The few cans of Wildfire thrown into the crowd were manually hurled by the sailors on the Charging Wolf.
It was clear that Wildfire incendiaries were completely unsuitable for close combat, especially boarding actions between two ships. The Wildfire on the enemies and the flames burning along the enemy ship's side could easily spread to one's own ship and soldiers during boarding and contact between the two vessels, resulting in a situation where one inflicted a thousand casualties on the enemy but suffered eight hundred oneself.
But at this moment, with four ships attacking one, one longship already alongside and two others that had been hiding outside range now swarming in close, it was highly likely they intended to take advantage of the chaos to climb aboard the Charging Wolf from other directions and join the fight. At this critical moment, if they did not decisively strike the enemy but instead worried about whether the Wildfire would burn themselves, then soon, the people on the Charging Wolf would not even have a chance to extinguish the flames.
Amid the clattering sound of shattering, the Wildfire incendiaries struck the Ironborn, and the splashing liquid instantly poured onto their heads, shoulders, and the deck beneath their feet. Those hit were bleeding from the head, dizzy, and still did not understand what the liquid on them was for. Instantly, flowers of green flame bloomed one after another in the crowd. Human body heat and dry, loose warm clothing caused the Wildfire to spread faster than on the cold, wet hull, instantly engulfing over a dozen warriors, cooking barbecued Ironborn on the spot.
Gut-wrenching screams instantly replaced the pre-battle roars of encouragement. The Ironborn's faith and culture made them inherently terrified of fire, let alone the searing green flames burning on their bodies, causing agonizing pain. The Iron Islands soldiers who had just moments before gathered by the ship's side, fully geared to cut men down, scattered like rats splashed with boiling oil amid roars of various pitches. Fearing the fire would spread to their own ship, the Night's Watch soldiers who manually threw the Wildfire cans aimed as much as possible at the center of the enemy ship's deck, away from the edges. The front-row Ironborn closest to the ship's side were thus not burned, but the fire spread rapidly, combined with the can that had hit the stern sail earlier, instantly threatening to engulf the entire ship.
The crowd was forced into a frenzy by the green flames. Those engulfed in fire screamed and jumped into the sea, while the remaining soldiers who were pushed back, after a moment of confusion and panic, leaped across the gap between the two ships onto the Charging Wolf as if their lives did not matter.
...
Maege wiped away a spark that had splashed onto her breastplate with her glove, and heavily struck the ship's side with the spiked mace in her hand. "Good lads of the North, today is the moment to prove your courage."
"Long live the North!"
In the distance, another Ironborn sailing ship responsible for cover fire ceased firing for fear of friendly fire. Nearby, three ships, two small and one large, surrounded the North's Charging Wolf, launching boarding actions simultaneously from three directions.
"Long live the Iron Islands!"
"Kill."
Amid the heat emanating from the wooden ships combined with the burning Wildfire, the war cries, which had paused for a moment, resumed. The first soldier to jump onto the Charging Wolf forced back the nearest Northman with a knife, only to be met by a short, seemingly aged woman. Just as he was about to open his mouth to mock, the North is even sending women to the battlefield, he saw the woman swing her arm mercilessly. The spiked mace flew toward his chest with impeccable speed and power. It was too late to block. With a strong blow, he fell backward. With no one behind to support him, he tumbled into the gap between the two ships and fell into the water.
The difference between a boarding action and a field battle is that one stands on a deck rather than the ground. But it also differs from land combat in that, because the fighting area is confined and neither side has a retreat path, combat is usually more intense and chaotic, and individual martial skill is not as significant as in typical small-scale engagements. When attacking, the Ironborn swarm forward by forming lines and crowding together to board the enemy ship as closely in time as possible, charging in as a group with a formation of people pushing people, people protecting people, mutually serving as flanks and rear. In this situation, after boarding the enemy ship, the Ironborn will have their own people on their left, right, and rear, or at least two directions, until they establish an advantage.
But this time, the few cans of Wildfire that had just been thrown into the middle of the crowd completely disrupted the boarding party's formation. While those engulfed by fire and forced to jump into the sea were a tiny minority, the lucky ones who did not get any Wildfire on them were also less than one in ten. Most Ironborn raiders held weapons in one hand to guard against enemy attacks while frantically swatting at the flames flickering on their armor with the other, but to little effect. In such a state, how could they win a battle?
Meanwhile, the long-waiting North soldiers were already shouting slogans and pressing forward like a wall. Flesh and blood flew amid the flashing blades. The smell of burnt human flesh and smoke quickly mixed with the stench of blood and excrement. The Ironborn warriors who had just jumped onto the ship moments before were either chopped into mincemeat or driven into the sea.
"Do not panic. Leave one team to put out the fire, one team to get oars, push the opposite ship away. Those not injured, follow me and go to the other side to continue counterattacking."
