One-Punch Man

Wildling tribes also lived in the Haunted Forest. These tribes were extremely hostile to outsiders, so Gary could only deliberately avoid them to spare himself unnecessary trouble.

It was nearly the latter half of the night now, and he had encountered no Night's Watch rangers in the forest.

It seemed Leaf had overestimated the discipline of the present-day Night's Watch. No one from the Night's Watch patrolled the Haunted Forest at night at all.

Thousands of years ago, the Night's Watch had been the kingdom's finest army. They had guarded this bitterly cold land, repelling Wildling invasions and watching for the White Walkers' return.

Unfortunately, time had flown, and a thousand years had passed.

The people south of the Wall had long forgotten the terror of the White Walkers, even regarding them as an ancient legend.

The Wall's purpose had also shifted from keeping out White Walkers to merely defending against invasions by Wildling tribes.

The Wildlings lacked discipline and were nothing more than a rabble. Naturally, their fighting strength could not compare with that of the "legendary White Walkers." Over time, the kingdom stopped stationing its finest troops here.

From then on, this had become a place to exile criminals.

Service in the Night's Watch had likewise changed from a sacred honor into shackles for punishing criminals.

By now, the Night's Watch's numbers had fallen sharply. Sixteen of its nineteen castles had been abandoned, with only three still manned.

The total number of men in those three castles was only around a thousand.

Without the Wall's geographical advantage, the present-day Night's Watch could never have withstood the Wildlings' assaults.

The Wildlings beyond the Wall had an overwhelming numerical advantage and could employ human-wave tactics. Moreover, some Wildling tribes had taken in members of the nearly extinct giant race, giving them dozens of giants and mammoths as fighting forces.

If the Night's Watch lost the protection of the Wall and the two sides fought on open plains, it would be a one-sided slaughter.

Fortunately, there were no ifs. The Wall stood right here, having endured for eight thousand years.

The Wall stretched nearly five hundred kilometers and rose over two hundred meters high. It blotted out the sky and sun, soaring from the earth toward the heavens.

Gary reached the foot of the Wall and touched the ice, unable to help marveling. "What a colossus. It really does blot out the sky."

The oppressive feeling bearing down on him nearly suffocated him.

The Wall was more than merely enormous. Its walls and the ground beneath it were covered in engraved magical runes. These runes could block White Walkers and destroy their accompanying creatures-the Wights-and were the core of the Wall.

In other words, as long as the Wall stood and the runes remained intact, the White Walker army could never set foot in the south.

"Whew. Time to find a way in." Gary looked around, searching for a way through the Wall.

The Wall had no great gates, only a few narrow tunnels through it. These tunnels generally led to the various castles and were the most heavily defended areas.

Gary followed the foot of the Wall for a long time before finding a wooden door.

The heavy wooden door was covered in rivets and iron bands and looked extremely sturdy.

Clearly, a tunnel lay behind it. Passing through that tunnel would take him to Castle Black, one of the three remaining castles.

Gary knocked on the wooden door. It was so thick that it was difficult to make a sound.

Fortunately, he was very strong. He picked up a large rock and slammed it hard against the door.

Thud!

Standing outside, Gary did not think it sounded very loud. Inside the tunnel, however, things were different. The empty space made the sound resonate, and the tremendous noise instantly woke the men of the Night's Watch on night duty.

"What was that?"

"Probably another wild deer banging into the door. Ignore it. Go to sleep."

They did not want to give it much thought and were about to go back to sleep, but Gary outside would not allow that. He picked up the large rock again and smashed it against the door over and over.

Thud! Thud! Thud...

The men inside the tunnel grew furious. Cursing, they approached the door, opened its small viewing hatch, and peered outside. But it was pitch-black out there, and they could see nothing.

"What the hell is banging on the door?"

They could not make out Gary in the darkness, but Gary could see them clearly by the light of the torches they held.

One man was fat and the other thin, and neither was particularly old. Both wore black clothing and black armor. They were undoubtedly men of the Night's Watch.

Gary called softly, "Excuse me, you two..."

The sudden voice frightened all the sleepiness out of them.

"What the hell!"

"It... it seems to be a little Wildling."

