Chapter 320 White Wall and Dark Shadow
The Night's Watch Legion did station a reasonably sized naval fleet in Eastwatch.
Don't be surprised, the Night Watch Legion also knows how to do business.
Otherwise, relying solely on the supplies provided by the gentlemen in the north, we would have starved to death long ago.
This fleet is responsible for cleaning up possible savage stowaways in Seal Bay on a daily basis, and doing business with several major trading city-states in Essos.
Although Castle Black basically took away most of the proceeds from the trade, it also gave Eastwatch, as a port, a big sip of soup.
Therefore, compared to the Shadow Tower, the overall living standard in Eastwatch is higher.
Otherwise, they would not have the extra financial resources to support such a fleet.
Navy, battleships, how expensive they are.
The average little noble in Westeros wouldn't even dare to think about it.
First of all, there is no such condition. There are many nobles near the sea, but not many can be used as fleet harbors.
Even if the conditions are met, if this fleet is built from scratch, a large ship that can go to sea smoothly and withstand wind and waves, it will bankrupt the ordinary small nobles below the earl.
Moreover, for the fleet, in addition to merchant ships, you also have to have warships to protect them, which is another huge expense.
Therefore, Westeros is so big, there are only a handful of fleets.
East Seaview is a place that originally had very few products. To have a fleet is really a legacy that our ancestors have been blessed with, and we have inherited it now.
When the Night's Watch was at its peak, there were tens of thousands of permanent troops.
The fleet at Eastwatch was naturally established at that time.
In this poor place, the wood rots very slowly, and the wind and waves are not too big, so the wear and tear of the battleships is quite slow. Many of the battleships are older than most of the soldiers in East Sea Watch.
Today is the day when the Eastwatch fleet goes out to sea for routine sweeps.
The fat-bellied merchant ship was going to Essosla for supplies, and they were responsible for overturning the small team of savages in the canoe and drowning them in the cold waters of Seal Bay, and then sent them to meet the old gods.
A total of eight longships, with full sails hung, slowly sailed out from the port of Eastwatch.
Each long ship is not small in terms of size alone, and the number of combatants on board will definitely not be the three or two kittens on the current black warships.
After all, it was an antique from before. The Night's Watch army at that time, the garrison in Eastwatch, was close to four figures at worst.
But now, with the seven civil wars, the personnel transportation to the Great Wall has been cut off, and coupled with the losses during the two previous northward expeditions outside the Great Wall, the number of personnel in Eastwatch has dropped to a very dangerous level.
Therefore, the eight ships that set off this time basically only had more than twenty combatants and sailors on each ship.
Many people wear multiple hats.
Fortunately, apart from the cold, there is nothing else unpleasant about Seal Bay.
Therefore, this fleet, led by Commander Carter Pike, continued to move towards the sea northwest of East Sea Watch.
Long boats have shallow drafts, but they cannot move directly along the coastline, as they can easily run aground.
And the stranded ship...under the current temperature, it would easily be covered in ice and it would be impossible to get it back.
Therefore, the fleet can only avoid it from a distance, but must ensure that the coastline is within its sight.
Because of Savage's shipbuilding ability...it's basically like a sampan.
Therefore, if they want to sneak across, entering the sea is seeking death, and they will definitely go south along the shallow water area of the coastline.
Both parties are well aware of this.
Although Commander-in-Chief Jeor Mormont has sent a letter saying that the wildlings beyond the wall are no longer a threat, Carter Pike does not fully believe that he still insists on doing this routine inspection.
And he will soon be very happy that he made such an unlucky decision.
…
Gaspar, the sailor in charge of the lookout, wiped the ice water that had just melted from his eyes.
It's still snowing now, and once the snowflakes on my eyebrows melt, they will freeze on other parts of my face in no time.
Since that strange lethargy, the temperature around the Great Wall seems to have dropped faster.
According to Bachelor Donghaiwang, the current temperature can already be considered winter.
However, the school city has never sent out the white raven that confirmed the arrival of winter.
I don’t know if it’s just too warm in the south, so these guys who spend all day soaking in books can’t feel the cold in the north at all.
The bachelors of Eastwatch also used ravens to convey the situation here to the academy, but like a mud cow drowning in the sea, there was no news.
Helpless, everyone can only pinch their noses and force themselves to think that it is still autumn.
After all, since the establishment of the Academy in Westeros, the Academy has always been responsible for communicating with the lords of the entire continent during the change of seasons.
This is a common practice. Without the arrival of the crow from the school city, no matter how abnormal the weather is, no one will think that the new season has arrived.
At this time, sailor Gaspar was struggling to observe the situation around the battleship through the dense flying snow.
When sailing on this kind of sea, although there are no huge waves, you must be careful of icebergs that appear suddenly.
As long as a wooden-hulled ship like theirs is hit, the ship will be destroyed and everyone will be killed, without exception.
