363 Chapter 363: Terrifying Nightmare

"Was it... just a nightmare?"

Ban Yang was still somewhat shaken after being startled awake. However, after realizing it was a dream and having a brief conversation with Ser Alliser Thorne, his anxiety gradually dissipated.

"Phew..."

He let out a long sigh.

"I hope it was just a dream..."

Despite it being a dream, Ban Yang couldn't shake off an inexplicable unease.

"How much food do we have left?"

The deepest layer of the crypt was silent, as if everyone had fallen asleep again.

At this moment, the Chief Ranger broke the silence with a question, his voice still kept low.

"We have enough for three days at most."

This time it wasn't Ser Alliser who answered, but the Night's Watch's recruiting officer, Yoren, who spoke softly.

"Only three days left?"

Upon hearing this, Ban Yang's heart tightened. He knew their food supply was dwindling, but he didn't expect that they only had this much left in the deepest part of the crypt.

The crypt of Winterfell did store a lot of supplies, but most of them were on the upper levels.

However, during the past month of hide-and-seek, due to various accidents, they were forced to retreat to the lowest level, right in front of the 'Snowbeard King', the oldest ancestor. The older the tomb, the deeper and darker it was located.

The Stark family's ancestral tombs were even deeper, but those areas had already collapsed and were dangerous. Therefore, the food stored here was not much, only enough for three days.

Indeed, Yoren's words caused a slight stir among the survivors.

Now, there were about a few dozen people who had escaped to the deepest part of the crypt.

Among these people were members of the Night's Watch and soldiers from the allied forces, most of whom were soldiers from the North, along with two Westermen and soldiers from the Riverlands.

"Only three days of food and water left, what should we do?"

In the darkness, where faces were indistinguishable and voices were the only means of identification, someone asked anxiously. However, his voice was a bit too loud, causing a stir in the upper level of the crypt. Immediately, everyone fell silent.

After a while, when no new sounds were heard, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Ser Alliser Thorne clenched his fist slightly, annoyed, and chastised in a low voice.

"Have you forgotten the mistakes made before?"

"Do you want us all to die together?"

After all, Ser Alliser had once been a commander in the Targaryen army, and with his rich experience and considerable authority, plus his age of over forty, he could be considered a father figure to many people present. Therefore, when he reprimanded, everyone fell silent.

But after a while, someone couldn't help but ask again, this time controlling their emotions better, without the previous anxiety.

After all, they had been trapped here for over a month, and they hadn't had a good night's sleep in all that time. Every day was filled with fear, living in complete silence, and everyone was terrified and numb.

Death.

If they really died, it would be a kind of release.

"What should we do?"

"Are we going to starve to death in three days?"

His words fell into silence in the crypt, and everyone's breathing became a bit heavy. This was indeed a problem that was about to confront them.

Although they had a water source, without food, they would starve to death sooner or later.

"The food stored in the lowest layer was always scarce."

At this moment, Ban Yang took a deep breath and spoke out of the blue.

"The food is on the upper two levels, but we've lost it. After three days, there are only two ways: either stay here and starve to death, becoming a wandering wight in the crypt, or break out."

Ban Yang's words made sense, but they left everyone silent.

They had thought about breaking out before, but a disastrous attempt about half a month ago forced them to retreat and escape to the lowest level.

During this time, because they couldn't see the outside, it was very difficult to keep track of the days. They calculated the time by listening to the footsteps of the wights above.

Although there might be some discrepancies, this was the only way.

Wait to die? Or die now?

This question was very heavy, but for those trapped in the deepest part of the crypt, this was the problem they were facing.

"I support breaking out!"

At this moment, the Night's Watch's recruiting officer, Yoren, voiced his support.

"I'd rather fight these monsters than starve to death here!"

His words resonated with some of the soldiers. Everyone had been trapped here for over a month, and even their fear had become numb. The hope of survival was gradually fading.

Since their defeat, they hadn't received any information from the outside world and didn't know what the outside world was like now.

Had humanity been completely defeated?

Had the Neck held?

Perhaps the future was the end of the world, with the army of the dead taking over King's Landing, turning everyone into wights, whether they were poor farmers or high-ranking kings and nobles.

In this case, they felt a bit more balanced, at least everyone's end was the same.

The long night enveloped, Westeros was completely haunted, everywhere were walking dead, it seemed that there was no difference between dying sooner or later.

After all, there was no hope left, it was better to fight a death battle with these monsters, at least they could die a bit more gloriously.

"I'm in!"

"I also support!"

"Let's just break out!"

Yoren's words received a positive response from everyone, but Ser Alliser Thorne remained very calm.

He was actually leaning towards the plan of a desperate fight, because the current situation was very clear, continuing to wait would only lead to a dead end.

Now that so much time had passed outside, perhaps the number of wights remaining in Winterfell was not that many. If they seized the opportunity, they might really be able to break out.

"Have you made up your mind, Ban Yang?"

Then

Ser Alliser, his hair slightly graying, spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Once we break out with our brothers, there's no turning back."

Either they escape, or they die on the way.

"Yes, no more hesitation!"

Ban Yang took a deep breath, then nodded with determination.

He suppressed the growing unease in his heart and gently touched the dragonglass dagger in his bosom.

Among the people present, only three had dragonglass daggers, all members of the Night's Watch. These three daggers were distributed to them from the Night's Watch armory just before the Wall fell.

In fact, Ban Yang didn't mention that his sudden urge to break out was due to his inner unease and the recent nightmare.

His father, elder brother, and sister Lyanna, all weeping blood, warned him to leave quickly.

"Let's go!"

Then, without further ado, Ban Yang drew his long sword and stood up abruptly.

The dozens of soldiers trapped here also clenched their weapons and followed Ban Yang, charging towards the outside.

...

Outside Winterfell.

In the snow that filled the sky, a skeletal horse was carrying a slender man with an ice crown on his head, slowly heading towards the gate of Winterfell.

His eyes were burning with icy blue flames.