Creak, creak!
As the bronze bell of the Great Bell Tower reached Seagard's main castle, Aemon Tully was in the guest room engaging in a fitness activity exploring life's mysteries with Lord Jorah's most beautiful daughter.
As soon as he heard the signal, he immediately stopped, jumped naked out of bed, and quickly put on his clothes and armor one by one.
"Lord Aemon Tully, please rest assured.
It's probably just some petty thieves, or Ironborn taking advantage of the night to raid.
Father will definitely lead the house soldiers himself to deal with them; we just need to wait here in peace."
The Miss Mallister, who made no effort to hide her good figure, looked at Aemon Tully with a mournful expression, trying to make him stay.
"Precisely because the brave Lord Jorah will be personally involved in the battle, it is even more necessary for me to go and assist."
Miss Mallister did not understand the meaning behind Aemon Tully's words, she just looked at this handsome and brave fiancé with affectionate eyes.
"Lord Aemon Tully, please be sure to take care of your safety.
I will wait here for you to return!"
"Heh heh, alright.
I will definitely give you a big surprise when I come back later!"
With a playful smile on his lips, the fully dressed Aemon Tully took his longsword and left the room.
When he walked out of the main castle that day, the more than thirty Tully family cavalrymen who had accompanied him into the city were already quietly waiting, holding their horses.
This small number of men might not make much of a splash in a normal siege battle, but if they were to stab from the back at a crucial moment, it would definitely have a huge impact.
...
Seagard's East City Gate, near the Blue Fork River, was currently undergoing an extremely intense siege battle.
"Ah! I'm hit by an arrow, save me, save me!"
"Damn it, where's the quiver? Where's the hot oil? Where are the siege stones?
What on earth are the guys in charge of logistics doing!"
"Not good, the brothers below the city wall can't hold back the enemies who came out of nowhere.
Fifty archers come down with me and shoot them from behind!"
On the East City Gate wall, the Seagard defenders, who were hastily responding to the attack, were in a state of chaos.
Coupled with insufficient logistical supplies, which they also enjoyed, the casualties among the defenders on the city wall were constantly increasing.
A defending officer leaned out and glanced at the situation at the city gate, immediately raised his arm and shouted, gathering a team of archers who ran down the city wall.
The gate guards below the city wall, whose heads were still a bit dizzy, were completely helpless against the night raid troops that emerged from wooden barrels and boxes.
This team of archers came down to the foot of the city wall and immediately drew their bows from behind and shot at the enemy night raid force.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
But this elite night raid force seemed to have anticipated their attack; the raiders at the very back each held a guard's corpse in advance,
using them as human shields to block this wave of arrow rain attack.
Puff, puff, puff!
The cold arrows fiercely pierced into the corpses, which were also starting to grow cold, turning them into human porcupines in the blink of an eye.
However, morale can be a strange thing sometimes.
The guards at the city gate were originally on the verge of collapse, but upon seeing the reinforcements, hope surged in their hearts, and their morale instantly soared.
They not only stabilized the situation but also showed a slight inclination to counterattack.
Of course, this temporarily boosted morale could not last.
As soon as this surge passed, they would still not be a match for this elite night raid force.
But in this situation, what the night raid force lacked most was time.
If they couldn't open the city gate in time, waiting for the drunken soldiers in Seagard to wake up, or for the House Mallister soldiers from the main castle to come as reinforcements.
Then with their force of only sixty or seventy men, it would not be enough to even fill the enemy's teeth.
Wow!!!
Just at this critical moment, a small black shadow shot out like an arrow from the dark night sky at extreme speed.
This was a black raven with white eyes.
Normally, something like this, unless in astonishing numbers, would basically have no effect in this night raid.
But the key was that its claws were currently gripping a black, round object.
As the black raven approached Seagard's East City Gate, its claws tore through some mysterious patterns on the surface of the black sphere.
Then, this black sphere trailed a blue fiery tail and hit the gate of Seagard hard.
Bang!
Orange-red flames rose up, directly engulfing several gate guards who were close by.
But compared to fragile flesh and blood, Seagard's city gate was much sturdier.
After the orange-red flames dissipated, the oak city gate covered with iron sheets, aside from being scorched in one area, did not sustain much damage.
But there was more than one black raven carrying Exploding Fruits.
Bang, bang, bang!
After five or six consecutive explosions, a gap large enough for two or three people to pass through simultaneously was blasted out at the same location on Seagard's city gate.
