The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Ice Spiders aren't spiders made of ice; instead, they are a type of spider that dwells in the Land of Eternal Winter, magical creatures like dragons and unicorns.

If dragons are the children of the Fire God, then Ice Spiders are the children of the Ice God.

As magic revives on the continent of Westeros, the Ice Spiders of the Land of Eternal Winter are also awakening.

Like the rarity of dragons, Ice Spiders are also scarce, with only three appearing in the entire Land of Eternal Winter.

Ice Spiders are the Night King's secret, but the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran Stark, has already uncovered it.

In the Land of Eternal Winter, wolves, horses, bears, and shadowcats are all enormous. Direwolves are more than twice the size of the wolves south of the Wall. And the snow bears from the Land of Eternal Winter are the size of small, moving mountains.

The Ice Spiders of the Land of Eternal Winter are as large as small ponies, move as fast as the wind, are fiercely aggressive, can scale walls and besiege cities, and traverse mountains and valleys silently, even faster than on flat ground. No matter how steep the dangerous cliffs or vertical walls, they pose no obstacle to the Ice Spiders.

Across the Night's Watch's Gift, stretching for fifty leagues, slowly advance hordes of wights, like an endless black tide. These wights all have blue eyes, gleaming faintly in the wind and snow. Within the wight army, a dozen giant wights, taller than two-story buildings, slowly move, along with warhorses decayed to skeletons, snow bears with ordinary arrows sticking out of their heads, and direwolves missing half their heads—all terrifying and horrifying wight warriors.

These beast wights are mixed among the humanoid wights, advancing with the ranks.

Behind these ranks, the Night King leads dozens of Others, each carrying a long spear and an ice sword at their hip. All the Others wear frost armor, with faces full of icy wrinkles and ice-blue eyes, making them seem like clones of the same Other. No matter how you look at them, it's hard to see any difference in appearance between the Others.

Two hundred leagues ahead of this force, a small team of Others rides decayed warhorses at high speed, followed silently by a giant Ice Spider the size of a pony.

The Ice Spider has eight blue eyes arranged in four rows on its head, and its mandibles are terrifyingly large. Its eight ice sword-like legs move in alternating steps, making it extremely swift.

Under the cover of wind and snow, this force moves like an arrow. In half a day, they arrive north of the Last Hearth. They circle around the city and soon reach the south gate of the Last Hearth. They all stop, silent as wooden statues, waiting to enter the Last Hearth from the south gate after dark to kill the crippled boy.

The crippled boy is a Green Prophet, inheriting all the traditions of the Children of the Forest's Green Prophets. Unlike the skinchanger Varamyr Sixskins, the Green Prophet can not only inhabit all kinds of birds and beasts but also leave his body in dreams and go anywhere he wishes. Skinchangers cannot do this.

One in ten thousand people is a skinchanger; one in a hundred skinchangers is a Green Prophet.

The crippled boy has repeatedly left his body in dreams, going to the Other army to scout the enemy's situation. But one time, the Night King sensed his presence. When he approached the Night King, the motionless Night King suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm. However, the boy's body was, after all, a phantom body in a dream. In a panic, the boy broke free and fled the wight army. When he woke up from the dream in a cold sweat, he found a black mark on his arm where the Night King had touched him.

The mark was like a brand, impossible to remove.

Because of this mark, no matter where the boy Bran Stark fled or hid, the Night King could sense him. So, the boy fled while the Night King sent Others to chase him. This chase and escape led them from the Thenn Mountains to the Haunted Forest, from the Haunted Forest to the Wall, and from the Wall to the wolfswood in the North. Finally, the boy was chased to the Last Hearth.

The south gate of the Last Hearth is the only way for the boy to escape south. The Night King ordered the Other leader to simply guard the south gate and wait for nightfall. If the boy fled again, he would only come out of the south gate, not the other gates.

In the wind and snow, the Others and the Ice Spider hid themselves well. The snow covered their bodies, and they could clearly see the situation of the guards on the wall, but the soldiers on the wall could not see them, even if they were only a dozen meters away.

At dusk, the south gate of the Last Hearth opened, and a team of cavalry roared out. It was a patrol of fifty Night's Watch rangers, escorting a carriage with thick curtains. Beside the carriage walked a girl: Meera Reed.

