The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Hound, with longsword and torch, charged straight into the wight horde. Behind him, several ranger brothers with torches followed, jumping off the ship to provide support.

Ahead, Stone Snake, the acting captain covering the retreat, struck a wight in the head with his sword. The blade sank deep, but the wight didn't fall. Instead, it viciously stabbed Stone Snake's abdomen with its short knife.

Clang!

The knife was blocked by the armor!

With a flash of cold light, Carter slashed down with his longsword, severing the wight's hands. Then, with a kick, he sent the wight sprawling to the ground.

From the front, left, and right, several wights hissed and lunged at Carter. Carter's swordsmanship was superb, his longsword weaving a web of light. With a whoosh, the first wight to attack was struck in the neck, its head flying into the air. But the wight's body continued to charge forward, wielding its harpoon, its momentum carrying it towards Carter's chest, though the harpoon missed its mark. Carter deftly sidestepped, and the wight stumbled past him, collapsing onto the snow, black blood gushing from its headless neck. Acting Captain Stone Snake kicked the harpoon away, then finished the job, severing the wight's right hand, followed by its left.

The wight's hands, now separated from its body, were pitch black, a stark contrast to the white snow. Black blood flowed from the severed wrists, and the ten fingers opened and closed, as if trying to grasp its harpoon again. On the snow, the two wight hands, though detached from their owner, continued their grasping motions.

A little further away, a wight with a short knife embedded in its head was staggering to its feet, its spear also swaying unsteadily.

In the blink of an eye, Carter and Stone Snake were back-to-back, surrounded by seven or eight wights.

Their fine armor helped them withstand many potentially fatal stabs. Their black cloaks were torn to shreds. Their longswords gleamed coldly, felling the wights one by one, but more wights hissed and lunged forward...

A scream suddenly came from the left. A brother had been pierced through the left arm by a spear thrown by a wight. His movements slowed, and three other wights pounced on him, stabbing him with their harpoons. With a clang, the harpoon tips pierced his armor...

The brother roared in pain, swinging his longsword in a wide arc from above. With a crack, he severed three harpoons in one blow. Before he could retreat, a wight lunged at him from the side, tackling him to the ground. The wight pinned the Night's Watch brother down, opening its black maw, about to bite down, when suddenly its body stiffened and its movements froze—a sword tip protruded from its mouth. Someone had stabbed the wight in the back of its neck, the sword tip exiting its mouth, momentarily disabling it.

The brother, who had closed his eyes and was waiting for death, felt a weight lift from him. Someone grabbed the wight by the back and tossed it backward, knocking down several other wights.

The Hound had arrived just in time!

"Still breathing?" the Hound's voice was fierce.

The brother, having narrowly escaped death, was filled with gratitude towards the Hound. The Hound's ferocious voice sounded like beautiful music to his ears.

"...Still alive...can't die yet..."

"Get up and get out!" the Hound's tone was harsh, devoid of any warmth.

"Thank you!" The injured brother scrambled to his feet, filled with admiration for the Hound's courage and strength. The Hound's ability to grab a wight and throw it was awe-inspiring. It was the first time he had witnessed such strength. "Be careful, Hound," he said, turning and running towards the sea.

Several brothers who had jumped down from the warship to provide support had also arrived, each carrying a torch in their left hand. Wights feared fire. Just a spark would cause them to burst into flames, quickly burning into a mass of black flesh, eventually turning to ashes.

The Hound waved his torch, forcing the wights back. He looked to the right, where several brothers had fallen behind and were surrounded by wights, in grave danger. Meanwhile, Carter and Stone Snake were fighting a retreating action in the middle, barely able to defend themselves. The Hound waved his torch, forcing back the wights on the left, then abruptly turned, crossed the middle ground, and charged towards the right.

"You guys help Carter!" the Hound shouted. The brothers behind him with their torches followed the Hound's instructions, turning towards the middle and charging towards Carter. The wights dodged and retreated from the waving torches.

Wights feared fire, avoiding it by instinct!

