Chapter 157: Samwell

"No, I don't... I don't believe in the Seven," he felt somewhat troubled. Praying to the Old Gods was one thing, but saying he did not believe in the Seven was another. Now that he had actually spoken the words, he felt a sensation he had never imagined, and for a moment, he even felt a sense of relief. "I made a vow with Jon before the heart tree. I believe the Old Gods heard that vow."

"We have seen some Northmen choose to believe in the Seven and forsake the Old Gods, but the opposite is rare." Huo De stared at Sam, which made Sam feel completely uncomfortable. Just as he was fidgeting, Huo De turned his back and stepped past him; Sam felt they were closer now. His voice was lower, but the tone of certainty in it startled Sam. "I don't know if the other brothers of the Night's Watch are too stupid to remember to ask, but how did a fat man like you return from the North across the Wall, and even bring a wildling girl and an infant with you?" He placed a hand on Sam's shoulder.

Honestly, no one had ever used such an intimate gesture with him before, which gave him a strange, mixed feeling of being held in high regard. This was something he had never experienced, and it made him inexplicably begin to feel grateful toward this mountain clansman.

"A fat man from the South, no matter how cowardly, might lie, but that wildling girl who has never had contact with outsiders in her life would not. And I believe there are details you could never have colluded to deceive these black-clad barbarians about, so I can only conclude that you are not lying. I hope the speculation I base this on is not wrong—the Wall has too many secrets, and I have no intention of unearthing them—since the Old Gods and the Wall are helping you, I hope you will answer the question I asked before seriously."

Sam turned around uneasily, feeling his face go pale. He had thought the mountain clansmen were just another kind of wildling, but this mountain clansman, who looked like a wildling, was surprisingly sensitive. For a moment, Sam felt he was more like a nobleman educated in a castle.

"Why..."

"Why, I have already explained." He interrupted Sam. "Perhaps you should answer the 'why': why was it a fat man like you who killed an Other, and not someone stronger? Why was it a fat man like you who could bring an infant and a girl from Craster's Keep through layers of obstacles back to the Wall, and not other more honorable, braver brothers of the Night's Watch? Why you, someone who grew up in a Southern castle—if Tarly is still the Tarly I know—would take a vow before the Old Gods and obtain... obtain its help." He poked Sam's chest with his fist; Sam felt the force was too great and couldn't help but take a half-step back. "I prayed to the Old Gods, I begged the Old Gods for an answer, but the answer it gave me was you. Since that is the case, you answer my question and resolve my confusion. I don't care how you analyze it or what you do, I just need you to give me the answer." He turned his head to look at the gray, hazy sky. "Today, before the sun sets today, I will come to find you again. I will arrange the actions of the Norrey soldiers based on your answer."

After saying this, he took one last look at Sam and walked away.

Sam did not forget his question.

One had to admit, those were indeed good questions. If Jon could truly lead the mountain clans' reinforcements to attack the King-Beyond-the-Wall, then it was very necessary for Jon to know the King-Beyond-the-Wall's true destination, and the same went for the reinforcements from Winterfell.

Reinforcements from Winterfell.

Thinking of this, he began to head toward the rookery. If Winterfell had indeed dispatched reinforcements, they would not have forgotten to send a raven to Castle Black in advance.

Maester Aemon was the maester of Castle Black, but he was already too old and blind to manage the ravens. There were Chett and Clydas to take care of the maester and the ravens, but Chett was dead, and now only poor Clydas remained. Clydas's eyesight was also very poor; as long as the light outside was a little dim, he was no different from Maester Aemon, and he was also unable to handle the work of the ravens—he felt that if Lord Marsh just opened his eyes a little wider, he would know what position was truly suitable for Sam.

But Lord Marsh was clearly more willing to curry favor with noble knights than to arrange suitable tasks for him.

Now he was still having the brothers of the Night's Watch continue to reinforce and seal the tunnel, clearly prepared to defend to the end and completely abandon patrols beyond the Wall. He clearly lacked the courage of Lord Commander Mormont, or perhaps his courage had vanished along with the disastrous failure of Mormont's expedition.

Sam took difficult steps, passing through the courtyard of Castle Black, and looked toward the dark tunnel entrance.

Perhaps when he got there, he could speak a few more words with the wise maester. Although Maester Aemon was blind, his mind remained clear. In his own words, being blind often made it easier for him to see things that eyes could not.

When he was about to leave, sounds of complaining and angry scolding came from inside the tunnel entrance. He wanted to quicken his pace and leave, but he couldn't move his feet when he heard the voices; they were the voices of Grenn and Pyp. When they were north of the Wall, if it hadn't been for their protection and encouragement, along with Small Paul's, he would surely have died in the North and turned into a fat wight.

"'Slayer' Sam!" Grenn shouted when he saw him. "Didn't Marsh tell you to guard the winch?"

Guarding the winch would have allowed him to use his weight advantage, yet Marsh hadn't even thought of that. "I'll guard the cold winch until Ged brings the rolling logs. But he's too slow." He didn't want to talk much about this. "Why are you carrying buckets?"

"Damn it, it's the wise Ser Alliser Thorne." Pyp lowered his voice and scolded. "He discovered a shocking secret and thinks that pouring water on the Ice Wall will make the wall thicker..."

"A great lord like that doesn't think that the water will flow to the ground before it freezes. Now it's fine, the ground of the tunnel is full of slippery ice, and Pyp almost broke his leg." Grenn answered in a buzzing voice; half the soldiers in the courtyard heard his complaint. "I almost broke my nose too. Maybe we should seal all the knights inside the wall, so the tunnel can be sealed more firmly. When Mance Rayder digs them out, those stinking faces will scare the enemies away."

If Huo De Norrey's worries were justified, they might have to reopen the sealed tunnel, so the harder they worked now, the angrier they would be when they had to dig it out again. But what could he do?

Bidding farewell to the two, amidst the whispers and teasing of "Slayer Sam" from the surrounding brothers of the Night's Watch, he arrived at the rookery.

The rookery was where the ravens of Castle Black roosted. The wooden fortress where the maester was located was situated just below the rookery, and a considerable part of it was deeply embedded in the ice and snow underground. Of course, if true winter arrived, all buildings would be covered by ice and snow, and at that time, they would need to travel through the wormways of the Wall.

When he entered the maester's quarters, the maester was already sitting by the fireplace, staring with his blind eyes at Sam, who had appeared at the door.

"Sam!" The maester called out his name. If one only listened to the voice, one would think he was a healthy and energetic person. In fact, apart from being blind and having a slow pace, he was indeed very healthy and energetic. "You're here! I heard your voice when you walked under the fortress. You stayed outside for a long time. Why? Do you have some difficult problem? Tell me quickly! I'm quite free right now."

He was willing to skip much small talk and get straight to the point, which was exactly what Sam was puzzled about.

"I thought Jon was already dead, but Huo De Norrey, he told me Jon is still among the mountain clans looking for reinforcements for the Wall... I don't know..."