Eleven Others silently watched the departure of this team. They had finally waited for this opportunity. This time, the Night King had sent one of the three Ice Spiders, determined to kill the boy in a surprise attack.

The human Green Prophet, though a child, was extremely cunning and unpredictable. But this time, he would have no way to escape.

Swoosh!

A Three-Eyed Raven flew into the wind and snow, heading towards the Others' hiding place. The Other leader waved his hand gently, and the wind and snow raged, piling up the snow and covering them even more tightly.

The Three-Eyed Raven flew past the Others, not noticing anything unusual. Everywhere was piled with snow, with wind and snow filling the sky, a vast expanse of white. There was no unusual phenomenon or any trace in the snow.

Jon Snow led fifty elite rangers, escorting the carriage quickly south. The Other leader realized they were not taking the Kingsroad but heading towards the Last River.

East of the Last Hearth is a river: the Last River! The Last River connects to the White Knife, the largest inland river in the North, and the end of the White Knife is the mouth of the North's rivers—White Harbor, the most prosperous and wealthiest port city in the North.

Taking a boat from the Last River into the White Knife, going downstream, would only take three days to reach the territory of Winterfell.

The Other leader moved, deciding to intercept them before the team boarded a ship. The Others were not accustomed to boats. Once the boy's team boarded a ship, separated by the rolling river, they would be powerless.

The boy had narrowly escaped the Night King's pursuit many times; this time, there must be no mistake. The Ice Spider was a magical creature that the Night's Watch rangers had never seen before. The Ice Spider was extremely fast. As long as it launched a sudden attack, it would be faster than the Night's Watch rangers' reaction, killing the human Green Prophet before the Night's Watch rangers could react.

The Other team revealed themselves, the thick snow on their bodies sliding off. At this moment, the south gate opened again with a loud creak, and a team of strong mixed cavalry roared out. They were also escorting a black carriage with thick curtains. Beside the carriage was a girl, the boy's assistant, Meera Reed. A Three-Eyed Raven croaked in the sky above the team.

This cavalry team moved very quickly. The Other leader saw that there were Night's Watchmen, Free Folk, and Northern coalition soldiers in the team, all elite cavalry.

It was a mixed hundred-man team. They took the Kingsroad, rushing forward on the Kingsroad. Every rider carried a long spear, the head of which was made of obsidian. Everyone carried a bow on their back and a quiver at their waist, filled with obsidian arrows.

The Other leader's blue eyes gleamed. He stopped, and the Other soldiers behind him all stopped. The magical creature, the Ice Spider, also uneasily crawled back and forth on the snow, its ice blade legs carving out snow marks.

Two teams came out of the city one after another, both with the same carriage, the same girl escort, and the same Three-Eyed Raven.

Which team had the real boy?

This was a situation the Other leader had not expected at all. The human Green Prophet's cunning made the Other leader stop his warhorse. He didn't know whether to chase the cavalry team heading towards the Last River or the cavalry team on the Kingsroad.

However, time did not allow the Other leader to stand still and think. He made a decision. He led two Others and one Ice Spider to chase the team heading towards the Last River, while the remaining eight Others chased the team on the Kingsroad.

Splitting their forces could be considered a proper response. But the secret plan for a surprise attack at night was seemingly known by the boy.

The human Green Prophet could escape from the Thenn Mountains all the way to the Last Hearth, across hundreds of leagues of icy plains, mountains, and primeval forests. The crippled boy could avoid the Night King's pursuit every time, not only relying on luck or divine protection, but also on human wisdom.

The Other leader and two Others and one Ice Spider had just chased out when the south gate of the Last Hearth made a loud noise again. A group of cavalry rushed out. This Northern coalition cavalry was also a hundred-man team, led by Greatjon Umber, the Earl of Amber, escorting a boy in black clothes and a black cloak. The boy was riding a horse, his face hidden in his hood. On the horse's back was a specially made wooden frame, and the boy was sitting on this wooden frame, his legs firmly fixed with leather straps. Beside him was a girl rider, his only surviving guard, Meera Reed. A Three-Eyed Raven was perched on the boy's black hood.

