Chapter 362: The Cellar of Winterfell

Within the cellar of Winterfell.

All around was quiet, with only the faint sound of breathing. There was no light, and one could not see their hand in front of their face.

A man dressed in black, with long dark brown hair, was holding a sword, draped in wolf skin, leaning against the cellar wall, fast asleep.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed in his sleep, and his breathing became rapid.

A companion leaning against him was not asleep. His experience was vast, his reaction speed extremely fast. Perhaps the recent terrifying events had made him wake at the slightest disturbance.

He quickly covered Benjen's mouth, preventing him from crying out in surprise. Only a muffled sound was heard.

"Ugh—"

However, even this faint sound woke everyone in the cellar, causing a slight stir. At the same time, a faint noise came from the upper level of the cellar.

"Damn."

Everyone's hearts hung in their throats.

But after the faint noise, there was no other sound, and the people hiding deep in the cellar let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Do you know you almost got us all killed, Benjen!"

The man speaking in a low voice was Alliser Thorne, the master-at-arms of Castle Black.

His combat experience was rich, and he was now in his forties. His quick reaction had saved everyone's lives. Otherwise, if the demons outside were alerted, the last safe place in Winterfell would fall.

In his youth, Alliser Thorne had fought for the Targaryen family in the Usurper's War and had refused to surrender when King's Landing fell. He fought until the last moment until he was captured alive.

Tywin Lannister, the Duke, gave him a choice between the gallows and the black. He chose to don the black and joined the Night's Watch.

The long-faced man, who was still panting slightly, also realized how dangerous the situation had just been. His chest heaved, but there was still fear in his eyes.

He had had a nightmare. He was Benjen Stark, the First Ranger of the Night's Watch.

However, after a few deep breaths, Benjen's heart gradually calmed down.

"I'm sorry, Ser Alliser."

Benjen then gratefully looked at his Night's Watch colleague, not knowing if the other could see him in the pitch-black darkness, and apologized.

Then he took a deep breath, steadied his emotions again, and spoke in a voice as low as before.

"I'm fine, just had a nightmare."

"A nightmare?"

The middle-aged knight with slightly gray hair, holding his long sword, turned his head to look at Benjen.

He had thought that Benjen, a seasoned warrior, wouldn't have nightmares in such a situation. However, he had overestimated him. Benjen was still a coward.

Alliser Thorne snorted, then shook his head and said.

"It's okay, I understand."

In his view, Benjen was scared.

But the terrifying events of the past year were indeed scary, from the first encounter with the White Walkers, the horrific corpse formations, to the war with the wildlings, the collapse of the Wall, and then the arrival of the White Walker army, the fall of the Wall, and the defeat of the allied forces retreating to Winterfell.

A month ago, the allied forces in Winterfell were preparing to fight back, but they were still defeated. After a night of fighting, the allied forces were defeated and fled to the Neck.

They were surrounded by the undead, unable to break out, and in their panic, they fled into the cellar of Winterfell.

During this month, the undead outside had broken into the cellar several times after hearing noises. After constant maneuvering, sacrifices, and fighting, only so many people were left.

Fortunately, Winterfell was built on a hot spring, so the temperature in the cellar was not very cold. And the cellar of Winterfell had once been used as a temporary place for the allied forces to store supplies, so they had no worries about food and clothing.

However, the food stored by the allied forces was now running low. For all those trapped here, it was a time of decision.

"Huh~"

Benjen naturally heard the mockery in Alliser Thorne's words.

But he was not a hot-blooded teenager anymore. He just looked at him and said nothing.

After all, he had made a mistake just now, and the other had saved everyone's lives.

The brief conversation ended, and the cellar of Winterfell fell silent again.

Benjen leaned against the wall behind him, his eyes flickering slightly. Although he had calmed down, he could not sleep anymore.

Although he couldn't see anything with his eyes open now, he knew that the statue of 'Snowbeard King' Edrick Stark was right in front of him.

Because when he was a child, he often played in the cellar, and his sister Lyanna would tell him stories about their ancestors.

'Snowbeard King' Edrick was an ancestor of the Stark family, one of the earliest Kings in the North. The outer wall of Winterfell was built during his reign.

Since the cellar was broken into by the dead and they learned a bloody lesson, these survivors had fled to the lowest level of the cellar. Any further down was a collapsed area.

But that was not the point. The point was that Benjen had just had a nightmare after accidentally falling asleep.

Benjen dreamed of the King of Winter coming into the cellar of Winterfell. His cold gaze was locked on him, and then he strode towards him.

The stone-carved direwolves on both sides of the cellar roared at him, seemingly telling him to run. His father Rickard Stark, his elder brother Brandon, and his sister Lyanna were all weeping blood, telling him to leave.

Benjen ran back desperately, with the Night King slowly chasing him. But then something even more terrifying happened, making Benjen's hair stand on end, and he was instantly horrified!

That was the Night King passing by the tombs of the Kings in the North, and each tomb exploded one after another. The Kings in the North, who had once been powerful and left a strong mark in history, crawled out of their graves.

They pulled out their rusty swords from their statues, and with a swipe of their hands, they all turned into transparent ice swords.

Their eyes were filled with icy blue flames, and then they all looked at Benjen, who was lying at the end of the cellar, and let out a soul-shaking roar.

Then Benjen woke up.