Mufasa felt the earth and mountains tremble. He looked into the distance, and the army of wights came rushing down like an overwhelming tide.
"Run!" Mufasa immediately roared.
They were still some distance from the sea, but they could reach it in a short time.
The faster they ran now, the more likely they were to survive. Not everyone who came here this time was equipped with bows and arrows, nor did they carry valyrian steel arrowheads.
Facing such a massive army of wights, Mufasa had no choice but to avoid their direct assault.
The sailors remaining on the ships also sensed something was wrong. They all took out all their valyrian steel arrowheads, and all the archers quickly lined up on the coast, ready to shoot.
"Fire arrows! Do not let a single wight get through," ordered the commander, Caterpie from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
"But Mufasa and the others haven't returned yet!" said Ser Willam Manderly.
"With so many wights, he won't be able to come back. We can't expect him to fight his way out of the wight army alone! After all, he's just one person!" Caterpie said.
Mufasa's path was blocked by the army of wights, so he had to lead his people to flee in the opposite direction.
They fought and retreated, their numbers dwindling.
Finally, only Mufasa was left.
Just as Mufasa was at his wit's end, a group of wildlings appeared in the distance. They threw what looked like stone balls at the wight army.
Upon contact with the wights, these projectiles caused violent explosions, killing many of them.
Mufasa was saved as a result. He was rescued by wildlings from several tribes; some had red hair, some wore no shoes, and some had terrifying brands on their faces.
As Mufasa was led by them into a valley, the ships anchored at Hardhome finally could no longer withstand the attack of the army of corpses and sailed away.
On the ship, the sailors and soldiers were somewhat silent. They had only come to investigate this time, yet they suffered the greatest casualties, with over a hundred people dying here.
Not including Mufasa himself.
"Mufasa is probably dead. I mean, he might be dead. After all, he's just one person! He's not a god; he couldn't possibly survive with the wight army pressing in," Caterpie said.
He was very scared now, wondering how he would break the news to others when he returned to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and how the people at Castle Black would find out.
When a commander-in-chief of the Seven Kingdoms allied forces' front line dies, the resulting power vacuum will be coveted by many.
Whether it be the ministers in King's Landing or the lords of the North.
Mufasa was taken by the wildlings to see Mance Rayder. Mufasa had spared him once, so he wasn't treated as a captive upon his arrival.
"Mufasa, now you and I are in the same boat!" Mance Rayder said.
Mufasa looked around at several famous wildling leaders: Tormund, Magnar, Long-Haired Ryk, and Mance Rayder's pregnant wife and sister-in-law.
"Yes, Mance, now I can't go back to The Wall. You could say we're in the same boat. Tell me, why weren't you at Hardhome?" Mufasa sat down and even snatched half a roasted chicken from a wildling to eat.
Mufasa sat down, and even snatched half a roasted chicken from a wildling to eat.
Seeing Mufasa's attitude, the wildling immediately laughed.
"Hahaha! Mance told me there was a little lion who was quite interesting. Seeing you today, you truly are interesting."
The wildling whose half-roasted chicken was snatched laughed. He had two hideous scars on his face, one diagonal and one horizontal.
"Because our Skinchanger contacted the Greenseer and the Children of the Forest. Thanks to their help, we didn't go to Hardhome," Mance Rayder said.
"You've met the Greenseer?" Mufasa asked.
"I've met him once, but he usually comes to me in my dreams to talk and tell me how to act next," Mance Rayder said.
"Then what should we do next?" Mufasa asked.
"We! Mufasa, do you want to join us Free Folk? Then you'll receive a warm welcome, hahaha," Mance laughed.
The other wildlings also laughed.
Mufasa didn't feel angry; when under another's roof, one must bow one's head!
"So, where are we going next?" Mufasa still had this question.
"First, I'll take you to meet the Greenseer! He'll like you."
When the Nights Watch and the front-line troops of the Seven Kingdoms allied forces learned that Mufasa was missing, or possibly even dead, they immediately fell into chaos.
Baelish once said, "Chaos is a ladder." This statement was absolutely correct.
Some in the Nights Watch harbored ulterior motives.
Several high-ranking Nights Watch members secretly convened.
"Now that Mufasa won't be coming back, the command authority should be handed over to us, the Nights Watch. Tomorrow, we will propose that Lord Commander Mormont be appointed commander-in-chief of the Seven Kingdoms allied forces," said a high-ranking Nights Watch member. He was the second-ranked Ranger of the Nights Watch, second only to Benjen Stark.
"But there's still Ser Kevan! He's related by blood to Mufasa! And he's also an experienced warrior. There's no reason to give command to the Old Bear," said the Nights Watch's new recruit instructor.
"If it were in the South, Ser Kevan would naturally be beyond reproach, but this is The Wall, and Beyond the Wall is right outside. We know this place best. Their command would be completely out of touch. Southerners leading us? Dream on!"
The high-ranking Nights Watch members secretly convened, but not everyone attended. Benjen Stark and Lord Commander Jeor Mormont were absent.
Lord Commander Jeor Mormont was currently with Maester Aemon.
"Is the letter to King's Landing ready?" Lord Commander Mormont asked.
"It's ready, Commander. Would you like to review it?" Maester Aemon said.
"Did you write that Mufasa is missing, or dead?"
"Missing Beyond the Wall usually means dead, but I still opted to write that Mufasa is missing," Maester Aemon said.
"That's good. But I'm worried that the news of Mufasa's disappearance might have a negative impact on the Seven Kingdoms allied forces. If our strategic deployment is affected because of one person, that would be terrible," the Old Bear said.
"Commander, why don't you talk to Ser Kevan? See what he thinks?" Maester Aemon suggested.
After the Old Bear closed the door of the Maester's Tower and left, Samwell Tarly, who was standing behind Maester Aemon, asked.
"Maester, is Mufasa really dead? Have there been people who went missing Beyond the Wall and later returned alive?" Sam asked.
"Some go on missions and return months later, but for someone like Mufasa, who was explicitly known to have disappeared within an enemy encirclement, that has not happened before," Maester Aemon said.
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