Chapter 503: Children of the Forest

Whoosh~

The dragon's fire subsided, and vast swaths of wights turned to ash. Balerion's massive body still circled in the sky, letting out a roar.

The Night King, standing on the ground, lifted his head to gaze at the dragon in the sky. His eyes burned with ice-blue flames, but his face remained calm, showing neither resentment nor discouragement.

The Night King's fingers clenched slightly, and he let out a screech like ice cracking, which instantly resonated across the entire battlefield.

Whirr, whirr—

The army of wights ceased their attack and began to retreat slowly.

The Night King could not overcome the dragon rider before him, even on his own turf.

Viserys, likewise, could not slay his opponent. Both sides stepping back became the optimal solution; otherwise, further fighting would merely increase their losses without any gain.

Viserys's arrival had lifted the siege on the ancient heart tree. As the wights retreated, Viserys sat on the dragon's back, watching the Night King vanish into the snowstorm without a word. The two exchanged a silent greeting, like old friends with perfect understanding.

The handsome silver-haired youth then looked down and descended from the sky on his dragon.

Boom—

The dragon's huge body landed heavily on the ground, stirring up scorched ash and thick snowflakes.

The Frostfangs had accumulated thick layers of ice and snow, and the dragon's fire had not completely melted it all at once.

Thump—

Viserys jumped down from the dragon's back, his boots landing on the soft snow and ash. He brushed the snow off his clothes.

Although the wights had retreated, the snowstorm they brought had not yet fully dissipated. The biting cold wind howled, and the young man's silver-gold hair fluttered in the wind.

"What a large tree."

"It must have become sentient, hasn't it?"

Viserys looked up at the golden heart tree. He had already sensed its vastness when he hovered above, but now, standing on the ground and looking up, the overwhelming pressure became more intense.

The ancient heart tree's twisted roots gripped the earth, merging with the snow mountain, its luxuriant branches swaying in the wind, and golden leaves sprinkling light as if welcoming Viserys's arrival.

At that moment, two figures resembling human 'girls' but slightly peculiar, stood under the tree. One with snow-white hair looked tense, and seeing Viserys's gaze upon them, she attacked without hesitation.

"Ha!"

She uttered a strange spell, and a lightning ball formed in her palm. Lightning raged within, leaking through her fingers, and she hurled it at Viserys.

"Hmm?"

Viserys's eyes narrowed.

Clang—

He drew his sword, Dawn, and shattered the lightning ball. It exploded in mid-air, turning into wandering electric sparks, vanishing without a trace.

Balerion, lying behind Viserys, saw this and raised its massive head slightly, letting out a deep roar, filled with a dangerous aura.

"Hiss—"

It opened its mouth wide, and a dazzling light began to gather in its throat.

Since the other side had attacked Viserys, they were considered enemies. Balerion was about to burn the two creatures and the large tree with dragonfire, but Viserys raised his hand and stopped it.

"Balerion."

Viserys spoke. He stopped Balerion from burning the two little creatures, then turned to look at them.

"Children of the Forest?"

The silver-haired youth, wearing a black cloak with silver-gold hair freely scattered over his shoulders, put his sword back into its sheath and looked at the two with interest.

They were shorter than regular humans, with dark chestnut skin, large ears, and golden eyes.

If Viserys's guess was correct, these must be the legendary Children of the Forest, once mentioned in books.

They were once the masters of Westeros, but over thousands of years, the former rulers of this land had nearly become extinct.

Now the two Children of the Forest were arguing, with the one with multicolored hair and little flowers scolding the white-haired girl who had attacked Viserys.

She spoke rapidly in a language Viserys didn't understand, different from High Valyrian, the Common Tongue, Dothraki, and the ancient language of the Giants. Although Viserys knew four languages, he couldn't understand what the two Children of the Forest were saying.

The white-haired girl looked sullen as she was scolded by her sister, pouting and hanging her head in silence.

After the multicolored-haired Child of the Forest finished speaking, she turned to look at Viserys.

Her eyes, a fusion of gold and green, were long and narrow like a cat's.

"We speak the Old Tongue."

"This is the unique language of the Children of the Forest, which we use to sing praises to the earth, noble guest."

The Child of the Forest suddenly switched to fluent Common Tongue.

"My name is Leaf."

Leaf extended a hand, covered with a faint layer of fuzz and only three fingers, the thumb replaced by a sharp black claw.

Viserys, hearing her speak in the Common Tongue and extending a hand, hesitated momentarily, then shook her hand.

"I traveled to your human world when I was very young and learned your language and customs."

"I have seen this big fellow before, though it wasn't very friendly," she said, nodding at Balerion, who lay nearby, emitting heat and melting a patch of snow.

"Very young?"

Viserys, hearing Leaf's words, suddenly had an uneasy feeling.

"How old are you now?"

"Two hundred years."

...

A Child of the Forest who had lived for two hundred years but possessed a human girl's sweet voice, combined with the dragon behind him, made Viserys feel that humans were truly insignificant creatures in this world.

"Come with me, guest."

"He has been waiting for you for a long time."

Leaf then said, leading Viserys into a cave beneath the heart tree.

The other white-haired Child of the Forest followed them but remained silent, seemingly unable to speak the human language.