Chapter 291 Facing the White Walkers (Third Update)
North of the Great Wall lies the Ghost Forest, stretching for thousands of kilometers and perpetually covered in snow and fallen leaves. Hidden within this jungle are unimaginable difficulties for ordinary people.
At this moment, Daenerys, through Drogon's perspective, saw the White Walker soldiers spying from the forests beyond the Wall. They were White Walkers, not wights. This meant that the Wildlings' movements had actually been under the White Walkers' surveillance all along.
“Ten miles to the northeast, there are three White Walkers observing us,” Daenerys said to the group after a moment, opening her eyes.
A commotion rippled through the crowd. Especially for the wildlings, the White Walkers were undoubtedly their nightmare. Stannis instinctively wanted to draw his sword and fight. But Melisandre subtly stopped him. Others might not know, but she knew perfectly well. Don't be fooled by Stannis's ability to awaken the Lightbringer, showing some signs of being a prophetic child. But to let him directly confront the White Walkers would be tantamount to suicide.
Melisandre's intention was still for Stannis to unify the Seven Kingdoms and use their combined strength to fight the White Walkers. Stannis was to play the role of a leader, not a true hero leading the charge. However, while her plan was beautifully conceived, Daenerys saw through it.
With a thought, two giant dragons blocked the three White Walkers who were preparing to retreat. If the Night King were present, he naturally wouldn't have done this. However, three ordinary White Walkers were utterly powerless against the combined attack of the two dragons. They weren't like the Night King, a being capable of instantly killing dragons.
More importantly, Drogon and Viserion never charged into direct combat. Instead, they used dragonfire from a distance to constantly force the three White Walkers to reposition themselves. Thus, the countless wildlings waiting outside the Wall witnessed a bizarre scene: the White Walkers, driven to desperation and forced to fight their way across the Wall, were being chased like rabbits by two dragons all the way to the Wall's gates.
Daenerys opened her eyes and addressed the crowd before her.
“There are three White Walkers outside the city now, probably scouts from the White Walker army. I have them trapped. Is there anyone who wants the honor of becoming a hero who slays a White Walker?”
Silence fell over the scene. No one was a fool; even some members of the Night's Watch who didn't believe in the White Walkers' existence would never openly declare their willingness to fight them. After all, they were legendary natural disasters; how could humanity possibly confront them directly?
A strange scene unfolded outside the city gates. Three White Walkers, somewhat terrified, were surrounded by tens of thousands of wildlings and two dragons. The wildlings dared not attack the White Walkers. However, seeing that they dared not make a move, they gradually gathered around to watch. After all, it's human nature to be a spectator.
At that moment, the city gates opened. Daenerys led the way, stepping out of the tunnel to face the three White Walkers. Lu Xuan stood beside her, carefully observing these strange magical creatures of this world. Or rather, magical weapons. After all, the White Walkers originated from the magical weapons created by the Children of the Forest. Unfortunately, they overlooked the fact that weapons should not possess their own consciousness. This led to the Long Night, the catastrophe that befell this world.
These Otherworldly beings were tall and emaciated, with skin as pale as blood. They had deep blue eyes that gleamed with a cold and melancholic light. They wielded longswords that resembled crystal, emitting a faint blue glow and a visible chill. Lu Xuan remembered that ordinary steel, when clashed with such longswords, would be directly corroded by the cold energy and shatter into pieces.
Besides this, Lu Xuan noticed a peculiar problem: the ground where the White Walkers walked left almost no footprints. Keep in mind, the area outside the city was covered in thick snow. Whether it was people or horses, they would inevitably leave traces. But these White Walkers seemed to walk through the snow without leaving a trace, almost imperceptible. These things were truly followers of the God of Cold, perhaps even his chosen ones. The Night King must at least be a being of the level of the God of Cold's messenger. They possessed unparalleled adaptability to ice and snow.
At this moment, tens of thousands of people surrounded the three White Walkers. Of course, their attention was actually more focused on Daenerys and Stannis. Clearly, this was a perfect opportunity for a show, and both of them had to make a choice. Their next move would determine whether they gained influence among the Night's Watch and the wildlings.