"You don't know what?" The maester interrupted. Sam felt he was incredibly stupid; his incoherence made the maester somewhat impatient. He was already fat, and now even his tongue was tying itself in knots; he was truly useless. "He is the son of Eddard Stark, Warden of the North; it's normal for him to be familiar with the mountain clansmen. Walking outside as the son of Eddard Stark, or the half-brother of the King in the North, or now the brother of the leader of Winterfell, he can most likely bring reinforcements for the Wall. The mountain clansmen are residents with honor; I think Jon's hope is great, but this must not be your question. Tell me, where is your confusion?" The old man reached out a hand to Sam, so Sam took it and helped the old man up from his chair.

His confusion was great.

"I saw Craster offer his son to the White Walkers outside the Wall. I saw it with my own eyes. I want to know, what exactly are they?" Why would they need human infants? Gilly's son would have been one of them. "When heading south, I felt it was also the White Walkers sending wights to hunt us down. I... I don't understand, they..."

"Sam, their secrets remain to be revealed by others. I don't know either, and we won't be able to figure them out in this little hut... Based on the fragments passed down, they are almost as old as the history of humanity in Westeros." Maester Aemon held onto his arm and walked out of the room. "They are certainly our enemies, cold and ruthless enemies, but if they have failed before, I believe they will continue to fail; if they can be killed, as long as they show their heads more frequently, news of them will keep coming. I believe many terrible, horrifying stories will come, but likewise, their weaknesses will also come—like the one you brought back—we have fought against them before, they are the losers in war, and we are the winners. Even if they come again, we can defeat them just the same. What's more, we possess the Wall, Sam."

If it weren't for the reinforcements Jon brought, the one possessing the Wall now would be Mance Rayder, not them. But regarding the part about the White Walkers, he felt there was some truth to it. He didn't want to refute the maester's words.

The number of White Walkers should be limited; otherwise, they wouldn't need to drive the dead, and even someone as stupid as him could use a dragonglass dagger to kill them; as for the wights, they had no consciousness of their own, and they were like fuel themselves, extremely easily consumed by fire... He remembered the burning charcoal poured into Small Paul's mouth; a half-withered piece of charcoal could actually ignite a wight.

Thinking of this, he actually wanted to laugh. A well-known coward was actually analyzing the most dangerous and terrifying things on this continent with such a mindset.

"Will Winterfell send troops to the Wall?" Was there a raven sent? He changed the subject.

"We previously received a reply from Brandon Stark, Duke of Winterfell. He said he had ordered the surrounding families to provide aid to the Wall... but we haven't seen any soldiers from any family providing troops to the Wall, of course, except for the Norreys, but I think that should be attributed more to Jon. If you ask me whether there will be assistance from Winterfell later, I guess there will be. The news you heard, that Norrey also told me." Maester Aemon's two withered hands let go of Sam's arm, grabbed the railing outside, and tried hard to open his already cloudy eyes, looking blankly outward. The cold wind blew his long white eyebrows into a mess.

"Should we go back inside?" Sam felt a bit cold.

"Wait a moment, wait a moment. I've stayed in the room for long enough; I want to blow in the wind. There's the smell of pine branches in the wind."

And the smell of boiling pitch.

Sam heard the low chirping of ravens on the roof and the faint stench of bird droppings. He had originally thought he had adapted to it.

"Huo De Norrey, he said Mance Rayder's target is not Castle Black." He felt it made sense; even if he took Castle Black now, he would still need too much time to re-chisel the tunnel—he wasn't sure if Mance Rayder had the patience.

"Ah, Huo De Norrey once studied at the Citadel; he is a man of knowledge."

Really? Sam looked at the maester's face.

"Because of the corruption of the Citadel, or for other reasons, he whipped a doctor and ran out of the Citadel, returning to the Norrey territory. He is the younger brother of the previous Lord or leader of the Norreys. That was news from a long time ago. I believe he has changed a lot after these things—his view is reasonable, but lacks evidence, and he only brought a hundred soldiers. When resisting the raids of wildlings from the South, he also lost a portion, and the remaining strength is not enough to influence Marsh. He might want to retreat to the Shadow Tower or Eastwatch more. In fact, if he wants to exert influence, perhaps he needs to learn the style from when he was at the Citadel and be a mountain clansman of the North. It's a pity; while he has become rational now, he has also lost the passion of his youth. Samwell, after a trip beyond the Wall, what about you? What changes have you had?"

Added a little bit of insignificant courage, perhaps. But he wasn't here to talk about himself; he was here to ask questions.

"I didn't expect the world to have so many magical things." And so many cruel things. Now the traitor who killed the Old Bear was still entrenched in Craster's Keep. On the night he returned to Castle Black, he had a dream. In the dream, the Old Bear's skull was made into a cup for drinking, and after seeing Sam, the Old Bear's skull opened and closed silently.

He still remembered his dying words. He would pass the words on as much as possible.

"The world is changing; it's just that it has been changing especially fast recently, Sam." Maester Aemon let go of the railing, and Sam saw his hands were already frozen blue, so he quickly took them.

His hands were so cold, but Sam still held them tightly, brought him into the room, and then added firewood to the fireplace. The fire in the stove became more vigorous.

"Staying in the dark is a kind of pain. Ever since my eyes lost the last bit of light, time has become hard to endure." He sat in the chair, looking blankly into the air. "Thank you, Sam."

"Thank you for what?" He was puzzled.

"Oh, thank you for coming to keep me company. I know Marsh has made some inappropriate decisions, but a maester provides advice and service, and will not choose to question."

The fire made Sam feel warm and cozy. For a moment, he felt it wouldn't be bad to just sit by the fireplace like this until the end of time. But he didn't have much time. If Marsh found him slacking off, he might scold him again, and if that happened, Gilly would have an even harder time at Castle Black.

He missed Jon even more. If Jon were here, it would be great.

"He is the Lord of Castle Black, the acting Lord," shouldn't be opposed casually, brothers should consciously defend him, "he has the right..."

"I know his authority, Sam." Maester Aemon interrupted him again. "We set up outward-facing tunnels at the Wall for a reason. Now that the path for attack has been sealed, the path for counterattack has also been sealed. If Mance Rayder chooses another attack location, it might be a good thing for the reinforcements."

"A good thing?" Sam really wished he could understand.

"Mance Rayder won't choose Eastwatch; he has no ships, and Cotter Pyke won't give him the chance to assault Eastwatch. Beyond the Wall, if it's still the way it was when my eyes weren't blind, there isn't much forest to provide cover for him along the way from Castle Black to Eastwatch unless he heads north for a day. So, I guess he will choose to attack the Shadow Tower, which he is familiar with. Now that Qhorin Halfhand is dead, Ser Denys Mallister is as old as I am; this is his chance. And the gorge is not the sea; although dangerous, it is not completely impassable."

"A good thing?" He pursued.