On the right, the Hound plunged into the wight horde. He slashed with his longsword and waved his torch wildly, setting several wights ablaze instantly. The trapped brothers were greatly encouraged. With shouts, they fought bravely, felling several wights and breaking out of the encirclement.

"Retreat, get on the ship!" the Hound yelled. He swung his torch in a circle, and the wights dodged, afraid to approach. But the torch's flame was beginning to weaken.

The wights' assault on the right was immediately suppressed by the Hound's torch and longsword!

At the edge of the forest, the Other, mounted on a dead horse, emitted a sharp, whistling sound. The wights abandoned the Hound and avoided the torches in the middle, charging straight towards the sea to seize the warship.

The whistling sound emitted by the Other had a magical effect, driving even the wights that were on fire. The wights engulfed in flames ran towards the sea, colliding with other wights and igniting even more of them.

Even as they burned, the wights continued to run forward, their target the warship, until the power of the flames brought them down.

Woooo!

The warship sounded its horn.

This was the signal to retreat.

The brothers guarding the warship pushed off from the shore, maintaining a safe distance.

"Hound, we have to retreat together!" Carter yelled.

The situation was critical. The wights had abandoned the fight and were rushing from the snow-covered ground towards the ship by the sea. Carter and the Hound had to run ahead of the wights.

If the wights seized the warship, their entire company would be wiped out.

They had come out to scout the Others, but they had fallen into a trap set by the Others.

The Others knew how to set traps?!

This was a new sign. Carter would have to report it to Edd when he returned. They had to be aware that the Others possessed military intelligence.

The thought made Carter's heart skip a beat.

If the Others really possessed military intelligence, then they might bypass the Wall via the waters of the East Sea, or bypass it via the Frozen Shore to the Wolfswood, then circle back and block the gates of the allied forces and the Night's Watch castles.

This idea made Carter's back break out in a cold sweat.

Recently, Carter had also found it strange. In several battles, Carter had discovered that the Others possessed a powerful army, but they hadn't really launched any large-scale offensives, as if they were waiting for something, or planning something, or were wary of something. This time, with the ambush, Carter felt that the Others were planning something...

*

"Right! Go to the right!" the Hound shouted. He no longer ran towards the sea. The wights had rushed ahead of them in a chaotic swarm.

The Hound quickly turned right. The right was south, towards the Wall. The current in this part of the Bay of Seals flowed south, which would help the speed of the longships.

Carter understood: "Brothers, to the right!"

So the company turned and ran madly to the right.

The wights went forward, the brothers went to the right. The two forces quickly separated, while the two warships rowed, attracting the wights' attacks, and the warships slowly retreated again.

The wights rushed to the sea with a rumble. They plunged into the water, and the warships quickly swung away. However, the wights continued forward, and the water could not stop them. The first wight sank neatly, followed by the second, the third... With a splash, the wights surged forward one after another, rising and falling, but always remaining a distance from the warships. More and more wights were carried away by the water, and some wights sank to the bottom of the sea.

At the edge of the forest outside the fishing village, the Other, holding his ice spear upside down, emitted a sharp whistle. With the strange sound of the notes, the wights returned to the shore... but most of the wights were resolutely carried away by the sea...

The two slender warships quickly turned, flowing with the current, like two marlin floating on the water, their speed as fast as flying arrows, while ahead, the Hound and the others were running by the water, waiting for the warships to come ashore to pick them up.

The wights returned to the shore, but did not take further action, their pale blue eyes watching the rolling waves, their faces a ghastly blue-black.

The two warships came ashore, and the Hound and Carter were the first to jump on board.

The brothers boarded the ship one after another, counting heads. Everyone was accounted for. Only one brother was seriously injured in the left arm, and eighteen other brothers had minor injuries. Most of the brothers' black cloaks were torn, and the scratches on their armor were shocking.

Carter took the wine skin from his waist and handed it to the Hound. He said nothing, but his eyes were filled with fervent words.

The Hound took the wine skin, threw himself on the deck, and took a big gulp as soon as he opened the stopper.

He couldn't refuse the wine!