Kill! Charge!
The Ironborn who had previously disguised themselves as laborers transporting wooden barrels and boxes had already gathered outside the city gate.
Seeing that Seagard's city gate had been breached, they immediately rushed in with strange shouts, vying to be first.
And the gate guards whose morale had just been boosted were thus caught in a pincer attack and quickly submerged in the crowd.
Fortunately, the sturdy iron-plated oak city gate was not completely broken, so the speed at which the enemy outside the city poured in was not fast.
Therefore, when Lord Jorah arrived with the House Mallister soldiers to reinforce, the situation had not yet reached an irreversible point.
Da da da!
Just as Lord Jorah ordered his soldiers to go and resist the attackers who had already gained a foothold at the city gate, a sound of hoofbeats came from behind.
To show that he had no ill intentions, Aemon Tully immediately slowed down as he approached Lord Jorah and the others.
Cavalry without sufficient charging speed is almost equivalent to giving up their greatest advantage.
So Lord Jorah seemed to have no suspicion of Aemon Tully at all.
"Ser Aemon Tully, you've come just in time!
I plan to go to the five-story tower next to the city gate and drop large stones to block the gate.
May I request you and these brave cavalrymen to escort me there?"
It's unclear if he was worried that Aemon Tully would die in this battle in a muddled manner, Lord Jorah directly asked the other party to follow him to a safe place.
Hearing that Lord Jorah actually had a way to block the breached city gate, Aemon Tully immediately nodded in agreement.
Under the protection of thirty of Lord Jorah's personal guards and thirty Tully family cavalrymen, the two of them quickly arrived at the five-story tower next to the city gate.
What Lord Jorah had just said was not false; the Mallister ancestors, who had resisted the Ironborn for generations, had long considered the worst-case scenario that could occur in Seagard.
Therefore, they specifically added an extra layer of insurance inside the East and West City Gates, which was a large stone mechanism.
If the city gate were breached, this large stone mechanism could be lowered to become a second city gate.
This would give the Seagard defenders a chance to catch their breath and regroup to resist the invaders.
But if they sensed something was wrong, this large stone mechanism would be the last resort for the House Mallister to escape.
No matter which city gate was breached, it could buy enough time for the members of the House Mallister to escape from the other side's city gate.
After entering the tower, Lord Jorah would leave ten personal guards and ten Tully family cavalrymen on each floor to guard it as they ascended.
According to him, under the current circumstances, both sides must help and supervise each other.
Since the personnel were evenly distributed, Aemon Tully did not say much.
After the third floor, only Lord Jorah and Aemon Tully remained on the remaining two floors of the tower.
Due to the intense sounds of battle outside the tower, neither of them had the intention to talk, and they passed through the fourth floor safely.
Swish!
But just as he stepped onto the fifth floor, Lord Jorah, who was walking in front, heard a sharp whistling sound coming from behind.
Being prepared, he immediately lowered his head, bent over, and lunged forward, rolling on the ground before standing up.
Clang!
The sharp longsword in Aemon Tully's hand heavily struck the ground, emitting a crisp collision sound.
Tilting his head and looking at Lord Jorah, who had turned around and was staring at him with a cold face, Aemon Tully spoke with a face full of admiration: "So you had already discovered the clue and deliberately led me here."
"No choice, your scheme is really too crude!
How could I not see the empty wooden barrels and boxes sent by your Tully family?
And considering your Tully surname, I even gave you a last chance.
But unfortunately, you didn't seize it.
How dare you covet my Seagard, I will chop you into pieces!"
By the end of this speech, Lord Jorah had completely changed his previous benevolent face, replying with a twisted expression all over his face.
As soon as his voice fell, he took out two single-handed axes gleaming with cold light from his back waist.
"Hmph, how arrogant.
So you really think you can win this one-on-one duel?"
"Boy, when I was hacking and killing Ironborn from the Iron Islands, you were still in your father's crotch!"
At this moment, the two of them had completely dropped their pretense, with no trace of the friendly smiles from half a day ago.
Tap, tap, tap!
As soon as the words fell, both sides immediately gripped their longswords and single-handed axes respectively and charged towards each other.
Clang, clang, clang!
Lord Jorah and Aemon Tully fought fiercely in the fifth-floor corridor, which was lit by sufficient light from the open windows.
