Chapter 398: Defending the Realm

While the Tyrell siblings were discussing whether they should support Lynd's new imperial system, Lynd had already returned to Summerhall Castle riding Deltos. He was convening a meeting with Jon, Bert, and others. The meeting focused on three topics: the support for The Wall, the new imperial system, and the progress of the colonization plan for Sothoryos.

Whether or not the lords of the Seven Kingdoms supported his imperial system was of no importance to Lynd. In his eyes, it was meaningless—once the extreme cold descended on Westeros, the continent would inevitably be abandoned, and the lords' lands would cease to exist.

Right now, the only thing Lynd truly cared about was whether the support for The Wall was in place.

"Your Grace, are you certain there are tens of millions of wights?" At the start of the meeting, after Lynd finished describing what he had seen in the Land of Always Winter, the room burst into uproar. Jon Bulwer couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

"Yes, I'm certain," Lynd said seriously, nodding. "Our previous estimates were too small. We must increase all types of supplies by at least tenfold—especially the production of wildfire." He turned to Qyburn and asked, "Can you increase production tenfold in a short period of time?"

Qyburn shook his head slightly. "At most, we can increase it twofold. Any further, and the risk of mistakes during production rises, making the wildfire unstable." As he spoke, he glanced cautiously at Malora and said, "Unless Lady Malora could spare some of her alchemists..."

Malora immediately shook her head. "No. Don't even think about it. They're all busy producing potions for The Wall. Those potions are just as critical as your wildfire."

"How about we have the Pyromancers from the Guild help?" suggested Broom, the head of the Mages' Association.

Lagz, Mother of the Silent Court, also proposed, "The alchemists and apprentice pyromancers of the Silent Court may not be able to make wildfire independently, but assisting in mixing stabilizers shouldn't be a problem."

"With their help, we should be able to boost production to about five times the current amount," Qyburn quickly calculated. He then suggested, "I recommend relocating the wildfire workshops to Miracle Harbor. That way, we can save transport time. Once it's produced, it can be directly shipped to The Wall."

Lynd nodded in approval.

"Your Grace, should we still send spellcasters to support The Wall according to the original plan?" asked Marloxin, High Priest of the God of Magic, in a deep voice.

"No," Lynd shook his head. "The plan for sending spellcasters to The Wall needs to be scrapped. The Wall's magical power interferes with spellcasting—even I can't use magic freely near it anymore. Beyond the Wall, the magic itself is chaotic, likely due to the influence of the so-called Cold God. Dragons can barely get close, and magic becomes unstable. Sending spellcasters would be no better than sending ordinary men."

"Is it really that serious?" Everyone looked surprised.

Lynd glanced at the two-headed sisters standing behind Malora and said, "However, Ella and Yara can go take a look. The chaotic magic there might actually benefit you."

Ella and Yara blinked, then nodded repeatedly, expressing their willingness to accompany Lynd to The Wall.

Broom stroked his long beard and asked, "In that case, should the summoned spellcasters be dismissed and sent back to their departments, or..."

"No," Lynd interrupted, "don't dismiss them. Send them to Asshai. Have them assist King Jaben in securing Asshai, and then head to Great Mokk Island to aid in establishing settlements on Sothoryos."

"Yes, Your Grace," Broom nodded.

Lynd then turned to Jon. "How are we financially?"

Jon replied, "Barely sufficient. Once the spoils from Braavos arrive—"

"They won't," Lynd interrupted. "Most of the spoils from Braavos were sent to Ny Sar with Nymeria."

Jon hesitated. "If that's the case, we might need to slow down shipbuilding. The new gold mines are still being developed, and taxes haven't yet been collected. Our treasury is tight—unless we can draw from the Iron Throne's reserves."

"Forget the Iron Throne. Their treasury is dry. Littlefinger is still hoping to wring money from us," Lynd said, shaking his head. After thinking for a moment, he added, "No matter. Slaver's Bay should fall soon. The slave masters are wealthy beyond measure. The spoils from their cities should more than cover the deficit."

