The Night King had come alone to the meeting. This opportunity was simply too good.
At this moment, the Dragon Queen's mind was truly overflowing with schemes and stratagems, every inch of her little head crammed full.
She wandered through an ocean of conspiracies, hoping to find the most vicious, most efficient, and most reliable method to deal with it.
"I will challenge you!" A loud voice rang out from behind.
Dany turned around and saw Renly, his face filled with both excitement and unease, along with the solemn-faced Red Woman.
Including Ser Richard, five Knights of the Fiery Heart followed behind the two bosses.
Aside from them, Old Barristan, the Great Bear, Clinton, Jaime, Brienne, and dozens of true knights braved the wind and snow to step out of the city gates.
Two Bloodriders and the Dragon General Qylo also appeared behind the King of the Dothraki.
Behind the battlements above the gate, the space was already packed with people.
The two Dothraki handmaidens, Jhiqui and Irri, wore light Valyrian steel chainmail, curved blades hanging at their waists and dragonbone bows in hand, lying prone behind the crenellations to watch.
Even Sansa, her belly heavy with pregnancy, wrapped in a thick white lion-fur cloak, stood among the crowd supported by Theon, calmly conversing with Arianne and the other women.
Wildfire had been poured into the braziers atop the walls, and blazing flames rose once more. The eerie green light cast a green glow across the crowd's fearful yet excited faces.
Green walls, green earth, green banners, green blades— even the snowflakes drifting from the sky seemed to have become translucent green crystals.
"The Night King came alone. If we don't swarm him, are we really going to fight him one-on-one?" Jaime whispered.
Forty Valyrian steel guards stood at the front with shields, forming a curved shield wall. Knights on both flanks held reinforced oak shields and steel shields in protection.
Winterfell's side could not have been more solemn and cautious.
Meanwhile, the Night King sat alone on horseback. It had not even drawn the ice sword from its back. Its hands hung empty at its sides as it sat on the saddle, completely unguarded.
Jaime proposed that a group should challenge the Night King together. Jon cautiously expressed agreement. Renly frowned in hesitation, but Old Barristan's face flushed with embarrassment.
"The challenge agreement was proposed by us. It would not be good to break our promise. I am not being pedantic, but since the Night King dared to come, it must have something to rely on.
If we let it leave alive this time, humanity's credit will be entirely ruined by our actions today."
In the end, he sternly reminded them, "Do not forget, there are several kings here who can represent the entirety of Westeros."
After hearing Old Barristan's words, the others followed his example and gradually felt a measure of shame.
Jaime, however, remained resolute and said in a deep voice, "We can represent not only the honor of Westeros, but also its greatest strength at this moment.
If we can successfully surround and kill the Night King, it would be equivalent to saving the world. Compared to that, what does the sin of breaking a promise amount to?
If we can end the Long Night, I am willing to fall into the seven layers of hell!
Likewise, if we swarm him and still fail, then there will be no need to worry about losing honor.
Because humanity may not have a future at all. Or rather, in the future, humanity may never defeat the Night King by means of honor."
That argument made a great deal of sense.
Once again, the others were swayed. Eager expressions appeared on their faces.
Old Barristan looked conflicted. He valued glory and regarded honor as higher than life itself, yet he was not rigid. If it could save the world, he was willing to pay the price of never serving a king again in the future.
"Your Grace, what do you think?" He turned his gaze toward the Dragon Queen.
The Dragon Queen did not answer.
In truth, she had been observing the Night King through Drogon's eyes the entire time, with no mind to participate in the discussion among Old Barristan and the others.
"Your Grace?" Old Barristan called again.
"It can hear your conversation," Dany said as she turned back, somewhat helplessly.
"What?" Old Barristan asked uncertainly. "You mean it heard what we were discussing earlier? But we were speaking very softly!"
Melisandre glanced at the Dragon Queen and added, "The wind carries our voices to the Night King's ears."
"Magic?" Jaime frowned.
Renly let out a long breath, lowered his visor, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and said resolutely, "There is no need to discuss this further. I will duel it!"
"Are you confident?" the Great Bear asked worriedly.
"How would I know without fighting? But I am not afraid of death. That is my advantage. If I stake my life on it, I can at least leave it gravely wounded!"
When Renly said this, his expression was strange, as though it contained some deeper meaning.
Dany sensed something, yet did not understand it.
And in the Red Woman's crimson eyes, a flash of sorrow passed swiftly.
The crowd was filled with respect. They bowed their heads in a knight's salute and made way for him.
Renly strode forward proudly, stepping out of the shield wall. After a pause, he turned his head toward the Dragon Queen and said, "Remember our agreement. Remember, you must seize the opportunity!"
Dany nodded stiffly.
The agreement was this: during the battle with the Night King, if Renly showed signs of faltering, the Dragon Queen and the Three-Eyed Raven would immediately strike with full force, together with the dragon, and swarm him. If Renly fell in battle, the Dragon Queen would pick up his greatsword and continue the fight.
Before that moment, he would truly fight with everything he had, to the death.
"We need to offer one final prayer to the Lord of Light!" the Red Woman said, sweeping her gaze across the crowd.
"What must be done?" Jon asked with a furrowed brow.
"You"
"Wait!" Maester Perestan, wrapped so thickly in heavy sheepskin that he looked like a ball, suddenly spoke up to remind them, "You have forgotten something—the identity of the Night King!
It was once human, with a name and a past. If we know its identity, perhaps we can find its weakness. For example, its fighting techniques and habits."
