The journey back was filled with oppression and tension.
Every soldier had their nerves stretched to the limit, their weapons kept unsheathed at all times.
They knew they had provoked an unimaginably terrifying enemy.
They had destroyed the altar and stolen the "holy object"; those dead would never let it go.
Moreover, the dragon egg was too important to lose.
This forced them to be doubly cautious.
Linn rode on horseback, tightly clutching the dragon egg wrapped in thick animal hide.
He could clearly feel a cold, malevolent gaze constantly following them, like a shadow.
That gaze came from the North, from that endless darkness.
The Night King was watching them.
He was waiting for an opportunity.
"My Lord, the scout has found some tracks."
Jason rode up to Linn, his voice very low.
"Something has been following us."
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
Jason shook his head, a hint of confusion and unease on his face.
"It's very careful, never getting close."
"When we bravely approached, it immediately moved away."
"And the tracks left on the snow are very strange, as if... it has no weight at all, appearing intermittently."
Linn's heart sank, but he was fearless.
"Send my order."
Linn's voice was frighteningly calm.
"Everyone, speed up."
"Before dark, we must find a defensible place to camp."
"Also, everyone collect wood, the more vigorously it burns, the better!"
"Yes, My Lord!"
The pace of the team suddenly quickened.
Hooves splashed up snow foam on the ground.
The oppressive atmosphere made everyone breathless.
They were like a flock of sheep targeted by wolves, desperately rushing towards an unreachable sheepfold.
Night finally fell.
The expedition set up camp in a narrow mountain hollow with a cliff at its back.
Surrounded by mountains on three sides with only one exit, it was an excellent defensive terrain.
Currently, the Night King's army of wights was in the distant North and couldn't possibly catch up, so they wouldn't encounter many dead.
Dozens of bonfires were lit, illuminating the entire hollow as bright as day.
The soldiers did not rest.
Under Linn's command, they quickly arranged a large number of chevaux de frise and spike traps at the only exit.
And, they piled a large amount of dry firewood on both sides of the exit.
Then, the Guard lit them with flint.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Linn stood in the center of the camp, still holding the dragon egg in his arms.
He could feel that the life pulse inside the egg seemed stronger than before.
It was absorbing Linn's body heat and also the heat from the surrounding bonfires.
It was growing.
But for this little guy to truly hatch, it was still too troublesome.
Sage's blood was easy to get, just grab any maester from The Citadel; if an ordinary maester wouldn't do, then pick a prestigious one.
kings blood was a bit difficult; Jon and Aemon were on their side, so they could only find opportunities with Robert and Joffrey.
Khal Drogo's kings blood was out of the question; Linn simply didn't want Dany to be ridden by the Khal... As for true dragon blood... bloodline concentration was key, not every Targaryen had a sufficient concentration.
Especially Jon, who only had half Targaryen blood, and Aemon was on their side, Linn absolutely couldn't lay a hand on him.
The problem circled back to Viserys, a product of inbreeding.
To make the true dragon hatch, they could only cross the Narrow Sea to find the beggar king.
Or perhaps Daenerys's child... but they would have to find these two anyway, and while they were at it, they could see Daenerys, and ideally, trick her away from Viserys.
This way, not only could they hatch the three dragon eggs given to her by Illyrio, the Magister of Pentos, saving some cost.
And if he didn't have Old Valyria blood and couldn't control the true dragon, Daenerys could also help him control it.
However, if Daenerys didn't marry the Khal, Illyrio wouldn't offer the dragon eggs, which was a bit tricky... Linn mused to himself.
"My Lord, everything is ready."
Toren's voice interrupted Linn's thoughts.
He walked over to Linn, a hint of nervousness on his face.
Linn nodded.
He looked out at the deep darkness beyond the hollow.
"It's coming."
No sooner had he spoken.
The deep darkness outside the hollow grew even thicker.
The wind stopped.
The snow also stopped.
A suffocating silence enveloped the entire world.
Dozens of blazing bonfires, their flames began to flicker abnormally, and their light quickly dimmed.
The temperature plummeted at an unnatural speed.
The white breath exhaled by the soldiers almost instantly froze into frost.
"They're here..."
Jason's teeth chattered uncontrollably from the cold.
Everyone gripped their weapons, hearts pounding, staring intently at the only entrance to the hollow.
In the darkness, there were no expected roars and howls of thousands of wights.
Only a deadly silence.
Then, a figure silently emerged from the darkness.
