Chapter 508 The Great Wall Collapses
After midnight, the wind and snow finally stopped.
A full moon peeked out from behind the clouds, shining on the Great Wall of Impasse.
This ice wall that seems to separate two worlds shines with a faint blue light in the moonlight, making it beautiful.
Robb Stark carefully slipped into the stable and disturbed the sleeping horses.
He was startled and quickly stepped forward to calm the horse.
The cold wind whispered in the stables, like the cold death air coming towards you.
Robb observed for a while, and after seeing that no other night watchmen were disturbed, he tiptoed and led a horse out.
Although Black Castle has the name of a castle, it actually only has one wall - the Great Wall of Despair.
The remaining three sides are undefended.
The enemies of the Night Watch have always been only in the north, and there are only people on duty on the Great Wall.
So, this also made it convenient for Robb to sneak away under the cover of night.
One man and one horse galloped along the winding King's Road, and the moonlight sprinkled the nearby hills into a silvery white.
Robb slowed down as the last lights of Castle Black faded behind him.
After walking for a while, flickering lights appeared on both sides of the road ahead.
Robb knew it was Mole Village.
He urged the war horses into the village. He only heard a barking of dogs and a few donkeys braying from the stables. Other than that, the village was silent.
There were several firelights shining through the closed windows, and dozens of strange-looking tents were set up outside the village. They were the tents of the savages who came south.
In fact, Mole Village is much larger than it appears on the surface, and at least three-quarters of the village is located underground.
At a place so close to the Great Wall of Despair, the underground is obviously warmer than the ground where the wind and snow are raging.
Cellar after cellar is connected to each other through intricate tunnels, forming this weird underground village.
Of course, Mole Village is more famous for its small wooden houses with red lanterns hung there, which are where the night watchmen come to "dig for treasures".
Although the Night Watchmen have sworn not to marry or have children, at least there is no explicit rule against sexual **** with women, and people always have desires that need to be resolved. The Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch is naturally aware of some of the activities in Mole Village, but he does not It would interfere too much.
Robb dismounted his horse and walked in the village. He couldn't help but wonder how many brothers in black were digging for treasures down there tonight.
In front of a small wooden house, he stopped and knocked on the door gently.
“Who?” A weak female voice sounded.
“It’s me,” said Robb.
The room was quiet for a while, and then the footsteps gradually approached.
With a creak, the wooden door opened.
Under the dim light, a thin woman wearing an old cloak poked her head out, glanced at the man with a pair of innocent brown eyes, and said:
“Come in, keep your voice down, the child has just fallen asleep.”
Robb entered the house and closed the door quietly.
The woman had returned to the bedside to look after the swaddled baby.
"I have made arrangements," Robb said. "The convoy carrying supplies will pass through Mole Village on its return journey tomorrow. You will follow them to Winterfell."
He took a few steps forward and thrust a letter into the girl's hand:
“Give this letter to Lady Catelyn, and she will make arrangements for you and your son.”
"What about you?" the girl asked, "won't you come with us?"
“I made an oath.” Robb gave an ugly smile.
Of course he wanted to follow the girl and return to Winterfell, to the place he dreamed about every day.
In his dream, he could clearly see the appearance of Winterfell, as if he had just left it yesterday.
The towering marble walls, the fragrant castle hall, the direwolves running around, his father's study, and his own bedroom.
How he longed to see the laughter of his sisters Sansa and Arya again, to eat the beef and bacon pie made by his mother Lady Catelyn, and to listen to Old Nan's stories about the Children of the Forest and the White Walkers.
But it’s a pity that he can’t leave the Great Wall of Despair.
Not only because of the oath, but also because he is the eldest son of the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch.
If he defected, it would be a fatal blow to his father's prestige.
"Don't worry, my mother will not discriminate against you because you are a wildling. Your children will also be taken care of." Robb added, "And I promise to visit you in the future."
But this obviously doesn't make the girl happy.
However, she didn't say much, just nodded silently.
The thin face is hidden in the shadows, and the expression cannot be seen clearly.
"I'm going away," Robb said before he regretted it.
Before going out, he took one last look back and saw the tearful face.
This almost made him change his mind, but responsibilities and obligations still made him determined to leave.
"I made a mistake, but I can't continue to make mistakes." Robb told himself softly.
Then he left the cabin behind him without looking back.
When leaving Mole Village, he suddenly heard the crisp sound of horse hooves coming from the north.