Unlike the wildlings, the Night's Watch had never seen a White Walker with their own eyes. They were currently discussing it amongst themselves.
"By the Seven Gods, do monsters like the Others really exist?"
"They look dangerous; those blue swords look very sharp."
"I'm serious, even if you kill me, I don't want to fight that thing."
"I sensed that they seemed afraid."
"Of course they're afraid, but they're afraid of dragons, not us."
"Alright, what I'm really concerned about now is what these two lords will do? Isn't Stannis the legendary Child of Prophecy? And he's wielding that sword called Lightbringer? Killing a few White Walkers shouldn't be a problem for him, right?"
It was unclear who said it, but the voice was barely concealed, and everyone in front heard it clearly. Stannis's face turned pale instantly. He was about to draw his sword and charge forward. But Melisandre stopped him and quickly gestured for the Knights of the Flaming Hearts behind him to go first.
The intention was clear: to let these knights test the White Walkers' capabilities first, thus gathering some intelligence for Stannis. Of course, if they could actually fight them, that would be even better, because Stannis, deep down, had no intention of engaging those creatures in hand-to-hand combat...
Twelve Flameheart Knights charged forward, clad in heavy armor and wielding spears and longswords, advancing in a dense formation. Since there were only three opponents, complex tactics weren't necessary; a concentrated assault would suffice.
Unfortunately, these knights underestimated the White Walkers' fighting prowess.
The three White Walkers suddenly accelerated, whipping up a gust of wind on the snow. The knight at the front, as if crashing into a wall, was halted by an immense force, horse and rider. The impact snapped the horse in half, sending it flying and smashing down on four or five knights behind it.
The formation was disrupted, and two more White Walkers had already charged into the crowd.
When the White Walkers' weapons strike a human, the chilling air turns the body into ice crystals, which then shatter. After twelve breaths, only ice shards remain on the ground.
"Fuck..." No one knows who it was, but he voiced everyone's thoughts.
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Chapter 292 Slaying the Otherworldly Demon (Fourth update, please subscribe and vote)
With a soft thud, Daenerys's cloak hit the ground.
Surrounded by tens of thousands of onlookers, Daenerys removed her snow-white lion-skin cloak. She even took off her helmet and disassembled some joints of her full-body armor to ensure that her movements were not hindered in the slightest.
"Your Majesty!" Maester Aemon panicked on the spot. This was the last bloodline of their Targaryens. He could hardly bear the thought of something happening to him here.
Not only him, but Jon Snow, Instructor Allissa, and several other high-ranking members of the Night's Watch also tried to dissuade them. After all, Daenerys had descended from the heavens and saved all the Night's Watchmen at Castle Black. They still had to repay that debt of gratitude.
Lu Xuan also asked from the side.
"With your current strength, you're still in some danger. Should I go ahead and lead the charge for you?"
"No, it's not necessary. If I can't even defeat an ordinary White Walker, how will I face the Night King in the future? Believe me, Master. I can do it."
"...You've grown up, Daenerys."
"So, in my teacher's eyes, I've always been a little girl?" Daenerys chuckled, casually drawing the black flame from her waist and pointing it at the foremost of the three White Walkers.
Lu Xuan was certain that these Otherworlders could definitely understand human language. However, humans couldn't understand theirs. They communicated with each other using a rapid, indistinct tone. It seemed very efficient; they completed communication in an instant.
The White Walker stepped forward and faced Daenerys alone.
Everyone around held their breath at that moment.
Daenerys did not practice Lu Xuan's Ape Strike Technique. Her physique was suited to magic. However, she could, to a certain extent, use magical energy to replace true qi and simulate the effect of the Ape Strike Technique. Although it was not as good as the original, the effect was already very significant.
Neither Daenerys nor the White Walkers moved. Others couldn't tell, but Lu Xuan could see that the two sides were already engaged in combat.
An invisible stance began to emerge between the two. The scorching heat and icy cold caused the snow on the ground to become noticeably cotton-like. Most of it turned into ice crystals, and half into flowing water.
However, all of this was merely a clash of their leaked auras. Both were gathering their strength, and the air around Daenerys even seemed to distort slightly.