The wildling camp was located atop one of the mountains, and there were no living people left. The ashes of the vampires had been blown into the crevices of the stones or scattered in piles, swirling through the wind inside the burned wooden huts.
There were no bodies either, only dried black-red bloodstains on the stones. Wright searched through several large wooden huts but found no valuable clues. It was also possible that the wildlings, being mostly illiterate, didn't know how to leave behind a written message for help.
He casually broke a twig and took it in his hand, walking over to a few wooden cages. He poked at the remnants on the cage floor with the stick.
"Cooked potatoes, not many. There's also a pile of dried dung nearby. It seems that they had humans in captivity here, who were either killed or released before they could finish eating their potatoes."
Wright moved to the center of the camp, where there was a large amount of burned charcoal, several collapsed wooden grills, and an overturned iron pot. The pot was likely the most valuable item in the camp, and if any humans had been there, they wouldn't have forgotten to take it with them.
"The vampires intentionally cleared away the bodies. Looks like someone among them knew about the abilities of necromancers and deliberately targeted them." A summoner can "revive" a corpse and read information from the recently departed soul before it fades away. Constantly clearing away the bodies confirmed to Wright that a clever human had either joined or been turned into a vampire.
The endless rows of stone mountains in the Moonlight Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see. The two adjacent peaks, which seemed to be close together, required climbing down one steep mountain and up the other. Without the right path, it could take most of the day just to go up and down. Searching in such a place could only rely on the dragon.
"Odahviing!"
The voice of the dragon-riding magic was loud enough to carry across the terrain, and Wright shouted loudly to avoid alarming any nearby enemies.
The giant dragon circled down, slightly folding its wings as it flew over the valley. Wright leaped and landed precisely on the dragon's head.
"Fly along the mountain tops at low altitude, I'll use magic to detect the vampires."
Odahviing obeyed, gliding slowly along the rows of mountain peaks. Standing atop the dragon's head, Wright activated his necromancy to search for traces of the vampires.
---
On the western Cape of Eagles Peninsula, not far from Eagle's Keep, the sounds of battle filled the air.
"I'll cover the rear, you all scatter and escape!" Thoros shouted, throwing a fireball behind him.
Next to him, Edmure and several of the Riverlands nobles were all riding horses, their bodies low and tightly pressed against the horses' backs, their legs gripping the sides of the horses, urging them to gallop toward Twin Rivers.
Edmure, pale with fear, couldn't speak.
Thoros' attention was fully on the rear. Seeing that Edmure hadn't responded for a while, he turned to him and quickly ordered, "Harry Bracken! Take the lead and escort them back to Twin Rivers!"
"What about you?" the young Harry managed to keep his composure.
"The vampires' primary target is me! If I don't lead them away, they'll keep following us!" Thoros said as he turned his horse and galloped off in the opposite direction.
Harry watched Thoros and then looked back.
Dozens of blue-skinned vampires were chasing after Thoros, each step covering more distance than a human's, faster than the horses.
Looking further back, flames ravaged the land, with piles of hay set ablaze. Countless vampires were slaughtering knights and their horses. The sounds of screams and desperate last stands gradually faded.
Edmure and his party had been ambushed!
Thoros, following Wright's instructions, had also made several small necromancy devices to detect the undead. He placed one on his saddle. The detection radius was about 100 meters, and he could see any anomalies by glancing down.
The group, numbering around two hundred fully armed knights and five scout teams, had scattered the devices for early warning. They should have been completely safe, but they had overlooked one thing: the vampires were not afraid of water, and the team almost got wiped out.
The Cape of Eagles Peninsula was surrounded by water on three sides. The group had been traveling along the southern shore, heading west. The scouts had naturally gathered ahead, behind, and to one side of the group. But they had forgotten that vampires could travel across water. When they passed a small hill, the vampires emerged from the sea and attacked them directly. The 100-meter distance, which would have been an obstacle for most, was no problem for vampires who could briefly walk on water, making them even faster.
Thoros wasn't foolish enough to face the vampires head-on alone. As he ran, he tested their resistance to magic, casting fire, ice, and lightning spells.
The fireballs were too slow for the vampires to dodge, and the ice spikes had little effect, but the lightning struck true.
