By the time the merchant ship entered Whispering Bay, dusk had fallen.

Shireen Baratheon stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at a castle on a cliff, and asked the knight beside him:

"Sir Davos, is that the Tower of Baheaven?"

"No, Your Highness Princess." Davos shook his head, "That's the Three Towers, the castle of the Cotoine family. The Tower of Heaven is much bigger than this."

Shireen nodded, was silent for a moment, and then said:

"Don't call me Your Highness again······ My father has bowed down to His Majesty Caesar, and he is no longer a king, and I am no longer a princess."

"Yes, Miss Shireen." Davos Road.

The collapse of the Great Wall of Desperation was also a catastrophe for Stannis Baratheon, who was stationed in the Shadow Tower.

After exhausting the last remaining army, the king finally came to terms with reality, took off his crown, and chose to surrender to Caesar.

Caesar spared Stannis graciously and rewarded him with a castle in the rainforest.

Although it is far inferior to Storm's End, it can be regarded as leaving some dignity for the Baratheon family, so as not to die out.

Moreover, after learning that Shireen wanted to study medicine, Caesar also sent someone to send her to the school city.

You must know that the school city does not accept female apprentices, but under the order of the king of the Seven Kingdoms, they also have to bow their heads and accept the special case of Shirin.

Davos looked at the large patches of gray-black dead skin on the face and neck of the girl beside him, and secretly prayed in his heart that the school city would have a way to cure the after-effects of gray scale disease.

The ship continued on its way, and it was not until the next morning—or rather morning, as it should have been, though it was still dark—that they finally saw the torch that burned day and night at the top of the tower.

"The nights are getting longer." Davos looked at the distant firelight and sighed, "Maybe one day, the sun will never rise again."

"No, it won't." Shireen clenched her little fists and swore solemnly, "His Majesty Caesar will never allow such a thing to happen."

Caesar was a king, not a god. Davos muttered to himself, but didn't say the words.

He didn't want his pessimism to affect the girl's mood.

Her fate was tragic enough.

As the big ship entered the harbor, two small sailing boats approached to inspect it.

Davos took Shireen to negotiate, and soon their ship was allowed to dock.

When Lord Baylor, son of Earl Leighton Hightower, heard the news, he personally brought people to greet him.

"Dear Miss Shireen, do you want to go to the Tower of Heaven to rest? Or do you want to go straight to the school?"

Although the Baratheons had lost ground, Ser Baelor still maintained the respect she deserved for Shireen.

Because he knew that, no matter what, the girl in front of him was still the king's cousin according to blood relations.

Moreover, since the king is willing to force breaking the rules of the school city for her, he should also like this cousin.

"I want to go straight to the school, is that okay?" Shireen has always disliked the social activities of the aristocracy.

It is not only because of her personality, but also because of the scar on her face that makes her feel inferior.

"Of course, please come with me." Baylor found a luxury carriage and let Shireen sit in.

The procession left the harbor and walked through the ancient city through a labyrinth of alleys.

Shireen lifted the curtain and looked out curiously, but the light of the torches could only be seen a few meters away in the darkness of the sky, and the whole old town was still shrouded in a mysterious black curtain.

After walking for about half an hour, the team finally came to the gate of the school city.

Shireen stared at the Sphinx on the side of the door for a long time, until Baylor came to take her out of the car.

The gray-robed scholars walked by, casting curious glances at the girl.

"Dr. Nolan, this is Miss Shireen Baratheon. Miss Shireen, this Dr. Nolan is the current director of the school city, and she will arrange for her study and life here in the future."

"Hello, Dr. Nolan." Shireen lifted the hem of her skirt and curtsied.

"Hello, Miss Shireen." Dr. Nolan smiled kindly, "Please follow me."

Shireen bids farewell to Sir Baylor and follows Dr. Nolan forward in the dark.

They walked through the courtyard, past the statue of Darren I, and over a few stone bridges to an old tower overgrown with creepers.

