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#403 - Chapter 137: The King's Death (I)

Earl Crowell replied with a serious expression: "I am very sorry, Young Master Rickon. According to the combat regulations issued by the Lord, the White Tiger Battleship is strictly prohibited from carrying any non-combat personnel. However, we are willing to go to the bay to assist Commander Jon in the battle. But, I have a question. We have fought with the Others before, but how exactly did they attack the ships at sea?"

Bran: "It's the Night King. He gathered thousands of Others and cast ice magic together under the cover of night, freezing a large area of the sea. It was too late when the sailors on the ship noticed. Then the Others took the lead in the attack, followed by a large number of wights. There were only twenty or so people on each ship, and they couldn't stop them at all."

Earl Crowell frowned upon hearing this and fell into deep thought. He knew that this crisis was no small matter, and if no action was taken, the entire North would face destruction. After a while, he looked up and said firmly: "If that's the case, although we can't help transfer the wildlings, I will lead the fleet to the bay and use artillery to support the defending forces in front."

Rickon nodded in agreement after hearing this. He knew that Earl Crowell's decision was wise, and only in this way could he provide strong support to the defending forces in front. So, he continued: "Okay, I'll go too. Bran, then I'll leave it to you here. In addition, I will give you the supply ships to increase your transportation capacity. I hope you can complete the transfer mission as soon as possible. At the same time, you must also tell Robb that if the situation is not right, be sure to save yourself."

Bran nodded solemnly after hearing this. He understood what Rickon meant, and he also knew that this mission was extremely difficult. But he believed that as long as everyone worked together, they would be able to overcome the difficulties. Finally, he looked at the backs of Earl Crowell and Rickon leaving, and secretly prayed in his heart that they could return safely.

Bran looked at Rickon, and a warm current surged in his heart: "Thank you, Rickon."

Afterwards, Earl Crowell and Rickon led the White Tiger Ironclad Fleet towards the bay. Bran began to organize craftsmen and soldiers to rush to repair more rafts.

Hundreds of small mountain-like warships sailed past, giving the wildlings a lot of shock. The wildling leaders shut their mouths and silently returned to their positions under the leadership of Morona, waiting for the next instructions.

Robb was quite pleased after hearing Bran's relay of the words, his younger brother had grown up. He was right, only women and children could not defend the Great Wall, and it was impossible to put all the warriors of the North in because of them.

Robb thought for a while and said, "Earl Karstark, go and arrange for our army to withdraw some of our forces first."

Rickard Karstark asked in a low voice, "Lord, how many people do we need to withdraw?"

Robb thought for a while and said, "Withdraw at least half of the people on land. Also, that woman is from the Amber family. After all, she is of noble blood, so arrange for her people to leave first."

"As you command, my lord!" Rickard Karstark nodded to show that he understood, and immediately turned and left to start arranging the withdrawal. Several Northern Territory generals also took their orders and left. As the orders were issued, the army began to withdraw from the battlefield in an orderly manner, transferring some of their forces to other places.

Time passed by, and the atmosphere became more and more tense. The soldiers were busy moving around, retreating quickly according to instructions. Robb stood high up, watching all of this, and silently prayed in his heart that they would be safe.

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At the same time, the situation at sea became confusing. Earl Crowell led the Skagos fleet into the bay carefully. Learning from the lessons of the Salador fleet, they did not dare to approach the shore rashly. Originally, Earl Crowell planned to contact Stannis and Jon on the shore first, but at this moment, a raging fire suddenly ignited in the distance, illuminating the entire sky.

Earl Crowell frowned tightly, staring solemnly at the raging fire in the distance. His heart was full of doubts and uneasiness, and he didn't know what had happened ahead. But at this moment, Rickon, who was on the side, seemed very anxious and impulsive. He said anxiously to Earl Crowell: "Commander Earl, something must have happened over there, we have to hurry up and rush over there!"

"Young Master Rickon, it is wartime now, please do not interfere with my command!" Earl Crowell said sternly, his voice with a hint of majesty. "The situation is currently unclear, and we cannot just rush over there rashly. If this is a trap set by the Others, we will suffer huge losses. As the commander of the fleet, I must be responsible to the Lord and ensure the safety of the fleet. Therefore, please remain calm and follow my instructions."

Hearing Earl Crowell's words, Rickon realized that his behavior just now was too impulsive and might bring danger to the entire fleet. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Then, he apologized to Earl Crowell: "I'm sorry, Commander Earl. I just lost my composure. But please understand, my brother Jon is there, and I am very worried about his safety."

Earl Crowell nodded to show that he understood Young Master Rickon's mood. He comforted: "Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief Jon is also the Lord's disciple. Moreover, there are many of my clansmen in the Night's Watch Legion, and they will protect Commander-in-Chief Jon's safety. I will do my best to rescue them safely."

After speaking, Earl Crowell immediately began to issue orders. He transmitted information to the fleet through lights, commanding the entire fleet to be divided into three parts, and quickly spread to the surrounding area. The soldiers on each ship were busy preparing for the upcoming battle. Metal pipes stretched out from the deck, pointing diagonally at the shore. This was the tactic they had agreed upon long ago - the fleet would use artillery to attack the Others from a distance, providing fire support for the army guarding the shore.

On land, the wight army had broken through the human defenses like a tide. The battle was extremely tragic. The Allied forces suffered heavy losses, especially the wildling warriors. Less than 10,000 people were able to retreat to the third line of defense. Stannis's army and the Night's Watch also suffered nearly 2,000 casualties.

This time, the Others launched an overwhelming offensive. Countless beast-type wights surged in, including huge mammoths, snow bears, cave lions, direwolves, as well as smaller wild boars, shadow lynxes, goats, deer, wild dogs, voles, and rabbits. These beast-type wights moved extremely fast and could skillfully avoid burning traps. Some even carried humanoid wights on their backs.

The second line of defense could not effectively stop them. This sudden change made it difficult for human warriors to adapt. To make matters worse, the fully armed Others legion also joined the battle. They took advantage of the opportunity when humans were entangled with animal-shaped wights and quietly mixed into the humanoid wights, approaching quickly at an alarming speed. At such close range, the Others launched a magical attack. Countless sharp ice cones shot towards the human warriors like a rainstorm. Many people were caught off guard and were pierced through the body by the sudden ice cones.