Chapter 514: Underground Giant

 Sansa Stark left the room with a heavy heart.

 In the garden, the snow was already deep, bending the branches and covering the statue with a white coat.

Winter in Winterfell is really beautiful. At this time, all the colors in the world are gone, except for black, white and gray.

 White towers, white snowflakes, white statues, black shadows and black trees, and the ever-grey sky.

 A monotonous world, a pure world, just like the nature of the Stark family.

At one time, Sansa hated this monotony so much that she even dreamed of escaping to the warm south, to the prosperous palace, and to see the colorful world.

 But when she wandered around in that world for a few years, she found that Winterfell was more suitable for her.

 She's always been a Stark.

 But now, she was forced to leave again.

 The raven brought news of the Wall, nightmarish news.

Sansa wished this was really a dream.

How could the Great Wall, which had stood in the north for thousands of years, suddenly collapse?

How could the White Walkers, who only existed in Old Nan’s stories, really come to the world?

Sansa stepped into the snow in a daze, her boots leaving ankle-deep holes in the smooth white snow but making no sound.

She walked through the frosty bushes, past the thin black trees, past the broken tower... She looked at all of these with great nostalgia, as if she wanted to imprint them in her mind forever.

 The flying snowflakes were like a lover's gentle kiss, crossing her face and melting due to her body temperature.

Sansa sniffed, stretched out her hand to wipe the water marks on her cheeks, and was about to go back to pack her things.

 But at this moment, a shadow appeared over Winterfell.

 She looked up in shock and saw the white dragon descending slowly.

 “Your Majesty Caesar!”

Sansa's gloomy mood seemed to be healed instantly. In the coming cold winter, only the dragon can give people warmth and hope. Of course, there is also the man who controls the dragon...

 She lifted up her skirt and ran out of the main castle until she came to the square out of breath.

 “Good morning, Lady Sansa.”

 “Good morning, good morning, Your Majesty.” Sansa’s cheeks were red and she saluted quickly.

 Then, with infinite expectation, she asked again:

“Your Majesty, you are here to save Winterfell, right?”

 What a pity, the man slowly shook his head:

"Sorry, Miss Sansa, I can't save Winterfell, at least not now. The White Walkers are coming fiercely. Winterfell has no soldiers, no food, and no dangerous terrain to withstand the impact of the tide of corpses. So, I'm here. You were notified to evacuate.”

The brightness in Sansa's eyes dimmed visibly:

 “Not even your Majesty…”

Samwell looked at the girl who was about to cry, sighed, stepped forward and rubbed her head, comforting her:

“The reason why we withdraw our fists is to fight out better. We are retreating south this time to fight back better in the future. Believe me, one day, we will eliminate the White Walkers and rebuild the northern border.”

Sansa seemed to feel the power from the man's palm, and her expression softened a little:

 “Well, I believe you, Your Majesty.”

“Okay, now take me to see Lady Catelyn.”

"Okay. Mother is summoning the family knights in the hall. Please come with me."

Samwell followed Sansa into the main castle. Before he entered the hall, he heard a fierce quarrel breaking out inside.

 “No! I will not leave Winterfell no matter what!”

"That's right! This is our hometown, our territory, and the place we swore to protect."

“But the Great Wall has collapsed and the White Walkers are marching south, so Ed has to decide..."

"I'm sorry, my lady, I have great respect for Lord Eddard, but now that he is no longer the Duke of Winterfell, he has no authority to give us orders."

“What about my son Rickon Stark, now Lord of Winterfell?”

 “Duke Rickon is not yet a minor.”

"what about me?"

Everyone heard a loud voice outside the door. When they turned around, they saw the young king appearing at the door without knowing it.

Mrs. Caitlin was relieved and quickly stepped forward to salute:

“Your Majesty, I didn’t expect you to come to Winterfell. We were unable to welcome you in time, so we ask for your forgiveness.”

“The situation is urgent, so you don’t have to worry about these things.” Samwell waved his hand, then walked through the crowd to the high platform.

Duke Rickon, who was sitting on the weirwood throne, quickly stood up.

Samwell smiled and nodded at him, but did not sit down. Instead, he turned to face everyone and said loudly:

"I just came back from the Great Wall of Despair. No one knows the situation there better than me. The Great Wall collapsed and the White Walkers' march southward has become unstoppable. Taking all things into consideration, I am planning to build a new line of defense in the Neck. Therefore, the area north of the Neck is The southward migration must be organized immediately.”

