The journey back was filled with oppression and tension.
Every soldier had their nerves stretched to the limit, their weapons constantly ready to be drawn.
They knew they had provoked an unimaginably terrifying enemy.
They had destroyed the altar and stolen the "sacred object"; those dead would certainly not let the matter rest.
Moreover, the Dragon Egg was very important and could not be lost.
This forced them to be doubly cautious.
Lynn rode on his horse, tightly clutching the Dragon Egg wrapped in thick animal hide.
He could clearly feel a cold, malicious gaze constantly following them, like a shadow.
That gaze came from the North, from that endless darkness.
The Night King was watching them.
He was waiting for an opportunity.
"Sir, the scouts have found some tracks."
Jason rode up beside Lynn, his voice very low.
"Something has been following us."
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
Jason shook his head, a hint of confusion and unease on his face.
"It's very careful, never getting close."
"When we bravely approached, it would immediately move away."
"And the tracks left on the snow are very strange, as if… they have no weight at all, appearing intermittently."
Lynn's heart sank, but he was fearless.
"Pass on my order."
Lynn's voice was terrifyingly calm.
"Everyone, speed up."
"We must find an easily defensible place to camp before dark."
"Also, everyone collect wood, burn it as brightly as possible!"
"Yes, Sir!"
The pace of the team suddenly quickened.
Hooves kicked up sprays of snow on the ground.
The oppressive atmosphere made everyone gasp for breath.
They were like a flock of sheep targeted by wolves, desperately running towards an unreachable sheepfold.
Night finally fell.
The expedition set up camp in a narrow mountain hollow with a cliff at its back.
It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one exit, making it an excellent defensive position.
Currently, the Night King's army of wights was in the distant North and couldn't possibly catch up, so they wouldn't encounter many dead.
Dozens of bonfires were lit, illuminating the entire hollow as bright as day.
The soldiers did not rest.
Under Lynn's command, they quickly set up a large number of chevaux de frise and spike traps at the only exit.
Additionally, large quantities of dry wood were piled on both sides of the exit.
Then, the Guards lit them with flint.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Lynn stood in the center of the camp, still holding the Dragon Egg in his arms.
He could feel that the life pulse inside the egg seemed stronger than before.
It was absorbing Lynn's body heat and also the warmth from the surrounding bonfires.
It was growing.
But for this little fellow to truly hatch, it was still too troublesome.
Sage's Blood was easy enough; just grab a Maester from the Citadel, and if an ordinary Maester wasn't enough, pick a reputable one.
King's Blood was a bit difficult; Jon and Aemon were his own people, so he could only look for opportunities with Robert and Joffrey.
As for Khal Drogo's King's Blood, Lynn simply didn't want Daenerys to be ridden by the Horse King… And as for True Dragon Blood… bloodline concentration was key, not every Targaryen had a sufficient concentration.
Especially Jon, who only had half Targaryen blood, and Aemon was his own man, Lynn absolutely couldn't harm him.
The problem circled back to Viserys, a product of inbreeding.
To hatch a Dragon, he would have to cross the Narrow Sea to find the Beggar King.
Perhaps it would also require Daenerys's unborn child… but in any case, he would have to find these two, and he could also see Daenerys, hopefully tricking her away from Viserys.
This way, he could not only hatch the three Dragon Eggs given to her by Illyrio Mopatis, the Magister of Pentos, saving some costs.
And if he didn't have ancient Valyrian blood and couldn't control Dragons, Daenerys could also help him control them.
However, if Daenerys didn't marry the Horse King, Illyrio wouldn't offer the Dragon Eggs, which was a bit tricky… Lynn mused to himself.
"Sir, everything is ready."
Toren's voice broke Lynn's thoughts.
He walked up to Lynn, a hint of tension on his face.
Lynn nodded.
He looked out into the deep darkness beyond the hollow.
"They're coming."
No sooner had he spoken.
The deep darkness outside the hollow became even thicker.
The wind stopped.
The snow also stopped.
A suffocating silence enveloped the entire world.
The flames of dozens of roaring bonfires began to flicker abnormally, their light rapidly dimming.
The temperature plummeted at an unnatural speed.
The white breath exhaled by the soldiers almost instantly froze into frost.
"They're here…"
Jason's teeth chattered uncontrollably from the cold.
Everyone gripped their weapons, hearts pounding, staring intently at the only entrance to the hollow.
From the darkness, there was no roaring or hissing of thousands of wights as expected.
Only a deathly silence.
