Chapter 522 Ice and Fire

Samwell rode a white dragon soaring high in the sky, looking at the neck below that had completely changed.

The Neck in my memory is an endless black swamp, with brightly colored flowers blooming in the mud, large trees covered with curtains of fungi floating on billabongs, and venomous snakes and lizards lurking in the shadows. , toad...but now, all these have disappeared.

 Instead, there is a monotonous and dead white.

 However, for the northerners who moved south, this change was very beneficial.

 After all, they no longer have to squeeze through narrow and winding causeways or worry about poisonous insects in the swamps as before.

The extreme cold storm of winter turned the swamp into a smooth road, and countless migrating teams were densely scattered on the frozen swamp, heading south.

 But at the same time, there was a team heading northward.

 They are elite troops from the Seven Kingdoms.

The Great Wall of Despair has collapsed. Facing the coming powerful enemy from the north, they will build a new line of defense in the neck with their flesh and blood.

 In order to establish this line of defense, almost all the elite armies of the Seven Kingdoms were mobilized, numbering more than 300,000.

 In order to supply such a huge army with food, grass, supplies and help build fortifications, the number of civilians mobilized reached a terrifying number of more than 1.5 million.

Such military mobilization is absolutely unprecedented in the continent of Westeros, which is still in the era of agricultural civilization.

It would be good to win this battle, but if it fails...then the Seven Kingdoms will no longer be able to organize a decent force to resist the White Walkers moving south.

 It can be said that the Battle of Jingze was a life and death battle concerning the survival of mankind.

 So, Samwell will never allow any mistakes or accidents.

For some conspirators who have their own little plans, at such a critical moment, Samwell will naturally give thunderous means.

Three days ago in the middle of the night, when the white dragon flew over the Twins, the lord of the city, Lord Walder Frey, also died quietly at the same time.

The death of the Lord of the River Crossing did not cause too much trouble in the Frey family. After all, Marquis Walder was already over ninety years old and had one foot in the coffin, so everyone regarded this as normal. die.

For some, though, the news came as a bolt from the blue.

Although there is no evidence, smart people must know that this matter is closely related to Caesar.

From this, they also understood the king's determination and ruthless methods.

Hence, the wife of Lord Roose Bolton, Lord of the Dreadfort, Miss Walda from the Frey family, unfortunately had a fish bone stuck in her throat at a dinner party and died.

 Countess Anya Waynwood, Lord of Ironoak, immediately sent her adopted son, Ser Harold Haddon, the first heir to Lord Robert Arryn, to King's Landing.

There is also the Warden of the West, Duke Tyrion Lannister, who also announced that he would marry Miss Shae as soon as he learned the news.

 A duke wanted to marry a concubine, which immediately made Tyrion the laughing stock of the nobles of the seven kingdoms.

 But he didn't seem to care at all.

Hence, before the decisive battle came, some murmurs among the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms were suppressed by Samwell with strong methods and high personal prestige.

"Roar-"

A dragon roar brought Samwell, who was deep in thought, back to reality. He turned his head and saw the black dragon Drogon approaching with Daenerys on his back.

 “Sam… down there…”

The wind was so loud that Samwell couldn't hear his wife clearly, but he could understand what he meant.

He lowered his head and looked down, and saw a lonely fortress vaguely visible above the white frozen swamp.

 Samwell realized something and urged the white dragon to swoop down.

Boom—

The dragon landed heavily outside the castle, causing a commotion.

The short, green-eyed Marshland man looked at the three giant dragons that descended one after another with curiosity and awe.

 Samwell jumped off the back of the white dragon, and then caught Daenerys who jumped off the back of the black dragon.

“I am King Caesar. Is this Greywater Hope?”

 After a moment, a thin young man wearing a crocodile skin coat stepped forward and said politely:

 “Yes, Your Majesty, welcome to the castle of our Gladlanders.”

Daenerys curiously looked at the strange fortress covered with moss and vines in front of her, and asked:

"Is this the residence of the Reed family? Legend has it that it has never been found by outsiders."

“Yes, because Greywaterwatch is a castle that floats on the marshes. It moves and any army trying to conquer the moorland cannot find it...until the cold winds from the north freeze the marshes. Our castle cannot move.”

The Zedi boy's eyes flashed with uneasiness and frustration.

  After all, the people of the Zelanders have always been thinner and do not have superb smelting technology. Without the protection of swamps and miasma, they are obviously unable to resist the attacks of the Southern Iron Knights.

