheep, sled dogs, piglets, chickens, ducks, and other livestock.
Such a massive gathering of Free Folk naturally drew the attention of Stannis's cavalry—but the banner at the gate gave them pause.
A black banner with a red dragon—the sigil of House Targaryen, the former royal house.
When Stannis and his forces had crushed the giants and encountered no more resistance from the wildling ranks, a group of riders finally approached the camp gate bearing a banner with a flaming red heart.
"I am Ser Godry Farring, in service to King Stannis," came a strong, youthful voice from beneath a helm.
He bellowed at several Night's Watch men standing guard at the gate, "You are brothers of the Night's Watch! Why are you aiding traitors and obstructing the King's army?"
Jon stepped forward and explained, "Ser Godry Farring, this camp belongs to Queen Daenerys. In fact—"
"Insolent!" Godry Farring cut him off, raising a bloodstained longsword and roaring at the Night's Watch, "Do you mean to be traitors? There is only one true king of the Seven Kingdoms—King Stannis!"
"She's a Targaryen. She has dragons—real dragons!" shouted Tod, the toad-faced man behind Jon.
Godry Farring swung his sword violently, as if he meant to cut Tod and his heresy in two, then shouted, "Only King Stannis is the true dragon! Daenerys is nothing—House Targaryen is finished! Stand aside, or I'll execute you all for treason!"
Behind him, over a hundred bloodstained knights leveled their swords, issuing a silent but undeniable threat toward the Night's Watch.
Jon frowned and said, "Ser, before you arrived, the Free Folk were no longer a threat. They could even become our allies."
"The Night's Watch conspires with wildlings? He admits it! Kill him!" Godry Farring spurred his horse forward, ready to charge the camp.
SSKRAAA!
A beastly roar—piercing, unfamiliar, and dreadful—shook the hearts of both horses and men. As they looked up, a monstrous creature from nightmares dived down from the sky, spewing flames.
"A dragon! It's real! A real dragon!" screamed one of the knights, his voice shrill with terror and despair.
BOOM!
A pillar of scarlet dragonfire, like divine wrath, descended upon the earth.
(End of Chapter)
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