Chapter 426
2021-01-06
Chapter 426 "Sunk Costs"The Shadow Tower's walls are full of fires, except for the hidden Content... The part of the defense plan that is open to everyone has also gone to the last step: street fighting and evacuation.
As the rhythmic alarm bell sounded representing the fall of the city gate, the soldiers on the wall also began to give up their defense, retreated down the wall in an orderly manner to be within the wall, lit the building and piled it up in the middle of the night. The barricades, relying on the fire and the familiar terrain, fought and retreated, gradually shrinking and retreating toward the wall in a semi-circle.
The overall situation has been decided, the Others did not enter the fortress with the ghoul tide, and Bane, who was holding two Lightbringers, did not wait for the opportunity to become the Others killer in the end, but this also means that the strange situation of the flame extinguishing is not a problem. will happen again within the fence. In this "no anomaly" situation, the advantages of being well-trained and planning ahead are immediately apparent: although it is known that the fall of the fortress is a foregone conclusion, they have to retreat to the stairs along the top of the Wall to other fortresses, But the black clothed Night's Watch commanders didn't take the lead in panic, and the mountain clan and new land grantor soldiers under their hands followed suit, gnashing their teeth to buy time for the evacuating women, children and logisticians.
Instructing the soldiers to move all the combustibles they could find—lamp oil, asphalt, even cloth and firewood down the stairs, Denys Mallister sighed and looked at the fortress that had turned into a fire sea ——The non-combatants are almost evacuated. What he is worried about now is: Can these things prepared by oneself destroy the ladder?
…
There are nineteen forts along the Wall, only the original Night's Watch base camp "Nightfort" was determined to be built when the Ice Wall was built - Brandon the Builder In the design drawing, the channel on the top of the wall and the ice ladder are reserved for it.
Other fortresses other than it do not have this exclusive treatment. 18 fortresses, including Shadow Tower and Castle Black, were built by the craftsmen of the Night's Watch Legion, which was established later. The stairs on the wall are extremely thick. The log is deeply nailed into the body of the ice wall. After weathering, rain, snow, repair and reinforcement, it has almost fused with the Wall. Although it is made of wood, it is actually difficult to light the cold and dense arson. In case the ghoul army attacks the Wall Night's Watch has not been able to successfully destroy it when it is underfoot, so what?
Just as Denys Mallister and his guards were racking their brains about "where else in the wall is there leftovers to use", things finally went smoothly: the second team came from the stone gate fortress. The reinforcements who came also took Wildfire and descended to the ground through stairs and cages.
"Ser Mallister!" The deputy commander of Stone Gate Village, the team leader, was selected and promoted from Shadow Tower, and he recognized his old boss at a glance, "We brought two boxes of bombs and ten boxes of Wildfire. , and there are a hundred men, where do you want us to support, please let me know!"
"It's just right! Stack all the things around the base of the ladder, and go back to the top of the Wall when you're done. Go up, and let the people above prepare to burn the stairs and use Wildfire!"
"What?" The reinforcement leader stared at oneself with wide eyes. He has served for more than ten years. The Shadow Tower, which has been on fire everywhere, "Are you sure you don't need support?"
"Go back to the top of the Wall! This is an order!" Denys said loudly with all his strength, and even turned to oneself's guards, " So do you! The new mission is: Guard the top of the Wall, and don't let any enemies climb up through the stairs or walls. This is an order, execute it immediately, here is the mission to cover the subsequent evacuation and ignition of the brothers, I will do it alone!"
"But..."
"But your mother? Which ear of yours can't understand the words 'this is an order'? Get out of your way, don't stand in front of the stairs, Blocked the way for the other brother to escape!"
Denys Mallister never swears, and his unusual tone reflects his determination, and a group of restless or enthusiastic reinforcements who are about to rush into the battlefield froze under the stairs On the ground, I looked at each other in blank dismay with several of Denys' guards for a few seconds, and probably understood the Shadow Tower commander's plan: this venerable old man, intends to coexist with the fortress.
We stayed to accompany you in the throat, but in the end no one was able to summon the courage to say it, everyone could only stand upright with admiration and tears in their eyes: "Yes, Sir!"
