20demayo Chapter 127: The King's Death (5)
Chapter 127: The King's Death (5)
Bran also used the rafts that the wildlings had built before. He used boats to drag the rafts to the open sea. The huge rafts were connected in series and floated on the sea to form floating platforms. They used small boats to continuously transport the wildlings to various floating platforms, each of which could temporarily accommodate thousands of people.
In this way, they can stay there temporarily, and large ships that cannot land in the bay can transfer personnel here.
In fact, Mance Rayder's plan was somewhat unrealistic. Not to mention whether these rafts could sail on the sea and whether they would be overturned by the waves. The biting cold wind on the shivering sea was enough to freeze them to death on the rafts. If nearly 100,000 wildlings went south according to his plan, less than one-third of them would be able to land alive.
The night was like a huge black curtain covering the sea, and the sea breeze was like a ferocious beast, roaring in a low and fierce voice. The waves were surging, constantly hitting the raft, splashing white waves. The savages huddled together, shivering, trying to use each other's body temperature to resist the cold and fear. They stared at the dark sea, their eyes full of despair and helplessness. Every impact of the waves made the raft shake violently, as if it would capsize at any time.
Suddenly, a strong wind came, and the waves rose several meters high, forming a huge wall of water. The raft shook violently, as if it was going to throw the savages into the cold sea. One savage lost his balance and fell into the sea, and was instantly swallowed by the merciless sea water. The other savages screamed in fear, but they could not save their companions.
Bran stood at the bow, looking at everything in front of him with a serious face. He clenched his fists, his heart full of worries. He knew that this journey south would be far more difficult and dangerous than he had imagined. However, he had no choice but to move on.
At this time, Skaggs' fleet had already arrived in the nearby waters, but the fleet commander firmly refused to transport the wildlings. Even Robb could not order them to change their minds. Therefore, the fleet could only take on the task of guarding and ensuring the safety of the wildlings.
Bran has acquired some memories of the Three-Eyed Raven and has a deep understanding of the horror of the White Walkers. He once tried to use birds to scout the movements of the White Walkers, but those birds were soon shot down one by one by the White Walkers. This made Bran feel helpless and anxious, and Robb, who was commanding on the shore, was also troubled.
In such a blocking battle, cavalry is useless because they cannot effectively cross forests and hills. Stannis was reluctant to waste precious cavalry on the front line. So he left only twenty or so riders as messengers to ensure the delivery of information. The remaining cavalry returned to Hardhome with the wounded, where they were organizing to board the ship and prepare to leave the battlefield.
However, the arrival of these people put pressure on the ships originally used to evacuate women and children. This naturally caused dissatisfaction among the wildlings, especially the wildling leader Morona. She found Robb unhappily and asked him: "King of the South, why do you want to stop the evacuation? We have laid down our weapons as you requested. How long do you want my people to wait now?"
Facing Morona's questioning, Robb did not retreat or explain. On the contrary, he stood up straight, with a flash of firmness and majesty in his eyes. He was no longer the boy he was a few years ago, but a leader who had experienced the baptism of war and grew up. He retorted unceremoniously: "Captain Morona, please pay attention to your attitude. The one standing in front of you is the Prince of the North, the great patriarch of the Stark family! I don't care what agreement you have reached with Commander Jon! From now on, I am the supreme commander here, and everyone must obey my orders! We came here to save you. Look at these busy soldiers and the ships on the sea. They all belong to us. Not only that, our brave warriors are fighting hard against the invasion of the White Walkers on the front line, and the food needed to feed your tens of thousands of mouths has to be raised by me. So, if you still want to live, you have only one choice-obey my orders! Get back to where you should be and do your work immediately!"
Little Jon Umber looked at the man in front of him with reverence, secretly delighted in his heart: This is the true monarch I am loyal to! He gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, took a step forward, stood in front of Morona, and said to her coldly: "Did you hear me? Obey the adults' orders."
Morona was so angry that her face turned red, but she could do nothing. At this moment, a burly middle-aged woman walked out of the crowd. She looked at Little Jon fearlessly, her eyes full of provocation: "You are from the Umber family, who is your father? I am Dinah Umber, the daughter of Morse Umber."
Little Jon Umber was full of surprise. Of course he had heard of this name. It should be his aunt. But wasn't she abducted by the wildlings when she was traveling thirty years ago? Since then, the Umber family has been at war with the wildlings.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!" A melodious and low horn sounded, breaking the eerie atmosphere.
An officer said to Robb, "Lord Stark, this is the horn used by the legion to send signals! The support fleet is coming. It should be Master Rickon who has returned."
Sure enough, tall White Tiger warships broke through the fog and slowly approached, carefully avoiding the floating platforms to avoid collision.
Bran took a small boat and sailed to the flagship, where Rickon was already waiting, his face filled with joy.
"You're here, Bran! I'm glad to see you're okay. How's the battle going?" Rickon asked with concern.
Bran shook his head and said solemnly, "The situation is very bad. Last night, the White Walkers suddenly attacked the fleet in the bay, causing more than 200 small and medium-sized warships to be damaged or sunk, and more than 6,000 sailors were unfortunately devoured by the White Walkers. In addition, the casualties on the front line are also quite serious. The weapons we have now have very limited lethality to the wights. You came at the right time. The fleet on Skagos Island refused to participate in the migration work. I'm afraid you are the only one who can command them."
Rickon turned to look at the generals around him, and then introduced them to Bran: "This is the commander of the Skaggs garrison, El Crow. What do you think of the suggestion made by my brother?"
El Klauer replied with a serious expression: "I am very sorry, Master Rickon. According to the combat regulations issued by the Lord, the White Tiger is strictly prohibited from carrying any non-combatants. However, we are willing to go to the bay to assist Commander Jon in the battle. However, I have a question. We have fought with the White Walkers before, but how did they attack the ships at sea?"