"Yes!" Jaime's eyes lit up. "I almost forgot about that. Seeing that ghostly appearance of his, I instinctively forgot he used to be a normal person."
The Darkstar rolled his eyes and said irritably, "How stupid do you think he is? He can hear what we're saying."
"Who are you?" While they were still discussing, the Dragon Queen asked directly.
To everyone's surprise, although the wind was howling violently, her clear voice sounded as if it were right beside their ears.
The Other King did not answer. Even his gaze and expression did not change.
Well, from the moment he appeared until now, the Other King seemed to have maintained the same expression and the same look: cold and indifferent.
Dany said loudly, "Before a duel, shouldn't you at least announce your name and background? When two armies clash, there is always a purpose, is there not?
You are the Other King and were once human. You should understand what a declaration of war is. Why not publicly state your ideals?"
"Hypocrisy. Arrogance," the Other King said slowly. "Fallen humans are nothing but the world's garbage. To cleanse you, why would I need a declaration or a reason?"
As long as he was willing to talk, that was enough. It meant they could still communicate with him.
His words were cold and left no room for compromise, yet everyone present grew excited.
Dany continued, "Have you forgotten the memories of when you were human? Or did those memories cause you so much pain, shame, and regret that you no longer even wish to be human?"
The faint glow in the Other King's eyes flickered slightly.
Almost no one noticed that subtle change.
There was nothing to be done. The wind was too strong, and the dragonfire spheres and wildfire flames flared and dimmed unpredictably. The unstable light made it impossible to discern the shift in his eyes.
Seeing that he did not answer, Dany's heart stirred, and she asked, "There are many people here. Are any of them your former family, friends, acquaintances, or even enemies?"
The Other remained silent.
"As long as one is human, one must have ties to this world. Beyond the Wall lies closest to the North. You were either a northern noble or a Night's Watchman whose ancestral home was in the South.
Go on. Tell us about your past. What is it that you find so shameful?"
Dany had spoken to provoke the Other King, but Jon seemed to receive a grave revelation. His eyes widened in terror. Stumbling forward, he stepped beyond the shield wall and even began walking toward the Other King.
"What are you doing?" The others cried out in alarm. Barristan even reached out to pull him back, but the quick-eyed Dragon Queen stopped him.
When Jon saw the sigil on the horse's head and saddle, his pupils contracted. Then he dropped to his knees with a thud, clutching his head and howling, "No, no, that's impossible! It can't be!"
Hoofbeats sounded.
The wight horse moved.
Frost spread across the ground before it. Its hooves struck the ice with crisp sounds, and in just a few steps it arrived before Jon.
The rider on the dead horse did not move. He looked down at Jon, the blue light in his eyes flickering faintly.
This time, the distance was so close that everyone noticed the change in his emotions.
"Seven hells!" Pellestrian's pupils shrank as he cried out in horror. "That's a Night's Watch warhorse! It bears the ranger's mark. It… it's Benjen Stark! It's Benjen Stark! He's Benjen Stark!"
"What?" Everyone was stunned.
"Benjen Stark?" Dany was shocked, yet it also felt inevitable.
It was not that she knew what Benjen had done, but—
Aside from the King in the North Stark, the Game of Thrones protagonist Stark, the entire overpowered Stark family, who else would be qualified to become the Other King?
"No! My uncle is already dead. He's dead!" A sharp voice rang out from the crowd.
The Hound started, then saw Arya beside him. The hand gripping his sword relaxed slightly as he glared and shouted, "Where did you come from?"
When they had left the city earlier, she had not been seen. During the conversation, she had not approached either. How had she suddenly appeared as if emerging from the ground?
The others were also startled by the little Stark princess, but their attention soon returned to the Other King.
The red-nosed old maester gave a bitter smile. "Benjen Stark didn't die. He was the First Ranger. He disappeared six years ago during a ranging mission. I do not know him personally, but judging by the Stark lord's reaction, he must have recognized something."
"Uncle Benjen, what… what happened to you? Why have you become the Other King?" Jon regained some composure, struggled to his feet, and, while cautiously stepping back, demanded loudly through tears.
"I…" The Other King's cheeks trembled, and the blue light in his eyes flickered violently.
It seemed that deep within his soul, the faint remnants of Benjen's humanity were struggling fiercely.
The howling northern wind seemed to ease slightly. Above the Dragon Queen's head, the dragonfire sphere suddenly swelled, radiating rolling heat waves and dazzling white light, like a bulb that suddenly shifts from low voltage to overpowering brightness.
With rustling sounds, amid the astonished cries of the soldiers on the walls, the green wildfire in the braziers suddenly leapt four or five feet high before settling back into its normal, unrestrained blaze.
Dany felt it most clearly. Earlier, within a five-kilometer radius around the Other King, there had not been a trace of fire element, as if it had become a forbidden domain specifically suppressing fire.
Now, that anti-fire field was broken. The fire elements surged back, spiking sharply before quickly receding again.
Dany gripped her sword hilt tightly, eager to strike.
She glanced sideways at the Red Woman. She, too, was agitated and looked back at her.
"This is the moment, quick—"
Dany, Stannis, and Melisandre had already stepped forward halfway, their feet suspended in midair, about to land. In the next instant, the northern wind roared back with bone-piercing cold, and the dragonfire above dimmed abruptly.
The anti-fire domain reactivated.
"Damn it," Dany muttered through a flushed face, slowly withdrawing the foot she had stepped forward.
The Red Woman lacked her control. Unable to steady herself in time, she stumbled forward. Fortunately, the space was crowded. She grabbed Jorah's cloak and managed not to fall.
(End of Chapter)
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