Benjen and the Other two hid behind a massive tree trunk, watching Craster's bizarre behavior ahead.
Just then, they felt the surrounding temperature plummet. A bone-deep chill spread through the air, distinctly different from the usual cold Beyond the Wall; this was a cold that carried the scent of death, as if it could freeze the soul itself.
Simultaneously, a humanoid figure slowly emerged from the shadows at the edge of the clearing.
Once it stepped out of the shadows, the men could finally see it clearly. It appeared to be a tall, gaunt man wearing ancient-styled armor covered in frost, which shimmered with a ghostly blue light under the moon.
Its skin was blue, possessing the pallor of a corpse, and it was so thin that the patterns of veins could be seen beneath the skin.
However, the most heart-stopping feature was its eyes—like two pools of burning ice-blue flames, strikingly clear in the darkness. Its gaze was cold and hollow, devoid of any emotion belonging to a living creature.
An Other.
Hiding behind the tree, Benjen and his companions held their breath. Although they had never seen one before, they all instinctively knew it was an Other. Every legend and story contained descriptions of those eyes.
Though they had come out specifically to find the Others and were mentally prepared, suddenly seeing this legendary existence still sent a chill straight to their heads. Benjen's hand instinctively gripped his sword hilt.
The Other walked toward the infant, and just as they were about to see what it would do next—
Without warning, the Other's ice-blue eyes fixed directly on their position. Caught in that gaze, Ellyn instinctively took a step back.
"We're exposed!" Benjen roared, knowing hiding was now pointless. "Save the child first!"
Saving the infant was secondary to him; more importantly, he wanted to test the strength of this monster.
He was the first to leap from cover, drawing his longsword and charging the Other. Othell and Ellyn followed closely behind, the three of them surrounding the Other in a triangular formation.
The Other paid no mind to the three members of the Nights Watch lunging at it. Seeing Benjen nearly upon it, it slowly raised a hand, and a crystal-clear longsword radiating cold condensed out of thin air.
Then its form blurred, meeting Benjen with speed far exceeding that of an ordinary human. The ice-crystal sword traced a cold arc as it slashed straight down.
Benjen instinctively raised his sword to parry.
Clang!
Crack!
Two piercing sounds rang out. Benjen's steel-forged longsword shattered instantly upon contact with the ice sword, fragments flying everywhere. Benjen was also jarred by a massive force that numbed his arm, sending him stumbling back as the web of his thumb split open, blood flowing freely.
Othell and Ellyn were horrified by the sight, but they had already closed the distance and could only steel themselves to attack. The result was inevitable: their longswords likewise shattered after a single clash.
Furthermore, Othell was struck in the chest by the Other's ice sword. His thick boiled leather armor was sliced open, and he collapsed with a scream, clearly not going to survive.
Ellyn managed a clumsy dodge from a fatal blow, but a piece of his scalp was sliced off. Blood immediately masked half his face, and the broken sword in his hand was useless for combat.
In a single exchange, one was dead, one was wounded, and their weapons were destroyed.
Benjen cast aside his hilt and drew a sharp Obsidian Dagger from his waist. He roared, enduring the intense pain as he lunged forward again, while shouting a warning to Ellyn: "Quick, use the dragonglass dagger!"
With Benjen's help, Ellyn also hurriedly drew his own Obsidian Dagger.
However, while Dragonglass weapons could harm the Others, the material itself was extremely brittle and demanded great skill from the user. Benjen and Ellyn were already injured and their minds were in turmoil; facing the Other's swift, eerie attacks and immense strength, their counterattacks seemed utterly futile.
Benjen barely managed to deflect a slash with his Obsidian Dagger, but with a 'crack', a piece of the blade chipped off. The Other followed with a backhand sweep; Benjen couldn't dodge in time, and another wound opened at his waist, blood gushing out.
Ellyn's situation was worse. His Obsidian Dagger was knocked flying by the Other's ice sword, and in the next second, the cold blade was about to cleave his neck.
At this critical juncture, a black shadow swiftly cut into the battlefield.
dark sister traced an arc in his hand, meeting the ice sword aimed at Ellyn's neck.
Ting!
The ice sword collided with the valyrian steel sword, sending ice shards flying as the Other's blade was swept aside by a massive force. Its ice-blue eyes seemed to flicker, revealing for the first time a hint of something like'surprise,' as if it hadn't expected anyone to block its strike head-on.
Viserys did not stop. His sword strikes were continuous, each faster than the last, every blow aimed at the Other's vitals. However, he did not use his full strength; having only seen the Nights Watchmen fight it, he didn't know the Other's limits yet and intended to test them.
The Other swung its ice sword, struggling to block Viserys's attacks. The ice sword and dark sister clashed repeatedly, producing a continuous series of crisp sounds that echoed through the silent woods.
Viserys soon reached an assessment: this Other's strength was inferior to his own, but its speed was decent—reaching Arthur's level—and its moves were simple and ruthless. Furthermore, the Other possessed some ice magic and had high resistance to ordinary physical attacks.
Now that the testing was over, there was no need to hold back. A purple light flashed in Viserys's eyes, and his sword style suddenly shifted. dark sister swept upward in a diagonal slash, much faster than before.
The sword-wielding Other hurriedly tried to parry.
Chak.
There was no violent sound of impact, only a soft noise. dark sister sliced right through the hard ice-crystal sword and continued its path across the Other's neck.
No blood sprayed. The Other's movements froze instantly, its ice-blue eyes flickering violently, filled with disbelief. In the next second, its entire body made a 'crack-crack' sound and rapidly disintegrated into countless shards of ice, scattering across the ground.
Watching the Other be destroyed before their eyes, Benjen and the Other man were shocked. No wonder the bodies of Others were never found; they turned directly into ice shards. Nevertheless, they both couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, Viserys spoke to warn them: "Watch the surroundings. This isn't over yet."
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