Chapter 390: Dragon's Roar Shakes the Heavens

"I remember the last time the Green Fork froze, I was a young lad, that must have been over sixty years ago..."

"After a long summer of seven years, followed by a brief autumn, then a harsh winter of six years, the Green Fork froze over."

"The number of people who froze to death then..."

Lord Walder Frey waved his hand, seemingly lost in the memories of the past.

But soon, Lord Frey's hand stiffened and slowly returned to his cane.

He looked at the Green Fork, which was gradually freezing over in the snowstorm, his yellowed old eyes somewhat dazed.

He had watched this river for nearly ninety years, and under his rule, the Frey family had flourished, their power had grown, and they were not to be underestimated. The family was thriving, yet all this prosperity could not withstand a natural disaster.

The roaring Green Fork had finally stopped flowing.

There was no one beside old Walder Frey. It turned out he had been talking to himself all this time.

The disaster was imminent. After the White Walkers crossed the Neck, the first place they would strike was the Twins. The Twins were to the Riverlands what Moat Cailin was to the North.

Against enemies from the south, if Moat Cailin held, the North would be safe.

And against threats from the North, the lords of the Riverlands only needed to hold the Twins, and the problem could be largely solved.

The Frey family was thriving, but those who were not dead were injured. At this point, all had been sent out. Only old Frey remained in the Twins, while his beloved descendants had been sent by boat to the continent of Essos.

Old Frey, with his wealth of experience, had sensed the danger early and made plans, hoping to leave a spark of hope for the Frey family.

Even though he wanted to leave himself, his body, which he boasted was still strong in his old age, wouldn't support him on a sea voyage. He feared he would die at sea, so he dismissed the idea.

More than a month had passed since the Battle of Moat Cailin.

The allied forces' plan to kill the Night King with wildfire had failed. Although it had killed a large number of ordinary wights, it had not harmed the Night King at all.

The tactics prepared by the allied forces, in conjunction with House Reed of Greywater Watch, to deal with the army of the White Walkers in the Neck had also failed.

The allied forces' soldiers, who had been following the crannogmen, desperately tried to stop the advance of the army of the dead. Although they initially achieved some success.

But the enemy adopted a method of overwhelming force. Even if they were stuck in the mud, the wights behind would step on the bodies of the wights in front and kill these guerrilla crannogmen and allied soldiers.

And all this was wiped out after the Night King took action. The rotten mud froze into hard ground, and the small boats in the complex river channels of the reed swamp were frozen and immobile.

The army of the dead moved unimpeded in the Neck, countless crannogmen and allied soldiers were slaughtered, without even the strength to resist. The entire mysterious and hard-to-find castle of Greywater Watch was captured.

The mysterious leader of the crannogmen, Howland Reed, reportedly hanged himself in his own castle hall.

His daughter, Meera Reed, and son, Jojen Reed, escaped the Neck with the soldiers of the allied forces.

The Battle of the Neck was a series of defeats. The allied forces were scattered, and thousands of battles took place in half a month, but there were few victories.

The morale of the allied soldiers reached an astonishingly low level during this process, the army was disheartened, and everyone was in fear.

This time it was not just ordinary soldiers, but the entire army, including the king and all the nobles, were shrouded in a mood of despair.

The Neck was the most hopeful line of defense for humans to stop the White Walkers. The allied forces had exhausted all their energy, manpower, financial resources, and material resources to stop the White Walkers at the Neck.

"They originally thought the Neck would be the second 'Wall of Despair' in Westeros, an impregnable natural defense line, giving infinite hope."

"But they didn't expect that when they really encountered the White Walkers, this unbreakable defense line was as fragile as a piece of paper."

Tycho Nestoris, the manager from the Iron Bank of Braavos, wrote this in his memoir.

He was the full representative sent by Braavos, responsible for handling the loan affairs between the Iron Throne and the Iron Bank. He was also in the camp of the allied forces, a key landlord, so he could personally experience and hear many secrets that were not disclosed to the outside world.

And his observations would naturally be sent back to the city of Braavos, becoming the basis for the decision of the Sea Lord.

According to Tycho Nestoris's judgment, Westeros has reached a critical moment of life and death.

The White Walkers breaking through the Neck means that the morale of the allied forces is on the verge of collapse. If King's Landing falls, Westeros is not far from complete collapse.

In the 293rd year of Aegon's Conquest, but for the Baratheon dynasty, it is known as the 'Conquest Era' 293.

The desperate allied forces, on New Year's Day, fought a do-or-die battle against the Green Fork and the Twins.

Even abandoning their previous defensive tactics, they launched a desperate charge against the army of the dead.

Countless knights from various families, clad in bright armor, wielding sturdy shields and long spears, charged at the front line.

"Kill!"

On the banks of the Green Fork, the shouts of killing shook the heavens.

And as the king of the Seven Kingdoms, Robert Baratheon did not listen to anyone's advice this time, but personally charged forward with his warhammer.

The king charged forward, and the rest of the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms naturally could not shrink back.

Eddard Stark also stood by his good brother, the king's younger brother Stannis did not abandon his elder brother and flee back to Dragonstone, the knights of the Riverlands, the Vale, the Westerlands, the Riverlands, and so on.

The allied soldiers, for their homeland behind them, fought a desperate battle in the face of desperation, bursting out with several times their potential and courage. If they failed in this battle, the hope of the Seven Kingdoms would be cut off.

However, courage ultimately cannot overcome absolute power.

From the sky above the clouds, looking down through the white snow, the number of wights and soldiers of the Seven Kingdoms' allied forces was not proportional at all.

And the number of wights was still increasing, the figures of the allied soldiers were falling one by one, the extremely exaggerated power contrast was still being eaten away and reduced at a geometric rate.

Blood dyed the frozen river red, the shattered ice surged with cold river water, and bodies lay across the riverbank.

Lord Walder Frey stood on the bridge of the Twins, looking at the distant battlefield, his eyes finally showed despair.

Then he let go of his hands and fell freely from the bridge, plunging into the Green Fork, wanting to end his life.

Thud—

However, Lord Walder Frey's body did not shatter the hard ice. His head hit the ice heavily, creating a shallow white pit.

The blood flowing from the back of his head quickly stained the ice, but his body was not yet dead. He struggled slightly, his yellowed old eyes unfocused, looking at the sky.

But just then.

A loud roar of a dragon suddenly came from the distant horizon, quickly spreading in all directions.

The Night King, who was riding his horse behind the army of the dead, suddenly looked up at the sky, the icy blue flames in his eyes jumping rapidly.