"If Jon can truly assemble the army of the mountain clans, he doesn't need to take too many detours; he can pass directly through the Shadow Tower and launch an attack on Mance Rayder. Oh, Sam, if you also want to provide advice to the Night's Watch, you must be familiar enough with the North. Which clans and which families might provide help to the Wall must be clear in your mind. If you have time, you must also know the stories of the leaders of each family and clan and the main figures of their families; this will help you provide advice. Ah, sometimes, you also need to send ravens to them to inform them of things happening all over the world; they will be grateful for this—Winterfell hasn't done enough on this matter. Of course, I believe this is because Maester Luwin has too many children to educate, which makes him lack this energy. The Wall is the most isolated place in the world for news, but if the mountain clans don't send personnel to Winterfell, they will be even more isolated than the Wall."

Of course. "I, I know the mountain clans are in the direction west of the Kingsroad." But he didn't know much else.

Maester Aemon nodded. "Speaking of ravens, we haven't received letters for several days. I've already heard several ravens cooing. Sam, please help me collect them. In these difficult days, receiving news, I don't know whether I should be happy or depressed. Go!"

"Yes." Sam left the warm fireplace, wiped his hands, and put his gloves back on.

It was already difficult to take out letters with his fingers, let alone wearing gloves, but he didn't want to throw away the bit of warmth he had just obtained.

He went from the maester's quarters, along the stairs, climbing toward the rookery. The stairs were already covered with ice and snow. In the past, when Chett was there, the snow on the stairs would be swept clean and would never become the miserable state it was now.

Sam reached out to hold the railing, supporting his fat body, walking toward the high place bit by bit. He was worried that if he took an unsteady step, he would slide down the stairs.

He wouldn't be the first brother of the Night's Watch to slide down the stairs and die, but he would most likely be the fattest one, and he was determined not to strive for that title.

When he climbed up to the rookery panting, he smelled a thick, pungent stench. The ravens were chattering, giving him a headache. But he understood the habits of ravens, and ravens were smart and would always remember him.

He wanted to grab the prepared corn from his pocket, but as soon as he reached out, he saw that his gloves were already stained with bird droppings from somewhere. He had to grab a handful of snow to wipe them clean first, but the smell of the droppings didn't diminish.

He took out a handful of corn. Seeing this, all the ravens flapped their wings and flew toward him. He was so scared that he quickly threw down the corn and fled to one side, almost screaming.

This was the part he liked the least.

He walked around the rookery, constantly shaking corn from his pocket, and the ravens hopped along behind him.

This was the part he liked the most.

"Corn?" A raven boldly flew onto his shoulder.

He was amused, so he took out another handful of corn and handed it up. The raven pecked at it without ceremony, biting his hand until it hurt.

This was the Old Bear's raven. It knew more words than any other raven, but it was still a bit short of saying complete sentences.

"Where is Snow?" He asked.

"Snow, Snow." It shouted, and then the other ravens began to echo.

Afterward, it took more corn from the jar where food was stored and then scattered it to the ravens locked in cages. The cages were all marked with different locations.

These locations were very important. The person managing the rookery must absolutely not put ravens into the wrong cages; this was the primary problem of managing ravens.

The cages marked for Eastwatch and the Shadow Tower were almost as numerous, and the cages were the largest, mainly used for communication between Castle Black and the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch. Next most numerous were Winterfell, King's Landing, and then various Northern families. Sam knew that if there was a particularly major event, it needed to be copied into many copies, ravens taken from each cage, letters stuffed in, and released. If the matter was larger, to ensure the other party could receive it, multiple ravens had to be released.

For the manager of the rookery, these ravens locked in cages were the most important, but he didn't come up this time for them.

He discovered the news he needed to take down on the railings in the rooms built specifically for ravens—this was the main roosting place for the ravens. After walking through several rooms, he took down a total of seven letters. Among them, only one was stamped with the emblem of a direwolf. The rest had lions, griffins, the Citadel, and there were two emblems he didn't recognize. The remaining one made him feel a bit strange; the emblem was stamped with a three-headed dragon, which was the emblem of House Targaryen.

The three-headed dragon emblem made him curious.

The one that wasn't there made him slightly regretful.

He had hoped to receive a letter from House Tarly, reporting news of his mother, sister, and Dickon—he had already begged Ser Arlan, who accompanied him to the Wall, to carry a cage of ravens back to Horn Hill—but he had never received any news from Horn Hill, which made him feel deeply disappointed. Perhaps Ser Arlan had released the ravens halfway back to Horn Hill.

He had been sent away by Lord Randyll, accompanying Sam all the way. On the journey north, he had been full of resentment. Making him walk more than a thousand miles with a cage of annoying ravens was truly a test of his honor. If Sam's feeling was correct, perhaps he had wanted to kill him many times on the journey north.

He hesitated whether he should take out the raven from the cage marked Horn Hill, insert a letter, and inform his mother about his life at the Wall. They had lived in the cage for many months; if they weren't used again, perhaps they would never be used again.

Perhaps, he could also tell them about Gilly, tell them Gilly was his wildling lover, and that child of hers was his bastard—Lord Randyll might hate and despise it, but his Lady Florent would take good care of the child, and when the child came of age, she would divide a portion from her own property, which would be enough for the bastard to live well in the South.

He carried the seven letters rolled into scrolls, stumbled downstairs, carefully avoiding the bird droppings hanging on the railings, and was determined to clean this place up when he had time. Perhaps Gilly could handle it; she could also take care of Maester Aemon's daily life, but her child often cried, and if it disturbed the maester's already limited rest, it wouldn't be good.

When he stepped back into the maester's quarters, Lord Commander Bowen Marsh bumped into him from afar with several brothers of the Night's Watch, and then stared at him with fierce eyes. He was so startled he could hardly speak.

He wanted to pretend he hadn't seen them, but the Lord Commander and his soldiers had already stopped and were staring at him.

"I, I..." Sam stammered, almost wanting to run away immediately, but the person in front of him was not a White Walker, let alone Alliser Thorne. In normal times, he was still a good person, but ever since he returned from the North, he had become strict with Sam—perhaps it was after he brought a woman back, Sam didn't have the courage to distinguish.

"Why are you here? I guess you should be on top of the Wall. You accompanying a wildling girl didn't surprise me this much." He shouted.

He didn't answer.

"Sam!" Maester Aemon's voice saved him from the predicament. He believed Marsh could hear it too. "What news did you receive?"

He quickly bowed and then ran into the maester's fortress in a panic.

"Maester Aemon," he panted, "I received seven letters from different places."

"Ah, very good, very good, seven is a good number, Sam. Open them, and then read them to me." He showed an expectant expression. "The current news is rarely pleasant, but the new news is all very important. Now wars are breaking out everywhere, roads are blocked, and once many channels are cut off, they cannot be communicated again for a long time."

Sam took the seven letters from his pocket and placed them on the table. He had wanted to open the letter stamped with the three-headed dragon seal first, but was a bit worried about the changes inside, so he reached out and opened the one with the direwolf.

"Winterfell has ordered Ser Rodrik to lead three hundred cavalry and one hundred cavalry each from the Karstarks and Umbers to Castle Black, earnestly hoping that Castle Black will provide passage and convenience for food and drink to defeat the wildling army." This was good news; Lord Marsh would like it, but Ser Rodrik might not.

