King of The Wall

2021-01-06

Chapter 336 Ice Gorge Harbor

Weirwood Forest?

Igor probed into Gorge again, and sure enough, there was a crimson in his eyes. The blizzard not long ago made everything in North and the land-grant wrapped in silver and white. In addition, it was winter when everything was not alive. He just thought it was the color of dead wood under the snow, and now he took a closer look. Only then did I discover that the Milkwater banks at the bottom of the valley, the steep slopes of the canyon... As far as I can see, covering the mountains and plains are all blood red unique to Weirwood leaves, which can't even be covered by snow.

Could it be that Brandon, the builder who built The Wall, saw that the terrain of Gorge was inconvenient to repair the ice wall, so he simply compensated by planting Weirwood on a large scale to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of this loophole?

It doesn't sound right.

Judging from the information currently available, Wall does possess an energy field that can weaken and drive away Others and ghouls, which can be called "Anti-Cold God Barrier". If this power really comes from Weirwood, then this amazing Weirwood forest really makes up for the weakness of Wall's defense that doesn't cover Gorge.

But here comes the question: If Weirwood can really stop the Others from passing through once and for all, what else does Wall do? Planting the entire Haunted Forest with Weirwood is not as easy as building a 700-foot wall of ice?
Shouldn't it be scolding: Brynden the Builder is so stupid, he can't even think of this!

……

Igor is currently the only person who has the power of transcendent in face-to-face contact with Melisandre. However, although both of them have skinships, the witch has always kept a close eye on him about Magic, and doesn't show or explain it at will. Fortunately, she didn't say that, Igor can also judge by oneself through various signs - through long-term observation and a few exchanges, Igor vaguely felt that even magic power must follow the laws of thermodynamics .

Weirwood itself is impossible to generate energy, otherwise the whole world must be filled with this kind of perpetual motion machine... It can be speculated that it does not have magic power itself, just a carrier and a release channel - just like an antenna, It emits a signal, but the signal itself is generated by the device it is connected to, converted from electrical energy.

The huge Heart Tree under Nightfort has the physical protection of the Wall ice wall, but this large Weirwood forest? If Igor is Others, he will definitely send dead people to destroy and nibble a little bit. What ability does the tree have to defend itself? Unless its "anti-Cold God barrier" is strong enough to directly kill approaching ghouls and Others, it's destructible after all.

＊＊＊

"Don't put your hope against the Others on the tree, we are the strong shield that guards mankind, not Weirwood." Although this is covering the mountains and plains Weirwood is really growing, and I don't know how many years it has existed, but Igor still shook his head: "Don't take it lightly, the scheduled patrols will continue as usual, and start to find a suitable place to establish a transfer base."

" That's natural." Qhorin fully agrees.

......

With the increase of the distance under the feet, everyone soon fell into the fatigue of long-distance walking, and the communication gradually decreased until it stopped completely. After being a "leader" for a long time, I suddenly re-experienced the hardships of patrolling with small soldiers. To be honest, Igor was really uncomfortable. Fortunately, the weather was fine and the wind was weak. Starting at the dawn of the sky, after a short pause to eat something at noon, I continued to bury my head on the road, facing the sunset of the west slanting Sun, and then accelerated my pace and sprinted, and finally arrived at the end before dark - only a short distance from the Bay of Ice A few miles away, the site selection team identified a temporary camp where the new stronghold was located, but did not yet have any formal facilities.

Several tents of different sizes were set up behind a huge rock that blocked the wind, and seven or eight soldiers of the Night's Watch advance team dressed in black clothed scattered or sat or stood at rest or in the fire. While they were cooking dinner in front of the pile, they hadn't even seen the new Lord Commander, and after being introduced by Qhorin Halfhand, they quickly stood up to say hello to the commander.

"Lord Commander, after a long day's journey, shall we just take a rest, or take a look at the port site before it gets dark?"

 …

Igor looked up, the sky was still dark, and although his legs were tired after walking all day, he was finally sighed: as a helmsman, rest is really a luxury.

"Let's go and see the port location. If all goes well, we will take the road and turn back tomorrow."

"Okay."

How many years has Qhorin been a tourist? As a cavalry soldier, walking several dozen li roads would naturally not tire him. He put down a little luggage on his back, stretched his body, and then walked neatly to the bottom of the high ground.

The mountainous area on the south side of Gorge in the west of the land grant is actually an extension of the Frostfangs in terms of geology, but it is only an extension after all, hundreds of miles away from the main peak and the highest point of the beyond the wall , Igor came here today, and after half the journey, the terrain and roads began to become smoother and wider. The entire group was still walking on the mountainside at first—the left-hand side was a mountain with several hundred meters high, and the right-hand side was a steep canyon, but soon the mountain began to get lower and lower, and the slope of the cliff became smaller and smaller. At that time, everyone was walking on a slope slightly higher than the river valley.

The temporary camp is at the end of this gentle slope, a rocky clearing with an altitude of tens of meters and overlooking the Bay of Ice.

Sun has completely sunk into the sea, but the sky is still twilight, the towering mountains on the north bank of the river valley are as dark as a high wall under the light of the afterglow, and the waves slap the slight waves of the coast. In the sound of hua, the cold sea breeze brought a little saltiness. Qhorin took Igor down the heights where the temporary camp was located, to the sea next to the Bay of Ice.