It is rumored that these people of the Marsh are also descendants of the ancestors, but they rely on the special environment of the Neck to block any southern army that attempts to go north to the south of Carlin Bay.

"Winter will pass." Samwell comforted him, and then asked, "Is your lord, Lord Howland Reed, here?"

The Zedi boy nodded, and then carefully glanced at the terrifying dragon behind the king that could cover the entire castle with its wings, and said:

“Yes, Your Majesty, please come with me.”

 Samwell took his wife's hand and stepped into the castle gate.

 But when they entered the city, they discovered that the environment inside was even weirder than the appearance of the castle.

Dense vines and branches were tangled above their heads, completely blocking out the sun. If it weren't for the young man from the swamp who was leading the way holding a torch and walking ahead, they wouldn't have been able to see the road clearly.

Moreover, the road here is narrow, winding and low, so Samwell has to bend forward.

This is a castle without walls, surrounded by twisted weirwoods. The pale tree trunks crawl in and out of the castle like pythons, giving it a creepy and depressing feeling.

 Daenerys couldn't help but squeeze her husband's hand.

After passing another fork in the road, they came to a slightly larger open cave. Pieces of fang-like rocks rose from the ground. Weirwood roots were everywhere, entangled with the rocks and arched out, weaving into a shape like a throne. .

 And on the pale wooden throne, sat a skinny old man.

He was wearing a green leather jacket, his eyes were green, and his skin had a light green shimmer. There were even a few green fungi occupying his forehead.

"Your Majesty the King, Your Majesty the Queen," the old man said weakly, "Welcome to Graywater Watch. Please forgive me for being too old to stand up and salute."

"Lord Howland Reed," Samwell said jokingly, "I think you look more like a Green Seer."

Hearing the other party emphasize the word "green", Count Holland also smiled, showing his toothless mouth:

“Your Majesty, how I wish I could become a prophet. Unfortunately, I don’t have this talent. My son Jojen does.

　　When he was very young, he almost died of gray water fever, but fortunately the real green prophet saved him and taught him the gift of green vision. Later he had some green dreams and went to the north..."

"I know your son, and your daughter." Samwell nodded, "They now follow Bran Stark, the new Green Seer."

 “Yeah, I hope the gods can bless them.”

 Samwell pursed his lips, did not answer, and asked instead:

“Earl Howland, you must have known about the collapse of the Great Wall and the march of the White Walkers southward. I am building a new defense line in the Neck, and I hope to get help from you and the people of the Neck.”

Theoretically speaking, the Zedi people can be regarded as the people of the Seven Kingdoms. However, due to the secluded living environment and the huge differences in customs from the outside world, the Zedi people have always been outside the system of the Seven Kingdoms.

And other people generally rarely interact with the swamp people. After all, they spend their whole lives hiding in the swamps and cannot be found even if they want to find them.

Had it not been for the severe cold that froze the swamps this time, Samwell would not have been able to find an extremely hidden and constantly moving castle like Greywater Lookout.

"This is what we should do." Earl Holland said very generously. "The Marshland soldiers will follow you to the front line. If there is anything else you need, please just give me your orders."

 Samwell suddenly remembered something and said:

“I remember the Battle of the Tower of Bliss. You and Eddard Stark were the only survivors.”

 “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I’m curious, how did you win that battle?”

“That was indeed a battle that I will never forget.” Count Holland’s eyes were slightly distracted, obviously lost in memories:

"At that time, the Reaver War had come to an end, and the defeat of the Targaryen family was certain. Duke Eddard led his army south to relieve the siege of Storm's End, and the Reach gave up its resistance. In the end, the remaining ones were the stubborn Doge. A benefactor.

Since Elia Martell died in King's Landing, Sunspear refused to surrender, and the Red Viper gathered an army of 30,000 people at the Prince's Pass, ready to march north at any time.

Lord Eddard did not want to irritate the Dornish people, so he left his army in the border areas and entered the Crimson Mountains with only six knights to find his sister, Miss Lyanna.

 Earl William Dustin, Sir Ethan Glover, Sir Martin Kelso, Sir Theo Wall, Sir Mark Ryswell... they are all the most outstanding knights in the North.

Of course, I also joined the team because of my personal relationship with Lord Ed.

 When I found the Tower of Bliss, I found that the people guarding it were actually three white knights.



Although we have the numerical advantage in seven versus three, we have to say that the other party is indeed the most outstanding knight elite of the Seven Kingdoms, and they actually have the upper hand in the battle.

Gerald Hightower killed two of our companions by himself, and Oswell also died with Earl William. The remaining sword of the Dawn actually killed Martin and Theo one after another, seriously injured me, and also killed Ed. Your Excellency can only fight with the power of parry..."

