In Mance Rayder's main camp, most were asleep. Only the outer perimeter flickered with scattered fires, where the wildling warriors on patrol huddled in small groups, roasting by the flames.
It was around 2:00 AM, and anyone with a normal sleep schedule would be incredibly tired. The wildlings were undisciplined, and many of the patrolling soldiers had already slipped into their tents to rest.
Only a few warriors remained on duty, but with so few, they couldn't provide effective defense. Since Marco's battle with the Night King in the far north, the Others had reduced their activity. For months, the wildlings hadn't been attacked, which had led to a sense of complacency.
Only a man as experienced as Mance Rayder maintained a constant vigilance. He usually patrolled every night, but he'd been busy working on the next day's battle plans and hadn't been able to go out.
Marco was currently standing outside the camp, observing from a distance. Behind him were over 200 Wights. Joman, the mummy, was staring intently at the camp in the distance, his eyes glowing purple, and he let out a sinister chuckle.
He asked Marco, "My Lord! Are there enough of us? The Griffins can only attack the forest's edge, and the effect isn't obvious. Are Godric and the others useful?"
Marco smiled and said, "Our goal is to harass and create panic. Fewer people are actually better for our operations. And Godric and the others aren't like you; their melee abilities are very strong! And Swan and the others are the main force in this harassing attack! Okay, let's get started!"
Joman nodded and then commanded the Wights to prepare to attack. During the last attack on Hardhome by the Others, he had seized control of 200 Wights. After the battle, Joman had hidden them in the forest, intending to use them as a hidden weapon, and now, they were perfectly suited for this situation.
Marco had already blessed them with "Exceptional Divine Power" and "Tenacity." Golden energy was constantly emanating from these Wights, making them appear terrifying. Coupled with Marco's hero skills, they looked even more frightening.
The wildling warrior Bell had just finished his patrol. After handing over his duties to his comrades, he was about to enter his tent to rest. Suddenly, he heard the sound of breaking branches and howling from the forest. He quickly turned his head to look, and his sleepiness vanished!
Then, he saw a scene he would never forget. A terrifying skull, with only a part of its flesh and blood remaining, suddenly appeared before him. The monster's eyes, glowing with purple light, looked at him and roared before charging directly at him.
"Ah..."
A heart-wrenching scream pierced through the entire wildling camp. Immediately after, the nearby sentry posts began to sound their horns.
Many wildling warriors were awakened by the horns. Before they could react, they found that the enemy had already attacked the camp. Screams echoed everywhere, and wildlings kept running from all directions.
They shouted repeatedly: "White Walkers are here! White Walkers are here!..."
The howls of the Wights echoed throughout the camp, stimulating the wildlings' fragile nerves. Few people could remain fearless when facing such terrifying creatures. Under the combined effects of night and fatigue, everyone instinctively chose to flee.
Marco, utilizing the Soul Link, was riding on Swan's back, constantly sensing his surroundings. Then, in the consciousness of one of the Griffins, Marco sensed the presence of their target.
"Godric! Prepare to move out. The wildlings are starting to organize. Charge!"
"Yes, my Lord! Griffin Knights! Charge!"
The five knights on horseback were radiating light. With Godric's command, they charged towards the wildling camp, empowered by their strength. Although knights were generally considered mid-tier level 6 units in the game, they were still level 6 units, and were completely beyond the capabilities of the wildlings.
The five knights, with their irresistible momentum and power, broke through all the wildling warriors gathered together. The wildling chieftains became their primary targets. Chaos erupted throughout the camp, and the wildlings fled outwards, unable to help their tribesmen.
Marco's wight troops and the knights acted like a shovel, driving the wildlings out of the camp. Tents and thatched huts were set ablaze by Godric and the others, and the sounds of screaming and wailing never ceased!
Panicked, some of the wildlings began fleeing towards the edge of the forest. At this point, the Royal Griffins began driving them, swooping down from the sky, using their claws and bodies to scatter the chieftains who were trying to gather the wildling warriors.
The wildlings' camp was stretched out along the edge of the forest. Marco chose a central breakthrough strategy, using the wights to create chaos. Soon, the wildling warriors on the left and right flanks reacted. Under the direction of chieftains like Mance Rayder, they formed loose formations and began moving towards the center.
Marco immediately changed his strategy after noticing the problem. He had Joman command the Wights to herd the wildlings in the center towards Hardhome. The Griffins flying in the sky finally caught the wildlings' attention. Despite being terrified by their appearance, some wildling warriors, led by their bold leaders, began attacking the Griffins.
Swan let out a cry, and the Griffins quickly increased their distance from the ground, flying away to harass the lone wildling warriors.
At this moment, Mance Rayder realized something was amiss. He found that many of the attackers couldn't clearly explain what they had encountered. Some said White Walkers, others said monsters.
Just as Mance Rayder was about to order the sounding of the assembly horn, his heart suddenly clenched, as if sensing something terrifying!
Marco also thoughtfully turned his gaze towards the depths of the forest, muttering to himself:
"Finally couldn't hold back, huh? If you hadn't come, I would have had to deploy the Elementals!"
A violent blizzard suddenly swept in from the distant forest. The biting cold wind was mixed with the wails of the dead, making the wildling warriors, who were still pursuing Marco and his group, realize something was wrong. They all stopped and turned their heads towards the rear.