Amid the slightly weaker impacts from the two ships hitting the Charging Wolf one after another, two longships also seized this perfect opportunity to come alongside. Grappling hooks and ropes were messily thrown up all at once. Due to having one less deck, the longships' hulls were about a person's height lower than the Charging Wolf. Experienced Ironborn captains would often wait for their own medium to large ships to engage and tie down the enemy's deck personnel before calmly approaching and climbing, to minimize their disadvantage when attacking from a lower position.
This tactic was usually effective, and this time was no exception. The wounded, bodies, enemy incendiaries, and scattered flames brought by boarding personnel on the Charging Wolf's deck created utter chaos. In the confusion, someone still had to get oars to push away the burning enemy sailing ship to avoid being dragged down with it. In the end, only seven or eight people were free to deal with two whole ships of enemies newly joining the battle.
The longships' oarsmen were warriors themselves. There were over fifty men on the two longships combined. As long as they could climb onto the deck, they could completely turn the tide of battle.
But the battle did not play out according to script, because what greeted the two longships were several Wildfire incendiaries, equally ruthless and reckless, thrown with a go big or go home attitude.
Small longships did not have as much space as sailing warships to dodge and flee. When the two newly arrived Ironborn ships were engulfed by the same rising green flames, not even a few of the sailors aboard were able to completely escape. The height difference between the ships extinguished the possibility of the longship oarsmen jumping ship through the fire to make a desperate attempt. Amid group screams that seemed like a replay of the earlier scene, these dozens of Ironborn warriors, who could have decided the outcome, also chose to jump ship to extinguish the flames, preferring to die in the sea if they must, so their souls could go to the flowing palace of the Drowned God.
The threat from humans temporarily vanished, leaving only three raging infernos burning on the water surrounding the Charging Wolf.
Individual North soldiers held bows and arrows, either watching or picking off the Iron Islands sailors who were submerged in the water, still swimming toward the ship and trying to climb aboard. More crew members, however, dragged oars and long poles from inside the cabins, sweating profusely as they pushed the three burning enemy ships as far away from the Charging Wolf as possible.
In the distance, the captain of the fourth sailing ship, who had been waiting for his comrades to win, could not believe his eyes. After repeatedly confirming that several friendly ships had all been destroyed, he ordered his ship to reopen fire on the Charging Wolf. After several rounds of exchanging fire where neither side hit anything, intimidated by the terrifying power of the Wildfire, he ultimately chose to withdraw from the battlefield. Using the significant advantage in maneuverability, he quickly disappeared from sight, giving the Charging Wolf, which had nearly exhausted its incendiaries, a huge sigh of relief.
...
The First Ice Bay Naval Battle began suddenly and ended just as quickly. The North's side had one fatality on its only participating ship and over twenty wounded, both light and severe. Among these, over half were burned or scalded while fighting fires after the battle ended. After the last enemy ship fled, they spent over an hour using pre-prepared sand and stones to extinguish the places on their own ship that had been ignited due to the indiscriminate use of Wildfire, putting in a considerable effort, only then ensuring the ship stayed afloat.
The hull was covered in dents from burning or collisions. The main mast had lost its reliability after being hit by a stone shot, and no one dared to raise the sail. Finally, the Charging Wolf picked up the few Iron Islands noble captives, left the common soldiers to die in the cold seawater, and, relying on six oars used in rotation, laboriously rowed the battered, listing North fleet flagship back to Ice Canyon Port.
---
News of this naval battle reached the Night's Watch Commander in Crown Town the next day. The Ironborn ships patrolling the Ice Bay had finally discovered the existence of Ice Canyon Port. Aegor's response was to maintain the original troop reinforcement plan while dispatching the most combat-effective unit in the Gift, the Crown Town Rangers, which was essentially the Westermen group led by Jaime Lannister, to Ice Canyon Port to strengthen the defenses of this westernmost stronghold.
Although the conflict that erupted in the Ice Bay was related to the Night's Watch, it was essentially an extension of the war between the North and the Iron Islands. Arriving almost simultaneously with the news of this naval battle was a patrol report from the Shadow Tower commander.
Dispatching Rangers to cross the Great Gorge from Skull Bridge to scout the Yuliang Wood Forest to the north was originally Aegor's reaction to the significant event of Bran's return, aimed at being prepared and providing early warning.
After awakening in the Land of Always Winter, the White Walkers had been active Beyond the Wall for four full years without launching a full-scale attack on the human realms. Such a long wait inevitably brought an atmosphere of complacency to the Night's Watch. Rationally, everyone knew the White Walkers could attack at any moment, and thus they actively prepared for battle. But intuitively, let alone the common soldiers below, even Aegor, who prided himself on having a clear mind, could not help but feel this way, it probably would not be today.
But this time, the speed with which Colin the Disfigured sent back news from Westwatch-by-the-Bridge greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.
The first team of Rangers to cross Skull Bridge to scout Beyond the Wall was prepared for a great adventure, but they had not gone deep before easily discovering the traces they were trying to find, and they were traces too obvious to ignore. Hundreds, thousands, a sea of wights stretching as far as the eye could see, using rusted knives and axes, decaying bodies, in short, every possible method, to destroy that spectacular Haunted Forest.
(To be continued.)