Chapter 388 War preparations

Despite their best efforts, more than 200,000 people still became sacrifices for the cold god's resurrection.

Seeing that nothing could be done, the Blood Gate guard made an immediate decision and forcibly blocked the Blood Gate pass.

This city gate, which has always been a defense for the valley, now blocks the hope of life for those it protects.

Cruel, but had to be done.

All of Arryn Valley has fallen.

Seagull Town and Runestone City further south have already transported a large amount of important supplies with the help of the Wang family fleet. Some of the personnel also followed the ships south, and the rest followed the coastline and left the valley all the way from Candle Cave City.

While Clay gathered heavy troops in the Blood Gate, another very critical place, Candle Cave City, and the Salt Farm Town behind it were also garrisoned by large armies.

Never in history have these two forts been so important.

Concentrate the power of the whole country to build their dilapidated city walls, dig trenches, expand satellite fortresses on the periphery, expand city wall fortifications, etc.

Garland Tyrell, the son of Duke Mace Tyrell, directly led troops to garrison in Candlecave City.

This was already two months after the White Walkers set foot in the Vale.

Even though it took a long time, it was still very hasty for Clay.

Fortunately, the cavalry sent by Twin River City patrolled near the Mingyue Mountains day and night, and there were no reports of enemy troops crossing the Mingyue Mountains.

Clay's opponents don't seem to be as familiar with the trails that connect both sides of the mountains as the Valley People, the former owners here.

They all gathered in the direction of the Blood Gate, forming a large, dark mass that looked quite stressful.

At least this is what it looks like when looking down from the Blood Gate Pass.

…

"Have you found any results about what I asked you to find on Dragonstone Island before?"

This was what Clay was asking one of those unlucky bachelors who had surrendered to him the quickest.

There are always people with smart minds who know that the school city has become a thing of the past.

For example, the middle-aged man with a flattering smile in front of me.

This guy is the capitulationist among the bachelors. He expresses his willingness to serve the king and has no sense of arrogance as an "intellectual" at all.

He was directly assigned by Clay, and under the escort of his own army, he took several bachelors who studied minerals and went straight to Dragonstone Island.

Clay remembers clearly that you can use fire to deal with wights, but to deal with things like White Walkers, you have to use magic to defeat magic.

Dragon crystal is a good thing. When made into arrowheads, the effect is very good.

It's just that things were too hasty. I originally planned to develop it on a large scale after the national affairs were settled, and take it to the north for target shooting by the White Walkers.

Now we can only use the authority of the king to drive the ducks to the shelves.

This kind of unreasonable ordering is actually overdrafting the king's credit.

Once credit goes bankrupt, the throne may be shaken.

However, Clay knew very well that every step he made was correct, so he was sure to make a profit from this transaction.

"Your Majesty, according to your instructions, the uh... dragon crystal you mentioned has been found on Dragonstone Island, and the reserves are huge."

"It has already begun to be transported and mined manually. Now King's Landing is full of unemployed lazy people."

Kristen is now responsible for part of the king's paperwork. After all, there are so many things that Clay won't read. If you have anything to do, just ask Kristen directly.

"That's good. Let them increase production and transport it to King's Landing. The arrows will be directly sent to me to get to the front line. Tell them that there is a lot of land now vacant in the valley. They understand what I mean."

This is not a painting.

The big nobles ran out, but the small nobles, especially some knights, to a certain extent, you didn't think they were any different from farmers in front of them.

Staying in the countryside all year round, there is little information.

During the great retreat from the valley, they may not even be able to take care of them.

How many people die depends on luck.

"Your Majesty, our eyes in the Eagle's Nest City are sending a report saying that the Legion of the Dead has not yet invaded, and they are still holding on."

This is another interesting point.

All the great nobles withdrew, but the branch of the Aylin family chose to stay in the Eagle's Nest City.

Staying in the Eagle's Nest City in the dead of winter is simply seeking death.

But they choose to do it.

Clay knew what they wanted, and he promised that if these Arryn offshoots could survive until the end of the war, then they would get what they wanted.