Robb narrowed his eyes, and through the cold moonlight, he recognized the person—
"Kingslayer" Jaime Lannister!
The two of them passed each other on the village entrance road and glanced at each other, but did not say hello.
Robb suddenly remembered that the convoy transporting supplies today brought news that the former Queen Mother of the Seven Kingdoms, Lady Cersei of the Lannister family, seemed to have been escorted to Mole Village.
No wonder the regicide came running over in such a hurry.
Robb was thinking about what it would be like for the notorious siblings to meet, and whether they would defect, and so on. He didn't pay attention to the road ahead.
By the time he found a man standing in the middle of the road, it was too late to rein in his horse.
“Get out of the way!” Robb shouted urgently.
But the man did not dodge, he seemed to be frightened.
At the last moment when the man and horse were about to collide, Robb used all his strength to control the horse and jump away.
However, the war horse deviated from the road, stumbled a few times on the snowy soil, and fell to the ground.
Robb got up from the ground, patted the snow on his body, and quickly looked back:
"Are you OK?"
The man didn’t answer.
Robb first raised his horse and comforted him before stepping forward and asking:
“Are you a Northerner or a wildling? Why are you here alone? Do you need help?”
The man still didn't respond, just stared at Robb quietly with his ice-blue eyes.
"Hey? You won't be frightened, right?" Robb got closer and found that the man's skin was as pale as the moon, he was wearing ice-like armor, and there was no emotion in his eyes.
But that man's face... Robb always felt a little familiar.
Seems like I’ve seen it somewhere…
The next moment, Robb felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He finally remembered that he had seen this face in the tombs beneath Winterfell!
"You are..." As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a terrifying chill sweep over him, as if it could freeze everything.
Robb’s whole body stiffened, and the last thought flashed through his mind—
The former King of Winter actually climbed out of the grave and stood in front of him...
——
Robb regained the freedom of movement, but his eyes had turned a deep blue, like ice and stars.
He climbed onto his horse and, under the cover of darkness, galloped towards Castle Black.
…
Mole Village.
In a warm room underground, Cersei Lannister lay on a broad bare chest, with a blush on her face after intense exercise.
"Of course! Is this even false?" Tormund said nervously, "How can you question such a strong man like me?"
Cersei poured a glass of wine, brought it to the man's mouth, and said diligently:
“Tell me your legendary story.”
Tormund drank it all in one gulp, with a faint blush on his face:
"That was last winter. I was young and stupid back then. I ran too far and my horse died, and then we were hit by a storm. Ha! I knew I would freeze to death before the storm subsided. So I found a sleeping giant, cut open her belly, and crawled inside.
Her body was indeed warm, but it was so smelly that it almost suffocated me to death. The worst part is, when spring comes, she wakes up and thinks of me as her child.
Before I tried my best to escape, it fed me three months of milk!
Haha, sometimes I miss the taste of giant milk. "
Cersei wondered: "Then when did you kill her?"
Tormund seemed to realize that he had let something slip, and he felt a little embarrassed.
"Actually, I didn't kill her." He coughed a few times, "But you must not spread this word! Tormund Giantsbane sounds much better than Tormund Giant Baby."
"Okay." Cersei glanced at a weird black and gold horn placed beside the bed and asked casually, "So, what are your other nicknames? I heard someone call you 'The Trumpeter'." "
“Are all women so curious?” Tormund muttered, but when he saw the woman offering the strong drink diligently, he took it with a smile and drank it down in one gulp.
“Actually, it’s because I’m very good at playing the trumpet.” Tormund thumped his chest loudly. “I can even play the tuba specially used by giants.”
Cersei pointed to the black and gold horn beside the bed and said:
“Isn’t this a giant’s horn? It’s so small.”
“Of course this is not a giant’s horn. But it is not an ordinary horn.”
Cersei suddenly became interested: "Why is it unusual?"
Tormund hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said:
"I'm telling you, this is the legendary Horn of Winter, handed to me by Mance Layton himself. Don't tell anyone else."
Cersei's green eyes shimmered, and her heart was beating fast, but she still looked calm on the surface:
“The Horn of Winter? The legendary horn that can cause the Great Wall to collapse as long as it is blown? Doesn’t it mean that the real Horn of Winter has been burned by Caesar?”
"That one is fake." Tormund whispered, "The real horn has always been hidden with me. Mance Layton is not stupid. Of course he knows that this is the only bargaining chip that the wildlings can use to make Caesar fearful. How could this happen? Always keep it with you.