The burly Lord Jorah swung his single-handed axes with great force, while Aemon Tully, who was slightly weaker, relied on his superb swordsmanship to constantly parry the single-handed axes from the side and attack when the opportunity arose.
For a time, they were evenly matched.
And after continuous collisions of their weapons, fleeting sparks began to appear, looking beautiful and deadly.
But overall, Lord Jorah, who had frequently fought against the Ironborn of the Iron Islands for many years, was more experienced in battle.
Therefore, from the beginning of the battle, the offensive of his two single-handed axes was continuous.
He fully utilized the advantage of his tall stature, constantly raising his single-handed axes and chopping down fiercely from above.
This extremely unrestrained fighting style made it very difficult for Aemon Tully, who held a longsword, to adapt, and he quickly fell into a disadvantage.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Aemon Tully took advantage of the moment when the force of one of Lord Jorah's chops was exhausted, directly used his longsword to parry the sharp axe, and then turned and ran towards the entrance to the floor below.
No choice, if this continued, he would die.
And this actual ruler of the Tully family had not yet achieved his ambition!
Rip!
Lord Jorah, who was extremely experienced in battle, quickly stabilized himself and swung the single-handed axe in his right hand fiercely while Aemon Tully was escaping.
The single-handed axe directly struck Aemon Tully's right rear shoulder, which had not yet escaped the attack range, cutting a deep bloody gash.
Ah!
Aemon Tully, injured in his right rear shoulder, let out a mournful scream, which immediately attracted the attention of the personal guards and cavalry below.
But both sides had their own ulterior motives, and after an awkward silence, they actually drew their swords and started hacking at each other.
But this way, no one went up to the fifth floor to help Aemon Tully.
They wouldn't help, but someone, no, something else would help!
Whoosh!
Rip, rip!
A black raven burst in from the window of the fifth-floor tower and flew directly at Lord Jorah's face, who was about to deliver the finishing blow.
It constantly used its claws to scratch Lord Jorah's eyes.
And Aemon Tully, not bothering to thank the gods in his heart for showing divine favor again, directly charged forward with his longsword.
Pfft!
The sharp longsword pierced Lord Jorah's heart, and Aemon Tully gained the final victory in this inglorious battle.
But as long as he didn't say it, and that black raven didn't say it.
Who would know how he won?
A few minutes later, Aemon Tully, covered in blood, directly held the severed head of Lord Jorah and stood at the window of the fifth-floor tower, shouting loudly.
Now, not only the soldiers below the city gate, but even some of the soldiers on the city wall saw the head of their Earl.
Their morale instantly collapsed, and the frontline that could have been maintained was like a breached flood, completely out of control!
The battle at Seagard's East City Gate quickly ended.
The leader of the transport convoy was none other than 'Red Kraken' Dalton.
He had a not-so-pleasant conversation with Aemon Tully and then led his Ironborn towards the West City Gate, where the battle was still ongoing.
Because he had personally witnessed the battle between Womax and the blood-colored monster, he was distraught for many days after fleeing back to Grey Gallows Island.
Dalton then came to his senses, realizing that this battle was not something he could participate in.
So he returned to the Iron Islands with all the Ironborn and the plundered wealth and salt wives.
But just as he was about to give up his ambition and live a life of debauchery on the Iron Islands, a Drowned God Priest brought a divine oracle.
And this battle at Seagard was indeed as the Drowned God Priest said, the Tully family not only conspired to assassinate their former vassal, but also promised to give this city, which the Iron Islands had coveted for hundreds of years, to him.
However, these benefits came with conditions; after the Ironborn occupied Seagard, they were temporarily not allowed to go south, but instead had to go north to Kalin Bay.
...
At the collapse point of The Wall in the distant north, a temporary wooden stronghold had been built.
Although it was somewhat rudimentary, the Night's Watch could use it to resist some Wildlings without any problem.
But at some point, a gray cloud suddenly spread from a distance and enveloped the stronghold in the collapsed area, and fingernail-sized snowflakes began to fall continuously.
Crack, crack!
Accompanied by the sound of messy footsteps treading on the snow, the figures of the dead appeared in the blizzard.
Behind the army of the dead, like an ocean, were the Free Folk, who were expressionless but still alive, as well as the Children of the Forest and the Black Crow Green Seer.
The Black Crow Green Seer, looking at The Wall, shouted loudly: "We have finally waited for this opportunity! Now, break the city and go south!"