Then, a figure silently emerged from the darkness.
Its form was tall and elegant, as if it were a work of art carved from ice crystals.
Its skin was as pale as eternal ice, emitting a faint blue glow.
Its armor, ancient in style, shimmered with a strange luster in the dim firelight, as if it were breathing.
Most striking were its eyes.
They were eyes burning with blue flames.
There was no emotion belonging to a living being within them, only contempt and hatred for all life.
An Other!
Not those slow-moving, rotting wights, some of which were mere skeletons.
But the legendary ruler of the Long Night!
An Other personally transformed from a baby by the Night King!
"My God…"
A young Ranger let out a desperate moan.
Fear, like a plague, spread through the ranks.
The sight before them had exceeded their comprehension.
Despite their fear, everyone gripped their weapons, not a single person wanting to retreat!
The Other ignored the human panic.
Holding an ice spear, it walked towards the camp with elegant and unhurried steps.
"Fire arrows!"
Toren was the first to react, letting out a hoarse roar.
Arrows, trailing long fiery tails, sliced through the night sky, shooting towards the unwelcome guest.
However, a bizarre scene unfolded.
As the arrows approached within a few feet of the Other's body, the flames on their arrowheads instantly extinguished.
The arrows struck it, yet left no trace whatsoever!
It completely ignored ordinary weapons!
And its magic could directly extinguish ordinary flames!
The Other's steps did not falter in the slightest.
It walked to the traps that had been set.
It simply raised its hands casually.
A visible cold current swept through.
The chevaux de frise and traps, made of thick logs and sharp iron spikes, were instantly covered by a thick layer of solid ice.
Then, with a grating "crack" sound, they shattered into countless ice shards.
The defensive line was as fragile as paper before them.
"For Sir!"
"For the North!"
A bearded Guards, letting out a beast-like roar, raised his battle-axe and was the first to charge forward.
Courage overcame fear.
Facing the charging humans, the leading Other's face seemed to show an expression akin to mockery.
It slowly raised the ice crystal spear in its hand.
"Clang!"
The bearded Guards' battle-axe heavily collided with the ice spear.
No sparks flew.
The battle-axe, forged from fine steel, instantly developed ice-blue patterns along its blade upon contact with the ice spear.
The next second.
"Bang!"
The entire battle-axe, along with the Guards' half-arm holding the axe handle, shattered into countless ice crystals!
"Ah—!"
A shrill scream finally broke the deadly silence.
The Other, with a backhand thrust of its spear, impaled the Guards' body.
It was incredibly tragic; humans had absolutely no ability to resist the Other, being directly impaled by the ice spear with just one blow.
Despair.
Their weapons, their courage, were utterly useless before this Other.
Lynn frowned.
He hadn't had a direct sense of the Other's strength when watching the show, never expecting them to be so powerful!
A battle-hardened Northern Guards couldn't even withstand a single move?
Just then.
More and more people were preparing to charge the Other.
Lynn stopped them.
"You can't deal with him."
"I'll do it."
Lynn knew that against wights, these subordinates might have a fighting chance.
But against an Other, it would only be a death wish.
He was the strongest among them and had to act!
Lynn walked to the very front of the team.
The Other stopped moving, simply watching Lynn walk forward step by step.
Lynn handed the Dragon Egg, tightly wrapped in animal hide, to Arya, who was trembling with fear beside him.
"Watch over it."
Lynn's voice was very soft, yet carried an undeniable power that miraculously calmed the little girl's fear.
Arya nodded vigorously.
With her small body, she tightly cradled the warm Dragon Egg, as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
After doing all this, Lynn turned around.
Alone, he faced the Other, who was slowly approaching like a grim reaper.
The Other's gaze also shifted from the Dragon Egg back to Lynn.
"Sir!"
Toren quickly tried to dissuade him.
"You cannot go!"
"Yes, Sir! We will cover your retreat!"
Jason also shouted.
He would rather die here than see their commander go to his death.
Lynn did not look back.
Alone, he faced the Other, who was like a grim reaper.
There was no fear, no tension on his face.
"Clang—"
longclaw slowly unsheathed.
The blade, forged from valyrian steel, shimmered with a dark red glow in the cold air.
A hot and ancient aura spread out.
The Other's steps stopped for the first time.
Its eyes, burning with blue ghost fire, fell upon longclaw in Lynn's hand.
For the first time, there was an emotional fluctuation in its gaze.
It was disgust.
Lynn pointed longclaw diagonally towards the ground and beckoned to the Other.