These branches of Arryn completely froze the narrow road leading to the Eagle's Nest City with boulders and sand, poured cold water on it.

Temporarily withstood the attack of the Army of the Dead.

Clay told them to try using fire against the blue-eyed dead.

Obviously, it has a certain effect.

The wave of the dead was temporarily contained in front of the Eagle's Nest City, a natural danger in the valley.

But this was not enough, because almost at the same time, the fleet staying near Runestone City and Seagull Town sent a report that the vanguard of the Dead Legion had appeared there.

The current navy does not have the ability to attack the shore with firepower, so it can only watch.

Just insert an eye, that's all.

Although the White Walkers possess intelligence, their military capabilities do not seem to be very good.

After eating the 200,000 people in Erin Valley who had not had time to evacuate, they seemed to have swelled.

With almost no pause, they immediately launched an attack on the Blood Gate.

Countless dead people holding various weapons, with broken bodies, wearing the emblems of various families or civilian clothes, were like a black wave, rushing towards the Blood Gate between the two mountains.

This was the first battle and there must be no room for failure. After Clay heard the news, he immediately came with 10,000 troops for reinforcements.

Although there is simply no room for so many people near the Blood Gate, the morale increase for the defenders is real.

"Count Rickard, how is the front line?"

Clay did not go to the front line. Although his personal abilities were powerful, there was not much he could do on this huge battlefield.

The Earl of Cahor City, who stayed with Clay and did not go north with Brynden Rivers, frowned and whispered:

"Your Majesty, if this is a normal enemy, forget it, but this...dead person, the soldiers have a lot of fear, and sometimes they don't dare to fight at all."

Clay knew what he was talking about. Due to the strong religious atmosphere in Westeros, ordinary people felt the ultimate fear of White Walkers and dead people.

Therefore, when fighting defensive battles, they tend to eliminate the enemy as far as possible from a safe distance.

However, this is the Army of the Dead.

When a living person attacks a city, he will be exhausted and frightened by the death of his comrades.

But what is it to these magically possessed dead?

It doesn't matter if you crush the heads of other dead people under your feet, as long as you can climb one step up the city wall, you will be considered a victory.

It’s not that you’re not afraid of death, it’s that you’re already dead. You can’t die again, right?

As a result, this battle was extremely difficult from the beginning.

If it weren't for the supervising team composed of those determined people behind, the Blood Gate might have been lost by now.

Whenever the ghouls attack the city wall, they can easily cause a partial retreat.

Because I don’t dare to face the chop directly.

It doesn't matter if he cuts off his head with a knife, the corpses will still attack him.

The lethality of facing the tin cans is indeed not great, but fear is the biggest problem.

There is really no choice but to endure it and wait until the soldiers on the front line become veterans in another sense.

To counteract this psychological fear.

"I know, let's hold on for two more days, then withdraw the two thousand people currently responsible for defense and put in new recruits for rotation."

"Then, Rickard, take the people yourself and find a way to catch a few corpses."

"Let the soldiers see how easy these guys are to kill, and the most important thing is to break everyone's fear."

Rickard Karstark nodded. When he first entered the battlefield, he was also frightened by the deadly attack like a roaring mountain and a tsunami.

Then, he discovered that the joints of these dead people were stiffer than normal people, and their armor could not be broken even with tattered weapons.

It's just that it's really troublesome to kill easily. Melee fighting at close range and igniting opponents with fire can easily make you scared.

The basic fear of human beings, the corpses of the same kind, the blazing fire.

But if you let the soldiers know that this is not something that is immediately fatal, and then tell them how to deal with the enemy, I believe the effect will be much better.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do it immediately."

As the person who actually commanded the army, this grumpy earl had a capable style and was not sloppy at all.

Rickard Karstark left.

…

"Your Majesty, how can I help you?"

At the former enemy headquarters in Earl Holloway's town, Clay once again saw Thoros and Ciri who had followed the army here.

These two people found themselves and seemed to want to play a role in this war.

Clay thought for a while, ignored Shirley's question, and looked at Soros:

"R'hllor, your master, what is your attitude towards the current situation? The valley has fallen, and the dead have bitten the throats of the living. Is the King of Light planning to abandon this land?"