 The hall was silent for a second, but then it exploded.

“Your Majesty, you are giving up the entire northern territory!”

“Your Majesty, why don’t you build a new defense line at Winterfell?”

“Your Majesty, I think we can set up defenses along the White Blade River!”

 …

 “Shut up, everyone!” shouted Samwell.

 Seeing the king's anger, the hall fell silent.

"I'm not negotiating with you." Samwell said coldly, "This is an order. Whether you are willing or not, you must implement it. Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished with treason!"

Everyone looked at the king whose eyes were shining with light golden light, and felt a powerful and oppressive aura coming towards their faces, making them afraid to say anything.

After a moment of silence, Lady Caitlin took her son Rickon forward, leaned towards the king, and said:

“Your Majesty, the Stark family will obey your orders unconditionally!”

With the Duke of Winterfell's statement, the other nobles had no choice but to suppress their inner thoughts and express their willingness to obey.

 Samwell nodded with satisfaction and said:

“You all, go get ready and mobilize the people as quickly as possible to go south.”

 “Yes, Your Majesty.”

 Samwell looked at Lady Catelyn again and said:

“And Rickon, in the name of the Duke of Winterfell, will issue an order to the entire North to move south. I will also sign the document.”

 “Yes, Your Majesty.”

 Lady Caitlin took her son's hand, led the king to the study, and began to write letters to the major lords in the north.

After finishing, she said with a little worry:

“Your Majesty, although the order to move south has been issued in the name of you and the Duke, I am worried that some northern lords may not be willing to abandon their territories and go south.”

"I have also sent a special envoy," Samwell said, "Jon Snow. He will bring my sword to urge every northern lord to move south. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!"

Mrs. Caitlin's face changed slightly when she heard the illegitimate son's name.

 But she also knew the importance and didn’t say much.

 Samwell asked:

“Madam, when I came to Winterfell last time, I visited the underground tomb and found that it had collapsed. I wonder if the repairs have been completed now?”

"Not yet, Your Majesty." Lady Caitlin said, "The collapse under the tomb is more serious than expected. They have been cleaning for half a month but still cannot clear the tunnel."

 Samwell asked again:

 “Have you checked the tomb?”

“Your Majesty, why do you ask this? The kings of the north are buried in the tombs, and we will not disturb their rest for no reason.”

 Samwell smiled, did not dwell on this issue anymore, and instead said:

"I was entrusted by Eddard Stark to come to Winterfell. In addition to issuing orders to move south in the name of Duke Rickon, I also promised to take Eddard's wife and children to King's Landing. So, you pack up as soon as possible and leave with me. ."   Mrs. Caitlin hesitated for a moment and said:

"Your Majesty, please take Rickon, Sansa and Arya with you. I will stay and wait for Eddard."

 Samwell frowned and said:

“Your husband is leading the Night’s Watch to retreat south. He may be pursued by an army of zombies along the way, and may not necessarily pass through Winterfell…”

"He will definitely do it," Lady Catelyn said, "and there must be someone left in Winterfell to take charge of the overall situation. Don't worry, your majesty, I will evacuate before the wight army arrives."

"Okay, be careful." Samwell stopped trying to persuade him. "Let your children get ready as soon as possible. I will wait for them outside the castle."

 “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Before leaving the study, Samwell suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask:

“By the way, is the old nurse from the Stark family still there?”

Lady Catelyn was stunned for a moment. Although she was confused as to why the king suddenly cared about a maid of the Stark family, she still said truthfully:

 “Sorry, Your Majesty, she just died a week ago.”

 Samwell nodded and walked out of the room.

 It was snowing heavily outside the house, and the castle was full of people walking in a hurry.

 As soon as the news of the southward migration spread, panic and sadness also spread.

 Samwell avoided the crowd and came to the tomb again.

The spiral staircase underground is filled with lingering darkness, and a chill that seems to penetrate deep into the soul, originating from the deep underground.

This time there was no one from the Stark family to accompany him, so Samwell no longer cared about etiquette. When he came to a tomb, he opened the coffin lid.

Through the dissipating smoke and dust, Samwell saw a white skeleton lying quietly in the acupuncture point.