Gorman Celtigar, the chairman of the Miracle Commerce Guild, suggested, "Actually, Your Grace, you could levy an additional White Walker tax on the lords of the Seven Kingdoms. After all, defending The Wall isn't just for Summerhall—it's for the entire Seven Kingdoms. It's only fair they contribute too. If anyone refuses to pay, send them to The Wall. I doubt anyone would choose gold over their own life."

The others nodded slightly after hearing this, thinking the idea of adding such a tax was quite reasonable.

Lynd thought for a moment and did not object. The only question was how much to raise the tax—after all, after years of war, most of the lords' coffers were empty. If the tax was set too high, many of them might simply be unable to pay.

In addition to the extra White Walker tax, someone proposed conscripting men from each lord's domain to form a reserve army that could be trained together. If the Night's Watch at The Wall were completely wiped out, this reserve force could step in immediately. Moreover, this would also serve to deter some of the less intelligent lords of the Seven Kingdoms from causing trouble while Lynd's attention was focused on the northern front against the White Walkers.

Although Lynd had seized the Iron Throne with his own strength, his origins remained a point of criticism. Many of the ancient lords might not openly object to him ruling the Seven Kingdoms, but inwardly they harbored resentment. Intelligence reports indicated that discontent was particularly strong among the old noble houses of the Reach, the Vale, and the Westerlands.

The Reach, of course, needed no explanation. It was home to the oldest noble lineages in all of Westeros—families whose histories stretched back thousands of years. Bloodline mattered deeply there, and even though Lynd himself hailed from the Reach, his ancestry made him a target of discrimination. For this reason, Lynd had long avoided dealing with most Reach nobles, maintaining only strong relationships with certain families like House Tarly, known for their military tradition, and the Hightower family, and of course the close collaborators of Summerhall.

The Vale's situation was similar. Many there felt slighted because they had no real part in the election of the king. By the time they were notified, the decision had already been made, leaving them feeling disrespected. While they still followed the Iron Throne's orders outwardly, a few engaged in passive resistance behind the scenes.

As for the Westerlands, their resentment was simple to understand. They believed that Lynd had simply seized victory for himself. After all their brutal fighting, they should have reaped the rewards, but because of the Lannister family's patricide scandal, they lost everything. Their bitterness toward Lynd lingered to this day.

Of course, none of this discontent would be publicly displayed. Lynd's power was simply overwhelming—so overwhelming that even if all the dissatisfied lords joined forces, they still wouldn't be able to defeat him. However, that didn't mean they wouldn't cause trouble if an opportunity arose, especially while Lynd's attention was focused on The Wall. It was very possible that some, driven by emotion, would do something foolish. After careful analysis of intelligence, Lynd's advisory council had unanimously come to this conclusion.

Thus, the suggestion to conscript troops from each lord's domain was formally adopted—both to prevent unrest and to have a ready force to suppress any rebellious movements.

Soon, these proposals were transformed into official orders, sent out in the name of the Iron Throne to every lord's castle across the realm.

No one was happy about being asked to pay even more taxes. But the lords of the Seven Kingdoms had no real grounds to refuse. After all, the fight against the White Walkers was about the survival of all humanity. Anyone who refused or tried to obstruct could easily be labeled an enemy of mankind—and once that label stuck, there would be no redemption.

Thus, however reluctantly, the lords obediently paid the new White Walker tax, mustered their men, and sent them to Summerhall.

Some lords, however, tried to send the old, the sick, and the weak to fill the ranks of the reserve army. But the recruitment officers, following Lynd's strict orders, rejected them outright—and as punishment, doubled the required number of recruits from those territories.

Though many lords were tempted to rebel while Lynd was busy fighting the White Walkers, they quickly realized that every recruitment officer arrived accompanied by troops from the Chosen Corps and the Dragonriders. Faced with Lynd's overwhelming strength, they swallowed their resentment and complied.