…
Living and dying with the fortress? shit!
Denys, with his white hair, white beard and wrinkled face, looks like a complete old stubborn and conservative... But Heaven and Earth has a conscience, he's never a pedantic or stubborn person. The fortress is dead, people are alive, and the dead are buried with living people? Only a fool would have such a stupid idea! To take a step back, why do you need to trouble him, the Shadow Tower commander, to do things that can be solved by igniting a rocket? Surviving and preserving the vitality is the real beneficial approach to the war situation.
However, when it comes to living forces - at least 900 soldiers in Shadow Tower have not been able to evacuate at this moment. They are following the tactics that have been planned, and they are retreating to the direction of oneself in a panic or in an orderly manner. Compared with the old fogey of oneself, they are the real living force!
But they were destined to be unable to withdraw. Denys understood this the moment the ghoul vanguard broke through the door: the defenders who had been bitten by the ghouls and stuck to their buttocks would not be able to escape. Going up the stairs to oneself to evacuate will inevitably cause chaos under the stairs. It is hard to say how many can escape. If the ghouls have the opportunity to mix in the crowd and climb the stairs to the top of the wall, then oneself has become a sinner through the ages.
Although they are not dead, they are still fighting, and even more than half of the casualties have not yet arrived, but it is already the "sunk cost" that the human side is destined to lose in the first round of this life-and-death battle. It's salvageable, trying to forcibly fish it out will only trap more soldiers, and even put the entire Wall in crisis.
However, leaving hundreds of brethren to flee alone? Oneself, who has lived in his 70s, has a good reputation all his life. If he bears such a big stigma when his neck is buried in the soil, he will regret it even after death!
Denys does not want to coexist with Shadow Tower, but to coexist with the remaining brothers who obey oneself, trust oneself, but will be cut off by oneself in the end. If destroying the stairs is likened to a strong man breaking his wrist, then oneself, the "knife" that executes the mission, should also be buried with the broken half arm!
＊＊＊
He drew out his long sword, trembling with both hands, and used the blade to pry open the solid wooden boxes one after another, protecting them on the shock-absorbing straw. The explosives in it were placed next to the pile of incendiary materials that had been prepared before, and the Wildfire opened the lids one by one and poured them onto the wooden planks of the bottom stairs... During the period, there were still a few bits and pieces due to delays in various affairs. The logisticians who kept up with the large army ran past the middle of the fortress to ask if they needed help. They were all yelled at by Denys and rushed to the top of the wall.
After spending ten minutes to prepare everything, he gasped for breath and held onto the wooden railing, took down the torch inserted on the side, and finally looked towards the road leading to the stairs from the fortress.
He wanted to save a few more, even deserters, as long as the people who came were not chased by ghouls...but the last living thing to run past him was the dog from the Shadow Tower kitchen— —The poor little fellow felt the presence of Cold Magic, and ran past Denys' feet with his tail tucked and whimpering. He didn't even stop to look at him, the commander. run away.
And then, there are the corpse wolves and corpse bears emerging from the darkness - this group of ghoul vanguards who came from the direction of the gate first to kill the line of defense, realized under the order of the Night King The "truth not to love war" is absolutely impossible for human beings. They ignore soldiers in close proximity, slaughter rout enemies or block Night's Watch troops retreating from the wall in other directions, like hot knives cutting through butter - with a clear goal straight up the stairs to the upper wall He rushed in the direction of the fortress, and when most of the fortress had not yet fallen, and even the blocking troops were still fighting, Denys first appeared in the field of vision.
Really fast! Exactly!
Denys secretly praised, not only his affirmation of the enemy's efficiency, but also his admiration for "Defense Plan", which had anticipated everything, prostrate oneself in admiration... Although this plan was not written by him, he still held it in his chest at this moment. There is a surge of pride: no matter how you use your means, you will still be defeated by us humans in the end.
He pulled out a toothy smile, let go of the torch, and let out a foul language that he had never uttered in his life: "Come on, you son of a bitch. !”
——
[Request a wave of recommendation tickets]
(end of this chapter)