Therefore, as a lookout, he must not slack off for a moment. He must always keep an eye on the sea around the fleet. If he encounters danger, he must immediately send a signal to the helmsman below.
But this job is really not done by humans. Gaspar felt that he could no longer feel his nose.
Every time he went out, his face and fingers would experience severe frostbite.
Fortunately, the Night Watchmen have very mature experience in this and know how to deal with it.
He sneezed hard just now, and shrank back behind the wooden board in front of him.
Gaspar looked at the blue and black sea, and felt that nothing was wrong, so he decided to put on his hat and take a nap.
These people, no matter how long it takes, their bodies will wake up.
However, just as he was about to close his eyes, Gaspar's last glance was attracted by a large piece of vague white mist on the sea ahead.
What it is?
It was snowing, but there were gaps between the snowflakes, which was completely different from the white mist in front of me.
Moreover, Gaspar discovered that the white mist was getting bigger at an alarming rate.
In an instant, all his sleepiness was forgotten, and he rang the alarm bell next to him with one hand.
"Dong...dong..."
The heavy noise also woke up everyone on the ship.
Everyone knows that this is a battle alarm issued by the lookout who thinks there is danger.
At that moment, the night watchmen stopped chatting and chatting, and entered the fighting position as quickly as possible.
And by chance, Carter Pike was on this boat. He used his thick voice to shout directly to the observation deck:
"Gaspar, what did you see?"
However, the roar that could shake the snow off the sails did not receive any answer.
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what happened on the observation deck.
Could it be that this bastard Gaspar fell asleep and accidentally triggered the alarm?
If that was the case, then he would be out of luck. On the ship, Carter Pike, who was born in the Iron Islands, could not tolerate sand in his eyes.
Some people thought with schadenfreude.
At this time, Carter Pike had already grabbed the rope ladder and climbed towards the observation deck.
When he climbed up, he looked at Gaspar who was staring ahead, his eyes almost bulging out. Just as he was about to slap him, he heard Gaspar murmuring something.
"What are you talking about, kid?"
Carter Pike roared in Gaspar's ears.
This sound finally woke up the lookout, and he looked back at Carter Pike.
His purple lips pursed, and his trembling hands pointed directly in front of the battleship.
Carter Pike heard a cry-like reply:
"Captain...then...is that a ship..."
Carter Pike followed Gaspar's direction and looked over with a frown, and then he was stunned.
The thick white mist was like a moving Great Wall of Despair, pressing hard towards them.
And in the mist, a huge dark sail shadow was looming.
It is four to five times the size of their current warships.
Carter Pike realized that his lookout hand had been right.
He has a strong psychological quality, unlike Gaspar who was directly subjected to the immobilization technique.
Reacting quickly, he sounded the battle alarm again:
"Dong...dong..."
Then, he left directly and slid down the rope ladder.
Before he even landed, he yelled at his crew:
"Full sail, right forward, notify the ships behind to prepare to meet the enemy!"
This short man, a fleet commander from the Iron Islands, was acting crazy at this moment.
Only at this time did the other sailors gradually see the white wall of fog coming towards them.
Waves of exclamations came from everyone's mouth, and they all realized that something was wrong.
"What it is?"
someone asked, trembling.
The companion whose teeth were also chattering replied:
"I...I don't know either."
From their perspective, this fog city wall was like the Great Wall of Despair, full of strong oppression.
"Is this...Han Shen?"
Carter Pike was also swallowing his saliva. Who could not be nervous under such power?
However, he knew very well that if he continued like this, his morale would be ruined before he could clearly see what the black shadow in the fog wall was.
So, he forced himself, strode to the bow of the ship, drew out the long sword in his hand, pointed at the wall of fog that was getting closer and closer in front of him, and shouted:
"Don't scare yourself. Steer the helm and control the cable. I want to see what's inside!"
The seven ships behind them also acted quickly after receiving the news.
They formed a battle formation and followed Carter Pike's flagship.
After all, he is a professional soldier from the Seven Kingdoms, and his combat qualities are still on the table.
Amid nervous gazes, Carter Pike's flagship took the lead and plunged into the thick white fog.
There was a blur in front of my eyes, and then, the biting cold hit my face.
This is a severe cold that is much lower than the current temperature in Seal Bay.
Carter Pike felt that what he was breathing was not air at all, but tiny particles of ice.
Every breath brings great pain.
Others felt exactly like him.
"Where is that thing?"
Carter Pike asked Gaspar in a low voice, who had already come down from the observation tower, picked up a sword and prepared to fight.
"Captain, I don't know...oh, why is it dark?"
Halfway through the words, the entire longship suddenly seemed to have had its lights turned off, shrouded in a huge shadow.
Gaspar heard the chilling voice of his captain.
"It's coming...and it's all around us."
