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#388 - Chapter 122: Shocking Changes in the Frontier (Part 2)

Melisandre answered seriously, "Because they want to conquer this world, and the Others can turn humans into their slaves, making them serve them forever." She paused, then added, "The Others are our enemies, they cannot be negotiated with or bought off, only force can stop them."

Tyrion frowned and asked, "But how do we know they really exist?"

Melisandre's eyes sharpened, and she said, "No, they are real, I have fought them." Her tone was firm and powerful, as if to dispel all doubts. Then, she said softly, "Stannis Baratheon died on the battlefield fighting the Others, just a few days ago..."

Melisandre recounted the battle that took place beyond the Wall.

On the same day Liu Yuan boarded a ship from Pentos, Robb led his army to the Wall. Jon Snow personally greeted them on the Kingsroad.

The howls of wolves echoed across the snowy plains, and the hooves of four strong warhorses thundered as they broke through the ice and snow. Beside the horses, four tall and powerful direwolves closely followed. Jon could barely contain his excitement, he spurred his horse forward, and Ghost excitedly rushed forward as well, the five direwolves playfully frolicking together.

After many years, the five Stark children were finally reunited. They had experienced countless hardships, separations, and deaths, and now they were reunited, each filled with emotion. Having gone through trials and tribulations, they understood the preciousness of family and cherished their bond even more.

That day, the three factions held an important meeting in Castle Black. The Iron Bank, as the sponsor of the negotiations, also sent representatives to listen in.

In fact, Stannis and Robb did not have a friendly relationship. In Stannis's eyes, Robb's declaration of independence for the North was not only a challenge to the royal power but also a serious act of treason, because it meant dividing the Seven Kingdoms. Now that they had turned to King's Landing and chosen to stand with the Lannister family's false king, it was undoubtedly an even greater crime, simply unforgivable! "If I can reclaim the Iron Throne, I will inflict the most severe punishment on the Stark family," Stannis had publicly declared.

However, Robb also harbored resentment towards Stannis. He believed that his father, in order to uphold his beliefs, chose to support Stannis, but ultimately suffered a tragic fate—being beheaded and displayed. When he raised his army to avenge his father, Stannis's letters did not mention his poor father at all, but only emphasized that he was the rightful king and demanded that he be loyal to him. This made Robb feel extremely cold, so with the support of his vassals, he resolutely chose to declare himself king. Stannis even wrote to rebuke him as a traitor. How could a teenager endure such humiliation? He retorted without hesitation, "Greetings to your ancestors for eighteen generations!" Thus, the conflict between the two became increasingly acute, and a feud was formed.

Now Stannis was as down and out as a stray dog, even his home was gone, and he had only a few thousand troops left. Moreover, the North was Stark territory, where did he get the confidence to be arrogant in front of him?

This was really difficult for Robb. As the host, he had to treat each faction fairly. However, the conflict between Stannis and Jon put Robb in a dilemma. On one side was an ally who came to help, and on the other side was his own brother, he really couldn't choose. In the end, Robb chose to compromise, after all, in the face of a great enemy, he couldn't make things difficult for his brother.

Faced with such a powerful enemy, they knew that only by uniting could they overcome the difficulties. Therefore, they decided to send troops together and work together to fight against the foreign enemy. First, they needed to clear out the large wildling army gathered at Hardhome. These wildlings were numerous, about ninety thousand, but most of them were old, weak, sick, and disabled, and the number of people who could actually fight was not large.

So many people, most of whom are women and children, no one could bear to drive them all to extinction. And if these wildlings were thrown to the Others, they would become part of the army of the dead, strengthening their power.

Therefore, they formulated a strategy to capture as many as possible alive: dispatch all ships, carry soldiers, and forcibly land on both sides of the Storrold's Point peninsula. The Northern army and the Night's Watch attacked the wildling camp from both flanks. Try to force the wildlings to surrender, and if not, try to capture them alive as much as possible. In this way, they could weaken the enemy's strength without causing too much killing.

The Stannis army, with the most cavalry, was responsible for cutting off the wildlings' retreat and preventing them from continuing to escape inland. The armed fleet that had completed the landing was responsible for providing support with long-range weapons on the sea.

In order to make up for the lack of strength, Rickon used his authority to mobilize half of the garrison fleet from Skagos. To prevent accidents, the latest burning projectile weapons were also equipped, and the haunted forest could be set on fire when necessary.

After two days of preparation, all the teams were in place. They left the logistics personnel and gathered 20,000 pure combat personnel and set off. Half a day after the fleet set off, Stannis led his army across the Wall from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.

Hardhome was not far from the Wall, but the road was difficult to travel. The group could only choose to proceed along the coastline and then绕 around behind the Haunted Forest. This section of the road was very rugged and required crossing dense forests and steep slopes.

Although the journey was not long, the marching speed was not fast due to the narrow and complex roads. The soldiers proceeded cautiously, for fear of being attacked by wildlings hidden in the dark. At the same time, they also had to be careful to avoid places that could cause avalanches or other natural disasters.

After a day and night of arduous trekking, they finally arrived at the edge of the Haunted Forest. This place used to be the territory of the Storrold family, but it has now been abandoned. The ruins of the Storrold fortress still stood, as if telling the story of the past glory and vicissitudes. And near this fortress, Stannis's army encountered the wildlings.

The number of wildlings was as many as 17,000, which can be said to be their last elite force. Although Stannis's army was only half the number of the opponent, they did not have the slightest fear. Their soldiers were well-equipped, well-trained, and each face revealed determination and courage. Stannis personally led this elite division, posing in an attacking posture.

The wildlings had been stationed in this place for a long time. Most of the young and middle-aged people gathered here, their purpose was to prevent the Others from continuing to move south. All the women and children were arranged in Hardhome in the rear. The people there were making rafts day and night, preparing to escape this cursed land.

Mance Rayder knew that this was their only chance. He decided to sacrifice himself to buy more time for the women and children. He knew that as long as he could delay Stannis's army and prevent them from continuing to advance, the women and children in the rear would be able to safely board the rafts and leave this dangerous land.