Inside, several apprentices who were not wearing necklaces greeted the doctor, and Shireen hid her face under her hood and followed the doctor up the spiral staircase.

The arched windows on the walls suddenly jingled, startling Shireen.

"Don't be afraid," Dr. Nolan reassured, "just a flock of overly lively crows."

Shireen nodded, and by the light of the fire, she saw several blackbirds fluttering their wings outside the window, as if trying to rush in.

They stopped outside an iron oak door. Dr. Nolan knocked on the door.

"Who?" A gruff voice remembers inside the door, and makes no secret of his impatience.

"It's me. Open the door, Malween."

Soon, the door opened, and a sturdy middle-aged man walked out.

Shireen subconsciously took a step back, because the person in front of her really didn't look like a learned and polite bachelor, but more like a bully on the docks.

"What's the matter? Nolan."

"There's an apprentice for you," Dr. Nolan said with a smile as he pulled Shireen in front of him, "Miss Shireen Baratheon, I'm sure you've heard her name."

"Damn it!" Dr. Malwyn cursed unceremoniously, "This is not in accordance with the rules of the school! We don't accept women!"

"This is His Majesty's order." As if he had expected it, Dr. Nolan took a codex from his bosom and spread it out in front of the other party.

"The king can't change the rules of the school city!"

"The Pivotal Opportunity has already been discussed." Dr. Nolan said leisurely, "Agree to accept Miss Shireen as an apprentice."

"Damn it, you bastards!" Dr. Malwyn scolded, "Are you afraid of Caesar's dragon?"

"Whatever you think, Malwyn. The cardinal has decided that you will be responsible for teaching Miss Shireen."

"You'll regret it." Malvin said, "The reason why women are forbidden in the school city is because they distract us! This woman ·····."

As he spoke, Dr. Malwyn suddenly caught a glimpse of Shireen's gray-black skin hidden under the hood, paused, and then slowed down:

"Okay, count me unlucky, come in."

"Yes, Teacher." Shireen said goodbye to Dr. Nolan and entered Malwin's room with a hint of timidity.

Books and scrolls were everywhere, stacked on shelves, on tables, and even on the floor, faded tapestries and tattered maps covered the walls, a fire burning in the fireplace, and the only light came from a tall black candle in the center of the room.

After walking in, Shilin noticed that this candle was unusual, it was not an ordinary candle, and the eyes of the flame were also very strange, white as fresh snow, and there was a slight flickering black light.

"Caesar, that guy owes me a dragon egg! Now I'm stuffed with a girl!" Dr. Malwyn muttered angrily, "Okay, don't look at it, it's a glass candle, don't stare at it for a long time, your eyes won't be able to stand it."

"Oh, good." Shireen hurriedly avoided her gaze, only to find that there was still an afterimage of a candle left in her field of vision, and she had not gone for a long time.

"Take off your hat and let me see your face."

"Good ······" Shireen obediently took off her hood and asked with a hint of cowardice and hope, "Teacher, will you cure gray scales?"

Dr. Malwyn shook his head as he looked at it:

"No one is going to cure gray scale. Removing an infected body is the only way to stop the disease from progressing, and of course, it is not a panacea, as many people cut off an arm or leg only to find that other parts of the body are still symptomatic.

····· like you."

"I can't cut off my head if I have it on my face." Shireen said.

Dr. Marwyn glanced at the girl in amazement, obviously not expecting that this timid little girl would have the courage to joke:

"Generally speaking, when symptoms spread to the face, they are often accompanied by blindness. Your situation is indeed a bit peculiar

······ However, there is an incubation period for gray scale, and maybe one day you will wake up and find that you can't see anything."

Shireen shrugged and said:

"I wake up in the morning and can't see anything, and sometimes I think it's late at night. Teacher, I heard that strange ghosts will bring long nights when they go south, is this true?"

"Who can figure out the legends. However, the nights did get longer and longer, and the damn sun still appeared today······ Hey? No, what time is it now?"

Shireen was also stunned for a moment:

"I've been on the ship, day and night are reversed, and I can't tell the difference between day and night..."

