His voice had just fallen, and as if to confirm his words, five attacks streaked toward them. Three of them were aimed at Viserys—Ice Spears condensed entirely from freezing air, moving at an astonishing speed.
The other two were shot at Benjen, who had just stood up, ignoring the other Nights Watch member nearby. However, these two attacks did not look like Ice Spears and were slightly slower, though still not something Benjen could dodge.
A sharp light flashed in Viserys's eyes as dark sister carved a sword beam in front of him.
"Clang." He precisely parried the fastest Ice Spear aimed at his heart while his body twisted toward the side and rear with incredible flexibility and speed. The other two Ice Spears grazed his cloak and breastplate, leaving behind only a trail of frost and cold air without harming him in the slightest.
As for the two aimed at Benjen, despite Viserys's earlier warning, Benjen still failed to avoid them. The first attack pierced his abdomen, passing straight through. The second attack hit his chest directly, penetrating leather armor and flesh until the blood-stained tip emerged from his back. The massive momentum pinned him to the ground.
"Lord Benjen!" Ellyn shouted hoarsely, ignoring his own wounds as he lunged toward Benjen.
Almost at the same instant the Ice Spears were fired at Viserys, the night sky in the direction of the keep was suddenly illuminated by a brilliant golden light.
It was Ghidorah's attack.
Like Viserys, it used its Psychic power to perceive the situation. The moment it sensed Viserys being attacked, it launched its assault without hesitation.
The central head, which had been held high, exhaled a pulse of heart-palpitating golden energy. In the next moment, a Golden Ray composed purely of annihilating energy crossed the distance of hundreds of meters, sweeping with unerring precision toward the three figures that had fired the Ice Spears.
As the golden light swept past, everything obstructing its path vanished instantly upon contact.
At the edge of the forest, three White Walkers preparing to launch a second round of attacks didn't even have time to make a sound before being hit head-on by the all-annihilating Golden Ray, leaving no trace behind. Only a charred trench with smooth edges remained where they had stood, still emitting wisps of smoke as it reacted with the cold air.
After unleashing this attack, Ghidorah flapped its wings and flew toward Viserys. This world-destroying strike plunged the entire battlefield into silence, leaving only the sound of the dragon's wings beating.
The Nights Watchmen who had been startled awake and were rushing to the scene stood frozen in place, mouths agape, seemingly forgetting how to breathe. This was the first time they had witnessed a dragon's method of attack, and it was far more terrifying than the legends.
One of the remaining figures, who appeared to be a leader of the White Walkers, looked at its sole remaining companion. The blue flames in its eyes flickered wildly, revealing an unprecedented expression of shock.
They exchanged a glance and hesitated no longer. Ignoring even the infant on the stone altar, they turned and fled northward on their Skeletal Horses, whose eyes also glowed with blue flames.
Sensing the two magical signatures rapidly distancing themselves, Viserys remained composed. Although he didn't give chase personally, Ghidorah, circling above, already knew his intent.
High in the sky, Ghidorah let out a heaven-shaking dragon roar. With a powerful beat of its wings, its massive body transformed into a golden meteor, chasing after the fleeing White Walkers. Its speed was far greater than that of the Skeletal Horses, and within a few breaths, it had caught up to them from above.
The two White Walker riders looked up, the blue fire in their eyes flaring. Simultaneously, they raised their hands to fire Ice Spears more powerful than before into the sky in a desperate struggle.
Ghidorah exhaled again, but this time it wasn't the annihilation ray. Instead, the right head unleashed a blast of scorching Dragonfire. The Dragonfire poured down like a massive pillar of flame, not only vaporizing the incoming Ice Spears but completely engulfing the two White Walker riders and their mounts.
There were no screams, only two muffled thuds and the sound of snow evaporating under the heat. When the fire dissipated, only a patch of scorched, blackened earth remained on the ground, proving that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.
In that clearing, the surviving Ranger Ellyn sat slumped in the snow, cradling Benjen's 'corpse.' He stared blankly at the miraculous sight that had just occurred, his mind a total void.
It wasn't until the weak cry of the infant rose from the stone altar that he snapped out of it. He first re-wrapped the baby, then looked up at the approaching Viserys.
"Lord Benjen... he's dead." Ellyn's voice was thick with tears.
Soon, the other Nights Watchmen from the keep arrived. They were stunned when they saw Othell's body, the wounded Ellyn, and the "dead" Benjen with an obsidian dagger buried in his chest.
Seeing his Nights Watch brothers arriving from Craster's Keep, Ellyn finally remembered the culprit. With bloodshot eyes, he searched around and found that Craster had already used the chaos to scramble behind a large tree, where he was huddled and shivering.
"Seize him!" Ellyn pointed at Craster and shouted to his brothers.
Although the newly arrived Nights Watchmen didn't yet know the truth, they knew from Ellyn's fury that it definitely had something to do with Craster. Several men stepped forward and dragged Craster over.
Viserys then pointed at the "corpses" on the ground and said to the Nights Watch, "Take them, along with Craster and that child. We're going back to the keep first."
After the group returned to the keep and Ellyn's wounds were briefly treated, he tearfully recounted the events that had transpired. After hearing the story, every Nights Watch brother looked at Craster with uncontrollable rage.
"You beast! You actually sacrificed children to those monsters and caused the deaths of Benjen and the others." A veteran Ranger drew his dagger and stepped forward to finish Craster. Since Benjen's death, he was now the leader of this Ranger squad.
"Stop!" a raspy female voice cried out. Several of Craster's older wives rushed out and stood in front of him. Fear was etched on their faces, but it was outweighed by a stubborn desperation.
"You can't kill him! If you kill him, what will we do? How can a group of women survive in this frozen wasteland?"
"Yes, Crow lords, have mercy, spare him!" another woman pleaded through tears. "We can't survive without him, and the business with the children was our choice too."
However, another group of women, mostly younger faces including Gilly, stood silently a short distance away, unmoved by the older wives' pleas.
The looks they directed at Craster were filled with hatred and numbness. A few of them occasionally glanced toward the Nights Watchmen, especially those who appeared young and strong.
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