“Then how did you kill Ser Arthur Dayne?” Daenerys couldn’t help but ask, “Some say you used dishonorable means.”

Count Holland smiled bitterly and said:

"Of course everyone thinks so. After all, we Zelanders like to hide in dark corners and shoot poisonous arrows. However, I also have a sense of honor. In that holy knight duel, I did not use any destructive tricks."

“So you teamed up with Lord Eddard and defeated Sir Arthur in an honest way?”

Count Holland shook his head:

“The Sword of Dawn is so powerful, it can be called the most terrifying knight in the Seven Kingdoms at that time. With the giant sword [Dawn] in hand, he is simply an invincible enemy. Just like you are now, Your Majesty.”

 Samwell curled his lips and did not express his position on this, but continued to ask:

“Since you still couldn’t defeat Arthur Dayne, how did you kill him?”

“Of course Lord Ed and I are no match for Sir Arthur with our real strength, but we people from the Glade have inherited a secret technique that can borrow the power of the gods.”

 Samwell raised his eyebrows and suddenly became interested:

 “How to borrow it?”

"It requires some talent and the blood of the ancestors." Earl Holland said, "Our ancestors believe in the ancient gods, which are what you southerners call the old gods. But in fact, the old gods are in the weirwood trees. In the rocks, in the earth, if you want to borrow the power of the old gods, you must first learn to become one with the trees, the rocks, and the earth.”

Seeing the king's confused expression, Count Holland added:

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid you cannot use this secret technique. After all, you are a knight of the Seven Gods, not a believer of the old gods."

Samwell took a few steps forward, his gray pupils gradually turned green, and he said:

“Count Holland, my connection with the Old Gods is actually closer than you think.”

"Green Vision?" Earl Holland was obviously shocked. He opened his mouth wide, and after a long time he regained his composure and said, "It seems that your Majesty is also the chosen one of the old gods. In this case, this secret passed down by the Reed family I leave the technique to you."

As he spoke, he took out a manuscript from his sleeve and handed it to the king tremblingly. At the same time, he did not forget to warn:

"However, Your Majesty, please use this secret skill with caution. Although it is powerful, it will cause extremely serious harm to the body. Look at me, I am only in my early forties, but I am almost at the end of my life. This That’s the price I paid for using the secret method twice.”

“Twice?” Samwell asked curiously, “Besides the Battle of the Tower of Bliss, when was the other time?”

“Have you ever heard of the Knight of the Laughing Tree?” Count Holland asked.

 Samwell nodded: "Are you the Knight of the Laughing Tree?"

"Yes."

The so-called Knight of the Laughing Tree actually refers to a mysterious knight who appeared at the Harrenhal Tourney twenty years ago.

This man is short in stature, wearing patchwork armor and holding a shield. The coat of arms on his shield is a smiling face painted on a heart tree, so he is called the "Knight of the Smiling Tree".

That tourney was an important turning point for the Targaryen dynasty and the true source of the Reaver's War.

Rhaegar Targaryen won the final victory at the meeting, but dedicated the "Crown of Love and Beauty" to Robert Baratheon's fiancée Lyanna Stark.

Many people speculated that Lyanna was the Knight of the Laughing Tree, and thus formed a bad relationship with Prince Rhaegar. Unexpectedly...

"I always thought it was Lady Lyanna who taught those people a lesson for you," Samwell said.

"Miss Lyanna did have such a plan." Count Holland said with a smile, "She is a warm-hearted girl. However, in the end, it was me who appeared on the stage myself, and with the help of the power of the old gods, I defeated those who had ridiculed me. Knights."

 “Did Prince Rhaegar catch up with you later?”

Earl Holland nodded:

“We caught up and met Lady Lyanna. The three of us drank wine all night by the God’s Eye Lake. Prince Rhaegar also played the harp for us…

His piano sound is full of melancholy and makes people cry.

 He said it was a song he learned from a dream, called A Song of Ice and Fire..."

"A Song of Ice and Fire?" Samwell looked surprised again, "Do you still remember the content of the song?"

　Holland shook his head:

“Time has passed too long, and I have aged too fast...However, there is one sentence that is always imprinted in my mind and cannot be forgotten.”

 “Which sentence?”

“If black ice can burn,” Earl Holland’s green eyes flashed with tears, “then fire can also freeze.”

"If black ice can burn, then fire can also freeze..." Samwell murmured and repeated this sentence, his eyes flashing.

 (End of this chapter)