The king on the Great Wall

Not only solved the urgent need, but also lasted for a while.

It’s the same as buying armaments: in real life, especially in a world with backward productivity and scarcity of materials, the biggest problem we face is not the lack of money, but the lack of personnel, basic technology and materials.

Personnel, Iger takes fire warlocks as the core, supplemented by the talents discovered by the night watchman industry itself, and a team of cronies who come from recruitment and education is barely enough; the basic technology, working together to tackle key problems, is almost done; but the materials It is more troublesome: the charcoal needed for gunpowder is self-burned, the sulfur is dug from Dragonstone Island, and the nitrate is temporarily let the gang of night watchmen who originally recruited (abducted) soldiers from various places bring them to the city. The toilets, stables, and corrals in various places are scraped with knives. The shells required for explosive bombs and the gun body of the artillery are more complicated. The materials need to be mined, smelted and prepared by themselves, the shape needs to be designed and improved by themselves, and the molds must be kneaded and cut by themselves... …

Just like a hardcore collection game without a recharge system or a built-in store: except for some common tools and experienced master craftsmen, there are not many parts that can be done directly with money.

Real scientific and technological progress can certainly be accelerated by investing a large amount of money, but the most obvious difference from those web games is that the time required cannot be shortened indefinitely by krypton gold or hacking.

The research institute is currently facing problems such as insufficient size and scarcity of experience, and spending more than 2000 gold dragons per month is already close to the upper limit.Even if Iger forcibly increases the funding, the researchers don't have many channels to consume except for better food, better clothes, and more bonuses.

In a nutshell: Although the Night Watch Corps is currently running a huge deficit, it will never encounter the problem of running out of money before the war begins.The song of ice and fire is about to be played, and the first priority is to survive until the end of the song. What's the use of rushing to put gold coins in the warehouse?

……

"I know that the Night Watchman owes a lot of foreign debts right now, but now is not the time to think about how to repay the debt! Benello, the supreme priest of the Red Temple of Volantis, is collecting funds from believers for the Night Watchman. The debt repayment after the war is extremely stressful. It's not as big as you imagined." Seeing Iger lost in thought, Melisandre also slowed down her tone, "In any case, the Lightbringer must be held by you personally, there is no negotiation!"

It turns out that the reason the red-robed woman asked how much money she lacked was not because she had seen the financial situation of the Night Watchman in a prophetic way, but because she had other sources of funds!I don't know how many followers of the Red God in Volantis, what social class they are in, and whether they are rich?

Iger muttered to himself, but still reluctantly nodded and agreed: "Okay, you don't need to stress anymore, I promise, I won't sell this sword outside."

The promise is yes, but the Dark Sister, as a sword, is only useful if it is inserted into the body of the White Walker... and this means that the sword holder must have a chance to single-handedly fight with the White Walker and even the Night King. Unleash the power of its "nemesis".

Iger has always acted as a warrior and hero in front of the public, which has a huge positive effect on improving and maintaining morale.As the commander-in-chief of the night watchman, it is really difficult for him to tell Melisandre: After experiencing the desperate struggle with the other ghosts, I really don't want to fight these ghosts again... especially if it is the night king.

Is this cowardly?of course.But Iger doesn't think there is anything to be ashamed of: from the heart innocent, a true warrior is not fearless, but able to overcome fear.

If I was really forced to the point where I had to fight the Night King, I don't know if R'hllor, who might have chosen me as an agent, would bless me?Thinking this way, Iger felt uncomfortable: For Iger, who is used to controlling the situation and prefers to put everything under control, handing over his fate to others... Even if this is a god, it is an unacceptable option.

……

Melisandre breathed a sigh of relief after getting the guarantee, and continued to babble on some irrelevant instructions in a slow tone, but Iger's thoughts drifted to other places: ordinary tile-steel swords can kill strange ghosts, and the Dragon King The magic power of the same source contained in the sword is dozens of times that of the former. Doesn't this mean that even if the dark sisters are divided into dozens of parts, each part can kill the strange ghost independently?

Iger didn't forget that he is a time traveler, how come he has lived in this world for more than four years, but has limited his thinking instead?The Dark Sister is a sword, but who said the wielder has to be in sword form to use it?