"Very good, very good, Tarly, pass this information to Lord Commander." The firelight of the fireplace presented on his face, which was the miserable white of old age.

He was already very old, Sam thought; he was the oldest person he knew.

"Yes, Maester, I have two more here, sorry, I don't recognize their emblems. One of them is a blue-bottomed diagonal pattern of moons and stars."

"This is the emblem of the Norrey clan of the North. Their location is very close to the Wall, adjacent to the Flint clan. I have met their leader several times; he was a very strong and tall man with a loud voice, but I can no longer remember his name. That was a long time ago. I might have even met his father and him when he was a child. He should be old now? Or, already dead, but I haven't heard any similar news." He indulged in memories, and it took a while before he recovered. "What did they say?"

"The letter says that as of the end of last month, Jon had already assembled two thousand cavalry and one thousand mountain infantry in the Norrey, Harclay, Flint, Wull, and Liddle clans. The number will continue to increase, depending on their subsequent external contacts; it cannot be counted in detail for the time being. This letter was not written in the name of the Harclay leader, but in the name of Rickard Harclay. They will assemble at the Shadow Tower and, when the time is ripe, exit the Wall to bypass the rear of the wildling army and launch a surprise attack. They hope that at that time, Castle Black can provide assistance."

"Very good, very good, Tarly, this information must also be passed to Lord Commander."

"But, the tunnel from Castle Black to outside the Wall has been blocked." Sam pointed out.

"I believe Lord Commander also knows this problem; leave this matter for him to solve himself. I will suggest that he forward this letter to Ser Mallister at the Shadow Tower, and also inform him of Huo De Norrey's insights."

"Then the reinforcements from Winterfell, should we also inform them? If the great battle is indeed at the Shadow Tower, they should go there to support." Perhaps, sealing the tunnel was truly a mistake.

"There is only Castle Black at the end of the Kingsroad. No matter where they go to support, it will trouble them to walk a bit more. I think they will understand." He patted the chair with his hand. "According to the records in the book 'Conjectures on the Construction of the Wall' by Maester Meester, the reason Castle Black could replace the Nightfort was not because it was too huge, but because supplies from the South, especially from Winterfell, were inconvenient. Brandon, oh, time is too long, I don't know if it was that Brandon the Builder, the first castle chosen to be built was also at the end of the road, a bit further west of Castle Black. This choice is reasonable. At that time, the North had not been unified, so the road north was a small path passing through the mountain clans, not the Kingsroad of today."

Sam had also read that book, but all his curiosity lay in the fact that the author of that book recorded the secret of passage through the Nightfort in another copied book—it was a pity that the passage was enough for soldiers to pass, but because of the downward well, it most likely could not pass warhorses, which meant that the reinforcements led by Jon could not pass through the Nightfort and suddenly appear behind Mance Rayder's wildling army.

Sam was a bit uneasy. If Brandon the Builder left a passage in the first castle, it didn't mean he wouldn't leave one in other castles. This thought tortured him until he was scratching his head. He really wanted to return to that basement containing books and look carefully for records left by predecessors.

If one passed through the Wall between Greyguard and the Nightfort, one could almost silently send Jon's army behind Mance Rayder, and Mance Rayder would never be able to think of it.

"Sam, please continue!" The maester finished speaking and urged Sam to continue reading the remaining letters.

Sam opened another letter whose emblem he didn't know.

"This one is, it's Jon's letter!" He felt his voice begin to tremble. "This is a letter sent the day before yesterday. He said he had already arrived at the Norrey family territory and would arrive at the Shadow Tower in a few days, and assemble the reinforcements requested from the mountain clans there. He hopes we can hold off Mance Rayder's attack until he leads the reinforcements to arrive." He didn't know yet... Lord Commander had already sealed the tunnel.

"Likewise, you know what to do, Sam?" The maester asked.

"Forward it to Lord Commander." Sam said with some depression. He was very suitable for this job, rather than carrying pitch, transporting rolling logs, or scrubbing tables and floors.

"What's wrong with you, Sam? You're sighing; I can hear it."

"Maester, why is it that some people just can't arrange their subordinates fairly and rationally?"

"That's a good question, Sam, and also a dangerous question. But since you didn't mention a name, I am willing to answer. Unable to be fair is because of selfishness; unable to be rational is because of not looking far enough ahead, and there is still weakness in the heart. But I must add, the officers of Castle Black are all worthy of respect. As for you, Sam, I originally wanted to keep you by my side; after all, no one is more suitable than you to manage ravens and help me read and write. What's more, here, you can also take care of that wildling girl and her child. Oh, what is her name? Ah, now, I think it's better for you to go to the Shadow Tower. Since there is a great battle there, I think you can see it more clearly, and you can also tell Jon about the situation here, the situation beyond the Wall, and the things you have experienced. Now that Winterfell is ruled by his sister, we can use him to expect Winterfell to attach importance to things beyond the Wall."

Gilly, when he wanted to answer, the question had already slipped away. "Shadow Tower? I... I am willing to go. I will tell Jon well about what happened during this period."

"Very good, very good, Sam. How many letters are left? I hope they are all good news."

Four letters. Sam opened the letter with the Citadel's mark. Some words were scribbled on it. This letter was sent by a great raven. After Sam took the letter down, it spread its wings and flew away.

This kind of raven was very precious and very suitable for long-distance communication activities.

"Uh, the Conclave will announce that Doctor Marwyn and Maester Ordoli have rebelled..." This was truly unheard-of news. "Doctor Marwyn disregarded the obstruction of the Conclave and insisted on crossing the Narrow Sea to the East. Maester, what is Doctor Marwyn going to the East for? It doesn't say here."

"Doctor Marwyn once traveled in the East a long time ago. When my eyes weren't blind, we communicated many times. He is a truly learned doctor. I don't know what he is going to the East for, and he would even be announced as a rebel because of such things. What is the reason for Maester Ordoli, Sam?"

Sam carefully spread the rolled thin parchment with his hands, his small eyes skipped over the irrelevant text, and quickly located the part he needed.

"Winterfell issued to the Citadel... Winterfell wants to establish a new Citadel. They said Maester Ordoli bewitched many poor and academically dishonest maesters to go to Winterfell together, intending to lean toward the traitors of the Iron Throne... Maester, didn't the Citadel already send maesters to Winterfell before? Why would they point out Maester Ordoli as a rebel at this time?"

"All castles, regardless of their stance, are qualified to receive the assistance of maesters, and Winterfell is no exception. The rebellion here should not refer to the maester's allegiance, but to establishing another Citadel. It seems our new Lady of Winterfell has great ambition and aspirations, which is good for the Wall." The maester smiled. "This is not good news for the Citadel, but for us, it counts as one."

"There is another piece of good news here, Maester." Sam also smiled. "The Conclave unanimously decided to appoint you as the new Doctor of History, because of your long service at the Wall and your extensive knowledge."

"Oh, very good. The Wall needs more maesters to come and serve; my serving as a doctor will help with this. This is also good news. I'm starting to look forward to the remaining news, Sam!" The old man smiled, and Sam was sincerely happy for him.