After completing all the administrative work at Summerhall, Lynd immediately set off for The Wall, leaving the day-to-day affairs of the Iron Throne and Summerhall in the hands of two separate governing bodies.

While Lynd was still at Summerhall, news arrived from The Wall: part of the Hardhome tribes had been relocated to Skagos, while another part had crossed The Wall alongside the Free Folk coalition and been resettled in the Gift, south of The Wall. Only a few tribes, separated or hiding during the conflict, still remained scattered throughout the Haunted Forest.

Mance Rayder had not given up on rescuing these stragglers. He personally led a group of Free Folk warriors into the Haunted Forest to search for the lost tribes.

Meanwhile, the Night's Watch outposts stationed in the Haunted Forest sent back alarming reports: a massive number of wights had appeared east of the Frostfangs and were rapidly advancing toward the Fist of the First Men.

To avoid unnecessary casualties, Stannis ordered all rangers at the forward outposts to immediately withdraw to The Wall and abandoned all holdings north of it. Simultaneously, traps were laid in the buffer zone near The Wall, waiting for the White Walkers' advance.

Upon receiving the Night's Watch's signals, Mance Rayder also abandoned his search for the missing tribes and returned to The Wall with those he had already found.

Thus, the Night's Watch fully abandoned the territory north of The Wall, making their final stand directly along its defenses, preparing to face the oncoming horde of wights.

The situation along the Frozen Shore mirrored that of the Haunted Forest. Pressed relentlessly by the seemingly endless army of wights, both the Redemption Sisters and the Silent Men were forced to fully retreat from the Frozen Shore.

Part of their forces, along with soldiers from Bear Island and the Iron Islands, moved to fortify Westwatch-by-the-Bridge, guarding the Gorge—a critical gap in the defenses, as The Wall's protection could not reach there.

Although the Gorge was an insurmountable abyss for ordinary humans, it posed little challenge for the wights. With enough bodies, they could easily pile up a bridge across the chasm.

To prepare for this, Lynd not only stationed Redemption Sisters, Silent Men, and forces from Bear Island and the Iron Islands at Westwatch-by-the-Bridge, but he also laid traps deep within the Gorge. If the White Walkers attempted to build a bridge of wights, the traps would be detonated, shattering the ice and releasing the Milkwater River, flooding the bottom of the Gorge and sweeping everything into the sea.

Based on extensive research, it was known that once wights and White Walkers fell into the water, they would lose all combat capability. When swept into the ocean, the magical forces sustaining them would be dispersed by the sea's natural power, turning them into nothing more than true corpses.

Meanwhile, Cersei, having completed all the trials of the Redemption Sept, led another group of Redemption Sisters and Silent Men to fill the gaps along The Wall's defenses.

Interestingly, Jaime also led the Kingsguard to join this force, claiming that since the Kingsguard were sworn to protect the king—and the king was now at The Wall—it was only natural for them to follow.

Lynd made no comment about Jaime's personal motives. In truth, he was curious to see how Jaime's implanted enhancements would perform in real combat.

As for another contingent of Redemption Sisters and Silent Men, they boarded ships from Bear Island and the Iron Islands, patrolling near the Frozen Shore's coastline. Using skinchangers to possess ravens, they regularly scouted the shoreline, searching for suitable targets. When a target was found, they would swiftly land, launch a surprise assault, capture and sacrifice any White Walkers, then quickly return to the sea—repeating this process over and over.

Though each attack inflicted minimal losses on the vast army of wights, it was devastating to the White Walkers. In just a few days, over thirty human White Walkers who were commanding the wights along the Frozen Shore had been captured and sacrificed. Until new White Walker commanders could be appointed, the wight forces there remained leaderless and disorganized, making it much easier for the Redemption Sisters and Silent Men to eliminate them one by one.