He told me that if Caesar did not keep his promise, he would blow the trumpet, let the wall collapse, and everyone would be buried with him. "
The gleam in Cersei's eyes became more and more intense. Just when she was about to ask further questions, the door was suddenly kicked open.
“Cersei! Don’t be afraid, I’m here to save you!”
“Who the **** are you!” Tormund suddenly jumped up from the bed and grabbed his long ax without even bothering to put on his clothes.
“Jaime!” Cersei recognized her younger brother and hurriedly put the sheet over her body, “Why are you here?”
"I'll take you away!" Jaime pointed the sword at Tormund with his remaining hand and threatened, "Tormund, get away! Don't touch my sister! Otherwise I will kill you!"
Tormund was about to rush up and deal with the arrogant crow, but when he heard the second half of the sentence, he stopped and turned back to Cersei and asked:
“This guy is your brother?”
Cersei nodded.
Tormund immediately put away his axe, with a smile on his face:
“Hey, misunderstanding, it’s all misunderstanding. James, right? I like your sister very much. Don’t you southerners all get married? Don’t worry, I will marry her. Then I will give birth to a few fat boys..."
Unexpectedly, James rushed up with his sword in hand, looking like he was crazy:
"I kill you!"
Tormund seemed to really like Cersei. He didn't dare to fight back. He just defended himself and kept persuading him at the same time.
Unexpectedly, James became angrier and angrier as he listened, with no intention of stopping.
Until Cersei roared:
"enough!"
The two men gave up for the time being.
“Tormund, you go out first, I’ll talk to Jaime.”
"Okay." Tormund shrugged, picked up his clothes, and left the room with his long ax on his shoulder.
James immediately stepped forward and took his sister's hand:
“Cersei, don’t be afraid, I’ll take you away!”
Cersei broke away from her brother and asked:
“Where to go?”
“Go back to Casterly Rock!”
"Casty Rock?" Cersei sneered, "You are still as brainless as before. Casterly Rock no longer belongs to us."
“Tyrion is now Lord of Casterly Rock, he will…”
“He will hand us over to Caesar,” Cersei said firmly.
"No!" Jaime shook his head, "Tyrion will not do this. He will arrange it for us."
"You are such a fool!" Cersei curled her lips disdainfully and ignored her brother. Instead, she came to the bedside, picked up the horn left by Tormund, showed it to her brother, and asked, "You know What is this?"
"What?"
“The Horn of Winter.”
"Impossible." James immediately retorted, "The Horn of Winter has been burned by Caesar."
“The one that was burned is fake, this one is real.”
"Who told you that?"
“Tormund.”
"That wildling?" Jaime said disdainfully. "If this was the real Horn of Winter, would he have forgotten to take it with him? And haven't you heard Tormund's nickname? They all called him the Braggart."
“How will you know until you try.” Cersei stroked the horn, a crazy light flashing in her eyes.
James frowned:
“Do you want to blow down the Great Wall?”
"Why not?" Cersei said, "Only in this way, Caesar will not care about us! Maybe he will die in the hands of the White Walkers, ha! In this way, our revenge will be avenged!"
“But thousands of innocent people will die.”
"So what?" Cersei curled her lips disdainfully, "You don't think revenge doesn't require death, do you?"
As she spoke, she ignored her brother, put the horn to her mouth, and blew hard.
James hesitated but did not stop.
After all, in his opinion, this horn must be fake.
Woooooo—
The low sound of the horn sounded, passing through the wooden walls, soil, wind and snow, and clouds, echoing in the dark night sky.
Tormund outside the door was slightly stunned when he heard this voice, but then he curled his lips and said to himself:
“She is really a crazy woman. But she is also a stupid woman. She blows a false trumpet...”
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly staggered and fell to the ground.
The whole basement was shaking, as if there was an earthquake.
Tormund quickly crawled out of the ground. Before he could take a breath, a sharp cry suddenly came out:
“The Great Wall has fallen! The Great Wall has fallen!”
The voice was filled with boundless fear, echoing in the cold night wind.
Tormund looked north. In the darkness, at the distant horizon, something seemed to be really collapsing!
The Great Wall fell?
How can it be!
He opened his mouth to speak, but the cold wind blowing from the north blocked all the words in his throat.
This kind of chill has never been felt since he went south from the land of eternal winter and entered the Great Wall.
At this moment, Tormund's heart was filled with absurdity and fear.
The Great Wall has really fallen!
(End of this chapter)