If it hadn't been for the Hound this time, the brothers would have all entered the fishing village and been surrounded, and it was highly likely that only the brothers left to guard the warships would have been able to escape.

The Hound had inspected the fishing boats on both sides of the warship, encountering the wights ambushing the fishing boats and engaging in hand-to-hand combat, alerting the brothers entering the fishing village and stopping them... and also enabling the brothers left to guard the warship to react immediately and draw their swords to guard the bow of the ship...

Each brother walked over silently, some punching the Hound on the shoulder, some patting him on the back, more brothers unfastened their wine skins, walked over and threw their bodies on the deck, raised their wine skins and touched the Hound's, and then gulped down a large mouthful of wine.

Everyone had escaped with their lives this time, and the battle was over, but almost no one spoke.

This was the first time they had been ambushed by the Others.

"I feel like there's an eye watching us," Carter said. "This feeling is terrible."

Everyone drank silently, no one speaking.

"Carter, the brothers who went ashore are probably in danger!" Stone Snake said.

"Sound the horn, contact them," Carter said.

Woooo!

Woooo!

The horn sounded, the sound was deep and penetrating, carrying far away.

Until the sound of the horn disappeared, there was no response from the forest.

"Approach the shore, go north, continue to blow the horn."

So, the two warships turned around, headed north, and the hornblower brother stood on the bow of the ship, blowing the horn towards the forest.

Woooo!

The sound of the horn penetrated the forest, carrying far away.

When the sound of the horn disappeared again, there was still no response.

"Go ashore, Stone Snake, take two brothers up there," Carter said.

"Okay, boss." Stone Snake took off his torn black cloak and put on a new one. Two strong brothers stood up and volunteered to go into the forest with Stone Snake to scout.

"Carter, give Stone Snake a raven," the Hound said, finishing Carter's wine skin, hiccupping, and exhaling a mouthful of wine. His face had turned red and black.

"Hound, I can't write."

"No need to write. If the raven comes back and doesn't see you, we'll know you've encountered the Others. It will be glorious."

"I can write," a brother stood up and said.

"Okay, Jinglebell, then go with them."

A moment later, the ship came ashore, Stone Snake took three brothers and a raven off the ship, and quickly disappeared into the dark forest.

Carter told the brothers to move over, he lay down next to the Hound: "Hound, your nose is very sensitive, if it weren't for you, we would have been finished this time. Thanks, brother." Night's Watch men are used to calling each other brother, which means he considers you one of his own.

"Hmph!" the Hound snorted coldly.

But the brotherhood forged in shared combat cannot be denied by the Hound's cold snort!

The Hound understood this emotion, but he would never express it, and would never say anything polite.

The Hound can be free from any control at the Wall, doing his own thing, standing out among a group of bloodthirsty men, and this is the reason. In the battle just now, he won the hearts of the ranger brothers of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Such a person can not abide by military regulations, not do drills, not do things, not train, not be on duty, eat when he wants to eat, sleep when he wants to sleep, and no brother will interfere with him.

*

"Attention, ship coming from the north!" a brother said on the bow of the ship.

Some brothers stood up and looked at the water to the north. They saw a fishing boat coming with the current, the oars moving quickly, and the speed with the current was extremely fast.

"It's a ship from Hardhome," Carter said. He saw the flag on the fishing boat.

The Hound slowly asked: "Hardhome?"

Are there also castles built in the wildling territories in the north? The Hound was very surprised. The wildlings lived like beasts in the icy and snowy north, and it was the first time the Hound had heard that the wildlings also had castles.

"Yes, a hundred leagues away, on the Storrold's Point peninsula, there is a Hardhome, which is also the furthest foothold for our Night's Watch fleet going north by sea. Hardhome is a large gathering place for wildlings."

"Are you often doing business with the free folk in private?" the Hound said. Carter and the free folk fishermen along the coast and the people of Hardhome a hundred leagues away were obviously very familiar. This was not in line with the hostile relationship between the Night's Watch and the wildlings. To be very familiar means that Carter himself must be smuggling.