While riding, Thoros twisted in his saddle and raised one hand toward the nearest vampire.
"Hah!"
Unlike his previous tentative strikes, a massive surge of electricity erupted from his hand, hitting the vampire and coursing through its body, continuing to strike nearby vampires.
"Ahhh~~"
Like magic users, vampires also have varying levels of strength. Among those struck by the lightning, two were only kneeling on the ground, clutching their chests in pain and twitching, revealing their fangs as they shouted at Thoros. The others didn't fare as well—two had massive holes in their chests, and one who had jumped into the air hadn't even landed before it turned into a burst of blue-white ashes, scattering with the wind.
Buzz~ Buzz~
Several red magic orbs flew from the hands of the vampires, hurling toward Thoros. A light blue magic shield expanded from his hands, and the orbs crashed against it, creating ripples in the air. Thoros, being skilled in both destruction and summoning magic, found the use of a transformation-type magic shield to be quite draining. However, when fighting for his life, he couldn't afford to care too much—surviving was all that mattered.
Boom~ Bang~
Edmund, riding his warhorse, could see explosions of various colored lights and hear the roar of lightning from the direction of the forest, his heart filled with worry for his friend Thoros, fearing for his life. But he knew he didn't have the power to help.
Tightening the reins, Edmund shouted to the others around him, "Can we go assist him?"
"No! If we go, we'll only be a burden. We need to get back to the Twins and use the city walls to defend ourselves!" Harry responded, and other nobles echoed his agreement.
"The messenger raven has already flown out. Someone will come to our aid!" Edmund glanced once more at the flashing lights in the distance, wiped his face with his elbow—whether from fear or moved to tears—and said, "Let's go!"
---
The western route was ambushed, and on the eastern side, Jaime and his forces had set up camp in a small valley.
The valley was flanked by steep cliffs, with only two exits—one in the front and one in the back—making it easy to defend, but also vulnerable to enemies attacking from the mountains. After passing through the valley, another one awaited them, and this terrain persisted, leaving them no choice but to camp in a wider area.
Despite the smoke from burning fresh tree trunks being a bit irritating, the soldiers preferred to gather around the light, eating chocolate given to them after their meal and drinking hot water, chatting about their journey.
Having made it through the mountains without encountering much danger, the westerners relaxed their guard. The campfires were filled with people, and in the darker sections of the tents, occasional breaths could be heard. A large group of youthful men and women, having strayed from their parents, let loose.
Joy, Gerion Lannister's illegitimate daughter, had become silent ever since her father went missing while searching for the family sword. By day, she would feign conversation with her cousins, but at night, she sat alone on a stone, hugging her knees, her head buried deep into them.
"Are you crying?"
"No." Hearing the voice, Joy immediately looked up. "Tyrek, what are you doing here?"
"Worried you might be hungry. Here." Tyrek Lannister, two years older than Joy and the son of Tywin's third brother, took her hand and placed a piece of chocolate wrapped in paper into her palm.
"Thanks!" Joy hadn't eaten enough, and being as reserved as she was, didn't have the courage to ask for more.
Tyrek sat next to her, his voice soft as he asked, "Are you thinking about your father? He was a hero to our family, but unfortunately, the ruins of Valyria aren't a place for just anyone to go."
Joy didn't respond, but her eating slowed. The light from distant campfires reached them, and seeing her like this, Tyrek glanced around, ensuring no one else was near, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
---
In Jaime's small command tent, he was drinking wine with Addam Marbrand, discussing their next move.
"Addam, are you sure it's this direction?"
"Absolutely, I found the marks I left during the day. We'll head east into the Mountains of the Moon for two more days, and we'll reach a wildling outpost where Donnel and the others were last seen." As Addam spoke, he placed several stones on a small table to mark the locations, with a few silver daggers stuck into the makeshift map.
Jaime trusted Addam completely—after parting ways with Wright, he had let Addam lead the way.
Taking a swig of wine, Jaime asked, "What about the four hunters?"
"We were pressed for time, so we only found two of the hunters. The other two must have gone hunting, and we don't have time to search for them now. We'll have to find them on our return journey," Addam replied, taking a deep gulp from his own bottle.
The wine was strong, and after letting out a burp, Addam lowered his head and said, "We chopped off their hands and feet and put them on a stick at the foot of the mountain. The animals will take care of them."