"Ms. Melisandre, I'm sorry." Iger raised his hand and interrupted the witch again, "Please allow me to interrupt, I want to ask, if I melt this sword into dozens of small pieces, these small pieces, Can you still maintain the ability to kill other ghosts?"

-

Chapter 356 True - The Messenger of Light

"Can you stop for a while!"

Melisandre was going to be blown up, couldn't this guy in front of him be a normal son of prophecy, and honestly take the Lightbringer to kill the White Walkers.It will be sold in a while, and it will be melted in a while. Wouldn't you be happy if you don't toss?

Iger also knew that he might be a bit too much, but he had to ask clearly.

The land-grant is now adopting large-scale melting and casting methods to manufacture obsidian weapons. The reason is that it has been confirmed by Melisandre: the series of processes of melting obsidian by heating and cooling and forming will not cause the fire attribute magic power contained in it to be lost.

So, does Valyrian steel, which contains energy far stronger than obsidian, also have this characteristic?

Iger waited patiently for the maddened red-robed woman to calm down a bit, and then repeated it seriously: "I am seriously asking—whether melting and recasting the 'Dark Sister' will invalidate its magic to restrain the White Walkers ?”

……

It took Melisandre a moment to recover.This person in front of him can not only let him experience the long-lost sexual pleasure, but also ignite the anger that he has almost forgotten what it feels like, he is really a strange man.

"Your question is wrong, and an insider will know it when they hear it: you typically don't understand the difference between 'spell' and 'magic power', 'enchantment' and 'infusion'." Melisandre wanted to speak directly. The casting will fail, so that Iger will die.But the enemy is now, and she doesn't want the son of prophecy to misjudge the situation because of some false information, which will affect the outcome of the final battle, "The thing I used to make your sword shine is the spell—the spell consists of two steps: magic power and spell casting." Composition, and the process of casting it on your sword is called enchanting. However, the reason why dragon steel is dragon steel is not because of which spell is attached, but because of the power in the blood of the dragon king, which is the most critical in forging One ring was deeply engraved into its material in the form of enchantment. This is costly and far more difficult than enchanting, and the requirements for the load are also extremely high, but once completed, this power will firmly Locked within every minute and every inch of Longgang."

"Spells can be destroyed, interrupted, and counteracted; but magic power is indestructible. The advantage of 'enchanting' is that it can be applied or canceled anytime and anywhere, and can realize various strange functions. But the disadvantage is that it is extremely unstable. Not to mention melting and recasting, even if a crack is knocked out, it will fail instantly." Melisandre gradually calmed down: "The disadvantage of 'infusion' is that the magic power is deeply locked in the material and difficult to release. , the effect cannot be exerted without piercing the enemy's body. And the advantage is: unless you master the correct method of expelling demons, it is difficult to make it lose its magical properties. Not to mention melting and recasting, even if it is cut into cubes and ground into powder, Every pinch will still firmly retain the power it should have."

"That's good, I'm going to forge the Dark Sisters into..."

"Don't worry, I haven't finished yet." Melisandre also unceremoniously interrupted Iger's words as if to avenge her being interrupted twice just now. It is the most ideal situation. Magic power is illusory and indestructible, but Valyrian steel is not! Recasting tile steel requires superb technology, and a little bit of improper temperature control and a little bit of impurity infiltration may cause it to deteriorate and denature, and Once this happens, although the original magic power still exists, the self-recovery function of Longsteel and the strength of its body will be greatly reduced."

"Is there anyone in the world who still has the most ideal level of technology?"

The corner of Melisandre's mouth twisted into a smile with an unknown meaning: "There used to be, but such national treasure-level craftsmen all live in the Valyrian Peninsula, the core area of ​​Freedom Fortress."

"You just say that they are all dead." The Valyrian Peninsula is where the doomsday catastrophe happened. Iger felt mocked and snorted dissatisfiedly. "Who is the most skilled among the people who are still alive?" good?"

"There are craftsmen in the court of Kohor who have mastered the most complete tile casting technology..."

"It's too far away. When the artisans across the narrow sea arrive at Houguan Town, I will become a ghoul and follow the Night King to the foot of Winterfell." Iger vetoed it without hesitation, "Westeros, the level is almost the same. Is it?"

