The Black Dragon ridden by the Queen began to breathe fire as it descended to a height of twenty to thirty meters. Although the fire barrier lit by the Northern Army outside the wall was not strong enough to halt the wight assault, it served as the perfect flame-lit guide for Daenerys to distinguish friend from foe and carry out precision dive attacks from the air. The thick pillars of flame did not simply strike down on a single point, but swept from east to west across the sea of corpses like a divine plowshare. It carved a path through the black tide of wights below, leaving a scorched trail and countless burning bodies in its wake. The dead army was instantly torn into two halves, north and south, like ripped cloth, bringing their unstoppable charge to a screeching halt.
As Drogon led the strike, Viserion and Rhaegal followed, diving and breathing fire. The barren plain beside Long Lake and the skies above were instantly illuminated with flame and heat, a spectacle as grand as any fireworks show.
...
Watching the Three Dragons circle at low altitude like monstrous flamethrowers, slaughtering in the distance, Aegor's heart rose to his throat.
Since they had already closed in on the enemy's rear and battle could erupt at any moment, Daenerys had not returned to the carriage after dinner. Instead, she had mounted her Dragon. Aegor had no horn or device to call to the Queen flying above. As a result of relying solely on tacit coordination, before The Gift army even got within a mile of the battlefield and could only see scattered firelight in the distance, the Three Dragons had already passed overhead, racing ahead toward the fight.
Aegor had emphasized repeatedly, and Daenerys had agreed, that "the Dragons are to enter battle only after the ground forces have engaged." Now, perhaps the Queen had deemed the Northern Army's engagement with the wights to meet that condition, or perhaps she had overestimated both the Dragons' power and The Gift army's pace. Either way, she had willfully disobeyed orders and entered the battle early.
At this point, stomping and cursing would achieve nothing. All The Gift army could do now was hurry to the battlefield to assist the Three Dragons, share the burden, and prepare for any emergencies.
"All marksmen, listen up," Aegor said in a normal tone to the core fighters gathered around him. "Once we're in battle, your first priority is the White Walkers. Second, if any Dragon is shot down by the enemy and loses signs of life, make sure it does not become one of them."
"Understood."
"Yes, Lord!"
"No problem."
Hearing their confident responses, Aegor nodded, drew a deep breath, pulled out his sword, turned to the soldiers behind him, and roared, "Warriors, the final moment is upon us. All troops, charge!"
On flat ground, a mile could be crossed quickly on foot, but running through snow stretched the formation into a long, straggling line due to differing stamina among the troops. But Aegor couldn't wait. The Queen's impatience had rendered the original tactical plan impossible. Preserving formation was less important now than reaching the battlefield and ensuring no Wight Dragons emerged.
With the shrill blare of the charge horn, The Gift army abandoned their supply wagons. From the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch down to the camp cooks, all raised their weapons and charged toward the battlefield with fierce cries.
---
The wights were suffering heavy losses, and the situation had reached a critical point, but the successful baiting of the Three Dragons made it all worthwhile.
The Chief Cold God Priest transferred control of all the wights to his peers, took up the magic ice spear left behind by the Night King, and focused entirely on the Dragons.
He allowed the Three Dragons to complete their first dive, incinerating the wights. During that time, he gathered crucial data—speed, altitude, and preferred flight paths. Then he began selecting a target.
Lifting such massive bodies into the air was not easy, even with hollow bones and natural lift. As long as the wings were damaged, even the mightiest Dragon would be forced to land. If the Three Dragons dared to dive again, with him and the remaining Cold God Priests attacking simultaneously, there was a sixty to seventy percent chance of bringing them all down. But shooting them down was only the first step. Killing such tough, thick-skinned beasts was hard enough. To truly reverse the tide of defeat, they not only had to kill a Dragon but turn it.
Dragons were magical creatures. Their bodies naturally held fire magic. Although their internal magic concentration was lower than the Cold God Priests, their sheer size meant the total amount was enormous. Even if a Dragon dropped dead at their feet, without the Night King's peak strength, it would be impossible to completely purge the fire magic in its flesh and convert it into a puppet.
The only chance was to make use of the last remaining magic ice spear, crafted by the Night King himself and filled with condensed cold magic.
This powerful, limited weapon could only be created by the Night King. On the night he died, it had almost been destroyed along with him. Fortunately, before his end, he had passed it to the new First Cold Priest, preserving it with most of its energy intact. If shot into a Dragon's body, it would neutralize the fire magic in its flesh and blood as thoroughly as dragonglass did to wights. Once that was done, injecting cold magic would make the conversion relatively easy.
First, kill one of the Three Dragons with the ice spear. Then cripple the wings of the other two using rocks or other projectiles to ground them. Once the downed Dragon is converted into a puppet, fly it into the air, retake command of the wights, and use the advantage of aerial invulnerability to dragonglass to win the battle with ease.
This was the only plan that could reverse the tide. If any step failed, the entire effort would be wasted. But if it succeeded, even if every other Cold God Priest and wight perished, even if only he survived, victory could still be seized.
...
After finishing their first round of fire attacks, the Three Dragons looped back and prepared to dive again. Because they hadn't been attacked, they flew bolder and lower than before. For the ice spear, striking any one of them would be fatal. But to conserve his limited magic and ensure immediate conversion, the Chief Cold God Priest had to pick carefully.
As the Three Dragons began their second dive, he chose his target—the smallest and closest one.
Without hesitation, he drew upon the memories left behind by the Night King, input the flight data collected during the first strike, and completed the necessary calculations instantly. He adjusted his stance, aimed the ice spear, and unleashed it.
The sound of the spear cutting through the air was lost amid the battlefield's chaos—roars, screams, horns. The faint glint of the ice spear was invisible against the flickering light of the flames. Just as the Dragons opened their jaws to release a second torrent of Dragonflame, the smaller White Dragon suddenly let out a piercing, mournful cry. Its body faltered, wings folding mid-air, and it crashed straight into the horde it had meant to burn, plunging to the ground.
It skidded across the earth for dozens of meters, carving a deep furrow, crushing hundreds of wights before finally coming to a halt in the snow and corpses, unmoving and silent.
"Viserion!"
Daenerys screamed the name hoarsely. Still riding Drogon, she had him breathe fire while turning toward the place where the White Dragon had fallen, attempting to protect and recover her child. But it was not over. After the Chief Cold God Priest's successful strike, the remaining two Dragons were immediately targeted by other White Walkers using rocks and other missiles. Though the stones that struck their chests and bellies had little effect, those that hit their wings and pierced the thin membranes quickly affected their flight.
Though they did not fall like Viserion, both Drogon and Rhaegal roared in pain, sprayed fire in fury, and were forced to glide downward to the ground.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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