The hearth in Castle Black burned brightly, the crackling of wood licked by flames sounding unnaturally distinct in the quiet room.
Jeor Mormont, the 997th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, was rubbing a piece of silk between his fingers.
All key officers of the Night’s Watch were present, each having received a piece of silk, looking down at them in silence.
“Looks like we have a group of rather restless neighbors to our north.” After a long silence, Lord Commander Mormont finally spoke.
“My lord, do you think what they say is true?
A merchant caravan from an eastern nation called Cathay somehow ended up in that godforsaken wasteland north of the Wall?” “I think we should report this intelligence to King’s Landing and let the high lords there decide.” “The supplies from King’s Landing have grown more perfunctory by the year.
Moldy bread gets stuffed shamelessly into transport wagons.
I doubt those nobles, drowning in wine with prostitutes in their arms every day, care about a group of strangers emerging from a forest thousands of miles away.” As his subordinates voiced their opinions one after another, Mormont turned his gaze toward Logan, who stood right in the center.
“Logan, do you really think those people are here to do business?” Logan opened his mouth, his throat feeling dry.
“Before…
before I left, they had already made contact with the local Wildlings.
What’s more, the leader of those Cathayans ordered the Wildlings under his command to search for even more Wildlings to join them.” “How do you know?
Logically, they wouldn’t let an outsider in on something like that.” Mormont narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Logan from head to toe.
“He said it right in front of me.
Besides, Will is with them too.” “The ranger who went missing before?” Benjen Stark stood up and asked.
“It’s him.
But the other two who went with him are dead.” “Dead?
Killed by whom?
Wildlings?
Or those people claiming to be from Cathay?” “It was the White Walkers, my lord.” The hushed chatter instantly died down.
Everyone’s attention converged on Logan in an instant.
“White Walkers?” “Yes, my lord.
White Walkers.” Everyone whispered the words.
The monsters that should have belonged only to legend had appeared once again.
Perhaps only the Night’s Watch still remembered their true duty, but in truth, most rangers believed that what they were defending against wasn’t mythical monsters, but the seemingly endless Wildlings north of the Wall.
“You saw them with your own eyes?” “Yes, my lord.
It was an army of Wights led by a White Walker.” “Then how did you survive?” Mormont demanded, staring at Logan.
“There was a woman among the Cathayans.
She used magic to destroy those Wights.” Murmurs broke out once more.
Clearly, everyone was skeptical of Logan’s claim about a woman using magic to destroy Wights.
“I swear by the Seven, every word I’ve said is true!” Logan grew agitated, unable to understand why the leadership of the Night’s Watch seemed not to believe him.
“Do you have proof?” “The Cathayans captured that White Walker.
I asked them for it, but their leader refused.
However, the corpses of those Wights are still there…
I can take you to see them!” Mormont and Benjen exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.
“It seems our neighbors to the north aren’t afraid of those undead creatures…” “Lord Commander,” Benjen interrupted.
“I believe we should send someone to communicate with them.
Even setting aside the matter of the White Walkers, their desire to trade isn’t unacceptable.” “Then who will lead the party?” “I will.” Mormont looked at Benjen, who had volunteered, and nodded.
…….
Shen Mo named the newly built settlement Zhenbei Town, without consulting anyone else.
In a newly constructed courtyard within Zhenbei Town, Shen Mo and a group of his subordinates were intently observing the captured White Walker’s reactions.
“My lord, ordinary sword thrusts cannot kill it,” Zhao Qi said.
Standing beside her, an Apricot Nymph dressed in white plunged her longsword straight into the White Walker’s chest.
That was where the heart was.
Anyone else would have died on the spot, but the suspended White Walker showed no reaction whatsoever.
“So I speculated that since these monsters can be affected by magic, perhaps enchanted weapons could inflict damage on them.” As Zhao Qi spoke, the Apricot Nymph beside her picked up a sword imbued with an enchantment spell and stabbed forward.
“Sizzle!” “Aaargh!” The White Walker let out an agonized shriek.
The blade pierced its remaining half-thigh, and numerous cracks began spreading like ice around the entry point.
Shen Mo was delighted and ordered, “Quick, bring over a Wight that isn’t completely dead yet!” Soon, two soldiers from the Wei Garrison dragged over a Wight whose limbs had also been chopped off.
This time, there was no need to secure it.
Shen Mo took the enchanted sword and shoved it straight into the snapping mouth of the Wight.
“Sizzle!” “Crack!” The Wight thrashed its head as if violently stimulated, before its skull shattered like ice.
Shen Mo then tested several other spots in succession and discovered that weapons imbued with magic could easily kill both Wights and White Walkers.
Striking an arm shattered the entire arm; striking a leg shattered the entire leg.
Thus, the simplest way to kill Wights and White Walkers with an enchanted weapon was to pierce their torso directly, causing their entire body to instantly shatter.
Looking at the shattered Wight remains scattered across the ground, Shen Mo felt a weight lifted from his heart.
However, a new problem arose: how could they enchant everyone’s weapons?
They couldn’t possibly have Zhao Qi cast spells one by one, right?
Shen Mo was worried she wouldn’t be able to hold out.
“You need not worry, my lord.
My mana reserves should allow me to enchant at least twenty weapons a day.
If there is no other way for now, we can proceed like this first,” Zhao Qi said, seeing Shen Mo’s concern and proactively offering to use her magic.
“But doing so will strain your body…” “Do not worry.
Have you forgotten my true nature?
Such a small drain will be fully restored after a night’s sleep.” As Zhao Qi spoke, she stepped closer to Shen Mo.
“Besides, do not forget that the Imperial Guards under your Dragon Princes already use enchanted weapons.” “Oh, right!” Xin Qi, standing nearby, clapped her hands together, her tone perking up.
“I can also try to find a way on my end to see if we can simplify the enchantment spell—no need to make it so complex, just channeling mana directly into the weapons during forging,” Qiao Xiao said, stroking his beard.
He had long wanted to try this; his smithing skills were masterly, and forging weapons with innate magic was one of his goals.
“Good, then we’ll settle the matter of weapons for now.” With the weapon plan decided, the suspended White Walker, however, was still alive.