Looking at the two pieces of news together, it felt strange no matter how one looked at it. Perhaps they were worried that the maester of Castle Black would lean toward Winterfell.

He opened the letter with the griffin emblem. He couldn't think of which griffin family this was for a while. On the continent, there were at least three families that used griffins as emblems—Sam didn't bother to guess; he believed that as long as he read the letter, he would naturally know its attribution.

It belonged to House Connington of the Stormlands. When Sam saw the signature—he didn't know at all why a common earldom in the distant Stormlands could have ravens to the Wall, let alone that things happening in the earldom didn't need to be "notified" to the Wall at all.

The main text made him somewhat stunned.

"What happened, Sam? Even if it's bad news, we must face it bravely." Maester Aemon said, staring into the air.

"This letter is from House Connington of the Stormlands. The signatory is Jon Connington. He claims in the letter that he has recaptured Griffin's Roost. He claims that the Aegon he protects, Prince Aegon, has returned." Sam looked at the old man in the firelight. Hearing the news of the Targaryens, he became somewhat excited.

"There is no more news, Maester." Sam thought with some regret. The raven crossed thousands of miles, actually only carrying a simple sentence. "Jon Connington was the Hand of Aerys II Targaryen. I remember he once led the famous Battle of the Bells."

"Yes, I remember very clearly. He was a young Hand appointed by King Aerys II. After the battle failed, the King stripped him of his lands and titles, and he himself went into exile overseas. Later, I heard he was already dead... Prince Aegon, Sam, which Prince Aegon? The Prince Aegon I know, Rhaegar's son, was already killed by the dog of the Lannister family when he was in his swaddling clothes."

I don't know. "The letter didn't say anything, but we still have a letter stamped with the Targaryen family emblem." He hoped this letter could resolve the old man's confusion.

The maester nodded, his hands on the armrests, hooking his head, expectant. Sam tried his best to open the letter quickly with his clumsy hands. Regardless of whether the old man had cast aside his family name, he was always a Targaryen.

"From now on, there will be only one King in Westeros. Those who kneel and submit to me can retain their lands and titles; those who resist will be overthrown, demoted, and eliminated. This..." Sam read directly and felt this sentence was very familiar.

"This is the message sent by Aegon the Conqueror to the kings and lords of the Westeros continent at that time. She is clearly imitating it." Maester Aemon interrupted him. "I don't know why she imitates the Conqueror. Aegon the Conqueror had dragons, three adult dragons, three heads. What does Daenerys have? Including Aegon, there are only two. What is her reliance? If there is only a family name, that will be the sorrow of the family name. Her dragons are younger than her; she should wait a bit longer."

The maester misunderstood. "Maester, the signature is not Daenerys, but Aegon VI of House Targaryen."

"Oh, there should be someone around him to provide him with excellent advice. The wording of this letter is clearly not excellent..." The maester sighed.

Sam pursed his lips, thinking about what kind of Targaryen this was. When he heard "continue," he continued reading. "This is to be crowned at Storm's End on the first day of this month. The dukes, earls, and lords who receive the letter can come to watch the ceremony themselves or send people. The signature is Aegon VI of House Targaryen, son of Elia Martell of Dorne and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, grandson of Aerys II Targaryen."

"The last time I received news from Storm's End was when Duke Mace Tyrell led the army of the Reach to besiege it. I don't know what happened during this period. Since he let people watch the ceremony, presumably, this Aegon VI has already taken this castle? He captured the territory belonging to Stannis, but at the same time is an enemy of the Lannister and Tyrell families..."

So unwise, he wanted to say for the old man.

"The news at the Wall is isolated; it's hard for us to say what exactly happened in the South." Sam didn't know why he would say such meaningless words; this was originally what the maester had said before.

"Oh, Sam, I don't need comfort. News often cannot resolve confusion, but adds more confusion. I understood this truth long ago." The old man sighed. "He wants to learn from Aegon the Conqueror, but he has no dragons. His letter perhaps shouldn't have been sent to the Wall, but to Dorne and Daenerys. Sam, after hearing such news, do you think Doctor Marwyn really went to the East?"

Even if he arrived at Storm's End, that could be considered heading East. "I don't know, but Storm's End has its own maester."

"We need more news." The old man announced.

Sam looked at the last letter in his hand. The room that had already warmed up was not so warm at this time. If the great war in the South continued, the figure of House Tarly would always be missing. His younger brother Dickon would most likely be taken to the battlefield by his father to fight against various forces.

"I only have one letter left, with the golden lion of the Lannisters on it." To want more news, one could only chat with captains and sailors coming and going at Eastwatch, but winter had already arrived, and the ships to Eastwatch would only become fewer and fewer. When the sea surface froze, all external traffic would be cut off.

"The last time I received news from the lions was from Duke Tywin. In the letter, he boasted about his relationship with Janos Slynt, which intensified the atmosphere of struggle between the lions and wolves among the Night's Watch."

The wolves always occupied the upper hand. After the Young Wolf had an accident in the South, the momentum of the wolves became weaker. When the Old Bear had an accident north of the Wall and sent away most of the backbone forces, the lions gradually raised their heads... but no one liked to expose this statement at the Wall. In peacetime, King's Landing could provide support for the Night's Watch, but since the war, roads had been blocked, and basically only the North could provide strength for the Wall. Duke Tywin had always believed from beginning to end that the Night's Watch was the strength of the Starks of the North and had never been willing to provide generous support.

"Lord Commander Mormont once said that appropriate struggle helps to resist the severe cold and prevent the neck from becoming stiff." But if he were seen, he guaranteed that the bear claws would smash their heads.

"What is appropriate struggle, Sam? In the ranks of the Night's Watch, it is not as full of people rich in honor and discipline as before. What's more, now winter has arrived, and the White Walkers are wandering beyond the ice-and-snow-flying Wall. Compared with the long past, the world has quietly changed. Our true enemy may have changed, but everyone's understanding still remains in the past. As long as we use this bit of 'appropriate' struggle, we may quarrel endlessly. Under the indignation and incomprehension, it is not unimaginable to take out daggers against brothers."

This scene made him a bit afraid. He thought of the Old Bear and the scene of brothers hacking and killing each other with knives.

"We shouldn't reach that step, right?" Sam said pale and weakly.

"Really won't? Sam, the brave are already blaming Marsh, and the cowardly are also preparing words to blame others. And any choice will encounter a large group of people blocking it. Without action, only destruction awaits us, and making a choice requires courage."

He was a coward, unrelated to courage. He didn't know the reason why the maester said these things to him.

"Continue, Sam, the news of the lions might also be good news." He waved his hand to signal.

Sam read the information on the letter at a glance and quickly finished reading. "The Queen Regent was assassinated by the Sparrows of the Faith Militant. The Queen Regent's brother, Jaime Lannister, serves as Regent and appointed Mace Tyrell as Hand of the King, Randyll Tarly as Master of Laws, Lord Redwyne as Master of Ships, and Loras Tyrell as the new Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. There is no other appointment information here. In addition, the Iron Throne abolished the position of High Septon and hanged him," this point shocked him, "at the same time, the Iron Throne also moved the seat of the Faith from King's Landing to Oldtown. Maester, this..."