Dr. Malwyn jerked to his feet, rummaging through the stacks of books.

Shireen realized that the teacher should be looking for a clock, and was thinking about helping too, but at this moment, a long bell suddenly rang outside-

--

Dr. Malwyn stopped rummaging, counting the bells.

Shireen was also silently counting, and when the bell stopped, she said with a stiff face:

"Teacher······ Did I count wrong? Now it's...

··· When it comes to bats?"

"Nope. You're not wrong." Dr. Malvin said in a solemn tone.

The time of the bat is when the sun goes down, and today, the sun has never risen at all.

This also means-

"The long night has come." Dr. Malwyn stood in front of the window and announced.

Outside the tower, darkness enveloped everything, and a few scattered torches flickered like drowning insects.

Dr. Malwyn turned back to see that the glass candle in the room was still shining with a temperatureless light, harsh, cold, and unsettling.

"What are they waiting for?"

On the Neck Guard, a knight in a leather jacket over his armor looked at the darkness in the north and asked.

Three days earlier, the army of ghouls had arrived, but had been circling in place and had not attacked.

Now that darkness was shrouded, he couldn't see how many ghouls had gathered on the other side, but judging by the roars and the suffocating smell of fish in the air, it was definitely not a small number.

"Ghouls won't be scared, will they?" Someone said in a pretended relaxed tone.

"That thing is going to be scared?" Someone immediately retorted, "I guess we are waiting for the follow-up army to assemble······

"Assembling a fart! Do you think there is also a human army on the other side?

"Ghouls may not be humans, and they don't know what it means to assemble, but strangers are supposed to be wise." Jon Snow climbed up to the top of the city, looking at the darkness in front of him, his brows tightly knit, "The quieter they are now, the more ferocious the upcoming attack will be."

"Jon······ Your Excellency," the Fur-Coated Knight asked, "have you ever seen a stranger?"

Since becoming Rego's Dragon Knight, Jon Snow's name has spread throughout the Neck Defense.

Everyone is speculating about how a Stark bastard could ride a dragon.

There are many rumors that seem to be true and false, some speculate that Eddard Stark's lover is a Targaryen, some say that Jon is actually the illegitimate son of the Mad King, and some guess that he is the illegitimate son of Prince Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark.

However, Jon ignored these rumors.

In his heart, Eddard Stark will always be his father.

And this matter involves his father's reputation and credibility, and he believes that even if he really wants to clarify, he should first seek his father's opinion.

But······ Father

Where is it now?

"I've seen strange spirits." Jon suppressed his worries and said, "They're completely different creatures from the ghouls, and they do have intelligence. So, we can't take it lightly."

"So, are the ghouls really waiting for their companions to gather together and then attack together?"

"Perhaps." Jon nodded, but then shook his head again, "Or maybe they're waiting for an opportunity."

"What kind of timing?"

"Do any of you remember what time it is?" Jon asked.

"It's like a bat······ There is humanity.

"yes, it's past the bat's hour." Jon said, "Another day has passed, but when was the last time the sun rose?"

Only then did everyone react, and their faces changed greatly.

Recently, the days have been too short, and most of the time it is dark, so many people are used to being shrouded in darkness.

It wasn't until now that they were reminded that the sun had never risen since the sun set yesterday!

"The long night is coming?" Someone exclaimed.

"The Long Night Is Coming······ Jon said in a complicated tone, "Legend has it that the Strangers have descended to bring a harsh winter and a long night that never ends, and they are the lords of winter and the bringers of darkness······ Perhaps they were just waiting for this moment, waiting for the long night to reach the peak of their power before attacking.

"So······ The Stranger is about to attack?" "It should be soon·····."

As soon as the words fell, dense footsteps sounded in the darkness of the north.

The sound grew louder and louder, gradually joining together, like an avalanche, spreading rapidly.

Later, the whole earth began to shake, as if something terrible was about to burst out of the darkness.

"Blow the trumpet!" Jon immediately yelled, "The enemy has attacked!