"Many well-known blacksmiths will choose to go to Qohor for further training after they have completed their studies. As far as I know, there is one in King's Landing who claims to know the spells and methods of casting Valyrian steel." Melisandre did not repeat Angry at being interrupted, he asked with a straight face, "What do you want to recast into? I have to remind you that if you want your weapon to have the effect of killing aliens, you only need to inlay it with obsidian. And the Dragon Steel Sword is not afraid Ice magic and strong, sharp and unstoppable characteristics cannot be copied!"

……

A craftsman in King's Landing?

Iger carefully recalled that in the original book, the person who helped Tywin successfully recast the ice seemed to be a well-known master of King's Landing. In this way, even if this person is not the best tile steel recaster in the world, at least he is reliable is still there.

Iger's mind changed sharply, and he made up his mind in an instant.He nodded, but changed the subject: "Ms. Melisandre, do you still have memories of the day we first met?"

The red-robed woman tilted her head suspiciously: "It's not very pleasant, I admit that I was a little reckless that day... But if I remember correctly, I have already obtained your understanding."

"I'm not talking about the unpleasant part, but a lot of issues we discussed after we sat down. You are the first living person I know with extraordinary power, and it's from you that I first heard of it The existence of the Cold God and the Lord of Light who are more transcendent than the White Walkers and you... These are not the key. The last question I asked, you couldn't give me an answer at the time: If the White Walkers wear a suit of armor, how to kill them they."

Melisandre’s answer at the time was that the caster’s clothing should be as simple and light as possible, so she never wears underwear or heavy coats. Iger has personally verified this point not long ago, but the question itself still has not been answered: If the White Walkers are willing to sacrifice some of their spellcasting ability to wear armor that obsidian can't penetrate, what's the deal with them?

"I didn't realize at the time that you were the prophesied prince, so there were many things that I didn't bother to explain to you." The red-robed woman also recalled the past, she said without thinking, "But now I can answer You, the Lightbringer can absolutely kill any White Walker in armor."

"I don't doubt that, but there is only one sword, and many White Walkers... If they are all armored against obsidian weapons, should I challenge them one by one?"

"So you thought of dividing the sword into many pieces?"

……

It is impossible for Iger to admit that he does not want to fight hand-to-hand with the ghosts because he is cowardly, but he also knows that if there is no strong argument, this debate will continue for a long time.Seeing Melisandre's posture of "swearing to protect the sword of prophecy to the death", it is likely that it will eventually lead to conflicts between herself and Melisandre... and even make her begin to doubt the authenticity of her identity as the son of prophecy.

Although he doesn't really care about being the son of prophecy, speaking from his conscience, he has indeed benefited a lot from it.A high-quality sex buddy delivered to your door and a free mage consultant, don't be a fool.

After he cleared his throat, he looked serious and entered the long-lost fooling mode: "The Lord of Light told me in the flames that I should not only divide the Sword of Prophecy into multiple parts, but also make it into a long-range weapon."

The good mutual trust maintained by not concealing, not deceiving, and speaking directly on weekdays, isn't it convincing just to play a big game at a critical moment?He had been refusing to admit his identity as the Son of Prophecy before, because he was worried that it would be too embarrassing for the real Son of Prophecy to appear one day, but the words of the Green Prophet made it clear to him: the so-called Son of Prophecy is just a person who "points at any place." which" trick.

There is no destined son of prophecy at all, but whoever fulfills the prophecy is the son of prophecy.

That being the case, why can't it be yourself?

Sure enough, as soon as this remark came out, Melisandre, who had an expression of "not agreeing to death" a moment ago, quickly showed surprise, and became extremely devout and fanatical in the next second.She didn't think of asking questions such as: when did you see it, are you tm lying to me... Instead, she chose to believe it without thinking about it.

"What else did he say? Is there any command about me?"

"No, this is the first time I saw something in the fire. I thought it was an illusion at first, and the information was not very clear. I didn't expect the prophesied weapon to appear in such a form at first." Iger made With a still somewhat confused expression, he shook his head, and then became firm again: "But now, everything is certain. I want to divide the 'Dark Sisters' into as many arrows as possible, and match them with the best arrows." shaft and arrow feathers. And name this set of arrows..."

He paused for a moment to enjoy the pleasure of writing the legend by himself.

"ambassador of light."

-

Chapter 357 "Northern Navy"

Iger actually wants to make Valyrian steel into bullets, bomb fragments, submunitions... and so on, but the technology is not yet mature, and the enemy can no longer give himself enough time to research and perfect it.