"Oh, truly... didn't expect the Queen Regent to die at the hands of the fanatics of the Faith. I heard that the Warrior's Sons and the Poor Fellows of the Faith were also approved by her; hanging the High Septon, I don't know what the fanatics will do. Sam, this is huge bad news for the country."

Chaos was everywhere.

When the time for reading the letter ended, Sam helped the maester through the tunnel to the great hall of Castle Black, where they reported the news received to the Lord Commander and the officers around him.

"The bastard wants to defeat the wildling army of one hundred thousand with a few thousand mountain cavalry? I think the tunnels of the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch should also be sealed, leaving the wildlings to the White Walkers. If the King-Beyond-the-Wall is really that powerful, maybe they can help us eliminate the White Walkers." Ser Alliser Thorne said in a buzzing voice, venting his temper that Sam didn't understand.

"When they defeat the White Walkers, we can lead the brothers of the Night's Watch to..."

"If the White Walkers defeat them, we will have ten thousand more wight enemies. Although they are afraid of fire, they are not afraid of swords, bows, and crossbows." The maester interrupted, breaking this unrealistic fantasy.

Although the maester was blind and an old man, his tone was full of strength. When he spoke, everyone remained quiet.

Ser Grenn Hewett's face turned red. After the defense battle of Castle Black started, he rushed over from Eastwatch, and his relationship with Ser Alliser warmed up rapidly. In the eyes of many brothers, they and Janos Slynt all belonged to the Lion faction.

"The news of the mountain clans must be passed to the Shadow Tower in time and informed to the reinforcements." The Lord Commander sat in the main seat and spoke formally.

"Yes, they must be informed." Janos echoed, and cast his face toward Huo De Norrey, then looked at Sam again. That fierce, short, and bald appearance made Sam feel terrible. "This 'Miss Piggy' has a very good relationship with that bastard. I think he is a good candidate for sending letters, absolutely! In addition, since the Norrey clan has completed the defense mission of Castle Black, I think they can also be transferred to the Shadow Tower together. After all, there is going to be a great battle there, hey!"

"Sam, since this is your answer, I will lead the Norrey soldiers to the Shadow Tower." After he glanced at Sam, he left the great hall. His eyes never looked toward Slynt from beginning to end, and not a word was directed at this lord from King's Landing.

"Hmph, truly a barbarian from the northern mountains! Even more barbaric than the wildlings beyond the Wall! Yes, even more barbaric than wildlings, truly too impolite!" Janos Slynt shouted angrily.

"Lord Janos, they are the heroes of the defense of the Wall. If it weren't for them, perhaps your head and mine would be hanging on the city gate now." The maester "looked" at Janos with a smile.

"Good maester, your eyes are blind, so you can't see their bad intentions. I admit their credit for defending the Wall, but this cannot exclude that this was the bastard trying hard to invite them over just to redeem himself..."

"What redemption?" Grenn shouted loudly.

Being interrupted made him very unhappy. "Who knows how he suddenly appeared south of the Wall and wandered to the mountain clans? If you ask me, perhaps it was running away, yes, running away! As a result, he was caught by the mountain clansmen, and then to deceive them into trusting him, he lied that he was moving reinforcements for the Wall. We will investigate this matter sooner or later, yes, investigate it clearly!"

"That's a matter for later. Sam, please set off as soon as possible and arrive at the Shadow Tower as soon as possible." The maester spoke after consulting the Lord Commander's meaning.

"Our defensive personnel are becoming increasingly scarce. I suggest our Slayer Sam can patrol from the top of the Wall to help us confirm the safety of the Wall." Ser Alliser Thorne looked at him with a half-smile.

Slayer Sam was at least better than Miss Piggy.

"The wind is strong on top of the Wall. Miss Piggy shouldn't be blown down by the wind; he is still carrying important news."

"It doesn't matter, his weight is enough."

Mocking words flew past his ears.

Although the wind was strong on top of the Wall, the road surface was wide enough, and there would be windproof guard posts every so often, so he wasn't worried.

What he worried about was Gilly's situation after he left. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask the maester for help, a high-pitched war horn sounded through the great hall.

Everyone pricked up their ears to wait for the follow-up. When the time was long enough and they were sure there wouldn't be a second sound, they began to laugh.

One sound was friendly forces, two sounds were enemy forces, and three sounds were White Walkers. He heard the three sounds blown by the brothers at the Fist of the First Men.

The sound of the war horn made people's hearts feel cold.

When they walked out of the great hall and climbed the tower, they saw cavalry holding banners of the direwolf, mermaid, winter sun, and giant chain appearing on the road in the South.

Reinforcements from Winterfell had arrived.

He told the maester the news, then helped the maester return to the maester's quarters, and entrusted Gilly's matter, then put on a greasy cloak with a felt hood, arrived at the lift, and Grenn and Pyp had already been waiting for him there for a long time.

"Damn it, I don't know how happy I am to be able to leave Castle Black. Looking at the scenery on both sides on top of the Wall is better than traveling through the forest and looking up at the Wall. We aren't afraid of the wind, Sam." Pyp said.

"Although I'm afraid of many things, I'm not afraid of the wind either." Sam laughed.

With Grenn and Pyp's company, he felt much better. On top of the Wall, most of the time there was no fear of people or animals attacking, and he didn't have to be as fearful as when he was traveling through the forest under the Wall with Gilly.

On the open ground north of the Wall, the wildling army was still stationed, stretching for several miles of open ground until the forest. In the forest, was there still a wildling army? Perhaps they had already moved to the side of the Shadow Tower, right?

Several huge black eagles floated like dots in the gray sky, and Sam looked at them with envy. If he could turn into a bird, perhaps he could fly into the jungle and take a good look. When that time came, Huo De Norrey placing hope on him would make some sense.

The three of them talked and laughed at first, but after walking for a while, apart from the whistling of the wind blowing over the Wall, only their footsteps and panting remained.

On the road approaching Castle Black, stones had been carefully laid, and further away, only slippery ice remained. Sam almost fell several times and wanted to lie directly on the road and sleep like this several times, but was pushed by the two to walk.

Fortunately, the beautiful scenery on the Wall made up for the fatigue. No matter in which direction, the beautiful scenery on the Wall was worth seeing.

To the north was the vast forest and the wilderness of ice and snow. Wildlings, wights, and White Walkers were hidden in that dark forest, and the secrets of the past were also buried under that land. Their dragonglass was discovered there.

To the south were layers of mountains and wilderness, and the Gift and New Gift were desolate and uninhabited. Some people said that standing on the Wall, one could see the high towers of the South. This was nonsense. Standing on the Wall, one could at most see the New Gift. Apart from that, it was a black line connecting the sky. Apart from hills, mounds, and the cold wilderness, nothing could be seen.