Milkwater has a very low sand content, so the efficiency of alluvial land formation is terrifying, and the scene of the estuary will naturally remain unchanged all year round. Conspicuous in the sky as if it would glow. If the location is not too north, this white sand beach is a good place for leisure and vacation in summer.

At this time, the place was still bare, and the scene was the same as it was a thousand years ago. The suddenly clear vision and the increased wind made Igor, who had been on the mountain road for a long time, a little uncomfortable. Adapt.

"This beach extends all the way into the sea, and there is no reef in the exposed part after the low tide. It is an ideal place for new boats to launch." Qhorin walked over the beach with Igor, and simply introduced: "Half a league to the south, there is a corner of the land that bulges out into the sea, and now the light is not enough to see it not quite clear - but this corner forms a natural breakwater, so that the wind and waves on the sea outside this beach are also extremely small, forming a A small natural harbour. The most important thing: the bottom of this extended corner is solid rock, not silt, and is high enough to be above the water even at high tide. If necessary, a fortress and a lighthouse can be built on it , to defend against the enemy from the sea and guide the way for your own ships, which greatly saves the effort of reclamation and docking."

"It's quite a detailed consideration, are you from a boatman?"

"The boy who was born in a boatman and sat there with roast beef said that he is an illegalimate child of the Iron Islands." Qhorin haha laughed, not taking the credit: "Go and see?"

"Well, go take a look."

...

At the time of the high tide, Igor stepped on the moss and shells under his feet and walked up to the bulge, standing on the edge looking out. The waves that kept hitting the edge of the breakwater.

The natural breakwater next to the white sand beach is a pointed triangle, extending into the sea for more than a mile. To be honest, it is a bit pocket-sized, but considering that it is about to build a temporary military port in the backward world, It only needs to stop a wooden boat with a double-digit displacement, which is basically enough.

There is no direct sunlight, and the bottom of the water cannot be seen, but as long as the depth is more than three meters at low tide, it can basically accommodate most of the Westeros below medium-sized ships.

Igor asked: "How deep is the water at the shore?"

"I don't know, but it is certain that the bottom is not reached when the tide is low."

"I will arrange for a team to come and level the upper layer of this breakwater as soon as possible, and build a coastal defense fortress and a lighthouse overlooking the entire harbor at the very end. But I don't want to use this shore as a dock for boats, it depends on the water depth." Igor Shaking his head: "I don't like the answer of 'I don't know'. I asked the fishermen of the mountain clan to borrow a small boat to measure the water depth along the coast in this area, especially in this small harbor. After confirming that it can be used, we can start to build the harbor."

"Okay." The Lord Commander's order, Qhorin naturally obeyed unconditionally.

Igor looked around all around: The terrain on the west coast is tortuous, and such a natural harbor has inadvertently formed. Although it is a little small, the depth of the water still needs to be measured. Not sure, but at least it wasn't a bad start.

"The big picture can be determined. This side faces the beach is the shipyard, and the other side is the docking place for the boats - this is the military port we built for North, and the nominal use rights belong to Robb Stark. Yes, if the North guard has any requirements, he will meet all requirements, and he will reimburse them anyway. As for the stronghold belonging to Night's Watch, that high ground is not bad, build a wall and build a fort overlooking the entire harbor, which is usually the station of the patrolmen , the Night's Watch can play the role of the port guard when the harbor is attacked, which is perfect."

"Sounds really good." Qhorin silently stubble on his chin: "What is this place called, always Can't call it a 'temporary stronghold' all the time?"

"What's it called?" Igor forgot about it, looking around at the sea breeze that made his cheeks cold, a name quickly changed from It jumped out of my mind: "Facing the Bay of Ice, next to Gorge, and a port for the North Navy, if you don't do anything fancy, let's call it Bingxia Port!"

This name is good, concise and comprehensive. Lang Lang and bluntly indicated the location and function, Qhorin nods: "Okay, then it's called Bingxia Port."

I have seen everything I should see, and also briefly clarified the idea of oneself, It just happened that it was completely dark, and Igor turned his head and took Qhorin and several guards away from the pointed promontory and returned to the land. While walking towards the temporary camp, he looked towards the dark mountains to the east.

He didn't forget another purpose of oneself's trip.

"You said earlier that there is a road to return to the land grant, can you pass cavalry and carriage?"

"Yes, although there are many mountains in this area, they are not high, and the roads are not very high. It was built by picking up hills and low valleys between mountains, and the clans and people often went to donated land to trade with Night's Watch, and the commodities included live livestock. A little flattened and widened, a smaller carriage would certainly be no problem.”

"Very well, how to plan the port specifically, when the experts in Baigang arrive, the Chief-In-Charge of the construction department will discuss and carry out with them, and finally show me the results." Igor nominee: "Tomorrow we have another mission - on the road to the land grant here, find a place that is open and flat, away from the sea and any other clan settlements, I have a special use to use."

"Special use?" Qhorin Halfhand was a little confused: "Is it the patrol transfer station you said you would build during the day, but this can only be useful if it is built on the patrol route. There is a mountain between the road and the canyon."

"It's not a patrol transit station, it's an experimental site. I have someone design some... weapons specially designed to deal with Others, which need to be tested in a place far away from people."

——

(end of this chapter)