What's more--Wa Gang can kill the aliens by the magic power of the fire attribute. After that part is cast into N parts, the magic power contained in each part will naturally become one-nth.Iger has reason to believe that there are also strong and weak ghosts. "The dragon steel with a large needle point can kill the Night King in seconds" sounds unreliable.Each "Lightbringer" has to be kept at a minimum size to ensure that it is lethal even against the Night King.

Then, Arrow is the safest choice right now.

"Harvey, go and call the Ravencage Keeper of the Nightfort to my room. I have a mission to tell."

In the name of an oracle, Melisandre finally no longer opposed Iger's decision.After telling her not to bother Bran immediately, Iger separated from her and went back to the room, and soon waited for the acting bachelor of the Long Night Fort——the academy was only willing to send an additional formal bachelor to the night watchman, and at the moment he was still there. on the way.However, there are already [-] fortresses with crow's nests under his control, and communication between them cannot wait.

……

Iger sent Bran Stark's decision to apply to join the Night Watchman Corps to Winterfell, and at the same time ordered the King's Landing Branch of the Night Watchman Industry to find and hire the man who lived in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms and could recast Valyrian steel artisan.

It takes no brains to issue these two orders, but the next one will take some effort: Although there are many people in the land grant, there are not many who can be called the army.Militia born out of wildlings do not receive full military pay, and most of them are unwilling to say goodbye to their families and tribes to perform military missions.Iger carefully reviewed the roster several times, and after planning and calculations, he selected two of the dozens of tribes who were more numerous and more obedient, and asked them to move to Ice Strait Harbor as a whole under the condition of compensation. With the Shadow Tower, the number of personnel in the Grand Canyon defense line has increased to [-], which is a targeted arrangement made after Branna learned of the enemy's latest movements.

"Don't rush away, there are additional instructions for Dennis Mallister." After Iger hesitated, he finally decided to add the last order.

In order to reduce losses, he persuaded Commander Mormont to stop patrolling outside the Great Wall early on, but now that the enemy is under his nose, he only considers the lives of the patrolling soldiers and puts the rest of his side in a dangerous situation of ignorance of the battlefield situation , is pedantic.

Time to take some necessary risks.

"Let the West Bridge Watchmen open the Skull Bridge to a controlled degree, and send patrols to cross the bridge when the weather is good, and conduct as deep a reconnaissance as possible of the weirwood forest on the north side of the Grand Canyon. Depart on the same day and return on the same day, and the specific in-depth To what extent is at the discretion of the patrol team to ensure their own safety as much as possible, and the most important point: make sure that the bridge can be cut off immediately when something happens!"

……

The latest order of Commander 998 was quickly taken by Raven to Houguan Town and Shadow Tower, and after receiving and processing, it was taken by Kuaima to a more specific place of execution.

Large-scale personnel transfers began to be carried out in a hurry. After closing the Great Wall for a year, the Shadow Tower rangers led by Colin Halfhand were finally about to pass the Skull Bridge and began their long-lost patrol outside the wall again.

The change worth mentioning is not limited to this. While the land grant and the Great Wall are busy, the sea conflict in the northern border with Icestrait Harbor as the core has also occurred in Ice Bay for the first time since Aegon's conquest. .

***

The icy sea breeze with strong moisture beat on the sailors of the northern navy who were born again after hundreds of years, and the battleship "Ben Wolf" left the port again.

After all, shipbuilding is not a high technology. With the full support of personnel and materials from White Harbor and Bear Island, the first warship of the Ice Strait Harbor Shipyard was successfully launched shortly after the completion of the fortress, and was quickly deployed. All staff.

Sailors and captains come from White Harbor and Bear Island—the only two places in the north that are familiar with ships and the sea. The combatants are composed of soldiers and night watchmen who are not seasick. It only belongs to the Northern Navy, and all the personnel from the land grant are hired to provide services, but out of gratitude to Iger for providing the venue, and also considering the threat of the White Walkers to the Seven Kingdoms... when necessary, the ships can also be temporarily borrowed The night watchman is used in conjunction with the Great Wall defense.