"To be honest, I still prefer looking at the Wall from below. It's like a big block of ice. If there could be some sunlight, it would be even better. The whole Wall would shine, like a gem."

"I have never seen such a dirty gem, nor have I seen ice dirtier than the Wall. Damn it, thousands of years of stench are sealed in the ice. Oh, if it weren't so cold, it would be rare on top."

Sam didn't have the energy to speak. Walking had already made him pant, what's more, he also had some thoughts.

Now that Huo De Norrey had set off for the Shadow Tower, Castle Black would also send ravens to the Shadow Tower. If he arrived at the Shadow Tower later than Huo De, the ravens, and Ser Rodrik, he didn't know what the point of going to the Shadow Tower was. Could it be that it was just left to inform Jon that there were White Walkers beyond the Wall?

His tongue was not as good as the raven's letter, and his fighting ability was not as good as any one of the Night's Watch and reinforcements. Even telling about White Walkers was not as vivid as Grenn's telling. He was truly useless.

He thought of Huo De Norrey's expectations of him.

Could it be that his experiences were really the arrangement of the Old Gods? He wasn't clear. The Seven had never responded to him, but the Old Gods...

The Old Gods had provided him with shelter, responded to his calls, and provided him with help when he was in difficulty.

But at this moment, he couldn't open his mouth. Could he say to the Old Gods, in order not to make me look so useless, please grant me strength? That was too stupid and too meaningless. If the Old Gods were willing to respond to that kind of prayer, the price must be high.

He sighed, almost unable to move his feet. He saw dozens of cavalry from afar traveling through the tunnel covered with dense forest under the Wall, hanging behind them, heading west. That must be Huo De Norrey's mountain cavalry. He wanted to shout out loud to call them.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, the gale poured in, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Where is this? Grenn, Pyp?" He covered his mouth and nose and shouted loudly.

"Sorry, Sam, there's no sign here, it doesn't say where this is. If you're willing, I hope this is the Sentinel Tower below, and it only needs to be walked for a while to reach the Shadow Tower, but in fact, this is at most only the Nightfort, Sam." Grenn answered his question loudly.

Such a long road only allowed him to pant slightly. He was still carrying thick bedding on his back so that the three could lie down and rest in a suitable place.

Pyp was also carrying quite a lot. Sam knew he was carrying plenty of food needed for the journey.

Sam really wanted to cry. He hadn't carried anything and was already walking so painfully.

"The stairs of the Nightfort are embedded in the ice layer of the Wall. Perhaps we can walk down along the stairs and rest in the tower of the Nightfort." Pyp spoke.

Sam knew a little more than him.

"The Nightfort has been abandoned for too long. Ice will melt and then freeze again. If no one handles it, these ice stairs will soon be unusable." Perhaps Grenn and Pyp could be careful and walk down the stairs, but Sam absolutely couldn't. What's more, walking down from such a high place, he might faint directly.

He had observed at the Nightfort. Although the stairs were handled, letting him stumble down the stairs in the gale, he definitely wouldn't dare. What's more, their mission was to patrol along the top of the Wall, and walking down the Wall was not their mission.

In addition, resting at the Nightfort was truly terrifying; the rats there were too big, too big.

He thought of the scene of the pair of siblings and a giant passing through the magic door from here. If only the warhorses could also be thrown into the well. What's more, even if they were sent over, the troops on both sides needed to be able to cooperate enough. Now, how to cooperate?

"It won't work at all!" Sam shouted.

"What won't work? What's your problem? We didn't want to go down! Let's just take it as a walk on top of the Wall."

"I said..." Sam didn't know how to say it, so he had to brew for a while, and then continued, "If Mance Rayder's wildling army is already entrenched in front of the Shadow Tower, even if Jon leads the army, he cannot pass through the Shadow Tower, nor can he launch a surprise attack on Mance Rayder's army, because he can't open the city gate and let the army pass under the eyes of the opponent's army, and then launch a surprise attack on the wildlings, right?"

"Oh, General Tarly, truly unexpected, you actually have military talent! Only an idiot would open the city gate when the army is besieging the city, what's more, the opponent has one hundred thousand people."

"Westwatch is built on a cliff and has no tunnel leading north of the Wall. If Jon wants to defeat Mance Rayder with a few thousand cavalry, he cannot choose to pass through the Wall where Mance Rayder's army is stationed."

"The tunnel of Castle Black is blocked, so there is only Eastwatch."

"Passing through the Wall from Eastwatch and then turning into the Shadow Tower is too wasteful of time." Such a long distance, how could it not be exposed?

North of the Wall was currently a deep green forest and ground paved with thin snow, vast and quiet, but Sam was scratching his head, just wanting to solve the current predicament.

"It seems our Lord Marsh is truly an idiot. If he hadn't blocked the tunnel, perhaps Mance Rayder wouldn't have moved, so Jon's reinforcements wouldn't have nowhere to exit the Wall."

"If he were truly attentive, he should have ordered all tunnels to be blocked, so that Mance Rayder could be forced to accept his fate."

"Idiot, Bowen is only the Lord of Castle Black, not the Lord of the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch!"

"There is another method," Sam pursed his lips, putting aside the meaningless dialogue between the two, "unless Jon can arrive at the Shadow Tower earlier than Mance Rayder and exit the Wall one step ahead." And Mance Rayder was truly attacking the Shadow Tower rather than attacking Eastwatch.

Sam couldn't help but want to pray, but didn't know what to pray for.

"We don't have the ability to make his troops walk faster!" Pyp questioned. "What's more, there's no way to contact him."

"Apart from making him walk faster, we can also make Mance Rayder walk slower." Sam blurted out. "This point is not that difficult."

"Not that difficult?"

"We send troops to harass them behind their backs."

"Where do we get troops? One, two, three, I can only count to three, and two legs seem not very good, and the good ones can't outrun horses." Pyp said with a curled lip.

Sam looked toward Huo De's dozens of cavalry under the Wall.

They were so close to the Wall that as long as he opened his mouth, they would definitely be able to hear.

"Should we shout?" Pyp noticed Sam's gaze and then asked.

Shout? He didn't know.

Making a choice requires courage. He thought of what the maester said to him today.

He nodded slowly.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" They shouted at the cavalry under the Wall.

Huo De's cavalry heard the sound and really stopped slowly, and moved closer to the Wall.

"What should we say?" Grenn asked.

"Just say, I have a letter for him." Sam quickly took out a piece of parchment, and with a bit of frozen ink, briefly stated the things he had just analyzed, wrapped it in ice, and threw it down.

The wind was blowing wildly. Sam felt he must be crazy.

They chose to communicate near the Nightfort. Huo De climbed directly from the stairs of the Nightfort to the top of the Wall. After hearing Sam's words and the magic door of the Nightfort, he showed a smile.

"Fifty cavalry cannot play the role of containing one hundred thousand troops, but I will send people to block Ser Rodrik on the road to the Shadow Tower. If some of his cavalry are added, this mission can be completed. As for the well, we will use tools to dig out a suitable opening." He looked at Sam again. "I knew your role was more than this. Now, one of your brothers will follow us down and recite the vow at the appropriate time; the other, be fast, run quickly to the Shadow Tower, let Jon's reinforcements pass through the Shadow Tower as soon as possible, and make ambush or combat preparations north of the Wall, whatever he wants."