"Hound, the wildlings are already our allies. North of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the wildlings in the coastal fishing villages have a very good relationship with us. Those who are hostile to us and engage in combat are mostly the tribes of the wildling king Mance Rayder, who come from the Thenn Mountains," Carter still called the free folk wildlings, he was used to it.

Since the free folk army united with the Night's Watch at the Wall, Commander-in-Chief Jon ordered that the Night's Watch brothers must not call the wildlings wildlings, but must call them free folk. Because of this name, some wildling warriors and the southerners in their mouths had had many fights.

As they spoke, the approaching ship neared, and standing on the bow of the ship was actually a Night's Watch brother wearing a black cloak. The man shouted: "Commander Carter, Hardhome is under attack, request support."

"Sir Bob Norrell!" Carter exclaimed in surprise.

The three ships converged, and Sir Bob Norrell jumped onto the warship: "Commander Carter, a ranger team from the Black Castle and a ranger team from the Shadow Tower are besieged by wights at Hardhome, requesting rescue."

"How many brothers are surrounded?"

"A total of thirty-four brothers, including scouts from the Shadow Tower, wildling scouts, Black Castle scouts, and over a hundred free folk warriors from Hardhome, along with hundreds of free folk civilians and fishermen."

"How many wights?"

"Thousands upon thousands of wights, densely packed, but as long as we have enough ships, we can save them."

"Good! I'll mobilize the fleet from Eastwatch and have them send large ships."

"Is Hardhome a magnificent fortress?" The Hound stood up from the deck and asked.

"A stone castle built of rough stones. The width of the walls can accommodate two people."

"How high?"

"Not very high, about seven meters. But our flames have blocked the wights' attack, and ample oil has helped us hold Hardhome," Bob Norrell said.

"A not-so-high stone castle, thousands upon thousands of wights, how many White Walkers are there?"

"A dozen White Walkers riding dead horses."

"Carter, could this be another trap set by the White Walkers?" The Hound said.

"What trap? What trap could the White Walkers possibly set? If you're afraid, don't go, Hound."

The faces of the brothers on the ship changed slightly, and the atmosphere became grim and oppressive.

The Hound stared at Bob Norrell until a look of timidity appeared on the other man's face: "Sir, how were you foolish enough to be chased into Hardhome by White Walkers? You are scouts from the Black Castle, shouldn't your route be in the middle of the Haunted Forest? And the scouts from the Shadow Tower, they are responsible for the western route, how did they end up hundreds of miles away by the sea? Did the White Walkers chase you all the way and drive you into Hardhome?"

Bob Norrell said, "Hound, a month ago, Commander Jon noticed that the White Walkers suddenly retreated on a large scale. After ten days of silence, he sent us to investigate. We encountered the White Walkers in the Haunted Forest, and the densely packed wight army heavily besieged us. We fought and retreated, and along the way, we encountered the scout team from the Shadow Tower. They were also being chased on three sides by the wight army and joined up with us. In the end, everyone was forced towards the coast by the wights, forced into Hardhome on the Storrold's Point peninsula."

"Didn't even one person get lost along the way?"

Scout teams usually only have a few people, each with a good horse. Since the Northern Army, the free folk, and the remnants of Stannis's army joined, the scout team has expanded from a few people to more than ten.

"We were all injured, and five brothers died."

"Thousands upon thousands of White Walkers chased two scout teams for hundreds of miles, and finally forced them into Hardhome," the Hound said, "Sounds like it was intentional!"

"Hound, no matter what the situation is, we have to go," Commander Carter said, "White Walkers and wights cannot cross water, as long as we get the people on board, we'll be safe."

"Yes, Commander, as long as we have enough ships, we can save everyone. Then retreat to Eastwatch."

"Good."

Carter released the raven.

Thus, the three ships sailed north together. This journey would lead to total annihilation, though no one knew it yet.

Although the Hound had a faint unease in his heart, he couldn't offer any constructive suggestions. He just felt that something was not right.

Thanks to [STxiake] for the generous support, thank you, handshake!