It was a two-tiered sloop nearly a hundred feet long, one of the smaller types of warships.Compared with its relatives in other parts of Westeros, it has made some minor changes: in order to reduce the impact of the strong wind in the Ice Bay on the ship, the height of the front and rear two ship buildings was reduced as much as possible; Instead, they creatively built a wooden turntable in the center of the top, and installed a small torsion catapult on each of them, so that they have the ability to attack enemies coming from any direction. : Equip more soldiers with fewer full-time oarsmen...increased stability, combat effectiveness, and firepower at the expense of some mobility.

The Iron Islands don’t have long legs to run, and what the northerners want to do is not to compete with the iron people in a shipbuilding competition and fight a big naval battle for the command of the Sunset Sea. Robb Stark’s expectation is to land on the enemy’s hometown, like Robert Just as he put down the Greyjoy rebellion in his father's time, the king relied on the advantages of the army to deal a fundamental blow to the iron people.

The Iron Islands have a small population and no strategic depth. It can be said that Robb's plan is very maneuverable once he is landed. The design and production of the ship will naturally change Speed ​​and maneuverability were given lower priority.

Compared with the counterweight type, the advantage of the torsion catapult is that it weighs less and occupies less space, and the disadvantage is that the work efficiency and durability are slightly worse.However, given that the ammunition it fires does not rely on weight and speed to determine its lethality, it is sufficient—except for some small changes and innovations, this warship itself does not have much technical content that surpasses the times. Another obvious advantage is that it is equipped with high-efficiency incendiary bombs made of improved wildfire.

……

As the first and only warship in the west coast fleet of the Northern Territory, the "Ben Wolf" has actually sailed twice.The first time was the sea trial and performance verification after launching, and the second time was the symbolic reconnaissance along the coast north and the running-in between the crew.After that, it has been parked in the port, waiting for the launch and installation of follow-up friendly ships.

But today is the third time this battleship has set sail, and it is also the first time it has actually performed its mission: after successfully evading the ironmen's detection for several months, it successfully built a fortress and put the shipyard into operation at Icestrait Harbor, Finally found by the enemy.

General Harbor is located in the northernmost night watchman site on the west coast. In addition to hiding itself and preventing the enemy from destroying the port before it is capable of self-defense, it also effectively reduces the cost of war and frees up a large number of elite soldiers in the northern border. To protect the towns and fortresses scattered in the wolf forest, the streamland and the barren graves of the ancestors, and even assist the allies in the river...

It would be best if we can maintain this status quo quietly until the fleet is completed and can counterattack the Iron Islands, but the first few goals have been roughly completed, even if exposed, the built walls, fortresses and a large number of garrisoned The land-grant army also gave the defenders the confidence to deal with the threat of the Iron Fleet.

Of course, it was one thing to be confident of dealing with a threat, quite another to allow enemy warships to freely come and go, demonstrating and scouting fortresses and shipyards, within sight of the harbor and beyond.Logically speaking, Icestrait Port, as a "neutral" stronghold of the Night Watchmen, should not take the initiative to attack before the ironborn attack, but in fact, it is a fact recognized by the Seven Kingdoms that the Night Watchmen and the Northern Territory wear a pair of trousers , It is meaningless to pretend to be innocent and wait for the enemy to fight.

Because of this, the newly appointed commander of the Northern Navy, Maggie Mormont, ordered the only warship in the fleet to leave the port to expel the two Iron Islands warships that had been drifting in sight.

***

Said to be enemy warships, they are actually two of the most common ironborn longships: they are long, narrow and light like a large rowboat, built for optimal speed and agility, and usually can only undertake the transportation The Ironborn carry out simple and mindless tasks such as landing and looting, swarming up to surround enemy warships and fighting board battles based on numbers...

Although the Running Wolf is only a single-masted warship, it is by no means capable of dealing with two long ships. This is the most direct reason why Lady Mormont dared to sit in charge in person and leave the port to drive away with a single ship.

The bow cut through the icy water of the Ice Bay, and the "Running Wolf" cut through the waves and sailed towards the two ironborn longships. There was no surprise at all: the ironborn on the two longships did not hesitate for a moment, and let the oarsmen turn around Facing, the head and the tail were switched in an instant, paddling the oars and fleeing to the open sea.