"I'm not the material for reciting the vow," Grenn said, "but I run relatively fast. Sam, I choose to go to the Shadow Tower."

"In that case, I'll go down the Wall with them," he laughed. "I just hope I don't get smashed to death while climbing down, or crack my head open and forget my vows."

"When you reach the north side of the Wall, be careful..." Sam said to Huo De, but was interrupted as soon as he spoke.

"I know what to be careful about, Slayer Sam. We collected some dragonglass at the Wall, I hope we won't need to use it. In addition, I will also carefully explore whether the wildlings have really moved to the Shadow Tower. You have done well enough, leave the rest to us." He patted Sam's shoulder again. "Admit it, you are completely not the material for fighting."

"Then I have to sleep here." Sam shrugged, feeling much more relaxed.

"There is no fire on top of the Wall; sleeping will freeze you to death."

"It seems I still have to patrol on the Wall." Sam said to Grenn with a smile. "But I can't run that fast, I can't keep up with you."

After explaining the matter of the Black Gate in detail to the few, Sam waited for a long time at the top until Pyp shouted at him on the open ground north of the Wall, and then he felt relieved to leave.

They parted here.

He took the bedding Grenn was carrying, walked slowly on top of the Wall, watching the light slowly disappear above his head, watching the whole world slowly sink into darkness.

When he could no longer hold on, he loosened the blanket at a snowdrift and wrapped himself tightly inside, falling asleep after only a moment. When he was frozen awake again, he opened his eyes to see a faint reddish glow on the horizon.

Both sides of the Wall were vast, the forest was full of shadows, apart from the hard ice under his feet that froze his feet, it seemed there was nothing. If historical records were not wrong, everything he saw today might be exactly the same as what the Night's Watch saw eight thousand years ago, and what the Builder saw.

He felt a hint of honor. In this unprecedentedly lonely black-gray space, he actually had a sense of participation for the first time, and even the air became fresh and lively, as if he could talk to the Night's Watch of the past and present with one reach, and he was no longer a walking corpse drifting outside.

He prepared to stand up, but the stinging pain from his footsteps almost made him scream, and it took a long while before it slowly eased.

"I am the sword in the darkness, the watcher on the Wall, the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men."

After recovering slightly, he rolled up the bedding, repacked it, carried it behind him, walked forward step by step, repeatedly reciting the vow in his mouth, until the light of dawn in the East crossed the clouds and hit his face with the first ray of light.

He stopped and walked on top of the Wall, and then walked and stopped again. When he decided the day was over, he stopped at a guard post again.

When he got up early in the morning, he was sure that the fortress below him was Stonedoor, because when he carefully climbed over the edge, he saw the hall lying on the huge stone foundation, giant trees growing out of the hall, some buildings only had one wall left, and they themselves couldn't last long, which completely matched the description of Stonedoor that the brothers described to him.

He was sure he could reach his destination at noon or a little later.

"Caw..." Eagles swooped down above his head, playing with each other.

Even the biggest eagle looked like a small dot in his eyes. He noticed large groups of ravens flying out of the forest in the distance, as if they were fighting for food and territory.

Wisp of smoke rose. Was that the wildling station? He hoped it was, so it could prove their judgment was not wrong.

He quickened his pace, and every step made his feet ache, but he felt his endurance had improved a lot and he could continue to persist.

The cries of the eagles became more intense, flying up and down constantly, as if performing above his head.

An eagle crossed the Wall, drew a beautiful arc, swooped down, and disappeared out of Sam's sight, while another larger eagle swooped to follow, flipped its belly, drew a more wonderful arc, and followed.

He really wanted to stop and watch, but he still had a mission and couldn't continue to stay on the Wall.

It wasn't until noon that he reached another guard post, but it clearly didn't belong to the Shadow Tower. He had to admit that his estimate was too optimistic. In one morning, he only walked the distance of about one fortress.

Was this Greyguard? Legend has it that the garrison of Greyguard once defeated the King of Wildlings, Jander, and was cursed, so Greyguard collapsed. Sam felt this kind of curse was truly ridiculous. Jander was a figure from three thousand years ago, and Greyguard was abandoned only two hundred years ago—what kind of curse could take effect after nearly three thousand years?

He would be able to reach his destination soon.

If this was Greyguard, apart from the destination, only the Sentinel Tower remained ahead. The legendary Sentinel Tower was built of wood and was only occupied by wildlings who crossed the Wall seventy years ago. After the wildlings left, they burned the Sentinel Tower.

Thinking of this legend, Sam became somewhat nervous. If he encountered wildlings who climbed over on top of the Wall, what should he do? When he patrolled on top, he had never thought about the possibility of encountering wildlings.

He took a deep breath and chanted his vow again.

He hoped he wouldn't encounter wildlings, and also hoped Grenn wouldn't encounter them either, but if Grenn encountered them, he would replace Grenn to complete the mission. Thinking of this, he began to hate the two luxurious sleeps he had on the Wall.

He couldn't help but move forward. An eagle chirped at him. When he was ready to continue moving forward, the eagle swooped down at him. He was so scared that he was shaken, sitting on the ice and crying.

The eagle retracted its wings at this time, showed its posture in front of him, then looked at him, flapped its wings, and left.

When he stood up and was ready to continue moving forward, the eagle swooped down again. After repeating this several times, he finally discovered that the eagle was stopping him.

"Danger ahead?" He asked.

"Ang..." The eagle chirped loudly.

Sam noticed its wings were covered in blood, and some blood had already frozen on the feathers. Sam didn't dare to step forward to provoke the raptor.

Afterward, the eagle stood on the ice wall of the Wall as if frozen, shrinking its neck, motionless.

He just looked at that eagle like this.

After a while, he heard the hoofbeats of warhorses running under the Wall, and couldn't hold back anymore, so he lay toward the edge of the Wall.

Cavalry waving various flags were driving a large crowd of people out of the jungle, among which beasts and people were running wildly on the white wilderness.

He saw people taller than warhorses, saw mammoth giants several times taller than warhorses, and groups of goats and pigs rushing out of the jungle and wilderness. They were all running wildly without a goal.

This was a victory.

The closer to the Shadow Tower, the greater the degree of undulation of the Wall. Several times he slid directly from a high place and slid back from a high place.

It wasn't until evening that he bumped into a patrolling brother of the Night's Watch. After asking, he finally confirmed that he had arrived at the Shadow Tower at this time. When he crossed the deep red blood that had frozen on top of the Wall, he thought of that eagle.

He felt somewhat strange.

When he turned his head for the last time to look at the distant jungle, a great fire had already ignited there. A fire ten times, a hundred times larger than the largest bonfire he had seen in his life was burning there. He felt the firelight had illuminated the entire Wall and turned it into a golden-red piece. ===== CHAPTER 158 =====