The two men on duty also spotted Gary, and they were deeply annoyed. "Go on, get lost, you little Wildling brat. Where did you come from? Scram. You're not welcome here."

Gary hurriedly said, "I have urgent business with Benjen Stark. Sorry for the trouble, but could you two let him know?"

The tall, thin Wildling answered impatiently, "Come back tomorrow! It's the middle of the night. The man you're looking for went to bed ages ago."

Gary could not help frowning and pacing back and forth. With ice and snow everywhere outside, where could he spend the night? If the Wildling tribes in the forest discovered him, that would be another unnecessary complication.

He cautiously turned his back and took a Gold Dragon from the purse inside his clothes.

There was no other choice. He would have to bribe them.

Holding up the Gold Dragon, Gary deliberately put on an innocent air. "You two, I found this gold coin in the forest. If you help me fetch Benjen, I'll give it to you."

"A Gold Dragon?"

The two men were greatly shocked, an unusual emotion flickering in their eyes.

The fat man squeezed up to the hatch and asked with a smile, "Little Wildling, Benjen has a terrible temper. If we wake him now, he'll definitely curse us out. This one Gold Dragon of yours... isn't enough. Got any more?"

Gary knew how greedy people were. "No. This is the only one I found."

He could not offer any more. Human greed had no end. Even if he produced several more Gold Dragons, these two would only demand more.

The tall man held out his hand with some disappointment. "Fine. Give me the Gold Dragon, and we'll fetch Benjen for you."

Gary sneered inwardly. Do you take me for a fucking idiot? With a blank expression, he said, "What I meant was, you call Benjen Stark over first, and only then will I give you the coin."

"No way. Pay first..." The tall man was about to lose his temper, but the fat man beside him tugged at his clothes.

The fat man whispered, "That little Wildling turned his back on us to get his money just now. He's got more than one Gold Dragon on him. How about we let him in and search him?"

The tall man's eyes lit up. "Good point."

Gary could not hear their whispers. He only saw them abruptly shut the hatch, after which everything went silent.

Seriously? Was the present-day Night's Watch really that disciplined? Could money not buy their consciences either?

Just as he was racking his brains for a solution, the great wooden door before him suddenly began to shake. Then it slowly rose, leaving a gap about half a meter high.

"Come on in. We'll take you to Benjen..." a voice called from inside. Judging by the sound, the speaker seemed some distance away.

Gary had no other choice. He could only grit his teeth, bend down, and duck through.

Bang!

Once he was inside, the great wooden door dropped back down behind him, cutting off his retreat.

Two burning torches hung on the tunnel walls. Though they could not illuminate the whole tunnel, they provided enough light to make out its general outline.

He advanced deeper into the tunnel uneasily and finally met the two men halfway through.

They leaned against the wall, panting, and slowly walked toward Gary. It made sense: that wooden door was so thick and heavy that it looked as though it weighed four or five tons. Without the pulley mechanism, the two of them really could not have opened it for him.

The fat man spat, rubbed his aching arms, and said loudly, "Brat, hand over all the Gold Dragons you've got."

Gary looked at the longswords at their waists and warily backed away a few steps. "You two, what is this supposed to mean?"

The two kept advancing on Gary. The tall man put his hand on his sword hilt, his face turning vicious. "Brat, don't make me kill you."

"You've gone too far. You're asking for death!"

Gary knew full well that his paltry fighting skills were no match for these two men. So he had to strike first! Win with a surprise attack!

He swiftly closed in on them. Before the tall man could draw his sword, he gathered all his strength and threw a punch with everything he had.

Seeing him swing, the tall man standing in front of him did not even dodge. He actually laughed. "How amusing. Do you really think you can punch me to death... urgh..."

The punch struck the tall man square in the stomach, and its tremendous force instantly sent him flying.

Bang!

The tall man rolled along the ground like a tumbling ball, only stopping after covering a considerable distance. He lay sprawled on the ground, twitching incessantly, breathing out more than he breathed in. It looked as though he would not survive.

Shattered fragments of black wicker armor flew everywhere, striking the fat man's face painfully. He stood stunned for a moment. By the time he remembered to draw his sword and fight back, he was already a step too late. Gary had charged right up to him.

Another punch.

"Aah!" A deafening scream rang through the entire tunnel.