He looked back at the tombstone and realized that this person should be the former Duke of Winterfell—Rickard Stark.

Samwell lowered the lid of the coffin and continued to move forward, looking at the graves one by one.

The former Lords of the North all lay in their tombs without exception, until the "Bent the Kneeling King" Torrhen Stark.

　　That is, the last King of Winter in history.

 His tomb is empty.

 Samwell realized something, and continued to check several more tombs, and found that the tombs from King Tolon onward were all empty.

“So, only the Stark who is king can transform into a corpse?” Samwell rubbed his chin and said to himself.

 After experiencing so many things, Samwell has become convinced that the Stark family has some inexplicable connection with the White Walkers.

But what secrets are hidden in it is still unknown.

This secret probably dates back to the distant Dawn Era, to the war between the First Men and the Andals.

 Unfortunately, there is no documentary historical data about that era, only vague and even misleading legends.

Samwell could only try to piece together a vague picture based on what he saw and heard, plus some guesses.

While thinking, he continued to move forward along the tunnel.

As you walk, randomly select a few tombs to open.

As he had guessed, the tombs of these older Starks who had once been kings had long been empty, with nothing left behind.

 It seems that he has left here long ago and wandered around the world.

Not long after walking, the road in front of us was blocked by collapsed boulders.

The collapse of this kind of underground passage is extremely difficult to clean up. The craftsmen of Winterfell can only break up the boulders blocking the front and then carry them out bit by bit.

 This speed is naturally very slow.

Samwell looked at the boulder in front of him, hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, put his hands on the stone wall, and started to exert force.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　——

 The boulder began to shake.

 But even if Samwell's strength is far beyond ordinary people, it is almost impossible to move the boulder.

Although the exposed part of the boulder is not large, it is probably a corner of an underground rock formation.

To move it is to fight against the whole earth.

However, Samwell did not give up easily.

His eyes gradually turned golden, his body gradually expanded, and exaggerated muscle lines gradually became prominent on the surface of his clothes.

boom! boom! boom!

As the mental attribute transformed into the power attribute, Samwell's heart began to beat violently, and blood surged throughout his body like a surging tide.

 Click!

 A series of spider web-like cracks covered the boulders densely.

　　Boom!

 The next second, the boulder exploded into pieces under Samwell’s terrifying power.

 But he did not stop and continued to move forward.

　　Boom! boom! boom!

Huge boulders turned into countless fragments under Samwell's hammering, and the earth trembled with his footsteps.

As Samwell continued to move deeper into the ground, the biting cold gradually subsided, and an unknown warmth began to fill the air.

 Like the breath of spring.

 After walking for an unknown amount of time, Samwell suddenly stopped.

He reached into his pocket and took out the horn inlaid with strange bronze patterns—

 The horn that blew down the Great Wall of Despair,

 The legendary Horn of Winter.

For some reason, as he continued to move deeper into the ground, this horn gradually emitted a wave of witchcraft.

 It was only then that Samwell was finally able to feel that it was unusual.

 He rubbed the bronze decoration on the horn, with golden flames flashing in his eyes.

At this moment, Samwell could feel the horn having an inexplicable strong temptation on him, tempting him to blow it.

But Samwell certainly wouldn't do that.

 Whether it is the Dragon's Horn or the Winter's Horn, it seems that a sacrifice is required before it can be blown.

 He does not want to be a sacrifice.

 As time goes by, the witchcraft wave emitted by the Horn of Winter becomes stronger and stronger.

 At the same time, the temperature underground is getting higher and higher.

 Later, Samwell felt as if he had returned to midsummer.

Seeing that the temperature was still rising, Samwell was preparing to go back temporarily in order to avoid being roasted.

 But the moment he turned around, the Horn of Winter suddenly lit up with a red light.

The scene in front of Samwell's eyes blurred for a while, and his vision passed through unknown layers of rocks, going down, down, and down again...

In the seemingly endless underground abyss, he saw a giant.

Not the so-called "giants" who are only three or four people tall outside the Great Wall, but real giants!

 In front of it, Samwell was as small as a bug.

If it wakes up and crawls out of the ground, perhaps the entire Winterfell will collapse in an earthquake.

 But fortunately, it closed its eyes and made no sound.

 I don’t know if he is dead,

 Still fell into a deep sleep.

 (End of this chapter)