Greatjon Umber, the Earl of Amber, shouted loudly on his warhorse, and the team quickly headed south. They didn't go towards the Last River or the Kingsroad but directly jumped their horses into the icy plains, quickly leaving along a small path.

The land area of the North is as large as the other six kingdoms combined. Many places are wilderness, uninhabited, so there are no official roads. However, riders familiar with this land do not like to take the official roads. They like to ride across the wilderness, taking small shortcuts, which are often faster than cavalry on the Kingsroad.

In a short time, three cavalry teams came out of the Last Hearth, each with elite cavalry guards. Except for the patrol led by Jon Snow, which had only fifty riders, the remaining two teams each had a hundred riders, all elite cavalry. They were all fully armed, carrying obsidian weapons. Obsidian was dragon glass, and dragon glass weapons made the Other leader and the magical creature, the Ice Spider, very wary.

This left the Other leader completely stunned.

Which of the three fleeing teams was the real one?!

Split the forces again?

How to split them?

Their secret plan to climb into the city at night and have the Ice Spider silently kill the boy was shattered.

The Other leader made complex sounds, perhaps roaring, but it was useless. The three teams were rapidly leaving, and the team heading towards the Last River would soon board a ferry. Once they were on the ferry, going downstream, the wind and water pushing them, the ship would be extremely fast, and even with the Ice Spider, they would be powerless across the river.

The intelligent Others looked at each other! Although they had intelligence, it was clear that the problem at hand was very difficult. The Night King's secret surprise attack plan had failed again.

This sudden situation was too difficult for the Other leader.

The Others stood in the snow, hesitating.

What to do?

Suddenly, on the city wall, the loud cries of crows rang out. A Three-Eyed Raven was flying on the south gate tower. On the wall, the crippled boy, whom the Night King and the Other leader feared and wanted to kill, was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a black cloak, his face hidden in his black hood. Beside him stood his father, Eddard Stark, and on the other side stood a girl, Meera Reed, who had guarded the crippled boy for thousands of leagues.

Click! Click!

The city gates began to close, and archers appeared on the city wall one after another. Inside the city wall, teams of spear soldiers also stepped out in neat steps with a booming sound. Soon, teams of spear soldiers climbed the city wall one after another, lined up to defend the city.

Night fell, and braziers were lit one by one. The wind and snow also seemed to be getting smaller, looking like they would stop completely.

On the city wall, the boy slowly lifted his black hood, revealing his cold and silent face. The Other leader could see clearly that it was the crippled boy's face. The boy's facial features were distinct, his nose as straight as if it had been hewn with an axe, and his eyes like stars.

The human Green Prophet had not left the Last Hearth?

Was this boy the real body or a phantom fake? Or a disguised boy?

The Other leader made a strange, curse-like sound. He was angry, furious, and overwhelmed with frustration. Then, he pointed his long spear, no longer hiding himself. The Other team and the Ice Spider appeared, and under the gaze of the city wall guards, the team chased after the team heading towards the Last River.

Since the human Green Prophet had once again discerned their plan, there was no need to hide. With the Ice Spider here, the Others were not afraid even if the human warriors came out of the city to chase them.

The Other leader's decision was perhaps the most correct!

Gather all forces to pursue the Last River team, no longer splitting forces.

There was still time to catch up with the two teams traveling by land, but if the team traveling by water was the real one, then there would be no way to catch up.

The Other's warhorse and the Ice Spider swept past the south gate like the wind, heading towards the Last River. The nights in the North also allowed visibility; situations where one could not see one's fingers were rare. The Other's blue eyes were different from humans; they could see as clearly as in daylight in the night.

On the city wall, the boy in the wheelchair watched expressionlessly as the Others chased towards the Last River.

The Other leader made a decision to first annihilate the Last River team. If there was no human Green Prophet in that team, then they would chase the team on the Kingsroad, and finally chase the third team.

Since they didn't know which one was real, then they would kill them all.

This would take time! And it would require more strength! Teams with dragon glass weapons were not teams that the Others could kill as they wished!

Fire posed no threat to their team, but obsidian weapons were their fatal weakness.

The Other leader relied on the combat power of the Ice Spider.

Thank you to [Xiao Sa's Garfield Cat] for the reward, thank you, Happy New Year!