Jaime didn't say anything but patted his old friend's shoulder.
Pulling back his arm, Jaime took another drink.
"Ser Jaime, I brought you something to eat." Before Jaime could respond, the tent flap was lifted, and the guards outside made no move to stop the person entering.
Jaime and Addam looked up to see that it was Cerenna Lannister, now wearing a skirt after having removed her armor.
Cerenna approached the small table and squatted down, continuously placing food from a basket onto the table.
"Cerenna, we still need to discuss tomorrow's route. It's getting late, you should rest soon," Jaime said, his words slurred from the alcohol.
"We're leaving at first light, and you'd better keep up with the group tomorrow!" Addam said in a serious tone.
"Understood. You two take your time drinking," Cerenna said with a smile, standing up and slowly walking out of the tent.
Once the sound of her footsteps faded, Addam looked at Jaime. "She's not bad. You could propose to her to Lord Tywin."
Jaime waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not concerned with that right now. I just want to rescue my son, get out of this place where vampires could appear at any moment, and return to Casterly Rock to spend time with Cersei."
"Yeah, let's get out of this damned place," Addam agreed. He too wanted to return to Casterly Rock and embrace Cersei's unique charm, but he didn't dare say it in front of Jaime.
The next morning, soldiers in Jaime's camp were busy packing up tents and loading carts.
Suddenly, a soldier on lookout atop a mountain began shouting, and orders rang out across the camp: "Fire! Fire to the rear!"
"What's happening? The camp isn't on fire!" Jaime jumped onto a rock and scanned the area. The camp's bonfires had long since gone out, and there was not a trace of flames.
A messenger ran up to him, breathless. "Ser Jaime! The peaks in the distance are on fire!"
"Everyone, arm yourselves and be on alert! Let's go up and see," Jaime said as he led Addam and a group of officers up the nearby mountain.
The steep rocky terrain still had some paths that they could climb, and they struggled to reach the summit of a small mountain.
"That..." Addam's mouth dropped open in shock.
"At least it's not the direction we're heading," Jaime said, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword.
The officers and several Lannister youths who followed closely behind also froze in stunned silence when they saw what lay ahead.
From their vantage point atop the mountain, they could see the distant forest atop the northernmost mountain range fully engulfed in flames, and the rocks themselves glowed red as though they had been turned into molten lava.
Another small flame flickered from the dark smoke in mid-air, continuing to spray fire onto the untouched mountaintop. The fire seemed to move, and a small black dot flew out of the smoke, leaving a long trail of flame behind it. The fire swung from side to side, setting fire to any area not already burning, as if it were melting the mountains below it.
The rocks truly were melting. After a while, the mountaintop burned, and the rocks turned to lava, which flowed down the cliffs in molten waterfalls.
The black smoke billowed up into the sky, obscuring the sunlight, and combined with the burning flames and golden-red lava, the entire mountain range and sky appeared bathed in a hellish hue, resembling the descriptions in stories of the underworld.
"It's Odahviing!" Several officers, with keen eyes, recognized the small black dot.
"We know already," said several Lannister youths. Vampires were afraid of fire, and the only thing capable of turning rocks into lava was dragon fire, so it could only be Odahviing.
"Did Wright run into vampires?" Addam asked Jaime, his voice low.
Jaime stared at the distant firestorm. "I suspect he ran into a lot of them and fled. Otherwise, Wright wouldn't have gone through so much trouble setting the mountains on fire!"
"Do you think Lord Wright is inside the flames?" Willen Lannister, from a distance, could barely see the small black dot, let alone make out whether there was anyone on the dragon's back. That scene, resembling a furnace of fire, would likely roast any normal person who stepped into it.
"Not necessarily! Odahviing can speak and follow orders well. Wright could very well be lying somewhere on one of those mountaintops, sleeping," Addam replied, having analyzed the battle at Meereen. Those familiar with it would understand the situation.
"Does this dragon fire not cost anything? It's been spraying so much!" Willen asked.
"Only Wright knows the magic and dragon's business. If you have time, you can ask him. But we can't help in this situation. Let's go, we need to head out quickly," Jaime said, looking at the golden-red horizon. He motioned for everyone to refocus and continue with their tasks.