Although Thoros was not a devout believer, he still frowned a little when Clay called the Red God's name so bluntly.

But soon I thought of the other party's identity and felt relieved.

"Your Majesty, I have already conveyed the situation here to the Great Red Temple in Essos. As for the reaction there, I can't control it."

"It's strange, I haven't seen anything in the flames lately, and my Lord has given me no instructions, so the two of us ended up here."

Clay nodded, he had some doubts about the last part of Soros's words.

It's now, can R'hllor still sit on the Diaoyutai?

If he hadn't already preliminarily unified Westeros, and if it were a time of war, Westeros would be in big trouble just this time.

Once there is a problem with the Blood Gate or Candle Cave City, humans may have to withdraw from Westeros.

The Cold God will completely swallow up the lands of the Old Gods and the Seven Gods, becoming powerful enough to threaten R'hllor, whose base is Essos.

"In that case, Thoros, go to the Blood Gate, find Count Rickard Karstark, and say that I asked you to come. Remember, you don't have to go directly to the front line to kill people with your sword. Get more Something to boost morale comes out.”

"Fire can not only burn people to death, but it can also warm people's hearts in the cold winter. You know what I mean."

Clay used a positive tone, and he knew that the magician in front of him must understand what he meant.

Sure enough, Soros was stunned for two seconds, then saluted:

"Understood, Your Majesty Clay Manderly, I will do it."

He nodded and turned his attention to Ciri beside him.

This tall girl now changed into more bulky clothes.

Obviously, the temperature in the winter in Westeros is really uncomfortable.

The boiling ancient blood was suppressed here again, so she had to bow to reality.

"As for you, Miss Xili from another world, since you want to work with me to deal with the natural disasters that are chasing you, I can also tell you responsibly that the situation you are facing now is caused by those guys."

"So, you can go to the battlefield and act as Mr. Soros's bodyguard. Let him not be disturbed by others while he is working."

Now is not the time to have a thorough conversation with Ciri. The Wild Hunt is still acting like a monster. We will wait until they are dealt with.

"Well, as you wish Your Majesty."

Soros and Shiri retreated, and Clay continued to look through the summary of information piled on the desk.

He wasn't too worried about the Blood Gate. As long as he withstood the first wave, the dead people wouldn't be able to break out unless there was an accident.

Once the dragon crystal weapons from Dragonstone Island are transported to the front line, they can launch a counterattack.

Clay was worried about the direction of Candle Cave City.

According to the information brought by the maritime fleet, after the dead people occupied Seagull Town, they pressed directly along the coastline towards the west.

The fleet tried to send small boats close to launch rockets, trying to cause a collective burning among the corpses.

However, a few ice spears that appeared out of nowhere and were as fast as lightning smashed the boat into pieces, leaving no bones of the people on it.

There was also a large ship. After being hit by one shot, a complete penetrating wound was formed on the bow of the ship, taking away the heads of several sailors in the cabin.

Were it not for the fact that this was above the waterline, the ship would have sunk.

Seeing this situation, the fleet could only reconnoiter on the sea from a distance, and no longer dared to approach for attacks.

As soon as this situation was reported to the base camp, others thought it was nonsense. The scene of the White Walker throwing the ice spear immediately appeared in Clay's mind.

Traditional arts belong to yes.

You know, this thing, with the blessing of magic power, is a particularly powerful version of the large dragon-shooting crossbow.

It can be used against the air, and naturally it can also be used against the ground.

The Blood Gate Pass has not been encountered yet, and the city wall is thick enough, so it is not a big problem.

But Candle Cave City is not like that. It is a small castle that has never been important in history. How can it have city walls that can withstand the test of war?

That's it, construction is still going on now, just to compete with the dead for time.

Clay is worried that when the time comes, the White Walkers will make trouble for him and create a breakthrough, which will be troublesome.

There is no way for the ghouls to rush in and then exit after suffering too much loss.

They're all just mindless cannon fodder.

The card was reviewed today. Although I don’t know why, it took a long time to change it.