The weight of the incendiary bomb is not heavy, and even a light catapult can be easily thrown to a distance of 400 meters. However, after land tests, this attack device can only be accurate within 200 meters. Considering the wind and waves, it has to be further reduced.As for an agile and fast rowing boat like the ironborn longship, if it was brought up to full speed, it could throw the "Running Wolf" out of sight within ten minutes.Although the wildfire bombs are sufficient, they should not be wasted. The Northern Navy had no intention of catching up with or sinking the enemy. It only wanted to drive them out of the sight of Ice Strait Harbor so that the enemy could not wantonly detect or attack them. Provocation... The opponent may be able to harass back and forth by virtue of the advantage of maneuverability, but considering that the longship is too small to carry a large amount of supplies, and the Icestrait Port, which is thousands of miles away from the Iron Islands, is really not afraid of the enemy's psychological warfare.

However, the two longships did not flee at full speed, but went fast and slow, chasing each other at a tortoise speed, always hoisting the "Ben Lang" at the edge of the range.

After following for a while, the navigator became vigilant, picked up the only Myr lens on the ship, and one of the few in the entire Ice Strait Port, and carefully observed the sea fog ahead.

After a while, he put down the lens and shouted loudly: "Lady Mormont, there seems to be a shadow of a ship in the sea fog ahead. It may be a trap. Would you like to take a look?"

Maggie Mormont is a short but strong grey-haired woman...Because Jorah, the son of Jeor Mormont, was convicted and fled overseas, she became the head of the Bear Island family, relying on the restoration of the family honor and successfully tidying up her nephew Gain prestige and respect for the mess you leave behind.And because most of the members of the Mandalay family who contributed to the military port in the north were obese and unable to move, they were selected as the commander-in-chief of the navy in the north, and also served as the captain of the first launched warship.

The female commander in armor walked to the bow of the ship with a spiked mace, and shook her head to reject the binoculars handed over by the first officer: "My eyesight is bad, and I'm almost done chasing. Slow down and turn around, and return to Ice Strait Harbor."

The order was quickly issued to the crew, and the sloop slowly slowed down and turned its direction under the dual effects of the stern rudder and a small number of oars. Shouting slogans, it began to return to the port against the wind.

Responding to the cautious choice of the "Running Wolf" was the enemy's long ship that also braked in an instant and turned back, and the harsh horn sounded by the ironmen sailors on it.

-

Chapter 358

The sound of the horn does not mean that the two longships are preparing to attack the sailing warship five times heavier than itself, but it is a reminder of the ambush waiting for the prey to enter the trap in the distance.Regardless of the head and tail, their turning speed can be described as amazing: the "Ben Lang" has only turned halfway, and the two long boats have quickly switched from the "fleeing" state to "chasing", not only one left and one right, flexible and sophisticated The ground stuck to the limit of the range to clamp the return route of the Benlang, and began to shoot some longbows.Amidst the pounding sound, scattered arrows only hit the brand new hull of the sailing warship. Although they didn't hurt half of them, they effectively harassed the movements of the northern sailors.

As the two longships harassed, the friendly troops hidden a few miles away who had already prepared received the sound signal, dropped their oars and accelerated, rushing towards the battlefield, and entered the field of vision after a while.

There are two more ships, and they are sailing ships similar in size and weight to the "Running Wolf", but due to different combat concepts, Ironborn's sailing ship has two more auxiliary sails at the bow and stern, and is also equipped with more oarsmen— —They are obliquely facing the north wind, and under the dual effects of manpower and Bernoulli effect, they chase over at a speed twice the maximum speed of the target.

And it wasn't until this time that Benlang could barely complete the turn and was trying to accelerate.

……

There are many ironmen ships, but [-]% of them are plundering longships, and the main force of the iron fleet led by Euron is still hundreds of miles away to the south. The only ship in the north that is suitable for frontal naval battles - gathered here today, the calculation is: before the main force of the Iron Fleet receives the news to go north, and before the warships in the northern border in Ice Strait Harbor become a climate, they will be given a head-on blow as a warning .

The comparison of the battle situation instantly changed from "1 sailboat vs. 2 longboats" to "1 sailboat vs. 2 sailboats plus 2 longboats". Four packs are one, and the blind can see that the Benlang has been fished... Although it is at one end Be alert in time before getting into the trap, but still can't escape the trap!

"Lord Mormont, their ships are much faster than ours!"

"I can see it!" Meggie Mormont glared at her flustered subordinates. "Can you tell me clearly, is it possible for us to retreat into the protection of Icefrost Harbor before we are caught up?"