Its form was tall and elegant, like a work of art carved from ice crystals.
Its skin was as pale as ancient, unmelting ice, emitting a faint blue glow.
Its armor, ancient in style, shimmered with an eerie luster in the dim firelight, as if it breathed.
Most striking were its eyes.
They were eyes burning with blue flames.
There was no emotion belonging to a living being, only contempt and hatred for all life.
An Other!
Not those slow-moving, decaying, or even skeletal wights.
But the legendary ruler of the Long Night!
An Other personally transformed by the Night King from an infant!
"My God..."
A young Ranger let out a desperate groan.
Fear spread through the team like a plague.
The sight before them had exceeded their comprehension.
Despite their fear, everyone gripped their weapons; not a single person wanted to retreat!
The Other ignored the human panic.
Holding an ice spear, it walked towards the camp with elegant and unhurried steps.
"Fire arrows!"
Toren was the first to react, letting out a hoarse roar.
Arrows, trailing long fiery tails, cut through the night sky, shooting towards the uninvited guest.
However, a bizarre scene unfolded.
As the arrows approached within a few feet of the Other's body, the flames on their arrowheads instantly extinguished.
The arrows struck its body, yet left no trace whatsoever!
It completely ignored ordinary weapons!
And its magic could directly extinguish ordinary flames!
The Other's steps did not falter in the slightest.
It walked to the traps that had been set.
It simply raised its hands casually.
A visible cold current swept through.
The chevaux de frise and traps, made of thick logs and sharp iron spikes, were instantly covered by a thick layer of solid ice.
Then, with a grating "crunch," they shattered into countless ice shards.
The defense line was as fragile as paper before them.
"For My Lord!!"
"For the North!!"
A Guardsman with a full beard let out a beast-like roar, raising his battle-axe and charging forward first.
Courage overcame fear.
Facing the charging humans, the leading Other's face seemed to show an expression almost akin to mockery.
It slowly raised the ice crystal spear in its hand.
"Clang!"
The bearded Guardsman's battle-axe heavily collided with the ice spear.
No sparks flew.
The battle-axe, forged from excellent fine steel, instantly developed ice-blue patterns along its blade upon contact with the ice spear.
The next second.
"Bang!"
The entire battle-axe, along with half of the Guardsman's arm holding the axe handle, exploded into countless ice crystals!
"Ah—!"
A shrill scream finally broke the deadly silence.
The Other, with a backhand thrust of its spear, impaled the Guardsman's body.
It was incredibly tragic; humans had absolutely no ability to resist the Other; with just one blow, he was directly pierced by the ice spear.
Despair.
Their weapons, their courage, were utterly useless before this Other.
Linn frowned.
He hadn't had a direct sense of the Other's strength when watching the show, but he didn't expect the Other to be so strong!
A seasoned Northern Guardsman couldn't even withstand a single move?
Just then.
More and more people were preparing to charge at the Other.
Linn stopped them.
"You can't deal with him."
"I'll do it."
Linn knew that against wights, these subordinates might have a fighting chance.
But against an Other, it was simply suicide.
He was the strongest among them, and he had to act!
Linn walked to the very front of the team.
The Other stopped moving, just quietly watching Linn approach step by step.
Linn handed the dragon egg, tightly wrapped in animal hide, to Arya, who was trembling with fear beside him.
"Watch it carefully."
Linn's voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable power that miraculously calmed the little girl's fear.
Arya nodded vigorously.
With her small body, she tightly clutched the warm dragon egg to her chest, as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
After doing all this, Linn turned around.
Alone, he faced the Other, who was slowly walking towards him like the Grim Reaper.
The Other's gaze also shifted from the dragon egg back to Linn.
"My Lord!"
Toren quickly tried to dissuade him.
"You can't go!"
"Yes, My Lord! We'll cover your retreat!"
Jason also shouted.
He would rather die here than see their commander go to his death.
Linn didn't look back.
Alone, he faced the Other, who was like the Grim Reaper.
On his face, there was no fear, no tension.
"Clang—"
longclaw slowly unsheathed.
The valyrian steel blade shimmered with a dark red glow in the cold air.
A hot and ancient aura spread out.
The Other's steps stopped for the first time.
Its eyes, burning with blue ghost fire, fell on longclaw in Linn's hand.
For the first time, there was an emotional fluctuation in its gaze.
It was disgust.
Linn pointed longclaw diagonally at the ground and beckoned to the Other.