At this moment, a large group of wildlings rushed out of the forest. They were the old, weak, and women and children who had been left behind in the camp. But now, they all wore expressions of terror. Many were screaming and wailing, as if they had encountered something extremely frightening.
The wildlings who noticed this situation fell into chaos. Some warriors recklessly charged into the depths of the forest, while others screamed and fled towards Hardhome.
Seeing this, Marco ordered all the wights to stop their attack. They stood still, allowing the wildlings around them to flee. Gradually, Marco's hundred-plus wights gathered together.
In the terrified gazes of the wildlings, they slowly advanced. Godric and the others stood silently on the battlefield, their bodies emitting a faint golden light, as if brewing some terrifying attack.
More than ten Others, riding wight horses, appeared at the edge of the forest. Wights revealed themselves in the blizzard, standing silently there, seemingly gazing at the wildling forces outside the forest, as if they had no intention of launching an attack!
Marco led the Royal Griffins, hiding in the high sky. He was constantly communicating with Godric and the others through Soul Link, to better understand the situation on the battlefield.
A certain presence among the Others seemed to be surveying the battlefield, and the blizzard appeared to be his vision and tentacles. The blizzard passed through the wooden walls of Hardhome and swept all the way to the sea.
In a room in Hardhome, the Three-Eyed Raven weakly released a wisp of power to resist the blizzard. The blizzard's power weakened, and then seemed to spread outwards.
Finally, guided by some power, the wights began to move. They slowly advanced, gradually pressing towards the wildlings.
At this moment, Mance Rayder, protected by the warriors, was looking at the approaching Wights with a grim expression. He seemed to understand the intentions of the White Walkers.
He then asked the Bone King beside him, "Are you sure the entire perimeter of Hardhome is lined with Dragonglass?"
The Bone King, standing nearby, replied affirmatively, "Their wooden walls are all inlaid with Dragonglass daggers, and even the archers use arrows made of it!"
With that, the Bone King took a Dragonglass arrow from a companion, nocked it, and fired it in one swift motion. It hit a Wight a hundred paces away, which howled and slowly decayed, turning into a pile of black ash.
"Damn! It actually works! Come on! More!"
Seeing the effect of the obsidian weapons, Mance Rayder shouted excitedly at the Bone King, and in his excitement, he even swore.
The Bone King shrugged and said, "I don't have many left. Those leaders thought these weapons were the Southern Lord's way of insulting the Free Folk, so they burned all the weapons I brought back. This quiver of arrows was taken by my son as a toy, so it wasn't burned!"
Mance Rayder glared at the several tribal leaders around him, who all lowered their heads in shame. However, the "Doghead" Hamma quickly reacted. She said to Mance Rayder:
"What's there to fear! Isn't Hardhome filled with Dragonglass? We can just take it all!"
Val, supporting her sister at the time, said with a sneer:
"Hamma! You idiot! Haven't you figured it out yet? The White Walkers' goal is for us to destroy those walls. We probably won't even have time to attack; we'll be eaten by those moving corpses behind us!"
"I! We Free Folk warriors are fearless. We can definitely wipe out! Wipe out those monsters!"
Doghead Hamma said, a bit weakly.
Mance Rayder sighed helplessly and said:
"Sigh! There's no other way. We can only go over there. Warriors, protect the elderly and women, and clear the path ahead..."
"Mance! Look at those corpses over there; they don't look like the others! And how are those people standing among those corpses? Are they human?"
A clan leader suddenly spoke to Mance Rayder, interrupting his speech and preparations.
Mance Rayder looked at the leader, annoyed, but then noticed that everyone else was focused on something. He followed their gaze.
Not far from them, a group of wildling warriors surrounded a special unit. Over a hundred wights with glowing purple eyes stood silently, and in their midst were six tall knights mounted on warhorses.
"Mance! What do we do now? Tonight's been too strange! We could all die here if we aren't careful!"
Val said to Mance Rayder, worry evident in her voice.
Mance Rayder pondered for a moment before saying, "There's no time to think about this! Protect the elderly and children in the center. Let's go over there together! We'll try to negotiate with those in Hardhome first! If they refuse to let us in, we'll attack directly!"
The wildling warriors then protected the elderly and children in the center, slowly moving towards the gates of Hardhome. The wights followed closely behind the warriors; this time, they seemed even closer!
The warriors closest to the front could even see the tattered bodies of the Wights. The stench of blood and rotting flesh filled their nostrils. The chaotic footsteps of the Wights pounded like a drum, directly against their hearts!
This pressure of facing death directly began to frighten many of the weaker-willed. The timid ones were already trembling. Finally, someone couldn't take it anymore!
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Ah..."
A clan warrior finally broke down. He threw away his spear and began to run frantically towards the gate of Hardhome. He was only about 400 meters from the gate. This guy was screaming as he ran, his cries were terrifying and made everyone afraid!
"Help me! Ugh!"
But he hadn't run far when he was shot through the heart by the Bone King, who was standing beside Mance Rayder. The arrow's massive inertia instantly knocked him to the ground. After a few convulsions, he was gone.
Just as the several leaders secretly breathed a sigh of relief, something strange happened. The warrior, who had just been confirmed dead, suddenly began to convulse all over. Then, his eyes glowing blue, he climbed up from the ground, looking incredibly eerie!
"Awoo!"
That warrior, who had just been turned into a Wight, suddenly howled. Then, starting with him, the Wights in the distance also began to howl!
And the Wights behind the wildling warriors were getting faster and faster, now they started to run!
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